Business Strategy on British Telecommunication Group plc

Business Strategy

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................1
Impact and influence of macro environment...............................................................................1
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................6
Analyse the internal environment and capabilities......................................................................6
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................13
Appropriate strategy to improve the competitive edge by using tools in the market ...............13
TASK 4 .........................................................................................................................................16
Produce strategic management showing clear strategic direction and option to the organization
....................................................................................................................................................16
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................21
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................23

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy refers to a strategy of an organization that consists of various actions
and decisions that a business will achieving its objectives in the future. Strategy helps a business
to achieve its goals in an effective and efficient manner. Due to intense competition in the
market, the importance of strategy of the business has increased. Business strategy plays an
important role in overall plan of the business. There are different levels of business strategy such
as corporate level strategy, strategic business unit strategy, functional level strategy etc. (Awan,
2016).
The Report is based on British Telecommunication Group plc. that was founded in year
1969. The company belongs to telecommunication industry. It is a multinational company that
operates in more than 180 countries. Headquarter of company is located in London, U.K., key
products of company are mobile telephony, digital television, information technology services,
supply chain management etc. The key peoples of British Telecommunication are Philip Jansen,
Jan Du Plessis. There are various subsidiaries of the company like BT Italia, Plusnet etc. The
Report will outline the impact of macro environment through PESTLE analysis and Ans-off
growth matrix. The Report will also analyse internal environment of the company through
VRIO/VRIN model and SWOT analysis. The Report will also describe models for evaluating
competitive edge in the market, strategic management plan by applying various theories and
models.
TASK 1
Impact and influence of macro environment.
Business environment consist of different factors and forces that may impact the
operations of the business directly or indirectly. Business environment can be divided in two
parts that is micro and macro environment.
Macro environment- It refers to the factors that exist outside the organization and
indirectly affects the working of the company. These factors cannot be fully controlled by the
business. The impact of macro environment on the operations of the business can be analyse
through different models. They are a follows-
PESTLE model- PESTLE analysis is a tool that helps the business to determine the
impact of external factors that exist in business environment that may impact the performance of
1

the organization. This model is very useful at the time of entering in a new business or when a
company is launching new product or service in the global market.
Political-
There are various political factors that may impact the performance and profitability of
the company. British Telecommunication is having its operations in more than 180 countries.
Therefore, the stability in Government of different countries will affect the operations of
telecommunication company because when government changes policies related with wage rate
of labour, policy towards business will also change. It may be possible that political factors will
impact all the countries in which British Telecommunication is operating or it may also affect the
companies that are involved in trade with the company (Eaton, 2015).
There are various political factors that must be considered by British Telecommunication
while operating in any country. The level of integrity of the political party, there are various laws
that are enforced by the Government of U.K. Related with business will affect the working of the
company. For example- contract law that provide the things that company is not allowed to do. If
British Telecommunication is operating in such a country in which there is no law for protecting
Intellectual property rights then entrepreneurs will hesitate to invest in the company.
Economic-
Economic factors that are related with the economy of the country in which British
Telecommunication is operating will also impact the working of the company in different ways.
There are various economic factors that can impact the operations of British Telecommunicate
are the rate of inflation in the country, exchange rate of foreign currency, development stage of
economy and rate of interest etc.
The rate of interest in U.K. will impact the level of borrowing and investment by the people. For
example- If, the rate of interest on the investment is high in the countries where British
Telecommunication is operating it means different investors will invest in the company as a
result the growth of organization will also improve.
Social-
There are various social factors that not only affects the operations of British
Telecommunicate but also impact the marketing of the company. The demographic factors of the
population such as age, gender also impact the marketing strategy of the company. The nature of
society in which company is operating also affects the level of investment in the company. For
2

example- some societies in U.K. promotes spirit of entrepreneurship while some societies do not
promote. British Telecommunication must be aware of the standards related with health that are
prevailing in the industry.
Technological-
There are various technological factors that can impact the operations of British
Telecommunicate such as continuous innovation in providing services to the customers, access
of the population to information etc. British Telecommunication is using advance technology for
meeting out needs of existing and targeted customers.
Company is making efforts for restructuring its management of supply chain so that,
expectations of the customers from telecommunication company can be satisfied. Technology is
creating pressure on marketing department of company for developing and offering new
products.
Legal-
There are various legal factors that may impact the working of British
Telecommunication. Company operates in different countries therefore, company has to comply
the laws related with environment.
Laws related with intellectual property, patents are different in different countries and if
British Telecommunication is not having these rights it will suffer. Company have to follow laws
related with data protection and it should also consider the process of protecting the breach of
data, company also have to consider the norms related with health and safety of workers etc.
Environmental-
There are various norms of Government of U.K. related with environment that, British
Telecommunication need to follow. Government has provided norms for managing waste in
urban areas that are to be followed by company for its operations near urban areas.
Environmental standards and norms have an impact on the process of innovation in the products
of British Telecommunication.
Nowadays, customers are becoming more and more aware regarding the impact of
activities of company therefore, company have to comply all the legal norms for meeting
expectations of the customers.
3

Ans-off's growth model-
It is a tool that helps the management, marketing manager and other peoples that are
working in the organization to develop different strategies so that, sales and profitability of the
company will grow in future.
Market penetration- Market penetration refers to the strategy that can be used by British
Telecommunication for selling its existing products or services in the existing geographical
segments (Yuliansyah, 2016). For example- British Telecommunication can offer its existing
products such as broadband services, information technology services to the existing customers
of the company in different ways such as by decreasing the prices of products in respect of
competitor products. Company should invest more funds in promotion of goods and services
such as it can invest in advertisement of telecom services through magazine, social media
platforms etc. and supply chain management of British Telecommunication(Pisano, 2015).
For successful implementation of market penetration strategy, company can enter into
partnership or joint venture with other top companies. British Telecommunication have to
modify its supply chain management or it can access to different distributors for providing
existing products and services to the customers.
Market development-
4
Figure 1 : Ans-off matrix
Source : (Ans off matrix, 2018)

British Telecommunication can also use market development strategy for offering its
existing products in new geographical areas. To sell the existing products of the company,
British Telecommunication has to invest funds for conducting research activities so that,
company can identify new markets in which company can offer its existing products and services
(Gangotra, 2016).
Company has to make strategic plan for entering in global markets so that, demands of
the customers can be satisfied. To provide existing products in new areas, company has to invest
large sum of money for improving its broadband network and to provide better customer
experience. British Telecommunication should identify different segments of customers in which
the company can offer its existing products and services. For successful implementation of
market development strategy, company should increase its level of production so that it will get
benefits of economies of scale. Company should provide its existing products in such market
where it has opportunities for improving the profits. The strategy will be successfully
implemented only when British Telecommunication is having a unique and advanced technology
of offering telecom services.
Product development-
British Telecommunication should use product development strategy for developing new
products and services so that, it can sell it to the existing customers of the company. Company
can also extend the existing range of products and services (Shamsuzzaman, 2018). For example-
British Telecommunication should invest funds for conducting research so that, company can
innovate new products. Company has started technology headquarter in U.K. Company is
collaborating with Cambridge University, Khalifa university etc. for conducting programmes for
research and development activities. British Telecommunication will use new business models
such as Personalised Compute Management System (PCMS) so that, company can innovate
digital services on continuous basis.
Diversification
It is the riskiest of four growth methods since its needs both good and market
development. It can be external the core competencies of the company. The company grows by
diversifying into new companies by evolving the new goods for new markets. However,
diversification can be reasonable choice if the high risk is remunerated by the chance of large
rate of returns. Other benefits of diversification involve possible to earn foothold in attractive
5

business and decrease of overall business portfolio risk. Therefore, company needs to introduce
the new products in the new market which help to increase sales and profits of business. Also,
this can aid to raise the market share and create the large position in the industry in which they
operates.
M 1
Macro environment that incudes political, social, economic, technological, legal and
environmental factors will help Tesco to determine the impact of changes occurring in macro
environment . This will help the company to develop strategies like product development etc. So
that company will gain competitive advantage.
TASK 2
Analyse the internal environment and capabilities.
‘VRIO’ model- It is a tool developed for the organization to help them in securing their
capabilities and different types of resources so that, company can get the benefits of competitive
advantage over its competitors. The framework will be developed and implemented after
determining the vision of the company and after developing process of strategic planning. The
main components of VRIO model are as follows-
 Value-
The term value refers to the resources that, company is using for providing value added products
and services to its customers. It helps the company to determine whether it has ability of taking
advantage of the opportunities or not (Yuliansyah, 2016).
 Rarity-
Rarity refers to whether the resources that company is having is difficult for other companies to
get. If, the resources of the company are such that they can be easily access by other companies
then, it will hard for the company to give tough competition to other companies.
 Imitation-
Whether it is easy or difficult for other companies to copy or duplicate the capabilities of the
organization. If, company is having resources that are valuable but, other companies can easily
copy it then company will get competitive advantage for short period of time (Talib, 2017).
 Organization-
6

It refers to whether, the company is having talented employees, systems for taking the advantage
of the capabilities.
British Telecommunication will use VRIO model to determine the resources and
capabilities that will help it to gain competitive advantage.
Value Rarity Imitation Organizati
on
Resource Competitive
advantage
1) Yes
supply chain
management
is valuable
for the
company.
This will
help British
Telecommun
ication to in
providing
valuable
products to
the
customers.
Yes The risk of
imitating
supply chain
management
of British
Telecommuni
cation by the
competitors is
medium
because, some
of the
suppliers of
company are
similar.
Capabilities are
fully utilized
Supply chain
management
Company will
get strong
competitive
advantage over
competitors.
2) Yes No Financial
resources like
financial
instruments
can be easily
accessible by
the
competitors(S
harma, 2015).
British
Telecommunic
ation has better
financial
position
Funds It will provide
advantage for
medium term
7

3) Yes, these
rights are
very
valuable for
facing
intense
competition
from other
companies.
Yes, it is
very difficult
for other
companies to
copy because
these rights
are rare.
There is a low
risk of
copying the
rights of
British
Telecommuni
cation by
other
companies.
Right now,
company has
not fully
utilized these
rights.
Rights such as
Intellectual
property rights
etc.
Provide
sustainable
advantage.
4) Yes Yes, it is rare Leadership
skills of
leader of
British
Telecommuni
cation cannot
be copied by
other
companies.
Yes Leadership
team It will provide
strong
competitive
advantage.
5) Yes,
brand
identity of
the company
is very much
valuable for
maintaining
the loyal
customers of
British
Telecommun
Yes, the
brand
identity of
British
Telecommun
ication is
rare because
it is among
the top
brands of
telecom
No, the brand
identity of
yes, the brand
identity of
British
Telecommuni
cation cannot
be imitated by
other
companies.
Company is
fully utilizing
its brand
identity in
different
divisions of the
company.
Brand identity
and awareness
It will provide
strong
competitive
advantages
8

ication. sector in
U.K.
(Schaltegger,
2016)
5) Yes,
digital
strategy is
very
important for
the company
to compete
with other
companies.
No, the
digital
strategy of
British
Telecommun
ication is not
rare because,
most of the
companies in
telecommuni
cation sector
of U.K. are
making
efforts for
digitalizing
their
operations.
Yes, it is
possible for
other
companies to
imitate the
digital
strategy of
British
Telecommuni
cation.
Company is
one of the top
telecom
company in
telecommunica
tion sector.
Digital strategy Advantage for
temporary
period.
SWOT analysis-
9

SWOT analysis is a tool that helps the organization to determine its strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats. So that, company can use its strengths for taking
advantage of the opportunities that are existing in the market. The model also helps the company
in reducing the impact of threats on the performance of organization. Internal environment is
consisted of strengths and weaknesses of the organization and external environment is consisted
of opportunities and threats that exist outside the organization. The internal and external
environment of British Telecommunication can be analysed with the help of SWOT analysis.
Strengths- Strengths refers to the capabilities of an organization that differentiate it from other
companies. There are various strengths of British Telecommunication they are as follows-
 One of the major strength of the company is that the position of balance sheet of British
Telecommunication is very healthy and cash flow statement has shown positive cash
inflow on consistent basis. Revenue of the company in year 2017 was more than £19000
and cash inflows in year 2017 is more than £18000 (Smith, 2017).
 British Telecommunication is among top company of U.K. that is providing voice
telephony and broadband services. Due to the acquisition of EE service provider, the
market share of the company has also increased (Pisano, 2015).
 Company has a wide range of services such as Global services, Openreach etc. in its
business portfolio and broadband of British Telecommunication has more than 5.9
10
Figure 2 : SWOT analysis
Source : (SWOT analysis, 2018)

million customers that comprises England, North Ireland, Wales etc. The company is a
top provider of services of Information Technology at domestic as well as international
level.
 British Telecommunication has a strong network of distribution that helps the company
to reach wide geographic segments. Company has strong base of loyal suppliers due to
which company does not faces any shortage of raw material (Linder, 2017).
Weaknesses- Weaknesses refers to the barriers that stop the organization from performing
better. These are the areas in which a company have to improve itself for performing better.
There are various weaknesses of British Telecommunication they are as follows-
 One of the major weakness of British Telecommunication is that it has major operations
in the markets of United Kingdom and has limited access to the global markets where
there are more opportunities for the company to grow its business. Therefore, company
should start its operations in other parts of Asia so that, revenue of the company will
increase.
 British Telecommunication should invest more funds for using advanced technology so
that, company can integrate its various process of developing and offering the services t
the customers.
 Although, British Telecommunication is spending a large amount of funds on research
and developing activities then also the company is not effectively competing with other
competitors in telecommunication industry. Company should offer innovative products
for gaining competitive advantage over other companies (Gangotra, 2016.).
 The rate of turnover in British Telecommunication is high as compared to other
companies therefore, it has to spent large sum of money to provide training and
developing opportunities to the employees.
 Although, the sales of products and services of British Telecommunication is increasing
but, it has not properly defined the unique selling proposition(USP) of the company.
 The ratios of British Telecommunication such as profitability ratio is lower than the
average ratio of telecom industry.
Opportunities- Opportunities exists in the external environment of the organization. It helps a
company in gaining competitive advantage over other competitors. There are various
opportunities for British Telecommunication they are as follows-
11

 Company has an opportunity of adopting market development strategy that will help
British Telecommunication to gain competitive advantage over other competitors.
 British Telecommunication has an opportunity of market development due to
changing trends in the buying behaviour of customers. This will help the company to
improve its cash stream and also provide the benefits of diversification (Fontana,
2017).
 Company can use advanced technology to implement differentiated strategy for
pricing its products that will help the company to increase the base of loyal
customers.
 British Telecommunication is using online platform for providing services to existing
as well as new customers. Company has an opportunity to further improve online
channel by using data analytics so that, it can serve its customers in better way.
Threats - Threats are the unfavourable factors that harms the performance of an organization.
Company should use its strengths for reducing the impact of these threats. There are various
threats for British Telecommunication they are as follows-
 Better technological innovations can be a long term threat for the performance of British
Telecommunication (Eaton, 2015).
 In some global markets there is a lack of talented and skilled workforce that can act as a
threat for British Telecommunication.
 British Telecommunication is having its operations in various countries due to which the
fluctuations in the currency of different countries is a serious threat to the performance of
the company.
 Company is having pressure from the Government for complying various laws, norms
and regulations. Example- norms related with environment protection etc.
 British Telecommunication has not developed innovative products on regular basis.
therefore, company faces fluctuations in the sales of products and services (Awan, 2016).
M2
12

Micro environment helps a company to determine the skills, capabilities of the employees,
management that is required for taking advantage of internal strengths and also to remove the
threats. Tesco will use its strengths such as strong balance sheet to remove the weaknesses and
threats. Company should develop new products for grabbing the advantages of opportunities
available in market.
D 1
Analysis of micro as well as macro environment will help Tesco to develop various strategic
directions such as diversification, product development, market development etc. This will help
Tesco to take the advantage of emerging opportunities in the marketplace. Analysis of macro
environment helps the company to determine the objectives it should set for the success of the
company. Analysis of micro and macro environment factors helps to gain advantages.
13

TASK 3
Appropriate strategy to improve the competitive edge by using tools in the market
Competitive advantages are situations which allow organization or nation to produce
products and services of equal value at the lower prices or in more desirable fashion. These
situations enable the productive firm to generate more sales. Competitive edge are attributed to
variety of elements involving cost structure, branding, offering the quality of goods, distribution
network and consumer service (Noe and et.al., 2017). It is the approving position company seeks
in relation to be more profitable as compared to their challengers. Company must be able to
present larger competitors or differential venture to earn and maintain competitive advantages
than their rivals and convey that info to its desired target market. For instance: if organization
promote their goods for prices that is lower than similar goods as compared to the challengers
which is likely to have competitive advantage of organization.
In order to that, British Telecommunication (BT) is the multinational telecom holding
organization in London, UK. The telecom industry particularly mobile communication business
has been one industry which has function grown in juts matter of few years. The mobile telecom
industry has competitive atmosphere. The telecom business is in the position which is
continuously competing through their diverse goods and services (Namada, 2018). In this
context, it is the very necessary to improve the competitive advantages by utilising the different
tools or models like Porter's five force model, balance scorecard and so on. This can help to
increase the sales, profits and market share of British Telecommunication in the telecom
industry. Also, this can create the higher position within the industry as compared to challengers
in the marketplace.
Porter's Five Force Model:
It is the model which recognises and evaluates five competitive forces which shapes
every business and aids define weakness and strengths of business. Frequently utilised to
recognise structure to determine corporate strategy. This model can be implemented to any
section of the economy to investigate for profitability and attraction. This can help to increase
the sales, profits and market share of British Telecommunication in the telecom industry. Also,
this can create the higher position within the industry as compared to challengers in the
marketplace.
14

Competitive rivalry:
This force refers to the number of challengers and their capability to undercut firm. The
bigger number of rivals along with number of equal goods and services they offer, the lesser
power of organization (Barney, 2015). If the challenger between existing players in business is
concentrated then it will drive down and reduce the overall profits of business. British
Telecommunication operates in very competitive diversified communication service business.
Selected company handle the competitive rivals by building sustainable differentiation,
collaborating with challengers to enhance market size instead of competing for small market.
Many competitors offering undifferentiated goods and services will decrease market quality.
This force is highly effected on sales and profits of business in the market. Also, this impact on
market share and revenue of firm as compared to rivals.
Threat of New entrants:
The force of new entrants is affected the power of company into its market. The less time
and costs for challenger to enter market and be an effective rival. Profitable markets attract new
15
Illustration 1: Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Position Analysis
Source: (Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Position Analysis, 2013)

entrants that decay profits. Unless functionary have powerful as well as durable barriers to entry.
For example: economies of scales, capital needs, government policies, patents then profits will
decline to competitive rate (Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Position Analysis, 2013). New
entrants bring innovation, new modes of doing things and put pressures on British Telecom
through lower pricing methods and giving the new value proposal to the consumers. Company
has to handle all these challenges and build impressive barriers to safeguard their competitive
advantages. Selected telecom company can handle threats of new entrants through creative goods
and services, increasing economies of scales and spending more money on research and
development of goods. This force is highly effected on sales and profits of business in the
market. Also, this impact on market share and revenue of firm as compared to rivals (Mathooko
and Ogutu, 2015)).
Bargaining Power of buyers:
This particularly deals with the ability which consumers have to drive prices fallen. It is
affected by number of purchasers and consumers, its importance in the firm. If the company has
few strong purchasers, so that they are frequently able to rule conditions. Purchasers are
frequently demanding a lot. They want to purchase the best offering available through paying the
lower prices as possible (West, Ford and Ibrahim, 2015). It can put pressure on profits of British
Telecom in the long run. The smaller and more strong base of consumers is the larger the
bargaining power of buyers as well as bigger their capability to try raising discounts and offers.
Company handle bargaining power of consumers by speedy creative and new goods as well as
building big base of consumers. Effective relationship with buyers helps to business in relation to
increase sales and profits as compared to their challengers in the market.
Threats of substitute products:
When new goods or services meets same consumer needs in different modes which is
suffered to profits of business. The threats of substitute goods or service is very large if it offers
value proposal which is specifically differ from present offering of the business. British Telecom
can handle threats of substitute goods by being service adjusted instead of goods focused.
Through raising the switching cost for the consumer, company can handle the threat in the
marketplace (Saeidi and et.al., 2015). This force is highly effected on sales and profits of
business in the market. Also, this impact on market share and revenue of firm as compared to
rivals. For example , new advent of internet is the substitute products.
16

Bargaining power of suppliers:
Suppliers in dominant position can reduce the margin of British Telecom can gain in the
marketplace. Strong suppliers in telecom sector utilise their discussing power of accurate larger
prices from the companies. The overall influence of larger suppliers bargaining power is very
lower on profits of firm. Effective relationship with suppliers helps to business in relation to
increase sales and profits as compared to their challengers in the market. As per many vendors is
the impact of low supplier.
M 3
British telecommunication operates diversified products and services which help to
compete the competitors and improving the competitive edges within the telecom industry. Also,
company build relationship with the suppliers for reducing the bargaining power of suppliers
which aid to improve the competitive advantages within the industry.
TASK 4
Produce strategic management showing clear strategic direction and option to the organization
Strategic Management Plan:
Strategic management plan is the representation utilised to communicate with the
company which involves objectives, set priorities, focus strength, set up resources, modify
operations, ensure that workers and other stakeholders are worked towards common objectives
and set statement around intended result (Albrecht and et.al., 2015).
Executive Summary
This strategic management plan involves the background of organization and its history,
its structure, mission and vision. It has also covered that SWOT analysis and strategic direction
by utilising the Porter's Generic strategy as well as tactical action by using balance score card of
company. This strategic management plan helps to increase strategic capabilities and competitive
advantage of British Telecommunication within the telecom industry. Company has utilised the
tall organization structure of building the relationship among the managers and employees in the
workplace.
Background statement
British Telecommunication is the multinational telecom holding organization
headquartered in London, UK. It has operations in across the 180 nations and also it is the
17

biggest provider of fixed line, broadband and mobile services in the United Kingdom. They give
subscription television and information technology facilities (Mathooko and Ogutu, 2015). The
British telecom brand was launched in 1980. This became the official name of Post Office
Telecom on 1 October 1981 that became state-owned company independent of the Post Office
under the provision of British Telecom act 1981.
Organizational Structure
Structure where duration of control is lesser more than authority as display in the
organisational chart that indicates that BT is operated with the tall structure. The organizational
structure of British Telecommunication is bounded of the job position and modes of financing
that is needed because it presents clear and effective structure. It can be developed which allows
BT to meet their goals (Tapping and Shuker, 2018). If company do not meet their objectives so
that they can have poor structure that leads the failure and ineffective performance of BT. The
organizational chart of company presents the relationship among different members of BT and
displaying the level of control and accountability of each people position within the business.
The manager of BT directly supervises the workers having enough control.
Mission and Vision
The mission of British telecommunication is to give world class telecom and info goods
and services as well as evolve and effort their network at home as well as abroad, so that they
can meet the needs of consumers, carry on development in the gaining of the unit on basis of
their shareholder and creating fitting sharing to the people in which they conduct the business.
The vision statement of British Telecommunication is to be desirable partner of leading
companies in delivering advisory hiring solutions through establish wealthy understanding of
their organizations (Ansoff and et.al., 2018). There are many core values to accomplish the
vision such as professionalism, stakeholder involvement, human resources, ethical, modification
and invention in the business. The values of British Telecommunication like responsibly,
consistency and accountably by their code of conduct that they know their values.
Objective and goals
The purpose of British Telecommunication is constantly developing to ensure building on
their strengths and enable them to respond to market chances and challenges. There are main
factors of strategy of British Telecom such as deliver differentiated consumer experience, invest
in incorporated network leadership and transform their operating model. This can help to
18

increase the sales, profits and market share of British Telecommunication in the telecom
industry. Also, this can create the higher position within the industry as compared to challengers
in the marketplace.
SWOT Analysis
British Telecom has knowledgeable appreciable headwinds in public sector in the UK
and global corporate markets. Selected company is leading broadband internet providers of UK
which is the biggest strengths of business. They are operated more than 28 million telephone line
in the UK and biggest nationwide telecom coverage and penetration (McDONALD, 2016).
There is lack of fixed mobile occurrence and undeveloped mobile industry which are highly
weakness of BT. Company has accented on telecom and information tech solution as well as
broadband internet services which is high opportunity for the business. There are raised quittance
and possible risk for BT bond markets that are threats for business. This can help to increase the
sales, profits and market share of British Telecommunication in the telecom industry. Also, this
can create the higher position within the industry as compared to challengers in the marketplace.
Strategy Direction
It is the one of the most essential forces in business. Strategic direction set up the
structure for internal duties which each division and employees takes on. Strategic directions and
objectives are standardised. They are the ends towards that efforts and activities are focused.
Still, although accomplishing the objectives and strategic directions are the joint objectives, they
are not necessarily the final accomplishment (Smith, 2017). British Telecom needs to determine
strategic direction of business by utilising the model like Porter's Generic etc.
Porter's Generic Strategy:
This describe ways of pursues competitive advantages across the select market scope.
The relative position of company within industry defines whether profitability of firm is above or
below the industry average. The primary basis of above average profits in the long run is
sustainable competitive advantages. Having basic strategy at the heart of business which is
important part of both short and long term success (Noe and et.al., 2017). It is easy enough to set
out in the British Telecom with generic thought of what wants to accomplish, but those who lack
of particular method will normally be enclosed up by the market. Most of people discover it
much easier to run company when they have method in place which principle and ways they
proceed. There are mainly three generic strategies like cost leadership, differentiation and focus.
19

Cost leadership:
It is common business strategy and credibly one which company have considered as try
to earn advantages on the competition. Cost leadership refers to lead the marketplace in
maintaining costs in one manner or another. There are exactly two ways within this strategy like
offer the goods at lower prices and producing units for lowest costs. In this manner, British
Telecom will make higher margin on each sale as compared to their competitors (Namada,
2018). While it can appear like an easy select to simply sell the goods for the lowest possible
price, they need to make sure that they can sustain that plan over the long run. This can help to
increase the sales, profits and market share of British Telecommunication in the telecom
industry. Also, this can create the higher position within the industry as compared to challengers
in the marketplace.
Differentiation:
Company try to be specific in their business along some conceptions which are widely
valued by purchasers in the differentiation strategy. It choice one or more dimensions which
many consumers in the industry realize as essential and specifically position itself to meet those
requirements. It is rewarded for its individuality with premium prices (Porter’s Generic
Strategies, 2018). This strategy is appropriate where the target consumers segment is not price
sensitive, the market is competitive. Successful differentiation is showed when firm achieves
either premium price for the goods and services, raised revenue per unit or customer loyalty to
buy goods or brand and services. This can help to increase the sales, profits and market share of
British Telecommunication in the telecom industry. Also, this can create the higher position
within the industry as compared to challengers in the marketplace.
20

Focus:
The focus strategy focuses on constrictive consumer group and within the section efforts
to accomplish either cost advantages or differentiation. Company utilise focus strategy frequently
uses large level of consumer loyalty and this constituted loyalty discourages other companies
from competing directly (Barney, 2015). Companies following focus strategy have lower
volumes, thus less bargaining power with their suppliers because of their constrictive market
focus. However, companies following differentiation focused strategy can be able to adapt wide
scope of good improvement strengths to comparatively constrictive market part which they know
very well.
In this context, company identify the strategic direction by following the cost leadership
generic strategy for selling the goods and services as per high quality as compared to their
competitors in the market. This can help to increase the sales, profits and market share of British
Telecommunication in the telecom industry. Also, this can create the higher position within the
industry as compared to challengers in the marketplace.
Tactical action:
In this section, company is utilised the balance scorecard as tactical action of plan.
Balance scorecard is the execution measured utilised in strategic management to recognise and
21
Illustration 2: Porter’s Generic Strategies
Source: (Porter’s Generic Strategies, 2018)

develop different internal operation of firm and their resulting external outcomes (West, Ford
and Ibrahim, 2015). It is utilised to assess and give feedback to companies like British
Telecommunication. This strategy or method is utilised to learn good behaviour in the company
by uninflected four separate fields which need to be evaluated. These fields involving learning
and growth, business procedure, consumers and finance. This model as strategic management
system to apply strategy at all levels of the company by helping the following activities like
clarifying strategy, communicating strategic goals, planning and positioning strategic initiatives,
strategic feedback and learning (Saeidi and et.al., 2015). This method goes beyond standard
fiscal measure to involve extra views like consumer views, business procedure, learning and
fiscal views of firm.
 In the financial measure, BT measure the operating income, return of capital employed
and economic value added.
 Consumer satisfaction, consumer retention and market share in target segment which are
measured in consumer views towards the organization.
 Company also measure the views related to business procedure which involves cost and
quality, acquisition, manufacturing and order fulfilment (Albrecht and et.al., 2015).
 Lastly, British Telecommunication requires to measures views regarding to learning and
development which involves worker turnover, retention and set of abilities of employees.
 This can help to increase the sales, profits and market share of British
Telecommunication in the telecom industry. Also, this can create the higher position
within the industry as compared to challengers in the marketplace.
M 4
Strategic management plan is very essential to accomplish the strategic objectives and
goals of British Telecommunication. For that, company needs to focus on determine the strategic
direction and tactics which help to achieve the strategic objectives of firm. With the help of it,
company changes their strategies and operations for accomplishing the business objectives and
goals.
CONCLUSION
This report has summarised that using the PESTLE model for environment analysis of
business and also using Ansoff's growth metric which is beneficial for determining strategic
22

position of the company. It can be concluded that VRIO model for analysing the strategic
capabilities which has controlled and used by company. It can be discussed that utilised SWOT
model of company for internal analysis of organization. Furthermore, report has completed that
improving the competitive advantages by utilising the Porter's Five force model of business. It
can be concluded that produce the strategic management plan which involves background
information of company, its mission and vision, objectives, Porter's Generic strategy as strategic
direction, SWOT analysis of company, organizational structure and Balance Scorecard strategy
as tactical action plan of strategic management of firm.
Moreover, this plan is beneficial to increase strategic capabilities and achieving the
strategic objectives of company. It can be discussed that this strategic management plan aid to
improve and develop the performance and productivity of company within its industry in which
they operate. Also, this aid to create the large position as compared to the competitors of selected
firm. Strategic management plan is very beneficial to increase market share and competitive
advantages of company. It can be concluded that tall organizational structure in which company
has operated which is very beneficial for building the relationship with manager and employees
in the organization.
23

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Albrecht, S. L. and et.al., 2015. Employee engagement, human resource management practices
and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational
Effectiveness: People and Performance. 2(1). pp.7-35.
Ansoff, H.I. and et.al., 2018. Implanting strategic management. Springer.
Awan, S. and Cheng, Y., 2016. Improve Communication Quality by Understanding Customer
Switching Behavior in China’s Telecom Sector. In Ibusiness (pp. 70-83).
Barney, J., 2015. 15 Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. International Business
Strategy: Theory and Practice, p.283.
Eaton, D. and Kilby, G., 2015. Does Your Organizational Culture Support Your Business
Strategy?. The Journal for Quality and Participation. 37(4). p.4.
Fontana, A., Sastre-Merino, S. and Baca, M., 2017. The territorial dimension: The component of
business strategy that prevents the generation of social conflicts. Journal of business
ethics. 141(2).pp.367-380.
Gangotra, A. and Shankar, R., 2016. Strategies in managing risks in the adoption of business
analytics practices: A case study of a telecom service provider. Journal of Enterprise
Information Management. 29(3). pp.374-399.
Higgins, D., Omer, T.C. and Phillips, J.D., 2015. The influence of a firm's business strategy on
its tax aggressiveness. Contemporary Accounting Research. 32(2).pp.674-702.
Linder, M. and Williander, M., 2017. Circular business model innovation: inherent
uncertainties. Business strategy and the environment. 26(2). pp.182-196.
Mathooko, F. M. and Ogutu, M., 2015. Porter’s five competitive forces framework and other
factors that influence the choice of response strategies adopted by public universities in
Kenya. International Journal of Educational Management. 29(3). pp.334-354.
McDONALD, M.A.L.C.O.L.M., 2016. Strategic marketing planning: theory and practice. In The
marketing book (pp. 108-142). Routledge.
Moseley III, G.B., 2017. Managing health care business strategy. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Namada, J. M., 2018. Organizational learning and competitive advantage. In Handbook of
Research on Knowledge Management for Contemporary Business Environments (pp. 86-
104). IGI Global.
24

Noe, R. A. and et.al., 2017. Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage.
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Pisano, G.P., 2015. You need an innovation strategy. Harvard Business Review, 93(6), pp.44-54
Recalde, M. and Gutierrez-Garcia, E., 2017. Communication management and the telecom
sector: a case study. Doxa Comunicación, (24).
Saeidi, S.P. and et.al., 2015. How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial
performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer
satisfaction. Journal of business research. 68(2). pp.341-350.
Schaltegger, S., Hansen, E.G. and Lüdeke-Freund, F., 2016. Business models for sustainability:
Origins, present research, and future avenues.
Shamsuzzaman, M., Alzeraif, M., Alsyouf, I. and Khoo, M.B.C., 2018. Using Lean Six Sigma to
improve mobile order fulfilment process in a telecom service sector. Production Planning
& Control. 29(4).pp.301-314.
Sharma, A., Medudula, M.K. and Patro, S., 2015. Marketing flexibility interaction matrix and
consumer clusters preference criteria in telecommunication sector. Global Journal of
Flexible Systems Management.16(3). pp.295-307.
Smith, R. D., 2017. Strategic planning for public relations. Routledge.
Talib, F. and Rahman, Z., 2017. Modeling the barriers of Indian telecom services using ISM and
MICMAC approach. Journal of Asia Business Studies. 11(2). pp.188-209.
Tapping, D. and Shuker, T., 2018. Value Stream Management for the Lean Office: Eight Steps to
Planning, Mapping, & Sustaining Lean Improvements in Administrative Areas.
Productivity press.
Üner, M.M., Güven, F. and Cavusgil, S.T., 2015. Bundling of telecom offerings: An Empirical
Investigation in the Turkish market. Telecommunications Policy. 39(1). pp.53-64.
West, D. C., Ford, J. and Ibrahim, E., 2015. Strategic marketing: creating competitive advantage.
Oxford University Press, USA.
Yuliansyah, Y., Rammal, H.G. and Rose, E., 2016. Business strategy and performance in
Indonesia’s service sector. Journal of Asia Business Studies. 10(2). pp.164-182.
ONLINE
25

Ans off matrix. 2018. [Online] Available Through : <https://www.slideteam.net/blog/ansoff-
matrix-model-business-growth-strategies-templates-included/>
Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Position Analysis, 2013. [Online] Available Through :
<https://www.cgma.org/resources/tools/essential-tools/porters-five-forces.html>.
Porter’s Generic Strategies, 2018.[Online] Available Through : <http://www.free-management-
ebooks.com/news/porters-generic-strategies/>.
SWOT analysis. 2018. [Online] Available Through :
<https://research-methodology.net/theory/strategy/swot-analysis/>
26