Hasbro Interactive. Please Focus, Emphasizing Management Control

¶ … Hasbro Interactive. Please focus, emphasizing Management Control Systems: o Identify corporate / business unit strategy. o Identify current management control system. o Evaluate control system effectively supporting company's business unit's strategy.

Management control systems: Hasbro Interactive

Management control systems: Hasbro Interactive

Hasbro Interactive's strategy

Hasbro Interactive was a unit of one of the largest toy companies in the world, the Hasbro Corporation. Hasbro manufactures entertainment and educational games for children. The company has been producing toys such as Play-Dough, GI Joe, and Mr. Potato Head for many generations. It is striving to capture the imaginations of children and their parents today by expanding its technological and marketing outreach to suit the needs of contemporary children, while still holding true to its founder's intention.

The Hasbro Corporation deploys an intensely people-focused strategy in its use of managerial controls. As a creative company where new ideas and talent are a vital part of its enterprise, Hasbro actively selects and mentors top company talent. It also sets high performance goals for employees. These goals are supported with a strong program of mentorship and education. "Talent management at Hasbro is an organizational imperative. Hasbro's success depends upon a high performing and highly motivated workforce. Our talent management program is an integrated system of policies and initiatives which identifies high potential, high performing talent within the organization" (Talent management, 2011, Hasbro). When workers are identified as top performers, they are given additional training through a formal program known as 'Hasbro University.' This continues throughout an employee's tenure at the company, as "annual succession planning for senior leadership and key positions within the organization is an important component of this initiative" to develop employee skills and leadership (Talent management, 2011, Hasbro). People are viewed as the company's greatest asset, particularly when it comes to developing new, cutting-edge digital components of core toy brands like My Little Pony.

Hasbro Interactive's current management control system.

Hasbro characterizes its overall strategy as one of performance management, in which employee performance appraisals are measured against business and personal objectives; in light of corporate values; technical skills, demonstrated leadership competencies and a willingness to show initiative by creating individual development plans (Talent management, 2011, Hasbro). It also offers employee and executive education programs, both online and through technical and professional development schools on campus in its various international locations to give employees the ability to work on critical leadership and job-related skills. This acts as a managerial system of quality control, encouraging employees to add to their credentials. Education enables employees to become more of an asset to the company, under the mentorship of senior teachers and leaders. The company invests in its employees, and thus hopes its employees invest their time and effort back into the company. Focusing upon education and pursuing an international strategy seems essential for the company to succeed in the new, technologically-focused age of toys.

Is the control system is effectively supporting Hasbro's strategy?

Although Hasbro focuses upon using cutting-edge technology in its development, marketing, and dissemination of new toys, it ultimately was forced to sell Hasbro Interactive in 2000, in the wake of the dot.com crash. Because of the crash, "Hasbro share price had lost 70% of its value in just over a year and Hasbro would post a net loss the first time in two decades" (Hasbro Interactive, 2011, Absolute Astronomy). The parent company Hasbro sold Hasbro Interactive to the French software company Infogrames, shedding its famous gaming brand Atari. However, in 2005, "Hasbro bought back the digital gaming rights for their properties from Atari for $65 million" (Hasbro Interactive, 2011, Absolute Astronomy). Although Hasbro had decided to focus more on its hands-on toys after the 2000 crash, in 2005, it wished to expand the franchises of some of its core products, such as Monopoly, My Little Pony, and Transformers, into the online market (Hasbro Interactive, 2011, Absolute Astronomy).