World Telephone Company Vodafone - Report Example

VODAFONE COMPANY GHANA Background Information Vodafone, the leading mobile provider in Ghana, is the subsequent mobile provider after the initial Ghana Telecom, or the ‘national telecommunications company’, was bought by the Vodafone Group in 2008 (Stanley, 2014, para 1–6). This sale brought about a restructuring within the operation of the company with the Vodafone Group owning 70% stake within the company and the government controlling the 30% remaining interest. The move by the Vodafone Group to register interest in operating the mobile services within the country was informed by the rising prospects within the continent in mobile telephony. In fact, Ghana stemmed up to be among the most promising mobile telephony markets within the continent, and this brings about the interest from the major players within the region, which are MTN, Vodafone, Milicom as well as Bharti Airtel. After the transfer, the mobile telephony provider was rebranded Vodafone Ghana later within year 2009. Besides the operation of the company within the West African state of Ghana, the company has interest and operations within other emerging markets in Africa, which include Kenya, Tanzania, central Africa, Mozambique and Lesotho. Though the market is promising, the company has not yet hit the market as projected in the early years of operation within the country partly for the reason of poor market reception, which accords it only a 17% market share in the country. Problem/Issue Identified: Low Penetration per Head Among the most outspoken problems or issues that are pointed out to affect the industry within the country is the low penetration rate of mobile telephony services with an overall less than three million mobile subscribers in the country in 2008. The main challenge attributed to the low rating of subscribers is low penetration rate per head, which stood at 35% as at 2008. Though the country has more than half of its population being the youth below twenty-five years of age, the statistics in mobile telephony reception are worrying based on comparison with other countries whose largest mobile phone users are the youth. Nevertheless, though the low penetration is being pointed as a challenge, there would be other factors to be blamed on the relatively low pace in the reception. There would be lack of basic incentives that would boost the reception rate within a country such as government policies that encourage the public to invest within the industry as well as through incentives to have mobile subscribers enjoy using the services. Monopoly by the state owned company in provision of the services would equally have contributed highly to the lower reception rates within the country and this would be addressed through increased participation of mobile telephony providers. This would equally contribute towards lowered costs in service delivery, which would be a boost towards the customer perspectives. Low penetration per head would also be explained by relatively lower range of products and services in the market and this would be pointed out through lack of such basic services as good internet networks and low innovations such as the use of mobile money transfer services among others. The problem of low penetration has an adverse effect not only on the economic gains that the mobile service providers gets but also the bigger economic loss suffered by the country and the public. The modern day living derives great benefits from mobile services such as through internet services, money transfer services, ease of communication as well as subsidiary and supportive industry in support to the mobile services. Management proposal In order for any organization to be effective in operations, the management must ensure the quality of services offered meets the needs of the customers in order to build up their loyalty and in the process increase the sales volume (Brown, Lamming, Bessant and Jones, 2005, p. 1-20). Concerning the problem cited above facing the company, the best and most effective way in dealing with it would be through improving on services on offer to ensure the quality of services offered is the best. This would improve on customer satisfaction, which would lead to increased loyalty towards the services on offer (Boohene and Agyapong, 2011, p. 229-235). The management would realize effectiveness in operations within the country by adopting the structural adjustment, which would lead to more people using the services. For instance, the advancement in mobile technology has seen an ease of access of internet through mobile phones through which access to social media as well as communications is improved. Other services that mobile telephone providers are providing are mobile money transfer services such as the M-Pesa services in Kenya by Safaricom as well as services in mobile banking. This study recommends that the management should diversify on services on offer in order to improve on the livelihoods of individuals in the country. The increase in range of services on offer to the public such as the voice calling services, internet services, provision of relatively cheaper but quality telephones and upholding corporate social responsibilities like in environmental management would have a likely impact in attracting many subscribers to the telephony services on offer by the company. Reflections on such topics The modern day living has been greatly shaped by mobile services and thus telecommunication services would not be overemphasized within any country. The mobile telephony providers have therefore risen to be highly acknowledged in modern economies for the critical role that they play. However, managers have increasingly faced challenges in operating within some economies and especially in emerging markets, which provide great prospects in business growth. The managers are pointed to have had different approaches to solving such a common shortcomings in the industry as the low penetration and reception rates as seen in Ghana. For instance, expansion of service network through improved infrastructure in the economy as proposed by the Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin (BBC news, 2008, para 2) in 2008 has the capacity to improve on the reception in the market. This has the capacity of influencing the quality of services provided through improved signal strengths and diversification of services on offer. Improved marketing strategies have an equal capacity of improving on penetration per head within the country. Other proposals are through government intervention, which the management should, lobby for. Government should create an enabling environment for business in the country through policies that would favor low operation costs to the companies. A manager would therefore learn that effectiveness in management practices in such a market as represented by Ghana is multifaceted. Although some strategies would be more effective than the others would, comprehensive adoption of multiple solutions would produce better results. For instance, improved infrastructural network together with improved marketing has the capacity of producing better results as against adopting only one strategy. A successful manager would therefore focus on adopting multiple strategies as product diversification, improved marketing practices as well as improvement on physical infrastructure, as prerequisite to good performance in the market. Another tool that would be used is increased participation in social welfare programs, which improves on corporate social responsibilities. Besides, the use on common public platforms for communication and collection of customer feedback enables a management team to respond effectively to emerging issues of concern. It is also worth noting that strategic management practices define the performance of a company within a country or a market segment. This therefore explains the recommendation of this paper to have management adopt strategic effective tools in launching operations within the market in Ghana. Consultation in decision-making processes by management is an effective tool while running such an organization as Vodafone Ghana. This is because; unlike the case with individual decisions-making processes, corporate decision-making carries interest of various stakeholders. In the case of managerial decisions involved in Vodafone Ghana, the company attracts interest by the shareholders as well as the government of the country and hence the decision making process must involve the deliberations of many if not all the stakeholders. Collection of opinions and ideas from the various stakeholders may be technical hence the proposal of adoption of most effective tools in communication. Among the emerging trends, which are, gaining higher acceptance in corporate circles is the use of social media platforms and such other online tools as the websites. A study conducted by Agyapong (2010, p. 203) sought to understand the link between customer satisfaction and the loyalty and involved Vodafone company and its operations in Ghana. The findings by the study are quite instrumental in this analysis as among other findings and recommendations advanced were that mobile telephony industry is much dependent on the quality of services and timeliness of such services on offer. The study found that it would be imperative for any service provider within the utility (telecom) industry to ensure that right services are offered at the most opportune time in order to improve on the market reception as well as to improve the general customer service. From the study, one learns that differentiation of services as well as identification and satisfaction of needs of customers is prerequisite to improving the networking of a company within a country. This is because product specialization and distinction enables a company to be separated from other competitors in the market. This paper therefore recommends that the higher managers in the Vodafone Ghana Company should strive to be distinct in quality of services on offer as well as in embracing customer needs as is required for the company to be effective while launching its operations in Ghana. The managers have therefore a higher obligation in designing and embracing better brand options in order to have effective marketing strategy within the country. Just as is the case with other operating companies, the management teams are obligated to creation of higher business brands. Higher brands are a necessity to improved performance within the industry. Finally, this paper observes effectiveness in registration of SIM cards within the country as this would improve on statistical background on the number of registered subscribers and hence aid in managerial decision-making. SIM registration has also an effect in enabling the service providers to do market mapping and segmentation, which is effective in improving service delivery processes (‘Ghana Telecommunications Report - Q3, 2010, p. 1-10). Conclusion Vodafone Ghana company is among the leading telecommunications company in the country having been a direct creation from the sale of the original national telecommunications company. The West African nation presented a great potential for the company especially after that takeover from Ghana telecom. This is because, as observed by many major players in the industry across the globe, emerging markets especially in Africa and Asia presents a great untapped potential for the mobile telephony industry. However, the company faces some critical challenges in the operations, greatest of which being the low penetration per head. This report establishes that the low reception of telecommunication services in the country would be the main challenge that Vodafone Ghana had to overcome in efforts to be effective in the market. The analysis shows that customer satisfaction would be the most effective tool to address the problem where just, as is the case with any other business; customer satisfaction is always the focus of the business. The report therefore suggested effective tools to be adopted in ensuring that the right services and products are availed to the potential and actual customers in timely manner. This has the potential of improving on customer satisfaction while at the same time improving on the loyalty of customers to the firm. However, other opinions would propose improved telecommunication infrastructure for improved signal coverage, product and service differentiation as well as constructive government involvement. Future strategies in managing the company in the country should ensure that wide coverage of the market is embraced. The company should invest in more customer oriented products and services in order to improve on penetration per head in the country. Moreover, effective pricing strategies would boost customer loyalty, which would improve on overall company operations and effectiveness in the economy. SIM registration in the country should also be encouraged, as this would help in market segmentation and easy management of customer profiles. This would be instrumental in managerial decision-making processes, not only for the company but also for such other players and the government alike. Bibliography Agyapong, G.K.Q. 2011.The Effect of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in the Utility Industry - A Case of Vodafone (Ghana). International Journal of Business and Management, 6(5): 203-210. BBC news, 2008. Vodafone in Ghanaian mobile deal. Available at:< http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7487821.stm>[Accessed 12, March, 2014]. Boohene, R. and Agyapong, G.K.Q. 2011. Analysis of the Antecedents of Customer Loyalty of Telecommunication Industry in Ghana: The Case of Vodafone (Ghana). International Business Research, 4(1): 229-240. Brown S., Lamming R., Bessant J. and Jones P., 2005. Strategic Operations Management. Available at:< https://www.academia.edu/3047883/Strategic_Operations_Management>[Accessed 12, March, 2014]. Stanley C. J., 2014. 9 Ghana telecommunications companies you must know. Available at:< http://techtalkafrica.com/ghana-telecommunication-companies-list.html>[Accessed 12, March, 2014]. Read More