Firms operate under distinct and procedural aspects identifying their operations, efficacy, integrity, as well as the overall credibility in business operations. This paper has discussed the operation of Safaricom Limited. It defines its strategic management processes and the internal operations as retrieved from video and other reliable sources of this firm.
Safaricom operates within the communication industry providing payable networks throughout the host country. Prior to comprehensive observation, various core operations of this firm have been identified as supplying, distributing, client management and business models. Safaricom handles customers through ensuring that its operation and business strategies run intact in a mutual mission targeting.
The Company
Safaricom website is accessible through www.safaricom.co.ke where most organizational information is available (Safaricom 1997). It has been defined as a leading communication firm offering networks to people in Kenya. The organization has been leading such other firms as Airtel, Orang,e and Yu among other through gathering the largest number of customers in the country.
It was operating on a profit of over $390 million during the 2014 financial year. The operations are the most competitive especially in respect to the development of a responsive support system taking care of the customers. The communication industry in which Safaricom limited is conducting its business has the four firms named previously as Orange Kenya, Airtel Kenya, Equitel and Yu.
The advantage of Safaricom against these companies is customer loyalty directed and maintained through high rates of communication when contacting the clients of their competitors. In fact, Safaricom has sought to eliminate or own other upcoming direct competitors strategically. For instance, it has bought the largest share of an upcoming competitor referred to as Yu Mobile.
Key Elements of Business Strategy
Safaricom has developed a strategic approach that attracts and retains clients. The company developed cards to subscribe networks which bound clients from changing their contact identity as the competitors demand. It has approached the communication services through delivering devices for messaging, internet connection and voice calls.
In a bid to ensure that services are rendered properly through the channels set, Safaricom has a customer care system to sought issues and collect suggestion (Deliberate Loopholes 2011). The sales department for the networks uses cards with codes to top-up airtime of prepaid services. On the other hand, the sale of computers and mobile devices has been distributed through their shops and agents.
Operations
The firms conduct sales, product distribution, network setup, and monitoring system. As a firm, Safaricom is expected to proceed in the market for a long period. The needs for communication are continuous throughout human life implying that the business model is continuous.
Product process matrix life cycle stages
Process Flow
Safaricom products are sold through a process whereby the major retailers continuously receive the products through the wholesalers also referred to as the distributors. Distributors buy the products from Safaricom sales department at lower prices in order to ensure that the selling takes place at the intended price.
The sale of airtime begins when Safaricom Limited securely forms new codes for topping up which are then printed by the production section. The produced cards are released continuously in parts through flow in the product process matrix.
Business Strategy versus Operation Strategy
All the employees are set to serve the running and ensure that the process runs continuously (Nzuve & Kamau 2014). The business strategy ensures that all the products made or released by the company are marketed and distributed for sale. Essentially, profits are the key aspects and reasons of conducting the business. In this perception, the operations usually feed the business and vice versa in order to ensure all aspect grow mutually.
Process Structure
The information regarding Safaricom is rendered through advertisements on mass media, websites, messaging, and a support system to deal with customers. Essentially, they keep both the digital records and written documents. Their physical services are rendered throughout the nation on money transfer outlets called Mpesa and Safaricom shops (Bosire 2012).
The process has such fundamental pros as the ease of accessibility. Ideally, Safaricom ought to get substantive competition than the prevailing one in order to facilitate innovations and better services to the clients.
Intense Issues
- Safaricom Limited has not only forced customers to take its services, but also partially monopolized the services being offered.
- The company has invested and innovated ways to distract the initial systems of communication and money transfer services through preventing other companies from accessing their network. In fact, it has prevented the introduction of the thin SIM cards which would allow the cardholders to receive services from two of 3 distinct companies using a single phone.
Moral Framework
In order to curb the varying issues perceived from Safaricom limited, community involvement in decisions affecting them must be addressed. The controversy apparent in their arguments on the appropriateness of the specified prices and manipulation of prices should be done through prior public consultation.
Choice for the Organization
- The realistic recommendation for the company. It should prepare strategies to access and receive recommendation and assessments from the customers at all times. This aspect can allow the company to collect important information.
- Four strong facts or data supporting arguments:
- The prominence of a marketing strategy and its business repercussions are inherent to each other.
- Safaricom will retain its loyal customers willingly or from pressure retrieved from the high cost off-net services from the main provider.
- The exploitation of customers due to the strength of a company in the market faces legal regulation as initiated by the Communication Authority of Kenya (Maina 2010).
Safaricom will not loosen the hardness of penetrating the communication industry. Marketing of product to attain some business advantages requires critical evaluation and care since it determines the number of customers loyal and willing to product the brand goods or services (Slack et al. 2012).
Researchers and protagonist have paid attention to this aspect in an ideally proficient and reliable. Even though this aspect has developed concise directions for marketers, they manipulate how the market is formed and developed through asserting certain ethical considerations.
References
Bosire, J. 2012, M-PESA: Why Kenya, Simon Fraser U, Burnaby, B.C.
Deliberate Loopholes: Transparency Lessons from the Privatisation of Telkom and Safaricom 2011, AfriCOG, Nairobi, Kenya.
Maina, J. 2010, Analytical Research for Safaricom Limited Company: A Customer Satisfaction Survey, International Business, vol. 5 no. 1, pp. 1-45.
Nzuve, S. and Rebecca K. 2014, Perceived Relationship between Motivation and Job Satisfaction Among Call Centre Agents at Safaricom Limited, SSRN Journal SSRN Electronic Journal, pp. 1-18.
Safaricom 1997, Web.
Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A., Johnston, R. & Betts, A. 2012, Operations and Process Management with eText: Principles and Practice for Strategic Impact, Financial Times Prentice Hall, New York.