Educational Institute
Necessary Management Skills
Project Spring will be the infrastructure project that will enable Vodafone to implement its objectives in the coming years (Vodafone 2015). Management must exert a strong oversight function over the project management team that will lead this project. It must lend enough presence such that the project team can feel the priority assigned to this project.
Strong customer orientation must be practiced as Vodafone will oversee the transition of millions of customers into a new experience under new technologies such as 4G ((Vodafone 2015). There must be both a strong understanding of the new technologies being brought forward and the issues and expectations of customers. An emphasis on metrics will ensure if technical, marketing and financial objectives are being achieved.
Top management must continue being internationally collaborative as it services the EU and plans to expand globally as well. This will entail a combination of management and diplomatic skills to work with foreign regulators. This will also apply to the objective of capturing emerging markets in the world.
Finally, management must remain to be inspirational leaders who will continuously motivate its employees. They will be expecting much and must ensure that their morale is high and fairly compensated.
People Management Activities
Vodafone’s annual employee engagement activity consults its employees via surveys to give them a chance to air their issues and feedback to the company. This is a clear sign that management cares about the conditions of employees and is demonstrating that it looks at employees as partners to be consulted. Transparency is also practiced with information sharing.
A culture based on the “Vodafone Way” is being maintained through the leadership of senior management who goes through development workshops for this purpose. (Vodafone 2015)
The company also maintains global training academies to implement continuous training in key areas like marketing, technology, enterprise sales, retail, finance and supply chain.
There is also a talent identification and placement program called Discover and Columbus which provides a promotion path to high-potential employees (Vodafone 2015). This motivates people towards high performance.
Recommendations to Improve Global Presence
The first task is to establish a good working relationship with new countries for the purpose of establishing marketing studies that will determine the viability of Vodafone’s entry. The better the relationship, the more accurate the information will be for the study.
The second task is a thorough effort to satisfy the regulatory requirements of the host country. This will require establishing a harmonious working relationship with the concerned government officials. There must be a management support function that will assist overseas assignees in how to interact properly with the top government officials considering their varying cultures.
The third task is to survey the possibilities for local hiring. The more locals that can be hired, the better the relationship with the host country will be. The reputation of the company for diversity will also be enhanced. Vodafone can conduct its own job fairs and internship programs with selected universities. It can also grant scholarships that can be bound to future work contracts.
Lastly, there must be a program for local community development among the major Vodafone sites in the country. Vodafone must be seen as a good corporate citizen in the host countries that can share benefits to local communities. They can be in the form of skills training and donations to basic infrastructure.
References
Vodafone Group Plc. 2015. Unifying communications, Annual Report 2015. England: Vodafone House.
