Company Overview
IDP education is one of the world’s leading institutions that offer assistance to foreign students wishing to pursue their studies in oversees countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The institution engages in student enlightenment regarding various courses offered in universities abroad. The company is based in Australia with branches all over the world.
One of the responsibilities of the organization is to offer English tests to students aspiring to further their studies in foreign countries. In this regard, it owns one of the best language tests referred to as IELTS.
With time, the company has been able to form global partnerships in order to compete effectively in the highly unpredictable market1. Currently, the company is the largest student recruitment institution with offices in various parts of the world.
The company is considered one of the rapidly growing institutions in the Australian economy given the fact that it operates in various developing economies, such as Brazil, China, India, and Russia. Studies show that the company has grown to be a multinational company since it is entrusted with the role of administering higher education fund and aid in various countries.
The management of the company realized that forming partnerships with oversees governments would be the best practice towards realizing educational needs of the soaring number of students hoping to pursue studies abroad2.
The mission statement of the organization clearly demonstrates its desire to engage in the best practices that would convene the needs of various students. One of the mission statements of IDP Education Australia is to offer quality international student services through provision of timely advice to clients pertaining to the admission requirements in the Australian institutions of higher learning.
Moreover, the organization engages in assessment and evaluation of student services, such as provision of portfolio of review and offering essential credential tools, including the English test.
The Development of IDP Education
The company has gone through a number of developmental challenges to be what it is today. It was established in 1969 as an Australian agency in charge of coordinating higher education activities in the country. The main task of the organization was to offer help to various students in need of higher education in the country, particularly those from South-East Asia.
The initial name of the organization was AAUCS (Australian Asian Universities’ Cooperation Scheme), but the name was changed to IDP (International Development Program) in order to reflect its diversity.
Since its inception, a number of stakeholders, including the Australian agency in charge of education, various oversees governments, established funding agencies, other international institutions of higher learning, and the corporate sector have been its major developmental partners.
With time, the company has formed a constructive working relationship with parents and students, who are considered the company’s major stakeholders. To achieve its goals, the company appreciates the fact that meeting the demands of the market is paramount to success3.
In this regard, the management of the organization incorporated a number of values into its managerial agenda, one of the values being leadership. The kind of leadership espoused meets the international standards since it observes the issue of cultural diversity. In the global society, any organization intending to operate at a global level must respect the values and beliefs of other people.
Other values, such as customer service, quality assurance, focus, empowerment, risk-taking, reliability, sincerity, ingenuousness, and development of teams are attributed to the growth of the company.
Formation of teams is one of the critical tools of strategic management since it enhances goal achievement and attainment of the major objectives. With time, the company grew to be one of the most respected international companies offering professional advice on matters related to education. Its desire to meet the requirements facilitated the achievement of its status as the market leader in issues to do with higher learning education4.
Current Situation
Currently, the organization offers a number of free online services, such as admission choices and professional support services at no cost. This gives the company a competitive advantage in the highly aggressive market that does not favour any player. Apart from offering online support services at no fee, the company provides extensive services on visas through partnerships with relevant agencies in oversees governments.
Small-scale companies and individuals who had inadequate capital previously dominated the international educational services market. IDP education has played a critical role in shaping the education sector globally, especially in connecting Australian institutions of higher learning to the global market.
Analysts observe that IDP education is the major contributor to exports. It is surprising to note that services offered by the IDP education globally surpass the wool exports, even though wool the most exported product in the country. The proceeds from student travel and fees, including the living expenses, increases significantly each year.
Currently, the organization is engaging in various programs to ensure that Australian universities establish strong links with foreign institutions and students. The introduction of the English language test service is considered an advantage, as it has helped the company gain popularity even in developed countries5.
Many universities around the world appreciate the role of IDP education meaning that its English tests are valid and applicable all over the world. The organization applies a unique business model that has attracted foreign students to the Australian universities.
Student recruitment has been shaped globally, with some analysts observing that this has a direct and a significant impact on the mobility of students in various nations. The institution has had a positive influence to the higher education in the country, as well as in other region.
Recently, New Zealand has engaged in marketing activities to promote their universities globally. In this regard, it is observed that IDP education is a market leader locally, regionally, and globally. The United Kingdom and Canada are some of the countries that are also engaging in marketing strategies to attract students to their local universities6.
Based on the current position of the company and its market share, it is observed that the future is bright for IDP education. In 2005, the company had various visitors who were mainly investors inquiring on whether they can pump their capital to help the organization expand.
Negotiations are ongoing to make the company one of the Australia’s prime employers. The company is able to withstand any form of competition in case capital is pumped into some of its established projects.
Strategic Issue
IDP education is an established company that employs various strategic management methods, one of them being cost advantage strategy while the other is differentiation strategy. Cost leadership strategy suggests that products should be offered at an affordable cost to encourage many customers to make purchases. However, the strategy is faced with several problems, among them being operating at a loss.
IDP education operates at a large-scale meaning that it is able to offer services at a low cost while at the same time making a profit. Other multinational companies, such as Wal-Mart applied the strategy successfully to compete effectively in with established chain stores. While other institutions charge students in offering support services, IDP does not demand anything from clients whenever they need support services.
Additionally, clients are able to access visa services at no cost, even though the organization spends considerable finances on arranging for these services. Studies show that a customer will always use a service based in its price.
An expensive service might be of interest to high-end market, but the quality of service should be higher to sustain such a market. IDP education is the most reliable to many clients, as its prices are avoidable and the type of the service offered meets the needs of many clients7.
The organization is known to employ differentiation strategy whose main aim is to offer a various products and services to clients. Some of the services that IDP education offers are out of reach to many competitors8. Based on this, the company is able to outmuscle competitors hence giving it an advantage.
Dell is one of the companies operating in the electronics company that launched mass-customizations on computers specifically to convene the needs of customers. Many organizations specializing on differentiation strategy have registered massive sales that have played a role in realizing their aims and objectives. In this case, differentiation strategy has a positive impact on the performance of the organization.
Bibliography
Clulow, Val, Gerstman, Julie, and Barry, Carol. “The resource-based view and sustainable competitive advantage: the case of a financial services firm”. Journal of European Industrial Training, 27.5 (2003): 220–232.
Erica, Olsen. Strategic Planning Kit for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Grant, Robert. Contemporary Strategic Management: An Australasian Perspective. Milton: John Wiley and Sons Australia, 2011.
Hitt, Michael, and Hoskisson, Robert. Strategic Management: Competitiveness & Globalization: Cases. Mason: South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2013.
Lau, Ronald. “Competitive factors and their relative importance in the US electronics and computer industries”. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 22.1 (2001): 125–135
Powell, Thomas. “Competitive advantage: logical and philosophical considerations”. Strategic Management Journal, 22.9 (2001): 875–888.
Rijamampianina, Rasoava, and Russell, Yumiko. “A framework for concentric diversification through sustainable competitive advantage”. Management Decision, 41.4 (2004): 362-372.
Warf, Frederick and Stutz, Barney. The world economy : resources, location, trade and development. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2007.
Footnotes
1Frederick Warf and Barney Stutz, The world economy: resources, location, trade and development (Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2007), p. 14.
2Thomas Powell, “Competitive advantage: logical and philosophical considerations”, Strategic Management Journal, 22.9 (2001), p. 888.
3Val Clulow, Julie Gerstman, and Carol Barry, “The resource-based view and sustainable competitive advantage: the case of a financial services firm”, Journal of European Industrial Training, 27.5 (2003), p. 12.
4Michael Hitt, and Robert Hoskisson, Strategic Management: Competitiveness & Globalization: Cases (Mason: Southwestern, Cengage Learning, 2013), p. 45.
5Ronald Lau, “Competitive factors and their relative importance in the US electronics and computer industries”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 22.1 (2003): 125–135
6Olsen Erica, Strategic Planning Kit for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, 2012), p. 23.
7Robert Grant, Contemporary Strategic Management: An Australasian Perspective (Milton: John Wiley and Sons Australia, 2011), p. 19.
8Rasoava Rijamampianina and Yumiko Russell. “A framework for concentric diversification through sustainable competitive advantage”. Management Decision, 41.4 (2004): 362-372.