Motorola Company Case 1-4 Summary
Motorola was founded in 1928, and soon became widely known for its radios and other consumer electrical and electronic products. Motorola has achieved over$ 5.5 billion in sales, employed over 99,000 people and spent $411 million in research and development. By the 1960s, it sold semiconductors products, communications equipment, and components to consumers, industrial companies, and the military throughout the world.
To exploit fully the growing demand for semicustom integrated circuits, Motorola organized the Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) Division as part of the Semiconductor Products in 1984. The controller of ASIC sensed that he and his staff could play a significant part in determining the success of this new business. That is, because ASIC division was competing in a new and dynamic market with unique requirements but it also was radically changing the way to deliver its product. These circumstances led the controller to reassess the most basic issues involved in designing a management control system, which are how, what, who, and for whom should it be measured.
The managers of the new division realized that the semicustom integrated circuit business had different requirements for success. In this semicustom gate arrays market, the customers are involved in the middle of the development cycle. Thus, Motorola focused on its customers, rather than on its product. Customers such as DEC, Apple Computer, and Unisys competed in markets characterized by rapidly changing technology. High quality, quick development time, and the ability to achieve volume production rapidly were paramount to capture the business of these customers, while price was secondary importance.
In 1985, the ASIC Division occupied Motorola’s Chandler facility in Phoenix, US. The division was organized along functional lines called Department, which are: Product Engineering Department, Production Planning Department, Marketing Department, New Product Development Department,
To exploit fully the growing demand for semicustom integrated circuits, Motorola organized the Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) Division as part of the Semiconductor Products in 1984. The controller of ASIC sensed that he and his staff could play a significant part in determining the success of this new business. That is, because ASIC division was competing in a new and dynamic market with unique requirements but it also was radically changing the way to deliver its product. These circumstances led the controller to reassess the most basic issues involved in designing a management control system, which are how, what, who, and for whom should it be measured.
The managers of the new division realized that the semicustom integrated circuit business had different requirements for success. In this semicustom gate arrays market, the customers are involved in the middle of the development cycle. Thus, Motorola focused on its customers, rather than on its product. Customers such as DEC, Apple Computer, and Unisys competed in markets characterized by rapidly changing technology. High quality, quick development time, and the ability to achieve volume production rapidly were paramount to capture the business of these customers, while price was secondary importance.
In 1985, the ASIC Division occupied Motorola’s Chandler facility in Phoenix, US. The division was organized along functional lines called Department, which are: Product Engineering Department, Production Planning Department, Marketing Department, New Product Development Department,