HRM Dissertations | Performance Related Pay | Reward Management | Employees

This research dissertation seeks to investigate the importance of performance related pay in motivating the employees at Holiday Inn, Sheffield. Performance related pay (PRP) is basically a financial reward given by the organisation to the outstanding employees after evaluating their performance at the workplace. In the present business world, most of the organisations have introduced the concept of PRP with an aim to motivate the employees and achieve the desired targets and organisational goals. Over the last couple of years, there has been substantial growth in terms of using performance pay systems in the business organisations. In this highly competitive business environment due to globalisation, most of the organisations are forced hard to reassess their human resource related strategies and approaches. They are looking for best suitable strategy and approach for obtaining competitive advantage over the others. There has been a sustainable amount of change in the structures and functions of the organisations in terms of performance and reward systems in order to cope with the changes in the global market. In order to achieve the competitive advantages and accelerate in the global markets, the organisations are relying on the performances of the employees which increase the importance of motivating the staff members. This is one of the reasons that several organisations are introducing performance related pay system which is helpful in motivating the employees and achieving desired level of performance from the staff members.

The researcher has used both primary and secondary data sources in order to undertake this research. The investigator has conducted a questionnaire survey with the employees of the hotel in order to identify their responses regarding the organisational reward and pay related policies. The questionnaire survey is also helpful in collecting the primary data and first hand information for the research purpose. The researcher has also conducted interviews in order to collect the primary data. The secondary data has been collected through the academic journals, articles and books written on the topic of performance related pay schemes and reward management systems. The outcomes of the research show that performance related pay system is helpful in motivating the staff members at the workplace. This results in improved performance of the organisation and it is helpful for the management to achieve desired level of performance from the employees. The research outcomes also show that PRP acts as a powerful motivator especially for the employees who are working in the front office department within the hotel. The research findings show that in the hotel industry, performance related pay system and monetary rewards are helpful in increasing the productivity level of the employees at the workplace. The conclusion of the research shows that organisations should use performance related pay systems because they are considered to be very effective in enhancing the motivation level of the high performing individuals in the modern business world. The objectives of this research are as follows;

• To identify the impact of performance related pay system on the motivational level of the employees.
• To examine that how performance related pay system can be helpful in increasing employee loyalty with the firm and improving their retention level.
• To assess the role of performance based pay system in improving the overall performance of the organisation.

MBA Dissertation | Total Quality Management | TQM | Communication

Law Dissertations | WTO Accession | GCC States | Foreign Direct Investment

The dissertation aimed to analyze the long term economic impact of WTO on the GCC countries by evaluating level of sustainability, competition and foreign direct investment in the region. Accession to World Trade Organization has helped GCC states to enhance their national business environment and is considered a valuable means for generating domestic payoffs. It maximizes employment opportunities and help in settling trade disputes. However, some overlapping is present between the potential benefits and economic challenges linked with WTO accession especially due to its role in bolstering inflows of foreign direct investment and exports. Among GCC member states, the economic impact of WTO accession on Saudi Arabia has been discussed in detail. To know the perceptions of economic analysts, a semi structured interview session was held with fifteen employees of three KSA companies operating in Riyadh. Findings from both the primary and secondary research revealed that despite having strong GDP, the Kingdom has to confront various threats after joining WTO mainly concerned with increased FDI entry, discriminatory multilateral trade relations and excessive reliance on oil reserves. In spite of all these challenges, the international trade agreements of WTO will have a far reaching impact on the social structure of the Kingdom. For economic diversification, and also for sustaining the development momentum triggered by economic reforms and well investigated budget allocations for less developed industrial sectors, Saudi Arabia has to integrate well with the global trade mechanism thus creating more employment opportunities for domestic population. Privatization and reduction in non tariff barriers will ensure smooth trade relations with foreign counterparts. This dissertation will assess the following objectives;

• To assess the economic implications of WTO accession for the GCC member states in particular Saudi Arabia
• To know the extent to which GCC states have adopted the economic legislation put forward by WTO

Finance Dissertations | Jordan Banks | Financial Performance | Banking

This dissertation examines the impact of Information Technology and internet banking on the financial performance of Jordan banks. It is an indubitable fact that our world is rapidly changing. The change is occurring in all fields of life from household to wider industrial sectors. Banking and other financial services are also subject to the change. Today, banks are enjoying the benefits of the new information technology by revolutionizing their relation with customers through e-banking. In this paper, an effort is made to examine the impact of IT investment and internet on the financial performance of Jordan banks. Along with this, an argument will be made whether the Jordan banks are successfully converting their IT investments into useful output or not. In the literary review part of this paper, the benefits of e-banking on the Jordan economy will also be discussed because the internet is rapidly killing the distance in the retail banking. Furthermore, the reasons and factors behind the unsuccessful conversion of IT investments into useful output will be noted down while conducting interviews with the selected bank personnel. The data to assess whether the company’s total IT investments are being efficiently utilized to create profits or not will be collected employing financial ratio i.e. Return on IT (ROIT). To obtain the objectives of the research different tools of data collection like the use of questionnaire and interviews with the bankers will be adopted. In addition to this, a brief overview of the current banking structure of the Jordan will also be discussed, for example which banking services are being followed by Jordan banks and why the outdated services are not being replaced by new services like electro banking. For the assessment of the impact of IT investment and internet on the financial performance of Jordan banks, the current tools of IT employed by Jordan banks will also be discussed. The dissertation will conclude by analyzing the collected data on the impact of IT investment and internet on the financial performance of Jordan banks.Following are key objectives of the research:

• To examine the relationship between IT and financial performance by estimating the contribution of IT investment to banks performance measured by financial ratios, in the same year of investment, the second year (one-year lag effect), or the third year of the investment (two-year lag effect).
• Another important objective is to examine the impact of the internet banking on the financial performance of the Jordan banks.
• To examine the effectiveness of banks in converting IT investments into useful outputs.

MBA Dissertation Topics | MBA Dissertation Examples | Dissertation Blog

MBA Dissertation Topics

Business Dissertations | Green Products | Environmental Friendly Strategies: Can Environmentally Friendly Business Strategies Increase Profitability |

Dissertation Can Environmentally Friendly Business Strategies Increase Profitability

What is the Role Played by Social Media in Crisis Communications

Marketing Dissertations | e-Marketing | Animated Images | Buying Process
  
Effects of E-Marketing and Online Animated Advertising on Consumer Buying Behaviour

HRM Dissertations | Knowledge Management | HRM Practices | Performance

The Relationship between Knowledge Management and Its Effects on Sustainable Organisational Performance: A Study of HRM Practices within the UK Aviation Industry

Software engineering (SE) is the study of the application of organized scientific approach used for designing, developing, integrating and maintaining software. This engineering study explains the methods, procedures and tools used for professional software development. The origin of this engineering term dates back to NATO Software Engineering Conference which was held in 1968, aiming to deal with the potential software crisis. This was the first step towards the development of modern world which eventually led to huge benefits to mankind. Indeed Software Engineering practices have done wonders in our lives and today, we are enjoying this fruit of technology by just one click, every minute every second.

Software engineering is prone to many challenges; issues and threats. But to deal with these issues we must also realize the importance of Software Engineering. Being a dominant factor with regards to cost and a driving force for a project’s success, software engineering practices make a significant difference. Technology is among the greatest factors for an economy’s stability and success. Software engineering includes a combination of both hardware and software. The GNP of almost all the developed economies of the world shows a significant resource allocation for Software engineering, as almost every system is soft controlled whether it is defense, education, health or infrastructure.

The key issues include heterogeneity, delivery and trust. Heterogeneity means that the quality of the software systems is varied being non comparable in kind. Delivery refers to the time to market and deliver quality software which is undoubtedly essential. Trust is the capability to gain trustworthiness from the end user regarding the software usage.

Cost estimation is another potential issue which is really difficult to control. There is an ever increasing threat with regards to design and management of software projects, arising due to systems’ intricacy.

The market demand for Software engineers is much higher in comparison to human resource availability. The need of the hour is to encourage software engineers and provide them more and more opportunities to discover the field.
Another issue Software engineering is facing relates to Legacy systems. It refers to maintaining and updating the old and outdated software systems. It can be met by managing well the ever increased demand, delivery and diversity of the software. In the same connection, Software engineering industry should strive hard to bridge the gap between theory and practice. A consensus is urgently required. CHASE (Challenges and Achievements in Software Engineering) initiative is doing great to “contrast an industrial perspective with an academic perspective, to appreciate past achievements and to identify future issues and concerns.

Despite of all these mentioned issues, Software Engineering industry is constantly developing and gearing up to make things better.

Business Dissertations | Service Quality | SERVQUAL | Customer Expectations

he number of hotels in China has increased steadily over the years since 1970s after international tourists were allowed to visit China. Nevertheless, the service quality provided in China hotel industry is reported to be lower than those of the international standards. As a result, the main aim of this MBA dissertation was to determine the perception of the consumers relating to service quality (SERVQUAL) provided in large and small hotels in China

Business Dissertations | Performance Management | Talent Management | Syngenta: Talent Management at Syngenta versus Best Practice: How is Syngenta’s Talent Management Process Aligned with Global Best Practice?

Introduction

Strategic development is concerned with the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which involves the development and deployment of its resources and competencies, through which it achieves competitive advantage in a changing environment. All organizations, whether big or small and regardless of their field of business, are faced with the challenge of strategic development. The challenge can come up from a desire to grasp new opportunities or to overcome significant problems (Johnson, 2008). This essay deals with the strategic development of Burberry, a UK designer brand that was close to being consigned to history a few years ago, to becoming popular fashion brand in the world. Burberry currently ranks at 51st in FTSE 100 index with a market capitalization of over £6.5bn (Stocks Challenge, 2012). The essay will analyze the company’s corporate and business level strategy using the market and resource based view – highlighting which one of these, should the company focus on in order to compete effectively within its current market.

Background

Burberry is an iconic British brand established since 1856 and has been in international business since 1910, having presence in US, Asia, and mainland Europe. In late 1990s, the company was tumbling due to lack of good strategic direction, and at the end of 1998′s financial year Burberry saw its annual profits reduced from £62 million to £25 million. The company desperately needed strategic redirection to regain its iconic status. The company restructured its business model in terms of product development, manufacturing, distribution, and market communications. By the end of year 2011, the company’s profit rose to £295.7 million and £1.5bn in revenues (The Telegraph, 2011).

Overview of Burberry’s Corporate and Business Level Strategies

Corporate level strategy deals with the mission and scope of an organization and determines how value can be added to a business (Johnson et al 2006). In the past decade, Burberry has reinvented itself from being a manufacturer of outerwear apparels into a luxurious, stylish and inspirational lifestyle brand. The company started offering trendy fashion goods along with its regular products. In addition to its strategic repositioning, Burberry underwent expansion through opening of new stores in the current markets as well as international expansion in Mid East, Asia Pacific, Americas, and South Asia (Moore and Birtwistle, 2004).

Business level strategy focuses on competing in particular markets (Johnson et al 2006). At a business level, Burberry adopted the strategy of intensifying its non apparel product lines and accelerated its retail led growth. Burberry started to live-stream a fashion show through which it allowed customers to purchase products straight from the catwalk. A social networking site was introduced as part of the company’s marketing communication to deepen the relationship with customers and attract new ones (Design Council, 2012).

Burberry’s Resources

Burberry’s unique resources include its high brand equity, its popular trench coat product and its signature check design. Burberry, having a long history of establishment, has acquired great brand equity. The brand was commissioned to serve the soldiers in World War 1 to adapt officers’ coats for conditions of contemporary warfare in trenches. Burberry has twice received a Royal warrant; once by Queen Elizabeth II and once by Prince Charles, which means that the company can publicize that they are the supplier of products to the royal family (Instyle, 2012). These historic accomplishments have added great value to the brand.

Burberry has a very popular trench coat product line which also serves as its unique resource. The origin of this product dates back to World War I when the company produced trench coats for soldiers. The trench coat accounts for 30% of all the company’s sale (The Telegraph, 2011). Burberry has set up a dedicated social networking site called ‘The art of Trench’ over which it shares images of people wearing Burberry trench coats. The website showcases images from professional photographers and is partly user generated. The website has a fan following of more than 7 million users (Design Counsil, 2012). The website is part of the company’s marketing communication campaign dedicated for its trench coat product line. In addition to that, the company has a signature check design which is recognized globally. Burberry has a huge base of loyal customers who love its products for its prevalent design aspects. Over the years, Burberry’s check design has become prestigious, serving as an icon of status, class, tradition, and luxury.

Market Positioning

The characteristics of a market are assessed through various models such as analysis of Porter’s five forces of competitors’ analysis. Here, we view Burberry’s market positioning through its competitors analysis. Burberry’s products include ‘continuity products’ which have a product life cycle of a few years, and ‘fashion products’ which are designed to respond to a fashion trend. Therefore, the market positioning of the Burberry is unique and varies as it targets trendy as well as classic customers. Burberry targets all its customers through a common theme of ‘functional luxury’. Burberry’s main competitors include Coach, Armani, Gucci, and Polo, all of which are among top fashion brands in UK and globally. Coach and Gucci, both are more focused towards fashion accessories while Polo and Armani are more focused towards apparels; although all have a range of products in both apparel and accessory categories.

Strategic Management

The resource base view of strategy emphasizes upon a company’s internal capabilities in formulating strategies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in its market (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). It also deals with the competitive environment faced by an organization, but from an inside-out approach which implies that the strategy’s starting point is the internal environment. On the other hand, the market-based view emphasizes upon strategy being based on the market positioning of a company (Rumelt, 1991). In order to sustain the company’s current success and maintain its competitive advantage, Burberry should focus on a resource based strategy. It implies that Burberry should continue its effort in maintaining its iconic luxury brand status and built upon its brand equity. The company has a history of more than 150 years of establishment, with having served the British soldiers in the World War I, and having received two Royal Warrants; all of which attach a strong sense of ‘Britishness’ with the brand. In addition to its brand equity, the company has a unique resource in terms of a specialized product line i.e. its iconic ‘trench coat’ with a unique complementary social media marketing communication platform. Additionally, the company has initiated a unique way of promoting its brand through fashion shows which serves not only as a marketing but a sales channel as well. Burberry should keep up its efforts for continuous innovation and promotion for its product. Furthermore, the company has a signature check design that symbolizes Burberry’s status of a classic and luxurious brand. The company should hold on to its signature check design, and apply it to its new product lines.

Conclusion

Burberry should deploy and develop these unique resources to compete effectively within its current market. Burberry should capitalize upon its high brand equity to develop and enhance new product lines such as home décor, children’s wear, cosmetics and perfumes, all of which are currently being offered by its competitors in its existing market. With Burberry having a foothold in both, apparels and accessories product categories, a further diversification of its products portfolio would put the company in a better position to grab a bigger market share against its competitors. Although Burberry’s expansion into current and new markets over the years has affected the company’s growth and profitability, the company’s success can be largely attributed to its unique resources and capabilities. These unique resources coupled with other managerial, production and distribution capabilities, have served as the company’s’ underlying success factors and should be continually utilized for its future strategic development.


References

Design Counsil (2012) Christopher Bailey: The Art of The Trench. {online} http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/about-design/Types-of-design/Fashion-and-textile-design/Burberry/ (cited on 22nd April, 2012)

Instyle. (2012) Burberry {online} http://www.instyle.com/instyle/fashiondesigners/keymoments/0,,20226013_burberry_20236334,00.html (cited on 22nd April, 2012)

Johnson, G. (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy. Pearson Education India

Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2006). “The Environment”, Exploring Corporate Strategy, 7th edition. Prentice Hall: United Kingdom.

Prahalad, K. and Hamel, G. (1990) The Core Competence of Organization. Harvard Business Review. 68(3), 79-91.

Moore, C. and Birtwistle, G. (2004) Creating an international luxury fashion brand International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 32 (8), pp. 412-422

Rumelt, R. P. (1991). How much does industry matter? Strategic Management Journal, 12(3): 167-185.

Stocks Challenge. (2012) UK StockChallenge {online} http://www.stockchallenge.co.uk/ (cited on 22nd April, 2012).

The Telegraph (2011) Burberry profits jump 40pc on emerging markets demand. {online} http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8537307/Burberry-profits-jump-40pc-on-emerging-markets-demand.html (cited on 22nd April, 2012)

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company is the world’s leading mobile telecommunications company operating in more than five continents. The company runs its operations from two geo-regions: Europe, which includes Western Europe andGermany, and EMAPA, which includes Middle East, Africa,Asiaand the pacific. The European market is the largest accounting for close to 80 percent of the revenues as of 2009. However, the increasing partnerships with other mobile networks globally have seen revenues from regions outsideEuropeaccount for close to 40 percent as of 2011. The success story of Vodafone Group PLC revolves around the strategic competencies and acquisitions of other networks to become a powerful and leading mobile services provider. Strategic competencies and operations are well captured in the SWOT analysis, as well as the Porters five forces, which help give the position of the company and the challenges it encounters both within and without the organization.

Introduction and background information
Vodafone Group Public Limited Company is a global telecommunication company operating in various continents including Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, United Statesand the Pacific. Vodafone Group PLC has its headquarters in Newbury, United Kingdomand ranks among the leading global telecommunications providers. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is a part of the FTSE 100 Index with the largest revenue among the telecommunications companies. It ranks second behind China mobile in terms of worldwide subscribers, but leads the track in terms of revenues. Vodafone Group PLC ranks among the top 20 companies of the FTSE 100 Index coming in at position three based on statistics released on August 3 2012 (Financial Times, 2012).

The company has equity interests in over thirty countries globally with approximately forty partner networks. Vodafone has achieved this place through a process of competent acquisitions of communication networks in different countries, powerful organizational ability and efficient techniques that have permitted it to build out Wi-Fi systems, which are extremely competitive. The company also provides effective data services, which subscribers can access using the extremely progressed third-generation (3G) communications systems available to its markets globally. This analysis will look into factors that have propelled Vodafone to its position, how it markets and promotes itself in the competitive telecommunications market, and the competition it experiences in the telecommunications industry (MarketLine, 2012, p. 7). The internal and external environment explained using the SWOT and Porters 5 forces analysis will help provide a better market picture for Vodafone Group PLC.

Financial analysis
A report by Mintel released in 2010 indicates that Vodafone is the fastest growing mobile company globally with over sixteen million new subscribers each month (Mobile Network Providers, Mintel, 2012). This explains its huge turnovers and revenues attributed to the ever-growing number of subscribers as well as wireless and wire line networks across the world. For instance, the yearly revenues increased from £45.9 billion to £46.9 billion in the first quarter of 2012 (Vodafone Annual Report, 2012). A general observation and analysis of the financial report released in the first quarter of 2012 indicates that the results are negative, probably due to the Euro zone crisis, but the bottom line is that the revenues, especially from EMAPA have kept increasing as summarized in the tables below.

Source: http://www.vodafone.com/

Strengths

Vodafone’s major strengths are the reason behind its success in the global telecoms market. These strengths include

* Diversified and expanded geo-regions across the world divided into two:Europeand EMAPA. The diversification has strengthened its mobile network operations in these regions and accorded it more subscribers
* A strapping international presence and powerful brand image have made it the leading telecommunications company. According to a Mintel report released in 2010, Vodafone is the most trusted service brand owing to its excellent signal strength and efficient services (MarketLine, 2012, p. 5)
* Vodafone has well-defined cost reductions structures owing to the vibrant cost cutting initiatives, effective outsourcing and managed purchasing. This has improved the company’s revenues by reducing the operational costs
* An excellent network infrastructure with innovative services including 3G network and Wi-Fi systems
* An established presence in mature and emerging markets such as Africa andAsia, which have expanded its market share and revenues
* Vodafone’s major weaknesses include
* Uncertainty in the profits obtained from the HSDPA networks attributed to the slow consumer take-up of improved 3G networks services
* Vodafone’s return on assets is negative, which means that its competitors such as Deutsche Telecom and BT Group surpass it due to underperformance
* Over-reliance in the European market, which has seen its revenues and share decline due to the crisis in Europe(MarketLine, 2012, p. 6)
* Vodafone does not have network operations in rural areas
* Vodafone specializes in mobile services that lead to greater churn rates. The incapacity to offer bundled services due to specializations has compelled the company to compromise its prices
* The growing demand for 3G networking among businesses globally has seen Vodafone collaborate with leading laptop manufacturers to embed its SIM chip to allow for up selling of the broadband service
* Vodafone has also diversified its market share and EMAPA remains the leading target because of its potential. Indeed, recent statistics indicate that revenues from EMAPA have improved (MarketLine, 2012, p. 6)
* The strategy to drive higher voice usage acrossEuropehas spread to other locations implying that the company does not have to reduce prices to increase call time since the monthly bundle provides customers with enough voice time
* The telecommunications market is swiftly growing and becoming highly competitive with extremely high penetration rates in the European markets. Its major competitors includeChinamobile, Deutsch Telecom and BT Group
* Frequent tariff interventions and European Union policies on cross border mobile usage put pressure on its revenues
* Vodafone lags behind its major competitors inAmerica

Porter’s five forces
Buyer power
The bargaining power of buyers in the telecommunications industry is high due to the cutthroat competition and lack of differentiated products. The strong buyer power effectively reduces the cost prices in the industry though not to the level of its competitors. As such, Vodafone will keep making reasonable profits compared to its competitors.

Supplier power
Vodafone’s suppliers have a high bargaining power since the company operates with greater margins compared to its competitors. As a leader in the market, the market share is large meaning that it can easily absorb any price increments from the suppliers more than its competitors can. As such, Vodafone can easily maintain low prices from its suppliers and continue making profits (MarketLine, 2012, p. 9).

Threat of substitutes
Vodafone faces a considerable threat for products and services. The landline and CDMA services are fast declining while broadband services are fast becoming common. Video conferencing, VOPI such as Skype, Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger, email and social networking have emerged as substitutes to mobile services. However, due to the strong buyer power and effective economies of scale, Vodafone does not need to pass down the costs attributed to substitution to consumers (MarketLine, 2012, p. 8).


Threat of entrants
The threat of fresh market entrants is low because of barriers to entry. Companies wishing to enter the market must pay huge licensing fees coupled by spectrum availability and regulatory issues attached to the industry. Similarly, the costs of setting up network infrastructure are high, and the rapidly changing technology make is difficult for new entrants to cope. However, Vodafone can cope with this by maintaining high-level efficiency of its services to unrivaled heights.


Industry rivalry

Vodafone faces extremely high rivalry from its competitors due to the low call rate prices charged by its closest competitors. Similarly, the competitors constantly provide innovative products and services to the customers, which mean that Vodafone has to provide the same to its customers.


Conclusion and Recommendations

Vodafone has consistently outperformed its competitors despite the cutthroat competition in the industry. This notable performance and ability to diversify its products together with numerous acquisitions have seen it become a leading company in the industry. It financial position also continues to grow due to the innovativeness and ability to explore new markets in different geographical regions. Similarly, Vodafone has capitalized on its opportunities and worked on ways to eliminate the threats and improve on its weaknesses through various competitive strategies (MarketLine, 2012, p. 7). In recommending to Vodafone, the company must increase its GPRS subscriber base due to the high demand, deliberate more on value added services, introduce location-based services, diversify its broadband network by introducing voice over internet and finally tapping rural markets.

References

BBC, 2012. Vodafone agrees takeover of C&W; Worldwide, 24 March 2012, viewed 14 August 2012

Financial Times, 2012. Vodafone confirms talks with C&WW.; 14 February 2012, viewed 14 August 2012

Mobile Network Providers, 2012. Mintel. [Online] viewed 14 August 2012

MarketLine, 2012. Vodafone Group Public Limited Company, SWOT Analysis. Viewed 14 August 2012

Vodafone Group PLC, 2012, Vodafone Annual Report. 31 March 2012, viewed 14August 2012

This report examines the current market position of Vodafone, which is currently ranked second on the FTSE 100, and has a market capitalization of 84,991 Million GBP. The report undertakes a SWOT analysis to examine the main strengths and weaknesses of Vodafone. This is followed by a Porter’s five forces analysis of the industry structure. The main conclusion of this report is that Vodafone needs to change rapidly to meet the needs of the customers, and meet the changing demands in the industry. These include the changing nature of the mobile communication, and the dynamics of the digital economy, which have led to the changes in the market. Vodafone must therefore change its strategy to deal with these changes in the market.

1 Introduction
Vodafone is one of the largest telecommunications operators in Europe and around the world and provides mobile voice and data communications to consumers and the businesses (Daruwala, 2011, Mc, 2012). Vodafone is currently ranked second on the FTSE 100, and has a market capitalization of 84,991 Million GBP (FTSE, 2012). Vodafone group has recorded revenue of 45,884 million GBP during the fiscal year ended March 2011, and has an increase of around 3.2 percent over fiscal year 2010. This report examines the strengths and weaknesses of Vodafone to discuss the ways in which the company can improve its competitive position in the industry. One of the key recommendations of this report is that Vodafone needs to work more actively in developing data communications to counter the business risk in a volatile European market, which will help the organization to grow in the short and medium term. Vodafone also needs to develop mobile applications and new digital media to remain competitive in this market.

2 Market Analysis
A detailed analysis of the telecommunications sector shows that it is highly competitive today, as the different companies and their brands are continuing to introduce new and robust products to their customers (FEER, 1999). A SWOT analysis has been carried out for the Vodafone, which has highlighted a number of strengths and weaknesses of the organization. One of the key strengths of Vodafone is that it has a robust brand image, which has been developed over time and has a highly extensive market reach (Browning, 2011). The organization has also been able to develop a deeper understanding of the needs of its customers, which has allowed it to grow phenomenally, and has enabled the organization to develop a customer loyalty which is highly important for it (Datamonitor, 2012). For example, the annual BrandX Top 100 valuable global brands have ranked Vodafone as second highest brand and it is a top brand in UK. Similarly, Brand Finance has ranked Vodafone as the fifth most valuable brand in the world (Datamonitor, 2012). However, the weakness of the organization has been its inability to capture the brand loyalty and market share in terms of new customers. Vodafone has not been able to capture the level of customers in the new digital environment, and therefore the market growth has not been as phenomenal in UK (Anwar, 2003) as some other brands such as ‘Three’. Another weakness of Vodafone is its inability to capture the Third Generation signal market, which could have been a significant catapult for the organization.

However, the same weaknesses of Vodafone also is one of the key opportunities for the company, the mobile data market is exploding, with the use of smart phones and other wireless enabled devices increasing phenomenally (Savitz, 2012, Uzama, 2009, Mishra et al., 2010, Nayak and Pai, 2012). The ability of Vodafone to provide services to these services is one of the best opportunities in Europe. However, outside Europe, many other countries have not introduced a high speed mobile data service, and these are also expected to be a significant opportunity for these companies. In such a case, Vodafone can potentially have significant growth avenues, which can led to significant profits for the organization (Mishra et al., 2010, Nayak and Pai, 2012). These opportunities also present a number of threats to Vodafone. In this regard, the most significant threat is the increased use of VOIP services, which challenges the traditional model of mobile phone companies due to lost revenue and customers. However, the mobile companies can continue to provide wirelesses services to customers, which they can then use to generate other forms of revenue. Another threat to Vodafone is the mature European market, which has become highly competitive with lower margins for profits and could potentially be an issue for the organization (Grocott, 2010, Jankovic, 2010).

A Porters five forces analysis of the mobile industry also shows a number of issues for Vodafone, which needs consideration. One of the key aspects of the five forces model is that it enables the examination of the various forces which are exerted on an organization within the industry. In this regard, the buying power of the buyer has certainly increased (Glajchen, 2006), as they are no longer constrained by the mobile service providers. The buyers can choose other providers and VOIP based services (Hass, 2006), which is a key concern for Vodafone. Another concern is the potential competition between the companies, which is increasing due to the maturing of the mobile phone market. A third issue for Vodafone is the power of the suppliers such as Apple, who are able to dictate their terms on the use of services (Glajchen, 2006), and therefore a significant threat to the business of Vodafone. The threat of new entrants and new substitute products is also ever increasing in the mobile communications markets (Hass, 2006), as new digital products and services are continuously evolving which limits the use of mobile phone services by the consumer (Jung and Ibanez, 2010, Te-Yuan et al., 2010). These include VOIP based services such as Skype and Facetime, which have meant that some services such as video calls from mobile operators have been completely made redundant (Chang et al., 2010, Bodhani, 2011, Shin, 2012).

3 Conclusions & Recommendations
A number of conclusions can be drawn based on the SWOT and Porter analysis of Vodafone conducted as part of this essay. One of the key aspects of the future of Vodafone depends on its ability to harness the data communication, which will be the future of the company. Increasingly, innovative applications and products are being used by customers to communicate at a lower cost, and the role of the traditional mobile phone calls is increasingly being marginalized. Vodafone needs to realize the potential of data communication, and use new and innovative strategies to ensure that it can stay ahead of the competition and deliver groundbreaking and new services to its customers. The future of mobile telephony may depend on 4G connections, and Vodafone needs to ensure that it is fully ready to deal with the new challenges which it will face in the changing landscape of mobile communications. New services such as mobile payment and online communities are also significant new avenues for future growth, however proper planning is needed to meet these needs of the customer.

References
Anwar, S. T. (2003) Vodafone and the wireless industry: A case in market expansion and global strategy. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 18(3), 270.

Bodhani, A. (2011) Voip – voicing concerns. Engineering & Technology (17509637), 6(7), 76-79.

Browning, J. (2011) Vodafone tears down its walled garden. Bloomberg Businessweek, 4257), 30-33.

Chang, L.-h., Sung, C.-h., Chiu, S.-y. & Lin, Y.-w. (2010) Design and realization of ad-hoc voip with embedded p-sip server. Journal of Systems & Software, 83(12), 2536-2555.

Daruwala, F. (2011) Vodafone revisited. International Financial Law Review, 30(5), 52-52.

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