Refer back to the Week 2 company, Hoosier Media, Inc. Your consulting firm is now ready to present suggestions regarding the strategic plan of Hoosier Media, Inc. In a 10- to 20-slide presentation wi

Hoosier Media Inc. Strategic Analysis Report

Alice Williams

University of Phoenix

BUS 475

Mr. Victor DeJesus

Hoosier Media Inc. Strategic Analysis Report

Economic, Legal, and Regulatory Forces and Trends

Hoosier Media Inc faces a dilemma that many traditional print media firms face as well. This is an uncertain future due to the rapid spread and adoption of electronic media. Hoosier Media Inc should look at its sales statistics to reveal the start of the decline as well as other changes that have occurred during the decline of sales of newspapers. The biggest economic pressure the firm is likely to face is the loss of revenues that are generated from advertisements. Advertisers are looking at their adverts as more successful if they reach a larger proportion of the society at a faster speed and conveniently too. These are advantages that electronic media offers them. The regulatory force Hoosier Media needs to relook at is the ownership of the newspaper. Concentrated ownership has the disadvantage of leading to fewer choices thus customers lack diversity. This lack of diversity may be playing a role in reducing the sales that are made. The trend to analyze is how the newspaper has continued to maintain its journalistic standards. It is a newspaper that has traditions to maintain and any interference with the standards may negatively impact the market share it has always supplied to. In addition, it is important for Hoosier Media to ensure that finds an innovative and creative way to keep its customers interested despite the presence of electronic media. To create this interest may need a relook at the content to fit a more demanding market in a competitive world (Norris, 2000).

How Well the Organization Adapts To Change

The decline in circulation and subscriptions has been reported in the last five years. Hoosier Media is still struggling to come up with a strategy that will alter this scenario. There has been hope of making revenues through online ads but little has been done to exploit this opportunity. Their mind seems to be focused on newspaper circulation and subscriptions. The situation consequently reveals that the firm is not well positioned to handle changes which can be detrimental to its survival in an industry that will possibly experience further shifts. Furthermore, the situation shows that the internal environment of the organization such as its culture is not built to accommodate changes. These facts point out to the need for alterations to the organizational culture and other factors in the internal environment so that the attitudes of the newspaper owners, the staff and all stakeholders realize that they need to adapt to changes as they come.

The Primary Internal Organizational Considerations

The primary internal organizational considerations for Hoosier Media include its corporate culture. The culture needs to be more accommodative to changes especially those occurring in the external environment. The changes include technological advancement, changes to legal requirements in journalism, changes in how to make circulations and changes to pricing. The culture at Hoosier needs to find a balance between its top management and the human resources so that they can develop creative and innovative ways of handling these changes. The value system needs to be altered so that the newspaper can fulfill its missions and objectives. An improved value system will positively impact business choices, policies and practices (Purdy, 2017).

The Primary External Organization Considerations

The primary external organizational consideration includes the target market. Hoosier Media needs to know that consumer tastes and preferences keep changing thus as much as many perceive newspaper as reliable sources of comprehensive and deep information, they expect certain diverse needs to be covered as well. Meeting these needs means Hoosier Media may need to add more segments catering for the needs of different segments of the society. Such groups may include the young, elderly, men and women. Hoosier Media also needs to understand the role technology is playing in the industry. It needs to understand which aspects of the newspaper industry are being affected and develop applicable strategies to increase its circulation and subscription. In an era when people are pushing for more accountability and transparency, Hoosier Media needs to develop ways of handling a pluralistic market (Norris, 2000).

The Major Issues and/or Opportunities The Company Faces.

The biggest issue Hoosier Media has is a reduction in its print newspaper circulation and subscriptions declining. The decline has led to 30% lower revenues over the last five years. The economies of scale in this scenario reveal that the costs of production and distribution are higher due to this decline in sales. Hoosier needs to identify the economic situations of their target market. There is also need to relook at how the organization of the news industry has changed over time. It is also important to look at government regulations. This knowledge is critical in strategizing how to increase newspaper circulation and subscription (Purdy, 2017).

Online ad revenues have increased but currently account for just 5% of the company's revenue. This is an opportunity as it reveals that Hoosier is still trusted to make effective and fruit bearing advertisement. The 5% revenue from online ads has been made without much investment into it which points to a chance to make higher revenues if the opportunity is exploited fully. This presence of online community following Hoosier means that the firm still appeals to the market but they need to change their approach in serving the customers. It is clear that some of Hoosier’s clients and customers have migrated to electronic platforms. Hoosier Media will be wise to increase their online presence. The increase of online presence calls for investment in technology as well as skilled human resources, advertisement to let customers know as well as a strategy of how on how to increase circulation and subscription.

References

Norris, P. (2000). A Virtuous Circle: Political Communications in Post-Industrial Societies. New York : Cambridge University Press .

Scott Purdy, P. W. (2017). Stop the Presses. New York : KPMG.