And the Award for the Fourth-Most Admired Company in the Media Industry Goes to Google!

Google is a company that has been admired in the past few years for the company’s organizational structure. According to Fortune Magazine, a well known business magazine, “Google is the fourth-most admired company in the United States.” Google has been featured multiple times as well on the top-companies-to-work-for list. The main reason Google is such a widely admired company is because the management lets the employees run the company as much as possible. Google has a cross-functional organization that allows excellent leadership as well as employee satisfaction. Cross-functional organization is described as a group with different functional expertise working toward a common goal. For Google that common goal is to be the best search engine on the Internet. Google is also a well admired and structured company because the management team doesn’t set the goals for the company, the employees do. Employees set objectives which are approved by the management. Management periodically checks up on the progress of the goals, but it is all done by the employees. Google employees spend “70% of their time on current assignments, 20% on related projects of their choosing, and 10% on new projects in any area they desire.” The structure of their time management is called the 70-20-10 rule. Google uses this rule to make sure that the employees take risks. Without these risks the company wouldn’t be as successful as it is now. Also without risks Google wouldn’t have ventured into the multiple industries it has. I admire Google’s policy where the employees are the main figures of the company, with management overseeing their works. I feel that is the most effective way to structure a company.

Can Netflix Change the Media Industry, or Will It Stay In a Funk?

In Medias Res was asked this week: in what areas of the media industry are there opportunities for innovation?

Reed Hastings, CEO and entrepreneur of Netflix gives good advice about being an entrepreneur in the media industry. He also gives good tips and his visions for Netflix, which leaves way to improvement within the media industry. When asked his advice on becoming a successful entrepreneur he remarked, “creating freedom and responsibility” in the work place. One example of freedom and responsibility is having no vacation policy. If you work for Netflix, you don’t have a set amount of days you can take off for vacation according to Reed Hastings. Yet freedom and responsibility aren’t the only improvements being made within Netflix and the media industry. Reed Hastings has some visions that could change the online streaming of TV and movies forever.

Entrepreneurs have taken over the media industry. A rise in the use of social networking, Facebook, Twitter, and Google +, but social media isn’t the only sub-industry that has effective entrepreneurs. Netflix’s Reed Hastings has two visions for Netflix. Netflix is taking advantage of the fact that the internet has evolved our culture. He plans to “change the online experience” because of the fact that internet has gone from dial up to fiber. This one single changed has allowed Netflix to work faster and be able to stream more videos, thus making the online experience much more enjoyable, and Reed Hastings point of taking advantage of the internet as a success.

Reed Hastings has also said that he would like to take the mobile market and go global with Netflix as his second vision. According to Forbes.com, “there are 5 billion people on mobile.” With the 5 billion projected people on mobile as Netflix’s audience, Reed Hastings says, “His dream is to see Netflix rolled out across the globe, in the process of becoming the world’s best entertainment distribution platform.” With both of these projected goals, Mr. Hastings wants to basically take over the world with internet and mobile domination of entertainment.

Google Music vs. iTunes: Who Will Take Over the Industry?

In Media Res was asked to look at recent news in the media industry. We found the most important new in the media industry is that competition is heating up. Google Inc. just introduced its own online music player that would work closely with Google Plus- the Google Inc. social network. “Google Music” is the current name of the product that Google is working with. This online music source would work much like an iTunes or the newer Spotify in a way that Google customers would share their musically libraries with their Google Plus contacts who could listen to the music for free, however the catch is you may only listen to it free once. After the one free listen, the song would be available for downloading for 99¢ per purchase, which currently is cheaper than iTunes purchase rate of $1.29. However, controversy has struck Google Inc. in regards to the participation of all four major-label companies. Without the participation of Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI, the four major-label companies, dissatisfaction of customers is bound to be an issue. Without all four major-label companies this also compacts the amount of songs available for listening and downloading, for many customers they want all the convenience of a one-stop shop. Google Inc.’s competitors though have all waited until the guarantee of all four major-label companies before issuing their music services.

Online music is becoming a major trend. While Google Music is still in its elementary phase, there are certain glitches that still need to be worked out. Google Inc.’s competitor, iTunes, according to Wall Street Journal, is about to start an online music listener that will create revenue for the company as well as all the major-label companies. Spotify-a new online music listener that allows sharing between Facebook friends launched their product over the summer. Even Spotify has revenues of $10 a month for the ad-free smartphone version and $5 a month without ads. With all the competition in online music players, Google Inc. may have a hard time breaking into the music industry.

Oversea Key Media Industry Players

There are a few key players in the media industry that are not from the United States. One of the major new companies in Britain is the British Broadcasting Company. According to their website, BBC is “the largest broadcasting organization in the world.” Setting up their headquarters in the center of Britain, London England and staffing more than 23,000 people, it deserves the title of largest broadcasting organization. BBC is a public service broadcaster that reaches 10 national radio stations and 40 local radio stations with a website accessible to all. BBC provides their customers with” news and information in 32 languages.” BBC is run under the Royal Charter, which is “an accompanying agreement that recognizes its editorial independence and sets out its public obligations in detail.” In other words, it is a letter from the monarchy that grants the power to an individual or business. With international business becoming more popular, BBC surely has made goals to keep their status as largest broadcasting organization by sticking with quality, focus, efficiency, and market impact.

I believe it is important for companies in the media industry to be non-US owned, especially news companies. It is important for the world to know each others news and to care for one and other. That is what BBC is aiming to do. By broadcasting in 32 different languages, and being located in the center of the world, British Broadcasting Company is making the effort to get citizens of other countries to care for those in need. For example when Haiti had their earthquake, not only did the United States give money to help the country, but the United Kingdom, Sweden, and many others gave as well. Please refer to the table according to The Guardian. International business is becoming more important in our everyday lives, especially with companies like BBC in the news.

Media Mission Statements

What are some interesting mission statements or values statements of some of the companies in your industry? What do their statements reveal about them?

A mission statement is a formal document that states the objectives of a company or organization. Within the media industry many companies have interesting mission statements.

Walt Disney’s mission statement is, “to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information.” Walt Disney has definitely held up to their reputation of wanting to be the “world’s largest producers of entertainment and information.” Whenever I think of movies I think of Disney. Just last night I watched Tangled, a new Disney animation.

The McGraw-Hill Companies also in the media industry has an interesting mission statement. “We are dedicated to creating a workplace that respects and values people from diverse backgrounds and enables all employees to do their best work. It is an inclusive environment where the unique combination of talents, experiences, and perspectives of each employee makes our business success possible. Respecting the individual means ensuring that the workplace is free of discrimination and harassment. Our commitment to equal employment and diversity is a global one as we serve customers and employ people around the world. We see it as a business imperative that is essential to thriving in a competitive global marketplace.” I think McGraw-Hill’s mission statement is a great mission statement, because it doesn’t care if they are number one in the industry, they care more about their employees.

Netflix representing the movie portion of the media industry has a short and sweet mission statement. “Our appeal and success are built on providing the most expansive selection of DVDs; an easy way to choose movies; and fast, free delivery.” I own a Netflix account and don’t know what I did before without one. It is very convenient to not have to go outside my house to get a movie that I want to watch. I can either pull it up on the instant queue, or I can order it and have it come in the mail. Netflix’s mission statement mimics Walt Disney’s. They want to be the best in their industry and believe they are.

Lastly, I will focus on the radio part of media with SIRIUS Satellite Radio. “SIRIUS is changing the way America listens to music, sports, news, and entertainment.” SIRIUS mimics that of Netflix with a short and sweet mission statement, but it also mimics that of McGraw-Hill. Although it doesn’t have to do much with its employees, it has more to do with the customers, which is where media is headed these days. Pleasing the customer is the most important for any business who want to rule the media world. SIRIUS Satellite Radio is playing it smart by coming up with a mission statement that targets consumers of their product.

Supply and Demand in the Media Market

In Medias Res was asked to discuss the supply and demand in the industry.

Dow Jones Industry Tracker - Media

Supply and Demand

Media is a big part of our daily lives. My family watches the daily news every morning and evening, as well as listening to music, using organizations such as Facebook and Twitter. But, we as a society also use media every second of every day. Almost everyone has a smart phone, where media can be stored and accessed twenty-four seven.

Media is a tricky industry to follow. It can have a good month or a bad one depending on the products sold. The graph above shows the Dow Jones Industry Tracker for Media for one year. Since October, the stock for media has been steadily rising. However, as you can see, mid-July and early August shows that there was a significant drop in the media industry. What caused this drop?

Media is a quick changing industry. In the words of Heidi Klum, “One day you’re in. The next day you’re out.” This quote holds true to any industry, media especially. Demand for media is getting higher and higher. And supply is as well. The producers are listening to customer input as well as predicting what the customers want in the future. Smart phones weren’t a huge demand. Yet, the producers still made the phones. Now, some people can’t live without their smart phones for more than one minute.

Society is now demanding more online or on-the-go products some of which include e-books, applications for smart phones, and new gaming systems. There is also quite a demand for music these days. i-Tunes isn’t the only cite you can download from. There are illegal ways to download as well as cites like Pandora where you can create your own play list, YouTube and Grooveshark are other examples as well. As long as media is ever changing, the supply and demand for media will be forever changing as well.