Management and Leadership in Vodafone

Running Head: Management and Leadership 1
Management and Leadership
Student Name
2/14/2020

Running Head: Management and Leadership 2
Executive Summary
The Vodafone Company is in existence from 1984 and it called as a subsidiary of Racal
Electronics Plc. In the year 1991, it detached with the Racal Electronics Plc. and run from its
own name. Now, it is one of the leading telecommunication companies to be known across the
globe. It is the vision and mission of the company to enhance its existence in the international
market. The success was not easy and there was tough competition in the market but with its
confident and encouragement they achieved it. With their impressive style of management and
leadership everything seems joyful and easy. The leadership style that is adopted by the company
is transformational, democratic as well as task oriented that made them leading in the
international market. Vodafone Group never forces their employees even though they motivate
and respect their efforts. The Group adopted many styles and strategies of motivation and
leadership. The company has adopted Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy Theory to motivate its
employee.
The Company is not attractive only because of its internal structure but due to its outside
behavior towards society and morality. It pays huge attention on ethical values and governs
principles to every connected person. Vodafone maintain its own foundation where the
workforce deals with all social as well as ethical matters. In the past, there was big change
occurred in Vodafone in which the company merged with Idea Cellular, which was considered as
another top telecommunication network company. Adopting any kind of changes is difficult at
any workplace but the mangers and its employees of the company adopted such changes with
full confidence and proper planning that made the company more successful in the market.

Running Head: Management and Leadership 3
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
1. Leadership Style followed by Vodafone:.............................................................................................4
1.1 Management theories of Vodafone:.......................................................................................................5
2. Vision and Mission..............................................................................................................................5
3. Motivational theories:..........................................................................................................................6
4. Ethics and Values................................................................................................................................8
5. Key Change in Vodafone.....................................................................................................................8
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................10

Running Head: Management and Leadership 4
Introduction
Vodafone a world -wide telecommunication network and it is the world’s leading organization
with 625 million customers. It was established in 1991 by Ernest Harrison and Gary Whent.
Vodafone at commencing was the subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc. in United Kingdom. After
that, in 1991 it separated from Racal Electronics Plc and run with its present name Vodafone
Group Plc. The company has large geographic area and brand image in the market. In U.K.
Vodafone was the first to launch international roaming calls. It was also listed on London and
New York stock exchanges in 1991(Alshmemri, Shahwan-Akl, and Maude, 2017)
Its first mobile call was on 1st January 1985 in U.K. and few years later it became one of the most
popular brands across the globe. Till 2019 it had 27million customers of broadband and 22
million TV customers. In the below parts there are complete details of Vodafone Group(Ang,
2016)
1. Leadership Style followed by Vodafone:
 Transformational Leadership: it refers to those leaders who transform and guide their
subordinates or team members as per their roles and duties. These leaders are those who
inspire teammates and motivate them to achieve goals. The managers and executives of
Vodafone use this to encourage their staff and inspire them.
 Democratic Leadership: it is mainly preferred by Vodafone to give their staff
opportunities to participate in activities and give their opinions. It reduces the employee’s
hesitation and makes them confident for their work. Also, it aids in decision making.
 Task Oriented: this is used by Vodafone in marketing and sales department because there
the management is more worried. The main aim of this is to focus on task of the
company.
 Promotional Leadership: from beginning Vodafone was focused on performing best.
They believe that job is not any burden even a joy which aids Vodafone and its
employees to perform better. Leadership is base for effective results and therefore,
Vodafone kept it as a priority and promoted leadership(Aithal, 2015)

Running Head: Management and Leadership 5
1.1 Management theories of Vodafone:
 Behavioral theory: it judges the behavior of a leader and its team members. It states how
a leader should be and what approach he prefers to engage with employees or its
teammates. The theory reflects that a leader must be focused, goal-oriented and people-
oriented. In Vodafone there are two types of leaders one is concern for people and
another is concern for revenues. Both leaders research from beginning on every decision.
In Vodafone it aids to know the behavior of every individual and then initiate to build
trust among subordinates(Ang, 2016)
 Classical Management theory: it is the theory of decision making and profit earnings. It
tells and guide managers to be cooperative with employees. It put main focus on growth
of company by efficient and effective ways. Vodafone through this theory make plans
and execute according to it. Every manager and worker follows this theory principle in
Vodafone(Mosca, and Civera, 2017)
 Human relation Management Theory: the theory is concern for human and its relation in
the company. It shows the importance of employees in the workplace and helps in
combining the needs of employees and company. In Vodafone managers are very
dependent on this and follow this to make policies and decision regarding employee
benefits. The management of human relation with the company environment is the main
motive of human management theory(Healy, 2016)
2. Vision and Mission
 The vision statement of Vodafone is to be the telecommunication leader in an
increasingly connected world(Phadraig et al., 2019)
 The mission is to enrich our customer’s lives through the unique power of mobile
communication(Antonakis, and Day, 2017)
2(b) The aim behind the mission and vision of the Vodafone is to improve people’s lives. With
the increase of Vodafone users there will be more connectivity between people and therefore, it
will promote in building digital culture. Digital culture will help in growth of economy and will
enhance development. Vodafone Company wants to improve the scenario of economy and
individual’s life. They want to make the world wholly digital with high class connectivity and

Running Head: Management and Leadership 6
technology. It is working to be the leading one across the world and aims at satisfying all its
stakeholders such as clients, employees, society and also government. They are on their way to
overcome and address the challenges sustainably. With the vision and mission their goal is to
transform society people’s lives(Bolman, and Deal, 2017)
2(c) Vodafone is very dependent on its leadership and management as it always focuses towards
leadership and management. Every company without a vision is of no worth same way Vodafone
have vision and to accomplish it management and leadership is needed. As a leader and manager
are two important ingredients of every company and both creates a great impact on Vodafone.
The manager work is to focus on business objectives whereas a leader focuses on both business
and employees of the company. Both management and leadership make strategies to move
towards the company’s vision. The set theories and patterns aid a lot in achieving goals(Bowen,
2018)
3. Motivational theories:
 Goal-Setting Theory: it defines importance of goals and objectives in every work. It
shows that setting of specific and challenging goals leads to better performance instead of
easy or general goals. To use this theory of motivation in setting of goals there are five
principles: Clarity, Challenging goals, Commitment, Feedback and Task
Complexity(Schmidt, 2019)
 Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy Theory: it states human needs from a five-tier model set as
hierarchy levels in a pyramid. The needs are: physiological, safety, love and belonging,
esteem and self-actualization. It means that each stage should be satisfied first within
individuals then move at next stage. It also promotes women empowerment and makes
them confident to move ahead(Healy, 2016)
 Vroom's theory of expectancy: it refers to an individual’s behavior that what he choose to
do work. It is assumed that every employee will choose a different behavior to attain
goals. Every individual has different expectations and behavior for getting results stated
by Vroom’s expectancy theory(Herzog, 2019)
 Motivation Hygiene Theory: it is also known as two factor theory. It states that there are
two conditions in every job one is job satisfaction and other is job dissatisfaction.

Running Head: Management and Leadership 7
Therefore, aim of this theory is to provide a healthy and friendly environment that will
initiate and motivate employees to perform better and also they will feel
satisfied(Alshmemri, Shahwan-Akl, and Maude, 2017)
 There are some principles which induce workers or employees to be a team as principles
initiates team spirit. They are:
 Effective distribution of resources.
 Mutual respect amongst team members.
 Constructive working relationship.
 Positive look to diversity and equality.
 Healthy and friendly environment.
 Cooperative employees and effective leadership(Wolff et al., 2017)
3(b) From the above theories and principles there are some used by Vodafone to motivate its
employees as it introduced a “Pathways to success’’ training program to promote women
empowerment and motivate them. It was supported by Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy Theory.
The training program was attended by number of women’s(Kresak, Corvington, and Williamson,
2016)
Another was that Vodafone offers a healthy and friendly environment to its employees. The
reason is that Vodafone still known for its employee’s pride. This was attained with the help of
Motivation Hygiene Theory. Vodafone has taken many initiatives to recognizes the efforts of
employees and appreciate them for their work(Brown, and Capozza, 2016)
Apart from that, Vodafone introduced personalized induction program and planned projects
before giving them the role as soon as one becomes available. At Vodafone India, it gives mutual
mentoring for women talent on succession projects and it also satisfies each and every
employee’s behavior. They work to make the individual’s behavior cooperative with others. The
behavior of every individual is judged with the Vroom’s expectancy theory(Herzog, 2019)

Running Head: Management and Leadership 8
4. Ethics and Values
The ethics and values means to know about right and wrong. It includes moral principles, natural
justice, difference in good and bad, honesty, loyalty etc. The Vodafone Group treats this as an
important tool and ensures that everything goes ethically and legally. There are number of ethical
theories such as utilitarianism, ethics of care, rights theory and the theory of justice. There are
codes of ethics which Vodafone called as ‘business principles’ and it includes data protection,
human rights, political contributions, transparency, social responsibility and environment healthy
and safety. Vodafone sincerely pays attention to its ethics policies such as ‘Duty to Report
Policy’, for bribery and corruption a policy of zero tolerance and an Anti-Corruption Guidelines
program and it has also made for outsiders a Code of Ethical Purchasing (CEP). All these policy
ensure that everything should be legal and ethical as prescribed in business principles. Vodafone
by itself has established these policies as to build trust in employees and its clients. Every policy
of Vodafone is govern under ethical theories(Wolff et al., 2017)
It has also lays down principles for its Corporate Social Responsibility. Vodafone has its own
foundation whose workforce deals with all social and ethical matters. It is not only concerned for
profit in business instead it stands for matters occurring outside. The company is strong with its
commitments and never back out from it. One of the examples of its social responsibility that it
initiated a program called as “Vodafone Red Alert”. The aim of Vodafone foundation behind this
was to help in case of emergencies and disasters(Mosca, and Civera, 2017)
5. Key Change in Vodafone
One of the biggest changes took in the Vodafone Company was the merger of Vodafone and Idea
Cellular. Both the companies are in top 5 in India and are now merging to be on top. This change
was really attractive and public was impressed. Everyone was waiting for the final approval for
this merger. The Vodafone and Idea Cellular have to face lot of challenges and issues raised due
to this merger and which was no easy. The merger was successful on August 30, 2018 as NCLT
has approved it. The manager of company took some steps to facilitate the changes such as:
 The manager established an integration plan in which he sets a project team including
both company’s employees and members whose focus will be on activities of merger.

Running Head: Management and Leadership 9
 Next, there will be clear communication of goals and vision for the new company.
 After that, manager of Vodafone focused on understanding the cultural differences in
employees of both the companies as he can approach it easily.
 Vodafone manager has given both sides of employees an opportunity to participate and
enhance their abilities.
 After all the steps there is main step is to develop HR department or restructure it. Every
employee is concerned about his job and to satisfy and build trust there is need of HR
Practices.
 Now, the most important tool that is customers therefore, manager shared new company’s
information with the customers as it will satisfy customers and generate trust in
them(Lakshana, 2019)
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that Vodafone is a top leading telecommunication
company. It is very concerned for its goals and commitments and always there to fulfill it. The
reason behind this much success is its style of Leadership and management. Vodafone is very
focused with its leadership plans and styles. The vision and mission to be the leader and make
people’s lives easy is the main concern. The proper management and leadership is the only thing
through which goals can be certain. The Vodafone style and policies to motivate employees is
always been attractive and impressive. It recognizes the efforts of employees and gives rewards
for it. Also, it encourages women and supports them to lead the team. It is not limited up to
internal management as Vodafone sincerely look for outside development and support initiatives.
It has a foundation through which every ethical, social responsibility is carried out.
After years it took a decision to merge with Idea Cellular, India’s top leading telecommunication.
The change was not easy and many obstacles raised but the manager and workforce dealt with
them effectively.

Running Head: Management and Leadership 10
References
Aithal, P.S. (2015) How an effective leadership and governance supports to achieve institutional
vision, mission and objectives. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and
Development, 2(5), pp.154-161.
Alshmemri, M., Shahwan-Akl, L. and Maude, P. (2017) Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Life
Science Journal, 14(5), pp.12-16.
Ang, R. (2016) Vodafone Global Telecommunications: Optimizing Operations. IUP Journal of
Operations Management, 15(4), p.46.
Antonakis, J. and Day, D.V. eds. (2017) The nature of leadership. United Sates: Sage
publications.
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E. (2017) Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
New York, US: John Wiley & Sons.
Bowen, S.A. (2018) Mission and vision. The International Encyclopedia of Strategic
Communication, pp.1-9.
Brown, R. and Capozza, D. eds. (2016) Social identities: Motivational, emotional, cultural
influences. UK: Psychology Press.
Giusepponi, K. and Tavoletti, E. (2018) Vision and mission statements in Italian universities:
Results of an empirical investigation on strategic orientation. Journal of the Knowledge
Economy, 9(1), pp.301-328.
Healy, K. (2016) A Theory of Human Motivation by Abraham H. Maslow (1942). The British
Journal of Psychiatry, 208(4), pp.313-313.
Herzog, B. (2019) Dynamic expectation theory: insights for market participants. Journal of Risk
and Financial Management, 12(2), p.77.

Running Head: Management and Leadership 11
Kresak, M., Corvington, L. and Williamson, P. (2016) Vodafone answers call to
transformation. Business Transformation Essentials: Case Studies and Articles, p.127.
Lakshana, R. (2019) Analysis of A Corporate Transaction: Merger of Vodafone India & Idea
Cellular. Journal of Corporate Governance & International Business Law, 2(1), pp.1-9.
Mosca, F. and Civera, C. (2017) The evolution of CSR: An integrated approach. Symphonya.
Emerging Issues in Management, (1), pp.16-35.
Phadraig, C.M.G., McGeown, D., Quinn, P. and Nunn, J. (2019) Advocacy, Community and
Education: A new mission for the Irish Society for Disability and Oral Health. Journal of
Disability and Oral Health, 20, p.1.
Schmidt, G.B. (2019) The need for goal-setting theory and motivation constructs in Lean
management. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 12(3), pp.251-254.
Wolff, J.O., Wells, D., Reid, C.R. and Blamires, S.J. (2017) Clarity of objectives and working
principles enhances the success of biomimetic programs. Bioinspiration & biomimetics, 12(5),
p.051001.