Motorola is a long time established company that provides personal communications equipment such as cell phones, pagers, and two-way radios (Motorola). According to the Motorola web page, the company started out in 1923 as a small business by entrepreneur Paul Galvin, in Chicago, Illinois, making battery eliminators so that early radios could run on household electronic current instead of batteries. Throughout the years, Motorola developed mobile radios for the U. S. Army and for the police, and also made the first car radios. In the 1970s, Motorola changed its focus to the semi-conductor market and strengthened its position in the market through the acquisition of data communications hardware companies. By the mid-1980s, cellular phone systems had taken off and Motorola was the top company in the market. They held this position until the mid 1990's .
when the company started to see its sales and profits drop dramatically as a result of .
increased competition in the market place and a down turn in semi-conductor sales. The company's personal communication sector, which includes cell phones and pagers, has dropped 13% of the market share to Nokia's 35%, and although the semi-conductor unit is the leading seller of chips to the auto industry, that is a slow growth business (Crockett, 2001, p. 3). .
Motorola is located in Schaumburg, Illinois, and five years ago, the founder's grandson, Chris Galvin, took over as Chief Operating Officer (CEO). The company has grown into a global company with six business units operating in 40 different countries. Motorola's 2001 Annual Report shows that consolidated sales totaled $30.004 billion and the number of global employees is 111,000, which includes all sectors of the company.
Motorola's stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol MOT. Motorola has lost 72% of its market share over the past two years as the stock has dropped from $60.