Abstract
Motorola was a global leader in wireless communications technologies, and it was internationally recognised for its innovation and excellence and its dedication to customer satisfaction. It played a leading role in transforming the way in which people communicate, and the company was a leader rather than a follower in technology. The company changed the paradigm of a phone from that of a device that connects places to that of a device that connects people.
Many of its products were radio related, starting with a battery eliminator for radios, to the first walkie-talkies, and to cellular infrastructure equipment and mobile phones. The company was also strong in semiconductor technology, including integrated circuits and the microprocessors used in computers such as the Apple Macintosh and Power Macintosh computers. Motorola had a diverse line of communication products, including satellite systems and digital cable boxes.
Today, Motorola is a shadow of its former self and is now called “Motorola Solutions”. It dominates the market in the United States for emergency communication equipment.
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Notes
- 1.
Motorola’s semiconductor product sector was spun off to become a separate company (Freescale Semiconductor Inc.) in 2003, as Motorola decided to focus on its core activities following a major restructuring of the company.
- 2.
The attitude of Motorola at the time seemed to be similar to that of Henry Ford, i.e. they can have whatever colour they like as long as it is black.
- 3.
DMAIC was influenced by Deming’s “plan, do, check, act” cycle.
References
Motorola Museum of Electrics and Motorola (1999) Motorola (CB) – a journey through time and technology. Purdue University Press
O’Regan G (2014) Introduction to software quality. Springer, Cham
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O’Regan, G. (2015). Motorola. In: Pillars of Computing. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21464-1_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21464-1_23
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