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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS ..........................................................................................................................................................2

Contents ............................................................................................................................................................................................... .2

OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................................................................................. ..2

METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................................................................................3

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ........................................................................................................................................................... ........ ...4

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ..................................................................................................................................... .........5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION -BUSINESS BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................11

Manage the existing products and services efficiently and economically, thus maximizing revenue....................................29

Increase the penetration of the existing products and services in the marketplace thus increasing customer base, and revenue.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................29

Research and conduct feasibility study for market demand, that is testing new products and services, prepare business plan,

terms and conditions of service, revenue assurance, mediation, billing, exchange support, and finally draw up product launch

plan .........................................................................................................................................................................................29

Package or bundling of products and services with other products managed by separate managers under the same department

i.e. to meet expectation, readiness of competition and differentiation of product and services offering customers loyalty and

sustaining customer needs and TFLs Revenue .....................................................................................................................29

OBJECTIVES

Study the nature and importance of strategic management process at Telecom Fijis Limited 2

Business departments - Contact Centre and Product Management Department.

Determine the strategies used by both Departments to achieve its Departmental goals, vision,

objectives and mission.

Whether the strategies implemented in the two Departments have successfully contributed to

the overall strategic plan of Telecom Fiji Limited.

How successful is the strategic management process of Telecom Fiji Limited;

Are there any significant gaps or lack of adherence to the strategic plan for the two

Departments;

What recommendations will be given for any deficiencies and the sustainability of the strategic

management functions?

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METHODOLOGY

Questionnaires- these will be prepared for the Staff involved at different levels from top to

the bottom for the different departments.

Face to Face interview- these would involve interviews with Management staff of TFL and

Team Leaders for the various departments involved in the implementation of the strategic

plans.

Observation- Thorough observation would be made in the contact centre, customer services

department. Team members will visit the Organisation to see how the Contact Centre and the

Product Management Department operate.

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Relevant documents in the area of study- would include studying process documents /

Annual reports, company business rules and any other relevant document which will help the

group in formulating the project

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We would like to thank the following people for their kind assistance, Guidance and contribution to

the completion of our major project.

Mr Satya Sami ( Lecturer) for providing overall guidance and assistance

Mrs Teresia Chief- Team Leader Call Centre for Telecom Fiji Limited

Mrs Finau- Team Leader Training Human Resources Department Telecom Fiji Limited

Mr Pravindra Shankar Manager Product Development Telecom Fiji Ltd

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DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY

We hereby declare that this project is original and to the best of our abilities. The Report was

compiled from proper methods of research and not a copy of any other works. Any information

obtained and used has been duly referenced throughout the contents of the Report.

Dharmendra Prasad ( S96000367)

Mohammed Maruf Khan ( S11031519)

Kavita Shah ( S11050160)

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Telecom Fiji Limited (TFL) is the sole provider of local landline network in Fiji and owns the only

public switched telephone network in Fiji. TFL headquarters is situated in Central business district of

Suva at Ganilau House. Today, Telecom Fiji Limited is one of Fijis major corporations in Telecom

Industry and its prestigious position has been achieved through the contribution of its Customers,

Shareholders, Employees and Board of Directors that have steered the company from

corporatization to privatization.

Telecom Fiji Ltd has stood by its vision statement which is The world at your fingertips by providing

cost effective, efficient and reliable means of communication any time to ensure customer

satisfaction but at the same time ensuring returns to its shareholders. Over the years the market

power held by Telecom Fiji Ltd was challenged by other upcoming competitors in the telecom

Industry since it was deregulated. Competitors like Vodafone, Digicel and Innk Mobile are major

competitors for Telecom and have affected the firms both environment and technology side. Over

the past years there has been an explosion of the mobile industry in Fiji which has resulted in

Telecom Fiji Ltd to work out strategies and venture into new markets to ensure it achieves above

average returns and sustains itself in the market.

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The major focus of this report on Telecom Fiji Ltd was based on its Customer Contact Centre and its

Product Management Team. It looked at the in-depth report of the two Departments Strategies which

were adopted in order to achieve the overall Strategic Goal of the Company. The objectives of the

strategy were to install a consistent framework which supports strategic management and allowed

the Management to make more informed decisions.

The Customer Contact Centre is responsible for the Sales & Support, Billing, Fault Reports and

General Inquiry. From our research it was noted that majority of the strategies implemented in that

Department was successful in terms of improving Customer Service whereby they were able to

achieve their service level targets and establish a 24 hour service help line. Staffs were also well

trained by external and internal trainers in terms of Customer Service Relations while counselling

sessions also improved overall customer interaction. However the major drawback of its strategies

was that there was lack of information flow noted from the product department to its Customer

Contact Centre resulting in poor Customer sales/advise over the phone. Another drawback noted in

this Department was their billing system which was introduced in 2009. It took a lot of time for staffs

to adjust to the new system since lack of training was noted from the external trainers and this

impacted on their Customer Service.

The Product Management Department held a vital role in Telecom (Fiji) Ltd as its objective was to

introduce new products in the market while at the same time sustaining the existing products to

ensure above average returns is achieved. Product Management team was able to achieve its

overall target on majority of its products but due to extreme competition in the mobile industry which

resulted in customers in switching from more landline line usage to mobile, this led to the product

management departments failure in some of its products. The major success of the Product

Department was its launching of the easy tel phone which raked in the most revenue while the

product which had a negative impact was the introduction Home Card. It was also noted thatinformation flow from the product department to the other departments was inconsistent but this was

improved and addressed by the current C.E.O. The overall strategies implemented at the two

departments have bought both positive and negative results for Telecom Fiji Ltd but overall it has led

to the success of TFL strategic plan.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

Telecom industry is about Goods and services. The telecommunications industry delivers

telephone, television, Internet, and other services to customers throughout the Globe. Providing the

primary means of communication to virtually all businesses, households, and individuals,

telecommunications firms supply an essential service to the global economy. In addition to offering

traditional services such as wired phone and cable TV, telecommunications companies also offer

services such as cellular phone, broadband and mobile Internet, and satellite TV, among others.

The telecommunications industry is divided into four main sectors: wired, wireless, satellite, and

other telecommunications establishments. The largest sector of the telecommunications industry

continues to be made up of wired telecommunications carriers. Establishments in this sector mainly

provide telecommunications services such as such as wired (landline) telephone, digital subscriber

line (DSL) Internet, and cable TV and Internet services. These organizations route TV, voice,

Internet, data, and other content over a network of wires and cables, and control access to this

content. They may own and maintain networks, share networks with other organizations, or leasenetwork capacity from other companies. Establishments in the telecommunications industry,

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however, do not create the content that is transmitted over their networks, such as TV programs. It

also includes direct-to-home satellite television distributors and a variety of other businesses.

Wireless telecommunications carriers provide telephone, Internet, data, and other services to

customers through the transmission of signals over networks of radio towers. The signals are

transmitted through an antenna directly to customers, who use devices, such as cell phones and

mobile computers, to receive, interpret, and send information. A large component of this industry

segment consists of companies that provide cellular phone service, which has grown rapidly over the

past decade. Another component includes establishments that deliver mobile Internet services to

individuals with Internet-enabled cellular phones and computers.

Satellite telecommunications establishments are made up mostly of government and private

organizations that transmit a variety of data through satellites, including photos of the earth,

messages to and from public safety officials, and a variety of other information. Direct-to-home

satellite TV providers, however, are classified with wired telecommunications.

Other sectors in the telecommunications industry include telecommunications resellers, as well as

operators of other communication services ranging from radar stations to radio networks used by

taxicab companies.

Recent developments: Telecommunications carriers are expanding their data transmission

capabilities, known as "bandwidth," by replacing copper wires with fibre optic cables. Fibre optic

cable, which transmits light signals along glass strands, permits faster, higher capacity transmissions

than traditional copper wire. In some areas, carriers are extending fibre optic cable to residential

customers, enabling them to offer cable television, video-on-demand, faster high-speed Internet, and

conventional telephone communications over a single line.

Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data

transmission and better Internet access in an effort to make them more competitive in a market that

includes wired Internet carriers. With faster connection speeds, wireless carriers can transmit music,

videos, applications, and other content that can be downloaded and played on cellular phones,

giving users mobile access to large amounts of data. In addition, as use of this mobile technology

increases, wireless companies continue to develop the next generation of technologies that will allow

even faster data transmission.

(http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs020.htm)

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Not long ago, the telecommunications industry was comprised of a club of big national and regional

operators. Over the past decade, the industry has been swept up in rapid deregulation and

innovation. In many countries around the world, government monopolies arere now privatized and

they face a plethora of new competitors. Traditional markets have been turned upside down, as the

growth in mobile services out paces the fixed line and the internet starts to replace voice as the

staple business.

Plain old telephone calls continue to be the industry's biggest revenue generator, but thanks to

advances in network technology, this is changing. Telecom is less about voice and increasingly

about text and images. High-speed internet access, which delivers computer-based data

applications such as broadband information services and interactive entertainment, is rapidly making

its way into homes and businesses around the world. The main broadband telecom technology

- Digital subscriber (DSL) - ushers in the new era. mobile networks.

Of all the customer markets, residential and small business markets are arguably the toughest. With

literally hundreds of players in the market, competitors rely heavily on price to slog it out for

households' monthly checks; success rests largely on brand name strength and heavy investment in

efficient billing systems. The corporate market, on the other hand, remains the industry's favourite.

Big corporate customers - concerned mostly about the quality and reliability of their telephone calls

and data delivery - are less price-sensitive than residential customers. Large multinationals for

instance, spend heavily on telecom infrastructure to support far-flung operations. They are also

happy to pay for premium services like high-security private networks and videoconferencing.

Telecom operators also make money by providing network connectivity to other telecom companies

that need it, and by wholesaling circuits to heavy network users like internet service providers and

large corporations. Interconnected and wholesale markets favour those players with far-reaching

networks.

http://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/telecom.asp

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INTRODUCTION -BUSINESS BACKGROUND

Telecom Fiji Limited (TFL) is the sole provider of local and national (trunk) telephony services, and

owns the only public switched telephone network in Fiji. TFL headquarters is situated in Central

business district of Suva and employees approximately 800 full time, Casual and contract staff. TFL

operates in the telecommunication Industry in Fiji. The TFL network consists of 62 telephone

exchanges throughout Fiji and Outer Island connecting more than 122,000 business and residential

customers. TFL provides and operates telecommunication services in Fiji under the provisions of the

Post & Telecommunications Decrees 1989. This license gives the company a monopoly on the

provision of network services, but the provision of telecommunication equipment is open to

competition. Today, Telecom Fiji Limited is one of Fijis major corporations. Its prestigious position

has been achieved through the contribution of its Customers, Shareholders, Employees and Board

of Directors that have steered the company from corporatization to privatization.

Brief History of Telecom Industry in Fiji

The telephone system was first introduced in Fiji in 1895 by the Colonial Sugar Refinery Company in

the early days of the sugar industry. In 1910 it was taken over by the Fiji Government to provide a

national telephone service. The system used then was called a magneto telephone system. In this

system both the exchange and the subscribers (customers) used hand generators. Telephones

needed to be wound or cranked to raise or call each other. The exchange used different codes,

which were long, and short rings to call subscribers.

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In 1930, another system was introduced called the central battery system. For this system, the

subscriber was raised by cranking the hand generators (still using codes).In 1952 the first fully

automatic exchange was installed in Suva and was called step by step or Strowger system,

named after Mr. Strowger, the man responsible for designing the system. The subscriber in this

system had to pick-up the handset and dial. Telephones with dials had to be used with this

exchange. In 1960 the Post & Telecommunications Department introduced Telex Machines.

In 1964 the first fully automated Crossbar Exchange was installed in Suva, which worked with the

same lines as the step by step exchange. Most towns in Fiji Were installed with this system. In 1984

the first fully digitized (fully electronic) Stored Programmers Control Electronic Exchange was

installed in Lautoka. On August 19, 1989, the Post and Telecommunications Decree was passed to

provide the legislative base for the corporatization process of The Post and Telecommunications

Department.

A private limited liability company called Fiji Post and Telecommunications Limited (FPTL) was

formed to acquire all the assets and liabilities of the government post and telecommunications

services. The transfer of business from government to the new company (FPTL) occurred on

January 1, 1990.

FPTL was responsible for all commercial activities and the government responsible for the control of

shares and regulation of the sector. Additionally, the presentation of a Post and Telecommunications

License gave the company exclusive rights on the provision of network services. The provision of

terminal apparatus was deregulated and opened to competition.

Six years later on July 1, 1996, FPTL split into two separate entities, Post Fiji Limited and Telecom

Fiji Limited. The separation recognized the current realities that the two services must be separated

to enable each to achieve its full potential as a profitable business. The privatization process for

Telecom Fiji Limited was advanced in March 1998 when Government created Amalgamated

Telecom Holdings Limited to hold all its TFL shares. On 16th December 1998 Government sold 49%

of its shares in Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Limited to the Fiji National Provident Fund, followed

by in September 1999 by sale of a further 2 % to give FNPF Controlling interest in ATH. Amalgamated

Telecom Holdings Limited (ATH) is the parent company of Telecom Fiji.

ATH was formally listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) on 18 April 2002.

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TELECOM (FIJI) LTD STRATEGIES

Corporate level strategy

A new corporate level strategy has been formulated recently as advised by the H.R manager but

could not be released to our group in order to be included in our research and final project.

Telecom Fijis Vision, Mission and Quality Statement provide the context for evaluating business

opportunities by describing the direction and scope of business activities. It also defines the

corporate philosophy and how Telecom Fiji will conduct it selves in business of opportunities, by

describing the direction and scope of the business activities.

Telecom Fiji Vision

The world at your fingertips is our new

Vision slogan, which is technology neutral,

And portrays TFL giving its customers global

Reach through their fingertips, be it

Telephony, internet or any future ICT

Communication Technology.

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Telecom Fiji Mission statement

We exist to provide cost effective, efficient

And reliable means of communication at

Any time from and to anywhere across the

Globe in a way that is seamless and

Maximizes customer satisfaction whilst

Optimizing returns to our shareholders.

Telecom Fiji Values

To go forward, henceforth, and inculcate

Our vision and mission into our new culture

We must embrace the following values;

1. Total Customer Focus

2. Taking Ownership of Problems

3. Flexible Empowerment

4. Uncompromising Ethics

5. Morally Courageous

6. Innovative

7. Commitment to a Shared Vision

8. Supportive Teamwork

Business Strategies

Business Level strategies for the Telecom Fijis 2 business arm (Contact Centre and Product

Management) have been designed as follows:

Our market strategies define and prioritize the market opportunities and threats faced by Telecom

Fiji through improving our understanding of customers needs. Recommendations will be made

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about target market segments along with appropriate market strategies, and the information provided

by marketing analyses which shall guide Senior Management in making decisions related to:

Entering or exiting a particular area of business

Allocating resources between business areas setting objectives for business areas

Setting strategies for business areas

Delivery (i.e. sales channels)

Telecom Fiji Limited- Contact Centre

Telecom Fiji Call Centre functions are defined as follows which was launched in 2001:

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Free Call

11 22 33

10/5/2010(c) TelecomFiji Limited3

Relationship Diagram

Call CentreProducts

CMC

OperationsBilling

CustomerCare

MIS

Q Master

CustomersResidential Corporate

Sales

SupportMarketing

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SALES & SUPPORT:

To handle all product enquiries including product types, description and charges

To handle customer enquiries on service delivery

To handle inbound telephone orders from existing customers

To up-sell and cross-sell value added products and services

To support promotional activity

To provide support to our Account Managers and Corporate Business Project Team

FAULT REPORTS

To correctly log faults from all customer groups

Pass on only Genuine Faults

To advise technical operations of faults and request action to fix the fault

Follow up with technical operations on progress

To advise the customer that technical operations have been advised of the fault

To contact the customer and check that fault has been fixed to their (customer)

satisfaction

BILLING:

Give billing information e.g. account balances, due dates and call details

Provide Extended Credit Arrangements for callers who qualify

Log disputes to be investigated

Arrange final billing or special reading

GENERAL INQUIRY:

To handle all general Telecom Fiji enquiries.

Telecom Call Centre handles an entire transaction, from a customers first call to the delivery of

products and services. Call Centre has emerged as the primary interface with customers and have

become a vital business instrument. Telecom Call Centre consists of computer savvy, trained staff,

which responds to customer queries promptly and politely. The Call centre is equipped with the state

of art telephony and computing technologies to assist the agents to handle calls and give correct

information.

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Teams of agents respond to as many as 100 calls per day, ranging from technical help,

order processing, product servicing, billing accounts and sometimes even

telemarketing.

Apart from assisting customers over the phone agents also respond to variety of Contact Media

Queries which are as follows: Interactive Voice Response, E-mail Response, Fax Response, Letter

Correspondence, Text Chat (Internet)

Contact Centre Vision Statement

Best in Service

To be a Best in Class Contact Centre

To reduce costs and inefficiencies

Provide Quality Communications

We will strive to build lasting relationships with our customers by building the quality around

the customers expectation

Making it Easier for People to keep in Touch

We will deliver excellence in customer service

Contact Centre Mission Statement

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Through the innovative use of people, process and technology; the Telecom Fiji Contact Centre will

strive to deliver excellence in customer service, building lasting relationships with our customers,

resulting in increased sales.

Strategies Adopted :

The Telecom Contact Centre has moved to being more customer and employee oriented than

before. This has been accomplished through:

By providing Customer Service Training to the Telecom Customer agents every 3

months. The training is conducted by: firstly in-house trainers from HR department.

Secondly the training is also provided by external trainers from TPAF, MI Quality

trainers from New Zealand in some instances providing short courses from USP.

Developing a customer centric and sales growth culture.

Understanding the customer needs through research that is by conducting customer

analysis (for residential and business) by calling and getting feedback on the service

provided.

Providing online customer feedback for complaints and other enquiries through contact

centre incoming mail.

By providing the contact centre staff with the best telephone equipment which assists

them in assisting the customer over the phone in the most effective and the efficient

way.

To employ 15-20 part time Customer Service Representatives to handle the call traffic

in the peak period. While full time employees are given day offs for extra hours worked

instead of paying them overtime.

Part time customer representatives are trained by in- house trainers rather than

external trainers.

Coaching - the major part of the Team Leaders day is coaching of the CSRs. This

takes the form of one to one coaching (formal), budding (sitting next to the CSR whilst

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on the telephone). Silent monitoring is an essential part of the Team Leaders daily

function.

Hard measurement is done which is evaluation of recorded calls whereby the

passing mark rate is 85%.Here the Customer Service Representatives calls are

recorded and it is evaluated by the Team Leaders.

In peak times Contact Centre handle well over a 1000 calls an hour. Customer

Service Representatives are given average time for 1.5 minutes to answer the calls for

the customers. If the customers call is not attended to then a recorded message is

relayed to the customer whereby he can leave his query which will be attended to by

the Customer Service Representative later.

Premier Service customers would be able to access all services offered by the Call

Centre via a single number, (this would exclude operator services and directory

enquiries). Callers would be greeted by an IVR menu, which would then route the call

to an appropriately skilled CSR.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS OF CONTACT CENTRE

The external environment consists of 3 segments which are general, industry and the competitors

environment. The opportunities may represent the conditions in this environment that may be helpfulfor the company to achieve strategic competitiveness by presenting with its possibilities and threats

maybe the condition that may hinder the company to achieve its goal of strategic competitiveness. In

todays turbulent global environments its important for a firms manager to analysis the external

environment in order to information to identify its threats and opportunities that may hinder or help to

achieve its goals of strategic competitiveness.

GENERAL ENVIRONMENT

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This environment is basically composed of the broad society that can indirectly influence the industry

and the firms within the industry. Some sources that can be used to gather information on this

environment can be achieved through publications, observations, conversations with customers,

suppliers and the employees. The following are the segments that make up this environment:

Demographic segment: this segment basically is concerned with the age structure,

population size, geographical distribution, ethnic makeup and the distribution of

income. (Telecoms Contact Centre basically deals with all age groups of people all

over Fiji and their reach with the population is more than half million. It is located in the

heart of Suva City Ganilau House. Telecom Contact centre is used by everyone

including residential and business sector and there is no ethnicity barriers as it

considers every ones culture. Telecom contact centre reaches all location in Fijiincluding all Islands in Fiji basically Telecom has coverage all over Fiji

100%.Telecom Contact Centre also deals with all ethnic groups (with majority being

Fijians and Indo-Fijians) of people all over Fiji reaching with all types of people with

different levels of income.)

The Political and Legal barriers: these are basic areas where companys and other

interest groups compete for attention, voice and overseeing the bodies that provide

guidance for the interaction amongst nations. (Recently one of the ways government

has influenced is by imposing the telephone decree for compulsory telephone

registration which requires all residential business and corporate to have their

telephone registered to avoid disconnection. Once the above decree was imposed the

call volume increase and telecom Contact centre recruited 25 part- time staff to answer

all the queries and help in data entry registration the deadline given by the

government was 2 months. It was also seen during the 2006 coup which led to political

instability and spoiling the countries reputation and also having direct impact on the

Telecom Contact centre. The telecom network was monitored. Also after the coup

there was unemployment in the country which led reduction in the new connection and

consumers took their time to clear the bills - that was direct effect on the company.

Economic segment: this segment refers to the nature and direction of the economy in

which the firm or company is competing in and its a must for analysis to scan, monitor,

forecast and access key economical factors such as, inflation rates, budget deficits and

surplus. The implications of trends in this segment may also affect the political/legal

both domestically and in global markets. (The economy plays a vital role in Telecom

Contact Centres day to day operations whereby they handle large volumes of queries

everyday both in the Residential and Business Sector. Political instability leads to

down turn in the economy which led to fewer new connection lines for Telecom Contactcentre while business and residential customers became cost conscious service was

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not used at that potential level. The current recession was also affected the Contact

Centre which led to the redundancy of staff as Telecom was trying to maintain its

operating costs)

The socio- cultural segments: The socio-culture segment is considered to be

important since the attitude and values of societies also reflect the societys economic,

demographic, political and legal, and the technological segment.

(Our research revealed that there was almost a balance of workforce composition in

the cultural backgrounds of the Telecom Contact Centre. As per our research analysis

80 % staffs in Contact Centre are females while the rest are males. This workforce is

made up of people of all cultures and ethnic group. The retirement age for staff in

contact centre is 55 years of age.

Technological segments: this segment is considered as the key driver of new competitivelandscape since technological changes can have a broad effect on the society. It basically includesinstitutions and activities that are involved to creating new knowledge and translating that knowledgeinto outputs, i.e. new software technology. (In Telecom Contact Centre changed its IT Softwarefrom Q Master System to Mitel System which is more advanced in reporting terms- wherebyinformation technology support were required to submit individual reports to their Team Leaders andmanagers. By introducing this new system the Team Leader is able to generate individual reportrather than requesting reports from the information technology team. The billing software was

changed in the year 2010 in order to me more competitive with other stake holders .At the same timethe software was more advance in terms of processing information ( that is less time is taken toanswer the clients query and meet the customers demand in efficient and effective way.

INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

This environment is basically where a group of firms close substitute with each other try to competefor market shares and the strategies implemented has an influence on each other and firms toimplement competitive strategies in order to achieve strategicCompetitiveness and above-average returns. The industry segment also has a direct on thestrategic competitiveness and firms profitability unlike the general environment which has a indirecteffect. The industry and individuals firms profitability and the intensity of competition in and industryare the function of the Porters five competitive forces that consists of threat of new entrance, Powerof suppliers, Power of buyers, Product substitutes, and Intensity of rivalry.

Threat of new entrants: In terms of the Service Providers for landlines Telecom Fiji has theMonopoly market. Basically in terms of landline market share Telecom has the upper hand in themarket. But in terms of Wireless communication which is use of mobile phones Telecom contactcentre is losing its new connection sales for landlines numbers as customers are now switching to

mobile phones from other service providers such as Vodafone and Digicel. In terms of providingcustomer service plans are underway to outsource Telecom Contact Centre to ATH to save

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operating cost and make it more effective and efficient however the new CEO is currently doing thecosting analysis to determine whether its profitable for telecom to outsource the telecom contactcentres core functions.

Intensity of rivalry: here the competition is basically based on prices, quality or innovations. Theintensity of rivalry in an industry determines the extent that theFirm will compete with each other in order achieve strategic competiveness andEarn above-average returns. Telecom Contact centre does not have any rivalry because it is theonly contact centre for its organization and it does not compete with other contact centre. Howeverthere is a possibility as mention earlier that contact centre for telecom could be outsource as othercontact centres are slowly establishing in Fiji as approved by Government to way options on costs.

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

Internal analysis adopts the position that the resource-based model of competitive advantage maybe the key to a firms ability to achieve strategic competitiveness, by treating each firm as a bundleor set of heterogeneous resources and capabilities. Internal environmental analysis refers to theenvironment within the firms internal organizations, operations where performance can be determinein terms of resources, core competencies, capability and resource quality. Analyzing the internalenvironment enables a firms to identify what it can do or is capable of doing some of thecomponents of internal analysis leading to competitive advantage and strategic competitiveness area firms tangible resources, it capabilities (teams or bundles of resources) represent sources of corecompetencies, when exploited and nurtured (and valuable, imperfectly imitable, rare and non-substitutable), core competencies are potential sources of competitive advantage and if a firm is ableto use its core competencies to achieve a competitive advantage, it will achieve strategiccompetitiveness and earn above-average returns so long as competitors are unable or unwilling toimitate them successfully. The relationships between resources, capabilities and core competenciesrepresent potential sources upon which a firm can build the foundation for a sustainable competitiveadvantage.

Resources

Resources are basically by which the firm has to work that represents inputs into a firms production

process, such as capital equipment, the skills of individual employees, brand names, financialresources talented managers i.e. its assets, including its people and the value of its brand andvariety of individual, social and organizational phenomena. These resources can be divided intotangible and intangible resources.

Tangible resources

Tangible resources are assets that can be seen or quantified, such as a firms physical assets.Telecom Contact Centre resources generally can be placed into one of four categories

1 Financial resources - The tangible resources for Telecom Contact Centre

were its Money capital and its investments.

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2 Physical resources - Some of these resources in contact centre are

computers, chairs, gyms, breakout room (relaxing sofa, fridge, TV) conference

room. Table, telephone and telephone headsets.

3 Technological resources - these resources were in terms of telecom contact

centre internal website( intranet) that include s all information about the

company, customers, product pricing, stakeholders that is connect and Xceed

product information. Other websites Are Transtel website where all the prepaid

card information is check online and directory website where all the directory

information is downloaded. Recently web self car is about to be launched

where the customers can check their bill online.

4 Organisational resources - They basically used a centralised decision making

with formal planning, controlling and its co-coordinating systems. Manager

telecom contact centre is involved in decision making with the respective 3

team leaders that is team leader (corporate & business), Residential and

operator services.

Intangible Resources

A firms intangible resources may be less visible, but they are no less important. In fact, they may bemore important if a firm expects to achieve a competitive advantage Telecom Contact Centreintangible resources can be classified as:

Human resources - this basically consists of resources such as knowledge, trust and managerialcapabilities. Contact Centre employees approximately 70 staffs who are well trained to providespecialised services to customers and all well skilled in order to meet its Contact Centre Servicetargets. The employees are also given opportunities to further develop their skills by allowing them toattend workshops; giving them chances to further there study at TPAF, FNU and USP. Contactcentre also provides other incentives to retain its employees by giving them bonus packages, andgiving medical schemes for contract staff. Workshops and group meetings are also conductedmonthly in order for the staff to share their knowledge which can lead to the creation of additionalknowledge and contributes to the overall performance/improvements for the Contact Centre.

Innovation resources - this includes resources such as scientific capabilities and capacity to

innovate. . The innovative side includes its research and development teams who are responsibleto conduct market surveys and to fully utilize the opportunities that may be available to them and tomake sure that the Contact Centre Services are fully meeting the customers needs or anyimprovement that can be further added in the Service of the Contact Centre is to be highlighted. Theresults are provided by the research and development team to contact centre to improve on certainservices.

Reputation resources - these are resources such as the firms reputation with customers orsuppliers.The company has a good reputation in the market for meeting the customers needs on time andalso well recognized throughout the pacific region since it the only landline provider in the region.

Capabilities

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The capabilities of Telecom Contact Centre are developed over time as a result of complexinteractions that take advantage of the interrelationships between the firms tangible and intangibleresources that are based on the development, transmission and exchange or sharing of informationand knowledge as carried out by the firms human capital. The knowledge possessed by theTelecom Contact Centres human capital was one of the most significant sources of the firms

competitive advantage. It was found that managing knowledge at Telecoms Contact Centre wascritical since they viewed this as their primary source of competitive advantage and believe it shouldbe used in ways that will create value for customers and hence maintain their reputation.

SWOT ANLAYSIS FOR TELECOM CONTACT CENTRE

Strengths

Being in the monopoly market (Looks after only Telecom Customers) - there is no strong competitorin the contact centre environment.

Expansion- recently Telecom Contact Centre has built a new building with modern facility for theStaff- contact centre environment motivates the staff.

Just recently Telecom Contact Centre upgraded its soft systems unicorn billing system which helpedthem to save time and better compete with its competitors by providing superior services to itscustomers.

They had a very good human capital in terms of skills, knowledge, experience and values thathelped them to better utilize the scare resources and also to maintain its customers by providingsuperior services to its customers.

The Telecom Contact Centre had its own internal website that allowed customers and as well staff toview the products and other information.

For directory enquiry call contact centre is charging 0.50 cents per call from 2009 which isgenerating revenue now, before directory enquiry was free of charge.

Weakness

Centralized decision making was a reason for employees not performing well since they

thought that they didnt had any say in the decision making processes and thus didnt

motivate the employees at all. Telecom Contact Centre the empowerment is given to

manager and the team leaders.

Service to outer islands should be upgraded often, for better communication.

The text platform should be upgraded

False promises by some contact centre staff via telephone causes confusion to some

customers

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The Telecom Contact Centre staff work in their respective team example residential team,

business team and corporate and government team the performance measurement system

is measured on individual basis and not for the team performance.

There should be more Fijian and Indian operators as some customers do not understand

English that well. Also if contact centre can get some Chinese and Rotuman Operators

Opportunity

The major opportunity that contact centre is going to launch is the self web care billing system

where the customers can check their bill online. That is the new technology that is in the

process to be launch soon and contact centre will able to meet customers expectation andcan provide excellent service.

Telecom Fiji has sign a three year contract with MI Quality a New Zealand base training

company to provide quality training for Telecom Contact Centre staff. Trainer from New

Zealand will come and train the staff.

Another opportunity that they may have is to get in partnership with a other firm such as FEA

and Fiji Water authority to establish a national contact centre and this way staff will be multi

skilled not by knowing by telecom product but also other products . The new business

opportunity is there to maximise profit.

Threats

New competitors also been the threat for them since ATH is about to open a contact centre in

Fiji and ATH Contact Centre will offer other services apart from telecom service. It is a threat

that Telecom Contact Centre might be outsource to the new company if the revenue target is

not achieved.

Government political stability- Recently government has pass the telephone decree for the

compulsory registration of telephone line and hence the call volume has increase for contact

centre - staff are doing double shift to meet customers expectation and the overtime cost has

been increasing and its exceeds the budget.

Telecom contact centre can be outsourced as government has opened the market for other

operators in the telecom market to establish telecom contact centre and open a telecom

market.

Evaluation of Contact Centre Strategies

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Through employing the above mention strategies to their department the Contact Centre Department

were able to:

Achievements to-date: achieve the standard target that was set for contact centre that

is to build a good rapport with the customer and build a good working relationship with

the customer.

Established single point of contact: 112233 helpline was the main contact number for

the customers regarding their complaints and queries. Also the service is provided 24

hours. Staffs are working 7 days a week. Mostly 90% customers use this helpline

number for the telecom service.

On-going monitoring of service levels- Grade of service report is generated everyday and the

service level is monitored daily to improve the overall service level target. There is frequent

meeting with the manager and the team leaders regarding the service level. Telecom Contact

centre is very consistent in achieving the service level target.

Up-sold additional Telecom Fiji products and services where possible: cross selling is

done by customer service reps and also telemarketing is done on certain product and

services.

Established a new working culture: networking is important with other internal

stakeholders such as sales and marketing, technical team, network team in order to

provide correct information to the customers. Contact centre needs to serve the

internal customers as well (that is other departments of telecom). Fault query support is

done by the technical team.

Get more employees support and co-operation by motivating the employees, giving promotion items

to the employees, send employees for training. Give chance to the employees to participate in the

companys social event. Staff getting more skilled through in house and external training and have

gained more product knowledge and excellent communication skills to serve their customers with a

smile and be one stop shop for the telecom customers. By having a coaching and counselling

session with the employees it makes a great improvement on the employees performance.

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Through the introduction of new technology Mitel software (how the calls are distributed to the

staff) and unicorn software (new billing software of Telecom Fiji, Contact centre is able to gain more

customer support and it makes work easier and faster.

The introduction of rewards has allowed employees to be more enthusiastic and motivated towards

their work. Monthly best staff award (certificate and the prize money is given to the employees

regarding their best performance .Employees are commended for the excellent service (name with

the photo id is published in the contact centre internal newsletter

Drawback of Telecom Contact Centre Strategy

The work process is not adhered by all the contact centre staff .Team Leaders and managers should

discipline staff when the Telecom Contact Centre work process is not adhered by the team

members.

All the customer service reps should speak one language that is to give accurate information

regarding the query, the reason some team members do not give accurate information because they

do not read the intranet (where the updated information regarding telecom services and products are

downloaded) and also at times there is poor turn out in the team meeting and product presentation

session.

The software technology for the billing system was a major drawback because there were lot of

changes in thesoftware especially where the billing invoice was generated. Once the system went

life in January 2009, due to lack ofknowledge that was provided by the external trainers from India,

staffs were bit slow to adapt the new software and customer service reps took time to answer the

customers query. The talk time was more than 1.5 minutes.

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

The product department looks after launching new product in the market by doing market research

and the main aim is to get above average return. Apart from launching new product in the market the

product team also looks after the new telecom service example using a pin code to bar the

international and mobile calls. A monthly rental is charged and if we get more customer who want

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this service there will be more revenue for the section and as well as for the company. We have

listed some of the products for Telecom Fiji Limited.

EasyTel a Handi Dual Mode phone is a mobile handset that supports two different types of

mobile technologies for making and receiving calls, these being GSM and CDMA. These

phones are equally compatible with both GSM and CDMA networks and are essentially 2

phones in one device.

Allows the use of a UIM Card & SIM Card in one phone to allow customers to make & receive

calls on their Easytel & Mobile numbers.

Homecard service provides access or authorization to make calls when you are away from

your normal telephones and charge calls to your monthly bills. This service is making

communications easy.

EasyTel wireless phone: this product is for those customers who live in the rural areas where

Telecom Fiji Cannot provide the landline and there is no cable in certain areas in Fiji.

The Primary Functions (objectives) of the Product Management Team are as follows:

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Manage the existing products and services efficiently and economically, thus maximizing revenue.

Increase the penetration of the existing products and services in the marketplace thus increasing

customer base, and revenue.

Research and conduct feasibility study for market demand, that is testing new products and services,

prepare business plan, terms and conditions of service, revenue assurance, mediation, billing,

exchange support, and finally draw up product launch plan

Package or bundling of products and services with other products managed by separate managers

under the same department i.e. to meet expectation, readiness of competition and

differentiation of product and services offering customers loyalty and sustaining customer

needs and TFLs Revenue .

KEY MARKET SEGMENTS AND ITS STRATEGIES

Source: Telecom Fiji Marketing Department

The above pyramid shows Market which was re-segmented in order for Product Management

Team to know who their customers are and from which segment they would be getting their

most revenue so that products can be designed accordingly. Industry types were simplified

and targets were all communications services users, including residential, business and

wholesale. Key areas are Corporate, Government, , Residential and Wholesale.The above

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pyramid also illustrates that the most revenue is generated from top 200 corporate

customers. Product package is designed in line with their needs. Any new product brought in

the market is displayed and presented to the corporate level customers in a personalized

manner. Also sales manager is assigned to look after the top 200 customer needs and make

customer visitation. Also there is back support team to answer all the service restoration and

other queries. The customers at the most bottom of the pyramid brings less revenue but the

customer base is very large geographically scattered throughout the country. The debt level

for residential customer is so high that it was affecting the revenue of telecom in general.

Strategies adopted by the product management team

For each product before it is launched in the market the product specialist conducts theproduct example (Easy Tel dual phone) to the customer services staff because the frontline

staff needs to promote the product to the customers. The product specialist needs to give all

the information and features about the product.

For the services that is provided by the product management team is that the product

manager needs to forecast the budget and also study the market segments and do a

calculation for the rental fee income before the customers know about the services.

All product and services investigation and research needs to be done looking at the current

market situation and the customer preferences and taste. We need to value the customers

Advertisement in the media needs to be done in a proper way so that customers can show

their interest in buying the certain products and services.

The promotion of the products and services :The product management team runs promotion

for cheap call rates during Diwali , Christmas Easter weekend or on fathers day as the

assumption is done that customers make a lot of calls during the festive season.

For the top 200 corporate customers the product management team invites them to cocktailparties and also gives them complementary tickets to watch rugby and soccer and also

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distribute company t- shirts and caps with telecom product information. The product manager

with the help of sales manager also goes extra mile to promote company products and

services to attract customers. Customers are the main source of revenue for the product

team.

The product manager and the product specialist needs to study the current market situation ,

first of all who is our customers and also study the competitive market for example what is the

customer base of Digicel , Voda phone and ink.

Greater public awareness on per call charge in the region.

Amnesty period for all disconnected easytel handi customers. This is to get the customers

back.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS OF CONTACT CENTRE

1) GENERAL ENVIRONMENT

The following are the segments that make up this environment:

Demographic segment: this segment basically is concerned with the age structure,

population size, geographical distribution, ethnic makeup and the distribution of

income. (Product Management Department is located at Suva City at Ganilau House.

This Departments scope is on all Business and Residential Customers out of which

65% is Business Customers and 35% is residential customers with no ethnicity barriers

and its major customers are Fijians and Indo- Fijians).

The Political and Legal barriers: these are basic areas where companys and other

interest groups compete for attention, voice and overseeing the bodies that provide

guidance for the interaction amongst nations. (Most of the products are imported from

overseas countries such as China, Korea and Japan hence the tariff and tax levied

by the government plays an important role in the Product Department. Also due to the

current political instability it affected the Sales figures for the Product Department

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especially in the Residential market whereby the turnover sales of new products and

existing was slow).

Economic segment: this segment refers to the nature and direction of the economy in

which the firm or company is competing in and its a must for analysis to scan, monitor,

forecast and access key economical factors such as, inflation rates, budget deficits and

surplus. The implications of trends in this segment may also affect the political/legal

both domestically and in global markets. (The economy also plays an important role in

the Product Management Department. If the economy is healthy then more products

will be sold thus more returns for the company. However the major influence the

Department faced was the recent devaluation of the Fijian Dollar which lead the

company paying more for its imports since the Fijian Dollar was weakened in relation to

other currency)

The socio- cultural segments: The socio-culture segment is considered to be important

since the attitude and values of societies also reflect the societys economic,

demographic, political and legal, and the technological segment.

(Our research revealed that the workforce composition in the Product Management

Department was 70% males while 30% were female from different cultural

backgrounds. As per our analysis 80% of the staff in the Contact Centre is females

while the rest are males. The retirement age for staff in the Product Department is 55

years of age.

Technological segments: this segment is considered as the key driver of new competitive

landscape since technological changes can have a broad effect on the society. It basically

includes institutions and activities that are involved to creating new knowledge and translating

that knowledge into outputs, i.e. new software technology. (Product Management Team tries

constantly to adapt to the latest technological innovation in order to make its Products

Marketable. Firstly the product Easy Tel was introduced in the market for customers whereby

the Telecom Landlines were not available (Interior Location) or was hard for the Technicians

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to run Telecom Landlines. Easytel allowed customers to carry their Landline any where even

while travelling it provided a service of wireless network. Advancement in technology is the

introduction of the Easy Tel Dual Phone whereby it gives the customer the access of having

his Easy Tel number and mobile number on one device thus giving the convenience of

keeping in touch on both numbers. Another new technology improvement is the introduction

of the Customer Relationship Management System Program whereby it allowed the Product

Management staff to enter correct sales figures and get accurate reports generated for

Revenue reporting purposes.

INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

Threat of new entrants: The major competitor for the Product Management Department is

Vodafone, Digicel and Innk Mobile. These major competitors have an upper hand in providing

wireless services which is why they have the bigger market share in terms of providing mobile

communication and internet service. Due to the inclusion of these new Companies revenue for the

Product Department has decreased by 30% per year.

Power of Suppliers: The major importer for Product Management Department is located in China

and Korea. This international firm can easily fluctuate its prices or quality or quantity of its products.

The reason for buying from China and Korea is because their mark-up is low thus allowing for a

greater profit margin. If products are bought from Australia or New Zealand Product Management

Team would have to increase its mark-up which could result in less revenue.

Power of Buyers: From our research it was revealed that a huge proportion for customers were

involved in buying the product called Easy Tel. This product brought the major revenue for the

Product Department as it accounted for a significant portion of the Departments revenue. Here we

can say if the customers switch from easy tel to another project it would drastically affect the product

department as buyers hold the power for their major product which is a major contributor to their

revenue.

Threat Product Substitutes: Our research showed that the major threat of substitute was

products offered by its Competitors which are Vodafone, Digicel and Innk Mobile. These competitors

are able to provide similar products that the Product Department is able to provide Example

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Internet Service which is being provided by Connect is now available on Mobile Phones at a cheaper

cost.

Intensity of rivalry:

From our research it was found that the major rivals for the Product Management was Vodafone,

Digicel and Innk Mobile. Since the competitors had an upper hand in Wireless technology the

Product Management Team sought to differentiate its product in order to stay in competition and

earn above average returns. Bringing in the Easy Tel product which allowed the user to carry its

landline number virtually anywhere while travelling in Fiji.

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

Ressources

Resources are basically by which the firm has to work that represents inputs into a firms production

process, such as capital equipment, the skills of individual employees, brand names, financial

resources talented managers i.e. its assets, including its people and the value of its brand and

variety of individual, social and organizational phenomena. These resources can be divided into

tangible and intangible resources.

Tangible resources

Tangible resources are assets that can be seen or quantified, such as a firms physical assets.

Telecom Contact Centre resources generally can be placed into one of four categories

Financial resources - the tangible resources for the Product Management were its Money capital

and its investments.

ii. Physical resources - some of these resources in Product Management

Department are computers, chairs, gyms, breakout room (relaxing sofa, fridge,

TV ) conference room. Table, telephone and telephone headsets. While each

and every staff are given Laptops and Company Vehicles.

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iii. Technological resources - these resources were in terms of telecom Product

management team internal website( intranet) that include s all information about

the company, customers, product pricing, stakeholders that is connect and

xceeds product information. The sole distributor for brother fax machine was

Telecom product management team but due to open monopoly market other

companies are now also selling the same product. Currently there is no

copyright product for Telecom Product management team.

iv. Organisational resources - All the staff in the product department report to the

product department manager who is closely assisted by the product analyst.

The product manager reports directly to the general manager while other staffs

are not empowered to directly liaise with other departments.

Intangible Resources

Product management department intangible resources can be classified as:

Human resources - Contact Centre employees approximately 10 staffs who are well trained and

specialised to meet the targets of the Department. The employees are also given opportunities to

further develop their skills by allowing them to attend workshops at TPAF, Datec while staff is also

sent to countries like Australia and New Zealand for overseas training in order to enhance their skills

in Product Department. Product Management Department also provides other incentives to retain its

employees by giving them bonus packages, medical insurance, PDAS, and Vehicles. Workshops

and group meetings are also conducted fortnightly in order for the staff to share their knowledge

which can lead to the creation of additional new products while contributing to the overall

performance/improvements of the Product Management Department.

Innovation resources - this includes resources such as scientific capabilities and capacity to

innovate. The innovative side includes its research and development teams who are responsible to

conduct market surveys and provide the data to the Product Department to make sure that the

Product Department is fully utilised and meeting customers needs or any improvement that can be

further added is to be highlighted.

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Reputation resources From our research it was revealed that the product departments reputation

is basically linked with the products it is able to develop. Example the renowned Easy Tel product

which is doing quite well in the market and it carries Telecom (Fiji) Ltd name with it.

Capabilities

The capabilities of the Product Department are developed over time as a result of complex

interactions that take advantage of the interrelationships between the firms tangible and intangible

resources that are based on the development, transmission and exchange or sharing of information

and knowledge as carried out by the firms human capital. The knowledge possessed by the

Product Department human capital was one of the most significant sources of the firms competitive

advantage. It was found that managing knowledge at Product Department was critical since they

viewed this as one of their primary source of competitive advantage and believe it should be used in

ways that will create value for customers and hence maintain their reputation.

Core Competencies

The Product Departments core competencies are its unique well trained Human Resource. This has

led to development of many innovative products out of which one is doing currently well which is

Easy Tel. Also one of the Core Competencies of the Product Management Department is that its

Telecom line which it manages and holds competitive advantage over its rivals since it is the only

Landline network provider. The landline network is costly to imitate that is it would take a lot of

investment by a firm to set up the network.

SWOT ANLAYSIS FOR TELECOM PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Strengths

Product management team are well versed with their customers needs which allow them to create

value for their customers. Example 80% of Product Management products are bought by top

corporate customers from Telecom Fiji Ltd.

Just recently product management team upgraded its customer relationship management system

software called CRM (Customer Relationship Management) which helped them to save time and

better compete with its competitors.

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They have a very good human capital in terms of skills, knowledge, experience and values that

helped them to better utilize the scarce resources and also to maintain its customers by providing

superior services to its customers.

The Product Management Team had its own internal website that allowed customers and as well

staff to view the latest product information.

Weakness

Product management Team decision mostly comes from the product manager to make

Operational decisions.

At times poor advertising regarding the promotion of products and services was also noted.All the information was not provided properly as this was noted in customers response

through the Customer Contact Centre.

More time should be spent to study the current market situation in order to maximise

revenue and stay in Competition.

Product management team still need to build a good customer relationship with small

business and residential customers as they feel it could increase their customer base and

increase overall revenue.

The product management team should visit the outer islands to promote their product or send

the product specialist to conduct training.

There is no customer survey conducted for the product management team so we are not able

to know the customers response regarding the product. Also there is no suggestion box in the

customer care centre.

Opportunity

Easy Tel phone market is really good for the residential customers because there is not

strong competitor for the Easytel phones in Fiji and telecoms Product Management team is

doing programming for the above service.

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The research conducted showed that more revenue was coming via broadband connection -

that is there was more sales for data then voice .Landline is needed for a broadband

connection as all the customers do not use mobile net.

Threats

New competitors also been the threat for the product management team example Vodafone

and Digicel as far as wireless telephone revenue is concerned.

Government political stability- price rise in the tariff duty affects the product management

team to get their product in a cheaper price from abroad and get it marketed to the consumers

in Fiji.

Economic stability: current recession really hit the residential and the business market

because most of the businesses reduced their cost affecting the sale of the product and

resulting in decline of expected revenue.

Evaluation of the strategies:

Product management prepaid service for the local / inter- region- revenue increased by 20 %

from 1.5 m to 1.8 m based on forecasted monthly connection of 2 k. Also contributing to the

increase in revenue was the double up promotion while also holding road show and festive

promotions during festive seasons.

It was showed that amnesty period also brought back customers and also increase sales for

the product management team.

EasyTel growth of 200 customers per month was also noted for Postpay customers while 500

customers were noted for Prepay, including conversions whereby customers switched from

Post Pay

to Prepay.

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0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Sale Expected sale

85%60%

Easy -Tel -survey 1 Year Period

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Frontline staffs are well trained by the Product Managers so that they are able to give correct

feedback/ information to the customers on all Products of Telecom efficiently and effectively.

Drawback of the strategy

Frontline staffs were not able to give accurate information to the customers to promote the product

as it was seen there was a slight communication breakdown from Product Management Department

to the Customer Contact Centre. This was evident through the lack of product knowledge Customer

Representatives had when customers called in. Customer Contact Centre were not briefed

thoroughly on the new products in the market.

The dual phone product did not generate much revenue in the market because Vodafone had

already launched that product and market study was not thoroughly done by the product manager.

If stock of the product finishes and there is more customer demand re-ordering stock from the

suppliers sometimes would take at least 3 months. The reason for the fast stock turnover was mostly

39

Sale 1st 6

Months11%

Sale after

change inStrategy

89%

Dual Handi Fone

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due to the lack of market segment study conducted by the Product Management. For example -

Easytel telephone customers want to purchase the product but the stock was finish.

Home card Product was biggest failure for the Product Management Team as it only last in the

market for 6 months and the major reason for its downfall was that firstly lack of programming

/testing and lack of advertisement by the department.

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Sale Expected Sale

16%

60%

Telecom Home Card-Survey 6 MonthsPeriod

Telecom Home Card Failed to

generate required Revenue

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RECOMMENDATION

Implement online marketing: Telecom Fiji keeps information on the company website whereas

they can introduce online marketing through which customers can order product online. This

can be effective and efficient in terms of time management and cost.

For Contact Centre there should be online system where the customers can retrieve the

telephone bill

Currently the decision making is centralized for the product management and the contactcentre team. If more empowerment is given to other level of employees rather them

management always taking the decision. It would boost the morale of the company and will

contribute to the achievement of sustainable competitive edge.

Upgrade reward system: Currently the management team are given incentive . If incentive

can be given to other employees as well.

Currently customer survey is done every 6 months time if it can be done every 3 months .It

would be easier to work on the weakness of the department and serve the customers more

efficiently and effectively.

Management should have team meeting weekly rather than monthly and so that staffs are

updated about the latest information.

For product management team a task should be assigned to the respective staff to check the

stock control and to visit the outer island for product presentation and the respective staff to

give report to the product manager. The process should be made more clear and precise.

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion it can be said that in order for any business to be successful anywhere, it is

essential for the company to develop valuable strategies in order for the business to survive.

To see if the intended strategies are worthy for the business a continuous assessment and

evaluation of the strategies is necessary. The contact centre and the product department of

Telecom Fiji limited have been able to achieve productivity and efficiency with some

drawbacks noted by implementing strategies which has also contributed to the overall TFL

strategic plan.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

TELCOM (FIJI) LTD WEBSITE (www.telecomfiji.com.fj)

HANSON D., PETER DOWLING, MICHAEL A. HITT, IRELAND R. DUANE. ROBERT E.HOSKISSON. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Competitiveness & Globalization, PACIFIC RIM2ND EDITION, NELSON THOMSON LEARNING, SYDNEY, 2005.

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http://www.telecomfiji.com.fj/http://www.telecomfiji.com.fj/

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