Introduction
Humankind has witnessed an impressive breakthrough over the past few decades, with innovative IT and ICT tools having provided the opportunity to connect people across the world. Contributing to globalization extensively, companies operating in the IT and ICT industries have gained vast influence in their designated markets, yet further expansion is advised to continue their business development and charge their potential for economic growth. Moreover, due to the connection between the technology that the organizations in question produce and the social influence that these technologies leave, discussing the methods of improving the social impact of IT and ICT companies are critical. Huawei is one of such companies, with its products having shaped the realm of telecommunication significantly (Acemoglu 2015). By considering the opportunities for expanding its business to new markets and partnering with foreign companies to share experience, receive support, and address global risks, Huawei will attain even greater results in its foray into the IT and ICT markets.
Currently ranking as one of the top Chinese multinational companies, Huawei has been known as a producer of communication tools and equipment for other companies, thus representing typical business-to-business market relationships. Huawei has been enjoying quite a success not only in China but also across the world, yet several security issues and quality concerns have made it quite difficult for Huawei to retain its position as a leader in the IT industry (Chang et al. 2015). At present, Huawei boasts a sizeable market share, yet its current performance could use improvements.
Reports indicate that the joined efforts of Huawei and Samsung have recently led to a global drop in market share rates for Apple (Lin et al. 2019). Moreover, the 2019 analysis of the global market has returned the results that show the increase in Huawei’s global potential and attractiveness to its target audiences (Jo et al. 2016). Nevertheless, the organization has been dealing with a lot of pressure recently, the necessity to live up to the global quality standards being the key concern (Tsai & Chang 2018). The lack of a quality management framework that allows eliminating the slightest imperfections in the end product is what makes Huawei vulnerable to the external forces of the global economic setting. By creating a more viable competitive advantage geared toward meeting the social needs of its buyers, as well as striving to produce a better social impact, in general, should currently become the principal areas of the firm’s focus.
Comparative Analysis: Huawei’s Competitive Position
Huawei has developed a rather self-sustainable approach toward marketing its services. Due to its extraordinarily affordable prices and a flexible approach toward setting its pricing strategy in new markets, Huawei has garnered a rather strong following among a range of buyers (Liu & Chen 2016). The use of a flexible pricing approach is very important when functioning in a market dominated by brand names such as Apple, the products of which are very expensive (Saif & Aimin 2015).
Table 1: Porter’s Five Forces: Huawei in the Global Market.
In order to explore the full marketing potential of Huawei, one should consider applying the theory known as Porter’s Five Forces. The identified framework allows outlining the external influences that shape a firm’s marketing approach and defining the probability of its success in the selected area (Bruijl 2018). Applying the Five Forces Model, one will realize that the pricing framework is currently one of the few characteristics that set Huawei apart from other organizations (Bruijl 2018). While being a rather sensible strategy to pursue in the identified area, it still requires support in order to retain its effect in the long term.
In addition, the analysis indicates that the power of buyers is quite strong in the designated area of the firm’s functioning. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider the current trends in demand among Huawei’s potential customers. Some of the most recent decisions that the company has taken in order to address changes in buyers’ behaviors include the transition from the traditional (physical) market to the realm of online retail and e-commerce (Neven & Régibeau 2017). However, given the necessity to compete against corporate giants such as Apple, Huawei may need to consider shaping its current brand image and positioning toward a more communication-driven framework.
Table 2: Huawei: PESTLE Analysis.
Compared to its key competitors, Huawei presently takes a rather strong position in the market of its selection, yet the company may lose it easily lest a solid framework for maintaining customer engagement and extending public relations is provided. Given the recent outrage regarding privacy issues in Huawei’s products, as well as the overall quality of their performance, the company has found itself in a rather risky situation. While Huawei has retained its image of a cheap alternative to more sophisticated brands, the recent negative publicity concerning the problems of Huawei’s products and especially their safety leaves room for thorough contemplations.
According to the results of the analysis performed with the help of Porter’s Five Forces Model, Huawei currently lacks the definitive characteristic that could make it as competitive as its key rivals, primarily, Apple. Given the results of the PESTLE assessment, the social aspect of the firm’s performance and the sociocultural factors that shape its popularity could be incorporated into the selection of its future marketing approach. To be more accurate, it is critical for Huawei to develop a stronger rapport with its target audiences by exerting a positive social impact on its customers, as well as the global community, in a more general sense.
It is expected that, by focusing on communication with its stakeholders, primarily, buyers and potential customers, Huawei can improve its competitive advantage significantly. Although the company already has a rather strong and unique benefit compared to Apple and Samsung, specifically, extraordinarily low prices for its products, the company has experienced a recent crisis when its products turned out to have problems with data security management and, thus jeopardized the well-being and safety of the company’s customers (Shi & Jiang 2016). Consequently, Huawei needs to show its target audiences that it listens carefully to the feedback and integrates it into its new decisions.
For this purpose, the focus on building a positive social impact within the global community should be deemed as a priority for the organization at present. Much to its credit, Huawei has already been exploring the areas in which it could make a positive change, with impressive advances having been made already. However, to make further advancement in the selected area, as well as establish itself as a powerful corporate entity in the global market, Huawei will need to alter its current system of values and philosophies. Making the corporate ethical standards more rigid and locating the slightest threats to the firm’s public image should also be seen as important in light of the recent scandal concerning financial fraud at Huawei (the US charges China’s Huawei with fraud 2019). The fact that an instance of financial fraudulence has occurred at Huawei recently points to the problems in the organization’s ethical framework and, thus implies that the firm should change its current value system and philosophy in order to prevent similar cases from happening in the future. For this reason, the integration of several theoretical frameworks that will allow considering moral dilemmas from various perspectives is required. For example, it is reasonable to suggest that Huawei should work toward deploying the ideas of the Kantian moral theory into its current corporate philosophy (Mansell et al. 2018). The proposed theory implies that the notion of humanity should always be seen as the ultimate goal and not as a means to an end (Aydin & Rahman 2017). The principles of Kantian ethics will allow resolving the situations in which the needs of several stakeholders, including customers, may be mismanaged.
Creating Positive Social Impact: Considerations
There is no need to stress that an organization functioning in the IT and ICT market has to deploy the tools that allow it to communicate effectively with its customers and engage in a dialogue with its buyers. However, apart from listening to feedback and responding to requests, a firm should also strive to leave a mark in the global society by challenging the perception of technology and its role in communication. The introduction of the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the first step toward making a positive social impact for Huawei. Moreover, the organization will need to provide a stellar example of managing the problem of waste disposal and compliance with the current EU regulations for environmental safety by reducing waste to its possible minimum. The described alteration to the company’s public image can be performed by realigning the firm’s current priorities and introducing the concept of stakeholder ethics into its context. By viewing the global community as one of its crucial stakeholders and the s
However, on its journey toward enhancing its positive social impact, Huawei will need to take several considerations into account. First and most obvious, the issue of motivating staff members and creating a positive workplace climate should be deemed as necessary. For this purpose, one should consider using the principles of the ERG theory proposed by Alderfer as the extension of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Implying that the needs represented in Maslow’s hierarchy should be regrouped to be represented by three key categories, the ERG approach will become the platform for Huawei to develop the necessary values and promote the qualities associated with SCR in its employees (Welbourne, Rolf & Schlachter 2015). By recognizing the unique needs of its employees and satisfying them with the help of financial incentives and other types of rewards, Huawei will be able to build a new environment in which the principles of the continuous improvement of quality and the following increase in communication within the global community will become attainable goals.
The incorporation of the specified perspective will entail opportunities for embracing the needs of as vast a range of categories as possible, at the same time paying close attention to the unique requirements of each stakeholder (Khan & Baloch 2017). For instance, the introduction of three key need categories will lead to gaining a better sense of the types of requirements that Huawei’s stakeholders have and that the company will have to meet. By splitting the critical requirements of the employees into the categories of existence, relatedness, and growth needs, Huawei will be capable of developing the framework for responding to the situations in which staff members lack or are deprived of a certain aspect of growth.
The introduction of the kaizen principles will also help to improve the social impact that Huawei has been exerting on the global community. The kaizen philosophy, which can be represented as the continuous improvement of organizational processes, will help to ensure that there is a direct alignment between the goals of the company and the needs of its key stakeholders, primarily, its employees (Velmurugan & Sankar 2017). The promotion of the kaizen theory as the foundational principle of the firm’s development will help to build the system of organizational management, management of business processes and projects, and other critical constituents of running a company. Specifically, the introduction of the principles of kaizen will allow staff members to transition from the current perspective of their job as part and parcel of their daily routine to the idea of them being a part of a grand plan that will help to make a difference in the global community. Thus, a manager will be able to ignite enthusiasm in staff members in order to excel in their performance.
Furthermore, the introduction of the kaizen philosophy as the notion of unceasing professional growth will help to avoid situations that involve quality mismanagement and the following complaints from customers. Since Huawei has already witnessed the scenario in question, it is especially important for the company to address this concern and prevent further quality issues from occurring In the future. At the same time, one should recognize the progress that the company has already made with respect to the improvement of its social impact. The enhancement of the role that IT and ICT tools play in people’s life has contributed largely to the increase in the performance levels of numerous organizations, including both commercial and non-profit ones. With a rise in the extent of connectivity that members of organizations could enjoy, a vast rise in the performance rates occurred (Kuppuswamy et al. 2017). Moreover, the global community has also benefitted from Huawei’s performance, with ICT devices having been integrated firmly into the lives of millions of people (Singh et al. 2016). Therefore, Huawei has already produced a rather positive social impact with the enhancement of the global communication process and the provision of opportunities for maintaining social connections between people.
Nevertheless, Huawei needs to continue its efforts to produce a positive social impact. Presently, the firm will need to reconsider the framework that it uses to ensure that its innovative technologies can be used to their maximum capacity and bring the most positive results possible, with their side effects minimized. Huawei will have to consider the advantages that it can provide to local communities regarding job opportunities. Training options for the people that are willing to become a part of the company’s system will need to be developed to attain the described goal. The resulting change in unemployment rates within the community, coupled with the promotion of IT and ICT education among local residents will lead to a rise in the amount of positive social impact produced by the organization (Joo, Oh & Lee 2016). However, a step toward the promotion of technological competence in target audiences will imply that Huawei will have to reconsider its current financial strategy and realign its priorities, as well as shape its leadership frameworks to motivate people to acquire new skills. The promotion of lifelong learning and the enhancement of the community’s economic opportunities can be seen as a critical platform for producing a vastly positive social impact.
The focus on increasing the levels of Corporate Social Responsibility within the organization might seem like an evident change to make to the environment of Huawei, yet its positive social impact is often overlooked. By representing a model of a CSR-based organization, Huawei will introduce its community to the notion of a responsible attitude in every domain of people’s lives. As a result, the levels of community involvement in the very process of social change will rise, with citizens developing the ability to introduce improvements into the society independently.
The process of social change and the production of a positive impact on the designated environment need to be supported by appropriate theoretical frameworks. For Huawei to exert the described influence, the firm will need to shape its philosophy and value set in order to maintain continuous and consistent growth, which can be implemented when combining the principles of Six Sigma with the Kaizen philosophy. While the former will provide the framework for institutionalizing change, the Kaizen philosophy will offer the emotional and ethical principles for managing alterations within the company. As a result, a shift in the firm’s perception of social relationships, its role within the community, and the effects that it produces on the latter, will develop exponentially. As a result, Huawei will be capable of representing a positive model that other organizations and individuals can follow in order to develop the sense of responsibility required to prompt a massively positive change. Finally, the promotion of the safety and security of community members through a responsible usage of data is an important step toward improving the social environment that Huawei can consider as a possibility. However, to perform the designated change, the organization will have to strengthen its own framework for managing customers’ needs.
Enhancing Business: Issues Worthy of Consideration
Despite having advanced significantly in the environment of ITC and ICT and having built an impressive presence in a range of markets, Huawei still needs vast improvements in order to meet the ever-increasing demands of its target audiences. The issue is aggravated by the fact that Huawei has to face very stiff competition from two of the most influential IT companies, namely, Apple and Samsung. In order to survive and even strive in the market that can be described as rather unfriendly toward competitors, Huawei will have to take several crucial factors into consideration.
The quality issue is the first and the most critical concept to address when improving the firm’s current market position and increasing its market share. Despite the recent attempts at regaining the trust of its buyers, Huawei has shown the propensity toward a decline in quality, which manifested itself in poor security of users’ personal data (Syn, Sinn & Kim 2017). Therefore, the company will need to introduce more rigid principles of quality management. The introduction of a TQM-based framework for enhancing the organization’s performance and improving its control over the instances involving the production of defective items should be deemed as a necessary step toward improving the company’s current position.
Moreover, the approach toward marketing and branding that Huawei has been using could require certain modeling. Although the idea of representing the company as a cheaper substitute of the product delivered by less affordable brands such as Apple has been successful for a significant period of time, introducing new elements into the company’s promotion and introduction of its services to new markets should be regarded as an inevitable change.
In order to ensure that the principles of quality management are institutionalized in the context of the organization, one should integrate the concept of the Six Sigma model into the organizational environment. The selected framework has been used for quite a while as the method of implementing change as part and parcel of the corporate philosophy into the key organizational processes. The proposed solution toward the current issues faced by Huawei is justified by the fact that the rapid introduction of alterations to a company’s production cycle and organizational management is fraught with severe consequences leading to the disruption of key workplace processes (Hashmi, Ranjan & Anand 2018). Therefore, ensuring that the suggested ideas are fully immersed into the corporate philosophy, one will need the principles of DMAIC and DMADV, which represent the constituents of the Six Sigma Model and introduce companies to an unceasing cycle of change. As a result, innovation becomes the foundation for corporate policy, which is currently a critical change for Huawei (Hashmi, Ranjan & Anand 2018).
Finally, when exploring the issues that Huawei has been facing in the context of the global market, one should keep in mind that the problem of communication and processing feedback from its customers and employees remains one of the critical concerns for Huawei. The introduction of improved communication channels for addressing the identified gap in the company’s framework will need to be seen as a priority. It should be borne in mind that the located problem is twofold, with the issue of communication implying the lack of satisfaction among employees in the workplace and the absence of an effective communication channel between the organization and its customers to introduce the required improvements to the product quality.
Another critical issue that requires Huawei’s close focus is the task of motivating its staff members. There is no secret that the levels of motivation, engagement, and loyalty among employees define the successful organizational performance and the following rise in a company’s profit margins. Applied to the context of the target firm, the proposed task will have to be scrutinized through the lens of Alderfer’s ERG theory, which is an extension of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, should be considered as essential. The proposed approach will help to enhance the company’s business significantly. However, when choosing the most important aspect of changing the framework of communication, one should focus on the voice of customers. Processing feedback received from buyers and representing the organization positively in the media is going to be rather complicated.
Conclusion
Having grown significantly in its home market, the firm needs to expand into the global setting in order to explore new areas and seek new opportunities for partnership and development. Throughout its existence, Huawei has proven to be quite successful in its designated area. However, with the recent increase in demand for quality combined with the rise in the levels of competition, the global market may become far too hostile for Huawei to enter. Therefore, it is essential to make several critical changes to some of the aspects of Huawei’s functioning prior to its foray into the global economy.
The current approach that the company has been using to manage its representation in media and especially the positioning of its services and products could use significant changes as well. For instance, it is essential that Huawei should focus on highlighting not only the comparative cheapness of its products compared to other brands but also the innovative solutions that it integrates into its technology. Communication with customers and the active use of direct feedback as the platform for making future changes to its products should also be considered as a possible selling point for Huawei. By creating a strong and memorable image that contains more than the idea of cheapness, Huawei will be able to gain the power required to enter the global market. The firm will be capable of improving its supply chain management by creating new partnerships, locating new investors, and increasing the range of its customers.
Changes to the corporate philosophy are also strongly recommended along with the alterations to the management of Huawei’s human resources. It is critical for the firm to monitor the levels of engagement and loyalty to the company among employees, as well as encourage their professional growth with the help of incentives. In addition, communication with the community will require enhancement. Specifically, it will be necessary for the organization to build a positive social impact through engagement in the activities that will improve Huawei’s public relations and elevate its brand above the rest of the firms in the global market. The proposed decision will allow managing some of the most recent concerns regarding the drop in the levels of trust among the company’s target customers due to the drop in the quality of products, specifically, the security of users’ private data. Overall, Huawei needs to be more considerate about its quality management and public relations in order to retain its popularity and address the described concerns.
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