Introduction
Netflix is an online provider of internet only streaming media, where TV shows and movies can be watched exclusively online. Netflix was founded in 1997 by two software engineers Reed Hastings and Marc Rudolph. The intention of founding it was to use the internet to rent movies on DVD (Shih, Willy C., Stephen P. Kaufman, and David Spinola. Netflix. Boston). The headquarters are situated at Los Gatos in California. Netflix is now available worldwide. Hastings is the CEO of the company after Rudolph withdrew in 2002.
Netflix background
It was founded in 1997 by Rudolph and Hastings as a mail order DVD rental service.in 1998 Netflix launched its initial DVD rentals and point of sale (neflix.com). In1999 it adopted a monthly subscription model where there was unlimited rentals for a single monthly rate.in 2000 Netflix introduced a system which recommended a personalized movie using the ratings of a member and previous uses to predict the movie choices. In 2002, it made its initial public offering and it was in the same year which Rudolph left Netflix and at this time it had 600,000 subscribers in whole of America. In 2005 the subscribers increased to 4.5 million. In 2008, Netflix partnered with electronics companies such as Sony and Microsoft which led offered consumers with entertainment online content. In 2010 Netflix was launched in Canada and was available in iPod touch, apple iPads, iPhone among other devices offering entertainment online content at the time. In 2011 it had been launched in South American countries. By 2012 it had expanded to Netherlands and on the same year it was nominated for the Emmy awards. In 2014 it won the Emmy awards and had 50 million subscribers (“Netflix Is Taking over the World of Video Entertainment.”)
The Growth of Netflix
Netflix’s vast growth can be attributed to the great business idea generated by the employees and also the responses from the subscribers. Barry Enderwicks posted a LinkedIn how to copy Netflix which gave the reasons for the great and rapid growth of Netflix.
Reaction to the market shifts
Netflix had started as a mail order DVD rental service but due to the increasing internet speeds it had to change its strategy.by 2004 Netflix had to adopt to the dramatically changing world and therefore they changed their strategy to streaming. Streaming was seen to be the best way to deliver entertainment at the time. Therefore, the Netflix members could now stream the TV shows and the movies in the availability of internet connection. This was a great development in Netflix which also led to the increase of its members drastically. The fast reaction to the changing market helps in the growth of a company.
Courage to reverse decisions
Once Netflix had built its own streaming device which enabled them to shoot promotional videos. The workers at Netflix were not comfortable with this device and therefore Netflix had to find an alternative to the use of the device. They had to convince other brands like Samsung to include Netflix in their devices and therefore, leading to their growth. The branding streaming device was done away with though they had spent a lot of time and money on it. In order to have a successful business, individuals should be ready to reverse some decisions for the benefit of the company.
Adverse research
Netflix executives before making a decision on any of their research they had to consult fist with the employees whether the decision would improve entertainment. In 2004 they had a problem with the brands and therefore an intense research was conducted on how to get to know how to align features and create a marketing messaging. With the intensive research, a company is able to get provision strategic guidance and simplify difficult issues.
Development of a culture
Netflix has a culture deck whose intention is to bring up a high performance of Netflix. The deck culture does not affect everyone since some employees are given the chance to make their own decisions as adults. The culture has helped some of the workers at Netflix to thrive and get empowered. The culture should be embraced by all the employees for the betterment of the company.
Effects of Netflix to Other Companies
Netflix has very strict polies which every employee should adhere to.in the company, when an employee is old and unable to perform effectively they are fired (“Hard Work Can Get You Fired And 15 Other Rules At Netflix”). This is usually done so as to improve the work efficiency. Other companies have embraced this culture and are able to star up to the top.one of the companies which has embraced this culture is Campaign Monitor based in Sydney which is an email marketing startup.at Netflix the managers get to keep the performance records of the employees and they give a list of the employees they would give incase another firm tried to ‘steal ‘some of their workers and those not in the list are moved on. The company does not envision itself as a family since the employees can’t stick there forever. This policy is also utilized by other companies and they tend to improve their working.
In Netflix the presence of a person in the office all day may not matter but what counts is the hard work and the outcome of the hard work and their performance. People who work hard but achieve very little performance are moved on at Netflix. Other companies get influenced by these Netflix policies and they start keeping an eye on their employees’ performance this is as described by Patty McCord in Netflix slide deck. Patty was also a victim of been moved on in 2012.oher companies try to copy the many policies in Netflix and end up improving the working and efficiency of their workers by a great deal. The positive effects of Netflix on other companies can be felt all over. Some companies like Samsung, Sony and apple are partnered with Netflix so as to make the steaming of movies and TV shows available to all the members.
- “Hard Work Can Get You Fired And 15 Other Rules At Netflix”. SUCCESS, 2017, http://www.success.com/article/hard-work-can-get-you-fired-and-15-other-rules-at-netflix.
- “Here’s How Netflix Will Take Over The World: Goldman Sachs”. CNBC, 2017, http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/14/heres-how-netflix-will-take-over-the-world-goldman.html.
- “Netflix Is Taking over the World of Video Entertainment.” Online Reporter 17 July 2015
- Shih, Willy C., Stephen P. Kaufman, and David Spinola. Netflix. Boston, MA: Harvard Business
