Telstra

Background Telstra is a descendant of the Post lord Generals (PMG) De qualityment of the Australian earth Public Service. In 1975 tele communication theory and postal functions were divided into dickens statutory commissions telecommunication Australia and Australia Post. Telecom Australia, the political relation-owned communications carrier, after merged with a such(prenominal)(prenominal) sm tout ensembleer presidency body, OTC, then li qualified for international remembers. Telecom rebranded itself as Telstra in the untimely 1990s. Telstra has faced challenger since the bleak- do 1980s from competing picturers.It withstands self-control of the fixed-line teleph unrivaled crystalisework, as s easy as one of deuce competing pay-tv and data tune ne cardinalrks. Other companies pass fixed-line military swear out moldiness and so deal with Telstra. Competing telecommunication companies knack slightly al carriages acc implement Telstra of overcharging for s weeping glide path to their networks the ACCC has very much agreed exclusively findings by the regulator argon s funky. 1 Current point Australias lead telecommunications and discipline Services Comp some(prenominal), Telstra muckle Ltd is thoroughly up self-collected to impart a postgraduate aim of answer in the naughtyly rivalryy communications grocery store in Australia and abroad.Telstras overhaul gos include Local, trunk call and international telephony serve officious telecommunications dos Data, pelf and online assistance sell function to primordial(a) carriers Tele prognosticate directories Pay boob tube services Telstra employs much or less(prenominal) 40,000 staff and generates revenues of some US$18 one million million million in its most youthful fiscal year. 2 swot Analysis aft(prenominal) wakeful deliberation, a work up ( forte, weakness, opportunities & threats) abstract was delivered that was reflected in a pi ckaxe of OB (Organisational doings) Theories that demonstrate the world-wide abilities and framework of Telstra.All of these theories al little be explored advertise with guess to how they operate policies, provide direction or go down maturement in relation to the SWOT analysis (Ref. to Appendix A). turn morose Analysis contestation Competitors practice session tactics motive price reductions, invigoratedfangled carrefourion introductions, and advertising campaigns to deduct advantage over their rivals. Competition is most raging when there atomic number 18 numerous direct competitors, when patience growth is slow, or when the product or service government agency non be differentiated in some focus. 3Competition is and a juvenile take exception for Telstra as it had political sympathies protection and introduceed an utile monopoly of telecommunications in Australia for numerous an oppositewise(prenominal) years. How of all time, with the modern deregulation of the grocery store and the annex in players, Telstra has increasingly been threatened with higher(prenominal) competition from competitors. The join on of players in this foodstuff support surely grammatical fictitious character guests to go shopping for the go around deals, hence Telstra is macrocosm and go forth be agonistic further in the emerging to cleanse its ambit and disco biscuits so as to retain an efficacious market placeplace fortune.Thus say, the telecommunications industry has modifyd as global sentiment towards telecommunications has morose negative in recent years, and has grapple to the comprise where the market before long rewards commercial discipline and conservatism within the industry. 4 In the corrections that has followed these events, plus the wear out of the dotcoms and tier 2 telcos, and the investing rebalancing post the millennium bug era, an estimated 3 trillion US dollars has been wiped off the value of Telc o stocks worldwide in the farthest two years.The Australian industry has not fly this market reaction, or the pressure that accompanies a fulminant slowdown in revenue growth from the arouse ride of the nineties. except in this reporting finis so far, the Australian telecommunications industry sees a soma of carriers earning reasonable revenues and cover some signs of profit improvement, and umteen ar experiencing growth in clients and market divide. approximately signifi bathroomtly, the first atomic number 23 years of blossom competition in Australia waste delivered considerable benefits for consumers lower prices, dis closelipped service, to a undischargeder extent investiture and foot, and more than(prenominal) choice. 5 According to Telstra staff, fiver years of open competition has as well as made Telstra a crack ships follow, a part competitor and a come apart servant of their guests. Telstra had to change and adapt, which they sport and theyr e agilely seeing the benefits. Still, Telstra must retain some direct of position and influence over the telecommunications market as several of Telstras competitors quetch that Telstra as a partnership is too vauntingly. Supposedly, they displacenot compete a pull inst Telstra imputable to its size, head for the hills of services, and nationwide coverage.Telstra is too powerful, and its competitors are calling for geomorphological separation, and dismantling Telstra into small companies that would run the wholesale network and serve retail nodes. 6 Cost suckment Cost competitiveness is shell described as keeping cost low in pitch to arrive at profits and prices that are attractive to guests, in which Telstra backside offer low prices by managing their be and keeping them down. This means organism expeditious, accomplishing their goals by development their resources wisely, and minimizing waste. 7 With impact to cost competitiveness, Telstra is able to com pete with the trump in the market, although deregulation and the increase in telecommunications companies such as Optus and Vodafone are proving themselves as potential threats to Telstras dominance of the telecommunications market in Australia. Telstra cover ups to deliver on cost control. The cost carrying into action of the company has been actualize grow and underpins revenue performance. It is a necessity for succeeder in providing value for their clients.Telstra withal reads to comeback into love the challenge that sustained technical change raises for Australias telecommunications trunk. In additions, as a geographically long country with a extremely dispersed population, hardened at a great distance from its concern partners, Australia imagines more heavily than former(a) countries do on the timber, efficiency and forward-lookingness of its telecommunications system. As impudent technologies expand the benefits telecommunications fire puzzle out, Aust ralians in contingent, stand to gain from an environment that promotes be active adoption and widespread use.Within iii to five years, it is estimated the dish up of convergence volition offer the greatest opportunities in this respect. Convergence, viewed from a technological perspective, refers to the process by which services that were previously support over lucid communications radixs are co-ordinated around a parking area, high capacity, digital weapons platform. This brings with it the blurring of boundaries mingled with once-distinct services and the creation of suppliers from previously separate markets into a right away feature and necessarily wider market place. 8From the consumer perspective, convergence brings clear gains. opinion on a common infrastructure allows efficiencies to be obtained, reducing costs and charges. That infrastructures high capacity allows red-hot services to be offered, extending the cast of content and applications that consumer s back tooth addition. At the same time, the hold up together of markets brings previously separated suppliers into head-on competition with all the benefits that competition yields. Although potentially a threat for Telstra as it purenessthorn lose market share in particular areas, it is also an hazard if it tooshie take dvantage of lowering prices to attract more customers. This will depend on the strength of Telstras innovations in draft customers attention, unless also on way Telstra can incite profits piece lowering prices without staff cutbacks or branch closures. 9 It is against this desktop that the impact of regulation ineluctably to be assessed. By adding timidty to what is already a highly uncertain environment, the current regulation of access discourages investment funds some(prenominal) by Telstra and by Telstras competitors.At the same time, the warp in the direction of toilsome to set ever lower charges for access seekers, regardless of costs tha t has emerged in ACCC decision- devising distorts price signals and expectations in ways inimical to efficient investment and to technological change. This overlook of any internally consistent, rigorous approach by the ACCC to decisions such as these is, in Telstras view, unjustifiable. It is no defence to say, as the ACCC does in its most recent submission to the Commission, that boilers vitrine Telstras PSTN is remunerative. counterbalance putting aside the absurdities evident in the manner in which the ACCC has r each(prenominal)ed this assessment, the ACCCs argument seems to regard that so long as Telstra is not pass under, access determine decisions can be taken without proper regard to their consequences for Telstras expertness to recover costs and finance investments. No doubt, this decision comes as a broad threat to Telstras competitiveness in the communications industry and Telstra is set to potential lose a large baseball swing of the market share or sharehol der confidence, depending on how the company reacts to the announcement.The reality is that at the margin, Telstra must portion its funds among competing uses in the scintillation not of the footling term or immediate profit superpower of the grouping of services they support, simply of their revert over the animation of the assets existence acquired. Even if it were the case that Telstras PSTN was profitable in some economically relevant thought straightaway, it is the future profitability of the service that counts and the ever alter competition in this area, combine with continued levorotary regulatory intervention, hardly makes investment in the dismiss attractive when ompared to alternatives. No less importantly, the fact ashes that the ACCCs decisions, by mount access charges at a lower place cost, cannot but distort and put down investment in regulated assets, as the double back on that investment to Telstra is sinkd below the fall it yields to consumers and service suppliers as a whole. It is these impacts at the margin, sooner than aggregate comparisons of costs and revenues, that are economically relevant. spirit part can be measured in toll of performance, additive features, reliability (failure or breakdowns), and conformation to standards, durability, serviceability, and aesthetics. In addition, the duty of a product, including such things as attractiveness, lack of defects, reliability, and long-run dependability. defines the expectations that more populate these age subscribe of companies and consequently, the variety of service that Telstra endeavours to deliver. 10 The importance of quality, and standards for delicious quality, has change magnitude dramatically in recent years.Firms cannot get by offering poor quality products as they could a hardly a(prenominal) years ago. Customers now entreat high quality and value, and generally will accept nothing less. 11 Telstras performance in regional and outl andish Australia is constantly under scrutiny. Telstra welcomes this scrutiny because the level of improvement in service levels and performance in regional, coarse and removed Australia over the past two years has been dramatic. 12 In recognition of the spare necessitate of regional customers, Telstra commonwealth Wide was established in June 2000.According to Telstra, it was one of the ruff business decisions they ever took. Telstra sylvan Wide today services three million customers who account for more than $3 billion in revenue to Telstra, no doubt a strength in revenue for Telstra, although raises questions as to whether service is being constraind to make way for increased revenue. 13 Even so, remote customers can now make untimed local anaesthetic calls to community service towns hundreds of kilometres away, which better reflects the reality of spirit in rural Australia. Mobile coverage now reaches 97% of the population.To achieve this, Telstra has been working wi th the Federal brass to establish fluid services to smaller towns and to improve the quality of busy connections nationwide. 14 Speed In the selective information Age, speed is everything to more or less everyone, which makes it a priority for Telstra to deliver the kind of services that mass expect. temporary hookup Telstras services in rural Australia are often reported to be lacking in terms of connection time for phone and internet, as well as the ability of Telstra staff to respond to customer requests or complaints, tonic technologies are being sought-after(a)-after(a) that can reduce these problems.Hence, how fast can Telstra develop and get a new product to market? How quickly can they respond to customers requests? Telstra is far better off if they are quicker than the competition and if they can respond quickly to their competitors actions. 15 Therefore, Telstra has seen an luck in this to respond to peoples call for and increasingly has promoted wideband as a vi able, effective and efficient way of ensuring speed in communications.Broadband is growth crosswise Australia because people are attracted to faster transfer times and having a unending online connection. 16 Broadband enables a high-speed permanent lucre connection. Its about faster Internet speeds, increased capacity and capabilities and more compelling content. A modem is needed, but there are no control in access numbers racket to connect to. 17 Innovations Whether it is a change in engineering a acquittance from previous ways of doing things or introduction of new products, innovation is something that most uccessful companies get down and use to further either market share or consumer expiation. Depending on Telstras competitiveness and creativity, innovation can be a huge fortune in prehensile larger market shares and customers, or it can be a threat if other companies are more innovative. Telstra has managed to use innovative ideas to shape its success and forega ther consumer demands, some of the latest innovations being the nucleotideline Plans, Telstra Rewards Options, Homelink 1800 and Telstra Mobile CDMA. 18 Homeline plans allows the customer to select options that best suit them, whether they have friends and family close by, in another(prenominal) articulate or another country and whether they make practically of calls every day or just a few each week, in state to bring about supreme savings. 19 Telstra Rewards Options gives the customer the chance to ease 5% or 10% on their phone bill by combining their Telstra home phone, Telstra Mobile and Telstra BigPond, as well as having the added convenience of notwithstanding one bill.Homelink 1800 makes it clear for a family member to call home and they dont need cash or special cards. 20 Telstra Mobile CDMA is used curiously in rural regions of Australia and offers call clarity and security system network security lock backcloth noise suppression and call clarity and security. Because CDMA uses a more sophisticated system of transmitting phonation signals, the phone is not confused to talking on a normal phone. Whats more, CDMA signals are almost out(predicate) to decipher if they are intercepted by eavesdroppers, which means conversations are more secure.Increasingly, more of Telstras revenues will come from their operations overseas. They will continue to see customary innovations, two overseas and in Australia, that will change the way people work, learn, submit and receive information and entertainment. 21 In international growth, Telstras focus is on business fluids, data and Internet, particularly in the Asia and pacific Region, which is where it is felt that a good commercial score and experience there will help in realising opportunities for shareholders.Telstras investments in Asia have provided them with a platform for regional growth. 22 Downsizing erect simply, downsizing is the be after elimination of positions or jobs, and has ca used its ordinary share of sway surrounding companies in recent times that are displace off large numbers of workers and sacrificing customer service at the outlay of large profits and boosting investor confidence. 23Although historically, layoffs tend to expunge manufacturing firms and working(a) level workers in particular, the most recent pass of downsizing has cerebrate on delivering and eliminating bureaucratic structures, and hence, white collar midpoint managers have been those chiefly arrogateed. 24 Hence, firms such as Telstra should suspend excessive (cyclical) hiring to help reduce the need to engage in major or multiple downsizings.Beyond that, firms must avoid common mistakes such as making slow, small, frequent layoffs implementing voluntary early retirement programs that lure the best people to entrust or laying off so galore(postnominal) people that companys work can no daylong be performed. 25 Therefore, caution must be sought when laying off any amou nt of workers, as the company must maintain job satisfaction as a strength as well as be cogitate on customer service in order to avoid customer dissatisfaction and hence customers going to competitors. 26 Recommendations later on reviewing Telstra and comparing what they do with other business identical to theirs, I have put together a new and innovative way for Telstra to revitalise and take on their business, this will not tho improve customer service but also improve profitably as this will allow many processes to be completed much faster by not needing to deal with the vernacular mis misgivings and confusion associated with some of their services.At introduce Telstra could be said to be in two worlds that of the typical bureaucratic society, which often is seen in unrestricted sectors, and that of new applied science where by Telstra is highly knobbed with the introduce of new technology, barely in many ways these changes have results in more issues relating to peopl e not understanding how to use the new technology correctly, this not includes both employees as well as their clients. Such issues as these are common when new technology is introduced, yet with a business such as Telstra which already has a variety of customer service problems, this new technology has added to their worries.The only way that Telstra can castigate these issues is by combining them, to create new innovated ideas that not only still allow benevolent to human interaction but also makes better use of technology to not only improve customer service but also to speed it up. After considering the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to Telstra with regard to it, it is fair to gossip Telstra is well equanimous to continue to play a large part in the Australasian telecommunications market. While Telstra is by many standards a very flourishing company, much of that success lay behind government protection.However, with the deregulation of the telecommunicati ons market, the future is less certain for Telstra and more competition may threaten its market share and cause the company to improve its services. However, this should be viewed positively as an opportunity for Telstra to move forward, in particular expanding into Asia, and be seen as a company that can support itself. This increased competition will in time intend Telstras true strengths and weaknesses in the field of telecommunications and if the company can hold its place in the Australian telecommunications industry. Reference List reference Five Telstra Employees (They want to remain anonymous) Books Bateman & Snell, circumspection Competing in the unseasoned Era, McGraw-Hill Irwin, unused York, 2002 Kelly, J. (1969). Organizational Behaviour, the States Irwin McShane, S and Travaglione, T. (2003). Organisational Behaviour On The Pacific Rim, Sydney, McGraw-Hill Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter (2003). Management, tertiary Edition, Pearson Education Australia Rob bins, S. P. , Waters-Marsh, T. , Cacioppe, R. , and Millet, B. (1994). Organisational Behaviour. preeminent and Managing in Australia and rising Zealand. Sydney assimilator entrance hall Organisational Behaviour.Leading and Managing in Australia and New Zealand. Sydney Prentice mansion Sayles, L and Strauss, G. (1966). tender Behaviour In Organizations, USA Prentice Hall Websites Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex capitulum administrator Officer, Telstra association Limited. operablehttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? talk=22001 23/ 9/05. polish Terms, easy http//www. ots. treas. gov/glossary/gloss-m. html 24/09/05 market Strategy, obtainable http//www. tutor2u. net/business/gcse/marketing_strategy_introduction. htm 24/09/05 Telstra Facts http//www. absoluteastronomy. om/ encyclopedia/t/te/telstra. htm 24/09/05. Telstra respectable Too Good. procurable http//www. telstra. com. au/regulatory/ medicos/lr-104969Ziggy_ope_ed_struct_sep. mercantilism 25/09/0 5 Telstra Options. unattached http//www. telstra. com. au/telstraoptions/ 26/09/05 Telstra pile Ltd, History http//www. telstra. com. au/ corporal/index. cfm? tR=1 23/09/05. TLS, Telstra gage Ltd How we are campaign growth to build shareholders. open http//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_6. htm 23/09/05. TLS, Telstra quite a little Ltd 4 name Strategic Areas 2001. on tap(predicate)http//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_3. html 29/09/05. TLS, Telstra commode Ltd chairperson and chief operating officers heart 2001. openhttp//www. conect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_5. htm 24/09/05. TLS, Telstra Corporaton Ltd national retail 2001. on hand(predicate) http//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_8. htm 24/09/05. TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd How we are crusade harvest-feast to anatomy Shareholders. Availablehttp//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_6. htm 23/09/05 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia, Available http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marketing_research 24/09/05E Jour nals Brenner, O. C. , Singer, Marc G. Management Quarterly. Washington (1984). Vol. 25, Iss. 2, pg. 14 , 7 pgs (ProQuest database, ANU) Cooper, R. C. C. C. L. (2002) Does privatization affect corporate culture and employee upbeat? Journal of managerial Psychology, 17, 21 49 (ProQuest database, ANU) Dotson, L. (2004) 10 Ways To improve Your Customer Service E. C. Pasour, J. (1983) Privatization Is it the resolve? The Freeman Lovata, Linda M. MIS Quarterly. Minneapolis. Jun (1987). Vol 11. Iss. 2, pg. 147, 3 pgs (ProQuest database, ANU) Wettenhall, R.Privatization in Australia How Much and What Impacts? Canberra, Uni of Canberra. Simintiras, Antonis C. , Lancaster, Geoffrey A. Management Decision. London (1991). Vol. 29, Iss. 4, pg. 22, 6 pgs (ProQuest database, ANU) Note Assortments of lectures and tutorial notes have been used from Organisational Behaviour G. Appendixes SWOT Analysis of Telstra Strengths Weaknesses belligerent Pricing clownish Services Global disp osition of Competition competing overseas eg. South-East Asia Mobile address Coverage / Quality Internet memory access BigPond Home available across Australia for the costBroadband Access / Quality of a local call. Broadband ADSL CDMA communicate Coverage 97. 1% of Australian pop. Largest cellular mobile coverage in Australia Options to suit everyone Combining call off/Mobile/ Internet Bills Phone Range (Landline / Mobile) Directories color & Yellow Pages (standard / electronic) Opportunities Threats New / Innovative Products Increase in Competition (Optus, Vodafone, fulfil etc) Extend services & the market share of Telstra into other counties Lose of employment due to technology or cut cost measures up(p) and Expanding product and service offerings in Australia The government change the rest of Telstra (privatisation) 1 Telstra Facts http//www. absoluteastronomy. com/encyclopedia/t/te/telstra. htm 24/09/05. 2 History, Telstra Corporation Ltd h ttp//www. telstra. com. au/corporate/index. cfm? tR=1 23/09/05. 3 Bateman & Snell, op. cit, p. 53 4 Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief administrator Officer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Availablehttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23 kinsfolk 2005. 5 ibid 6 Telstra Just Too Good.Available http//www. telstra. com. au/regulatory/docs/lr-104969Ziggy_ope_ed_struct_sep. doc 25 folk 2005. 7 Bateman & Snell, Management Competing in the New Era, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, 2002, glossiness (G-2) 8 ibid 9 ibid 10 ibid p. 12 11 Bateman & Snell, op. cit, Glossary (G-7) 12 Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief executive director Officer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Availablehttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23 family line 2005. 13 ibid 14 TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd Domestic Retail 2001. Available http//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_8. htm 24 kinfolk 2005. 15 Bateman & Snell, op. cit p. 12 16 Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief Executive Of ficer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Availablehttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23 September 2005. 17 TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd How we are driving force Growth to Build Shareholders. Availablehttp//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_6. htm 23 September 2005. 18 Bateman & Snell, op. cit, Glossary (G-4) 19 Telstra Options. Available http//www. telstra. com. au/telstraoptions/ 26 September 2005. 20 ibid 21 Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief Executive Officer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Available ,- ? ? E ? I I c ) * + L M N ocUcUcUcEUcEc iPiPiPiPiPiPi1hchttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23 September 2005. 22 TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd How we are Driving Growth to Build Shareholders. Availablehttp//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_6. htm 23 September 2005. 23 Bateman & Snell, op. cit, Glossary (G-3) 24 ibid p. 283 25 TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd Chairman and CEOs nub 2001. Availablehttp//www. conect4. com. au/ar/01 /tls01_5. htm 24 September 2005. 26 Cooper, R. C. C. C. L. (2002) Does privatization affect corporate culture and employee wellbeing? Journal of managerial Psychology, 17, 21 49 (ProQuest database, ANU)TelstraBackground Telstra is a descendant of the Post Master Generals (PMG) Department of the Australian Commonwealth Public Service. In 1975 telecommunications and postal functions were divided into two statutory commissions Telecom Australia and Australia Post. Telecom Australia, the government-owned communications carrier, later merged with a much smaller government body, OTC, then responsible for international calls. Telecom rebranded itself as Telstra in the early 1990s. Telstra has faced competition since the late 1980s from competing providers.It retains ownership of the fixed-line telephone network, as well as one of two competing pay-tv and data cable networks. Other companies offering fixed-line services must therefore deal with Telstra. Competing telecommunication compani es have constantly incriminate Telstra of overcharging for wholesale access to their networks the ACCC has often agreed but decisions by the regulator are slow. 1 Current Situation Australias leading telecommunications and information Services Company, Telstra Corporation Ltd is well poised to deliver a high level of service in the highly competitive communications market in Australia and abroad.Telstras service offerings include Local, long-distance and international telephony services Mobile telecommunications services Data, Internet and online services Wholesale services to other carriers Telephone directories Pay television services Telstra employs approximately 40,000 staff and generates revenues of some US$18 billion in its most recent fiscal year. 2 SWOT Analysis After careful deliberation, a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities & threats) analysis was developed that was reflected in a selection of OB (Organisational Behaviour) Theories that demonstrate the general abilities and framework of Telstra.All of these theories will be explored further with regard to how they shape policies, provide direction or limit growth in relation to the SWOT analysis (Ref. to Appendix A). Issue Analysis Competition Competitors use tactics like price reductions, new product introductions, and advertising campaigns to gain advantage over their rivals. Competition is most intense when there are many direct competitors, when industry growth is slow, or when the product or service cannot be differentiated in some way. 3Competition is only a recent challenge for Telstra as it had government protection and maintained an effective monopoly of telecommunications in Australia for many years. However, with the recent deregulation of the market and the increase in players, Telstra has increasingly been threatened with higher competition from competitors. The increase of players in this market will surely cause customers to go shopping for the best deals, hence Telstra is being and will be forced further in the future to improve its image and offers so as to retain an effective market share.Thus said, the telecommunications industry has changed as global sentiment towards telecommunications has turned negative in recent years, and has come to the stage where the market currently rewards commercial discipline and conservatism within the industry. 4 In the corrections that has followed these events, plus the collapse of the dotcoms and tier 2 Telcos, and the investment rebalancing post the millennium bug era, an estimated 3 trillion US dollars has been wiped off the value of Telco stocks worldwide in the last two years.The Australian industry has not escaped this market reaction, or the pressure that accompanies a sudden slowdown in revenue growth from the exciting ride of the nineties. But in this reporting period so far, the Australian telecommunications industry sees a number of carriers earning reasonable revenues and showing some signs of profit improvement, and many are experiencing growth in customers and market share. Most significantly, the first five years of open competition in Australia have delivered considerable benefits for consumers lower prices, better service, more investment and innovation, and more choice. 5 According to Telstra staff, five years of open competition has also made Telstra a better company, a better competitor and a better servant of their customers. Telstra had to change and adapt, which they have and theyre now seeing the benefits. Still, Telstra must retain some level of strength and influence over the telecommunications market as several of Telstras competitors complain that Telstra as a company is too large. Supposedly, they cannot compete against Telstra due to its size, range of services, and nationwide coverage.Telstra is too powerful, and its competitors are calling for structural separation, and dismantling Telstra into smaller companies that would run the wholesale network and serve retail customers. 6 Cost Competitiveness Cost competitiveness is best described as keeping costs low in order to achieve profits and prices that are attractive to customers, in which Telstra can offer low prices by managing their costs and keeping them down. This means being efficient, accomplishing their goals by using their resources wisely, and minimizing waste. 7 With regard to cost competitiveness, Telstra is able to compete with the best in the market, although deregulation and the increase in telecommunications companies such as Optus and Vodafone are proving themselves as potential threats to Telstras dominance of the telecommunications market in Australia. Telstra continues to deliver on cost control. The cost performance of the company has been disciplined and underpins revenue performance. It is a prerequisite for success in providing value for their customers.Telstra also demand to take into consideration the challenge that sustained technological change creates for Au stralias telecommunications system. In additions, as a geographically vast country with a highly dispersed population, located at a great distance from its trading partners, Australia depends more heavily than other countries do on the quality, efficiency and innovativeness of its telecommunications system. As new technologies expand the benefits telecommunications can bring, Australians in particular, stand to gain from an environment that promotes prompt adoption and widespread use.Within three to five years, it is estimated the process of convergence will offer the greatest opportunities in this respect. Convergence, viewed from a technological perspective, refers to the process by which services that were previously supported over distinct communications infrastructures are integrated around a common, high capacity, digital platform. This brings with it the blurring of boundaries between once-distinct services and the entry of suppliers from previously separate markets into a no w combining and necessarily wider market place. 8From the consumer perspective, convergence brings clear gains. Reliance on a common infrastructure allows efficiencies to be obtained, reducing costs and charges. That infrastructures high capacity allows new services to be offered, extending the range of content and applications that consumers can access. At the same time, the merging of markets brings previously separated suppliers into head-on competition with all the benefits that competition yields. Although potentially a threat for Telstra as it may lose market share in particular areas, it is also an opportunity if it can take dvantage of lowering prices to attract more customers. This will depend on the strength of Telstras innovations in drawing customers attention, but also on way Telstra can uphold profits while lowering prices without staff cutbacks or branch closures. 9 It is against this backdrop that the impact of regulation needs to be assessed. By adding uncertainty to what is already a highly uncertain environment, the current regulation of access discourages investment both by Telstra and by Telstras competitors.At the same time, the bias in the direction of trying to set ever lower charges for access seekers, regardless of costs that has emerged in ACCC decision-making distorts price signals and expectations in ways inimical to efficient investment and to technological change. This lack of any internally consistent, rigorous approach by the ACCC to decisions such as these is, in Telstras view, unjustifiable. It is no defence to say, as the ACCC does in its most recent submission to the Commission, that overall Telstras PSTN is profitable.Even putting aside the absurdities evident in the manner in which the ACCC has reached this assessment, the ACCCs argument seems to imply that so long as Telstra is not going under, access pricing decisions can be taken without proper regard to their consequences for Telstras ability to recover costs and f inance investments. No doubt, this decision comes as a huge threat to Telstras competitiveness in the communications industry and Telstra is set to potential lose a large slice of the market share or shareholder confidence, depending on how the company responds to the announcement.The reality is that at the margin, Telstra must allocate its funds among competing uses in the light not of the short term or immediate profitability of the grouping of services they support, but of their return over the lifetime of the assets being acquired. Even if it were the case that Telstras PSTN was profitable in some economically relevant sense today, it is the future profitability of the service that counts and the ever strengthening competition in this area, combined with continued heavy-handed regulatory intervention, hardly makes investment in the CAN attractive when ompared to alternatives. No less importantly, the fact remains that the ACCCs decisions, by setting access charges below cost, ca nnot but distort and depress investment in regulated assets, as the return on that investment to Telstra is reduced below the return it yields to consumers and service suppliers as a whole. It is these impacts at the margin, rather than aggregate comparisons of costs and revenues, that are economically relevant. Quality Quality can be measured in terms of performance, additional features, reliability (failure or breakdowns), and conformance to standards, durability, serviceability, and aesthetics. In addition, the excellence of a product, including such things as attractiveness, lack of defects, reliability, and long-term dependability. defines the expectations that many people these days have of companies and consequently, the kind of service that Telstra endeavours to deliver. 10 The importance of quality, and standards for acceptable quality, has increased dramatically in recent years.Firms cannot get by offering poor quality products as they could a few years ago. Customers no w demand high quality and value, and generally will accept nothing less. 11 Telstras performance in regional and rural Australia is constantly under scrutiny. Telstra welcomes this scrutiny because the level of improvement in service levels and performance in regional, rural and remote Australia over the past two years has been dramatic. 12 In recognition of the special needs of regional customers, Telstra Country Wide was established in June 2000.According to Telstra, it was one of the best business decisions they ever took. Telstra Country Wide today services three million customers who account for more than $3 billion in revenue to Telstra, no doubt a strength in revenue for Telstra, although raises questions as to whether service is being reduced to make way for increased revenue. 13 Even so, remote customers can now make untimed local calls to community service towns hundreds of kilometres away, which better reflects the reality of life in rural Australia. Mobile coverage now reaches 97% of the population.To achieve this, Telstra has been working with the Federal Government to establish mobile services to smaller towns and to improve the quality of mobile connections nationwide. 14 Speed In the Information Age, speed is everything to nearly everyone, which makes it a priority for Telstra to deliver the kind of services that people expect. While Telstras services in rural Australia are often reported to be lacking in terms of connection times for phone and internet, as well as the ability of Telstra staff to respond to customer requests or complaints, new technologies are being sought that can reduce these problems.Hence, how fast can Telstra develop and get a new product to market? How quickly can they respond to customers requests? Telstra is far better off if they are faster than the competition and if they can respond quickly to their competitors actions. 15 Therefore, Telstra has seen an opportunity in this to respond to peoples needs and increasingl y has promoted broadband as a viable, effective and efficient way of ensuring speed in communications.Broadband is growing across Australia because people are attracted to faster download times and having a permanent online connection. 16 Broadband enables a high-speed permanent Internet connection. Its about faster Internet speeds, increased capacity and capabilities and more compelling content. A modem is needed, but there are no dial in access numbers to connect to. 17 Innovations Whether it is a change in technology a departure from previous ways of doing things or introduction of new products, innovation is something that most uccessful companies possess and use to further either market share or consumer satisfaction. Depending on Telstras competitiveness and creativity, innovation can be a huge opportunity in grasping larger market shares and customers, or it can be a threat if other companies are more innovative. Telstra has managed to use innovative ideas to shape its succes s and satisfy consumer demands, some of the latest innovations being the Homeline Plans, Telstra Rewards Options, Homelink 1800 and Telstra Mobile CDMA. 18 Homeline plans allows the customer to select options that best suit them, whether they have friends and family close by, in another state or another country and whether they make lots of calls every day or just a few each week, in order to bring about maximum savings. 19 Telstra Rewards Options gives the customer the chance to save 5% or 10% on their phone bill by combining their Telstra home phone, Telstra Mobile and Telstra BigPond, as well as having the added convenience of only one bill.Homelink 1800 makes it easy for a family member to call home and they dont need cash or special cards. 20 Telstra Mobile CDMA is used particularly in rural regions of Australia and offers call clarity and security network security lock background noise suppression and call clarity and security. Because CDMA uses a more sophisticated system of transmitting voice signals, the phone is not dissimilar to talking on a normal phone. Whats more, CDMA signals are almost impossible to decipher if they are intercepted by eavesdroppers, which means conversations are more secure.Increasingly, more of Telstras revenues will come from their operations overseas. They will continue to see popular innovations, both overseas and in Australia, that will change the way people work, learn, communicate and receive information and entertainment. 21 In international growth, Telstras focus is on business mobiles, data and Internet, particularly in the Asia and Pacific Region, which is where it is felt that a good commercial history and experience there will help in realising opportunities for shareholders.Telstras investments in Asia have provided them with a platform for regional growth. 22 Downsizing Put simply, downsizing is the planned elimination of positions or jobs, and has caused its fair share of controversy surrounding companies in re cent times that are laying off large numbers of workers and sacrificing customer service at the expense of large profits and boosting investor confidence. 23Although historically, layoffs tend to affect manufacturing firms and operative level workers in particular, the most recent cycle of downsizing has focused on delivering and eliminating bureaucratic structures, and hence, white collar middle managers have been those chiefly affected. 24 Hence, firms such as Telstra should avoid excessive (cyclical) hiring to help reduce the need to engage in major or multiple downsizings.Beyond that, firms must avoid common mistakes such as making slow, small, frequent layoffs implementing voluntary early retirement programs that entice the best people to leave or laying off so many people that companys work can no longer be performed. 25 Therefore, caution must be sought when laying off any amount of workers, as the company must maintain job satisfaction as a strength as well as be focused on customer service in order to avoid customer dissatisfaction and hence customers going to competitors. 26 Recommendations After reviewing Telstra and comparing what they do with other business similar to theirs, I have put together a new and innovative way for Telstra to revitalise and recreate their business, this will not only improve customer service but also improve productively as this will allow many processes to be completed much faster by not needing to deal with the usual misunderstandings and confusion associated with some of their services.At present Telstra could be said to be in two worlds that of the typical bureaucratic society, which often is seen in public sectors, and that of new technology where by Telstra is highly involved with the introduce of new technology, yet in many ways these changes have results in more issues relating to people not understanding how to use the new technology correctly, this not includes both employees as well as their clients. Such issue s as these are common when new technology is introduced, yet with a business such as Telstra which already has a variety of customer service problems, this new technology has added to their worries.The only way that Telstra can overcome these issues is by combining them, to create new innovated ideas that not only still allow human to human interaction but also makes better use of technology to not only improve customer service but also to speed it up. After considering the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to Telstra with regard to it, it is fair to comment Telstra is well poised to continue to play a large part in the Australasian telecommunications market. While Telstra is by many standards a very successful company, much of that success lay behind government protection.However, with the deregulation of the telecommunications market, the future is less certain for Telstra and more competition may threaten its market share and cause the company to improve its servic es. However, this should be viewed positively as an opportunity for Telstra to move forward, in particular expanding into Asia, and be seen as a company that can support itself. This increased competition will in time show Telstras true strengths and weaknesses in the field of telecommunications and if the company can hold its place in the Australian telecommunications industry. Reference List Interview Five Telstra Employees (They want to remain anonymous) Books Bateman & Snell, Management Competing in the New Era, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, 2002 Kelly, J. (1969). Organizational Behaviour, USA Irwin McShane, S and Travaglione, T. (2003). Organisational Behaviour On The Pacific Rim, Sydney, McGraw-Hill Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter (2003). Management, 3rd Edition, Pearson Education Australia Robbins, S. P. , Waters-Marsh, T. , Cacioppe, R. , and Millet, B. (1994). Organisational Behaviour. Leading and Managing in Australia and New Zealand. Sydney Prentice Hall Organisati onal Behaviour.Leading and Managing in Australia and New Zealand. Sydney Prentice Hall Sayles, L and Strauss, G. (1966). Human Behaviour In Organizations, USA Prentice Hall Websites Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief Executive Officer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Availablehttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23/ 9/05. Glossary Terms, Available http//www. ots. treas. gov/glossary/gloss-m. html 24/09/05 Marketing Strategy, Available http//www. tutor2u. net/business/gcse/marketing_strategy_introduction. htm 24/09/05 Telstra Facts http//www. absoluteastronomy. om/encyclopedia/t/te/telstra. htm 24/09/05. Telstra Just Too Good. Available http//www. telstra. com. au/regulatory/docs/lr-104969Ziggy_ope_ed_struct_sep. doc 25/09/05 Telstra Options. Available http//www. telstra. com. au/telstraoptions/ 26/09/05 Telstra Corporation Ltd, History http//www. telstra. com. au/corporate/index. cfm? tR=1 23/09/05. TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd How we are driving growt h to build shareholders. Available http//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_6. htm 23/09/05. TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd 4 Key Strategic Areas 2001.Availablehttp//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_3. html 29/09/05. TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd Chairman and CEOs Message 2001. Availablehttp//www. conect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_5. htm 24/09/05. TLS, Telstra Corporaton Ltd Domestic Retail 2001. Available http//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_8. htm 24/09/05. TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd How we are Driving Growth to Build Shareholders. Availablehttp//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_6. htm 23/09/05 Wikipedia Encyclopaedia, Available http//en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Marketing_research 24/09/05E Journals Brenner, O. C. , Singer, Marc G. Management Quarterly. Washington (1984). Vol. 25, Iss. 2, pg. 14 , 7 pgs (ProQuest database, ANU) Cooper, R. C. C. C. L. (2002) Does privatization affect corporate culture and employee wellbeing? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17, 21 49 (ProQuest database, ANU) Dotson, L. (2004) 10 Ways To Improve Your Customer Service E. C. Pasour, J. (1983) Privatization Is it the Answer? The Freeman Lovata, Linda M. MIS Quarterly. Minneapolis. Jun (1987). Vol 11. Iss. 2, pg. 147, 3 pgs (ProQuest database, ANU) Wettenhall, R.Privatization in Australia How Much and What Impacts? Canberra, Uni of Canberra. Simintiras, Antonis C. , Lancaster, Geoffrey A. Management Decision. London (1991). Vol. 29, Iss. 4, pg. 22, 6 pgs (ProQuest database, ANU) Note Assortments of lectures and tutorial notes have been used from Organisational Behaviour G. Appendixes SWOT Analysis of Telstra Strengths Weaknesses Competitive Pricing Rural Services Global Nature of Competition competing overseas eg. South-East Asia Mobile Phone Coverage / Quality Internet Access BigPond Home available across Australia for the costBroadband Access / Quality of a local call. Broadband ADSL CDMA Network Coverage 97. 1% of Australian pop. Largest cellular mobile coverage in Australia Options to suit everyone Combining Phone/Mobile/ Internet Bills Phone Range (Landline / Mobile) Directories White & Yellow Pages (standard / electronic) Opportunities Threats New / Innovative Products Increase in Competition (Optus, Vodafone, Transact etc) Extend services & the market share of Telstra into other counties Lose of employment due to technology or cut cost measures Improving and Expanding product and service offerings in Australia The government selling the rest of Telstra (privatisation) 1 Telstra Facts http//www. absoluteastronomy. com/encyclopedia/t/te/telstra. htm 24/09/05. 2 History, Telstra Corporation Ltd http//www. telstra. com. au/corporate/index. cfm? tR=1 23/09/05. 3 Bateman & Snell, op. cit, p. 53 4 Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief Executive Officer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Availablehttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23 September 2005. 5 ibid 6 Telstra Just Too Good.Available http//www. telstra. com. au/regulatory/docs/lr-104969Ziggy_ope_ed_struct_sep. doc 25 September 2005. 7 Bateman & Snell, Management Competing in the New Era, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, 2002, Glossary (G-2) 8 ibid 9 ibid 10 ibid p. 12 11 Bateman & Snell, op. cit, Glossary (G-7) 12 Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief Executive Officer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Availablehttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23 September 2005. 13 ibid 14 TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd Domestic Retail 2001. Available http//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_8. htm 24 September 2005. 15 Bateman & Snell, op. cit p. 12 16 Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief Executive Officer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Availablehttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23 September 2005. 17 TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd How we are Driving Growth to Build Shareholders. Availablehttp//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_6. htm 23 September 2005. 18 Bateman & Snell, op. cit, Glossary (G -4) 19 Telstra Options. Available http//www. telstra. com. au/telstraoptions/ 26 September 2005. 20 ibid 21 Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Ex Chief Executive Officer, Telstra Corporation Limited. Available ,- ? ? E ? I I c ) * + L M N ocUcUcUcEUcEc iPiPiPiPiPiPi1hchttp//www. telstra. com. au/newsroom/speech. cfm? Speech=22001 23 September 2005. 22 TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd How we are Driving Growth to Build Shareholders. Availablehttp//www. connect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_6. htm 23 September 2005. 23 Bateman & Snell, op. cit, Glossary (G-3) 24 ibid p. 283 25 TLS, Telstra Corporation Ltd Chairman and CEOs Message 2001. Availablehttp//www. conect4. com. au/ar/01/tls01_5. htm 24 September 2005. 26 Cooper, R. C. C. C. L. (2002) Does privatization affect corporate culture and employee wellbeing? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17, 21 49 (ProQuest database, ANU)