Cisco is a successful communication company in the US that deals with the provision of communication solutions to its customers. Cisco’s corporate headquarters are located in 170 West Tasman Dr. San Jose, California. Cisco corporation aims at creating lasing partnerships with its customers an aiding the customers to establish solutions that will assist them in the achieving of their goals depending on which ventures they are engaged in.
The concept of provision of communication solutions was began by Mr. and Mrs. Bosack who were husband and wife and had not found means to communicate with each other since they were located at different buildings. To counter this problem the multi-protocol router was established.
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Since then Cisco communications has shaped the future of the internet by providing it’s customers with value and opportunity and has over time become the worldwide internet leader in networking. Cisco company goals are to transform how people communicate, connect and collaborate.Over the years Cisco has successfully captured market transitions. In 1997, they combined voice and video into one and in2000 they moved to the Networks of Networks and the network became the platform for all related technologies and the basis of customer solutions. Most recent accomplishment of Cisco is the change of Collaboration and We b 2.0 technologies (Network World Inc., 2002).The success of Cisco communication can be place on its ability to modify their products to suit the ever changing markets.
The company has evolved from Enterprise Service Provider solutions to Addressing customers needs in also small, Consumer and commercial levels. Cisco also aims at making a Human Network i.e. making the world a smaller place through connectivity and collaboration. The use of internet brings people together, eliminates boundaries and distance and at the same time expand the each customer’s passion and effort. The success of the company can also be attributed to the continuous research and development that the company engages in every year. The company spends a total of approximately $5.3 billion on research on development.
Research enables the company to come up with appropriate and suitable solutions for its customers (Network World Inc., 2002).Cisco success can also be attributed to the fostering of internal innovation; the company is ranked at the top with reference to ability to successful reinvent and innovate themselves. The company also lays importance to partnering with the best of companies that offer similar services, partnering ensures that customers receive only the best of standards. Direct investments also allow the company to acquire visibility, experience and knowledge in new technologies and markets.
The leadership and management skills of Cisco Company can also be attributed to the continuous success of the company. Most recently it was ranked number five in the list of the most successful companies in the US. With revenue of over $37 billion in the fourth quarter which is a revenue change of 18.)% from the previous quarter, things can only look up for this company. The net profit for the most recent fourth quarter was over $8billion which was a 24.7 % change upwards from the previous quarter (Network World Inc., 2002).Several leadership theories have been implemented into the company so as to see the company flourish more. Contingency theory entails the analysis of the environment and the situation of the company.
To boost internal innovation, it is imperative that the management of the company creates an environment that makes it suitable for its staff to contribute effectively with new ideas and suggestions. Pun (2009) talks of limitations with reference to the use of innovational theory and states that innovations may be inhibited by the inability of the company to fund these innovations and also the inability of the partners to have available capital for new innovations.Situational theory also proposes that the management should first assess the situations variable before taking an action (Bonner, 2009).
For Cisco Corporation, the management applies this theory by assessing and understanding that the technological world is always changing and that for the company to remain relevant it has to keep up. With this in mind the company sets aside sufficient funds for research and development.Participatory theories are also applied to enhance success where the leadership of Cisco has to take into account the contribution and input that the employees and other partners make towards the development of better solutions to meet the demands of the customers.
This, as a concept, passes the common sense test; how else to manage the complexity of multiple. The main challenge with Cisco Products and services is that most of them are short term. This is because of the ever changing technological world and to keep up with the pace the employees have to be well informed on the technological developments. The customers of these products may also incur unmanageable cost with the implementation of new solutions over and over again.
Conclusion
The leadership of a company is significant in the growth and development of any organizations. Cisco Company has continued to grow in leaps and bounds over the years and this is because of the good managerial and leadership at the helm of the company.Companies should focus more on the leadership in their institutions as it it’s via this leadership that the company is able to move forward in reference to achieving its goals.
Reference:
Bonner, P. (2009) Identifying Ethical Code and Issues in Leadership. Argosy University
Network World Inc., (2002) Network World. IDG Network World Inc.
Punt, E. (2009) the Boeing Company: Case Study. Argosy University
