United Parcel Service (UPS)

Description

Instructions

Review the video case study " Geek Squad: A New Business for a

New Environment" below.  Keep this case study in mind as you

complete this assignment.

Write a 1,050-word report using United Parcel Service, UPS, as the

company for this assignment. Answer the following questions for your

chosen organization.

Explain what the specific key environmental forces are that created

an opportunity for your company.

Identify if there have been changes in the purchasing patterns of

your organization's target market in recent years.

Conduct an environmental scan for your chosen company to

identify key trends.  For each of the five environmental forces

(social, economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory),

identify trends likely to influence your company's marketing

efforts and product offering in the future.

• Explain what differentiation strategy your company should

undertake to encourage their target market to choose them

over other competitors.

• Analyze what lessons you might learn from the Geek Squad case

study.

Include at least three references, at least one of which must come

from the University Library.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

" Geek Squad: A New Business for a New

Environment"

“As long as there’s innovation there is going to be new kinds of chaos,” explains

Robert Stephens, founder of the technology support company Geek Squad. The

chaos Stephens is referring to is the difficulty we have all experienced trying to

keep up with the many changes in our environment, particularly those related to

computers, technology, software, communication, and entertainment. Generally,

consumers have found it difficult to install, operate, and use many of the

electronic products available today. “It takes time to read the manuals,” Stephens

says. “I’m going to save you at that time because I stay home on Saturday nights

and read them for you!”

THE COMPANY

The Geek Squad story begins when Stephens, a native of Chicago, passed up

an Art Institute scholarship to pursue a degree in computer science. While

Stephens was a computer science student he took a job fixing computers for a

research laboratory, and he also started consulting. He could repair televisions,

computers, and a variety of other items, although he decided to focus on

computers. His experiences as a consultant-led him to realize that most people

needed help with technology and that they saw value in a service whose

employees would show up at a specified time, be friendly, use understandable

language, and solve the problem. So, with just $200, Stephens formed Geek

Squad in 1994.