Critical Thinking and Leadership Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Critical Thinking and Leadership - Case Study Example Basically, the authors were right in concluding that Yahoo can be viewed as a phenomenon considering that it succeeded in the absence of a sound industry structure or huge capitalization, that what its owners had was a tandem of a great idea and a computer. Primarily, Yahoo describes itself as a "leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company" and because of this, has cleverly managed to stay out of the fray as gigantic conglomerates such as Google and Microsoft fight each other over everything from search dominance to giving a platform for next generation web development. It isn't very clear though whether Yahoo's manner of positioning itself in the industry is just incidental or a deliberate strategy. However, as noted by experts, the company has discovered what could become a very sensible way to compete with a vast number of big and capable players - target multiple areas like music, search and e-commerce, without vexing a major competitor. As one senior director of information technology at Wharton intimated, "There is a lot to be said for positioning yourself in a way that you are not encroaching on Microsoft's turf Google is on Microsoft's radar right now like no other company" (Whitehouse, 2005) But what makes Yahoo different Or what is it doing to make itself different Perhaps one reason Yahoo doesn't get the attention (and ire) of Google is that it is not easy to sort out and pigeonhole. Yes, it contends with Google in the search division, but it has a multitude of other services and assets like the Hot Jobs (an employment site), the Yahoo 360 (blogging and community site) and a shopping network highlighting big and small merchants. Apparently, this media firm's basic objective is to "provide users and advertisers with richer and more relevant experiences....Yahoo reaches 73% of all Internet users in the U.S. in any given month, which speaks to the breadth of the product suite. Yahoo reaches more people in more ways than any other company on the web." But looking closely, Yahoo's success shouldn't merely be attributed to the fact that it rested on simple rules as its founding strategy or operated on a "hands-on" environment. It is simply because Yahoo was an idea whose time has come. Yahoo's creators saw a need which was turned into an opportunity. Its creation or emergence coincided with what millions of people needed at the moment. What they did was like "striking while the iron is hot" and seized the moment. When the authors wrote "The new economy's most profound strategic implication is that companies must capture unanticipated, fleeting opportunities in order to succeed," (Eisendhardt & Sull, 2001, p. 108), they weren't actually talking of a fresh entrepreneurial gospel. They were just talking of a trait or an entrepreneurial spirit that is certainly intrinsic not only of 21st