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Lockheed Martin Corporation Analysis
Abdussamet Akca :
MBA 665
Milestone 6-1Analysis
03/06/2022
Based on past study on the company, it is important to cover the company analysis based on its external and internal environment. The analysis below presents the company’s business environment, sustainability, internal resources, communication, company image, response, impact, and external resources.
Business Environment
The government is a major player in the success of any organization’s business. Lockheed Martin is one of the organizations that are influenced by government actions. The government has established many policies to guide businesses. Some of these policies have either a positive or negative impact on business. Being a defense company, Lockheed Martin is a critical organization to the security of the country. All branches of the government have their own set of rules. Government action can lead to political stability and buildup of a political culture in the company (Zhang et al., 2018). Political stability and a good political culture will lead to increase in performance of the company. The company will be able to function efficiently in a good political setting. Political stability is an opportunity for the growth of the company.
Another government policy influencing the company would be government taxation, a higher taxation policy will lead to less returns from business (Zhang et al., 2018). The business profitability will reduce as much money will be spend to carter for the taxes. Government taxation is a threat to the company’s performance. This has a negative impact on the business environment.
Government regulations and permits also influence the company’s business environment. Trade regulations and requirement of permits is an extra cost to the company (Zhang et al., 2018). The company will spend a lot of money and time to meet the government’s needs that might be unproductive and unnecessary in the end. Therefore, the financial capability of the company will be negatively affected, which is a threat to the growth of business.
Sustainability
The government plays a vital role in promoting sustainability. The government uses different policies to enhance sustainability in business. Lockheed Martin’s is influenced by government and political policies. The government plays an important role in achieving development goals at the company. Business sustainability entails running a business without negatively impacting the community, environment or the society. Government policies on sustainability will ensure that Lockheed Martin operates in an environmental friendly position. The government will push the company to ensure that it does not pollute the environment (Chen et al., 2019). All pollutants are recycled and re-used. Government policies will help in regulating the discharge and disposal of environmental pollutants.
Government policies affect the sustainability of the company (Chen et al., 2019). They will enhance the sustainability of the business (Chen et al., 2019). Through these government policies, the company will major its activities on sustainable development goals. The company will also focus on environmental conservation, which in turn promotes a healthy living for all people (Chen et al., 2019). Sustainability is crucial for the current and future generations. It also promotes healthy stay for many generations. The company will enhance its sustainability, which will in turn improve its economic performance. Although a lot of resources will be spent to maintain sustainability, the company will grow and remain at peace with the immediate society (Chen et al., 2019).
Internal Resources
Lockheed Martin is a large global corporation operating under the defense industry. The company is well known for its diversity in internal resources. Some of these resources include human resources. As of 2020, the company had a total of 160,000 employees globally, 90,000 of who were scientists and IT specialists (Garrett et al., 2018). The company has focused on a serious recruitment and hiring process for only skilled and experienced personnel. Working in the defense industry, Lockheed Martin is very sensitive on its hiring process as its operations entail high end security detail.
The company has a highly skilled team of professionals who work towards meeting the company’s goals and objectives. The company is subdivided into project teams which include top management, financial performance teams and quality control (Garrett et al., 2018). The top management follows and monitors all processes in the company. This group is strict on how business is conducted. It ensures that the organizations goals are followed to avoid risks in performance. The management ensures that it understands the company’s internal environment so as to work on the weak areas (Garrett et al., 2018). The financial performance teams work to ensure the financial stability of the company. They ensure that the company’s finances are being used for productive activities that will yield profitability (Garrett et al., 2018). Therefore, any action on the company that can be a threat or an opportunity is well-analyzed by the financial team. The quality control team ensures that the company’s services meet the required government standards (Garrett et al., 2018). This will ensure that the company is operating under the required terms and conditions hence avoiding risks.
The above teams or internal resources ensure that Lockheed Martin is adequately organized for any opportunities or threats that may occur. The company will adequately work on these threats or opportunities to increase its productivity.
Communication
Lockheed Martin operates under the very sensitive defense industry. The company uses a hierarchical method of communication. This strategy ensures efficient dissemination of information in all ranks of the company (Maiorescu-Murphy, 2020). Any changes made in the company are communicated from the top-most rank in the hierarchy to the junior most employees. Although the company follows a hierarchical structure and communication strategy, it employs a democratic communication plan (Maiorescu-Murphy, 2020). The management at Lockheed Martin allows its employees to communicate freely to the administration. The democratic plan ensures that the ideas of all employees are heard and their grievances are aired out.
For the success of the project, any prior changes or ideas brought by the impact of government action were thoroughly discussed by the team members. Changes were communicated to stakeholders through emails. The company embraces use of digital modern technology (Maiorescu-Murphy, 2020). The world is currently shifting to a digital platform that allows fast and efficient communication. The company used emails to communicate to its board of directors and employees. The management held meetings with its departmental heads to ensure that they understand all changes taking place as a cause of government action. Meetings with the junior employees and team leaders were also held to help these teams understand the implications of government action and what courses of action to be undertaken to limit negative impacts. For the company’s external stakeholders such as the customers, the changes were communicated through digital advertisements. These include both print and digital media platforms and social media platforms. Communication through these different channels has put all stakeholders in the loop of the situation. Efficient communication has ensures a smooth transition process for the company (Maiorescu-Murphy, 2020). The company has embraced use of modern technology in communication as it reaches many people on a short period of time.
Company Image
Corporate image is one of the most vital aspects to the success of a company. Lockheed Martin Corporation has managed to maintain a good company image over the years. The company is viewed as the largest and best defense company in the world. To maintain its company’s image, the management has ensured that the company maintains environmental sustainability. Most of the movements and activists today are geared towards environmental conservation (White & Dastidar, 2021). Most of the people in the world would like to be associated with companies that promote environmental sustainability. This is because environmental sustainability makes the world a better place to live as there are less pollutions. Lockheed Martin ensures that its operations are in line with the UN development and sustainability goals (White & Dastidar, 2021). This act has led to a positive view by the public hence having positive impacts on the company’s image.
Lockheed Martin also maintains its brand image by maintain a strong corporate social responsibility. The company undertakes and participates in different community projects such as environmental conservation, human rights activism and development projects. This has led to a positive public opinion on the company. A positive public opinion has led to a better company image for Lockheed Martin.
The main impacts of the positive aspect displayed by the company’s image include;
· Has helped Lockheed Martin stand out from other companies in the defense industry.
· It has led to a better identification of the company in the market.
· Has increased the brand popularity of Lockheed Martin in the industry.
· Has led to more business engagements with major defense organizations globally. This has led to an increase in business activities for the company hence increasing its profitability.
· Has led to an increase in customer loyalty. Having loyal customers means constant sales and more referrals hence increased sales.
Response
Government action has had a great impact on the current business environment for the company. The company has set out some strategies that will be used as a course of action against government action. The major plans undertaken by Lockheed Martin are;
· Mitigation. Lockheed Martin ensures that it takes actions that are less likely to have consequences on the business environment. Mitigation is important in responding to the impacts of government action. Mitigation will help in reinforcing business opportunities that are less likely to be affected by government action (Karie & Sikos, 2022). The company has bought insurance policies to mitigate risks from government action.
· Response. The company has come up with disaster management plans to be used in case of a disaster. The management has also ensured that it conducts research to understand different ways of facing government action in business (Karie & Sikos, 2022). The company has addresses public perceptions on business continuity and safety to its stakeholders.
· Preparedness. Lockheed Martin has prepared all its staff members on the action plan to take to curb negative effects by government action. The company exercises contingency plans through drills in the office and full-scale exercises. The company has a list of managers to contact in case of a change in the business environment.
· Recovery. The recovery process of Lockheed Martin Corporation reduces vulnerability to future impacts on business (Karie & Sikos, 2022). This entails rebuilding of structures and a system that can handle any government action. The company has also set aside resources to be used in case of negative impacts from government action.
Impact
Operational implications (Karie & Sikos, 2022). The courses of action discussed above will have an impact on the operations of the company. Since government actions had both a positive and negative impact on the business environment, then there will be changes taking place. As a result of high taxation resulting to poor performance of business, the team leaders will be required to re-strategize on their previous work plans. They will be required to present new strategies to the board for approval. Departmental heads will have a training to help them understand the impact of these courses of action. They will be trained on how to handle changes in the business environment.
Financial implications (Karie & Sikos, 2022). The changes in the company will lead to an increase in financial spending for the company. More funds will be required to take back the business to full capacity functioning. Financial resources will also be required for the training program and also ensuring that all affected departments regain control of business activities.
Ethical implications (Karie & Sikos, 2022). When the business environment is affected, it will lead to a negative impact on the society. From the low business profitability caused by government action, most people are likely to lose their jobs. For the company to remain afloat, it has to remain profitable. Therefore, reducing the number of workers is one course of action that might lead to ethical concerns.
External Resources
Some of the external resources to be hired in Lockheed Martin include lobbyists. They will help in advocating for political and governmental policies that impact the business. They will act as an advocate for the company. The company will also hire a public affairs officer. The main work for the public affairs officer is to liaise with the media and the public on matters affecting the company (Kurniawan et al., 2020). He will deal with media issues, give the public a view of the business environment of the company.
References
Chen, J. Y., Dimitrov, S., & Pun, H. (2019). The impact of government subsidy on supply Chains’ sustainability innovation. Omega, 86, 42-58.
Garrett, M., Ebersohn, F., Heinrich, J., Lohff, C., McGuire, T., Montecalvo, N., … & Walker, J. (2018). Operation of the Lockheed Martin T4B experiment. In APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 2018, pp. CP11-141).
Karie, N. M., & Sikos, L. F. (2022). Cybersecurity Incident Response in the Enterprise. In Next-Generation Enterprise Security and Governance (pp. 83-119). CRC Press.
Kurniawan, R., Manurung, A. H., Hamsal, M., & Kosasih, W. (2020). Orchestrating internal and external resources to achieve agility and performance: the centrality of market orientation. Benchmarking: An International Journal.
Maiorescu-Murphy, R. D. (2020). Corporate Diversity Communication Strategy. Springer International Publishing.
White, S., & Dastidar, P. (2021). Lockheed Martin Acquisitions: stay the course or change strategy?. The CASE Journal.
Zhang, X., Zhang, L., Fung, K. Y., Rangaiah, G. P., & Ng, K. M. (2018). Product design: Impact of government policy and consumer preference on company profit and corporate social responsibility. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 118, 118-131.