Leading Through Disruption Assignment Sample

Introduction Of Leading Through Disruption

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Digital disruption is when there is a rise in new and improved digital technologies and models that have a direct effect on the existing value proposition of an organization's goods & services. There is a huge influx of new technologies in the modern business world and this report aims to focus on the case of Netflix and how it needs to deal with these disruptions.

Task 1 - The case for change

Netflix, Inc. is an over-the-top content provider based out of Los Gatos, California in the U.S. Netflix was founded in the year 1997. The primary business that Netflix is engaged in is a streaming service that is subscription-based. They offer an online stream from a wide library of television series, movies, and in-house productions. Netflix is one of the leaders of digital disruptions and keeps on improving its business model time after time.

Netflix has always been known for major digital disruptions and the high rate of technological advancements that Netflix has is the secret of the brand's success. The advancement Netflix focuses on contemporarily is known as Cosmos. It is a new microservices-based system that has asynchronous workflows and also presents server-less functions. Netflix is one of the first streaming platforms to engage in this service. It is primarily for user convenience. It will serve numerous new users and have the support system of high throughput services responsible for the consumption of countless CPUs at a time. It is a system that has latency-sensitive workloads.

Objectives:

• Through Cosmos, Netflix aims to increase user interaction with minimum glitches on its platform.
• A serverless facility wherein countless users can access video content infinitely at ease with no time limitations.
• The main objective is to engage with more and more consumers at a given point in time.

Threats:

• Amazon prime has come out as the biggest competitor of Netflix and is even bettering the letter in many aspects of OTT streaming. The market is slowly becoming evenly split between the two.
• There is the uncertainty of investment as it is highly customer-centric and technologies can get discarded by the customers on a whim.
• Apart from Amazon prime, other niche-based competitors are emerging. Hulu Plus, YouTube, Flixster, and others (Golubov, 2020).

Task 2 – Capture Insights

For collecting data on digital disruption Netflix will need to apply varied different techniques. Two major ways are available to do this. In the first, gaining appropriate levels of inside information is required and the second one is to deeply analyze what trends are prevalent in the market contemporarily. To do it properly situational awareness and behavioral awareness have to be used.

Situational awareness:

The prime source in this is the usage of the Internet of Things (IoT). Social media has a major role to play in this particular technique. Listings on social media can be particularly helpful for Netflix in gathering information about what the consumers desire. This would be immensely helpful in realizing the number of technological advancements that are going around in different demographics and how these can help Netflix in bettering its Cosmos system. An understanding of consumer behavior will be gained through this and change agents will be identified (Ramasoota and Kitikamdhorn, 2021).

The data of competitor firms will be available to be analyzed through these online social media hearings as companies do announce new technologies and releases on social media platforms. Even the vision the competitor is trying to pull off can be analyzed by this.

Behavioural awareness:

The behaviors and buying patterns of customers are of prime importance to analyze and control groups are to be held for the same. Another way Netflix can get the information is with AI and machine learning wherein it can track how long on average a user spends on their platform and what kind of content is streamed by him/her. This can help Netflix in knowing the user capacity of the current system and give insights on how to appropriately make changes to improve engagement.

One of the best ways to fetch data is to take anonymous feedback from the employees of the business. This can be supremely effective as the employees understand the business in a better way and can give an honest analysis of the changes that are needed. Netflix has a wide employee base and has employees all over the world so an anonymous feedback technique will be useful in all aspects (Siegel, 2017).

Task 3 – Make a fast decision

Digital disruption can have a catastrophic impact on the working of a business. Making swift decisions is one of the most important aspects of moving ahead in the era of technological volatility wherein new technology pops up every now and then.

Data-driven decisions:

Netflix is widely known for its data-centric decisions. The company focuses majorly on analyzing data and formulating policies around them. Data-driven decisions are decisions that are made by fetching large chunks of data and processing it through the software available. BiG EVAL is a software that can be used by Netflix to process its data and formulate data silos that will eventually help in effective problem-solving. After the usage of this particular software, Netflix will have insights on the results that can be fetched with the implementation of Cosmos and its serverless function. Both internal and external data will be assessed and interpreted with the usage of BiG EVAL by Netflix (Wiseman, 2019).

Inclusive decision-making:

An appropriate mix of personnel has to be discovered and brought in for effective inclusive decision-making. Netflix operates globally and people from different demographics might have different views on the disruptions. The concerns of varied groups are to be taken care of. An understanding is derived from this that collaborative work will be at the forefront of disruptions. The decision will be in respect to increasing the engagement of users and holding countless users on the platform simultaneously without any glitch.

The inclusion of the software will take into account all the unconscious biases that happen while decision-making. Since Netflix is a global organization, one demographic can have totally different inputs to the disruption than the inputs of the other. In the decision-making process, the concerns of all are welcomed for a more well-rounded analytical decision.

Including BiG EVAL is absolutely vital while taking inclusive decisions for Netflix because the workforce is a diverse one and needs to properly grasp the steps in the decision-making process and the changes that will come with it. New opportunities can be grasped Netflix with the same and with such analytical decision-making and also help in defining work appropriately to the workforce (Patchunka, 2019).

Task 4 – Acquire and engage talent

Digital disruption can be handled effectively by Netflix with the help of an informed and competent workforce. Acquiring the right talent with the right competencies will smoothen out the disruption process and take the company to new heights. There are a variety of tools that shall acquiring a talented and skilled workforce.

Human Cloud: Human clouds are recruitment consultancies that facilitate a skilled workforce as and when required and as per the client needs. Netflix, for example, will need a developer who has had good experience in cloud computing and also the personnel having experience in microservice technology. These consultancies develop a pipeline of candidates adequately skilled for the job and the client can then come in and churn out the best possible people required for the job. This form of recruitment is way better than a traditional one as a wider variety of prospective employees are targeted and the best fit is found from amongst them (Schnitzer, 019).

Talent Acquisition: The talent acquisition team of Netflix can take the help of firms like Entelo and Gapjumpers to churn out relevant prospects for its digital disruption project. Entelo cross-checks the job requirements the client has with the CVs they have in their pipeline. Gapjumpers carries forward from here and gives out assessments to these prospects to analyze their skills with respect to their CVs. These help in assessing the skills of prospects and lets the TA team know whether one will be able to resolve the complex job problems that will arrive (Hills, 2018).

Talent Allocation: Netflix has quite a task to perform with this digital disruption, hence the allocation of the right talent at the right place becomes utmost important. Netflix can take the help of ActionHRM. It is a prominent workforce management software that helps in bifurcates the skills of the employees in accordance with the job requirements and gives an efficient allocation of human resources.

Task 5 – Digitally ready culture

Leadership has to have an important role assigned in any kind of digital disruption as it guides the organization through the volatile phases. Different styles and types of managers and leaders can be appointed by Netflix for different domains of the disruption so that everything is carried out smoothly.

Formal leaders:

• Cautious: A cautious and engaging leader can be chosen to seer the disruption strategy in a comprehensive manner. Such a leader will pick all the team members at Netflix's digital disruption in such a way that all have a deep and comprehensive understanding of what actually has to be achieved.
• Influencer: Such a leader will be vital as there will be employees in different branches at Netflix who might not welcome the change digital disruption brings. There might be employees at Netflix having a traditional mentality and an influencer is required as a leader to bring about a change in mindsets (Hendrikx and Castro, 2021).
• Transparent: A leader will have to be transparent in every step of the project. Implementation of Cosmos requires a high level of skill and management as it deals with intricate details and can have a huge impact on the revenues. Transparency will be welcomed with open arms in Netflix's leadership regime.

Informal leaders:

• Motivators: The nature of disruptions is such that they can offset even the best of employees because of their uniqueness. A motivating leader is required at such corners by Netflix (Wayne, 2018)
• Networkers: A technological disruption cannot be phased out on its own by an organization. Supporting firms are mandatory. As with the case of Cosmos, Netflix might need to outsource its microservice development, and hence a networker as a leader would be absolutely vital for them in such a scenario.

Task 6 – Steer Collaboration

To make the development and implementation of Cosmos a success, a variety of methods and practices are to be implemented. For such a complex project implementation collaboration within teams is very vital. The personnel working in various departments need to be on the same page with everyone else for the project to be successful.

Microsoft Teams: This software would be really helpful to Netflix for contacting all demographics and arranging meetings with all the major branches on short notice whenever needed. There are times when critical decisions are to be taken swiftly and Microsoft teams will be very helpful for the same as it has a capacity to hold 100+ participants at a time (Keast, 2018).

Scrum: Scrum arranges small tasks into groups so that due attention is given to each of them. Adequate task management is necessary for Cosmos as it requires certain vital steps to be taken. This will help out Netflix in a way that new recruits will be assigned specific tasks and timely completion will be maintained.

Hybrid Approach: All the units will be grouped as agile and functional units under the umbrella of a hybrid approach. A core structure needs to be formulated that will, later on, be followed by the units bifurcated rigidly. Shared values and ethics will be the main points laid down by the core structure. Values and ethics like the usage of technology will be practiced within this (Nahuel, 2021).

These approaches and collaborative effort will steer the group members towards the task assigned and make them more committed to whatever role they've been given.

Task 7 – Leader selection

A varied combination of leadership styles will work as the Cosmos project is highly technical but also requires a collaborative effort and less rigidness and resistance from the employees. Different leaders will look after different functionalities and bring out apex performances from the group members.

Democratic: A democratic leader will let the teams at various branches have a say in what technologies are to be used for the development of the Cosmos project. A proper collaborative effort is vital for such a huge project and a democratic leader will let everyone feel connected with each other. Such a leader will make sure that there is proper engagement within the teams and within functionalities as well (Cherla, et al., 2021).

Affiliate: Such a leader is empathetic and looks after the employees working with due care. An affiliate leader plays an important role in creating healthy relationships as such a leader will be able to communicate with the employees on an interpersonal level and get honest feedback on the loopholes that can sink the entire project.

Visionary: This is a leader who focuses solely on the objectives that have been laid out and work direly towards making the project effective and efficient. A project as big and lengthy as Cosmos needs the end objectives to be clear and followed with full dedication. The competition in the online video streaming industry is growing day by day and a visionary leader is needed to take Netflix to new heights with its digital disruption project (Aguiar and Waldfogel, 2018).

This task showcases the role of a leader and how the successful implementation of a digital disruption project depends majorly on the leadership style the management chooses to go with.

Conclusion

From this analysis, it is clear that in order to make the Netflix project Cosmos a successful one many things have to be looked at. Starting from all the highly complex and technology-driven aspects to the human aspects of the project, everything has to work in tandem with each other in order to make this project a success.

References

• Aguiar, L. and Waldfogel, J. (2018) “Netflix: Global Hegemon or Facilitator of Frictionless Digital Trade?(report)(author Abstract),”Journal of Cultural Economics, 42(3), p. 419.
• Cherla, A., Howard, N. and Mossialos, E. (2021) “The ‘netflix Plus Model': Can Subscription Financing Improve Access to Medicines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?,”Health Economics, Policy and Law, 16(2), pp. 113–123. doi: 10.1017/S1744133120000031.
• Golubov, N. (2020) “Netflix Nations: The Geography of Digital Distribution,”Film Quarterly, 73(3), pp. 109–109. doi: 10.1525/fq.2020.73.3.109.
• Hendrikx, A. and Castro, D. (2021) “Netflix's Community Relationship Management. an Analysis of Its Facebook-Usa Page,”Journal of Media Business Studies, 1-18, pp. 1–18. doi: 10.1080/16522354.2021.1932396.
• Hills, M. (2018) “Netflix, Transfandom and ‘trans Tv': Where Data-Driven Fandom Meets Fan Reflexivity,”Critical Studies in Television, 13(4), pp. 495–498. doi: 10.1177/1749602018797738.
• Keast, J. (2018) “From Tropfest to Netflix,”Inside Film: If, 182(182), pp. 10–11.
• Nahuel, R. (2021) “Netflix and Over the Top Politics? The Mechanism Tv Series and the Dynamics of Entertainment Intervention,”Critical Studies in Television, 16(1), pp. 47–61. doi: 10.1177/1749602020980139.
• Patchunka, C. (2019) “Netflix Killed the Cable Tv Star: Cable Tv Is Definitionally Disadvantaged for Use of Artificial Intelligence,”Federal Communications Law Journal, 71(2), pp. 275–298.
• Ramasoota, P. and Kitikamdhorn, A. (2021) “‘The Netflix Effect' in Thailand: Industry and Regulatory Implications,”Telecommunications Policy, 45(7). doi: 10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102156.
• Schnitzer, B. (2019) “Netflix: Canadian (dis)content. Competing Sovereignties and the Cultural Politics of Cultural Policy,”The American Review of Canadian Studies, 49(1), pp. 85–104.
• Siegel, B. (2017) “The Netflix Effect: Technology and Entertainment in the 21st Century,”Journal of Popular Culture, 50(6), pp. 1443–1446. doi: 10.1111/jpcu.12615.
• Wayne, M. L. (2018) “Netflix, Amazon, and Branded Television Content in Subscription Video On-Demand Portals,”Media, Culture & Society, 40(5), pp. 725–741. doi: 10.1177/0163443717736118.
• Wiseman, P. (2019) “Netflix Calls for the Oecd to Focus on Revenue, Not Sales,”International Tax Review, (dec 17, 2019).