CASE ANALYSIS: THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Problem statement: NGS as an institution was declining in terms of traditional customer base (memberships)/ brand loyalty

Argument: Staying relevant for the next century and to instill a sense of belongingness among its subscribers was paramount for the organization. This was considered important since only 23% of members had this sense of belongingness and it had hit the profitability and penetration of the organization. The consumers were confused as the value proposition of NGS was not very clear to them. Also Domestic circulation for NGM fell from 9.7 million in 1980 to 5.2 million in 2009. Various causes can be attributed to this decline - organizational culture, organizational mission, organizational structure and changing face of information consumption. NGS from very beginning was risk averse organization and this coupled with formal attitude that prevailed in the organization proved to be barrier in differentiating its offerings from its competitors. John Fahey also realized that to be relevant to its existing and future customers in the coming generations NGS should move ahead from the role of being just a chronicle of demise of planet to inspiring people to care about planet but this involved serious tradeoffs like losing on key investments and clash with television networks. Other causes are the clash of interests between organizational verticals and non-sync of three interest groups, which resulted in slow decision and infighting between the various functional units. This also led to overlap of project and hence brand erosion. The lack of strategic communication between the top management and middle management/working staff had led to confusion regarding career paths and promotion criteria. This has led people to become risk averse and aspire for short-term personal goals and job security. The short-term gains led to confusion among consumers and higher costs on the part of NGS. Also NGS was not presenting a single face to the market and hence customer base was greatly affected. The other major cause is the changing face the information is being consumed. The trend towards digitization of information has also affected the consumer base. The societys approach to digital products is segmental and different verticals have different approach towards digitization. The decline of print and the rise of digital and social media, coupled with staff frustration at an enduring lack of coordination across different NGS units are resulting in inability to capitalize fully on the brand. Also NGS, which initially worked as a non-profit organization had to look after maintaining their financial bottom line in the new age but lack of cost benefit analysis of the society as a whole and every unplanned expenditure requiring approval of top management allowed down the decision process and higher cost of operation. !"#$%&'()!"*'+,-../0,'%123'45' -!
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CASE ANALYSIS: THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY!

The much-needed consolidation was brought in with the formation of GMG. This refined the digital media content strategies, enhanced coordination among NGS editorial units, and served the HGS members in a much better way. This had made a creation of a senior management position necessary who would be responsible for e-commerce, would diversify the product offerings and keep the organization in pace with the rapid changing technology. Also as the head of ecommerce can be relationship oriented while engaging in meaning Therefore, this new managerial position is critical to the companys success in the long run and will help to adapt to the market trends.

Recommendation: National Geographic society needs to restructure its organization structure to a more centralized structure where its goals, missions and strategies are well communicated to its employees. The creation of the post of a senior management official would enable the company to generate profits by tapping onto a wider audience and cutting cost. This would also help the company reach out to its customers with their wide product offerings. The reporting of this person is the major concern to Mr. John Fahey.

Evaluation of options: The criteria for evaluating the various options are as follows: Structural clarity & decision-making process: -The option should help organization clarify the roles and responsibilities, ease some internal fighting over pricing and profit sharing. Customer Relations & Growth -The options will definitely instilling a sense of belongingness in the customer towards the society. It will create means of meaningful engagement thus increasing satisfaction of customers and benefiting NGS by improved involvement of customer. Profitability: The option should impact profitability by creating a new channel of delivering NGSs product offerings to all its members.

Options: E-commerce head report to head of Enterprise Group. E-commerce head report to John Fahey. E-commerce head report to CEO and president of Global Media.

Criteria Evaluation: 1. E-commerce head report to head of Enterprise group Structural clarity & decision-making process:-Possibility of getting captured by one of operating units in terms of interests. Will get support from experienced team Customer relations: Impact would be in terms of more digitization and better E-Commerce. !"#$%&'()!"*'+,-../0,'%123'45' 6!
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CASE ANALYSIS: THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY!

Profitability: the group has experience in e commerce, encompasses licensing, retail stores and catalog. The kind of work the position will be doing requires knowledgeable staff in the field of ecommerce, which Enterprise group can effectively provide. This will have positive impact on profitability.

E-commerce head report to John Fahey

Structural clarity & decision-making process:- this will underline importance of position and maintain its neutrality. Profitability: This would ensure that the decisions impacting the groups would be neutral and coordinate the societys e-commerce business efforts in its mission. Customer relations: It will lead to better integration of services of the different groups.

E-commerce head report to CEO and president of Global Media

Structural clarity & decision-making process: CEO is already reported by the book publishing, television, film, music and radio, digital media and map units as well as NGS venture units and hence further one more reporting might dilute the attention this position requires in terms of societys long-term goal. Profitability: If the e-commerce head reports to Kelly, then the decisions impacting the groups might lead to conflicts and will increase accountability of the person. He can integrate the product offerings of the society and be relationship oriented. Customer relations: It will have a great impact on customer relations as reporting to CEO will lead to better integration of services of the different groups and hence result in better customer relations.

Action Plan:
The e-commerce executive should bring in the much-needed synergy among the different groups with a far-sighted strategy in place. The e-commerce executive may consider bringing magazines and books more digitized through Apps and kindles. The e-commerce executive may consider apps for online purchase of subscriptions. The e-commerce executive should take fast paced decisions and consider customer value development through holistic memberships.

Conclusion: National Geographic Society is facing erosion in their basic membership, as the
customer is confused with multiple offerings and faces of NGS. The new executive is needed to drive innovation within the organization, maintain synergy among the groups and help build stronger customer relations thus helping generate profits for NGS.

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