Subject: Strategic Management

Case study 1: VODAFONE: developing a total communications strategy in the UK

market

In my opinion: Vodafone is an organization that wants to stand out, as a responsible

company that responds to issues that are important to society, its customers, and in
general for all stakeholders.

Environmental factors / responsibility:

Vodafone's goal is to do as much for its customers as possible, consuming as few

resources as possible. The aim is to reduce the environmental impact in the whole
range of its operation, from the design and production of products and services that
are promoted in the market, to their use and rejection by customers.

PORTER ANALYSE: Porter analysis determines relative attractiveness /profitability of

an industry and as a result the Model Five Forces. These five forces are:

Bargaining Power of Suppliers:

The product offered by suppliers, the one used by Vodafone, cannot be described as
unique, so there are many types of products, and therefore many types of suppliers.
Vodafone has a small number of raw materials therefore the suppliers of raw
materials are few and relatively insignificant.

Bargaining Power of Buyers:

Buyers have the ability to influence the price offered if their bargaining power is
high. More specifically, in their industry Telecommunications used to be a lot of
buyers. The identical products offered by companies in the industry buyers several
options. In addition, the many market points that have the companies of the
industry in combination with the complete information due to the large volume of
advertising they offer further enhances their bargaining power. In conclusion, the
telecommunications sector is characterized by high bargaining power of buyers.

Threats of Substitute Products or Services:

Technological developments contribute to good substitutes in the industry of the
telecommunications. The prices of fixed telephony products are no different from
those of mobile telephony, as in recent years due to intense competition mobile
providers have reduced on the prices of their products by providing special
packages. In addition with the development of technology come in the surface new
forms of communication, which can be either cheaper or free, for example
messenger, viber. Thus, buyers have the opportunity to turn to others forms of
communications. In the end, I believe that in the Vodafone the threat of substitution
in the field if telecommunications is relatively small.

Rivalry among the Existing Competitors:

The existence of a new large number of telecommunication providers and the

relative small or medium purchaser public in UK increase the competition between
the products in the same field. The degree of product differentiation is relatively
small and the effort creating a competitive advantage is quite difficult. Costumers
decide to buy a product according to the price and the service and if they want t
change the company is big choice. In conclusion, the competition between the
existing businesses is intense and big. In 2009, Vodafone deal with lots of problems
and it would drop to third position. There are two wireless opponents O2 and
orange, both of them have a aggressive strategy in fixed line.

Business strategy:

Vodafone started in 1995 with an offensive strategy and we notice that in 2009 it
had spread to many important parts of the world. Initially, he focused on landline
phones, but in 2007 he also started working on landlines. Moreover, Vodafone's
vision is to be the leading mobile communications company giving priority to the
customer, the quality of communication, the credibility in order to achieve this goal.
In my opinion, a company with such goals combined with the necessary bases it has
will reject stability strategies. Vodafone is a big company and it made up of multiple
smaller companies. In 2008, Vittorio Colao focused on lowering costs in order to
develop other features/characteristics. For example, better customer relationships
so as to attract more buyers and grow its team, to become an international and huge
company. Vodafone was
Case study 2: Case study 2. Sustaining the magic at Bang & Olufsen

Initially, Bang & Olufsen was created in 1925 in Denmark and in 2008 it was ranked
fourth position in the Top 20 Cool. It enjoy with audio and video products. Later,
Bang & Olufsen faced problems, like all companies, due to the global financial crisis.
Then in 2008, he lost 20% of their turnover and then he tried to create a strategy
with the aim of making the product unique, of course following the technology. Τhe
company is forced to hold on to a high position to keep up with technology changes
so as a small company it depends on its suppliers. The competition is huge and so it
has to find something innovative to attract buyers. When Kalle Hvidt came to the
helm, the company focused on profitability with a wide range of products. The
company implemented the Operational Level strategy focusing on the enterprise
itself, on teamwork in the organization and not on competition. Τhe Pole Position
strategy focused on the development of the main audio and video sectors. In my
opinion, it used this strategy to grow safely and not to go on dangerous paths. An
easy and safe way to be compatible with technology. Moreover, the company is
showing a positive growth in television, but the competition is huge, and this sector
is difficult to differentiate from all the others. Then the company introduced a
BeoVision 10 model following the technological advances, so it started to compete
and compare more and more with its competitors. Its competitors are much more
organized with a big reputation in the amusement market. The reasons why the
company is not in the first place are definitely the high costs and the high production
costs that don’t help increase the company's revenue purification.