Introduction
Nintendo is a multi-national corporation situated in Kyoto, Japan. The corporation was founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi with purposes of producing handmade hanafuda cards. However, this was not sufficient in ensuring the success that the company’s leadership had in mind influencing the company’s trial of other small niche businesses which by the year 1963 included a cab company as well as a Love hotel. The company developed to a video game company which is now deemed to have a high influential capacity within the entire industry in Japan as well as across the globe. This is as well coupled with rankings of the company in third position of Japan’s most valuable companies. This is as well influenced by the fact that the company serves a market value of about US$85 billion (Nintendo, 2010).
The company is not only involved in dealing with video games but as well serves as a majority owner of Seattle Mariners which is a team of the Major League Baseball. As a major player in the video game the company began by securing rights of distributing the video game console of the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan. However, in 1977 the company began the production of its own hardware with use of Color TV Game home video game consoles. This influenced production of four versions of these consoles in which case each console included variations of a single game. The venturing of the company in the video game industry has been coupled with success as well as growth of the company (Nintendo, 2010). This is in the sense that the company has reported sales of about 565 million hardware units as well as 3.4 billion software units based on statistics of 2010. It is in this regard that the marketing strategy employed by the company is laid in focus in respect to the competition that the company faces from Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Financial performance of the company
The financial performance of the company of the company has improved when compared to its position in 2006. However, the financial performance of the company has suffered a major blow the following economic recession that has rocked the entire globe recently. This is based on the fact that it has influenced the purchasing power of most of its customers influencing the economic performance of the company. In this regard the revenue that the company collects has witnessed an increase based on comparisons with its position in 2006. Increased sales by the company in respect to both hardware and software are as well evident of increased financial performance by the company. This is based on the fact that the company has reported sales of about 565 million in hardware as well as 3.4 billion in software. Such increased sales report influenced a rise in the financial performance of the company a factor that is highly influenced by the strengths that the company has (Nintendo, 2010).
The financial performance of the company can as well be attributed to the fact that the company has recently launched the Wii which has influenced increased sales. The fact that the Wii is based on low cost hardware as well as soft ware has as well influenced the improved financial performance of the company. This is in the sense that the company incurs low costs of products while experiencing high turn over rates. This signifies increased profits margins influencing reports of improved financial positions of the company. The company’s improved financial status is as well influenced by the fact that the company’s marketing strategy is of novice gamers who including seniors as well as adults. The financial potential attributed to adults and seniors influenced increased turn over rates thus influencing improvement of the company’s financial potential (Nintendo, 2010). The underlying argument is the fact that the company’s financial position has improved when compared to its position in 2006.
This is in light of the fact that the company has reported increased sales in both hardware and software influenced by the strengths of the company. This is in the sense that the company offers gaming products that are both influential to seniors and adults thus influencing increased turn over rates thus improved financial position of the company.
Marketing position of the company
Marketing in the company has improved drastically as compared to what existed in 2006. This is in the sense that the company has been actively involved in marketing strategies that are aimed at improving the company’s position in the industry. This has as well been influenced by the economic recession that has disrupted economic activities around the globe. In this regard the company has embarked more on marketing strategies aimed at facilitating greater turn over rates amid economic recession concerns. As such the company has highly been involved in marketing strategies that include massive advertisement of its products through the media. This is with aims of increasing the awareness of the general public of the products that the company has offered in the market. In this regard the advertisements made in this relation involve educational campaigns that are aimed at enlightening the audience of the distinctive features of the products that it offers in the market. An example of such advertisement campaigns includes the “Wii would like to play” advertisement campaign that has been aired in Japanese televisions (Nintendo, 2010).
In respect to this the company has used outstanding personalities in the preparation of the advertisement with intentions of attracting a greater audience by making the advertisement attractive as well as influential. The essence in this is increasing the publicity of the company’s Wii product with targets of the senior and adult market segments. This has as well been coupled with promotional campaigns aimed at increasing the publicity that the company has both in the domestic market as well as the international market. As such the company has been involved in promotional campaigns that involve offering of free products to outstanding customers. The marketing of the company as of today has been improved when compared to its position in 2006 in the sense that the company’s marketing strategy is focused on improved sales (Radd, 2010). In this regard the company’s marketing strategy is viewed as to have moved to unexpected lengths in the sense that it allows people to see, feel as well as experience the products that the company has to offer in the market. The marketing of the company when compared to its position in 2006 can be viewed to have increased in respects to the company’s penetration of new markets.
This argument is based on the fact that the company has influenced its presence in new markets in different regions of the globe within Europe and Asia. This has as well been influenced by the company’s use of the internet as a marketing strategy based on the considerations that the internet has a greater audience. The underlying argument is the fact that the company’s current marketing potential represents improvements when compared to its position in 2006. This is in the sense that the company has employed extensive marketing campaigns that include massive advertisements as well as product promotion campaigns that are aimed at increasing the company’s publicity among the public. This has as well involved the use of the internet in market with concerns of addressing the international market (Radd, 2010).
Labor relations
The human resource sector of the company is huge influenced by the fact that the company is multi-national implying that it has employees working in multiple locations. As of 2006 the company faced challenges with the coordination of its vast human resource base a challenge that as well faces the corporation currently though significant contributions have been made towards the eradication of the challenges. In this regard the company has resulted to using integrative software in coordination its human resource management. This is through the enabling of web access of staff information thus enabling coordination among its employees. The use of the web in its human resource management has as well had significant impact on the employee’s coordination in the sense that the practice enables immediate interaction between the employees (Radd, 2010). The continued use of the web in the company’s human resource management has influenced significant change in respect to the company’s relation with its employees. This is based on the application of these technological advancements in monitoring the payment records of its employees.
This has influenced immediate response in respect to payment concerns thus influencing positive relations between the company and its employees. The company has as well embarked on measures aimed at improving its relations with its employees in the sense that it has put in place measures that ensure that employment benefits are awarded to its employees. These include pension plans given to its long serving employees with aims of improving the relations between the company and its employees. Employee benefits such as medical coverage are as well within the docket of measures undertaking by the company in its quest of improving employee relations. The greatest concern of the company in respect to its relations with the employees has been focused on offer better rates of payment to its employees. In this regard the company has ensured that its payment rates meet the concerns of its employees. This is as well coupled with timely payment of its employees with views that it facilitates positive relation between the company and its employees (Nintendo, 2010).
The underlying argument is the fact that the company has improved its relations with its employees. This has been achieved through allocation of employment benefits as well as better treatment of its employees. The company has as well included technological advancements by using the web in its human resource management.
Ethical concerns
The ethical status of the company as at 2006 can be deemed as insufficient when compared to its ethical status at present time. This can be attributed to the campaigns that the company has undertaken in the course of its marketing strategies with concerns of their ethical significance to the company. As such the company has undertaken advertisement campaigns that are considerate of the ethical concerns of the company. This is in the sense that the company has resulted in using advertisement campaigns that offer positive ethical perceptions of the company. The company has as well improved its public relation with consequent improvements of the public relations department (Nintendo, 2010). The company in this regard has supported the growth of this department through consequent funding of its activities. As such the company has been involved in campaign with the country that are of national importance such as aid in events of national crisis. The underlying emphasis in this is the fact that the company’s ethical relations have improved when compared to its ethical status in 2006. This has been in line with ensuring customer satisfaction as well as the company’s involvement in ethical campaigns aimed at improving the company’s image.
The underlying argument in the whole discussion is the fact that the company’s current position is coupled with aspects of improvement when compared the company’s position in the recent analysis. However, notice needs to be heed of the fact that this improvement does not necessarily imply that the company has only experienced success in all its aspects. The company’s general performance has at different instances been coupled with failure and deterioration with focus of its position in 2006 as the basis of comparison. This has been influenced by the external environment of business such as the economic recession that had significant impact on the company’s financial position. On the other hand some of the improvements that the company has made have been in minimal regards when compared to its position in 2006. However, the swot analysis of the company’s financial position offers a greater sense of understanding in respect to the company’s general performance when compared to its position in 2006. This is in the sense that it offers a clear picture of the company’s strength in respect to the market while addressing its weaknesses and threats (Radd, 2010).
Conclusion
Nintendo is a multinational corporation that operates within the video game industry in Japan. The company has witnessed improvements in its general performance based on comparisons with its position in 2006. In this regard the company has resulted in the development on new products meeting the concerns of it target market. It has as well indulged in marketing campaigns that involve greater advertisement and product promotion. The company has as well improved it ethical relations and employee relation with concerns of better service delivery as a tool facilitating increased sales.
References
Radd, D. (2010). Nintendo Defends Environmental Record Against Greenpeace. Retrieved January 10, 2011 from <http://www.industrygamers.com/news/nintendo-defends- environmental-record- against-greenpeace/>.
Nintendo. (2010). Corporate Information. Retrieved January 10, 2011 from <http://www.nintendo.com/corp/legal.jsp#roms>.
Nintendo. (2010). Launch of New Portable Game Machine. Retrieved January 10, 2011 from <http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2010/100323e.pdf>.
