Report: A Comparative Analysis of Samsung and Vodafone's Operations

This report provides a comparative analysis of the organizational operations of Samsung Electronics Limited and Vodafone Plc. It begins with brief summaries of both companies, highlighting their financial performance, product offerings, and main competitors. The report then delves into the manufacturing process map of Samsung, detailing its role as both a supplier of electronic components and a manufacturer of finished goods. A service process map of Vodafone is also presented, outlining the company's infrastructure and customer interactions. The report compares and contrasts the manufacturing and service environments of the two companies, emphasizing the technological intensity and costliness of both. It also discusses the impact of customer-induced variability on the productivity of both organizations. Finally, the report concludes by explaining how a deep understanding of both manufacturing and service environments can benefit managers in making prudent business decisions and achieving higher levels of productivity. References are provided at the end of the report.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
Brief summary of Samsung Electronics Limited:
Samsung Electronics Company Limited is the electronics and home appliance
manufacturing arm of the global business conglomerate namely, Samsung. The company has its
headquarters Suwon, South Korea and is primarily listed on Korea Exchange. The company is
financially very strong which is evident from the revenue and the net profit generated by the
company. The company earned a revenue of USD 217,754,524000 which increased to USD
221,568,382000 in 2018. Similarly, the net profit which the company earned for the period of
2017 was USD 38,344,321000 which increased to USD 40,305,867000. This shows that the
company has not only succeeded in increasing its sales but also reducing its expenditure which
enabled it to maximize its net profits after payment of taxes (Samsung.com, 2019).
The product umbrella of Samsung Electronics consists of both business –to-business
products and business-to-customer products. The company operates in the global market in the
capacity of both a supplier and a marketer of finished goods. The company is one of the largest
suppliers of essential components used in devices of other electronic companies which include
global leaders like Apple and LG. The company sells a large number of home appliances like
washing machines, refrigerator and smart phones. The main markets of Samsung Electronics are
Asia, Europe and the Americas. The main competitor companies of Samsung Electronics are LG,
Apple and Sony.

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ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
Brief summary of Vodafone Plc.
Vodafone Plc is a British multinational company listed primarily on the London Stock
Exchange and secondarily listed on NASDAQ. The company operates in the global markets two
formats namely, direct presence and partner markets. The markets in which Vodafone has
presence in the form of wholly owned subsidiaries consist of markets like the United Kingdom,
India and Australia. The company and subsidiaries operate in the global market under the
leadership of Nick Read and Gerard Kleisterlee in the positions of the chief executive officer
and chairman. The financial results of the company as evident from the financial statements,
were not strong. The company earned a revenue of EU 46,571 million in 2017-18 which fell to
EUm 45,066 in the year 2018-19. This clearly shows the weakening financial position of the
company (Vodafone.com, 2019).
The products of Vodafone consist of products for individual and corporate customers.
The products of the company includes telecommunication and internet services. The company
also markets entertainment packages which enable customers to enjoy video streaming services.
The company in order to ensure that it is able to get deeper access to customer base and offer
services to create value to the latter, offers product bundles. The product bundles consists of both
communication service packages and data packs synthesized in a single size offering. The main
competitors of Vodafone Plc are the other telecommunication services offering companies like
Virgin and Telstra.

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ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
Manufacturing process map of Samsung Electronics Limited:
Samsung Electronics
manufacturing facilitiesElectronic
components
( as a supplier
Finished electronic
goods (like laptops)

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ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
Elements of infrastructure of a manufacturing company:
The electronic goods manufacturing process map of Samsung Electronics as shown
above consists of a complex process. This is because the company operates in the global markets
in two main forms namely, in the capacity of a supplier and in the capacity of a manufacturer of
finished electronic goods. As shown in the map above, the company manufactures electronic
components in its manufacturing plants. The company sells these manufactured electronic
components to the other electronic goods manufacturing companies. The company manufactures
finished goods like smart phones and air conditions which again is sold to two main types of
customers namely, business consumers and individual consumers. The company caters to
business companies which procure appliances like air conditioners and laptops as their fixed
assets. Similarly, the individual consumers purchase the finished products manufactured by
Samsung for consumption in their respective homes (Samsung.com, 2019).
Business
firms
Domestic
consumers

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ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
Service process map of Vodafone Plc:
Elements of infrastructure of a manufacturing company:
The elements of the service manufacturing process of Vodafone are the service providing
infrastructure of the company namely, the official website and outlets of the company and the
consumers. The two types of customers the company serves consist of individual consumers and
business companies which purchase its data and communication packages.
Differences and similarities between manufacturing and service provision environment:
There are several differences and similarities between the goods manufacturing process
of Samsung and service manufacturing process. The first similarity between the two processes is
that both are technology intensive while the second similarity is that both are extremely
expensive. However, in comparison to the service manufacturing process of Vodafone, the goods
manufacturing process of Samsung is far more complex. Secondly, Samsung manufactures
Service providing infrastructure of
Vodafone (including outlets and
official websites)
Domestic
customers Business customers

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ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
goods both as a supplier of electronic components and marketer of finished goods while
Vodafone only provides services (Desai, 2017).
Availability of customer introduced variability:
The consumer induced variability is high in case of both the companies. The demands of
consumers have deep impact on the productivity of both the companies.
How will a deep understanding of both manufacturing and service environments help you
in your future or current career?
Understanding both the goods and service manufacturing process would enable the
managers to take more prudent business decisions. This would enable the managers to achieve
levels of productivity.

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ORGANIZATIONAL OPERATIONS
References:
Desai, P. N. (2017). Export innovation system: Changing structure of India’s technology-
intensive exports. Institutions and Economies, 21-52.
Vodafone.com. (2019). Retrieved 6 August 2019, from
https://www.vodafone.com/content/annualreport/annual_report19/index.html#introductio
n
Samsung.com. (2019). Retrieved 6 August 2019, from
https://www.samsung.com/in/aboutsamsung/home/