Business Strategy

Business Strategy 

            1. Five Forces: 

The five forces of analysis can be of great assistance to almost any company, allowing them to position themselves more successfully, and understand their industry competitiveness and attractiveness much better. When discussing the bargaining power of buyers, independent individuals and members of IEEE do have bargaining power, because they can easily choose to use the standards or intelligence of other organizations with varying industry options. However, because of its widespread usage and standard adoptions along with its strong reputation and history, IEEE is able to avoid these risks to a certain degree. As for the bargaining power of suppliers, IEEE is not subject, nor do they work directly with any suppliers. This is due to the fact that their sources and power stem from the knowledge and expertise of individuals who form part of the organization as employees, volunteers, or members of IEEE. There is a medium threat of substitutes, this is because despite there being multiple standards organizations within the industry, the history and reputation of IEEE makes it the most dominant standards organization of all, and this ultimately reduces the overall threat. For new threats this is a challenging industry to enter and to solidify oneself in, however it is possible. IEEE is well known and has a powerful reputation within this industry which makes it challenging for newcomers and keeps the threat of new entrants at a medium level. In regard to competitors, IEEE deals with competitors from other standards organizations, however, the competition is not intense, and IEEE leads with its powerful reputation and history, making it without a doubt one of the most dominant players in its industry.

 

Forces	IEEE Example	Force Strength	IEE Response
Bargaining Power of Buyers	A school chapter or individual is looking to join part of a standards organization to gain access to events, networking, and knowledge.	Medium	Provides access to a worldwide network of experts in industry, plethora of information and knowledge. Join part of a leading tech standards organization in industry.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers	Supplier reaches out to IEEE in regards to becoming their main supplier for the physical needs.	Low	IEEE relies heavily on their network of professionals whether that is members, volunteers, and employees. With such a wide variety of suppliers they can choose who they really prefer.
Threat of Substitutes	A new technology is being developed the company has seeked out IEEE and a couple organizations as options to to develop their standards.	Medium	With IEEE being globally recognized, and having their standards used internationally, it would be better and more convenient to use IEEE standards as they are widely recognized throughout multiple industries.
Threat of New Entrants	A new organization has entered the industry with a unique approach.	Medium	IEEE will use its powerful reputation and history, and it will also continue to adapt to new approaches and techniques to better suit the members, network, and organization.
Rivalry of Competitors	A competitor has lowered their United States membership dues for all applicants for the month of December.	Low	IEEE will push the concept that their organization has more to offer, with their powerful network of professional, global conferences, and various periodicals, articles, e-texts, and magazines.

            2. Competitive Strategy:

When discussing IEEE in terms of their competitive strategy, they rely primarily on differentiation through the pillars of what the organization provides such as standards development, membership, and widespread global reach. IEEE focuses on the innovation of technology standards for the benefit and growth of humanity and maintaining its position of leadership in setting industry standards. With IEEE having such a well-established position within the industry of technological standards and being one of the most dominant players in the industry, it will continue to lead the mark among its competitors, and therefore the rivalry among competitors will stay rather low. In regard to the threat of new entrants, one must never rule out the chances of new competition, and despite being challenged to establish oneself in a well-established industry with a set of heavy competitors it is possible. However, because of IEEE’s powerful reputation and well-cemented history in the industry, it would pose a significant challenge for those looking to enter the industry. 

3. Value Chain

Primary Activity                                                                                 Description

Standards	IEEE is involved in the formulation and development of technical standards for different technological innovations in multiple industries. Technological Experts from different technological branches and industries come together to form and update technological standards.
Membership	IEEE provides a community where professionals from different technological industries can come together and network by becoming members, joining societies, attending conferences, and attending workshops.
Conference	IEEE is a worldwide organization that hosts conferences all across the world, at these conferences professionals speak, network, and share new information and research.
Publications	IEEE has a variety of different publications, magazines, journals, and editorials that offer information on many different topics revolving around Electronics, Technologies, and Engineering.

 

Business Process

Standard Development

As the leading global standards development organization, IEEE is embedded in advocating and creating standards that continuously support the evolution of technology. “Standardization provides the foundation on which technology innovation is based. It enables more complex solutions to be developed at a better cost structure. Standards drive technological innovation, fuel growth of global markets, expand consumer choice, support interoperability, and help protect public health and safety.” The business process that IEEE utilizes is reflected through technology professionals that collaborate and convene for technological advances. This process incorporates both engineering and technological experts who come together to decide on new technological standards for innovations, as well as updating standards for previous innovations. As developing standards is a vigorous process, the IEEE uses a time-tested, effective, and trusted process.

 IEEE standards are classified as:

• Standards – documents with mandatory requirements
• Recommended Practices – documents in which procedures and positions preferred by IEEE are presented
• Guides – documents in which alternate approaches to good practices are suggested but no explicit recommendations are made

Trial-Use – documents in effect for no more than three years. The documents can be a Standard, Recommended Practices, or Guide.

                    i. Stage 1: Initiating the Project

In standard development, all projects begin with an idea that is eventually brought to the standards committee. Once a group or network of companies identifies the standards need, and the committee is in support, they assume the responsibility of development which includes the organization of a working group, all activities that correspond, and proposal submission. After the committee is selected based on scope, the Project Authorization Request (PAR) must go through its approval process. Once the PAR is submitted, the NesCom members have one month to review the proposal and provide recommendations to the board. Once approved, the PAR has four years to be completed; four years for the standard to be fully developed.

                  ii. Stage 2: Mobilizing the Working Group

The working groups consist of a group of volunteers, individuals, or entities, to participate in the development of the standard. Please note, that for individual standards, membership is not required, while with entity standards, advanced corporate membership is needed to participate in the working group.

                    iii. Stage 3: Drafting the Standard

As working groups prepare the standards, program managers (staff liaison and staff project editors) draft and edit the content to ensure that working groups have a streamlined process while continuing to

research and develop standards.

                       iv. Stage 4: Balloting the Standard

Once the draft has been reviewed and approved, it is submitted to the Standard Committee for final approval and to move forward to the SA Ballot. Utilizing a balloting information system, ballot groups

are formed, in which each group receives one vote. Ballots are open for 30 days, during which balloting groups are able to approve, disapprove, or abstain. Ballots can consist of comments and suggestions for draft changes. A ballot can only pass if 75% of responses are approved votes and if 75% of all ballots from a ballot group are returned. Balloting for IEEE is essential because it allows members the opportunity to place input on a standard even if they did not have the opportunity to be a part of a working group.

                        v. Stage 5: Gaining the Final Approval

The IEEE SA Standards Board approves or disapproves the standard draft based on the Review

Committee recommendations or suggestions. Once approved, it is sent for a final editing process by a 

professional IEEE Standards Editor, in which they ensure the standard is grammatically correct utilizing American English, while also being formatted to meet the IEEE standard style.

                        vi. Stage 6: Maintaining the Standard

As a standard is a living document, it may need to be revised, edited, or adjusted to meet the ever-changing technological community. All standards are active for ten years and within those ten years the standard can be revised, submitted with amendments for additional documents and materials, submit corrections that don't require new materials, and withdraw the standard to inactive.

 

Structured

Within the IEEE, they employ many processes when developing business processes that work alongside the business strategy. As IEEE is the global standards development organization, they advocate and reinforce a group of standard development principles, providing a network of “voluntary cooperation among interested parties and stakeholders, enable technical excellence, global interoperability, and innovation to foster economic growth and societal prosperity.” As differentiation is the competitive strategy of the company, IEEE utilizes its membership process to support those needs. As an IEEE member, they are able to collaborate on projects with other like-minded organizations or individuals, network with professionals within their local area, and mentor incoming technology professionals while helping to build the future and next generation of technology and standards. Outside of the interpersonal advantage being an IEEE member awards a plethora of resources and opportunities in electrical engineering, computer science, and overall technology. 

The membership program that IEEE has to offer is one of the most prestigious membership programs available to professionals involved in engineering and technological fields. Anyone is granted access to the application and apply, but each applicant is subject to a very intricate application review process that must be reviewed by multiple individuals and the applicant must fulfill multiple criteria. Upon approval, the member is granted access to multiple different features that only come with the membership. Among these features are global conferences that are held across the world where new research, initiatives, and findings are discussed. Members are granted access to a wide network of professionals who are within their field where they can expand, collaborate, and grow their networks. Members also have access to over 100+ different societies. Each society expands into a different aspect within the world of technology and engineering where they will find many like-minded individuals whom they can network, collaborate, and share findings with. Lastly, members also have access to many pieces of literature which range from many different publications, magazines, articles, periodicals, e-texts, and much more. Each publication is up to date on the current year, but upon the member's request, they can ask for any text from previous years. All in all, IEEE has the widest network of professionals and the most to offer, compared to other competitors in the technological standards industry.

 Membership Management

                                                                              ↓

                                                              Application Review                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      ↓                                                   ↓          

 Application Acceptance                                Application Denial

                                                       ↓

                                 Membership Dues Payment

                                                       ↓

    Welcome Package

            ↓                                                 ↓                                                                                 ↓                                                                              ↓                                     

 Societies Access                                      Conferences Access       Professional Network Access       Publications/Periodicals Access

Membership Management Systems: Management of member information, payment processing, subscriptions, and member information storage.

This process requires the management and maintenance of current members which involves providing services to those current members as well as maintaining the member database.

Dynamic

Membership Engagement is an essential component of the business process of IEEE. As the membership component can be considered a competitive strategy, it is also a dynamic analysis process. As members help sustain the company, providing quality services for the members is vital. Alongside receiving a network of contacts of like-minded professionals, members are able to gain educational opportunities, attend learning conferences, and gain access to a library of resources and publications.

1. Membership Strategy Development
2. Outgoing Communications and Planning
3. Member Content Creation
4. Member Interactions/Engagement
5. Engagement Data Analytics
6. IEEE Society and member community collaboration

Membership Engagement Systems are programs used to contribute to member engagement and are used for analytics, membership information, and member collaboration/communication. Within these systems, the integration of member information databases, member collaborative platforms, communication platforms, and communication tools are essential to the success of membership engagement.

            4. IS Systems

Membership Management System manages member information, payment processing, subscriptions, and member information storage.

Examples:

    Oracle (Next Gen/Siebel): This could be used for member management.

    NextGen: May be used for payments and payment management.

Dynamic Processes are systems that handle processes that are adaptable and responsive to changes.

Examples:

    Customized software

    Workflow management systems that adapt to changing business needs.

Structured Processes are systems that follow a predefined and well-organized set of steps or procedures.

Examples:

    Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, such as Oracle or SAP, which can help manage various business processes in a structured manner.

Sales Process includes systems related to managing sales activities and transactions.

Examples:

    Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like Salesforce, which can handle sales processes, customer interactions, and lead management.

Marketing Process describes systems that support marketing activities, such as campaigns, lead

generation, and analytics.

Examples:

    Marketing automation tools like HubSpot or Marketo, and analytics tools like Tableau.

Standard Processes are systems that support standardized and routine business processes.

Examples:

    Enterprise-level software that supports standard business functions, such as Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite.

Basic Tools and Equipment:

            Computers, Printers, Fax Machines, Scanners, Office Supplies.

Programs:

            Feith (Document Storage): Used for storing and managing documents. 

            Tableau: Used for data analytics, metrics, and statistics.

            Google Suite: Collaborative tools for communication and document management.

            5. Competitive Advantage

As the leading technology standards development company, a competitive advantage is detrimental to the success of IEEE. As the competitive strategy is differentiation, membership advantages take precedence. Within the IEEE, members are allotted the opportunity to not only participate in working groups based on membership status, but also vote on all standards being reviewed. With standards being active for 10 years, and being the foundation of technology, it serves an importance for members to have this responsibility. This process serves as an advantage because votes and suggestions made during balloting are used to both approve and disapprove standards. Also, IEEE values its members and wants to include them in the defining factors that make the company so reputable. Allowing this advantage and responsibilities helps retain members and trust, showing that IEEE values the expertise of its consumers.

Sources

https://standards.ieee.org/develop/

https://www.ieee.org/