AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT OF VODAFONE

 
“Our vision is to be the world’s mobile communications leader enriching our
customer’s lives through the unique power of mobile communications.” (Vodafone
Group Public Limited Company). This sums up Vodafone’s mission and vision.
Vodafone is a multinational mobile phone operator situated in Newbury, Bershire, United
Kingdom and Dusseldorf, Germany. It is considered as the largest mobile
telecommunications network company in the world. It has equity interests in 28 countries
and Partner Networks in 14 other countries. (Wikipedia). There are six countries where it
has more than ten million proportionate customers. These are Germany, United States,
Italy, United Kingdom, Japan and Spain. (Wikipedia).
The evolution of the mobile phone is a product of the globalization of the world
economy. About a decade ago, the mobile phone’s function is limited to a communication
tool utilized by individuals who are always on the move. Today, with the fast paced
lifestyle and demands of our professional life, the mobile phone has transcended its
conventional use and is perceived as an indispensable commodity. The development of
the mobile phone is seen with the variety of functions it now has, it can send and receive
emails, record sounds, document events, take pictures and at times function as a personal
computer (Wikipedia).
 The mobile phone has become a reflection of the owner’s character, fashion
sense, status symbol and personal preference. According to higher management,” This
has been another successful year for Vodafone.” The company lays down all the rosy
figures that state it plain and simple, “We closed the year with nearly 155 million
proportionate customers, having generated £7.8 billion of free cash flow from £12.7
billion of operating cash flow. Cash shareholder returns increased to £6 billion as we 
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doubled the dividend and purchased £4 billion of our shares.” (Vodafone Group Public
Limited Company).
In the real world, everything has a cost, and one of the greatest strengths of
mobile communications is low cost. The information superhighway concept envisions the
extension of digital networks into homes across the country. Telephone and cable TV
companies are vying for the right to bring this service to every home. However, the
economics are very complex, and the current media hype has extrapolated the
possibilities way beyond what can actually happen. It will happen, but not until the cost
vs. performance of networking is advanced by several orders of magnitude.
A SWOT analysis is a quick, circumspect way of examining a company’s
viability by examining its (internal) strengths and weaknesses and matching these to its
(external) opportunities and threats. Collecting these facts and ideas together into one
place enables you to see the bigger picture at a glance, identify all major factors affecting
your company’s competitiveness and acts as a decision-making aid to formulating a
cogent marketing strategy. Each company will have its SWOT profile and the process
requires an iterative approach to reflect the ever-changing internal and external
relationship (Erven, 2003).
Consider, for example, the fact that last year, Vodafone outlined six strategic
goals that were designed to ensure the provision of more value to customers and
shareholders alike. They have even made more visible progress as Vodafone launch of
the 3G and implementation of the One Vodafone programme.
 Moving to the top right quadrant, filling in all weaknesses or areas in which the
business may be exposed, one needs to be honest. These are essentially macro 
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environmental issues that surround and affect a company, product and position. Here one
can identify several questions: What opportunities exist for the company? When one
looks at the state of the current market, what does one see? What niches has the company
spotted that rivals have missed? Where are the gaps that one is proposing to fill? Is the
market moving in the right direction? Does one anticipate a shift in taxation/demand/the
economy/product supply? (SWOT Analysis). For Vodafone, there is a “full roll-out of
consumer 3G offering across 13 markets.” (Vodafone Group Public Limited Company).
This move alone provides a good stepping stone in the 3G strategy which follows quite
strategically the success of the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card introduced
in February last year. Thus, the enhancements that 3G bring will enable them to “build on
the success we have achieved with Vodafone live! since the service started in October
2002.” (Vodafone Group Public Limited Company). Today, Vodafone has almost 31
million active Vodafone live! users and a total of 2.4 million 3G devices registered on
their networks.
 Meanwhile, the PEST Analysis is used to analyse the Political, Economic, Social
and Technological macro environment