This department interrelate with the objectives. The 1st objective was ‘Maximise profits’ and the 2nd objective was ‘To survive’. These to objectives interrelate with the finance department because, in order to find out if they are maximising profits the finance department has to see how much money is coming in and out of the business. The finance accounting department deals with this function. To find out if Vodafone is surviving you have to produce a profit and loss account this will help decide weather Vodafone is surviving in the market for mobile phones. The management accounting function deals with this function. In order to survive and maximise profits for the finance department they must increase its market share and at time to time produce the profit and loss account for the large varieties of each product weather to see if it is making profit or loss and if it is not making profit then they should carry out research and development or drop prices to maximise sales and profits. But this could also depend upon the quality of the product if they have good quality products then it will sell if not then product is loss making.
Vodafone tries to provide the best working environment for its finance department as they provide many befits. If they did not provide theses benefits Vodafone will no t have any workers, this would mean Vodafone are not making profit in the competing market due to there poor quality products.
The production department: The directors of Vodafone have to makes sure the raw materials for example a phone, it has to be turned into a finished product which is the phone and its contents inside. Also the director has to make sure the final result of the product is at a quality standard.
The manufacturing of phones is split up in to a number of sections which are:
- Production and Planning department: Vodafone will set targets to produce the product at a great quality. So Vodafone does this by having special staff to check the final product thoroughly and to see if it works or has any problems if it does then they will have to overcome the problem
- Purchasing department: this department focuses on making sure that the raw materials are provided in order to produce the product. Vodafone also makes sure the machinery is working functionally so that there are no errors in the process of making.
- Design and Technical support: this department bringing new products through research and development and prototypes this helps the firm to make profit and by bringing new products and offers helps new customers to join the tariff. By bringing new products in to the market it has to be shown and tested to people. By showing people they will tell the company weather they like the product or not this could help them to make improvements.
- The works department : this department focuses on manufacturing of the product and quality control has to be carried out in order to achieve the product at its best quality. Once the product is made they should be inspected by specially employed staff at Vodafone to check the quality if it does not satisfy the inspectors they may need to check the machinery or the labour force. Once they have inspected the machinery and seen how the workers work they may give suggestions of improvements.
This department interrelates with the objectives. The main objective which interrelates with this department is the 6th objective which is to provide and sell high quality products to its suppliers to reach to its customers in a good condition. Vodafone has to make sure the final product is at a high quality. The production and planning department also interrelates into this department, because this department makes sure that the product is made to its highest possible quality and to maximise profits and survive the 2nd department which is the purchasing department interrelates into this. This makes sure that the correct raw materials are being used, and during the production process no errors have occurred therefore machinery should be checked regularly.
The 3rd department is the design and technical support the objective which interrelates with this is the increase in market share because this department concentrates in making a profit by bringing in new products also another objective interrelates into this department which is the selling of high quality products. This department makes sure that research and development is carried out thoroughly and that once the product is bought into the market it should sell well therefore it should maximise profits.
The 4t department is the works department this focuses on producing the product at a high stranded and that the quality should be checked by inspectors. The objectives which interrelates into this department is the extra after sales service because, as the product is being checked thoroughly by inspectors there should be no errors therefore the after sales service would not have much problems to deal with.
Human Resources Department: This is protected by a number of roles of improvements here are the roles:
- Policy making role: This is a policy that covers the premises and the importance of its employees within the organisation
- Welfare role: This the looking after the people at work and there needs which means providing employees with pension schemes.
- Supporting role: this is when you help other function managers to develop work
- Administration: These are many law to be undertaken for example health and safety, it also involve payments, wages and supervision of employees.
The human resources department also is responsible for hiring and firing employees. Also it is responsible for staff training and dealing with matters relating to industrial relations. It also keeps records of staff and man powering planing
This department interrelates with many of Vodafones objectives. The policy making role of Vodafone interrelates with the 4th objective which is ‘providing a good working environment for its workers as this covers the premises as it has an importance of its employees. The welfare role and administration role interrelate into this because this role provides benefits. Which means workers are more motivated which means better quality products with less errors which means maximising profits as products are high quality more products being produced with less error. This means, that more products are being sold. This means Vodafone will have a good reputation as customers will like there products which leads to the 2nd objective which is surviving into the competitive market.
As the workers are motivated, Vodafone’s brings new products into the market. These workers are not being demotivated infact they are being motivated because Vodafone are always bringing new products into the market which means every time a new product comes into the market the workers have a different specification of a job role. Therefore Vodafone’s products are at a high quality. This also shows that Vodafone is providing a good working environment for its workers as they are being motivated. The after sales service of Vodafone do not have much queries to deal with because of high quality mobiles and due to 99% coverage. Vodafone also provides a good service to its community as they are providing jobs to the local community which means they can have a better standard of living.
Marketing department: In order for Vodafone to satisfy its customer requirements it should carry out provide there products at a certain price which customers are able to afford and Vodafone are able to maintain a profit. Vodafone also has to advertise its products, by advertising offers, these offers could include a free phone, with free minutes and phone accessories (which could include, Hands free kit, leather case, in car charger) by giving away free accessories and packages more people will be attracted to buy the product as it could have better value for money. They could also carry out a survey in the need of customer requirement for example how they would like there phone to be like which could be what type of functions do you require. This department also uses a number of methods/ techniques for example telephone sales they do this in order to aware people of new phones and offers. They also send out mails in the same way in which they do by telephone sales. By doing this Vodafone are persuading more people to buy there products.
The objectives interrelate with the department. To maximise profits, survive, increase market share, sell high quality products and provide an after sales service.
Vodafone tries to provide products and services at the right price which people can afford which means they try to sell cheap mobile phones to people who are not so rich and expensive mobiles to the people who are rich. This is how they survive in the competitive market, by maintaining profit.
Vodafone also sell a wide variety of its products for example there own brand mobiles along with the leading brands such as Nokia and Sony. This is how they increase there market share. Vodafone sells high quality products. They advertise there product and service and sometimes they give away free accessories in order to keep the customer satisfied and Vodafone to increase sales and to maximise profits.
This department is also responsible for its after sales service, for its customers, as they have to keep customers satisfied as they some first.
Administration department: Vodafone has a special number which special deals with query about your mobile phone service you just have to ring 191 form you Vodafone phone and Vodafone will be happy to help with any comments, queries or comments any messages. This is important as they would not like to obstruct as it may lead Vodafone into bureaucracy. The Administration department is a support service which also includes in maintenance of the business which could include the premises and equipment and also it makes aware of Vodafones shops and factories aware of Newsletters and also it also deals with stationary and forms which have to be sent out to its shops.
This interrelates mainly with Vodafones after sales service as many people may have many queries or comments about there mobile phone service. And as the number is free to ring it is more convientant and information can be obtained easily. This department also interrelates with providing a good environment for its workers for example the after sales staff should be trained and should understand the steps in the ways to deal with comments or any queries. Therefore they are motivated at doing there job as they know what they have to do and what not to do by satisfying the customers they are trying to maximise sales and profits. They reasons why Vodafone keeps its customers satisfied is mainly because they want customers to come back which means they would bring money which is the only way Vodafone will survive and maximise profits in the competitive environment.
As Vodafone has shops allover the country they are meeting this objective as they are providing jobs to the local community. Vodafone also employees specially trained inspectors who check the final product who try to stop errors from occurring and cause less hassle.
Research and development: The design process will have to be strictly controlled in order to maintain high quality and to keep production targets. Research and development will try to find strategies such as new techniques in line with modern technology as Vodafone likes to keeps it unit cost of production cost low.
Research and development also included in this function is the purchasing function. This is when purchasing of raw materials is purchased from the right supplier at the right price at the right time and at a good quality in order to help pay suppliers and the labour force.
This department interrelates with the objectives. The main objective which interrelates with this department is the 6th objective which is is to provide and sell high quality products to its suppliers to reach to its customers in a good condition. In order for Vodafone to gain this objective they have to buy the raw materials from the right supplier at the right price and at the right time and at a high quality. Another objective of Vodafone is to maximise profits and survive and the only way they are going to achieve this is by providing a high quality product which means more sales which leads to Vodafone surviving in the competitive market, and also to increase its market share on products by bringing in new products every now and then.
If Vodafone had a bad after sales service then they should carry out research and suggest ways in which they could develop this service.
Task Three B
There are many types of structures which are:
- tall, flat and matrix
- hierarchical, centralised and decentralised
Vodafones Organisational structure is Tall
A tall structure has a series of levels, each level is responsible and to be controlled by the level above it. The reasons for the organisation structure is to show everyone roles and positions to make clear of where people should stand. ‘Span of control’ is for e.g. marketing manager will supervise people underneath it. This will also help employees to refer to him/ her directly. Each level will remain the same, no matter how the departmental function or levels of authority change. Each level represents a step in the level of importance and responsibilities of the staff. If problems arise staff should refer to a higher level. A narrow span of control is a tall structure which has more legal authorities.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Tall organisation structures:
How the culture meet objectives and performance of the business:
Vodafone uses Role culture, task culture and backward-facing and forward looking culture.
Role culture helps meet Vodafones objectives as Vodafone in order for it to make mobile phones it has to be split in to a number of functions e.g. a certain number of people concentrating on the making of the one product and other people checking the final product. This could help the firm meet its objectives as it would help the firm make more products at a better quality which would mean more sales this would means Vodafone have a high chance of surviving in the market and they could maximise profits. By surviving in the market they would constantly have to bring new products into the market therefore, they may need to employee more people. This could mean they are helping the in the environment as they are providing a service to the people.
Vodafones performance in the competitive market is working well as they have survived by introducing high quality products and by keeping a good reputation on and as there workers are working together they are keeping a good reputation.
Task Culture: this helps Vodafone meets its objectives for example as people work together in the production of the phone as one stage concentrates in making the phone itself and another could concentrate on the quality control. By this people are set tasks who work as a team. This helps Vodafone meets its objectives especially maximising profits as they would like to sell products at a high quality. The main objective here is to survive in the competitive business environment and for this to occur Vodafone has to use the following strategies above. The only way Vodafone are going to survive is by producing high quality products and increasing its market share for mobile phones.
Vodafones performance in meeting its objectives in this culture is being meet well because again workers are working together as they concentrate on a certain type of product they are produced at a high quality. This means when products are sold they are sold at a high quality and they have tried to keep prices low therefore they have maximised profits.
Backward -forward and forward looking culture: Vodafone will look at how things where running before, in the organisation and to see if it was coping/running successfully and Vodafone will also look at the strategies in the way they improved its profits. Therefore if this may occur they may use the same strategies in the future. In the future Vodafone will also look at how to increase sales therefore they will have aims. By these aims they will see if they could achieve it. This is how Vodafone achieves its objectives.
The performance in which Vodafone has meet its objectives is fairly well as they have tried to bring new products and are trying to maintain profits. Also there has been many successful strategies being used and they should try to use them in the future.
How management styles help meet Vodafones objectives, performance and operation:
Autocratic: this would help Vodafone as managers plan and control the activity of the team as a whole. This would mean people would know who to turn to if they where in trouble. This would not apply to Vodafone because Vodafone care for its welfare of its employees and it would like its staff to be motivated. One of Vodafones objectives is to maximise sales and to produce high quality products. In order to produce these high quality products staff need to be motivated and have a good network of communication between other workers, in order to maximise sales.
The performance is being meet well as the workers have tired to keep good communication network, and they also tried to keep there staff motivated.
Democratic: This would apply to Vodafone as mangers have all the plan and authority. This type of management style tends to be more concentrated with its employees which means they are motivated at work and also they have a say. This would help achieve Vodafones objectives as it cares for its workers by providing them with care whilst at work and also as they work as a team employees have there say. Many of the objectives are being meet well, because Vodafone care for its workers as they provide many benefits for them and also if a new product was to be introduced into the market Vodafones employees will know weather or not the product is going to sell. When employees have there say, they are more motivated as they know, they are not being left out.
The performance here is being meet well as staff have there say, and the products will be at a high quality and they will sell well in the market as employees have had there say.
Laissez-faire: I think this would also apply to Vodafone as they work as a team to carry out functions and tasks for e.g. what customers want?. This type of management style would help Vodafone meets its objectives. This objective is being meet because here they are carrying out research and development this means they are gathering information from people and producing a product, by analysing information. Once the product is made they will carry out research again weather to see if it suits peoples needs.
Here the performance is being carried out well because they are producing product what people require. Also by doing this they are maximising profits and increasing market share.
Here is a Profit and losses account of Vodafone plc For the year ended 31 March 2000:
2000 1999
£m £m
Group turnover
Continuing operations 4,498 3,360
Acquisitions 3,375 -
------- -------
7,873 3,360
Operation Cost
Continuing operations 980 847
Acquisitions 1 -
------- -------
981 847
Share of operation profit/(loss) in joint ventures and associated undertaking
Continuing operations 104 116
Acquisitions (289) -
------- -------
Total Group operating profit: Group and share of joint ventures
and associated undertakings 796 963
Disposal of fixed assets investments 954 66
------- -------
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation 1,750 1,209
Net interest payable
Group (350) (76)
Share of joint venture and associated undertakings (51) (18)
------- -------
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation 1,349 953
Tax on profit on ordinary activities (685) (252)
------- -------
664 683
Equity minority interest (137) (76)
Non-Equity minority interest (40) -
------- -------
Profit for the financial year 487 637
Equity dividends (620) (197)
------- -------
Retained (loss/profit) for the group and its shares of joint ventures
and associated undertakings (133) 440
------- -------
Basic earnings per share 1.80p 4.12p
Diluted earnings per share 1.78p 4.11p
Adjusted basic earnings per share 4.71p 3.77p
Task four
Internal communication: There are many ways in which communicating information within the organisation are verbal, written and electronic.
• Verbal information: this information is provided face-face or telephones within the organisation or by messages i.e. recorded messages via answering machines or voicemail. Vodafone will have a internal communication link which would mean by looking at the organisational chart for example the sales supervisor will pass down information to the sales support staff either by an internal phone or by face-face. This could help people in achieve better ways in improvement in communication strategies, also it is time consuming as you do not have to write letters and send them out. This can affect the communication, as it would save time as people would not have to right out messages or talk on the phone this is the most easiest way of sending verbal messages as it is fast and the message can be passed on to other members of staff very quickly. Using this method of communication can also affect decision making as people could share ideas, which would mean more success and more sales and workers would have a good communication network which would mean workers being more motivated which would mean more products being produced at a better quality.
• Written information: this will include paper documents which are exchanged within he organisation which could be letters, memos. This could help the organisation to build a good communication strategies although it may take time to send out it still does receive a wide audience like memos which could be in a board which would mean everyone could notice it which would make them more aware. This can affect the communication as it would remind other staff about things that they should be aware of. Take memos as an example. This can affect the communication because it would help pass massages quickly and it would help remind people about any events that are going to take place but people could miss place them which could affect the communication network. Also this method of communication is easy to obtain as you have to read it and you could spread the word very quickly so many people could be aware of things happening in their working enviroment.
• Electronic information: this is the use of information getting processed more easily for example for a supermarket it stock list can be processed directly to its head office. This could help Vodafone has this electronic information system only in its Vodafone shops this could help Vodafone to be more advanced at its product which would mean people would not have to wait for a certain product because Vodafone will already have it at its shop therefore they would not lose business. This would affect the communication as it is much more quicker as people would just have to check there mails and people would not also this information as it is stored into the computer. This could affect the communication as it would spread the word this message could reach everyone who has the use of a computer facility and also it is quick and easy to obtain.
External Communication: This is when business need to communicate outside of the business with stakeholders which include shareholders (company reports an annul general meeting), customers (advertising products, offers), government ( the statistic of the organisation), suppliers ( orders, payment and enquiries) and the community (materials and environmental issues).
Many business needs to communicate outside of the business because the need to keep a good image of their firm this is know as a public relations function. The company also needs to groups with information about the company e.g. suppliers and tax records) this is know as an informative function. The company may need to make orders, buy goods on a daily basis, this is known as day-to-day trading function.
There are many types of external communication which are:
• Telephone: used for verbal communication. This would help Vodafone to save time and get in contact with people more easily also it would help Vodafone not to waste time and also they would also not have to go and visit people. This could affect the communication because if an urgent message was to be said u just have to dial the number and pass on the message very quickly this would save time and a good communication network it built as you can get in contact quickly.
• Interviews: this is another form of verbal communication with someone outside of the business who maybe interest in making an investment in the business. This could help Vodafone to see for e.g. if they employees a new employee they may need to see the skills of the person and also need to see what it knows about the business, this could help Vodafone as they would now how the persons communication skills are and its commitment to the business which would help the business recruit a person who knows qualities about the business. This could affect the communication take interviewing a new employees as an example he/she would be aware for all the responsibilities and how to deal with any queries as he/she will be trained therefore this will affect the communication.
• Business letters which maybe used for a number of consequences which maybe to confirm verbal arrangements, a record of such arrangement and to make arraignments without any parties to meet. They could take time but if Vodafone cannot get in touch with business or people then it may have to write a letter. This would affect the communication as letters is a good method of sending messages it is more reliable and can reach in a day or two. This is a good method as the main manager could be aware of what is happening and he could pass on the message ands whilst he is passing the message he/she is trying to build a good communication network.
• Fax (facsimiles): this has experienced a great expansion in sending written or visual information which sends messages electronically over the phone lines. Vodafone may use this to provide information to its shops to make them aware of price lists of certain products etc. This could affect the communication as this method can be sent to other business quickly and people will easily be aware.
• Electronic mail: These are e-mails sent through an service provider where messages are sent and received to the receivers e-mail address. This could help Vodafone archive its objectives as it could send or receive e-mails which could be letter. In order of write letters you could send an e-mal which the receiver would receive the e-mail much more quicker then a letter which could even take days. This could save allot of time. This could affect the communication as this could be easily received and again people who may have access to computers could be easily aware of this. People could also respond very quickly to this.
• File transfers: it used to send very large files from one computer to another. This would help Vodafone to transfer urgent information very quickly as it could be very useful this is another easy method in which you could send very large file. This could affect the communication because if one section of Vodafones business was in need of for example a balance sheet they could send this information very quickly and can be downloaded in a matter of minutes this is a good method of communication.
• Electronic data interchanging: this is a network which helps retailers to pay suppliers electronically without the need of orders, invoices cheques this could reduce time, paperwork and costs on a large scale. This could help Vodafone as it would reduce paper work which would mean they concentrate on something else. This could affect the communication with Vodafone shops and the main Vodafone base station as information about the products could be sent to the main office which would mean there is a good communication network which would mean if there was a shortage on a certain product Vodafone would be aware of this and they could send more products quickly.
• Web sites: this is the most dramatic increase in electronic media. This will help people access the website who want to know a wide range of information about the company, share prices etc. This reaches a wide audience which people would be able to buy products from the internet. This would affect the communication because Vodafone would like to have lots of customers who would like to buy there service and by advertising on the internet people could be aware of prices and price plans of tariffs this would mean more sales and it may provide more jobs to the community.
Advantages of internal and external communication
Task Five
There are a number of ways in which you could add value. Which are:
The aim of the production process is to add value. This is achieved at each stage of production.
external economies
Economies of scale: This is where the average cost will depend on Vodafone to increase its length of production runs.
There are many types of economies of scale which are:
- Concentration: this is when the business concentrates on one area for example Vodafone will employees skilled workers which have the ability to produce high quality products to meet the needs of Vodafone.
- Information: many businesses provide information for example the manager of Vodafone may provide information in the ways in which it should carry out tasks.
- Disintegration: companies which provide specialist machinery might be interests in areas of specialist industries for example the machinery which is provided to Vodafone, the specialist would like to help them when errors occur or if there are any faults with the machinery.
Internal Economies
Economies of scale in internal economies are:
- Technical economies; large organisations use technologies and equipment which small scale products cannot. For example When Vodafone had old machinery they had Three machines each producing 2300 units per week at the unit cost OF £9.00. As the company became larger and made more profit Vodafone where able to replace the old machinery with the new. One machine which produces 9600 units a week at a lower cost of £ 5.50 this is much more cheaper as you are produced more with one machine then you did with three machines.
Customer service
This is important in any organisation because you need to keep your customers satisfied and keep good contact with them in order to keep long term relationship which is an advantage to Vodafone. Here are a number of ways in which organisation try to achieve this:
Needs of organisation: The achievement of customer satisfaction should be a major objective of the organisation. Vodafone in order to achieve customer satisfaction should sell the right product at the right price at the right place, which will help it achieve an increase in its market share.
- Needs of customers -customer care: Many people have a need, it is therefore the sales persons responsibility to try to make contact and make a sale. Vodafone in order to attract more people it provides offers and services. They do this in order to gain new customers and to try to aware existing customers aware of new offers as the could have an free upgrade which would mean Vodafones potential customers would come back so they cold make a profit.
- Point of sales service: Training to the employee could help Vodafone in the ways in which they could help in customers wants in which the products and services they acquire. If the customer may have a complaint Vodafone cannot refund the good but could give a free exchange as they have a 1 year guarantee on each of its products. Vodafone try to avoid this from occurring as they try to satisfy its customers from when they buy there products.
- Product knowledge: The workers of Vodafone should be aware of all the types of products they sell and also should now what the main features of the product are. The only way you could satisfy the customer is by customer satisfaction on the product knowledge which would mean more sales made if they provide customer care.
- After sales service: This is the main element of customer service in any type of organisation. For example if a customer buys a Mobile from Vodafone and within the year of its guarantee something happens on the phone the customer has the right to go back to any Vodafone shop or phone customer services to help them about there query. By doing this Vodafone try to keeps its customers satisfied and try to avoid disappointment. If Vodafone does not cover aspects such as spare parts, servicing technical advice or replacement of a faulty good they could easily lose competition with other Mobile phone operators.
Quality concludes goods and services in terms of what they actually get.
There are three stages of development in quality which are:
1) Quality controls
2) Quality assistance (QA)
3) Total quality management (TQM)
- Quality Controls: This is with concerned with finding and cutting all components or products that fall below set targets. It takes place after the product has been made. It is then carried out by inspectors who try to stop errors from occurring if any errors have occurred during the production of the product and if an inspector find an error he/she will find out where the errors is happening and will try to stop it from occurring. For example the inspectors of Vodafone found an error during the production of the mobile phone they well exactly find out where the error is and try to over come the problem, to ensure the quality of the product is satisfactory.
- Total Quality management (TQM) goes without quality assurance. This is mainly concerned with quality culture. This will mean every employee will ask for any query to pleasure its customers. This means that customers are always at the center of the production process. This means that Vodafone will try to provide its customers with what they want. It also involves moving and changing customer requirements and fashion and design products and services that meet and satisfy their requirements.
TQM is the whole form of operations management. Vodafone encourages its employees in the workplace to think all about quality in everything they produce. Every employee is set a target which is to satisfy each customer, and also to put them at the center of the production process.
- ISO 9000: This is when you bring its administration system in line with published standards which is known as ISO 9000. It sets targets and strict standards for management such as: quality controls, after sales service, and systems of internal documentation. All these standards will try and meet customer requirements.
There are benefits to the business which are
- saving in costs
- satisfied customers which means selling the right product at the right time.
- reduction of waste during the process
Vodafone will have the ISO 9000 certificate, which indicates to potential customers that quality procedures of the certificate holder are reliable and by implications they have to produce the promised quality of products and services.
- Quality circles: (QCs) this is a important method in which participation to the organisation activity increases. Quality circle is where a group of volunteers meet regularly who work on a variety of operational and employees problems. They concentrate in putting ideas into action. There are four main quality circles frame work which are :
1) A steering committee which is staffed by a senior manger who will set up the framework and resources to operator within the circles.
2) The facilitator is there to support each process undertaken in the each of the circles and also to provide guidance if required.
3) The circles leader will discuss within the circle and supervise. They need to have a clear description of problem solving with techniques.
4) The members of the circle: this is when members meet up every now and then and the leaders who solve problems will have new strategies and techniques will produce graphs and tables showing how to over come the problem.
- Benchmarking: Some organisation might use this method to help them to discover the ‘best’ method of carrying out process this could include latest machinery advanced technology etc. They then would apply this to there organisation.
Many organisation may set themselves objectives of becoming a Benchmark for the business.
Benchmarking involves:
- what customer consider
- Setting standards for the business process based in there practices.
- Finding out how the other business create there best practices
- Creating standards within the organisation which meet and exceed the best.
- Training and Development: Because quality is all about continues improvements in a organisation it constantly involves on going to training and development for all staff. By doing this Vodafone is making its staff more motivated whilst producing products and at a better quality. If individuals are going to be best able to contribute to helping the organisation continually to improve so that the organisation is keeping a good reputation.
- Self- Checking or inspection: Quality is a continual process in which employees inspect and check there own performance and working in against given standards. Failure to meet quality will lead to responsibilities of managers because they create quality systems. Quality means staff are more motivated in carrying out tasks, because there are involved in decision making and they have better understanding of the objectives of the business.
Advertising
method of communicating with groups in the market place in order to achieve its objectives. Advertising can be received through a number of ways to people which trys persuade them to buy a certain product. It can be defined of a paid-for type of marketing communication but aimed at specific targets.
Interest rates
when the economic activity is low the governments have to borrow money in summing up the income they receive from taxes. If more people borrow money the government will be tempted to increase interest rates. By rising interest rates will lead to a reduction in consumer disposable income.
Consumer disposable income simply means the total amount people have to spend after deduction in income tax, national insurance mortgage repayments and other essential items.
These are many ways in which You could Add Value and many ways in which Vodafone use theses methods to add value.
Vodafone makes the final product by carrying out research and development this includes carrying out an questionnaire and asking questions to the publics about what they would require about a mobile phone and how they should improve it. Once Vodafone have gathered all the information the require they will work in a Quality circle which is a group of volunteers within the business who will finalise all the information by using graphs and charts. They will then come up with a solution in the way they should construct the final product. Once they have produced the final product which is a prototype. The quality circle again will get together to carry out the research again but this time with the prototype of the mobile and again gather information with the use of questionnaires. People will test the product and suggests improvements such as the features shape size etc. This is to be done by carrying out the questionnaire to see if the liked the product and to see weather or not it is successful. If it happens to be successful they will carry out tests of the product to see weather or not it is durable. Once the tests are completed it will be sold in the shops.
Vodafone insures benchmarking to carry out the process which means that Vodafone have to buy the latest technology and machinery. There are many reasons why Vodafone need to buy new machinery due to the more extent use of mobile phones more and more variety of mobile phones are coming out each day this means Vodafone would need to buy new machinery due to the fact that the old machinery is not capable of handling the job of making new phones and also as they are bring new products into the market they need to have the latest technology and machinery to maximise profits and to survive in the market and also to ensure better quality. Therefore Vodafone insure they carry out ‘Benchmarking’.
Vodafone makes sure that products they make are at the best quality by Economies of scale (internal). This basically means that Vodafone break down to cost of its unit cost of production by improved technology. Also external economies of scale, Vodafone employees workers who are going to be concentrated at there work on a certain type of product produce high quality too meet the need of its customers. Vodafone also trains its workers in which they should carry out tasks at a high standard of quality. Vodafone also employees inspectors the reasons for this is they would like less errors occurring during the production of Mobile phones and these inspectors will test and inspect the product and machinery. If they discover an error they will stop it from occurring as they would find out where it is happening.
Vodafone also employees are concerned with the customers quality of the product as the customers come at the center of the production process.
Vodafone also makes its own brand products although they have competition with the popular mobile phone brands such as Nokia and others they try to compete with them by carrying out questionnaire to see what type people like and by doing this Vodafone will try to produce a product with many feature they acquire. This is why many of Vodafone’s products have succeed in the competitive market for mobile phones.
Task One A-B
Vodafone is a tall structure it uses Role culture and Democratic styles. I will show how these three are linked together.
As Vodafone is a tall structure, it has many layers, and these layers are split up into various functions. This is therefore knows as a buroecrasis. This is where role culture interrelates into Vodafone’s Tall structure. As you may now Vodafone is a large organisation the members are powered out there job role to carry out. Its workers also have Logic and rationality. This is where Democratic style interrelates with Role culture. As you may now Democratic style gives power and authority to the managers this is why as I explained in Role culture people know there job role they also now who to turn to when they are in trouble or ask for help. This is then all down to the manger to plan and make decisions. The decisions are made as a team as a whole. Therefore this style is concentrated with employees and as the work. When employees are concentrated this will mean they are more motivated at there work which will mean better decision making.
All these three interrelate with Vodafone and this is why its employees know who to turn to when they are in need and also they are more motivated in finishing tasks.
Internal method of communication:
Verbal communication
Role culture and Democratic style: In Role culture Vodafone’s functions are split up into a number functions. It has better communication links with its staff. In democratic style the power and authority is passed down to the mangers, the mangers will give tasks to its workers face-face. This will mean they have good communication links therefore they are motivated at there work which means better quality products produced with less errors, This will mean more good reputation due to high quality products being produced which will increases the level of sales and profit.
Tall structure: As Vodafone is a tall structure the directors will then pass down information to the mangers. Take quality circle as an example Vodafone has many competition. This could be a problem to Vodafone as they might not gain much profit or sales, therefore this is where Quality circles interrelates. Quality circle is group of employees who get together and try to bring new products into the market, which would help Vodafone gain sales and increase its profit therefore they would survive. By in dept research and surveys being carried they will try and prevent competition from occurring as they would try to bring a product which has more functions then competitors phones. But Vodafone knows that this cycle of competition is always going to happen, therefore they will try to bring new product into the market every now and then. They will now when to bring new products in to the market as they will produce balance sheets to see how they are performing. If there sales are dropping ten the will introduce a new product into the market. This cycle is continuous and the whole process starts again of research and development.
Written information
Role culture and democratic style: In role culture it will have good communication strategies and if it was put up on a notice board everyone will be able to see it and they could spread the word. In democratic style when they put up the notice they do not have to go around face-face which could save time and concentrate on there work. And as the employees come first in this style they will decide future activities as a group.
Tall structure: As Vodafone is a tall structure they have thousands of employees. In order to spread the word. The mangers cannot go around to everyone and pass on the message this wastes time of there work and can lose motivation therefore they could put a notice up which would save time on there work and motivate the manger to do there work. They could also state in the notice board to refer to your line manger which would mean people coming to the manger rather then the manger going to them. By using this method it would motivate manager to do there job role appropriately and would mean more sales and profit.
Electronic information
Role culture and Democratic style and tall structure: This type of message can only be received by mangers of the Vodafone. These manger will pass this information to its employees. This is another way of good communication networks which is a good way of sending letters memos etc. due to the fact that it save time and will reach the recipient quicker rather then you posting letters which will take days to receive. This type of communication will reach quicker and will aware employees of what is going on.
Democratic style: as the workers work together as a group other workers below them in the organisation structure will be aware what it is going on. This type of communication will reach quicker and will aware employees of what is going on.
Tall structure: as it is a tall structure messages there will be lots of line manager who control a certain areas therefore messages will get to each line manger quickly. This is how workers will find out what’s going on. As workers now what is going on in the business environment they are more aware of there job which will mean they are more motivated at there job which means better quality products which will lead to more sales and more profit.
External methods of communication:
Verbal communication (telephone, Interviews, Tele-conferencing)
Role culture and Democratic style Tall structure: In Role culture as Vodafones functions are split into function it has better communication links with its staff. This will means Vodafone shops will be aware of what tasks are to be carried out. They could use the telephone or by interview which they could use Tele-conferencing which would save time from travelling from one place to another. In democratic style the power and authority is passed down to the mangers of the shop. The mangers will give tasks to its workers face-face. This will mean they have good communication links therefore the workers are motivated at there work which means workers of the shop know what to do and say when a customer asks for help. This will mean more good reputation due to the quality of service they provide which will mean increase in the level of sales and profit and try and stop competition form occurring as they try to provide the best possible service.
Written information(Business letters, fax)
Role culture and Democratic style Tall structure: In role culture it will have good communication strategies and if it was put up on a notice board (business letter, fax) everyone will be able to see it which would mean they would now what new offers and products are coming out. In democratic style when they put up the notice the manager does not have to go around face-face giving the notice which could save time and concentrate on there work. Which would mean more sales at the shop and less worrying of spreading the word. Democratic style helps this by showing reports of future activities of what type of products and services are to come out inn the future to make people aware
Electronic information(electronic mail, E.D.I, File transfers)
Role culture and Democratic style and tall structure: This type of message can only be received by mangers of the Vodafone shops. These manger will pass this information to its employees. This is another way of good communication networks with employees. Also it is a good way of sending letters memos etc. outside of the business. As it is easy and fast to receive. This will make workers more aware of what’s going on in the company and to see if they are performing well. Workers are keen of knowing what’s going on in the business environment. By letting them now what new products an services are coming out they are more motivated at there job.
Task 2 A-B
Vodafone uses benchmarking for carrying out process. If they where to use alternatives in the process I think they should try to Quality Circles and see if it would work.
This could be an advantage to Vodafone as it would increases the activity. This is where a group of volunteers for example employees of Vodafone will get together and discuss operational and employees problems.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Quality Circles:
How does the alternative approach help Vodafone meet its objectives:
If Vodafone changed to Quality circles it would work to meet Vodafone’s Objectives by:
- To Maximise Profits: If Vodafone changed to Quality circles it would gain profit, due to the fact that as the organisations employees are working as a group they are reasons why they could minimise profits. They are due to the groups of employees carrying out in depth research due the competitive business environment for mobile phones.
If the group carry out research and surveys they could bring a new product into the market which many customers would like.
- To survive: Vodafone needs to survive in the competitive business environment. This is where Quality circles would help if they switch to its quality circles groups if employees always get together atleast a few times a week. There are many reasons to this which are:
* Due to more and more people buying mobile phones there has been an increase in the productivity offers and ranges of mobile phones which are being released. This is where Quality circles are involved. Due to the competitive environment of mobile phones this makes it hard for Vodafone to compete, therefore Vodafone’s group of Quality circles will get together and carry out in depth research and development of new product, and make sure the product succeeds in the competitive environment.
- To increase market share: Vodafone is trying to expand its variety of products it sells. Quality circles carry out there research and development of the product. They do this to increase market share to sell a wide range of products in which people who are not rich can afford mobile phones. Vodafone sells cheap mobiles and expensive mobiles so that everyone can afford it.
- Vodafone provides a service to the community: Quality circles help this by bringing mobiles phones in less developed countries. They also provide jobs to them so they can have a better standard of living. Also by bringing jobs in a LEDC they could help build a Quality circle which would mean they will be able to succeed like the UK has.
- Vodafone provides a god working environment for its workers: As Quality circles is an alternative they are also capable in solving problems with employees when they solve the problem. Therefore the group will then tell the workers how to solve the problem if they had approached any. Once the workers understands what to do he/she will be motivated at the job which will mean less errors occurring during the production process and high quality products will be produced.
- Vodafone’s extra after sales service: Quality circles will help this objective as it will tell after sales services workers in ways of how to speck to the customer and how to over come problems. Quality circles will suggest methods and also state the ways in keeping a good reputation as there customers are advantage as they bring in money.
Alternative approach in quality circles affect:
- Finance: quality circles cannot help the finance department although they could find ways to solve problems. Foe e.g. after a balance sheet or trading profit and loss account is Analysed if they are making a loss then Quality circles should be aware of this but if they are making profit quality circles may/may not need to be aware of this.
Production: Quality circles can help this department because this group are the people who bring the products in to the market and in order for these products to sell they need to be at a good quality in order to sell in the market.
Human resources department: Quality circles cannot help this department which could affect the business in a number of ways which are the policy making role, welfare role and administrative role. These roles are to do with health and safety and pension schemes. This could cause problems if the company was going to be controlled by Quality circles because these people who are in the Quality circles are only workers.
Marketing role: Quality circles can help this department because QC design the product and if any errors are occurred during the production the QC will be able to help as they would try to stop these errors from occurring.