Should I be eating my Words? Did Steve make a Booboo? Sour Grapes?

Well let me start by giving due credit to the man who brought out the contrarian phone with no buttons – I have eulogized him earlier here

And he recently launched the “new” iPhone 4

Steve Jobs Introducing the iPhone 4

Well inspite the glitches, yes it is considerably a better phone…

Sharper Display - Check,

2 Balls - Check

1GHz A4 Chip - (What’s that? Anybody?)

Sleek Design – Check

but what else is new?

Nothing – Check! Here - All other features (and more) were available on competitors' products

So who really benefits from iPhone 4?

Mostly Apple… not the users…

Steve has rushed into creating this product to stave off growing competition from the Android OS based smartphone bonanza that’s sweeping the globe… 

And Apple’s not alone BlackBerry has gone retail (Read Unlocked, Officially Carrier Free), brought out entry level 8530, and launched the touchscreen based Storm series.

It seems the fruit have (or have I ?) gone sour…

End Note – I am inclined to agree Marty Cooper - the inventor of the mobile phone… and feel modern cellphones will go the way of the electronic typewriter (that were touted as the next biggest thing in the early 1980s) when the PC and word processing came along….

I feel the advent of a new paradigm is closing in… for better or worse


Watch out! While Google might not have Steve Job or Richard Branson Charisma> I'm betting on Google's platforms to make the most money for others  - I still think Buzz, Wave and The Gphone have yet to reveal their aces...

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Summary Notes -

1) Prior to the iPhone there was just Blackberry RIM in the Smartphone consideration set

2) the iPhone gave mass acceptance to no button smartphones

3) Like in the PCs space> Phones are now being bought based on components and OS

4) the Nexus One has been designed by Google Engineers (arguably the best in the world)

5) Android has taken charge in promoting Open Source Mobile OS (ref.> sample table below)

6) The iPhone 4 would not exist if Nexus One Had not been launched by Google

7) The iPhone 4 is NOT REVOLUTIONARY - It's Evolutionary - spurred by competition

Links in this post –

http://aseemseth.blogspot.com/2010/03/is-it-bird-is-it-plane-noooo-its.html

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=bmZkrdhOjeQ

http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10259552.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8639590.stm


___________

                             Smartphone Owners TOP 5 EUNations (' 000)

                    April-2009     April-2010     % Change

Smartphone              41,224         56,974          38%

Symbian                 28,014         33,146          18%

Apple                    3,846         10,019         161%

Microsoft                6,719          7,268           8%

RIM                      2,456          4,594          87%

Google                      71          1,804        2429%

_______________________________________________________________________


“Google’s Android is most certainly the one to watch,” added Jeremy Copp. “It has gained about 1.7 million users in a very short period of time and now accounts for 3 percent of the European smartphone market. Crucially, Android user mobile media consumption is very high – slightly behind but comparable to that of Apple. 89 percent use mobile media, 78 percent applications and 83 percent browse the mobile internet. The Droids are coming and current demand for the iPhone 4 implies a titanic battle between Apple and Google is imminent.”

A Eulogy to LMB from a Jacobian

In Bad & Sad Taste

This is a Sad statement of the state of affairs in Missionary schools including in Calcutta

Where a Boy Committed suicide after being caned by the Principal recently

Corporate Communications 104

Corporate Communication Processes & Strategies - Managing IMAGE

As mentioned in the 'Corporate Communications 103' knol  - Corporate Communication is not panacea but a function and tool that - 

1) Prioritises
2) Organises 
3) Disseminates information, and
4) Creates Dialogue 
between the Stakeholder/s and the Organisation
in order to modify, improve and enhance the Image of the Organisation and its initiatives and offerings.

The objective of Corporate Communications is to bring as close together the Actual Identity of the Organisationwith the Perceived Image of the Organisation, among its stakeholders. 

As illustrated in the diagram above, The task of Corporate Communications is to ensure more overlap and greater consonance between the two, though in practicality a perfect fit is never achieved.

However, a Holistic & Comprehensive Communications Strategy, with a firm Top Management Commitment and Buy-in from all other Departments can create a near ideal situation, where all stakeholders are neutral, if not, positively inclined towards the organisation and its offerings.

Cheers,

Aseem Seth.

Corporate Communications 103

Stakeholders and the Organisation

As stated in my earlier post 'Communications 102' - Corporate Communications, is the art and science of how an organisation interacts with its stakeholders. It is the method of communicating and aligning perceptionsof stakeholders with the actuality of the organisation's activities and views.

There are numerous stakeholders in an organisation, and include - 
1)  The Shareholders
2)  The Board of Directors
3)  The Management
4)  Employees
5)  Employees' families and extended social network (explained later)
5)  Suppliers & Contractors
6)  Customers, Buyers & Clients
7)  Government Agencies (For eg. Tax Departments)
8)  NGOs & Action Groups
9)  Professional Bodies 
10) Education & Research Institutes
11) The National Public
12) The Global Community & General Public
13) The Media

It is the task of Corporate Communications to align all these various groups' perceptions with the actuality of the organisation and its activities.

Each stakeholder has a different agenda, a separate Point of View (POV) and distinct expectations  - from the organisation, the Art of Corporate Communications stems from its ability to serve all these .

For illustration, Shareholders are interested in the bottom line, employees are interested in HR policies and career growth, Suppliers are interested in the business they can get from the organisation, The customer is interested in the Product or Service, etc.

So how does Corporate Communication deal with all these divergent interests, That is the Science of Corporate Communications. Corporate Communications has an arsenal of weaponry at its disposal to deal with these stakeholders and their concerns. A well thought out and planned communication strategy uses various facilities such as Internal Communications, External Communications, PR, Public Relations, Media Relations, etc.

However, Corporate Communications cannot function solo  - without a sound Management Strategy & Inter-departmental Support. Corporate Communication is the culmination of all an organisation's activities, that result in a positive impact amongst its stakeholders.

For instance, Corporate Communications Cannot simply communicate great bottom lines without organisational results and finance inputs, or great HR initiatives without HR backing, or amazing products and services without Production & Marketing support.

A diagram to illustrate – 

As is evident, each and every facet of an organisation affects the "Image of the Organisation" amongst its stakeholders. Corporate Communication is not panacea but a function and tool that - 
1) Prioritises,
2) Organises,
3) Disseminates information, and
4) Creates Dialogue 
between the Stakeholder/s and the Organisation
in order to modify, improve and enhance the Image of the Organisation and its initiatives and offerings.

We delve deeper into these Corporate Communication Processes in my next post - 
'Corporate Communications 104'

Keep Smiling!