Measures that Should be Taken by Government and Business (Essay Sample)

Strategic Communications
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Contents
TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Background PAGEREF _Toc451816025 \h 2
The strengths and weaknesses of the business / products and services / brand PAGEREF _Toc451816026 \h 2
Identify the key stakeholder groups of this company/ business / products and services / brand PAGEREF _Toc451816027 \h 4
Identification and evaluation of objectives PAGEREF _Toc451816028 \h 5
Create a deeper understanding of the firm’s business goals PAGEREF _Toc451816029 \h 5
Evaluation PAGEREF _Toc451816030 \h 6
Seal present communication gaps PAGEREF _Toc451816031 \h 6
Evaluation PAGEREF _Toc451816032 \h 7
Increase public relations mileage PAGEREF _Toc451816033 \h 7
Evaluation PAGEREF _Toc451816034 \h 7
Stakeholder messages PAGEREF _Toc451816035 \h 8
Core Message PAGEREF _Toc451816036 \h 8
Communication strategies to fulfill the stakeholder’s interests PAGEREF _Toc451816037 \h 9
Possible measures that would ensure the program success PAGEREF _Toc451816038 \h 9
Background
China Mobile officially begun its operations in the year 2000 and has enjoyed an upper hand in the market for most of the time it has been in existence (Sridhar, 2008). Considering the aspect of market value relative to other operators in the region, the company has grown in to a giant when compared to similar firms in the Asian region (Kumar, 2010). As studies indicate, the company has expanded its operations to incorporate mobile voice amenities as well as services that add value for its clients (Environmental Policy and the Mobile Phone Industry, 2008). These comprise of data, multimedia, and finally Ip telephone (Greenland, 2012). It is also important to note that the firm has since its inception played an irreplaceable role in improving and influencing the direction of China’s communication industry (Heath, 2015). In addition, China Mobile has served to trigger the commitment of other global companies operating within the same industry because of its ability to acquire the largest network scale as well as habitué base (Heath & Gregory, 2014). Written from a regional manager’s perspective, this paper takes the form of a strategic communication plan for China Mobile geared towards strengthening its brand and reputation in the year 2016.
The strengths and weaknesses of the business / products and services / brand
As research indicates, the company has in recent years managed to efficaciously appeal to investors from the global arena. In an attempt to explain this turn out of events, Kumar (2010) opines that investors have been lured by its sound and ever-increasing performance levels a well as the prospects exhibited in terms of potential. Furthermore, recent investigations in to the company’s records as touching performance indicate that China Mobile currently stands at number 224 in the global arena an aspect that Sandhu (2009) believes that emanates from its comprehensive promotional activities. Moreover, the firm has exhibited tremendous strength and resilience remaining in the list of the world’s top 500 companies three years in a row (Heath, 2015). As O'Hair et al., (2008) opine the strengths exhibited by the company draw directly from its ability to come up with and constantly review strategies meant for enhancing its image and competitiveness.
China Mobile as Zerfass (2009) argues enjoys three major points of strength that helped the company stay aloof and conspicuous even in the midst of escalating competitive echelons. The first is its immense network scale, which has gained the recognition of numerous scholars because it is the firm’s backbone (Sridhar, 2008). However, this did not come easy as the company has taken more than 10 years investing heavily and keenly to develop one of the best network coverage’s of all time (Heath, 2015). The next key strength has to do with its user scale. As studies indicate, the number of users the company has managed to secure exceeds 160% on an annual basis. This translates in to more than 87% of the market share in China (Greenland, 2012). The last point of strength is the firm’s excellent service and business. This strength as Sisco (2006) opines emanates from the years of experience the company has amassed in the industry leading to the creation of numerous brands. In spite of the aforementioned strengths, the business has a single but major weakness depicted in terms of the shortcomings of its services in 3G (Heath, 2015). Studies indicate that its rivals have surpassed the company when it comes to maximizing its 3G network (Heath & Gregory, 2014).
In terms of products, the firm has a major strength owing to its capacity to come up with three unique brands namely GoTone, Easyown, and M-Zone (Environmental Policy and the Mobile Phone Industry, 2008). As such, customers have often indicated high echelons of satisfaction due to advantages coming along with the aforementioned brands. These include free calls, low communiqué rates, and high savings when using the internet (Sridhar, 2008). The one single weakness regarding the product and brand aspect is the fact that the fees charged by the company for the services attached to the three brands are higher compared those charged by other firms (Zerfass, 2009).
Identify the key stakeholder groups of this company/ business / products and services / brand
China Mobile like most of other players in the country’s modest industry operates within the tenets of accountability by comprehensively communicating to its six stakeholders. As highlighted by Sandhu (2009), these comprise of its employees, the environment government and industry controllers, partners in the value chain, investors, and the shareholders (Kumar, 2010). As studies indicate, the company has over the years managed to harness the input of these stakeholders via mastering strategically plans of communication (Greenland, 2012). More importantly, the firm has learned and maximized the usage of the new platforms accrued by the media to establish a mechanism that fosters effective interaction with the aforementioned stakeholders. As Heath (2015) recently found out, China mobile has well-structured communication plans that allow it to stay posted concerning the expectations of its stakeholders. In addition, the strategies have also given the company an upper hand in the industry because stakeholders’ approaches and opinions in dealing with issues are easily retrieved (Kumar, 2010). Moreover, the company has managed to maintain high levels of trust with the stakeholders because of its ability recognize the importance of each to treat them with their due respect.
Identification and evaluation of objectives
As Sridhar (2008) suggests, the manner in which organizations strategize for communication purposes has changed immensely over the last one and half decades. Additionally, although there have been some changes in the objectives set out as attached to the strategies, the objectives have not so much changed except in cases where organizations have been forced to adapt to technological alterations ( Sisco, 2006). The key and recent communication strategies objectives for China Mobile are discussed below and evaluations made based on the ‘SMART’ tenets.
Create a deeper understanding of the firm’s business goals
As Heath and Gregory (2014) assert, one of the most crucial objectives to be entrenched in the communication tactics of any organization is the need to have each stakeholder understand the goals of the company. Consequently, China Mobile has endeavored to deploy its communication strategies to ensure that each of the aforementioned stakeholders improves their understanding of the goals set by the company. According to Heath and Gregory (2014), firms should not only e able to define objectives attached to strategies but should as well define timelines. China Mobile has therefore intended that the stakeholders acquire full and comprehensive knowledge of its objectives within duration of 2 months. The tools used to make this possible include mailbox and upcoming media platforms such as Weibo and Wechat (Heath, 2015). While mails will be used to communicate with the stakeholders, the latter will serve to enlighten concerning carefully selected topics that highlight the objectives. Prior to the exercise, the firm will suggest the need to its stakeholders via their handsets to have them agree. In order to determine whether this objective has been successful, the company will hold stakeholder meetings at the end of the first and second months. During both sessions, the stakeholders will discuss how to achieve the aims of the firm. Below is an evaluation of this first objective.
Evaluation
Specific: create a deeper understanding of the company’s intentions amongst stakeholders
Measurable: use interval conferences to discuss how to better achieve the firm’s aims
Achievable: the company has the proper tools- mail and novel media daises
Realistic: considering the available tools and the ample time, the exercise will prove fruitful
Time: the 2 months for the exercise are enough to achieve the aim of the exercise
Seal present communication gaps
China Mobile has made it an objective to expose and seal current gaps in communication as experienced by the firm’s executives and its stakeholders (Heath, 2015). According to Sridhar (2008), most of modern day companies have failed to investigate such gaps and have consequently not been able to exhaust useful opinions of their stakeholders. The company is enthusiastic that th...