Maxis Telecommunication: Examining The Macro Environment For Sales Force Management Essay.

Discuss About The Sale Force Management Innovation Technology?

The main aim of the task is to explain and analyze the macro environment of Malaysia. It will help in building and developing a good image in the minds of customers. Maxis Telecommunication Company has been selected. Maxis Company is one of the largest telecommunication companies in the world which provides various mobile phone services to customers across the world. It provides telecommunication services to business enterprises and individual. They are the major customers of the organization. The macro environment of the country affects the profitability of the organization. Malaysia is a developing country and the economy is average. It impacts the operations and the profitability of the organization. There are also certain other factors such as the political environment and the technical infrastructure, which impacts the operations of the organization. The paper explains how the firms identify and evaluates the macro environment factors to overcome the rivalries in the market. At the end, some recommendations have been given to reduce the negative impact of external environment.

Maxis Berhad is a communications service provider in Malaysia. The company provides a wide range of communication products; value added services and applications for consumers, large enterprises and small and medium business owners. The firm was incorporated in 1993 with it is headquarter is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The company employs more than 2901 employees in the organization. It is leading service provider in Malaysia. The customers of the company enjoy a superior internet experience (Maxis, 2017). Beyond connecting people, the firm passionate about making a positive impact on the society in which the organization operates and manages its business activities. Currently, Maxis is a holding company and it renders telecommunication, mobile services and fixed line services in Malaysia. The mission of the firm is become a premier integrated communications service provider in mission and the vision of the organization is to make a bright future of consumers by providing effective and attractive communication services. The core values include positivity, passionate, collaborative and cooperation(Maxis, 2017). The main aim of the firm is to maximize and increase profitability and revenue in the competitive market.

On 19 November 2009, the organization was listed on Bursa Malaysia. The firm wants that customers feel free to connect and communicate with other people. They will feel enabled by the services of the company, not inhibited. The management team of Maxis is unique and dynamic. Morten Lundal is the chief executive officer and Nasution bin Mohamed is chief financial officer of the organization. The company believes that the consumers should be given extreme priority and it provides extreme importance for their convenience and satisfaction. All the employees are given training so that they can provide maximum satisfaction to the employees.

Macro Environment Analysis

 Maxis Companyis trying to explore and flourish digital learning in the competitive market. In the present, all the operations of the organization require IT infrastructure and digital operations. Therefore, the company provides competitive training to the employees. Along with it, the digital medium also increases efficiency and speed of the operations.

The company’s carbon footprint has remained relatively stable due to energy efficiency measures. In 2015, the firm maintained total network energy usage at 289 GWH and same maintained in 2014. The organization also follows local rules, legislations and guidelines set by the Malaysian communications and multimedia commission. The primary aim of Maxis is to maintain and set a sensible and unique standard of safety, health and to ensure the well being of company’s employees who may be affected by the activities and operations of the firm. Furthermore, the company is trying to minimize the losses to the business from injury and ill health. In addition, Maxis is dedicated to render the best possible security by safeguarding and securing assets and employees in the workplace.

The macro environment affects each and every business. Macro environment refers to the external environment of the company. These factors are beyond the control of marketers however they still may affect decision making process. The firm needs to focus on external environment factors so that it can maintain competitive position in the global market.The external environment may influence the entire economy of the country (Van Wormer &Besthorn, 2017). The macro environment includes several factors such as political, economic, socio-cultural, technology and environment factors. Pestle (Political, economic, social, legal and environmental) analysis is done by the firm to analyze and identify the challenges and opportunities in the international market. The elements of macroenvironment have been stated below.

Political factors: The political factors may be associated to the government. They comprise tax policies, health and safety laws, legislative bills and government stability. The political factors may affect the individual as well as organization in a society. The company should understand these factors on an international level and ensure their business aligns to laws, policies, rules and regulations (Gilpin, 2016). There are several strict laws which are applicable to the telecommunication industry, such as bandwidth use, tariff rates and privacy laws. It is important that the organization follows these laws to avoid strict actions from the government.

Economic factors: These factors are related to inflation, taxes, recession and unemployment. Effective planning must be done by the firm to analyze and measure the economic factors. Economic factors may influence the success and growth of the company adversely. The economic factors are those external economic factors that affect the consumer buying behavior and capacity. It also includes economic resources, level of income, trade cycles and distribution of income and wealth. Apart from this, it includes import duty, VAT, unemployment rate, interest rate and sales tax (Nelson, 2015). The telecommunication industry is affected by the economic status of the country. If there is economic recession, the consumers will not use the services, which will negatively impact on the profits of company.

Political Factors

Social factors: These factors also influence trading activities and operations of the organization. The social factors include ethnic background, culture, values, social status, demographic location, new trends, lifestyle and needs of people. Social components play a vital role to determine needs, requirements and lifestyle of people in the world. The socio-cultural factors also include preferences, desires and behavior of people to attract and increase more and more consumers globally. Many socio-cultural blunders occur due to the failure of the businesses in the foreign market. Furthermore, the employees are not able to understand and analyze the culture and trends of the foreign market. As a result, it influences the growth rate of the firm adversely. The social-cultural factors play a significant role in every company to determine the lifestyles, requirements and wants of people in the competitive market (Salvendy, 2012).  In the present, there is excessive competition in the telecommunication industry,it is the

Technological factors: Technology not only used to deliver and develop products to consumers. But also technology used to conduct business activities effectively and efficiently. None of the company can survive its business without effective and dynamic technology. Therefore, the organization needs to focus on the technology development in the organization. The organization who is fastest with the best and unique technology can easily overcome the competitors in any market. Thus, the firm needs to keep an eye on the advanced technology to stay in the competitive market (Johnston & Marshall, 2016).

Legal factors: These factors have direct impacted on the progress of the firm. Before starting a new business, the organization needs to measure and identify the legal factors. These elements also influence decision making process of the firm (Yin, 2013). The legal factors encompass rules, regulations, laws and legislations that can positively or negatively affect the result and outcomes of market actions.

Environment factors: These factors can direct impact on the organization’s productivity and consumer decision making process.The firm also keeps an eye on the environment factors to gain competitive advantages in the international market. The natural environment includes the natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or they are influenced by marketing activities and operations. Environment is a major concern for each and every organization to start a new business operation in the foreign market. Thus, the firm needs to focus and analyze the several trends in the natural environment (Li & Heap, 2011).

Economic Factors

Maxis is the biggest player in the telecommunication industry. Thus, various macro environment factors affect the growth and success of the firm positively as well as negatively. The company cannot maintain direct control on these external factors. The external macro environment factors which could affect Maxis performance and business have been below.

Political factors: These factors play a significant role in macro environment and political factors directly affect growth of Maxis. The political factors include international trade agreements, low trade restrictions, and political stability. Legislation issues come up constantly.Government is one of the effective sources to know that how telecoms must be managed and handled and people have another option (Xu, 2005). Internet and WiFi are the part of people’s life. Maxis need to focus on these factors to stay in the competitive market and to build a good image in the world. The organization cannot grow its business without analyzing and evaluating the political factors. The political factors influence the operations of the firm. In Malaysia, there is a multi party system and political conditions are stable in such country. In addition, the national media are controlled and managed by the government. In this way, the firm needs to analyze and identify the political factors to enter in the foreign market.

Economic factors: The economic factors include inflation rate, interest rate, unemployment rates and taxes that direct influence the telecommunication industry. Expenses influence the pricing per plan that is provided to customers. The needs and requirements of telecommunication services are being increased day by day. Growth of Maxis is dependent on the technological advancements and market as well.  Internet and mobile phones are being used by many businesses for marketing and promotion. They create social media pages and digital marketing campaigns to attract more customers across the world (Perdana Leadership Foundation, 2017).Maxis hires customer service representatives to resolve and handle the problem via website live chat. Media managers, marketers and writers manage campaigns and online marketing. Furthermore, programmers and graphic designers are essential to create websites for mobile users and computers. In 1971, the new economic policy was created in Malaysia. The poverty decreased to 8.3% in 2004 against 64.8% in the 1970s. Apart from this, growth rate is sustainable in Malaysia due to effective economic. Maxis needs to monitor the economic factors to gain more revenue and returns in Malaysia. It will also help to hit the competitors in the international market.

Social Factors

Social factors: The growth of telecommunication industry is limited. It is difficult and expensive to expand and explore in rural regions. The social factors include education level, values, beliefs, customs and culture of people that could affect the Maxis business. In today’s era, telecommunication has become an essential part of the daily life of the every person. In Malaysia, there is a multi cultural society. The main ethnic groups are the native Malays and large populations of Indians and Chinese. The people of Malaysia maintain their customs, culture, religious and way of life. Public holidays are most significant festivals of each and every group in Malaysia. Therefore, it could positively affect the profitability of the firm (Abdullah, 2015). Along with this, children are also educated and well in such country. Also, it provides a good chance to accomplish long term goals of the company. In this way, if the company continuously carries the business activities in Malaysia it can take various advantages.

Technological factors: Innovative and advanced technology plays a vital role in Maxis Telecommunication Company. Basis needs and requirements in smart phones cover messaging, caller ID and voicemail. However, development risk and regulations risk are also involved in technological factors that could negatively affect the success of the organization. In addition, science policy in Malaysia is governed by the ministry of science, technology and innovation. Along with this effective and dynamic technologies are used by Maxis in Malaysia to attract more and more clients in the global world. Technology is an effective source for Maxis to reach its heights in the international market.

Legal factors: The telecommunication industry is usually impacted by regulation issues. The issues are generally associated with monopolies, government and customers. The law of Malaysia is primarily based on the common law legal system. Moreover, the constitution of Malaysia also provides for unique and effective dual justice system-Sharia laws and the secular laws.   However, complications and issues have arisen in term of the dual justice system (Healy, & Palepu, 2012). Thus, the company needs to measure and identify legal factors to run the business successfully and powerfully. None of the firm can attain long term mission and vision without monitoring on the legal factors.

Environmental factors: Global warming and climate change can influence the telecommunication products and services. In terms of technology advancement and employment, workers need to adapt the changes.In addition, there are several environmental issues faced by Malaysia like pollution and deforestation. After the various researchers, it has been analyzed that Malaysia’s deforestation rate is the highest among various nations (Yin, 2013). Apart from this, Malaysia lost an average of 140,200 hectares of its forests since 2000. It also has a negative impact on the success and progress of the firm. Water pollution is also an environmental issue that could affect the activities and operations of telecommunication industry. The profit of the firm depends on the needs, desires and requirements of the customers.

Technological Factors

All these factors also influence the outcomes and profitability of Maxis. The company should focus on these factors to stand out against the competitors in the universal market. It also helps to build and develop a unique and dynamic financial image in the world.

The macro and micro environment play an integral role to expand and grow the trade and business effectively. If the firm wants to start a new business in foreign countries, external and internal factors should be considered. Maxis uses a variety of tools in planning to consider and identify the impacts of macro environment factors. Apart from this, the organization uses PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis and porter five forces analysis to analyze and measure the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors. Telekom Malaysia, Telenor and Vodafone are the main competitors of Maxis. There are various recommendations have been given to manage the macro environment factors effectively which are discussed below.

• Effective planning must be done to measure and determine the external factors, market and environment.
• The firm should adapt unique and dynamic strategies, policies and approaches to manage and handle the various macro environment factors.
• Along with this, Maxis should monitor the plans, policies and strategies of rivalries and market to gain several competitive benefits in the market (Lange, 2010).
• The firm should differentiate their products and services from competitors to maximize results and outcomes.
• In addition, the organization must focus the culture, values and belief of people to manage and handle the socio-cultural issues. Apart from this effective approaches to be used to control on the political and environmental factors.
• Moreover, the company should identify and measure rules, regulations and laws to run the business effectively and to manage the macro environment successfully (Kelly&Rossotto, 2012).
• To manage the economic factors, the firm should focus on the economic stability and other economic factors. It will also help to provide a good chance to reduce marketing risks and challenges.
• Additionally, Maxis should improve the sustainability programs to manage the favorable environment in the country. It will also increase productivity and outcomes of the firm (Porter, 2008).
• Innovative and unique technologies must be used and initiated by the company to handle and reduce the issues related to technology and resources.

All these measures help to maintain sustainability in the workplace as well as environment. The macro environment analysis helps to reduce cost of the firm. It also helps to minimize risks and maximize returns of the company. It will provide several opportunities to companies to grow and expand their business effectively. PESTLE analysis helps to reduce and eliminate effects of potential threats of the organization. Also, it develops and improves cross functional skills and knowledge of the workers. Every company should focus on the external factors such as political, economic, socio-cultural, legal, technology and environmental factors. It will help to generate more and more outputs in the rivalry market.

Conclusion

On the above mentioned study, it has been concluded that Maxis provides a variety of telecommunication products and services. The firm offers call plans, international roaming, MMS, WAP, monthly subscription plans residential fixed line services to customers in the global world. Apart from this, the company also provides I-Phone services to large variety of customers. On the other hand, the paper explains macro environment elements that affect the growth rate of the firm. External factors play an integral role to increase and improve the performance and productivity. In addition various recommendations have been explained in the task to manage the PESTLE factors effectively and efficiently. Now it is recommended that the organization should focus on the promotional and advertisement strategies to encourage and promote its business activities and operations globally.

References

Abdullah, R. (2015). China-Malaysia Relations and Foreign Policy.Routledge.

Gilpin, R. (2016). The political economy of international relations.Princeton University Press.

Healy, P.M., & Palepu, K.G. (2012).Business Analysis Valuation: Using Financial Statements. Cengage Learning.

Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2016). Sales force management: Leadership, innovation, technology. Routledge.

Kelly, T. &Rossotto, C.M. (2012).Broadband Strategies Handbook.World Bank Publications.

Lange, J.S. (2010). Human Resource Management in Indonesia: Important Issues to Know Before Establishing a Subsidiary in Indonesia. DiplomicaVerlag.

Li, J., & Heap, A. D. (2011). A review of comparative studies of spatial interpolation methods in environmental sciences: performance and impact factors. Ecological Informatics, 6(3-4), 228-241.

Maxis,(2017).Visionandvalues,retrievedon2^ndFeb2018,<https://maxis.listedcompany.com/vision_mission.html>

Maxis,(2017).Corporateprofile,retrievedon2^ndFeb2018,<https://maxis.listedcompany.com/profile.html>

Nelson, R. R. (2015). The rate and direction of inventive activity: Economic and social factors. Princeton University Press.

Perdana Leadership Foundation. (2017). Political Stability and Sustainability as Key Success Factors in Developing Malaysia: Perdana Discourse Series 4. Perdana Leadership Foundation via PublishDrive.

Porter, M.E. (2008). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors.Simon and Schuster.

Salvendy, G. (2012). Handbook of human factors and ergonomics.John Wiley & Sons.

Van Wormer, K., &Besthorn, F. (2017). Human behavior and the social environment, macro level: Groups, communities, and organizations. Oxford University Press.

Xu, J. (2005). Market Research Handbook: Measurement, Approach and Practice. iUniverse.

Yin, R.K. (2013). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. SAGE Publications.