Research Paper on Square
Posted: January 4th, 2023
Final Research Paper on Square
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Abstract
The paper illustrates how Square, like many other companies, is striving to deal with a number of issues in the sector where it operates. The need to improve business performance after Corona and the urge to safeguard consumer privacy continue to generate much debate. So far, the company cannot run its supply chain because of the Covid-19 and is contemplating taking stringent measures to survive the hard times. The firm can overcome the issues by embracing good leadership structures and approaches and by performing an analysis of how the internal and external business environment impact on operations and outcome.
Final Research Paper on Square
Square must make suitable decisions that would help it overcome the challenges it currently experience in the market. Issues such as the Covid-19, competition and the need to make suitable decisions that would ensure customer privacy are some of the matters that require urgent attention to save the company from experiencing unbearable consequences. Strong leadership is required at such a time, and the management must use tools such as the SWOT analysis to understand whether it is in a good position to overcome the constraints. The CINO at Square must work together with others to develop proper interventions that would steer the company in the right direction. Identifying the problems at Square and applying the right intervention measures will help to achieve the organizational needs and enhance competition despite the current problems.
Company Overview
Square is a financial service company in San Francisco, California. The firm makes and markets software and hardware, especially those that facilitate payment services across various sectors. Initially, the group focused on serving big companies, but it is now diversifying into small corporations with the objective of attracting more consumers. Square has made considerable strides in its operations since its establishment in 2009 by Jim McKelvey and Jack Dorsey (Square, 2020). Square is a public company and has traded on the New York Exchange from 2015 (Square, 2020). An example of a product by Square is the Square Reader, which was the company’s initial product, and enables users to use credit card payments. The company in 2013 manufacturer the Square Stand to improve the functionality of the Apple iPad, and again produced Bluetooth-enabled reader to facilitate cash transfer using iOS and Android systems (Square, 2020). The corporation made significant strides in 2017 with its introduction of the Square Register that functions as an independents point of sale. The company also offers several IT-related services with the objective of attracting more buyers in the financial services sector that is highly competitive.
Debate
The main debate now at the company as well as other firms that operate in the sector is whether the firm will be able to get on track again now that the world is battling Covid-19 and many companies are suppressing their activities. The stakeholders at Square, for instance, continue to debate on how the company will be able to deal with the new security threats have continued to affect such companies, and are not even a major threat with the world having to deal with a major concern (Square, 2020). The management feels that it may be hard to regain the previous position before the pandemic struck, and considers cutting spending as a way of mitigating the financial challenges that most companies are currently experiencing (Square, 2020). Some workers, however, seem to have varying views regarding the cost cutting measures the company wants to take, with so many fearing that they might lose their jobs as it happens in many other companies that are now laying off their workers and sending many others to unpaid leave. The debates on how the company needs to pick up after the pandemic may continue even after the impact of the disease lessens, because the company considers other essential concerns that also generate varying views.
The company’s leaders and workers continue to debate on how the firm can advance its security systems as well as enhance data protection because other forward-thinking corporations are now focusing on ways of inserting privacy features while designing their products, which cause much debate among stakeholders. So much debate, for example, continues at Square regarding the measures that need to be put to implement privacy guidelines that achieve the GDPR standards (Square, 2020). The pressures come from other businesses that are already considering protecting their customers by enacting GDPR-related policies, and from international guidelines that ensure consumer privacy and protection on a universal scale to enable easier compliance (Hritz, 2008). A section of employees at the company thinks that as a maker of IoT devices, it must not associate with any vulnerable hardware and software components, or those that are prone to poor network (Square, 2020). The section believes that using devices that do not meet the standards may have fatal repercussions on the entire firm as well as buyers who may feel that their personal information is not safe and secure. The group that supports the adoption of stiffer privacy measures argue that the business managers needs to intervene to speed up enactment policies that strengthen confidentiality at this time that innovation and digital transformation is gaining a new phase.
Impact of Covd-19
Covid-19 has had a major blow on Square just as it has affected many other businesses operating in different sectors. As several economies in America and Europe strive to reopen their economies following the emergence of Corona, it is imperative to consider the impact the pandemic has on businesses. The Covid-19 has created a scenario where spending in systems integration services and technology consulting will go down because of the temporary shutdown witnessed in the recent past, and could go as down as 5% if the company holds back on its key projects (Square, 2020). The pandemic has caused significant challenge to tech companies as it is projected that the global and U.S. tech markets will drop by about 2.3% or even more this year, especially if the recession reaches its full capacity (Square, 2020). The Covd-19 has caused other challenges that have adverse effects on Square, and other companies functioning in the sector (Colombus, 2020). Square and other companies serving in the sector are now facing considerable challenges in accessing raw materials because most planes are not functioning and, and the workers at the places where they get the raw materials are also cautious of contracting the virus, and are therefore restricting their operations (Wakabayashi, Nocas, Lohr & Isaac, 2020). Nonetheless, the disease has caused an increase in demand for particular software from Square, especially those that facilitate payment because with Corona spreading very fast by touching contaminated objects, many people and organizations are switching to cashless modes of transaction such as mobile money and the use of software such as those that Square produces. The management at Square has to be keen to avoid further negative effects of Covid-19, and take appropriate measures to mitigate the challenges that are already evident.
SWOT
A SWOT analysis of Square helps to understand whether the company shall overcome the challenges it currently experiences. SWOT analysis helps the firm understand its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that could help it or distract it from achieving its goals and objectives (Desfitrina, Widarti & Zulfadhli, 2019; Gurel & Tat, 2017). The strengths at Square are that the brand is increasingly becoming stronger, and has achieved excellent performance in new markets. The opportunities Square can utilize to increase its performance, include the new trends in consumer tastes and behavior and the advancement in technology (Lekara, 2019). Square presently faces several threats that could interfere with its operations, and must take quick actions to address the concerns. The Covid-19 as already illustrated is a major threat that could disrupt business patterns now and in the future (Delloitte, 2020; World Economic Forum 2020). The pandemic threatens the stock market and the cancelation and postponement of trade shows and conferences deny Square so much information and opportunity. The disease also threatens the development and management of effective supply chain processes. The other threat the company faces comes from the competition from other operators in the sector. Companies such as PayPal Here, Clover and Shopify are equally advancing their activities, which put Square at considerable threat. PayPal, for instance, has wider global coverage than Square thereby giving it a large customer base. Square should rely on the findings of its SWOT analysis and make necessary modifications that would stabilize the company’s operations.
CINO
The chief innovation officer (CINO) at Square is in charge of managing the change management and innovation processes at the company. The CINO at Square has high credibility, and has the capacity to predict future changes, which is a very vital requirement for an innovation officer. More importantly, the CINO is conversant with the provisions of International Standard Organization (ISO) that advocates for high level of skills in employing the latest technology (ISO, 2020). In addition, the CINO has to be a motivator who encourages everyone to work towards meeting the business goals and objectives. The CINO has to motivate workers from diverse backgrounds to give their best performance, and through such an approach it becomes easier to become innovative. Also important is the CINO should employ various motivational approaches bearing in mind that people are different and what works for one person might not necessarily work for another.
Stock Market
Square is a public held company trading in the New York Exchange (NYE). The company currently trades at 73.79 at the NSE which has fallen from 75.31 because of the current pandemic (Krause, 2020). Analysts are likely to recommend a hold a monitor how things may turn out in the next few months (Yahoo Finance, 2020). The management hopes to perform better in the stock market now that several states have started reopening their economies.
Recommendations
Square must take appropriate measures to deal with the challenges it currently experiences if it wants to record better performance now and after the pandemic. A suitable way to develop suitable solutions would be to rely on effective leadership guidance and directives, especially on matters that could impact on the organizational performance (Maxwell, 2009; Wanjiru, Muathe, Kintua-Njuguna, 2019). The leaders should have the capacity to give helpful instructions on the direction the company should take during difficult times, and should welcome the views of others (Miharo, Sasmoko, Djap & Alamsjah, 2019; Sukru, Niavand & Rashid, 2019). The manager should empower everyone to have the capacity to deal with the problem as a team rather than secluding others who may have bright ideas (Hao & Yazdanifard, 2015; Reza, 2019) on how to deal with the pandemic, internal issues as well as other external problems. The other suitable intervention would be to learn from how other companies deal with similar issues to avoid making speculations or taking initiatives that may worsen the situation.
Conclusion
Square can overcome the present challenges by embracing effective leadership approaches and learning from how other companies handle the challenges. Debates continue at the company regarding how the firm would pick up after the Covid-19 pandemic, and how to uphold customer privacy. Covid-19 had disrupted the company in significant ways that will definitely impact on revenue generation and stock market. Square, however, should perform a SWOT analysis to know its position in handling the constraints it faces, and use the findings to make necessary adjustments.
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