Reference no: EM133517792 , Length: word count:900

Shifting direction at Garmin

As the global leader in satellite positioning technology, Garmin Ltd recently hit a milestone number. It has sold more than 100 million of its products to customers - from motorists to runners to geocachers and more - who depend on the company's equipment to 'help show them the way'. Many of you probably have a dashboard-mounted navigation device in your car and chances are it might be a Garmin. For example, the Garmin Nuvi can be had for less than $200. In Australia, Garmin's clients include retailers such as Harvey Norman, JB Hi¬Fi, Rebel and BCF (Boating Camping Fishing). The company produces its consumer and more professional GPS receivers for a wide range of user segments, such as car navigation, fitness, outdoor, marine and aviation. Despite the 100 million milestone, the company's core business - car navigation systems - has now started to decline due to changing circumstances. A number of cars now have dashboard command centres which combine smartphone docking stations with navigation systems. Sales of Garmin devices have therefore declined as consumers are increasingly using their smartphones for directions and maps. However, have you ever tried to use your smartphone navigation system while holding a phone to look at its display?

It is dangerous to steer while holding a phone. Also, GPS apps can 'crash' if multiple apps are running. The company is therefore taking explicitly aggressive actions to team up with automakers to embed its GPS systems in car dashboards. In the United States, it has teamed up with Chrysler, and its dashboard systems can be found in several models of Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler vehicles. Garmin also is working with Honda, Toyota and Daimler/Mercedes for dashboard systems in the Asian, European and world markets. Despite these new market shifts, customers have gotten used to the GPS devices and it has become an essential part of their lives. For this reason, Garmin's executive team believes there is still a market for dedicated navigation systems. It is trying to breathe some life into the product with new features, better designs and more value for the consumers money. For instance, some of the new features include faster searching for addresses or points of interest, voice-activated navigation, information about traffic flow, school zones, highlighting exit services such as petrol stations and restaurants, as well as links to personalised search engines for information about businesses and stores based on the users preferences and history. However, at the same time as these changes are taking place, managers at Garmin are also shifting direction. While navigation systems for cars may be declining for Garmin, it is now finding new opportunities in the outdoor and fitness segments where it is constantly developing new wearable GPS navigation models such as its Vivo brand, which is second to its rival Fitbit in the fitness/activity tracker market. Another growing segment is the marine market, with boating and fishing enthusiasts keen to utilise GPS technology in their pursuits.

Question 1: What role do you think goals would play in planning the change in direction for the company? List some goals you think might be important. (Make sure these goals have the characteristics of well-written goals.)

*Question 2. What types of plans would be needed in an industry such as this one? (For instance, long-term or short-term, or both?) Explain why you think these plans would be important.

a. What specific operational plans might be required to seamlessly integrate Garmin's GPS technology into various car dashboard systems?
b. How might strategic plans be crucial in expanding Garmin's presence in the outdoor and fitness segments while facing competition from
other wearable device manufactures?
c. Why would tactical plans be essential to ensure that Garmin's marine-related products meet the specific needs and preferences of boating and fishing enthusiasts?
d. How could contingency plans help Garmin address potential disruptions in its supply chain or unexpected changes in consumer behaviour?

Question 3. What contingency factors might affect the planning Garmin executives have to do? How might those contingency factors affect the planning?

Question 4. What planning challenges do you think Garmin executives face with continuing to be the global market leader? How should they cope with those challenges?

Personal Presentation Structure
o Outline of your presentation
o What are you going to talk about?
o Case findings
o Summary/ referencing to the case and connect it to your presentations
o Theoretical underpinnings
o Present your research including articles, books, chapters, news, etc. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED including the two books "Management: the essentials" and "Management" in the provided reading list on Canvas, relevant chapters can be found in Module overview.
o Key Findings/ conclusion
o Suggested word count: 750-900 words for 6 minutes speech. If you decide to answer the sub questions provided by Joyce, each answer should include 150-200 words. Avoid jargon and articles that you cannot understand 100% since no palm cards and reading are allowed, we must memorise everything. Creating a solid structure with smooth flow is the easiest way to memorise your script. You can include lots of graphs, tables, and articles with labels/names/numbers/flow charts to avoid memorising too many details. Do not overflow the slide by words, no one would read them beside you.

*Note: Need only Question 2