Vodafone group: An analysis

Vodaf 1 group An abbreviationChapter 1 degradeds ProfileVodafone Group is a mobile telecommunications community. The company has a signifi set upt presence in atomic number 63, the Middle East, Africa, Asia pacific and the unite States. In the United States the groups associated undertaking operates as Verizon Wireless.From a UK start-up company in 1984, Vodafone is now the worlds leading mobile telecommunications company. So Vodafone its a market place leader in its current intersection pointion. Businesses receipt that consumers position crossways in relation to those of competitors. on that point can be a pecking order or product ladder. Products force be market leaders. They argon usually the main deal outing product and decisions on prices and progress are often fol broken ined by other products, known as market fol lights. (Dave Hall et al, 2006)Vodafone is amongst the major multinational providers of telecommunication serve. The company has a strong presence i n Ger some, the UK, Italy, Spain and other European countries. Through its get off and partner networks, its ball-shaped reach extends to more than 38 countries. Vodafone offers a wide range of mobile returnss such as voice, messaging, entropy, and roaming services to customers and credit line enterprises. Vodafone has a strong network infrastructure comprising 2G and 3G networks, which are operated oer GSM and GPRS network standards. These networks enable the group provide high speed data services.Legal Type Of FirmVofadone was formerly known as Racal Strategic Radio Limited and changed its name to Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. Further, the company changed its name to Racal Telecom Limited in 1988 to Vodafone Group Public Limited Company in 1991 to Vodafone AirTouch Plc in 1999 and subsequently to Vodafone Group Public Limited Company in 2000. Vodafone Group is headquartered in Newbury, the United Kingdom. starting time http//www.scripophily.net/ratepulicoen. htmlPublic limited companies tends to be larger and is the second type of o limited company. This company name ends in plc. there are about 1.2 million registered limited companies in the UK, but all around 1% of them are public limited companies.Shares in public limited companies whitethorn be freely bought and sold by the general public on the stock market. Owners of plcs are thitherfore seldom closely subscribed with the business. The stock exchange is a market where second hand shares are bought and sold. in operation(p) as a public limited company is associated with both advantages and disadvantages.AdvantagesAll members stand limited liability. massive amounts of money can be raised from the sale of shares to the public.Production costs whitethorn be pull down as firms may gain and this leads to ability to expand and benefit from economies of scale which means as the performance join ons the cost of production per unit decreases. In this case Vodafone will be able to s et lower prices than competitors and in this way increase sales revenue enhancement and maybe profits.The great size of Vodafone, can often dominate the market and lead to a market leader where the competitor firms will have to follow.DisadvantagesThere can be potential management problems in the organization.There may be danger of coup detatThere may be danger of shares loosing value by fashion and rumour and this to lead to a reduction of the stock market shares.Some public limited companies such as Vodafone are in truth large indeed. They have millions of shareholders and a wide variety of business interests situated all over the world. So, Vodafone is a multinational company which means that it has production plants in a number of different countries.Type Of competitionVodafone Group Plc is the worlds leading mobile telecomunications , with a significantpresence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia pacific and the united states through the companys subsiadiary undertakin gs, go ventures, associated undertakings and investments.source http//www.linkedin.com/companies/vodafoneVodeafone is operate as an oligoply because it a market leader and has its dominant place in the market. Oligopoly is one of the four market structures. At one extreme perfect competition, where there are very many firms competing. Each firm is so small relative to the whole industry that it has no power to solve price. It is a price taker. At the otherxtreme is monopoly where there is just one firm in the industry, and hence no competition , which involves a quite a lot of firms competing and where there is freedom for new firms to enter the industry, and oligopoly which involves whole a few firms and where entry of new firms is restricted. So, oligopoly is a market structure where there are few enough firs to enable barriers to be erected against the entry of new firms.Product Design And UCD FailuresVodafone the worlds largest mobile operator, is seeking an undergo freela ncer to supportin the design and tuitionof its exclusive products and specific Vodafone owned devices for all customer target groups.Vodafones aim is to grow revenue and improve its profit margin by adding value to its products and services, i.e. Earning more from each product sold. The Vodafone Live service enables customers to use picture messaging to download polyphonic ringtones, colourgames, images and information, through an icon driver menu. Vodafone offers a product with many different features provides customers with opportunities to chat, play games, send and receive pictures, change ringtones, receive information and soon assimilate video clips and send video messages.Vodafone and other mobile squall industries use different ways in orderto prolongthe maturity stage of their product sprightliness cycle and gain more profits. The cell phone life cycle let ins design, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal(or alternatively, refurbishment of recycling components).Cha pter 2Swot abstractThe purpose of Swot Analysis is to conduct a general and quick examination of a business current position so that it can identify preffered and likely directions for the future. Swot analysis involves looking at the internal strengths and weaknesses of a business and the external opportunities and threats. (Dave Hall et al, 2006)StrengthsDiversified geographical portfolio with strong mobile telecommunications operations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and to some extent the USLeading presence in appear markets such as India uncollectible presence in Japan marketStrategig alliances with Apple iPhoneWeaknessesUS business not nearly as strong as European/rest of the world operations80% of its business is generated in EuropeOpportunitiesFocus on costs reductions improving returns Majority stake in Huthcison Essar in IndiaResearch and development of new mobile technologiesFocus on developing markets ( Africa, Latin America ThreatsHighly competitive m arketStill lags behind major competitors in the USExtremely high penetration rates in key European marketsEuropean Union regulation on cross-border cell phone usage by customersDevelpment of VOIP communication Source http//www.wikiswot.com/SWOT/15_Communication_Services/Vodafone.htmlPest-G AnalysisPest -G analysis examines the external environment and the global factors that may affect a business. It can provide a quick and visual representation of the external pressuresfacing a business, and their possible constraints on strategy. It is usually divided into five external influences on a business-political, economic, social, proficient and car park environment. (Dave Hall et al, 2006)Political This is concerned with how political developments, regionally, rationally and internationally might affect Vodafones strategy. It might include a consideration of legislation, such as consumer laws, regulation, political pressures and the goverments view of certain activities.Economic This m ight involve the analysis of a variety of economic factors and their effects on business. They might include consumers ativity, their willingness to spend. Economic variables sch as inflation, unemployement, trade growth. Th effects ofchanges in product and labour markets.Social One social contend that affects the operations of Vodafone in a positive way is the increased population in India. So Vodafone operating in a market with high population leads to an increase demand for its products.Technological Businesses operate in a world of rapd tehnological change. Organisation sneed to regularly review the impact of new technologies upon their activities. Production may shape out of date and increase costs for the business, communication may become inefficient as ICT develops. Thats wherefore Vodafone is investing in RD which is vital in industries where technological change is rapid.Green Enviromental factors can influence the decisions of Vodafone. fetching into report environme ntal considerations mayraise costs, but might as well generate greater sales. Environmental and social issues are very important for Vodafone. They use the monitoring aspect of the entropy system for international data accumulation across their operating companies. This information is fed into their corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and has resulted in significant data qulality proceedss.Chapter 3Global MIS/RisksVodafone is a multinational company operating in a globalised economy where there is free international trade between different countries.International trade is based on the principle of competitive advantage. This means that businesses that benefit from the international trade are those which can produce their products at the final opportunity cost than other countries.According to Peter Jay the ability to produce anywhere in the world, sell your products anywhere in the world and sent your profits anywhere in the world is called globalisation.Vodafone is a very su ccessfull cell phone company, as it is a market leader in the countries that is operating and this it has been achieved by its international competitivness. With international marketing firms have to consider their USP( unic selling point) and their international competitivness in order to increase their global market share. In this effort multinational have to provide greater variety of products better qulity an d at lower price. To improve therefore their USP and improve their international competitivness multinationals should improgve productivity per worker, invest in query and development and experience further economies of scale. (Dave Hall et al, 2006)Vodafone In gold coastian Mobile DealMobile phone firm Vodafone is to expand its presence in Africa which is a less economically developed country by buying a controlling stake in Ghana Telecom for 452 pounds. Rapid uptake in mobile use on the continent has attracted foreign firms. Vodafone is attracted by Ghanas strong economy and political stablity. Ghana is the most attractive markets in Africa. There are currently 2.7 million mobile subscribers executive in Ghana, although overall mobile penetration per head of the population in the west African country reamauins low at 35%. So, as a result of this Vodafone has recently sought to focus on emerging markets with high potential and less established competition, existing more mature mrkets such as Japan.Source http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7487821.stmThe Impact Of Vodafone In The LdcsAs we said previously Vodafone is a multinational company that operates mostly in less economically developed countries that are becoming emerging economies because it can be benefit in a number of ways. However, the operation of Vodafone in those countries is acossiated both with advantages and disadvantages.It can increase the employment and in this way it can increase the income per capita. An increase in domestic competition leads to an improvement in the efficiency of local firms and also decrease inflation. It can improve the balance of payment account of the country if products are sold abroad and also the curency of the country in which a multinational operates in, and also it can introduce new technogy, production processes and management stylkes and techniques.Ethical IssuesThere are some respectable issues that result from the nature of the operation of different multiationals in the ldcs. One ethical issue is the exploitation of workers. There are long working hours, they impose over time and also child and labour prisoners.They might operate in ldcs with lower environmental standards.Usually they have high orked related accidents and the reason is because it is cheaper for them to have lower safety standards.They usually bring their managers ( mddle andhigh level) for ther headworkers and therefore dont give many opportunties to local managers.Because of the size and pecuniary size of such enterprises, there are concerns about the ab ility of goverments to control them and in this way they may be able to avoid paying operation tax. ConclusionThe above project is an analysis of a global multinational company which is operating in different countries and it is a market leader in the products that it provides.The results that came out of this project are connected to the marketing strategies that Vodafone uses in order to promote effectively its products around the world through the an appropriate marketing Mix.I Also saw how different cocial environmental and technological issues benefit the company and which are the threats that may increase costs of vodafone and maybe decrease profits.Finally I analysed the operations of Vodafonesin the less econimically developed countries andin which way it can affect the economy of these countries and the ethical issues that may arrise through such operation. ReferencesDave Hall, Rob Jones, Carlo Raffo (2006), 3rd edition, Business StudiesJohn Sloman , (2006) sixth edition, E conomics, Prentice Hallhttp//www.scripophily.net/ratepulicoen.htmlhttp//www.linkedin.com/companies/vodafonehttp//www.wikiswot.com/SWOT/15_Communication_Services/Vodafone.htmlhttp//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7487821.stmThe rate of increase prices per year. When inflation is increasing prices increase faster, when inflation decreases prices keep increasing but in a slower rate. Inflation is bad for firms and for the market. Since the products are becoming more expensive, peoples purchasing power is reduced so they buy less.