Organisational Behaviour Strategic Information System

Question: Discuss about the Organisational Behaviour for Strategic Information System. Answer: Introduction: The top five challenges of Telstra in the order of importance include low prices against high demands of the goods being offered. Over time, the number of customers has been increasing since the year 2008. (Maiden 2015, p. 88-93). The technological shift has increased the urge for customers to own smart phones so that they can easily access the internet. Normally, it can be projected that the high demand is an advantage for any company but not for Telstra. The prices for data are slowly reducing since then. To be specific, the data bundle per Mb has slowly decreased from 1.8% to 1% today. For this reason, the company has stagnated. (Ferguson 2008, p. 233-235) The other problem is the convergence rules. Telstra has struggled to put up with the ever increasing demand by diversifying the nature of products it offers. In the past, we have had people using the landline telephones to communicate. Today there are mobile phones. However, the industry has not been decentralised. The other challenges are the effects of NBN, competition and lastly branding. (Maiden 2015, p. 88-93) The first priority for the company is the customers. The company has had an advocacy policy and the top management is keen to keep empowering the customers. Customers have the privilege to choose on the modes in which they can interact with the company stakeholders. Another priority is to foster innovation in the industry. To be a leader, you must do unique things that other competitors have not done. (Holt 2009, p. 67-78). The third priority is cost reduction. Telstra has a strategy to reduce operational costs because it must aim at obtaining profit. At number four is the culture. The company strives to uphold its competitive culture that has existed since inception. Lastly is the technology which is the key to productivity. (Tindal 2008, p. 109-113) The Porters model has five elements that include competitive rivalry, supplier bargaining power, customer bargaining power, threats from new entrants and substitute products. For Telstra, the competition is stiff but it has maintained its first position exploring other markets. It is the largest supplier since it has a huge market share. Consumers have raised concerns about the products which are not differentiated. As a result of competition, the prices have really gone down. The balance of power is evident at the last force. (Bingemann 2010, p. 75-79) Strategising IT should enforce laws and regulations that will moderate the market. Some companies are taking control of the prices and affecting the whole industry. The communication regulatory agencies have a duty to restore the order. IT should also support innovative and creative ventures because it is through these practices that new products are designed to suit the customer tastes and preferences. (Holt 2009, p. 67-78) Some of the best strategies employed included the restoration of the market share. The company invested a lot of money in the activity which yielded fruit. The kitty was dubbed fighting fund which was disbursed in large amounts to convince more customers to subscribe to the company products. Another strategy was to focus on the customer. (Godfrey et al. 2006). The CEO was categorical that the company operations would be banked on the interests of the customer. Apparently, he realised that it is the customer that a company relies on to stay in the market. Services were improved to suit the demands of the customers. The decision to get into mergers with other companies was also good. Mergers bring about diversity in administrative knowledge and experience. (Akhurst 2011, p. 47-50) After the exit of David Thodey as CEO, Andy Penn replaced him. However, Andy made the worst mistake by appointing a strategist who had failed other companies. The appointment of Stephen Elop to the position of chief strategist meant that the company would fail. (Bingemann 2010, p. 75-79). The history of Elop is wanting. It is said that he presided over the failure of the Nokia business company in a span of three years. Another great mistake made by the stakeholders is failure to balance prices with the increasing demand. Any company whose products are in high demand from customers should obey the economic law by hiking the prices. In this case, Telstra just lacked the best person to formulate a strategy that would capitalise on this phenomenon. (Godfrey et al. 2006) One of the important actions missed by the CEO is that he did not involve the external environment in picking the leader of strategy. For a company to cut a niche in the market, it must have a clear roadmap to success. The top management should seek the outside views from competitors and even customers in order to determine the best personnel to hire. In the case of Telstra, the CEO should have engaged the lower level management who also have important input in decision making processes. (Harbison 2011, p. 89-92) Other risks that have not been mentioned in the case study include obsolescence. IT companies often incur many costs over short time periods because of the need to update their programmes. The industry transforms almost regularly and to conform to the specifications, Telstra must keep adjusting to the new releases. Another major challenge is the variations in the market aspects such as country, culture and language. It is not easy to balance these features especially if you need to reduce the costs. (Holt 2009, p. 67-78) Red Ocean refers to a strategy where a company tries to outdo its competitors to win a large market share. When the market is flooded, competition sets in to make the ocean red. One of the factors contributing to Red Ocean in Telstra is profitability. The company wishes to remain at the top in terms of returns. Another factor is expansion. It wishes to venture into other businesses by getting into mergers and acquisitions. (Ferguson 2008, p. 233-235) On the other hand, Blue Ocean is an approach that a company uses to explore new markets. For instance, Telstra can focus on satisfying the needs of the customer instead of focusing on how to outdo the competitor. The strategy to employ is innovation. Innovation will solve the existing technological challenges and will also address the present deficiencies in the industry. Another strategy is that the company can deal in current assets that are fast moving as opposed to fixed products. (Maiden 2015, p. 88-93) References Akhurst, B.I. (2011). Organisational Behaviour: Sensis CEO Update. Sensis, 45(11), 47-50 Bingemann, M.D. (2010). Yearbook Australia: Telstra doubles the speed of its Next G HSPA+ network. The Australian Australia, 21(56), 75-79 Ferguson, I.F. (2008). Wired Brown Land?: Telstra to slash tech costs under review. ZDNet, 5(2), 233-235 Godfrey, M. Charisse E. (2006). The Sydney Morning Herald: Location of Sensis job cuts revealed, 23(32), 345-351 Harbison, N.M. (2011). Pigs at the Trough: Australian telecom company launches one of the smartest Facebook apps to date. TNW, 4(6), 89-92 Holt, J.T. (2009). Mobile Phone Companies: Sensis denies database disaster Software News .Zdnet, 34(5), 67-78 Maiden, M.B. (2015). Security and the Networked Society: Telstra dives as $10bn plans unveiled. The Age, 25(6), 88-93 Tindal, S.Q. (2008). FirmGuide: Telstra boosts Next G to 21Mbps. ZDNet Australia, 13(3), 109-113.