California State University Dominguez Hills

College of Business Administration and Public Policy

Carson, CA 90747  (310) 243-3548  FAX (310) 516-3664

Name: Diaa Gissri

Date: October 22, 2019

Case #: 3 Case Name: LinkedIn

(1) Describe the company LinkedIn. What did the company do in late 2005,
2006 to make it a valuable site? Who are LinkedIn competitors?

(2) Under the section "Products and Services" the article describes
LinkedIn's core service to members. Read, analyze, and write about this
section.

(3) Describe the benefits of becoming a LinkedIn member.

(4) What are LinkedIn's mission and vision statements? What is Weiner's view of
mission and vision statements? Please review Exhibit 2.
(5) List and describe LinkedIn's three revenue streams. Please review Exhibit
6.

(6) Describe LinkedIn's plans for future growth.

 Case 3 – LinkedIn

1) Describe the company LinkedIn. What did the company do in late 2005, 2006 to make it a
valuable site? Who are LinkedIn competitors?
The social networking platform, LinkedIn, was developed explicitly as a communal space for

professional business people. The aim of this website is to allow members to generate and maintain lists

and networks of individuals that they feel they can reply upon on a professional basis. In 2005, LinkedIn

began offering two new subscription plans for their members: Personal Plus and Pro. This generated more

opportunities for professionals to connect and further build their networks.

With the new advanced features, members could find greater employment opportunities or discover

future recruits. The member profiles were also indexed on Google, heightening the average member’s

visibility. This may have been what catapulted the business into profitability in the year 2006. This occurred

because members of the site clamored to register for the new services that were released in the previous

year. Viadeo, ZipRecruiter, Simply Hired, Glassdoor, CareerBuilder, Jobs2Careers, and Naukri and Snag

are some of their competitors.

(2) Under the section "Products and Services" the article describes LinkedIn's core service to
members. Read, analyze, and write about this section.
Under this section, the vice president of products and user experience articulates the company’s

vision for their members, mainly its accessibility. The majority of the members that utilize the site can enjoy

the bulk its features for free or with minimal cost to the user. Members can create a profile and make

connections with other business professionals at no cost to them. This affords the vast majority of members

the ability to network without having to pay any of the fess associated with premium accounts, although

access to certain individuals may be restricted because of this.

In order to prevent superfluous connections, which could cheapen the effect of worthwhile

networking, members must put forth an introduction. The majority of members do not want to introduce

an individual to their other connections unless they consider them trustworthy.

(3) Under the section "Products and Services" the article references a member's home page. List
and describe the sections on the home page. Please review Exhibit 5 and/or review a LinkedIn.com
site for reference in answering this question.
The headline of a profile typically holds a current job title by default. However, this could be

utilized for other effects, so long as they remain within the small limit of characters that is afforded to each

member within this space. A profile must have a clear, concise summary of the individual and their level of

competence. This section should not be filled with extraneous writing as it might appear to be rambling and

strenuous to read.

Members that list their skill sets boost visibility significantly on the site. It offers those who view

the profile a compendious view of the professional as whole and may make it easier for others to ascertain

whether or not a connection is right for them. Photos increase visibility exponentially. This is a common

phenomenon across various forms of social media. Pictures should be professional and imply the competent

spirit of the individual profile. Current employment should be included as well as previous places of

employment for the last 15 years or the last 3 positions held.

(4) What is Weiner's view of mission and vision statements? What are LinkedIn mission and vision
statements? Please review Exhibit 2.
The ultimate goal of this company is to create a vast social media platform that allows professionals

to connect with each other in meaningful ways. Elaborating on this goal, further visionary implications

gleamed from the mission statement declare that the Weiner believes in making the world a more

productive place by making employment opportunities accessible. Optimizing the productivity of the

average professional member is an inevitable consequence of this endeavor.

(5) List and describe LinkedIn's three revenue streams. Please review Exhibit 6.

LinkedIn’s three revenue streams are comprised of the following: Hiring Solutions, Marketing

Solutions, and Premium Subscriptions. These have been created with the specific intent to appeal to a

wide variety of consumer. Even if one component of a single revenue stream fails to perform as well as

expected, there are enough components that will likely perform well enough to make up for the proceeding

failure.

The hiring solutions of LinkedIn, as examined as a single stream of revenue, is composed of various
services and websites that seek to aid employers in finding prospective employees.

Marketing solutions are made up of 4 different varieties of outright ads as well as sponsorships. Some of

these ads do more work for the company than others, thereby generating higher rates of effectiveness when

combined with traditional ads.

Premium subscriptions clearly bolster revenue by allowing certain consumers of LinkedIn services

the chance to obtain desirable features that are exclusive to those that pay the associated fees.

(6) Describe LinkedIn's plans for future growth.

LinkedIn is set to build a larger, more sustainable infrastructure with the aim to generate an upward

scale. The idea is to invest and spend more on the company and develop the technology that surrounds and

produces the business transactions of which it is comprised of. Since this company is driven by and running

on modern technology, it makes sense for the company to develop stronger, renewable variants of its

product.

Through product growth development, the company aims to keep consumers up-to-date and

organized by combining fresh approaches for employers and prospective employees alike. Innovation is an

important factor for LinkedIn’s potential future growth.

The sales force for this company is also expected to increase as a way to produce growth on an

international scale. This trajectory is the logical conclusion of the growth that has already been experienced

by the company, so much so that it almost seems as if the expansion is less of plan for growth and more of

a necessity.

(7) LinkedIn connects multiple networks. Identify the five networks within LinkedIn.

There are 5 different networks that comprise LinkedIn. Talent Solutions is meant to compel

prospective employees to create connections with businesses they find attractive. Managers and leaders can

seek out individuals that may suit the positions that they have available within their particular company.

Sales Solutions allow business persons the opportunity to find creative solutions for the marketing

of their products. This goes beyond simply advertising the product and seeks to rectify any underlying
issues that may stymy sales.

Job listings provide a space for employers to advertise the positions they have available and what they

entail and require.

Marketing solutions employ the use of a variety of useful tactics to elevate advertising beyond

simply ad-posting. While ad posting is typically a decent way to start off an advertising campaign, it

commonly leaves much to be desired where impact is concerned.

Learning solutions allow companies the chance to develop the talent that they have already retained. This

can lead to more productive and knowledgeable employees with deeper skill sets.

Citations

Yoffie, D. & Kind, L. (2015) LinkedIn Harvard Business School