vodafone report final

Report on Internship Project at Vodafone India

R.V. Institute of Management

1.1 Introduction

Organizational study involves careful study about how people inside the organization interact

with one another and how they can be made better to communicate their concerns. This study

process helps the management professional students to have a practical knowledge of how an

organization executes its various functions to achieve its objectives. It helps in giving a clear

picture of various departments along with their functions, goals and overall contribution in

accomplishment of organizational goals. No department can function properly without

cooperation of others. The success of every organization depends on the extent of

cooperativeness and understanding between the departments. The organizational study helps

in understanding the various functional departments of the organization.

Further, the organizational study helps the management student to get an overall practical

knowledge on the working of various departments. This study will also make a way to apply

theoretical knowledge in to practice.

Objectives of Study

1. To study the organizational structure.

2. To study and understand the structure and function of various departments of

organization.

3. To study the relevance of coordination between the departments.

4. To identify, analyse and suggest the solution to the identified problem.

Duration of Study

The time duration of study was 30 days.

Scope of Study

Organizational study report helps the management in understanding the efficiency, relevance

and importance of each department. It helps to achieve the overall goals of the company. The

SWOT analysis helps the company to understand its Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and

Threats from internal and external sources. The problem identification makes the company to

know the problem in a specific field and helps in taking the corrective action for

improvement in operations. As a student, it helps to understand the functioning of

departments and organization as whole.



Limitations of study

1. It was very difficult to conduct the detailed study on each department since most of the

employees could not spend their time to share their experience.

2. It was also difficult to identify a particular problem faced by a department and to

suggest solutions for it.

1.2 About the Industry

Indian telecommunication Industry is one of the fastest growing telecom industries in the

world. It is the second largest telecom network on subscriber basis. The extensive growth and

hyper competition have resulted in lowest tariff rates. India is the third largest internet user-

base with over 137 million as of June 2012. Major sectors of Indian telecom industry include

telephony, internet and television broadcasting.

Telecommunication has been recognised all over the world as an important tool for socio-

economic tool for development. It has a greater part in economy of nation.

Telecommunication acts as a catalyst in the growth of various sectors of economy. Over the

last few years Indian telecom industry has shown overwhelming growth due to major changes

in Indian economic policy.

Indian telecom industry underwent a high pace of market liberalisation and growth since

1990s and now has become the world's most competitive and one of the fastest growing

telecom markets. The Industry has grown over twenty times in just ten years, from under 37

million subscribers in the year 2001 to over 846 million subscribers in the year 2011. India

has the world's second-largest mobile phone user base with over 929.37 million users as of

May 2012. It has the world's third-largest Internet user-base with over 137 million as of June

2012.

The telecom industry has witnessed significant growth in the subscriber base over the last

decade, with increasing network coverage and competition induced a decline in tariff and

rapid growth in the subscriber base. This growth has attracted many new and foreign

operators to the industry and kept competition increasing.

Post liberalisation in 1990’s the telecom sector made open to the private players. During this

time Indian telecom industry underwent high pace of market liberalisation and growth to



become most competitive and one of the fastest growing sector. Apart from rapid growth it

also helped a in a great deal towards maximization of consumer benefits, evident from huge

fall in tariffs.

With a subscriber base of more than 929 million, the mobile telecommunication system in

India is second largest in the world, with dominance of GSM technology with 80% of total

subscriber base. The remaining 20% of share is stabilised by CDMA technology for time

being. By May 2012 the country had 929 million mobile subscribers, up from 3350 million

just before 40 months. The mobile market was continuing to expand at the rate in excess of

40% coming into 2010.

According to the data provided by Ministry of state for communications and IT, as of

November 2012, India has 7,36,654 base transceiver stations. Among those, 92,212 stations

provide3Gmobile services. Out of India’s 640 districts, 610districts are covered by 3G

services as of November 2013.

The country is divided in to multiple zones roughly across state boundaries called as circles.

Currently there are total 23 telecom sectors which are categorised as, A-category, B-category,

C-category and Metros. India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in 900 MHz band;

recent operators also operate in 1800 MHz band. The dominant players of Indian telecom

industry are Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL, Reliance, Aircel, Idea and Tata DOCOMO. Apart from

these major players there are many other small service in few states.

International roaming agreements exists between most of the operators and many foreign

carriers. The government allowed Mobile Number Portability (MNP) from 20-January- 2010,

which enables the user to switch from one operator to another operator without changing the

number.

Telecommunication has supported the socioeconomic development of India and has played a

significant role to narrow down the rural-urban digital divide to some extent. It also has

helped to increase the transparency of governance with the introduction of e-governance in

India. The government has pragmatically used modern telecommunication facilities to deliver

mass education programmes for the rural folk of India.



1.3 Players in the Market

1. Bharti Airtel: Popularly known as Airtel, it stands at 1st rank in India and 4th in the

world in terms of number of subscribers. It its operations is widely spread among

more than 20 countries spread across Asia and Africa. It control over controlled 27%

revenue market share of Indian Telecom market, followed by Vodafone and Idea

cellular. It offers 2G, 3G, mobile commerce, High speed DSL broadband, IPTV,

DTH, fixed line services and enterprise services including national and international

long distance services to carriers. It has over 269 million customers as of March 2013.

2. Vodafone India: Formerly known as Vodafone Essar and Hutchison Essar is the

second largest telecom operator in India with approximately 147.48 million customers

as of December 2012. . It has its Headquarter in Mumbai. On March 31,

2011, Vodafone Group Plc bought an additional 33% stake in its Indian joint venture

for $5 billion after partner Essar Group exercised an option to sell the holding in the

mobile-phone operator. The deal raised Vodafone’s stake to 75%. Essar left the

company in 2007. Vodafone offers GSM cellular phone in India with a major market

share in Metropolitan cities. It launched 3G in last quarter of 2011 and has the plan to

spend $500 million in next 2 years of 3G network. Marten Pieter is managing director

and CEO of Vodafone.

3. Reliance Communications: Reliance ADA Group's flagship company with

Headquarters in Mumbai. It stands at 8th position in the globe and 3rd in India. It is

India's largest private sector information and communications company, with over

100 million subscribers. It has established a pan-India, high-capacity, integrated

(wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network, to offer

services spanning the entire infocom value chain. It is the only operator which

provides speed up to 28Mbits/Sec with its 3G MIMO technology.

Anil D Ambani is the chairman of the company.

4. BSNL: BSNL or Bharath Sanchar Nigan Limited is a public telecom service provider

in India. The telecom sector was under the complete monopoly of BSNL prior to

liberalisation except in Delhi and Mumbai. BSNL offers both fixed line and mobile

services with broadband connections. With over 71.68 million subscribers, BSNL

currently is the largest wireline service provider in India. BSNL has 24 telecom

circles, 2 metro districts, 6 project circles, 4 maintenance regions, 5 telecom factories,



3 training institutions and 4 specialized telecom units. It is the only one telecom

company which enjoys the advantage of 900MHz band all over India.

Gopal Das is the new chairman and managing director of BSNL.

5. Idea Cellular: Idea Cellular is subsidiary of the Aditya Birla Group. It is a leading

GSM mobile services operator in India with 67 million subscribers. Idea offers both

prepaid and post-paid services. It is a pan-India operator with services being made

available in all parts of the country. Idea was the first cellular service provider to

launch General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rates for GSM

Evaluation (EDGE) in the country. Kumar Mangalam Birla is the chairman of the

group.

6. Tata Teleservices: Tata Teleservices spearheads the Tata Group's presence in the

telecom sector. Established in 1996, Tata Teleservices, one of the 96 companies of

Tata Group, has its network in 20 circles. It is the first company to launch CDMA

mobile services in India. It launched mobile operations in January 2005 under the

brand name Tata Indicom. It enjoys a pan-India presence through existing operations

in all of India's 22 telecom circles. Tata Teleservices operates under five different

brands -- Tata Indicom (CDMA services), Tata DOCOMO (GSM services), Virgin

Mobile, Tata Walky (which is the brand for fixed wireless phones), Tata Photon (the

company's brand that provides a variety of options for wireless mobile broadband

access) and T24. Tata Teleservices Ltd, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra)

Ltd, serves nearly 70 million customers in more than 450,000 towns and villages

across the country. Anil Sardana is the managing director of Tata Teleservices.

7. Aircel: It is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and

Sindya Securities Investments Private Limited, whose current shareholders are the

Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals Group of India. Aircel commenced operations in

1999 and became the leading mobile operator in Tamil Nadu. It emerged a market

leader in Assam and in the North Eastern provinces within 18 months of operations.

Today, the company has a foothold in 21 circles with more than 43 million customers

in the country.



1.4 Industry Volume

Indian telecom industry has witnessed tremendous growth over the past decade. Today, the

Indian telecom network is the second largest in the world after China. The huge amount of

growth opportunity has increased the number of players in the market

The telecom industry has witnessed significant growth in the subscriber base over the last

decade, with increasing network coverage and a competition-induced decline in tariffs acting

as catalyst for the growth in the subscriber base. The growth story and the potential have also

served to attract newer players in the industry, with the result that the intensity of competition

has kept increasing. The sector expected to witness up to US$56.3 billion investments and the

market will cross the US$ 101 billion mark in five years.

As per the survey made by Telecom Regulatory Authority-India in 2012the total number of

telephone subscribers including both wireless and landline were 995.9 million. The number

of landlines was 31.53 million significantly less compared to the cell phone which was

929.37 million. The TRAI has recognised a significant fall in the growth rate of landlines

about 13% from 2009 on the other hand the monthly cell phone addition was 8.35 million.

The overall teledensity in the Indian market is was 79.28% in 2012. In addition to this the

TRAI has estimated that the teledensity will increase to 97% at the end of 2013.

1.5 Current Scenario:

Indian telecom industry has witnessed tremendous growth over the past decade. Today, the

Indian telecom network is the second largest in the world after China. A liberal policy regime

and involvement of private sector have played an important role in transforming this sector.

Liberalization of the sector not only led to rapid growth but also helped a great deal towards

maximization of consumer benefits, evident from huge fall in tariffs. The sector has

witnessed a rapid hike in ‘Teledensity’, from 8% in 2002 to 79.28% in March 2012.

The main loop hole in Indian telecom industry is a huge gap in Teledensity between rural and

urban India. In March 2012, urban density 169.55% and rural with 39.22%, Ministry of

Telecom and IT is has taken all measures to fill this gap. The lower Teledensity in rural area

is witnessing a greater opportunity to the players in the market.



Telecom Circles:



2.1 Company History

Vodafone India, formerly Vodafone Essar and Hutchison Essar, is the third largest mobile

network operator in India after Airtel and Reliance Communication by subscriber base. It is

based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has approximately 147.48 million customers as of

December 2012.

In July 2011, Vodafone Group agreed terms for the buy-out of its partner Essar from its

Indian mobile phone business. The UK firm paid $5.46 billion to its Indian counterpart to

take Essar out of its 33% stake in the Indian subsidiary. It will leave Vodafone owning 74%

of the Indian business, while the other 26% will be owned by Indian investors, in compliance

with Indian law. On 11 February 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of

67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, piping Reliance

Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of the remaining

33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The transaction closed on 8 May

2007. It offers both prepaid and post-paid GSM cellular phone coverage throughout India

with good presence in the metros.

Vodafone India is a member of the Vodafone Group and commenced operations in 1994

when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. The

company now has operations across the country with over 150 million customers. Vodafone

India has firmly established a strong position within the Vodafone Group too, making it the

largest subscriber base globally. This journey is a strong testimony of Vodafone’s success in

a highly competitive and price sensitive market.

Vodafone India has been awarded the Most Admired Telecom Operator and Best 3G

Operator at the recent Telecom Operator Awards 2012. The company has also received the

globally recognized prestigious ‘Product of the Year 2012’ consumer award for Vodafone

Apps Store in the Mobile Services Category. In another survey conducted by Nielsen,

Vodafone India was the only telecom player in the Top 10 ‘Most Exciting Youth Brands’ in

India. Vodafone India also features in the Top 10 ‘Most Trusted Brands in India’ for 2011, in

a survey conducted by a leading financial daily.

Serving the needs of an enterprise, Vodafone Business Solutions is a total communications

offering that caters to all their voice and data, wireless and Fixed-line requirements. With the

advantage of global expertise and experience and the knowledge of local markets, the



business is run through the following verticals – Vodafone Global Enterprise, SME division,

National corporate and key accounts. Since its inception, Vodafone Business Solutions has

garnered over 3 million corporate customers in India and currently provides services to over

6000 Global and national accounts equipped with a robust and superior network

infrastructure and a 24x7 NOC. Vodafone has been recently awarded the 'Enterprise Mobile

Service Provider of the Year' at the 2012 Frost & Sullivan India ICT Awards.

At Vodafone, sustainability is an integral part of the company’s mission and strategy, shaping

the conduct of business every day. Vodafone India, in line with its group philosophy has

released the Corporate Sustainability Report for India – Footprints 2010-11.

Vodafone Group is one of the world's largest mobile communications companies by revenue

with over 398 million customers as at December 31, 2011. Vodafone currently has equity

interests in over 30 countries across five continents and more than 40 partner networks

worldwide.

Important Years in Vodafone (India) History

Established in 1992

Hutchison Whampoa and MAX group established Hutchison Max

2001: Won auction for licences to operate GSM services in Karnataka, Andhra

Pradesh and Chennai.

2005: Acquired BPL Mobile operations in 3circles. This left BPL with operations

only in Mumbai, where it still operates under the brand ‘Loop Mobiles’.

2008: Vodafone acquires the licences in remaining 7 circles and starts its pending

operations in Madhya Pradesh, as well as in Orissa, Assam, North East and Bihar.

2011: Vodafone Group buys out its partner Essar from its Indian mobile phone

business. It paid $5.46 billion to take Essar out of its 33% stake in Indian subsidiary.

It left Vodafone owning 74% of Indian business.



2.2 Vodafone India Vision:

The Vision statement of Vodafone India is as follows:

“Our vision is to be recognised as the leading Indian telecom company, for our responsible

and ethical behaviour, contributing positively to the world around us”.

Vodafone India Mission:

The Mission statement of Vodafone India is as follows:

“We will enhance value for our stakeholders and contribute to society by providing

customers with innovative, affordable and customer friendly communication services.

Through excellence in our services we aspire to be the most respected and successful

telecommunications company in India. We see our customers, employees, shareholders and

the community we operate in as our most important stakeholders”.

Customers

We enhance value through delivering affordable, reliable and customised communication

services which are simple to use, enjoyable, seamless and secure. We define success as

delighted customers who recommend us to others.

Our customers respect us because:

We understand their needs.

We create innovative services.

We consistently deliver on what we promise.

We are transparent and trustworthy in our interactions.

We provide a secure and reliable network.

We offer affordable products and services.

We define success as delighted customers who recommend us to others.

Employees:

We enhance value through providing enriching careers and long term growth opportunities in

a fair and collaborative work environment. We define success as happy employees with great

careers.



Our employees respect us because:

We provide a healthy and safe work place.

We encourage mutual respect, trust and appreciation.

We promote diversity and treat them inclusively.

We conduct ourselves with transparency and integrity.

We pursue speed and simplicity in all that we do.

We recognise and admire accomplishments.

We define Success as happy employees with great careers.

Shareholders:

We enhance value through growing the company’s revenue and profitability while creating

sustainable free cash flow through efficient resource utilisation and effective risk

management.

Our shareholders respect us because

We follow ethical business practices.

We communicate in a fair and transparent way.

We enhance company’s reputation and brand value.

We do everything to protect our shareholders interest.

We define success as creating sustainable value by delivering great shareholder return

Our Community:

(Business partners, Authorities, Influencers and Local Communities)

We contribute to the society by supporting authorities in mobilizing social change and

achieving their economic goals, creating value for our business partners and contributing to

the social & economic development of local Communities.

Our community respects us because

We act responsible towards our environment.

We create community connect.

We stimulate business and economic growth.

We have high standards of corporate governance.



We conduct our business with transparency integrity and fairness.

We define success as being the most respected telecom company in India.

2.3 Mile Stones:

Vodafone's Indian odyssey key milestones:

2007

February: Vodafone buys 67% in Hutchison Essar for $11.5 billion Company

renamed Vodafone Essar.

April: FIPB clears deal subject to condition that minority shareholders can sell only

to resident Indians.

September: Income-tax (IT) department slaps Vodafone with a tax demand of Rs

11,000 crore. Says asset for which deal was done is in India.

October: Vodafone goes to Bombay High Court, saying "it was a share transfer

carried outside India".

2008

February: Government amends Section 201 of IT Act, makes withholding tax

mandatory with retrospective effect. Vodafone becomes a pan-India player by

acquiring licences in the 7 circles it was not present in.

December: HC dismisses Vodafone's petition, says IT department has right to

investigate the case; Vodafone appeals to Supreme Court. Vodafone becomes a pan-

India player by acquiring licences in the 7 circles it was not present in.

2009

January: SC dismisses Vodafone's appeal, leaves decision on jurisdiction of deal to

the IT department. Also refers case back to Bombay HC.

October: I-T dept. issues a new show cause notice. Minority shareholders Analjit

Singh & Asim Ghosh want to sell stake back to Vodafone.

December: FIPB approves stake sales by Singh and Ghosh.

2010



January: Vodafone replies to I-T notice saying I-T department does not have

jurisdiction.

April: Vodafone reaches 100 m customers in India.

May: Price wars in India cause Vodafone Group Plc to write down value of Vodafone

Essar by £2.3 billion (Rs 15,157 cr), Vodafone pays Rs 11,618 cr for 3G spectrum in

9 circles.

June: Vodafone fi les petition in Bombay HC challenging I-T department's order that

claims jurisdiction.

September: High court says Vodafone must pay capital gains tax on the deal.

Vodafone appeals to Supreme Court asks I-T department to quantify tax liability.

November: SC asks Vodafone to deposit Rs 2,500cr and provide bank guarantees of

Rs 8,500cr pending final verdict.

2011

March: Vodafone receives tax notice from I-T dept asking it to explain why it should

not be liable for penalties of up to 100% of the tax found due.

May: Vodafone makes first ever profit in India of 15 m Euros in 2010-11.

April: SC stays I-T department from enforcing any liabilities until outcome of final

hearing.

August: Supreme Court begins hearing the case. Vodafone sells 5.5% of India

business to Primal Healthcare for $640 million (around Rs 2,890 cr) to comply with

FDI rules

2012

January: Vodafone appoints investment bank NM Rothschild to manage initial

public offering (IPO).

January 20: Vodafone wins tax case in Supreme Court.



2.4 Operations Area and Business:

It is the area or the field of operation in to which the business of a company diversified.

Following are the areas of operations of Vodafone:

1. Mobile data services: The goal of Vodafone is to become the provider of choice for

customers wanting to use data services. The opportunity is huge as company believe

that over time all customers will want to use data internet services on their mobile

devices.

According to industry analysts, data is expected to be the fastest growing segment of

the mobile industry. It is estimated that between the 2011 and 2016 calendar years

worldwide mobile data revenue is set to grow by US$142 billion, compared to a

US$27 billion decline in voice revenue over the same period.

In this context Vodafone aims to have the best mobile network in all of the markets in

which it operate, supported by leading IT systems. This means giving our customers

far-reaching coverage, a very reliable connection and increasing speeds and data

capacity.

2. Enterprise and total communications: Continued globalisation of marketplaces and

the growth of small businesses looking for more productive ways of communicating

has created growth opportunities for Vodafone in all enterprise segments from micro-

businesses to multinationals.

Vodafone’s enterprise customers range from small-office-home-office businesses and

small-to medium-sized enterprises, through to large domestic and multi-national

corporates. Across the Group we have over 30 million mobile enterprise customers

accounting for around 8% of all customers and around 23% of service revenue.

Vodafone want to confidently connect businesses using our expertise in converged

services, delivering unmatched customer experience and real value for money.

Company have aim to continue to gain market share and exploit opportunities across

our geographic footprint.

3. Vodafone Global Enterprise: Vodafone Global Enterprise serves the needs of

Vodafone’s largest multi-national corporate customers. MNCs demand a consistent

multi-country offer from Vodafone across our global footprint. Vodafone Global



Enterprise simplifies operations for these customers by providing them with a single

account and service team, a single contract, single pricing structures and a single

portfolio of products and services. Vodafone Global Enterprise has created a market

leading portfolio of Managed Mobility Services providing capabilities such as mobile

email or device security as a chargeable managed service in addition to providing the

underlying connectivity and devices. By providing a broader range of services

Vodafone Global Enterprise extends its core value proposition of integrating,

managing and simplifying global communications services for MNC customers.

4. Mobile commerce services, Machine to Machine services and operator billing:

People are using data more and more in their everyday lives driven by fast, reliable

mobile data networks and continual improvements in devices such as handsets and

tablets. We are also seeing increased interest from customers in new data-based

services like mobile payments via handsets and mobile data devices for homes and

cars.

Mobile financial services are today at the core of our mobile commerce services and

M-Pesa is our main service, a mobile payment service that enables millions of people

to transfer money electronically even when they have no access to a bank.

M2M connections allow machines to communicate with one another via built-in

mobile SIM cards. It is our vision to transform lives and businesses by providing the

most innovative M2M products and services for our customers.

Across the globe around 28 billion apps are downloaded every year; most are free but

an increasing number are paid for. To build on this opportunity we are partnering with

leading companies such as Google and Facebook to enhance their service with a

simple solution that allows our customers to pay for apps and games directly and

simply on their Vodafone monthly phone bill. We were the first operator to launch the

service in Europe for the Android market and the service today also works on

BlackBerry and Nokia.



2.5 Product and Service Profile:

Products: Vodafone offer the customers products such as Sim cards, Mobile phones,

Smart phones, Vodafone branded handsets and USB sticks. These products can be put

under three main categories as below:

1. Sim cards: Vodafone offers both Pre-paid and Post-paid Sim cards based on the

demand of the customers. Both types of Sim cards contain a wide range of tailor-

made options based on the individual or organizational demand.

2. Mobile phones: Vodafone has a wide range of mobile phone from Basic phones to

Smart phones. The mobile phones are sold under its own brand name as well as other

companies like Blackberry, Sony, Samsung, Nokia and HTC. It also offers the mobile

phones with inbuilt Sim cards for business purpose.

3. USB sticks: Apart from the mobile phone and Sim cards Vodafone also offers USB

stick or Dongles of various data plans to the internet users.

Service: Service is the main source of Vodafone’s revenue. As a telecom service

provider Vodafone offers a wide range of services to the different groups of society

from Farmer to Business man. These services can be put under four main categories:

1. Productivity Services: These are the services mainly useful in the business for the

day to day operations. They act as the catalyst in the smooth running of business by

creating easy work environment. It includes services like Mobilization of applications,

Digital gateway, Audio conference etc.

2. Mobile broadband and internet: These are the services which are built to serve each

category of the society. It includes services such as Mobile Wi-Fi, Sharing dock via

phone, Mobile TV, HD gaming, Video calling, Caller tunes and tones, M-Shop,

mHealth services etc.

3. Voice and messaging: These services are the services used for both business and

general purposes. It includes services such as Bulk SMS, Corporate caller tune,

Interactive SMS, MSN at Vodafone, Yahoo! Messenger etc.

4. Machine 2 Machine solutions: These are the services given by Vodafone exclusive

for business purpose. It includes Location tracker, Telemetry solutions, Security

solutions, Vodafone voyager etc.



2.6 Competitors Analysis:

Sl.

No

Company Product Service Offer Network Performance Market

share (%)

1.

Airtel

Excellent quality.

Good response

from officials

Urban: G Rural: G

Urban: E Rural: G

Rs, 51,893 crore

21.79

2.

Reliance

Good

quality

Good

response from officials

Urban: G

Rural: A

Urban: G

Rural: G

Rs 11,110

crore

14.35

3.

Idea

Good

quality

Good

response from

officials

Urban: A

Rural: G

Urban: G

Rural: G

Rs 15,389.00

crore

14.22

4.

BSNL

Poor quality

Poor response

from officials

Urban: A Rural: A

Urban: E Rural: E

Rs 27,933.50 crore

11.27

5.

TATA DOCOMO

Good quality

Good response

from officials

Urban: G Rural: G

Urban: G Rural: A

Rs 1,419.69 7.50

6.

Aircel

Good

quality

Good

response from officials

Urban: G

Rural: A

Urban: G

Rural: A

Rs 8,439.23

crore

6.94

7.

Others

Good

quality

Good

response from

officials

Urban: G

Rural: P

Urban: G

Rural: P

6.15

Excellent: E Good: G Average: A Poor: P

From the above analysis it is clear that Airtel is the market leader by customer base and

revenue. It provides Good products, services, offers and even network coverage. Though the

Government owned BSNL has excellent network coverage lack of service facilities and good

offers resulting in fall in its revenue year by year

As the first private player in the market, Airtel enjoys “first entry opportunities” in most of

the telecom circles with 900 MHz frequency network contributing to its good network

coverage. In overall Indian context Airtel is the Market leader Followed by Vodafone,

Reliance and idea as challengers and other operators as followers.



2.7 Policies of Organization:

At Vodafone India, sustainability is a journey, not an objective. Vodafone constantly strive to

make sustainable practices in intrinsic part of business strategy, touching every project

process and person. Advocating a comprehensive approach, most of the initiatives are

designed to make our stakeholders an equal partner in the process; sensitizing them to our

socially responsible practices and encouraging them to make this world a better place.

Vodafone employees, across India, attempt to conduct business responsibly and to give back

to those who have supported us in all our endeavours.

1. Pursuits that are making a difference

Vodafone’s pursuits reflect the extent to which sustainable development practices have

been embedded in the way of doing things. Form waste management to green building;

from efficient data centres to green networks, Vodafone is taking sustainability to to the

next level through initiatives.

Fast Forward

Green Building Initiative

The ReSolving campaigning

Green networks

Data centres, switching centres and Video conferencing.

2. People that are making a difference

People are at the centre of Vodafone’s sustainability strategy. Vodafone invest in their

training and development and strive to build a safe and conducive work environment

for them. We see our people as ambassadors of our values, and empower them to make

a difference.

Streamlining Human Resources function

Focusing on diversity and inclusion

Talent management

Towards a safer workplace

Health, Safety and Wellbeing

Employee recognition



3. Products that are making a difference

Vodafone constantly endeavour to utilise our technology and expertise to develop

products that can contribute to the businesses becoming more sustainable as well as to

the development of the society. Whether it is smart metering or asset tracking for the

enterprises or education, banking and rural entrepreneurship or digital inclusion of

individuals, we strive to make our products a means of empowerment.

Enabling smart future

M- education

M- Health

4. Partnerships that are making a difference

Collaborating with our vendors and suppliers to design feasible, cost effective

solutions, to associating with the non-governmental associations, we always believe in

fostering sustainable partnerships. This stems from our belief that ‘what one can do

well, two can do better’.

Partnering with the suppliers

Partnering with the community

World of Difference

Partnering with the customers

5. Processes that are making a difference

Whether it is empowering our talent pool, collaborating to enhance our supply chain, or

protecting customers from breach of security, we firmly believe that institutionalising

effective processes and implementing them is essential to sustain any positive measure.

In this section, we talk about processes that ensure smooth running of our operations,

thereby making a difference to the value generated for our internal and external

stakeholders.

Zero tolerance towards fraud

Making information secure

Risk management

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Managing inventory



Reducing e-Waste footprint

EMF safety

Shared services centre

International Safety Rating System (ISRS)

Network safety

Building a future-fit organisation

2.8 Number of Employees in Different Levels:

Vodafone is one of the biggest employers in the telecom industry with 83,862 employees

worldwide. It has provided employment opportunity to the various categories of people in the

society on the basis of their talent. There are 1640 female and 8667 male employees resulting

in total number of 10,307 employees working at Vodafone in Pan-India level. Vodafone

encourages the female candidates to apply for the job and many actions have been taken

towards fulfilling this objective.

The employee designations can be divided in to three categories in which senior management

comprises of 10% of total employees middle level with 35% and remaining 65% in the

operational level. The average turnover rate of employees at Vodafone accounted to 15% of

total number of employees.

Vodafone India has been declared as one of the Top 10 companies with healthy work place.

Company’s HSW policy shows the high ethical practices followed by the company to avoid

the injuries at the work place.

2.9 Performance of the Organization:

Vodafone India has reported a 10.6 per cent rise in revenue from Rs. 32,564 crore in

the previous fiscal to Rs. 35,886 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2013.

Operating profit increased by 24.5 per cent to Rs. 10,640 crore for the financial year

under review against an EBITDA of Rs. 8,549 crore last year.

Service revenue increased from Rs. 32185 crore to Rs. 35610 crore of this year.

Revenue Market Share at 21.3% in financial year 2013.



2.10 Organizational Chart of Vodafone India:

VODAFONE INDIA

Martin Pieters (CEO)

Chief

Commercial

Officer

Directors

Human

resource

s

Chief

Operating

Officer

Enterprise

Head

Technology

Head

External

Affairs

Head

Regulatory

Head

General

Council

Head

HR SERVICES

HR Business

Partners

Learning &

Development

Resourcing

O .D South

O.D North

O.D East

O.D West

Business Head



2.11 Management or Board of Directors

Vodafone Group Plc

Vittorio Colao (CEO)

Michel

Combes

(Europe)

Nick Read

(Asia, Africa)

Warren

Finegold

(Strategy

&

Business)

Developm

ent

Morten

Lundal

(Group

Commercial)

Steve Pusey

(Group

Technology

)

Andy Halford

(Group

Finance)

Ronald S

(Group

HR)

Rosemary

Martin

(Group Legal)

Matthew Kirk

(Group

External

Affairs)



2.12 Best Practices and Special Achievements:

Vodafone India is well-known for its ethical behaviour, zero tolerance to fraud, employee and

social responsibility initiatives. The main practices and achievements are discussed below:

1. Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) Policy: I t is the most important practices

followed in Vodafone. It is to ensure the Health and safety not only among the

employees but also in the society it operates. This policy is based on following safety

rules:

Do not drink and drive

Always wear helmet for two wheeler

Always fasten seatbelts while driving

Do not attend calls or use mobile phone while driving/riding.

Always use safety equipment while working at heights.

Do not handle electric equipment unless being a professional.

Apart from this rules Vodafone has conducted social awareness programmes in states

of Tamilnaadu, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh circles.

As a result of this programme the company become able to save 17 lives in accidents.

2. Vodafone Cares: It is the new practice adopted by the Vodafone in this month. This

is a Social Responsibility Programme conducted by the Vodafone employees for

creating the social awareness in the children regarding the safety and hygiene aspects.

Employees of Vodafone conduct the classes for 3rd to 7th standard students once in a

week in schools in this regard.

3. Angel Stores: Vodafone encourages the women employment and empowerment.

With this objective Vodafone have launched a unique kind of retail concept store, that

is completely managed and run by women employees, including security, pantry staff,

customer service resources and management level personnel. As of March 2013 there

are 16 Vodafone angel stores across 14 states of India.

4. Zero tolerance to fraud and anti-bribery policy: Fraud and Bribery are the two

important problems in every industry and country as whole. Vodafone consider giving



or taking of money or any form of gift from its stakeholders as a bribe. As a socially

responsible company Vodafone do not give any chance to these aspects in the

company. In this regard Fraud forum been formed in 2011 to watch the working of

employees and departments.

2.13 Awards

One of the Best Companies to Work for in India - Study by The Economic Times &

Great Place to Work 2012

Corporate Social Responsibility award - Golden Peacock Award 2012

Value Services in rural innovation category for Low Balance Services – ET Telecom

Awards 2012

Top Green IT Enterprise Award 2012 – CIO Leadership Summit supported by APC-

Schneider

Bronze in the Direct Lions category for best low budget campaign for the iFold

initiative (Green initiative - to save paper) – Lions (2012)

CEO of the Year – Marten Pieters – Telecom Operator Awards 2012 by tele.net

Enterprise Mobile Service Provider of the Year - Frost & Sullivan India ICT award

(2012)

Most Admired Telecom Operator – Telecom Operator Awards 2012 by tele.net

Vodafone App Store – ‘V Store’ recognised as the ‘Product of the Year 2012’ in the

‘Mobile Services’ category - Nielsen survey

Best 3G Service Operator - Telecom Operator Awards 2012 by tele.net

7th Most Exciting Youth brand - Survey by AC Neilson and Brand Equity (Feb2012)

Ranked No 1 in overall customer satisfaction - Hindustan Times’ customer

satisfaction National Survey 2011

Top 10 ‘Most Trusted Brands’ in India 2011 - ET Brand Equity annual survey 2011

Best Marketing Company for 2011 - Survey done by ET – Brand Equity

‘Excellence in marketing’ and ‘Most innovative Retail’ - Global ET Telecom awards

2011

CIO100 award for Enterprise IT - CIO Magazine.



2.14 Future Plans: “Steps taken today, should inspire tomorrow”

In Vodafone sustainability is a journey not an objective. Vodafone have a future oriented

framework to achieve its sustainable development. Some of the important future plans of

Vodafone India are as below:

Vodafone has the future plan to launch 4G services and improving the services.

Vodafone suggest future ANDROID mobile phones and initiatives are taken in this

way.

Vodafone has a future aim to become Number 1 telecom operator in India by 2015.

Vodafone has a plan to launch "Vodafone Application Stores”.



3.1 HR And Administration Department:

HR Departmental Structure

About the Department:

Organizations are made up of people and functions through people. Human resources are the

wealth of the organization. No organization can run without human being. This human being

helps the organization to achieve goals and targets of the organization. It is the total

knowledge, ability, talents and aptitude of an organization work force.

Human resource management (HRM) is the understanding and application of the policy and

procedures that directly affect the people working within the project team and working group.

These policies include recruitment, retention, reward, personal development, training and

career development.

According to Edwin B. Flippo HRM is “the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of

the procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and production of

human resources to the end that individual, organizational and societal objectives are

accomplished”

HR Head

HR Operations Contract Labour

Management

Learning &

Development

Administration

Recruitment

Performance

Dialogue & Rewards

H.S.W & Security

Facility Management



Human Resource Management is the process of binding people and organization together so

that the objectives are achieved. Organizations are not mere bricks, motor, machines or

inventories. They are people. It is the people who staff and manage organization.

The importance of human resources within the organization is becoming increasingly

understood in today’s rapidly changing and uncertain business environment. In order to assist

employees in helping an organization to reach its strategic business goals, effective human

resource managers often gather job related information in a job analysis and job description,

which is vital in creating or designing jobs which provide employees with a high level of job

satisfaction.

Functions of HR Department:

Attract bright and relevant talent

Develop continuously by providing opportunities

Excite by creating a culture that is invigorating and creatively innovating

Retain the best talent by creating an environment of trust and bonding

Recruit right resources at the right cost and time

Develop overall organization human resources capabilities through relevant

interventions

Facilitate HR and Administration process and systems so as to enhance staff retention

Facilitate and sustain employee engagement through purposeful organization

communication process.

Function of Administration Department:

Maintaining Cleanliness, Comfort, Aesthetics, Hygiene, Safety environment at work

place.

Regular checking of Building/ Facilities, Housekeeping and maintaining records.

Ensuring Staff welfare, Travel/ Transportation, Power/ Infrastructure facilities

Hotel bookings/ Conferences, Printing, Courier and Concierge

Recruitment

This is one of the most fundamental roles of HR department. This function ensures that the

company under consideration selects the most skilful and competent person from a sea of



applicants at that time. This function involves evaluation of ability and competency of

potential employees in relation to what the company needs. This role falls under the staffing

role of management. If this function is performed well then the organization will increase the

value consequently being on the right pathway to achieve its organizational and departmental

goals.

Recruitment is done through:

Job portals

Consultants

Employee referrals

Campus recruitments

Selection Process:

Sourcing CV

Shortlisting

Interview schedule

Interviews

Offer

Medical examination

Joining formalities

Appointment

Performance Dialogue:

Mid-year and Annual performance dialogue

Goal setting and approval

Self-assessment and Manager assessment

Communication of rating

Employee feedback and Survey

Initiatives by HR Department:

1. Talent Management

Vodafone recognise that it is necessary to create a sustainable environment for their

people so that they continue to be relevant to the business, as they grow. As a part of



Vodafone talent management initiatives, they primarily work on building sustainable

environment to manage succession plans for critical roles and groom the people for these

roles. They provide customised training programmes and plan career paths for their

employees, based on their potential, talent and performance. An employee with high

potential is groomed via development journeys that enable them to fast-track his/her

career within the function. Some of the flagship talent management programmes are:

Senior Leadership Acceleration Series

Building Leaders of Tomorrow

Young Leaders Program

In acquiring, nurturing, integrating and retaining talent, Vodafone focus is not only

around 'what' of performance but also around 'how' of performance, bringing a more

mature performance management system with a visible linkage to the Vodafone Way of

Speed, Simplicity and Trust. It is not just appraising their employees, but also about

letting them set SMART goals, coaching them for superior performances and ensuring

continuous development, through regular feedback and review - empowering them at

every step.

2. Towards a Safer work place

Safety of their employees is at the core for them. Vodafone believe that senior

management commitment is essential to make their work environment injury free and

safe for every individual associated with them. Senior Management Tours are conducted

on a regular basis to encourage safe working conditions and practices. Moreover, they

are in the process of establishing various standards and work practices for sustained safe

working. Also Vodafone believe in an open culture in incident reporting across all levels.

3. Employee Recognition

Vodafone value their employees and value their contributions. Vodafone workforce is

their strength and they want their employees to feel valued and realise that their work

does make a difference. At Vodafone, one of the best companies to work for in India as

per a study by The Economic Times, they acknowledge the priceless contributions made

by their employees under the following categories:

Target or performance driven recognition programme



Culture driven recognition programme

Some of the culture driven recognition programmes are:

Vodafone Global Heroes

The Vodafone Way is about a consistent way of working, with Speed, Simplicity and

Trust. Vodafone Global Heroes is a quarterly initiative that identifies and recognises

employees (in band G and below) who contribute to and embody "The Vodafone Way".

Vodafone Stars

A Star is someone who operates with Speed, Simplicity and Trust. This programme

recognises the employees' contribution at three different levels:

Level 1: Stars

An on-going exercise, it celebrates the demonstration of Speed, Simplicity and

Trust at work with a special Stars e-card. Any employee can recognise a colleague or

team member across functions and circles through an instant Stars e-card, any number of

times.

Level 2: Superstars

A monthly exercise which celebrates the exemplary demonstration of Speed, Simplicity

and Trust at work. The chosen employee is awarded points from the functional kitty that

can be redeemed against gifts. Any functional or cross-functional colleague or Line

Manager across circles can nominate an employee with a proper justification, any

number of times during the month.

Level 3: Megastars

A quarterly exercise which celebrates the consistent and outstanding demonstration of

Speed, Simplicity and Trust at work. The Megastar finalist is shortlisted by the

Recognition Board comprising Business Head, HR Head and Functional Heads, every

quarter in every circle. The winner is awarded a lapel pin, a certificate and points that can

be redeemed against a pre-decided gift voucher.

Relationship with Other Departments:

HR department can makes the performance evaluation of employees, and refer the

results to the other departments. For example if the HR discovers that employees in a

particular department have a low morale, this is referred to the underlying department.

HR department also help accounting department to budget labour costs.



HR department is often responsible to train and integrate workers within the firm.

HR department helps personnel of other departments in human resource planning

process.

It is also responsible to give suggestions to legal department in solving employee

disputes.

3.2 Marketing and Sales Department:

Marketing and Sales Department Structure

Marketing & Sales Head

Marketing Sales Retail Zonal Manager

Data

Roaming

Campaigning

Management

Value Added

Services

Post-paid

& Pre-paid

Distribution

Sales Planning

Management

Modern Trade

Management

Information

System

Projects

Services

Sales

Management

Information

System



About the Department

Marketing department act as the backbone for business. It helps the organisation to build a

strong customer base, good customer relationship and create value for their customers and for

themselves.

Marketing and sales is one of the most important departments in the Vodafone India.

Marketing department is that business department which focuses on the practical application

of different marketing techniques and the management of a firm’s marketing resources and

activities. It helps in the generation of different marketing strategies, techniques, evaluating

and executing them.

Marketing department is marketing and sales in the Karnataka circle which is further divided

in to 8 zones. The 8 Zones are Bangalore east, Bangalore west, Mysore, Hubli, Gulbarga,

Davangre, Turnkur, Mangalore.

The main responsibilities of marketing department are:

To define and manage the customer needs and expectations.

Deliver innovative products and services.

Promoting the products through effective advertisement campaigning.

To implement business models for new products and services.

To develop and implement the tariff plans.

To support product penetration of accounts through target acquisitions.



Sales and Distribution Workflow Model:

Business Head

Sales & Marketing

Head

Sales Head

Distribution Lead

Zones Zones Zones Zones Zones Zones Zones Zones

Distribution Lead

Area Sales Manager Area Sales Manager Area Sales Manager

Channel Manager Channel Manager Channel Manager Channel Manager

Distributer Distributer Distributer

Merchandise Runner Boy Retailer

Customer



The main responsibilities of sales and distribution department are:

Promoting the product and services by visiting the market and communicating with

retailers.

Fulfilling the demand for the product and avoiding the shortages.

Constant visiting to market to see the advertisement campaigning.

Preparing the monthly target sheets.

Preparing the CAF records.

Collecting the records from distributers and hearing the problems of customers.


Marketing is a core function of any organization. In business to consumer companies the

marketing department is where consumer care is centralized. By consumer care all

information, knowledge and strategies used to ensure that the company remains in business,

by ensuring that its products remain relevant to a consumer’s needs and preferences. Other

departments/activities in a business therefore have two broad relationship objectives with the

marketing department

1. To further the aims of the marketing department (by ensuring continued relevance to

consumers). Thus for instance the finance department will ensure that business

profitability is of such a degree that the business is able to continually invest in

delighting consumers. The HR department would ensure that the business has the

requisite talent and organizational culture in place.

2. In modern business literature, it is posited that all departments/activities are

essentially those of marketing no matter the title. This is because all of them have as

their main objective, the continuation of a business as a going concern. And a

business cannot be a going concern unless its products are relevant to needs and

preferences of consumers



3.3 Finance and Accounts Department:

Finance and Accounts Department Structure:


Finance is the backbone of every business activity. Finance department places a vital role in

success of the organization. High transparency and ability to take the rapid decisions will

result in the sustainable growth of the organization. The finance has a professional which

regularly review the company’s practices and converts the personal skills in to efforts to

continually improve the financial statements of the company. Through effective management

practices and creative ideas, financial department team strives to build a working

environment that enables to use financial resources and capabilities to serve customer better.

The finance department staffs shares the company’s dedication to customer satisfaction.

Major functions of finance department include:

Preparation of financial statements

Finance & Accounts

Head

Revenue

Assessment

Financial Planning

& Analysis

Zonal Accounting

Financial

Accounting

Taxation

Credit &

Collection

Supply Chain

Management



Internal audit

Supervision of collection, billing, banking and statutory compliances.

Finalization of accounts.

Cash flow projections

Budgeting

Tax returns filing.

Debt management.

Agreements and dispute resolution.

Supervision of costing

Credit and Collection

Objectives

Act as a catalyst for growth in revenue and subscriber base.

Balance risk v/s revenue.

Strive to reduce bad debts

Equip credit and collection teams to be in line with business growth.

Credit Team

The respiratory system of the Vodafone body. They do this by;

Reviewing subscriber's credit worthiness before letting them into our system

Monitoring subscribers dues

Retaining good subscribers and optimizing their usage

Processes in Credit

Duplicate tracking

Fraud control

Credit monitoring

Return bill management

2. Collections Team

The blood circulatory system of the Vodafone body. They do this by;

Ensuring customers, get their bills

Giving reminders and collecting payments



Posting payments on time

Informing customers who have overdue payments

Processes in Collection

Billing operations

Bill payment processing

Tele calling agency

Field collections

Supply Chain Management:

Vodafone India has always taken adequate measures to ensure that the supply chain is

efficient, and has developed systems to optimize every step of supply chain including

procurement, inventory management and effective waste disposal. Moreover they have also

established process that enables them to observe safety rules and conduct business

responsibly.


There is a close relationship between the finance function on the one hand and production,

procurement, marketing, personnel function on the other. Almost all business activities in an

organization directly or indirectly involve the acquisition and use of funds. The determination

of production, procurement and marketing strategies are the prerogative of the chief of

production, purchase and marketing divisions respectively, but for implementing their

decisions funds are required.

1. Helps Personnel department in fixing and revising the pay scale, incentive schemes,

etc.

2. Helps Marketing department in advertisement budgeting, brand promotion and target

fixing.

3. Helps Technical department in the aspects related to procurement of goods, selecting

best project, replacing tools etc.



3.4 Technology Department:

Technology Department Structure:


The 1.T department has been contracted to IBM. The main functions include:

Providing IT support to all departments in order to meet business requirement

Understand business requirement, changing time to time, and provide automated

solutions to meet and compete in the market

Understand technology trends and apply to enhance efficiency and advantage to

business.

Ensure 1.T applications and systems availability and scalability to meet growth

and market challenges.

Participate in management to understand business goals and challenges and

explore and deploy technology.

Define service levels (SLA) for centralized applications to meet business

objectives, monitor, review and enhance time to time.

Define, monitor, review and enhance scope of work (SOW) SLA with service

partners/providers.

Ensure alignment to national processes, with least compromise to circle business

needs.

Data security and IT process compliance to IT/Company policies and legal &

regulatory requirement.

Technology Head

Information

Technology

Operations &

Management

Career

Business

Transmission SWITCH Projects



Understand end customer experience and influence central IT team to provide IT

solutions to enhance end customer experience.

Prepare IT capacity, service and consumable plan for the year based on inputs

from functional heads.

Influence service partner/ Central IT team verticals with circle business trends

requirement to provide solutions.

Plan and deploy equipment capacities to meet requirement

Review existing and new IT infrastructure needs with service partner and enhance

systems availability and capacity

Network Operations

The network operation department performs the functions of designing and getting the IP

MPLS network implemented as per the specifications provided by corporate. Their

functions are:

Maintaining the MPLS network once it is commissioned for the carrying the

circle enterprise business (data & voice) traffic

Timely site readiness, physical installation of POP, acceptance test &

commissioning of Vodafone MPLS/Voice network.

Perform the operation & maintenance of MPLS POP.

Execution of work order for network & customer circuit provisioning in

coordination with all stakeholders.

Performance, capacity & network change management of MPLS network

Maintenance of network & customer SLA as per the target

Prepare and organize the strategy for Zonal - 0 & M setup

Planning resources requirement for various sub functions like Manpower

(employee + outsource staff), cell sites logistics/ spare materials, test equipment

24*7 Handling Network failures

To ensure fault free operation of network cell sites and network subsystem through

preventive maintenance. Managing 24 x 7 Zonal and centralized level maintenance shift

operation for speedy network fault resolution. Their functions are:

To ensure high network reliability/availability.



Constant interactions with system vendors and sub-contractors for day to day

operational issues.

Managing faulty spares repair and return process for various network sub systems

through various vendors.

To handle and manage the catastrophic network failures due to various calamities

condition.

To ensure fast recovery of network during unexpected/ uncertain scenario.

Optimum utilization/ mutilation of Zonal O&M resources for efficiently handling

the crisis.

Planning day to day 0 & M cost saving1 reducing technique.

Handling O&M related contractual/ outsourcing in lowest possible cost to produce

productive results in terms of cost /time and quality.

Monitoring & tracking O&M process cost.

Optimal and efficient utilization of available centralized /Zonal O&M staff or

contractual staff.

Cell sites logistic / Spares materials and test equipment usages and control

To create better understanding and interpersonal relationship among the remotely

located Zonal team members and sub functional centralized team members by way

of regular interaction / discussion with each individual team member.

To provide technical direction to subordinate for fast network problem resolution

and root cause problem analysis.


The importance of Technical department is increasing in recent years in every industry. In

Telecom industry Technical department places a very important role in relation to other

departments. The relations are discussed below:

1. Helps the Marketing department in promoting the products by constantly maintaining

the towers and dealing with network issues.

2. Helps the Customer service department by giving the 24*7 support in call allocation

and control.

3. Supports business service department by giving technical assistance.

4. Supports HR department in maintaining documents and gives technical support.



3.5 Customer Service Department:

Customer Service Department Structure:


The Customer service department fulfils an important role for an organization.

Customer service is often the main point of contact for a customer, so representatives can

paint the company in a positive light by providing friendly and prompt service. In some

cases, the customer service department can even generate additional sales for the company.

Customer service requires a great deal of patience since customers may be rude or demanding

at times. The main focus of a customer service department should be to attempt to satisfy the

customer's needs.

The customer service department also includes the Retention and Relation. They are

responsible for:

Reducing voluntary subscriber churn.

To ensure recruitment, training , performance of all retention executives

To ensure communication of empowerment and approval matrixes at all touch points

for customer retention

Process management of store retentions

To increase first level retention at stores

Ensuring all retention executives are trained

To record all correct information and closure of retained1 not retained customers

Ensuring all support from the stores team to the retention executives

Customer Service Head

Retention &

Relation

Quality Assurance

Call Centre

outbound

Service Partner

Management

Call Centre Inbound

Customer

Support Group



R & R are responsible for e-mail retention process - allocation, closure,

performance, as per set targets

Ensuring all cancellation requests are closed within the agreed SLA's by the

retention agents.

Driving customer win back post cancellation through tele-calling and field and

ensures the targets are met

Driving the base management of the selected high ARPU base through the team of

relationship managers and ensuring the targets on customer visits, retention,

complaints, collection, churn etc are met

Drive the team's performance in productivity, training retention skills, performance,

quality, validation and settlement of invoice

Call Centre

A call centre job is customer service work that is done on a remote basis using telephone

and/or computer equipment. The two types of call centre jobs are inbound, in which calls are

received, and outbound, in which calls are made. A call centre job may be home-based, but

many call centres have an on-site location with hundreds of employees.

Call centre out bound

An outbound call centre job requires workers to place calls using a list of contacts and a

written sales script. This work is known as telemarketing. Outbound call centre workers may

be doing direct sales work such as asking for a donation or they may give the recipients of

their calls information and try to book appointments for outside sales representatives to

follow up on. Outbound call centre workers may be asked to up-sell, or promote additional

products and services.

Call centre in bound

An inbound call centre job requires workers to answer incoming calls from customers. This

work can be more unpredictable than outbound call centre work as the worker does not know

who will be calling with what problem, complaint or request for information. The inbound

call centre worker must have a thorough knowledge of the products, services and policies of

the company he or she is representing. Some call centre jobs require extensive technical



knowledge of the product or service and technical service representatives communicate with

customers to troubleshoot problems with the product or service.


Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.

According to Turban "Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level

of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer

expectation."

The relationships of customer service department with other departments are discussed

below:

1. It places an important role in Marketing and Sales department by the way of customer

retention.

2. Good customer relationship helps in fulfilling financial targets.

3. It helps VBS department through continuous support in business activities.

4. It helps HR department in relationship maintenance in and outside the company.

3.6 Vodafone Business Services Department:

Vodafone Business Services Department Structure:


VBS Head

Customer

Operations

VBS Sales VBS

Marketing

VBS

Solutions

Small & Medium

Enterprises



The Vodafone Business Services department's main function is to manage and implement the

service strategy among corporate and Vodafone global enterprises customers in Karnataka

and attain high level of customer satisfaction through the cross functional teams, service

managers & channel partners whilst complying with agreed budget, timescales and agreed

policy guideline as also with all regulatory norms. Innovate and drive appropriate changes in

service delivery depending on market realities and demands. They must also align with cross

functional teams across circle and central. Back office matrix in terms of complaint

management resolutions and achieve customer satisfaction. Manage complaints from

customers within an agreed SLA.

They are responsible for:

Service management in the accounts through team of service manager and channel

partner for servicing.

Drive customer retention and comply to customers with customer credit policies.

Engage in formal service reviews with corporates and VGE accounts and customer

forums.

Provides feedbacks on evolving service needs.

Set goals and targets for the service team in consultation with the head

Monitor the performance of the teams periodically.

Responsible for service communication for the corporates and VGE customers

handled in the allocated territory.


Business clients are one of the important sources of Vodafone’s revenue. Since the revenue

is huge compared to individual customers it is important to give a special attention to them.

In the following way it relates to other departments:

1. Brings in huge amount of revenue and helps finance department in filling the

budgetary deficits.

2. Helps HR department in creating new contacts and expand its relationship outside the

business.

3.7 Legal Department:



Legal Department Structure:


The Legal department is responsible for maintaining and protecting the interest of the

company to the fullest extent. Take disciplined actions & focus on business needs and

requirements. They must adopt best practices and easy ways and means while resolving

issues. They must access and manage all types of results and handle crisis effectively and

efficiently.

The functions performed by the legal department are;

Provide high quality legal services

To ensure situations are handled and controlled to meet end users requirements.

Monitoring and focusing on driving the process as to collection against defaulters of

cheque bounces.

Handling uncertain, complex situations and speedily resolve the issues.

Defending the coercive actions taken by the government authorities for collecting

revenue is set aside.

Defending the litigations filed against the company and ensuring the customer is not

paid any compensation as claimed for.

Manage the risks and deliver results timely always, do not look for short term benefits

but long term solutions always.

Manage to move with the entire industry always.

All end users requirements have to be met timely so that business remains

unhampered.

Legal Head

Assistant Manager




Legal department is one of the important departments that ensure smooth working of the

organization. It maintains a constant relation with every department and solves the problems

in its initial stages. It relates to other department as follows:

1. Helps the various departments in solving their internal problems.

2. It helps HR department by giving guidelines regarding the selection process and

fixing the emoluments within the legal ground.

3. Helps Finance department in solving tax related issues.

4. Controls the aggressive and negative strategies of competitors and helps in promotion

strategies.

5. Protects technical copy rights.



SWOT Analysis:

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weakness,

Opportunities and Threats involved in a project or a business venture. It involves specifying

the objectives of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external

factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieve that objective.

4.1 Strengths:

Strong international presence and Brand recognition

Well defined cost reduction initiatives, managed Purchasing, outsourcing

The brand name it has in the Indian market

The kind of subscriber base it has in the Indian market

It has the 2nd highest market share in India(source : Wikipedia)

It has a 2nd highest subscriber base in India 1st being Airtel

Its strong advertising strategies and impact on people

Its India’s 3rd biggest mobile carrier(source: Business standard)

Excellent Network Coverage

4.2 Weakness:

Uncertainty in revenue growth in the HSDPA network based on historically slow

consumer market take-up of 3G data services.

Low Research and Development.

Ambiguity in products, services.

High customers churn (25%)

Rural India unable to relate to the brand.

4.3 Opportunities:

Emerging markets and expansion abroad

Innovation and Tower sharing business with Indus Towers

Product and services expansion

Growing data business and 3G auctioning

VAS as a means to increase ARPU (big boss, Zoo Z00)

Growing Enterprise solution market (10.2% in 2009 anticipated)

Large capital can be raised by listing Vodafone on Indian Stock Exchange(IPO)



4.4 Threats:

Highly competitive market

Still lags behind major competitors in India

Extremely high penetration rates in key markets.

European Union regulation on cross-border cell phone usage by customer.

SWOT Matrix:

STRENGTHS

Brand recognition

Strong international presence

2nd highest market share in India

2nd highest subscriber base in India

Strong advertising strategies

Excellent Network Coverage

Excellent marketing communication

WEAKNESS

Uncertainty in revenue growth

Low Research and Development.

Ambiguity in products, services.

High customers churn

Rural India unable to relate to the

brand.

No network in rural areas.

No 3G license in many circles.

OPPORTUNITIES

Emerging markets and expansion

Tower sharing business

Product and services expansion

Growing Enterprise solution market

Capital through IPO in India.

THREATS

Highly competitive market

Still lags behind major competitors in

India

Extremely high penetration rates in

key markets.



McKinsey 7s Model:

The 7-s framework of McKinsey is a Value Based Management (VBM) model that describes

how one can holistic and effectively organise a company. Together these determine the way

in which a corporation operates. Vodafone has become a leading company as it has a very

strong product and service marketing focus it has certainly adopted the basic 4p’s of

marketing i.e. price, product, place, and promotion mix are the strong weapons with the help

of which Vodafone has overcome all the consequences it has faced during its inception.

McKinsey 7s Structure:



The Hard S’s:

4.1 Strategy

It is the plans for the allocation of a firm’s scarce resource, over time, to reach identified

goals. As Vodafone has already adopted the brand name it has reached its saturation stage

now in order to sustain for a longer term they need to renovate or launch new products under

the same brand name which they are doing.

4.2 Structure

It is the way the organisation’s units relate to each other. Centralised, function divisions (top-

down), decentralised (the trend in larger organisation), matrix, network, holding, etc. The

essentials departments help in acquiring efficiency and effectiveness. This assists the

organization to achieve the desirable goals. The company have acquired expertise knowledge

to develop faith and trust of the consumers.

The present matrix structure of the organization does not enable quick decision making due to

large number of job hierarchy. The company need to refine it to the flat empowered

organization structure in order to fulfil the flexibility and quick decision making to meet

changing market needs.

4.3 System:

It is the procedures, processes and routine that characterise how important work is to be done,

such as financial systems; hiring, promoting and performance appraisal systems; information

system. The Vodafone has followed formal procedure that governs the day to day activity.

The Marketing communication and MIS departments of Vodafone analyse consumer

response by an easy going system. The marketing and sales personnel of the organization

conduct various market surveys with the help of the retail system, call centre system, etc.

such system avails the organization to have crystal clear information in the progress.

Presently, Vodafone is more control focused and employees at the bottom level are strictly

supervised this supress the trust and helping nature. The new system should be adopted to

bring in the empowerment and trust instead of control.



The Soft S’s:

4.4 Shared Value:

The interconnecting centre of McKinsey’s model is: Shared Values. What does the

organisation stands for and what it believes in i.e. Central beliefs and attitudes. As the hand

works in the human body the shared values are the core values of the organization as it

connects soft skills of the Vodafone. They are communicated in the organization which is

very clear from the behaviour and adherence of employees to the organizational policies.

4.5 Staff:

It is the numbers and types of personnel within the organisation. Vodafone has also appointed

people from various groups of the society based on their skills and abilities so that they can

bring best leverage for the company as well as themselves. In order to motivate their staff

they provide various financial as well as non-financial incentives. This will make their

employees to work in more enthusiasm and interest.

4.6 Style:

It is the cultural style of the organisation and how key managers behave in achieving the

organisation’s goals.ie; Management Styles. The top level management of Vodafone has

maintained a discipline atmosphere. They make sure that they achieve result within a defined

time. The style of the management control is partially non decisive and risk avoiding, this

hindrances decision making, risk taking and entrepreneurial ability of the employees. They

need to supervise their subordinated in such way that they work in deliberate manner to

overcome this problem.

4.7 Skill:

It is the distinctive capabilities of personnel or of the organisation as a whole. The capability

of the organization has bound that the consumers with their standardized quality product. The

competency of the organization is to provide its product at an affordable price and in addition

to it; its products are convention able, available in urban as well as remote areas.

At Vodafone the employees are highly skilled and trained but they suffer from the lack of

executing skills. The programmes should be launched to train the employees in order to bring

balance between the knowledge and executing skills.



5.1 Statement of the Problem and Objectives

Problem Identification:

The problem identification is made in the field of Marketing.

Statement of the Problem:

Analysis on awareness of internet and 3G mobile services among the rural flock in the areas

of Tumkur, Chikkamagalur, Chikkaballapur and Hassan and feasibility of launching 3G

services in rural areas.

Objectives of Study:

Analyse the rural lifestyle and standard of living in rural areas.

Understand the educational qualification, occupation, income of people and its effect

on the telecom services.

Understand the rural awareness of internet and 3G in rural areas.

To check the extent of feasibility in launching the 3G services in rural areas.

5.2 Methodology and Limitations:

Interview method is followed to collect the data.

Interview was conducted with 10 questions.

Respondents were rural users of telephony service.

Sample size was 100 respondents.

Survey was conducted in rural Tumkur, Chikkaballapur, Chikkamagalur and Kolar.

Limitations of the Study:

1. While collecting the data, all the relevant information was not available from people.

2. Some of the respondents were reluctant to share the information during survey.

3. All the results and conclusions have been drawn on the basis of information provided

by the respondents, so it may lack authenticity.

4. As only four districts were surveyed, it does not represent the overall view of the

Karnataka market.



5.3 Analysis and Interpretation of the Problem:

5.3.1 Table showing the family income levels of the respondents

Income Level Respondents

Below 50000 10

50000 - 100000 43

100000 - 500000 44

above 500000 3

Total respondents 100

5.3.1 Chart showing the family income levels of the respondents

Interpretation: From the above chart and table it can be observed that most of the

respondents have family income between 50000 to 500000

10

43 44

3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Below 50000 50000 - 100000 100000 - 500000 above 500000

Respondents



5.3.2 Table showing the educational qualification of the respondents:

Educational

Qualification

Respondents

Up to 5th 32

5th to 10th 30

10th to College 23

Degree 15

Total respondents 100

5.3.2 Chart showing the educational qualification of the respondents:


respondents have educational qualification between 1st to 10th standard.

3230

23

15

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Up to 5th 5th to 10th 10th to College Degree

Respondents



5.3.3 Table showing the type of mobile phone used by the respondents:

Model of Mobile phone Respondents

Basic phones 72

Smart phones 28

5.3.3 Chart showing the type of mobile phone used by the respondents:


respondents use the Basic cell phone models.

Basic

Smart phones

72%

28%



5.3.4 Table showing Sim card among respondents:

5.3.4 Chart showing Sim card among respondents:


respondents use Airtel and Vodafone Sim cards.

38

24

19

12

7

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Airtel Vodafone BSNL Idea Others

Respondent

Mobile operator Respondent

Airtel 38

Vodafone 24

BSNL 19

Idea 12

Others 7

Total Respondents 100



5.3.5 Table showing users of internet among respondents:

5.3.5 Chart showing users of internet among respondents:

Interpretation: From the above chart and table it can be observed that more than 50% of the

respondents are non-users of internet.

40%

60%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

users non users

User percentage

Particulars User percentage

Users of internet 40%

Non-users of internet 60%



5.3.6 Table showing mode of access of internet among respondents:

5.3.6 Chart showing mode of access of internet among respondents:


respondents get internet access through Mobile phones.

Mobile phones

Computer at home

Cybrer café

70%

25%

5%

Mode of access Number of respondents

Mobile phones 28

Computer at home 2

Cyber café 10

Total 40



5.3.7 Table showing the purpose of internet use among respondents:

5.3.7 Table showing the purpose of internet use among respondents:


respondents use internet for purpose like surfing, social media etc.

7

3

10

20

0

5

10

15

20

25

Education Agriculture Movies others

number of respondents

Purpose of internet number of respondents

Education 7

Agriculture 3

Movies 10

others 20

Total 40



5.3.8 Table showing the awareness of benefits 3Gamong the respondents:

5.3.8 Chart showing the awareness of benefits 3Gamong the respondents:


respondents are unaware benefits from Mobile internet with 3G.

Yes No

63%

37%

Particulars Number of Respondents

Yes 37

No 63

Total 100



5.3.9 Table showing the reason behind selecting the current tariff plan:

Reason Number of respondents

Cost effectiveness 63

Suggested by others 12

No other good option 19

Other 6

Total 100

5.3.9 Chart showing the reason behind selecting the current tariff plan:

Interpretation: From the above chart and table it is clear that the selection of Sim cards are

cost dependent.

63

12

19

6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Cost effectiveness Suggested by

othersNo other good

optionOther

Number of respondents



5.3.10 Table showing the amount of currency used by the respondents per month:

5.3.10 Chart showing the amount of currency used by the respondents per month:

Interpretation: From the above chart and table it is clear that most of the respondents use

the currency denomination between Rs.30 to Rs.500

Lessthan 30

30 to 100

100 to 500

More than 500

2%

23%

65%

10%

Amount Number of respondents

Less than 30 2

30 to 100 23

100 to 500 65

More than 500 10

Total 100



6.1 Summary of Analysis of Problem:

The problem analysis has been made in the field of rural marketing. The problem was about

“awareness of internet and 3G in rural people”. The problem been analysed by conducting an

interview in the villages of Tumkur, Chikkaballapur, Chikkamagalur and Hassan districts. A

sample of 100 respondents belonging to different age group, sex, income and educational

qualification have been selected randomly from the area in order to get more accurate results.

The study was conducted for a period of 10 days in which distributers, sales heads, runner

boys and retailers are been interviewed along with the rural people in order to get a clear idea

of the rural market. Behaviour of rural people and their lifestyle have been analysed by clear

examination of rural areas.

Along with the Principal objective of study buying behaviour, price sensitivity and changing

behaviour of people in recent times also studied in brief. This study helped to understand the

effectiveness of ‘word of mouth’ and means its effect on the products of various orders.

6.2 Summary of Findings:

The concept of rural market is not same as it was in 1990’s. Many small large and schemes

by government have brought the revolutionary changes in the field of agriculture and helped

to overcome the rural people from poverty. During the study it was observed that

respondents below the age group of 35 year are well educated and awareness about the

present market and communication facility was nearly equal to their counterpart in urban

areas.

Today most of the rural population have income more than 50000 per annum (table-5.3.1)

and they even get good educational facilities. Most of the people below the age group of 35

years have high school education. According to Table- 5.3.3, it is clear that nearly 30% of

the people use mobile with internet facility and it is increasing constantly due to their interest

in new technologies.

In Karnataka circle Airtel is the market leader in both urban and rural areas (Table5.3.4). The

main reason for this is poor network coverage for Vodafone in rural areas. Though the

Vodafone has excellent products and services, low network coverage made many customers

ported their Sim card to other service providers.



According to Table- 5.3.5, 40% of the rural people use internet for various reasons, out of

which 28 people get access through their mobile phones. This shows the opportunity for

mobile phone operators in to increase their subscriber base through better internet packages.

Among the internet users most of the people use it to get access to social networks, gaming,

mail, movies and to browse some useful information. Faster internet facilities will make them

to switch in to the new option available at competitive price.

In rural areas the awareness of 3G is very less compared to urban people (Table- 5.3.8). Even

the internet users do not have complete knowledge on 3G and its benefits. Creating

awareness in the rural people about the 3G and its benefits as a part of CSR programme will

help the company to get new customer and also increase the reputation in rural areas.

Rural customers are highly cost sensitive. Table- 5.3.9 shows that more than 60% of the

respondents selected the operator due to low cost tariff plans. It is also clear from Table-

5.3.10 that more than 70% of the respondents use currency denomination above Rs. 100.

Study of the various departments at Vodafone depicts the good relationship within the

department and with other departments. This relation in the organisation has made it a major

player in the Indian market. A good customer in post-sales helped in achieving the good

customer retention rate.

6.3 Conclusion

The study conducted in the rural areas reveals that most of the population belongs to

middleclass income families with low literacy. But mere making them educated and creating

awareness is not enough to get in to rural markets. The rural people are most cost sensitive

and they compare the usefulness with cost of service. So the companies also need to

understand the price behaviour of customers which changes along with regions.

The awareness of the people about internet in the rural areas is growing rapidly today. The

rapid expanding market and high growth rate provides a good platform to the company to

penetrate in to the market. Vodafone need to frame its internet and 3G plans according to the

rural requirement to tap the rural market keeping all the factors influencing consumer

behaviour in mind.



6.4 Suggestions and Recommendations

The urban telecom market is almost saturated with more than 125% of teledensity. But the

teledensity in rural area is less than 60%, which provides a very good platform to the telecom

operators to grow further. But the rural market is not similar to urban markets. The customers

in rural market differ in behaviour, knowledge, consumption pattern and life style. Apart

from this they also suffer from problems like lack of infrastructural facilities, low literacy,

power supply problems etc. The telecom companies need to adopt following suggestions to

overcome these problems to operate effectively and to launch new plans in the market.

1. Adopt the tower sharing scheme to reduce the high operating cost.

2. Educate the distributers, outlet owners and customers regarding the 3G and its

advantages.

3. Conduct the classes for members of rural self-help groups to create awareness.

4. Creating the need in minds of people to convert the awareness in to interest.

5. Launch “made for rural” internet and 3G offers to convert the interest in to need

which consequently make them customers.

6. Offer affordable internet services to penetrate in to the market.

7. Conduct surveys in rural areas to understand the changing behaviour and need of rural

flock.

6.5 Learnings

Learning is an ever going process. Primarily this project helped to learn about the

overall structure, work flow and relationship between the departments in a practical way. It

was a first and very good experience to learn about the work by observation.

Employees of the entire visited department are friendly and shared useful information with

open mind. Many of the employees even shared incidents happened in the company regarding

HSW policy, ethics and values. These inputs helped to get a clear picture of corporate world.

Since many of the employees had experience in other industries, this study also imparted

knowledge of those industries. Through continuous relation with all departments for a month

also helped to understand the recent policies and changes in the organisation.



SWOT and 7 S models helped to get a good amount of knowledge about the industry and

level of competition. Through these, the comparative analysis been made among the

competitors to know the position and growth pattern of other players in the market.

Problem identification part was a new exposure, helped to know about the rural customer

behaviour, consumption pattern, rural culture and many more aspects. Working with rural

guides also helped to get many useful inputs gained from their experience in the market.