Strategic Planning Report: Analyzing Telstra's Strategies (SBM3203)

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Telstra's strategic planning, focusing on its application within the telecommunications industry. It begins with an introduction to Telstra, a leading Australian telecommunications company, and outlines its business background. The report then delves into the strategies employed by Telstra, including cost leadership and differentiation, and how these strategies are tailored towards specific customer segments. It explores the key dimensions of Telstra's strategies, such as mission, vision, values, and organizational structure, and how these elements contribute to its strategic goals. Furthermore, the report examines Telstra's mission and value statements, highlighting their significance in shaping the company's approach to customer service and market positioning. The analysis also includes an overview of Telstra's marketing and advertising strategies, emphasizing how these tactics contribute to the company's competitive advantage. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the importance of effective strategic planning for Telstra's continued success in the global telecommunications market. References are provided to support the analysis.

Running Head: STRATEGIC PLANNING 1
Strategic Planning

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Table of Contents
Introduction and Company Background......................................................................................................3
Strategies.....................................................................................................................................................3
Key Dimensions of Strategies......................................................................................................................4
Mission and Value Statements....................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction and Company Background
Strategic planning is an important process for each and every company in today’s global
environment. The companies formulate and implement different strategies to deal with the issues
and to stay competitive in the industry (Cassidy, 2016). For this discussion, Telstra is chosen as
case study organization that is ranked in the Fortune 500 companies’ list. Telstra Corporation is
one of the largest telecommunication companies that develops telecom networks and offers
internet access, mobile, voice and other services and products. It is an Australian organization
that was founded in the year 1953. The organization has a history in the country, inventing
together with Australia Post as Postmaster General Department. Now, it is totally privatized and
it was practicing a change program to be more customers oriented. The head office of Telstra is
situated in Melbourne, Australia and it has employed more than 40000 people in its operations.
As of 2017, it recorded the revenues of A$ 26 billion (Telstra, 2018). The company is using
effective strategies to promote its products its products and services.
The below report includes different strategic aspects and dimensions of Telstra Corporation
which enable the organization to attain more competitive advantage against competing brands.
Strategies
Strategies are the policies and techniques which are formulated by a company to attain both its
short term and long term objectives. In its business and operations, Telstra is developing and
implementing various effective strategies so that it can stay competitive among industry players.
It is offering its products and services by targeting young generation and students as they
generally like to use information technology products and mobiles. Under generic strategies,
Telstra uses both cost leadership and differentiation strategies (Banker, Mashruwala & Tripathy,
2014). This company is combining the exclusiveness and offering quality network services to its
customers. The quality of its products and services differentiate it from competitors like Optus,
Vodafone and Virgin Mobile. As Telstra offers its products by focusing on students and youth so
it uses cost leadership strategy. It offers its networking services on reasonable prices so that
targeted customer can afford. In order to offer the products on affordable prices, it uses various
cost saving technologies in its products/services.

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Moreover, under product development Telstra focuses key features i.e. technology, quality
assurance and appearance. For example, the company is continuously updating its broadband
services and enhancing the internet performance. Apart from these business strategies, this
organization is using effective advertising and marketing strategies so that it can approach a
larger customer base. It uses promotion strategies to attain a significant advantage against
competitors. Telstra has invested money on sponsorships like Telstra Stadium, National Rugby
League and Telstra Dome (McDougal, 2017). Additionally, it gives advertisements in
newspaper, magazines, social media sites, television etc. By using these strategies, the company
aims to establish itself as a high-tech and modern telecom company all over the world.
Key Dimensions of Strategies
The strategy of an organization is concerned with developing its structure into a form which
assists and fulfills mission and vision statement of the company. It can be developed by keeping
the mission and vision statement in mind. There are some dimensions which shapes all the
features of organizational strategy. In an organization, the major dimensions are such as its
mission, vision, values and organizational structure. To develop its strategies, Telstra focuses on
its different strategic dimensions (Grant, 2016). The company has established its vision that
assists it to formulate and implement strategies. The vision statement of Telstra is to make itself
a world class technology organization which enables people to connect with each other. This
telecommunication company is converging with technology and accelerating different
technology innovations. The organization transforms its purposes into mission and vision
statement so that it can attain its strategic aims. It is the major point of developing organizational
strategy at Telstra.
Moreover, another key dimension of strategy is organizational structure that assists Telstra to
develop all the operations and practice them. Organizational structure of the company defines
how different elements and its human resources related to each other. It includes the personnel,
who execute strategic plan, developing a structure on the basis of strategy is common sense.
Telstra operates its business by creating a hierarchical organizational structure that includes
different levels of authority. The people at different levels have different roles in strategy
formulation process in the company (Growth Decisions Inc., 2015).

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The above diagram reflects the organizational structure of Telstra organization which is headed
by Board and CEO of the company. It has divided its human resources according to their roles
and departments. All the people are focused on developing strategies for company so that they
can make their contribution to organizational objective achievement. Thus, these are the key
dimensions of strategy which support this organization to develop strategies for attaining its
predetermined goals and objectives (Lui, 2009).
Mission and Value Statements
Apart from above dimensions, mission and value statements are also important elements which
assist Telstra to attain its business objectives. The mission statement of Telstra is “to formulate
an excellent future for each and every person all over the world”, that they need to deliver to its
potential customers and the society is based on their understanding, respect from past, present
and to the future. The mission is to transform its communication services into what the customers
Board of Telstra
Network & Technology
Commercial and
consumer
Sales Region
operation support
customer service
process
Sales Startegy and channel
management
International operations
Telstra multimedia pty.
Ltd. Finance & Admin Retail and Marketing
CEO

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expect from it. The company believes that all the opportunities come from customer loyalty and
connection among them. This is the major reason why the company needs to understand their
customers better by emphasizing on finding out what they need and expect from their services. In
order to create this connection, the management of Telstra understood that their roles and
responsibilities are significant in attaining this mission. It is also their objective to connect each
and every person in Australian society and people all over the world via their network services
and modern technologies (Bartholomeusz, 2017). As a number one telecommunication company
of Australia, the company is developing the ways population lives and works in the future with
the network of Telstra.
Moreover, the value statement of the company includes five key values such as care,
togetherness, trust, simplicity and courage. The company has established these values under its
strategies so that it can attain its objectives (Telstra Corporation Limited, 2018). It focuses on the
quality of products and services. Through its value statement, company reflects its responsibility
towards society. It is offering its services considering the needs and wants of customers towards
information technology and networking services (McDougal, 2017).
The above mentioned strategies and dimensions have a significant impact on the performance of
Telstra. Its current strategies are focused on the growth and supports in improving customer
advocacy and enhancing value of business. By implementing focus and differentiation strategies,
the company is able to attract more customers towards its products and services. It enables the
organization to entice the targeted customers. With the identification of customers’ needs, Telstra
is able to satisfy its customers at the fullest (Rothaermel, 2015). Implementation of effective
marketing strategies allows Telstra to approach a larger population in Australia and all over the
world. In this way, the strategies of company assist it to generate more revenues by increasing
the number of customers and subscribers.
Conclusion
In the limelight of above discussion, it can be concluded that Telstra is the largest player in
Australian telecom industry. The company has experienced significant growth and success due to
implementation of effective strategies. In order to grow its business, the company is using
effective strategies and tactics. Mission and vision statement plays an important role in the

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formulation of company’s strategy. Organizational structure also supports the company to
develop and execute the strategies in the process. Thus, the company is successfully operating its
business in Australian and global telecommunication industry.

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References
Bartholomeusz, S. (2017). Telstra leadership shake-up shows the scale of Penn’s ambitions. The
Australian Business Review.
Cassidy, A. (2016). A practical guide to information systems strategic planning. Auerbach
Publications.
Banker, R., Mashruwala, R., & Tripathy, A. (2014). Does a differentiation strategy lead to more
sustainable financial performance than a cost leadership strategy?. Management
Decision, 52(5), 872-896.
Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley &
Sons.
Growth Decisions Inc. (2015). The 8 key dimensions we evaluate when assessing a company’s
growth and innovation capabilities. Retrieved from
https://www.growthdecisions.com/archive/2015/3/9/the-8-key-dimensions-we-evaluate-
when-assessing-a-companys-growth-and-innovation-capabilities
Lui, S. (2009). Telstra reveals new company structure. Retrieved from
https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/328016/telstra_reveals_new_company_structure/
McDougal, M. (2017). Insights from the company monitor: Telstra. Equity, 31(11), 15.
Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Telstra Corporation Limited. (2018). Purpose and Values. Retrieved from
https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/our-company/present/purpose-values
Telstra. (2018). Together its Magic. Retrieved from https://www.telstra.com.au/

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