Zynga Discussion Questions Management Case Study Paper

Zynga Discussion Questions
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Zynga Case Analysis
1. The Major Issues and Challenges facing Zynga
Among the major issues and challenges facing Zynga are the various litigations against the firm for various improprieties ranging from trademark or copyright infringement, breach of both written and implied contracts, and violation of trade secrets. The firm disregarded the stipulations of the ethical code of conduct in the gaming industry for fair competition by encouraging the stealing or copying of its competitors’ ideas. Hence, the firm lacked innovative ideas from its capable workforce as it invested more in the development of stolen ideas or codes for that matter.
The firm was also a victim of managerial hubris owing to the CEO’s encouragement of business misconduct and unfair competition. The management encouraged the development of a negative culture within the firm that lacked the moral responsibility of respecting its competitor’s property rights. In essence, the firm either lacked or disregarded its company policies and ethical code of conduct. The firm further lacked an effective leadership and management approach leading to low job satisfaction especially for its designing team. It discouraged the development of new and authentic ideas by the designers and relied more on the copied designs.
Customer satisfaction also proved to be a major issue to Zynga, which was also challenging to address. The firm lacked a customer service initiative that would respond to the consumer complaints regarding the Zynga games. Poor customer service in the gaming industry can be catastrophic to an organization as the bad reputation easily spreads through social media platforms.
2. Analysis of the Online Gaming Industry using the Five Forces Model
• Competition
The gaming industry is highly competitive owing to the emerging and advancing trends in the games’ software technology. Some of the gaming companies in the industry include established firms such as Ubisoft, King, and EA games, which have a global market presence unlike most of the organizations. Penetrating both the regional and global markets dominated by the outlined companies can be a challenging task for gaming companies such as Zynga. It requires massive investment in innovation and marketing strategies to establish as a formidable player in the industry.
• Potential of New Entrants into the Industry
The gaming industry has no restrictions for innovation and new gaming software or ideas, thus having an unlimited potential for new entrants joining the industry. Additionally, new entrants can also acquire the rights to a ...