case study (management)

Case Study : Silent Witness

Background

Silent Witness is a Canadian manufacturer of CCTV cameras headquartered in Surrey , British Columbia . The company was not very big enough to be considered as a tough competitor for larger companies such as Sony and Panasonic . However , by analyzing the company 's position in the market , it can be seen that there are growth opportunities available for the company , given the right the strategies to be taken

Silent Witness is a small company , with only 4 percent share in the US market . But because of its

success in technology development and in producing new products that can attract different segments of customers it has managed to exist in CCTV industry for more than a decade now However , the company 's management realized that Silent Witness has to grow and aim for increased revenues , bearing in mind the opportunities in the CCTV market such as : the exploitation of untapped markets such as the market of small businesses and home consumers continuously changing CCTV technology and taking advantage of the competitors ' weaknesses while manipulating the company 's own strength

Strategic Issues

To be able to determine strategic issues in Silent Witness , it is important to diagnose first or to perform situational analysis and the constraints and capabilities of the company . When strategic issues or problems are known , strategy formulation follows . Strategy formulation involves a clear set of recommendations that will modify the current strategies of the company . Such strategies will supply the methods the company should implement in to be successful . A company 's success can be measured by setting attainable objectives that the company will try to achieve or even surpass

Silent Witness ' primary objective is to have the name Silent Witness become synonymous with top surveillance cameras in the world . This objective is to build strong brand identity that will make the company 's products known and used by different market segments , consequently increasing its sales and revenue . To be able to achieve this objective the company must formulate growth strategies that will address the issues that need to be dealt with by Silent Witness

Analyzing Silent Witness , its primary strength is its capability of developing new products which is actually being imitated by competitors including the large companies . This strong R D capability of Silent Witness was what brought success to the company . However , it also posed threat against the company because the company has not used patent or trademarks yet thus large companies like Sony or Panasonic , which have competitive advantage and established brand identities can easily imitate or produce versions of Silent Witness ' products . Thus the company 's strategy must address the issue of protecting the company 's intellectual property right . The company is very focused on innovation but innovation does not necessarily provide Silent Witness the brand identity that they need

Another issue that the strategy should address is the exploitation of the untapped small and mid-size businesses and home retailers . The company cannot penetrate these markets because of lack...