Evolution of Multinational Telecommunication Companies - Personal Statement Example

? Evolution of Multinational Companies (Telecommunication Companies) of the Table of Contents Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 3 1Background 3 1.2 Research Problem 4 1.3 Rationale of the Study 4 1.4 Research Aim and Objectives 5 1.5 Research Questions and Hypothesis 5 Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 6 2.1 History of Telecommunication 6 2.2 Business Strategies of Telecommunication Companies in 1990s, 2000s, and after Recession 7 2.3 Impact of Multinational Telecommunication Companies on Different Countries 8 2.4 Modern Telecommunication Industry and their Strategies 9 Chapter III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 10 3.1 Type of Research Method 10 3.2 Data Collection Methods 10 3.3 Validity and Reliability 11 3.4 Ethical Issues 11 Chapter IV: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 12 References 13 Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Telecommunication means communicating to distance places with the help of technological means. The early technologies used for telecommunication was visual signals, telegraphs, flags, heliographs, telephones, satellites, etc. However, the modern picture of telecommunication has changed. Now telecommunication signifies complex telephone networks, internet-linked computers, mobile phones, and web based systems which interlink the cities, and connect the world. Not many years have passed, when telecommunication industry was only under the power of developed nations and mere regional operators. In the past decade this industry has gone through rapid innovation and evolution. In many countries the government did not allow private telecom companies, but privatization has crept in every country in this sector (Kirkman, 2002). The traditional markets of telecommunication has gone and like the seamless telecom connections, the companies in this in industry are doing flawless business, which is not bound to border of the countries. The telecom segment is a profit-oriented business segment, so companies are attracted towards income investments, as this type of investments assist in providing steady growth and dividends, and also generate cash flow even after the payment of dividends. However, all the telecom companies around the world do not function on similar strategies. It differs on the basis of geography, political environment of the country, business model, etc (Olawale IGE, n. d.). In this study the telecom MNCs would be considered as a core for discussion. In order to evaluate the condition and performance of this industry since its evolution till today, a critical analysis of the literature would be done. The literature review is based on the objectives stated for the study and the research questions chosen for the research, so that the literature review can support the research study with authentic theoretical background. 1.2 Research Problem The telecommunication industry around the world has shown tremendous growth and development in the past few years. However, the research problem that has been chosen for this study is related to evolution of the multinational telecom companies, the effect of these companies on the economy and society of different countries. Issues like business strategies of these companies, and effect of recession would be also included. Due to excessive penetration of telecommunication in developing and even under-developed countries, there might be certain negative effects too, which would be discussed through this study. 1.3 Rationale of the Study Communication has become a lot easier due to development and expansion of telecom companies around the world. These companies have created a seamless global environment, where connecting to people around the world has become easy and cheap. A study which presents a complete demonstration of the telecom multinational companies (MNCs) around the world would be appreciated. Apart from this, evolution of these companies, assessment of their negative effects, and analysis of their business strategies would assist in answering several questions. The researchers interested to conduct research on similar industry can seek lots of relevant and authentic information for this study. In order to offer a holistic view of the telecom industry, the players in it, and its effects on different countries, this research study has been designed and equipped with critical analysis, and information and effective research and analysis tools. 1.4 Research Aim and Objectives This study aims at analyzing the evolution of telecom MNCs around the world, and analyzing the effect of their extensive growth and development on the countries’, society and economy. The objectives of this study has been formulated keeping in mind the research problems and aim of the study. They are stated below: To analyze the evolution of telecommunication and the MNCs in this industry To judge the effects of telecom MNCs on the social and economic environment of the world To understand the basic concepts related to telecommunication industry To evaluate the modern telecommunication industry and trends To specially understand the effect of recession on this industry 1.5 Research Questions and Hypothesis The research questions have been developed in line with the objectives and problems identified for this study. In order to conduct a comprehensive study that would be assisting in critical analysis and identification of effective solution, the research hypothesis would be also stated along with the research questions. Q1: What are the stages of evolution in the telecommunication industry? H0: There is no such well defining stage, the evolution and growth has occurred with passing time. H1: There are different stages through which these telecom companies have passed through over the years in order to attain the present growth. Q2: What are the trends of the modern telecom MNCs around the world? H0: There are no such developments or progress that can be regarded as new trend in telecommunication industry, which was not there previously. H1: There has been inception of various technological domains, which has and is setting new trends in this industry. Q3: What was the effect of recession on the telecom companies and this industry as a whole? H0: Recession could not check the growth of the telecom MNCs. H1: Like the other industries, the companies in the telecom industry were also badly hit by recession. Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 History of Telecommunication The telecommunication industry was successful in making its mark in the history. The industry has undergone dramatic changes since 1880s. The telecommunication industry soon developed into public-owned segment without any competition. During 20th century the telecom industry did stabilize its growth and development. USA was the first country that deregulated this market. Following this trend, the other countries also started to de-regulate their telecommunication industry. During the last three decades it has been noticed that privatization and liberalization have created a new wave of change around the world. The telecommunication industry went through set of dynamic changes and an environment of rapid growth has been established. However, rapid growth also brings in various challenges. The telecommunication industry saw the congregate of several distinct industries such as entertainment, media, information technology, and also consumer electronics, which lead it to become a multimedia information and communication industry. In this rapid changing environment, the state-of-art technology, innovation, and access to the internal market have become significant and critical for the success of the company (Pennings, Kranenburg, & Hagedoorn, 2005). 2.2 Business Strategies of Telecommunication Companies in 1990s, 2000s, and after Recession Telecom industry touches every industry ranging from technology to electronics product segment. In this section the discussion would be on the business strategies of the MNCs in this industry during the 1990s, 2000s, and specifically during recession. This will assist in getting a complete picture of evolution that took place within the telecom industry and also within these MNCs. In the 1990s the telecommunication industry witnessed a series of strategic alliances among the companies, which was also regarded as the point of inception for the establishment of international telecommunication struggle. The companies such as British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, MCI, France Telecom, and Global One were the major players during that time. Among these companies MCI went into joint venture with British Telecom, which was known as Concert. On the other hand AT&T acquired some small carriers called Uniworld, and World Partners. These alliances have not survived but their brand names have survived. The level of competition was different in different countries. There were more than three million telephones in USA during 1904. By the year 1914 the teledensity of US was way more than that of Norway, Sweden, New Zealand, etc. In the next half of this century the telecommunication industry progressed largely (Galbi, 2000). The telecommunication industry had to pay a high price for its irrational exuberance that its booming rate reflected in the 1990s. However, it got badly hit in 2000s, when around three-fourth million jobs were cut down. Trillions of dollars were lost by the telecom equipment sector, around 2/3 of the market value diminished, due to which investment in the industry stopped. Media around the world added several speculations as to which this booming bubble busted. It has been predicted by several analyst that 2009-2010 would be a difficult year for the telecom sector. There are various other industry is depended on the growth and development of the telecom industry. However, all the other industries ranging from telecom carriers, handset vendors, equipment vendors, application and content providers saw declining profit. There were lack of any new investment and the investors who had their investments pulled out their money (Agarwal, 2009). 2.3 Impact of Multinational Telecommunication Companies on Different Countries The telecommunication industry contributed to the growth and development of various developing as well as under-developed countries apart from the developed ones. The social and economic impact of evolving telecommunication MNCs were apparent. Telecom MNCs made the world a smaller place. Connecting with loved ones in any part of the world became a lot easier. Though in the 1990s and early 2000s hi-tech telecommunication facilities was not affordable by middle-class or lower middle-class, but with the extensive progress and expansion of the MNCs around the world has made communication easy and cheap. Entry of many new entrants in the telecommunication industry has not only increased competition, but also provided people around the world with various new ways of telecommunication, and options to choose from (Pennings, Kranenburg, & Hagedoorn, 2005). 2.4 Modern Telecommunication Industry and their Strategies There are dozens of trends that are affecting the progress of the telecom MNCs. Telecom managers from top telecom companies have stated several trends that they consider to be signs of progress in modern telecom sector. This is an exhaustive list which is utilized by the MNCs to process their strategies. First such trend is the effect of multichannel strategy. The web portals and e-commerce is replacing the traditional channels of telecom in the market. The telecom operators around the world have started introducing their own stores, especially in the mobile industry. The second trend is commoditization, especially related to the data communication, and telephony services. The third trend that can be seen in the modern telecom companies is transformation of business model. Business and strategies cannot be upgraded on the traditional business model, as it will not adapt the new strategies well. The fourth trend is increasing interest and enthusiasm from government of different countries. They have started playing active role in investment and development of infrastructure for this sector. The fifth trend is cloud computing , in which the service providers have become personal archives for the customers, by providing them facilities to avail music, file and photos online. The thirst for band-width among the MNCs has pushed them every time to increase band-width and meet the demands of the customers. Another trend is personal area network, also called PAN, which has made exchange of data through mobile phones, computers and PDAs easy and simple. Chapter III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Type of Research Method This research method assists in arranging and evaluating the information or data systematically, through which results can be generated. This research study is based on the identification and analysis of growth and development of the telecom MNCs throughout their process of evolution. A qualitative analysis would be conducted for this study in order to identify the phases of evolution, challenges faced by the companies during such change process, legal framework, business strategies and present scenario (Srivastava, and Rego, 2011). Quantitative analysis would not be suitable in such a case because statistics and numerical data are not enough to critically analyze the progression. Moreover, development of an industry and growth of the companies in it cannot be better discussed through qualitative methods because qualitative method of research analysis has the capability to handle complex human issues, which cannot be explained or portrayed through quantitative techniques of research analysis (Mouton, 2011). 3.2 Data Collection Methods In this study both primary and secondary data would be collected because the secondary data would assist in analyzing the literature and existing research work on the topic chosen for this research. This will not only give an idea to the researcher regarding the present information available on telecom MNCs and the industry, but also help in supporting the primary research findings through its theoretical analysis. Apart from this the primary data would be collected through a questionnaire survey. This questionnaire survey would be distributed to the managers in the top five telecom MNCs for having their option regarding the evolution of their company in the past decade. The survey questionnaire would have a set of 7 semi-structured and structured questions, which would be distributed to the respondents. The sample size has been considered to be 25 (Pannerselvam, 2004). 3.3 Validity and Reliability It is important to check the validity and reliability of data that is collected and considered for the research because the research outcome depends on collection of right set of data. If the data collected is wrong, then the analysis done would be with false data that would reveal false results. Therefore the validity of information is scrutinized through external validity, internal validity, and constant validity. Constant validity signifies checking the difference between the conclusion of the study and the data collected for the research. The deviations among this two will indicate the level of mistakes in data collection. External validities assist the researcher in having an overall idea of the research outcome, so that if the research results are not generated on similar path, the researcher will understand the flaw in case of data collection (Singh, and Bajpai, (2008). Internal validity on the other hand states that if the researcher uses similar set of data for other research studies on similar theme or domain, then the result would be same, if it is not similar then there are issues in the validity of data. Reliability on the other hand functions on a different concept. It indicates the dependability of the information collected. This is the reason for this study the secondary data is collected from the authentic sources, so that they can be trusted on (Somekh, and Lewin, 2004). 3.4 Ethical Issues This research study would include both primary and secondary data. The human subjects would be involved for primary data collection. It has been ensured that the respondents are provided complete knowledge regarding the aims and objectives of the research study, and that their personal information would be kept confidential. The secondary data would be collected from authentic sources. Chapter IV: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS This section will be presenting the research findings, which has been derived from primary research through the distribution of questionnaire to the managers of the telecom MNCs. The analysis would be done in order to identify the evolution that the chosen telecom MNCs went through, their effect on the social and economic environment of the countries they do business in. The analysis would be assisting the researcher to suggest recommendations and also answer the research questions. References Agarwal, M. (2009). Impact of economic crisis on telecom industry. Retrieved from: http://www.telecomcircle.com/2009/03/economic-crisis-in-telecom/. Galbi, D. A. (2000). Global competition in telecommunications. Retrieved from: http://www.galbithink.org/global.htm. Kirkman, A. (2002). The world’s best telecom companies. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/2002/04/10/0410telecom.html. Mouton, J. (2011). The practice of social research. Cape Town: Oxford University Press. Olawale IGE. (no date). Evolution of the telecommunications industry. Retrieved from: http://www.ncc.gov.ng/archive/Archive%20of%20Speeches/telecomevolution-olawale_ige170402.pdf. Pannerselvam, R. (2004). Research methodology. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Pennings, J., Kranenburg, H. V., & Hagedoorn, J. (2005). Past, present and future of the telecommunications industry. Retrieved from: http://arnop.unimaas.nl/show.cgi?fid=3204. Singh, Y. K., and Bajpai, R. B. (2008). Research methodology: Techniques & trends. New Delhi: APH Publishing. Somekh, B. and Lewin, C. (2004). Research methods in the social sciences. California: SAGE. Srivastava, T. N., and Rego, S. (2011). Business research methodology. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Read More