On Assignment 1: TerraCog Global Positioning System:

Conflict and Communication on Project Aerial

A report Submitted to
Prof: Danesh Gojer

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course

Written Analysis and Communication-I

By
Vaibhav Singh
Section D
Roll No. 177227

On
02-07-2017
 Memorandum Letter

To,

Emma Richardsson

Executive Vice President

From,

Vaibhav Singh

Executive Assistance

Date: 02/07/2017

Subject: Brief regarding conflicts and challenges in Project Aerial

Emma,

Shared herewith is the brief regarding project Aerial in the current scenario as requested by you it
contains a brief about our company, the present competitors and the status of Project Aerial. The
report contains details of the current situation faced by the project which could help in further
course of action.

Regards

Vaibhav Singh

Executive Assistance
Situational Analysis

TerraCog, a privately held firm, was a leader in the area of fishing sonar equipment and Global
Positioning System (GPS). It had an exceptional skill set to incorporate end user and retailer
feedback into the design of their products. Despite always being a follower in the industry, the
company enjoyed customer's trust because of their ability to better cater to their needs. The
company always had a repute of producing high-quality products which ultimately gained
increased acceptance by word of mouth. But now, post the entry of other players in the Global
Positioning System (GPS) industry its market share was at stake. It was caught amidst a crisis.
However, this time they were being faced with a dual challenge. The dual challenge was external
in the form of strong competitors and internal in the form of inter-department mental conflicts. In
their current product, they had completely ignored the use of static satellite imagery to enhance
the product. They prioritized the quality of their existing product and ignored this functionality as
a fad. By doing this, they had ignored a huge market opportunity in the form of satellite GPS
system, which their competitor Posthaste had captured brilliantly by its product BirdsI. BirdsI
was seen as an improvisation over TerraCog's product as consumers were able to relate more to
the actual static satellite images in the product while navigation. In retaliation to the increased
popularity of the competitor's product and to redeem the lost market the management launched
Project Aerial to foray into satellite imagery GPS. This called for a complete redesign and
reconfiguration of their existing product. Project Aeria had been launched to incorporate all the
latest features to counter the competitor's product but was getting hindered due to
interdepartmental conflicts. With the addition of latest features, the new product was bound to
have the price on a higher side and also to continue their quality perception; the design team was
not ready to compromise on quality resulting in a higher price. The individual departments had
independent goals which were aligned in favor of that department. Ed Pryor, VP Sales, wanted
the retail price to be capped at a maximum of $425, which was $25 more than the competitor so
that it would be easier for his sales executives to convert sales. On the other hand, even the most
conservative cost estimates by Roth and Barren, representing production and design, were quoted
at $475. Roth was confident that there was no more scope for cost cut for a product loaded with
such features complying the requirements given by the sales team. This mutual conflict had put
the success of Project Aerial on hold. Emma Richardson had experience in both production and
sales side and was newly promoted to executive vice president. Now, the responsibility rested on
Emma, to make a deciding call for the next course of action.

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