Telstra's International Business Strategy

This assignment delves into Telstra's international business strategy, examining its global presence, competitive advantages, organizational structure, and operational control. It highlights the firm's focus on infrastructure development, joint ventures, and human resource management in diverse markets. The analysis also considers challenges such as inter-divisional competition, regulatory complexities, and the need for culturally sensitive teams.

Speaker Notes
2 International business helps a firm to find new markets where it can sell its products and
services. Firm can grow to a larger degree if it has cross border international business interests.
Therefore, international business is an important function of management in the present world.
Many firms aim to become global through international expansion. Legal, ethical and cultural
framework across borders varies, leading to differences in business practices. Therefore,
international business strategies have to be assessed deeply.
3 Telstra has a considerable presence in Australia which it has generated through the use of
acquisitions and quality service delivery (Telstra, 2017). The firm has more than 50% market
share in Australia (ACCC, 2017). The firm has also expensed oversees (Telstra, 2017). It has
been present in the European markets since 1992 and has been providing voice and data services
to customers.
4 Competitive strategy is the long term strategy undertaken by business organisation to enhance
its competitive advantage. The firm is focusing on infrastructural development as a major
competitive strategy. The firm has partnered with many Government agencies to develop
telecommunication infrastructure in developing and emerging countries This infrastructure
includes sub-sea cable network in Asia pacific region. This gives competitive advantage to
Telstra because it can move into a ready market through this infrastructure. The firm has also
tied up with private companies in Asia pacific region to provide high value communication
network
5 Organisational structure identifies the process flow of communication and work direction with
in an organisation/ Telstra follows divisional organisational structure. In a divisional structure
the firm divides the work roles based on products, projects or subsidiaries. Therefore, Telstra has
divisions based on different countries it operates in and then it has departments within these
countries. All the Division heads report to the chief executive officer
6 Basic control issue with divisional function is that the divisions may start competiting with
each other. These divisions may start acting independently and start competing with each other
for company resources. Divisional structure may also lead to compartmentalisation which may

lead to incompatibility Therefore, it is important for the CEO to create a team to keep him aware
about function of all divisions so that he can control all the divisions well.
7 Firms use various entry strategies to enter into global marks, Joint venture is a partnership
between two firms preferably a local firm so that the international firm can get ready customer
base and the local firm gets a better technology and expertise. On the other hand, in acquisition
strategy, the international firm completely acquires a local firm to get a ready customer base.
Telstra has entered into horizontal joint ventures such as the one with Tata telecommunication in
India. It has also made vertical joint ventures in the area of supply chain and back-end
infrastructures
8 The firm has communication cables, communication towers and other infrastructure which it
has developed by various methods like joint effort or direct investment Through this
communication infrastructure the service is created and distributed. Operational control is
managed through control towers where the continuous supply of voice and data services is
managed
9 Like any other service organisation the firm is heavily depends on human resources for
delivery of services The firm employs local workforce at most medium and lower level
positions. Therefore, the firm has a diverse workforce. To manage the diverse workforce the firm
has incorporated a culture of non-discrimination and respect for all races and cultures with in its
workforce As a service organisation is highly people driven, staff training is given importance in
the company
10 the management may face various issues in establishing management roles and teams in
different countries. The firm needs teams which understand the basic vision of the company and
also understands the cultural fibre of the host country. Communication service is highly
regulated in certain countries and laws and regulations very. While running a business in these
countries the management needs to have thorough knowledge of these regulations (Maude,
2014). For example, in India communication services cannot be sold without taking
identification proof of the customer

11 The firm has a presence in emerging markets but it should try to enhance this presence.
Emerging markets offer a huge window for growth and Telstra must capture this opportunity. It
should increase its visibility in emerging markets through advertising and should invest in
servers and other communication infrastructure so that it can grow in these markets
Telstra’s focus should be on improvement of distribution network in the various regions where it
is present. The firm can open point of sale display in supermarkets and sell its products through
super market tie ups. This will improve the firm’s visibility in emerging markets