Technology Resource Network Capacity Design

The author of the article I have chosen writes about the business situation "Facebook has successfully overhauled its business before. This time will be harder" (Duffy, 2022). Facebook, now known as Meta, was able to successfully transition their business model from desktop platforms to mobile first applications in 2014. Announced in October 2021, Facebook is pivoting their business model again; Meta is shifting their focus from generating revenue through mobile applications to investing in the "metaverse." The "metaverse" is an immersive virtual world where users can socialize and communicate with other users through digital avatars. Facebook's shift to focus on the metaverse may be due to several reasons. Facebook's user base is stagnating (and aging) and its core advertising business model on mobile applications are met with new challenges due to operating system changes made by Apple (Duffy, 2022). Coupled with declining financial quarterly reports, it is clear their mobile application business model is under threat. Changes in the business model, supply chain management model, and further investment to build out the technology resource network capacity is necessary to continue the organization's sustainable growth. I think the key supply chain management issues are the undefined path to the metaverse and mounting problems in the real world. CEO Mark Zuckerberg's goal as a leader is to shift Facebook's business model to the metaverse, but it is unclear how management will achieve his vision. Previously, Facebook was able to pivot successfully from desktop applications to mobile applications because mobile technology was already a flourishing platform. "Hundreds of millions of smartphones were sold by 2012, the year Facebook transitioned to mobile. By contrast, only an estimated 9.4 million VR headsets in 2021... were shipped" (Duffy, 2022). In other words, virtual reality is still years away before becoming as ubiquitous as mobile technology. Additionally, rival competitors like Apple, TikTok, and Snap only exacerbate the challenges with shifting business models. The combination of these new factors indicate that proper leadership and organizational change management will be needed to successfully transition the organization's vision to the metaverse. I think CEO Mark Zuckerberg's actions are warranted due to changes in market conditions impacting Meta's mobile application business model; stagnating user growth indicate the current model is hitting a wall. From the article, Mark Zuckerberg has done a great job as a leader to set the direction for where the company is heading, but the transition will be unsuccessful without proper supply chain management and investing in technology resource network capacity. Along with the management responsibilities defined by Kotter, I believe managers should also focus on their influences to work culture. The Google Oxygen project results showed that good managers directly impact the work culture and performance of a team (Garvin 2013). Therefore, as a manager I would focus on work culture because "Culture can have a significant influence on what goes on in organizations, how things are done, how the organization is experienced by employees and customers, and the competitive advantage or disadvantage of the organizations" (Warrick, 2017). This means the organization's greatest competitive advantage is their employees; fostering a work culture environment to enable high performing teams will define the path to the metaverse and increase Meta's chances of successfully shifting business models.

References

Duffy, C. (2022, February 5). Facebook has successfully overhauled its business before. this time will be harder. CNN. Retrieved February 5, 2022, from https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/05/tech/meta-facebook-crossroads/index.html

Garvin, D.A., Wagonfeld, A.B. & Kind, L. (2013). Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter. 313110-PDF-ENG

Kotter, J. P. (2001). What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business Review, 79

Warrick, D.D. (2017) What Leaders Need to Know About Organizational Culture. Kelly School of Business. BH816-PDF-ENG

Questions 1) Have you been to or are interested in the metaverse? Why or why not? 2) What issues do you think Meta will encounter shifting their business model from mobile applications to the metaverse?