Qs 1:Analyze and discuss the strategic directions of Axiata in the local and international markets and the segments within these markets.

Q 2:Identify these competitors competitive advantage and discuss the strategic short, mid and long term plans that these competitors can undertake to further increase their market share.

Robi Axiata is one of the three largest mobile operators in Bangladesh and supports more than 22 million subscribers. The company offers voice and high speed mobile data supported with advanced intelligent network technology.

Robi is a truly people-oriented brand in Bangladesh. We stand as the people's champion and are there for the people of Bangladesh – where they want and how they want.

Axiata is one of the largest Asian telecommunication companies. Axiata has controlling interests in mobile operators in Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cambodia with significant strategic stakes in India and Singapore.

Axiata (Bangladesh) Limited is a dynamic and leading countrywide GSM communication solution provider. It is a joint venture company between Axiata Group Berhad, Malaysia and NTT DOCOMO INC, Japan. Axiata (Bangladesh) Limited, formerly known as Telekom Malaysia International (Bangladesh), commenced its operation in 1997 under the brand name ROBI among the pioneer GSM mobile telecommunications service providers in Bangladesh.

The main aim of the Robi Axiata Limited is ‘We are there for you, where you want and in the way you want, in order to help you develop, grow and make the most of your lives through our services’.

Robi Axiata Limited is looking for young, proactive, enthusiastic, energetic, result oriented individuals who will be able to uphold the values of the organization by following the guiding principles of Robi by being Respectful, Creative, Ethical, Open, Passionate, Simple, Transparent . For this purpose Robi does the following procedure for recruiting employees-

Business NewsPublished: Friday September 6, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM Updated: Friday September 6, 2013 MYT 8:11:55 AM

Celcom likely to surpass Maxis within a year

PETALING JAYA: Celcom Axiata Bhd, which has been meeting its internal key performance indicators (KPI) over the last several quarters, expects the trend to continue.

StarBiz spoke to Celcom chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly to ask him if Celcom was in a position to take over the lead position in a very competitive market where customers are also demanding quality services. Celcom has also been delivering profits consistently for several quarters now and making inroads into new market segments, especially the youth segment, which Maxis Bhd is said to be weak in.

Qs1:- STRATEGIC DECISIONS

•New billing solution- Robi aims to introduce innovative price plans, accelerate new service rollouts, and enhance customer management. The integrated NetCracker solution will bill for all postpaid subscribers, roaming users, and interconnect agreements while also actively monitoring usage, credit, rating, and new price plans.•Our customer centric solution includes value added services (VAS), quality customer care, easy access call centers, digital network security and flexible tariff rates.

•Recruitment and selection process: For the new vacancies Robi HR department advertise the required post on online and receive application from the qualified candidates.

•Retention in the new Employee in Robi: New employees are given orientation brief about the company, their objectives and the duties.

•Productivity of the employee by developing training programme in Robi: In this programmer for the development of the employees career and to achieve the company’s objectives proper training is given to them.

•Employee career programme in Robi: Employees are the main asset of Robi. For the development of the employees’ career, Robi gives proper plan for the emplyees and benefits. In this purpose Robi takes all the necessary steps to develop it other wise in this competitive world skill employee will leave the organization and that make harm to the company.

•Proper environment in Robi: Work Environment is the main thing for working in an organization. Friendly and co-operative environment will make the work easier. Robi mobile company has such kind of environment and they always follow the employees’ facilities.

Commitment to People Development

At Axiata, we are committed to help our people learn, develop and enhance their functional skills, leadership capabilities as well as their personal effectiveness.

Functional skills development focuses on developing and sharpening the technical skills of its people towards becoming the best-in-class in their areas of expertise - technology, marketing, sales, finance, customer analytics, strategy, human resource, internal audit, regulatory and legal.

The Leadership development (Competency) centres on nurturing leaders who think before they act and act according to the values that the organisation embraces. (learning the process, know-how and facts), craft (acquiring the practical experiences) as well as art (building the ability to draw insight and form visions).

President and group CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim added: “Talent and HR is a key board and management priority and with the expertise in HR matters, will be an invaluable asset towards this agenda.

The leadership development programmes address the dimensions of :

science (learning the process, know-how and facts) craft (acquiring the practical experiences)

art (building the ability to draw insight and form visions).

The leadership development revolves around the 7 Axiata Leadership Competencies:-

Strategic Thinking

Business Acumen

Results Achievement

Coalition Building

Customer Orientation

People Management & Development

Personal Attribute

At Axiata, there are 4 development platforms and activities for the people: -

Education-Based Development is where there are classroom trainings or workshops to equip people with specific skills and knowledge. The curriculum is designed to blend timeless Asian philosophy with efficient Western methodology, to cultivate the desired "think–act–embrace' leadership".

Experience–Based Development is where we provide on–the–job experiences to our people. Here, we emphasise the sharpening of the "craft" of our people.

Relationship–Based Development is where we organise network sessions for our people to meet and learn from internal senior executives and peers from across the region. The network sessions are carefully set up to enable our people to learn and gain insights of key success factors of the business, leadership journey of our leaders and/ or any other business and strategy-related topics.

WHAT YOU WANT TO DOYou begin the creation of your strategy by deciding what the overall objective of your enterprise should be. If the market is very attractive and your enterprise is one of the strongest in the industry you will want to invest your best resources in support of your offering.

• Concentrate on strengthening the enterprise, using your offering as a stepping stone toward this objective.

•If the market is not especially attractive, but your enterprise is one of the strongest in the industry then an effective marketing and sales effort for your offering will be good for generating near term profits.

Choosing 'generic' strategies (by Michael Porter in his work, Competitive Advantage).:-

•A COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY is based on the concept that you can produce and market a good quality product or service at a lower cost than your competitors.

•. A DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY is one of creating a product or service that is perceived as being unique "throughout the industry". Eg. brand image, proprietary technology, special features, superior service,

•A FOCUS STRATEGY is designed to address a "focused" segment of the marketplace, product form or cost management process

Marketing PlanMichael Porter's book Competitive Advantage and the works of Philip Kotler. Concepts addressed include 'generic' strategies and strategies for pricing, distribution, promotion, advertising and market segmentation. Factors such as market penetration, market share, profit margins, budgets, financial analysis, capital investment, government actions, demographic changes, emerging technology and cultural trends are also addressed.

There are two major components to your marketing strategy: how your enterprise will address the competitive marketplace

how you will implement and support your day to day operations.In today's very competitive marketplace a strategy that insures a consistent approach to offering your product or service in a way that will outsell the competition is critical.

However, must also have a well defined methodology for the day to day process of implementing it. It is of little value to have a strategy if you lack either the resources or the expertise to implement it.

.

Maxis has this to say in its annual report 2012: “As the industry continues to evolve rapidly, we need to maintain our position by distinguishing ourselves from our competitors, not only in terms of technology and innovation but also in our ability to build and deploy an agile and diverse pool of talent at all levels of the organisation.”

Q2. AXIATA COMPETITOR (MAXIS)

Maxis is currently overhauling itself to be more customer-centric and has restructured itself into four core units. And while Maxis is still putting its house in order, its rivals have been sharpening their tools to eat into its market share.Maxis once controlled close to 50% of subscriber market share in 2007 after locking horns with the other telco behemoth. However, its pie has since shrunk.

The market has over 42 million mobile subscribers, with the penetration rate having reached over 143%.

Maxis’ revenue had remained flat over the last few quarters, adding that Celcom was within spitting distance of Maxis’ mobile service revenue market share.“If this trend continues, then Celcom would likely surpass Maxis within a year, in our view,” he said.

Q2. AXIATA COMPETITOR (MAXIS)

The CompetitionIt is essential to know who the competition is and to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Factors to consider include:

Each of competitor's experience, staying power, market position, strength, predictability and freedom to abandon the market must be evaluated.

The EnterpriseThe strength of enterprise is a critical factor in the development of strategy. Factors to consider include:

Enterprise capacity to be leader in low-cost production considering cost control infrastructure, cost of materials, economies of scale, management skills, availability of personnel and compatibility of manufacturing resources with offering requirements.

The enterprise's ability to construct entry barriers to competition such as the creation of high switching costs, gaining substantial benefit from economies of scale, exclusive access to or clogging of distribution channels and the ability to clearly differentiate your offering from the competition.

The enterprise's ability to sustain its market position is determined by the potential for competition, resistance to inflation, ability to maintain high prices, the potential for product obsolescence and the 'learning curve' faced by the prospect.

The competence of the management team.

The adequacy of the enterprise's infrastructure in terms of organization, recruiting capabilities, employee benefit programs, customer support facilities and logistical capabilities.

The freedom of the enterprise to make critical business decisions without undue influence from distributors, suppliers, unions, creditors, investors and other outside influences.

                       Strengths                        

Weaknesses   Good network coverage around Malaysia

.

  Have strong brand image and as merge as

the market leader in Malaysia.

  Good deals and special offers for

differentage groups and also target groups.

  The oldest and biggest in terms of size and technology.

   Provides reasonable plans and packages

for all users.

   Always the first to introduce new mobile

plans.

• All type of telecommunication and internet technology services.

   Interruption of the line at certain areas.

   Bad customer services.

   Deals and offers are limited to certain time

and area only.

Users tend to switch to other telco with the

existing number remains with no extra cost.

  Lack of Maxis centers to enquire

information or to pay bills.

   For broadband, speed is good during the

first 7 days after activation, and then the speed

goes slower later on.

             Opportunities                       Threats

  New technology is developing like mushrooms,

so when there are new telecommunication gadgets,

there will be opportunities to explore in.

  Growth of people using hand phones and

internet services provides more market

opportunities.

   Expanding their business to overseas.

  Building more maxis centers especially

suburban areas.

   New events and occasions to be sponsored.

Growing market where many exiting

telco company plus new emerging telco

company are competing with maxis.

Maxis customer switch to different

telco in terms to enjoy the service and

benefits by their competitor.

   New rules stating that all the hand

phone users must register their number

to their own respected telco centre.

  Financial crisis, economical issues or

natural disaster.

Maxis Competitive Advantage

Maxis has many competitive advantages against its major rivals DiGi and Celcom.

They currently posses the highest trend in the market share, giving

• the highest coverage, many products features• and having the highest customer size in the Malaysian market.

•They are applying many future strategies to maintain their position as the market leader in the Malaysian market like niche marketing, business package development, intercontinental and international service expansion.

THE COMPANY’S STRATEGIES ANALYSISCurrent Strategies for Maxis          By understanding the customer's needs, Maxis has used its strength to fill the needs of the customers more than any other telecommunications service provider in Malaysia presently.

This has given them a competitive advantage, boosted enthusiastic sale and increased more customer loyalties.

Through careful and in-depth research in the characteristics of the Malaysian market:-

Maxis has created distinctive target markets for its products through creating a `Strategic Marketing Mix that just not makes the product available, but also affordable, convenient and unique at a consistent and flexible level. This is geared towards improving new and existing products as well as profit to the company.

Implementation of Market Organization

The new product requires extensive commercialization to match customers need, it is necessary to organize the marketing function by customer groups

Give Maxis the opportunity to focus its effort on the need and specifications of each target market. Maxis marketing efforts will be organized around the following marketing groups: 1] manufacturing group, 2] business-to-business group, 3] customer satisfaction group, and 4] customer relationship group. It group will be headed by a sales manager who will report to the marketing director.  Each group will have full decision making authority and responsible for marketing the new product to the target customers within the segment.

The changes in marketing organization, enables Maxis to be more creative and flexible in meeting customers' need, reduce highly centralized management hierarchy and finally, give better opportunities to monitor the activities of competitors.

CORPORATE STRATEGYMain importance of Maxis is that they have corporate plan in order to maintain their position in market to serve the customers. As a responsible business, Maxis have embedded the principles of corporate responsibility (“CR”) in their day-to-day operations. Sustainable and ethical ways of doing businesshave been at the core of Maxis' initiatives.

To achieve business success over the long-term, Maxis continue to foster and nurture meaningful relationships with the stakeholders.

Among core values is the attribute of Trustworthiness, which they subscribe to high business ethics that are vital to building stakeholder trust.

.     HUMAN RESOURCES (HR) in MAXIS( Strategies)

The Human Resource Officer is responsible for

providing support in the various human resources functions, which include recruitment, staffing, training and development, performance monitoring and employee counseling.

Provides advice and assistance to supervisors and staff. This may include information on training needs and opportunities, job descriptions, performance reviews and personnel policies of the Council. coordinates the staff recruitment process .

advice and support to supervisors and staff selection committees and ensures that they have accurate and timely information in order to make effective decisions.

Failure to provide adequate advice or assistance may result in lost opportunities for staff development, poor staff morale, financial loss to staffs for residents and a loss of credibility for the Chief and Council.The major responsibilities of HR department are:-1)    Provide support to supervisors and staff to develop the skills and capabilities of staff.2)    Monitor staff performance and attendance activities.3)    Coordinate staff recruitment and selection process in order to ensure a timely organized and comprehensive procedure is used to hire staff.4)    Provide information and assistance to staff, supervisors and Council on human resource and work related issues.5)    Perform other related duties as required6) Nurturing talents and developing their potential in the workplace;·      Contributing towards the communities

In the Maxis itself, Azmi b. Ujang holds the portfolio as Head of the Human Resources and is responsible for the overall management of human capital, internal communications and corporate occupational safety and health. He also responsible for ensuring the company and its employee comply with regulatory requirements and internal policies/procedures and providing assurance to the Board of Directors and Senior Management.

Objectives and Strategy of CelcomMaxis are one of the new entries into the telecommunication service providers market, and their main objective is to get as much customers as they could. This they have down through mass advertisement, sponsoring sports programmers, rewards to their customers and organizing shows for students and the public at large.

Strength of CelcomTheir sponsorships for sporting programming is drawing many customers attention since Malaysia is a country vast in sporting activities.

Weakness of CelcomTheir services are inconsistent, due to poor and limited coverage as well as products features.