Business Strategy Analysis for Vodafone UK

This detailed analysis focuses on applying strategic frameworks like SWOT, PESTLE, and Porter's Five Forces to evaluate Vodafone UK's internal and external environments, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Business Strategy
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Part A...............................................................................................................................................5
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................5
P1: Apply the appropriate frame work to analyze the macro environment for a given
organization.................................................................................................................................5
M1: Critically analyze the macro environment to determine and inform strategies management
decisions......................................................................................................................................6
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................7
P2: Analyse the internal environment and capabilities of your chosen organization..................7
Matching customer's expectation.................................................................................................8
M2: Critically analyse the internal environment to assess strengths and weaknesses of your
organization’s internal capabilities, structure and skill set........................................................10
D1: Critically interpret the information and data applying environmental and competitive
analysis to produce a set of valid strategic directions, objective and tactical actions...............11
Part B.............................................................................................................................................12
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................12
P3: Evaluate the competitive forces applying Porter’s Five Forces model of a given market
sector for your chosen organization...........................................................................................12
M3: Devise appropriate strategies to improve competitive edge and market positions based on
the outcomes..............................................................................................................................14
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Task 4.............................................................................................................................................15
P4: Applying a range of theories, concepts and models, you are required to interpret and
devise a strategic plan for your chosen organization.................................................................15
M4: Produce a strategic management plan that has tangible and tactical strategic priorities and
objectives...................................................................................................................................17
D1: Critically interpret the information and data applying environmental and competitive
analysis to produce a set of valid strategic directions, objective and tactical actions...............19
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................21
References......................................................................................................................................22
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Introduction
The main objectives of starting any business are probably to make profits as much as possible. In
that business is intended or wished to be ad hoc. As all business is to work to achieve certain
objectives. In order for the business to operate well till the end, they should adopt some tactics,
strategies and also some practices where all these can be achieved when the business or
organization is profitable. Also, there are some forces and dynamics that can break the
organization thus they should be modified and monitored accordingly to ensure the survival of
the organization.
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Part A
Task 1
P1: Apply the appropriate framework to analyze the macro environment for a given
organization.
For the survival of the organization, there are some approaches which have been put in place,
this approaches also assists the managers of the organization in monitoring dynamics and forces
that may be threats to the organization and also to find a way to get away with this. SWOT is an
acronym for opportunities, threats, strengths, and lastly weaknesses. Pestle on the other hand
which is the acronym for social, economic, political, technological, and legal environmental
factors, are the two frameworks that allow planners and strategists to monitor the dynamics and
forces that may break the survival of an organization. Thus using the SWOT, pestle porters five
forces framework, this report will show how Vodafone UK, can now take advantage of the
strengths in the digital innovation and seize on the opportunities in the global markets which is
created by the competitive retailing markets (Ali, et. al., 2013).
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M1: Critically analyze the macro environment to determine and inform strategies
management decisions
Vodafone UK Pestle analysis
The pestle is used to analyze the macro environment influencing an organization. These factors
are economic, political, social, legal and technological factors. Thus the firms on the other hand
study how to change the pestle factors.
Social factors
These aspects of the pestle frameworks deal with the social and cultural factors and how they can
affect the organization both negatively and positively. There is a shift in the way smartphones are
being used by the customers that are according to Alshaher, (2013). This rise in the usage of
Smartphone’s by the customers thus this has meant that the owners were inclined to use their
own phones to carry on time-consuming tasks for example online shopping, thus providing an
opportunity to online networks like Vodafone. Thus becomes appositive impact to the various
organizations.
Political factors
The main political treat that Vodafone faces and are still facing up to date is which has caused
both economic and political effects and uncertainty for the UK economy. This was according to
(Baker, 2014). Thus this has an impact in Vodafone in that it leads to price inflation, thus
weakening the dollar and the euro, thus becoming a treat to the organization.
Technological factor
Technology cans either lad to the success or failure of the organization. The use of modern
technology, for instance, the digital used of the network is a very big threat to Vodafone. Thus
for the company to get rid of these treatments they should the organization must focus by
responding and defecting to the evolving digital treats also the traditional blocking and other
measures to ensure there is no attack in the organization (Balanced Scorecard Institute, 2017).
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Task 2
P2: Analyse the internal environment and capabilities of your chosen organization.
The Vodafone Company is famous for its network and lows cost plans. Initially, it was started as
a pure IT organization, but it started focusing on consumer products because of increased
competition in the sector of technology. The products manufactured by Vodafone Company are
acknowledged by the customers since their plans are based on the wants of the customer.
SWOT analysis of Vodafone Company
Strengths
Some of the advantages of Vodafone Company are discussed below.
1. Innovation
One of the significant forces of Vodafone Company over the previous years is innovation in the
product design. It supports the innovation through creating the digital and technological products
and services (Business-to-you, 2016). This may include workshops training, employee’s access,
go to market support and accesses to investors.
2. Leadership position
Through recent research, Vodafone Company is also seen to be the best network company in the
world according to revenue generation. It outlines the three components for the effective
leadership that contribute in building up the competitive advantage. This shows how Vodafone
Company is ahead in leadership skills.
3. Brand equity
It is a requirement for brand equity to be high being in the leadership position. Vodafone is
considered to be the best valued brand compared to all companies in the world. Its brand value is
in billion dollars (David, et. al., 2017).
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4. Design and technology
Design and technology Vodafone company uses makes it be considered the best according to the
products it produces. The product design of Vodafone Company is said to be always suave and
elegant. Besides its design it has a machine whose work is to deliver a good and quality
performance which runs on software called Marcos prominent for its efficiency.
5. Distribution
The Company provides its services in all over the world. However, it sells its products through
online channels and through other premium retail stores. The company in addition has also
launched the comment box which is intended to solve customers’ issues directly within the
stores. Thus making the concentration of the Company on its services and also sales be
legendary (Duff, 2017).
6. Margins
A margin that commands over its products is one of the significant advantages of Vodafone
Company. Vodafone Company keeps a hefty margin for the company in order to invest in brand
building. In addition, its pricing method is such that there is no breakage of price in the market
and that the price is always the same in all various retail stores.
8. Consumer focus
Vodafone designs its products with a concern on consumers while concentrating in the future.
This is the reason behind the success of Vodafone Company.
Weaknesses
Matching customer's expectation
Vodafone has been a leading company thus it has a significant market share where the
consumer's expectation is going over the roof. Therefore it is a weakness in that a lot of people
expect great things from Vodafone from one year after the other which is not easy for the
company to meet their expectations (Linder and Williander, 2017).
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Opportunities
1. The growing market
It is all known that Vodafone is a growing company in the ever-increasing demand Thus it is an
opportunity to the company in that a growing company needs a broad market base which is being
built on the territory expansion for Vodafone Company.
2. Technological advancement
Technology advancement is always an opportunity for Vodafone Company in that Vodafone can
take advantage of this to produce more advanced network as one of its products (Goldbach,
2016).
Threats
Vodafone as a company does not have any treats; instead the product it sells faces a lot of treats
from other competitive brands producing the same product. Thus these treats are as follows.
Market penetration in Smartphone
The is the significant threat in the Vodafone company by different Smartphone market, in that
they may produce a variety of phones which people may prefer since they are new in the market,
thus threatening Vodafone company a lot (Hitt, et. al., 2012).
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M2: Critically analyse the internal environment to assess strengths and weaknesses of your
organization’s internal capabilities, structure and skill set.
Since the diversification beyond the personal network, the Vodafone Company has benefited
from the increased sales and has also managed the flow of cash wisely. The Company has a
prominent recognition due to its nature towards its innovation and creativity (Investopedia,
2017). It also has its sales branches at high traffic location thus contributing to its strengths.
Even though Vodafone Company is the leading market leader and also innovative, it still has
some shortcomings.
Incompatibility is a weakness in Vodafone Company in that most of its products are usually
incompatible with the third party accessories thus when you buy a product from Vodafone you
will have to its universe and stick to it thus becoming an impact on the customer's decision
making.
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D1: Critically interpret the information and data applying environmental and competitive
analysis to produce a set of valid strategic directions, objective and tactical actions.
Strategic capability can be defined as competencies and resources of an organization needed for
its survival, this strategy help an organization its strategic position within the market. Thus
Vodafone Company focuses on innovative technology and also focuses on keeping the cost low,
it also ensures that it runs on the competitive environment, it also achieves this through its low-
cost strategy in the current environment. Vodafone is also able to provide product differentiation
through its product innovation, Also the purpose of Vodafone is to understand its customers
through the customer’s reviews which it offers through its products (Rugman. and Verbeke, 2017).
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Part B
Task 3
P3: Evaluate the competitive forces applying Porter’s Five Forces model of a given market
sector for your chosen organization.
Porter’s five forces analysis for Vodafone Company
Vodafone strategies are mainly to address forces in the external environment; also these forces
can reduce the organization's revenues. Thus the strengths portrayed by porters five on the
organization are:
Bargaining power of Vodafone customers
The bargaining power of Vodafone buyers is very high thus affecting the organization. Thus this
component of porters five is to determine how buyers impact on business. The strongest power
on Vodafone Company by buyers is based on low switching cost which is a strong force then the
small size of individual buyers, on the other hand, is a weak force (Isaac, 2017). This means that
it is very for the customers to change brands and abandon other companies, for instance,
Vodafone company thus the organization should ensure that they satisfy their customers,
therefore this analysis porters five indicates that Vodafone company should include the
bargaining power of its customers as one of its variables for its development.
Competition rivalry
This is one of the rivalries Vodafone organization faces. Thus this an analysis of porters five is
trying to explain the influence completion has on each other, companies, for instance, Oz
compete with Vodafone organization where this aggressiveness can be seen, also, on the other
hand, the switching cost is very low thus making customers switch to other brands abandoning
Vodafone Company. Therefore in order for Vodafone Company to succeed they should consider
this part of Porter's five forces.
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Threat of substitutes
This is a weak force affecting Vodafone Company, Thus this analysis of porters five forces are
trying to show us the effects of substitutes in attracting customers according to Company.
Therefore, there are substitutes to Vodafone product available in the market (Kew and Stredwick,
2017). Thus this analysis shows that Vodafone Company does not need to take into consideration
the threat of substitution for its progress.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Vodafone as an organization has its own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats affecting its operation, Also Pestle analysis is put in place to show the effects of macro-
environment on Vodafone organization. Also, in conclusion, the main strategies of Vodafone are
to use the low-cost strategy to gain a competitive advantage against its competitors, the local
market plays major tricks to win and keep its customers, Vodafone has its own strategies which
make suitable which makes it a brand.
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M3: Devise appropriate strategies to improve competitive edge and market positions based
on the outcomes.
1. Differentiation
Vodafone Company is using this strategy to present the design of its products, services and lastly
the quality of its products. Thus the easiness of products, on the other hand, makes markets target
vary from the beginner to the proficient users.
2. Value creation by focus and cost leadership
Vodafone as an organization has outsourced its production in order to reduce to reduce its
operating cost to the third party, This is done through vast economies of scale, the company
which Vodafone has outsourced is called the original equipment manufacturer, Vodafone
company not only focuses on industrial design to make products but also focuses on the user-
friendly an stylish nature. Thus due to highly personalized and also people friendly, Vodafone
Company has a higher command price compared to the average price
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Task 4
P4: Applying a range of theories, concepts and models, you are required to interpret and
devise a strategic plan for your chosen organization.
Planning is one of the important factors of any business or in a general life. The planning which
we do in the business is known as business planning. The strategic planning is one of the types of
business planning. Strategic planning is one of the important parts of any organization. Strategic
planning is a well-defined process of making a business as per the desires and explaining the
steps to acquire the motives and goals. Vodafone also makes a strategic plan for a business
which helps them in achieving the desired objectives (Jurevicius, 2013).
The theories given by the thinkers on strategic planning are discussed as below:
 The first theory is based on the Henry Mintzberg which explains the sacred ideas in the
field of business and management. He is famous for the idea of business strategies.
 The second theory is given by the Michael Porter which gives the idea based on the
competition of organization and government. He developed various methods which are a
value-chain method and 5 forces of management.
There are different models which are used in the strategic planning of an organization.
Some of the models are discussed below:
(I) Basic Strategic planning process model: This model shows the features which are used
for the new companies. The features of this model are:
• Knows the accurate purpose
• Recognize the process of an organization
• Recognize goals to acquire strategy
• Make a proper plan
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(ii) Issue-based strategic planning model: This model is used to increase the plan and this
is a very deep process of strategic planning and used by organizations wisely (Reddy, 2015).
Steps of this model are:
• SWOT recognition
• Recognize objectives
• Make a plan
• Make a budget
• Starting the process
(iii) Alignment strategic model: This model is used in the main objectives of the organization
and its uses. This model helps the business in achieving goals and they require result. The steps
are;
• Describe mission and process
• Recognize the functions and require the change in the business.
• Recognize how changes are made
• Maintain these changes in the business
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M4: Produce a strategic management plan that has tangible and tactical strategic priorities
and objectives.
Tactical planning is an essential way of strategic planning that helps in the management process
with the tactical objectives. Tactical plans are sometimes referred to as short-term plans because
they divide the major plan into smaller plans.
To develop a strategic plan we should answer some questions which are as discussed below:
• What are the goals?
• Why should you create goals?
• When should you create goals?
• How do you create goals?
These questions explanations need to develop a strategic plan.
(I) what are goals?
Firstly an organization has developed the motive of itself. Then the development of particular
goals is important to acquire the objectives of the organization. Goals are the initial results which
the organization acquired (Dmitrieva, et. al., 2017).
(ii) Why should we create goals?
There are many intentions to develop the goals of the organization. Some of the main reasons to
create goals are:
• It makes the company specified and easily met the requirements of the company.
• It sets the objectives of the company.
• After setting the objectives, the company can easily increase the rate of itself.
• It makes the employees comfortable in doing work and increased the growth of the
organization.
(iii) When should we create the goals of the company?
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The reasons behind the making of goals of the company are listed as below:
• The company create the goals and after that, the next step is in the planning functions.
• When the organization is ready to start then the goals are created.
• The new company can create the goals at the time of opening their company (Shopify
Inc., 2017).
(iv) How do you create goals?
There are many opportunities by which we can create the objectives of a company. There are
different requirements to create goals. The employee and owner can create goals by different
methods.
Tactical goals are the type of planning system and help in the planning of a business. The tactical
goals help in the strategic planning which is used in the business. At the time of strategic
planning, the thinking process is done through the tactical goals. These tactical goals play an
important role in the different business strategies and make the business better.
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D1: Critically interpret the information and data applying environmental and competitive
analysis to produce a set of valid strategic directions, objective and tactical actions.
To interpret the information and data which are used in the analysis to make a set of valid
directions, objective and tactical actions, there are various functions used in this process and
acquire the desired objectives. The main descriptions which are used in the different process of
business are discussed below:
• What methods the company want to acquire
• How the methods are going to acquire.
The main functions performed in the company are doing through these statements. The
strategies, tactics and the actions are implemented by the statements. This function is done by the
different measures which are:
a. Definition: The statements are defined in the particular organization for the success.
b. Communication: The statements are used for the communication and they acquire by the
context of the matter that is used in the business (Thompson, 2017).
c. Clarity: The statements give the proper plan for the work, the resources of the company
are carried out?
d. Commitment: The statements make the public support of the company and the
statements commit the basic needs of the particular organization.
These above process and functions of the statements are defined by these processes which are
discussed above. The different strategies which are capable to carry out the actions in
environmental functions are the business strategies which are used in the business planning that
plays a significant role in the business planning and determines the growth of the business. These
statements have different limitations that are discussed below:
• Vision: It is an idea of a clear image which the company’s want to acquire. This
statement makes the people more excited to intermediate the functions of the business
• Mission: It is the statement which the company used to use the vision process.
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• Short: The statement of the mission which undergoes the financial objectives of the
organization and used in our daily going life.
• Simple: This is the statement of the part mission and these are like the stakeholders
and apply the part of the business and create the better growth of the business.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, it is well known that Vodafone Company is the best brand in the market and it is
also the leading one. Thus it has to be ready to accept any change in the current environment and
be prepared to deal with those changes. Also, in conclusion, Vodafone Company has strengths,
weaknesses opportunities and lastly treats which aids in the development of the company in that
some may be a steppingstone to the organization. Also, in conclusion, there are forces put in
place to determine the development of Vodafone Company. Porters five analysis is to show how
the company is influenced by the external factors and also what to consider the progress of
Vodafone Company.
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