A PROJECT REPORT

ON

WORK VALUE OF VODAFONE

Submitted by

Deepak Talreja

05311301710

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the award of the degree

Of

BACHELOR OF BUISNESS ADMINISTRATION

Under the supervision of

Ms. Chitra khari

BERI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY TRAINING AND RESERACH

TIKRI KALAN, NEW DELHI

(Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University)

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report titled Work value of Vodafone in is the bonafide work of Deepak Talreja, Enrollment no. 05311301710 who carried out under supervision.

Certified further, that to best of my knowledge the work reported herian does not from part or award has conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any candidate.

Chitra Khari

Project Guide

PREFACE

The total number of sim cards and mobile phones use in Vodafone is around 341 million. There is no domestic player in india phone no. industry. The prominent brands in the cellular numbers industry are Vodafone. The prominent brands industry are reliance, MTS, airtel, idea, aircel, uninor, nokia, MTNL. Vodafone has the single largest value. I have focused my research on work value of Vodafone and also on one of its competitor.

Vodafone has saturated the urban value including B and C class. Reliance on the other hand chosen to focus its energies on the B and C class cities.

The main aim is give higher satisfaction to consumers. Provide full information to consumers.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to say thanks to my teacher for her valuable support, guidance and suggestion. Under her able guidence I was also like to thanks my friends and my sibilings who directly and indirectly helped me in my project. I would also like to sincerely thank our institute “beri institute of technology, training and research “ where I spend my time to access to wide information on internet.

By

Deepak talerja

Table of contents

Contents page no.

Preface……………………….

Acknowledgement………………………..

Chapter 1 Introduction ……….

1.1Industry review…………

1.1Company profile……………

1.3 SWOT analysis………………

1.4 Competitor analysis…………

Chapter 2 conceptual discussion

chapter 3 research and methodology…….

3.1 objectives and purpose of the study………..

3.2 significant of the study…………….

3.3 collection of data………

3.4 techniques of data analysis……….

Chapter 4 findings and analysis……..

Chaptyer 5 conclusion and suggestions…..

Bibliography…………………

CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTION

Introduction This Code of Conduct applies to all tax professionals working in subsidiary companies of Vodafone Group Plc. Its intention is to set out the general framework within which the Vodafone tax function will operate and it endeavours to address, amongst other things, the principles underlying and guiding the role of tax professionals within the Group, their key responsibilities, their professional conduct and their approach to working relationships with external parties

Vodafone is a leading international mobile communications company with interests in countries and partnership agreements with a further 40 countries, including Safaricom inKenya. It has over 71,000 employees throughout the world and in 2008 had more than289 million customers. In the UK, more than 19 million people use Vodafone services.Vodafone’s vision is ‘to be the world’s mobilecommunications leader’ and a key component ofthis is to ensure that customers trust and admirethe company. It achieves this by taking asponsible approach to the way it conducts itsbusiness. This enhances its reputation and buildscustomer loyalty. Vodafone’s business strategy andits Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy areinterlinked. Vodafone believes that long-termcommercial rewards come from doing business ina sustainable way.Vodafone’s approach to business is two-fold:• to provide product extension - new features, dimensions and services in saturatedmarkets. These are areas like the UK, USA and Europe which have sophisticated userswho want and expect new functions from their mobiles. Developing new ways of delivering

products and services helps to keep existing customers and attract new ones. For example,3G technology has improved the ability and quality of transferring voice and data. Veryfast internet speeds allow extended services such as video calling, music downloads,mobile television and email messaging.• to look for opportunities in emerging markets. These include some of the world’smore remote areas, including parts of Africa, where many people do not yet have accessto a mobile phone. The less developed infrastructure in these areas makes traditionallandline telecommunications difficult. Vodafone is committed to providing these marketswith the technology to develop communication that will help both economically andsocially. There are now more than four billion mobile phones across the world and 64% ofall users live in a developing country.This case study highlights Vodafone’s activities in different types of economies and the impact

of technology on both developed and developing marketsVodafone Group plc is a global company headquartered in London, united kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's seconed largest measured by subscribers, with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of November 2010. It operates networks in over 30 countries and has partner networks in over 40 additional countries. It owns 45% of Verizon mobiles, the largest mobile telecommunications company in the United States measured by subscribers.

The name Vodafone comes from voice data fone, chosen by the company to "reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones".Vodafone has its primary listing on the London stock exchange and is a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index . It had a market capitalization of approximately £93 billion as of 9 March 2011, making it the fourth largest company on the London Stock Exchange. It has a secondary listing on NASDAQ.

1.1 INDUSTRY REVIEW

New Vodafone Headquarters. This HQ is situated in the north western section of the grid square and the picture was taken from the west side of the building. Most of this square is residential with some farmland and some commercial activity.

In 1980, chairman of the UK's largest maker of military radio technology, agreed a deal with of to allow Racal to access some of GEC's tactical battlefield radio technology. Briefing the head of Racal's military radio division to drive the company into commercial mobile radio, Whent visited GE's factory in USA in 1980.

In 1982, Racal's newly formed Racal Strategic Radio Ltd subsidiary won one of two UK cellular telephone network licences, with the other going to The network, known as Racal Vodafone, was 80% owned by Racal, with holding 15% and 5%. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985. Racal Strategic Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985.] On 29 December 1986, Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone for GB£110 million.

Under stock market pressure to realise full value for shareholders (the mobile unit was being valued at the same amount as the whole Racal group), in September 1988, the company was again renamed Racal Telecom, and on 26 October 1988, Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued Racal Telecom at GB£1.7 billion. On 16 September 1991, Racal Telecom was demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group.

In July 1996, Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already own for £30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone purchased for £77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were overwhelmingly using Vodafone's network. In a similar move the company acquired the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21 stores.

In 1997, Vodafone introduced its Speechmark logo, composed of a in a circle, with the O's in the Vodafone logotype representing opening and closing quotation marks and suggesting conversation.

On 29 June 1999, Vodafone completed its purchase of . and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. The merged company commenced trading on 30 June 1999. In order to gain anti-trust approval for the merger, Vodafone sold its 17.2% stake in. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network.

On 21 September 1999, Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with those of bell atlantic corp to form Verizon wireless . The merger was completed on 4 April 2000.

In November 1999, Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which was rejected. Along with being known for bad servasing Vodafone's interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter purchase of orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say Mannesmann's move into the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in each other's home territory. The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany, and a "titanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resist Vodafone's efforts. However, on 3 February 2000, the

Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of £112bn, then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000. The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related operations sold off.

On 28 July 2000, the Company reverted to its former name, Vodafone Group plc. In April 2001, the first 3G voice call was made on Vodafone United Kingdom's 3G network.

A map showing Vodafone Global Enterprise' footprint.   Vodafone Operating Countries  Vodafone's partners and affiliates

In 2001, the Company acquired Eircell, the largest wireless communications company in the Republic of Ireland, from eircom. Eircell was subsequently rebranded as Vodafone Ireland. Vodafone then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest mobile operator J-Phone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan.

On 17 December 2001, Vodafone introduced the concept of "Partner Networks", by signing TDC Mobil of Denmark. The new concept involved the introduction of Vodafone international services to the local market, without the need of investment by Vodafone. The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into markets where it does not have stakes in local operators. Vodafone services would be marketed under the dual-brand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the end of the local brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone etc.)

In May 2011, Vodafone Group Plc bought the rest of the shares of from Essar Group Ltd with value of $5 billion and became a solely owned of Vodafone Essar.

1.2 company profile

In February 2002, Radiolinja of Finland joined as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later changed its named to Elisa. Later that year, the Company rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone live!, and on 3 December 2002, the Vodafone brand was introduced in the Estonian market following the signing of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti). Radiolinja (Eesti) later changed its name to Elisa.

On 7 January 2003, the Company signed a group-wide Partner agreement with mobilkom Austria. As a result, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia were added to the community. In April 2003, Og Vodafone was introduced in the Icelandic market, and in May 2003, Omnitel was rebranded Vodafone Italy. On 21 July 2003, Lithuania was added to the community, with the signing of a Partner Network agreement with Bite.

In February 2004, Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with Luxembourg's LuxGSM, and a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta of Cyprus. Cyta agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-Vodafone. In April 2004, the Company purchased Singlepoint airtime provider from John Caudwell (Caudwell Group), and approx 1.5 million customers onto its base for £405million, adding sites in Stoke on Trent (England), to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington and Banbury. In November 2004, Vodafone introduced 3G services into Europe.

In June 2005, the Company increased its participation in Romania's Connex to 99%, and also bought the Czech mobile operator Oskar. On 1 July 2005, Oskar of the Czech Republic was rebranded as Oskar-Vodafone. Later that year, on 17 October 2005, Vodafone Portugal launched a revised logo, using new text designed by Dalton Maag, and a 3D version of the Speechmark logo, but still retaining a red background and white writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies started to drop the use of the SIM card pattern in the company logo. (The rebranding of Oskar-Vodafone and Connex-Vodafone also does not use the SIM card pattern.) A custom typeface by Dalton Maag (based on their font family InterFace) formed part of the new identity.

On 28 October 2005, Connex in Romania was rebranded as Connex-Vodafone, and on 31 October 2005, the Company reached an agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden to Telenor for approximately €1 billion. After the sale, Vodafone Sweden became a Partner Network. In December 2005, Vodafone won an auction to buy Turkey's second-largest mobile phone company, Telsim, for US$4.5 billion.. In December 2005, Vodafone Spain became the second member of the Group to adopt the revised logo: it was phased in over the following six months in other countries.

In 2006, the Company rebranded its Stoke-on-Trent site as Stoke Premier Centre, a centre of expertise for the company dealing with Customer Care for its higher value customers, technical support, sales and credit control. All cancellations and upgrades started to be dealt with by this call centre. On 5 January 2006, Vodafone announced the completion of the sale of Vodafone Sweden to Telenor. On February 2006, the Company closed its Birmingham Call Centre. On 1 February 2006, Oskar Vodafone became Vodafone Czech Republic, adopting the revised logo, and on 22 February 2006, the Company announced that it was extending its footprint to Bulgaria with the signing of Partner Network Agreement with Mobiltel, which is part of mobilkom Austria group.

Vodafone HQ in Ireland at Central Park, Leopardstown Rd.

On 12 March 2006, former chief, Sir Christopher Gent, who was appointed the honorary post Chairman for Life in 2003, quit following rumours of boardroom rifts In April 2006, the Company announced that it had signed an extension to its Partner Network Agreement with BITE Group, enabling its Latvian subsidiary "BITE Latvija" to become the latest member of Vodafone's global partner community. Also in April 2006, Vodafone Sweden changed its name to Telenor Sverige AB, and Connex-Vodafone became Vodafone Romania, also adopting the

new logo. On 30 May 2006, Vodafone announced the then biggest loss in British corporate history (£14.9 billion), and plans to cut 400 jobs; it reported one-off costs of £23.5 billion due to the revaluation of its Mannesmann subsidiary. On 24 July 2006, the respected head of Vodafone Europe, Bill Morrow, quit unexpectedly,] and on 25 August 2006, the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Belgium's Proximus for €2 billion. After the deal, Proximus was still part of the community as a Partner Network. On 5 October 2006, Vodafone announced the first single brand partnership with Og Vodafone which would operate under the name Vodafone Iceland, and on 19 December 2006, the Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Switzerland's Swisscom for CHF4.25 billion (£1.8 billion)., After the deal, Swisscom would still be part of the community as a Partner Network. Finally in December 2006, the Company completed the acquisition of Aspective, an enterprise applications systems integrator in the UK, signalling Vodafone's intent to grow a significant presence and revenues in the information and communication technologies (ICT) marketplace.

Early in January 2007, Telsim in Turkey adopted Vodafone dual branding as Telsim Vodafone, and on 1 April 2007, Telsim Vodafone Turkey dropped its original brand and became Vodafone Turkey. In addition, Vodafone Turkey also gives service in Northern Cyprus. On 1 May 2007, Vodafone added Jersey and Guernsey to the community, as Airtel was signed as Partner Network in both crown dependencies. In June 2007, the Vodafone live! mobile internet portal in the UK was relaunched. Front page was now charged for, and previously "bundled" data allowance was removed from existing contract terms. All users were given access to the "full" web rather than a 'Walled Garden', and Vodafone became the first mobile network to focus an entire media campaign on its newly launched mobile internet portal in the UK. On 1 August 2007, Vodafone Portugal launched Vodafone Messenger, a service with Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger.

Vodafone Lion of Munich's Löwenparade

At the end of 2007, Vodafone Germany was ranked 6th in Europe by subscriber numbers, whilst its Italian operation was listed as 10th. Vodafone UK was ranked 13th, whilst Spain was listed in 16th place.

On 17 April 2008, Vodafone extended its footprint to Serbia as Vip mobile was added to the community as a Partner Network, and on 20 May 2008, the Company added VIP Operator as a Partner Network, thereby extending the global footprint to the Republic of Macedonia. In May 2008, Kall of the Faroe Islands rebranded as Vodafone Faroe Islands.

On 30 October 2008, the company announced a strategic, non-equity partnership with Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) group of Russia. The agreement adds Russia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan to the group footprint.

On 20 March 2009, it was announced that the group's Luxembourg partner has been changed to Tango: the agreement with LuxGSM was not renewed in favour of Tango, the Luxembourg unit of another partner network, Belgacom of Belgium.

On December 2009, Vodafone Spain created a fake entry on Wikipedia to promote a mobile phone plan called "Feliz Borabó".

Asia-Pacific

In July 1993, BellSouth New Zealand's network went live, and October 1993 Vodafone Australia's network also went live. This was followed in July 1994 by Vodafone Fiji's network going live.

In November 1998, Vodafone purchased BellSouth New Zealand, which later became Vodafone New Zealand. In 1999, J-Phone launched the J-sky mobile internet service in response to DoCoMo's i-Mode service. In December 2002 J-Phone's 3G network went live.

On 1 October 2003, J-Phone became 'Vodafone', and J-Phone's mobile internet service J-Sky became Vodafone Live!. On 3 November 2003, Singapore became a part of the community as M1 was signed as partner network.

Then in April 2005, SmarTone changed the name of its brand to 'SmarTone-Vodafone', after both companies signed a Partner Network Agreement. In August 2005, Vodafone launched 3G technology in New Zealand, and in October 2005, it began launching 3G technology in Australia. On 28 October 2005, the Company announced the acquisition of a 10 per cent stake in India's Bharti Televentures, which operates the largest mobile phone network in India under the brand name AirTel. On 22 December 2005, the Company announced the completion of the acquisition of the 10% stake in Bharti Televentures of India.

In January 2006, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka were added to the Vodafone footprint as Vodafone Group signed a partner network agreement with Telekom Malaysia. On 17 March 2006, Vodafone announced an agreement to sell all its interest in Vodafone Japan to SoftBank for £8.9 billion, of which £6.8 billion will be received in cash on closing of deal. Vodafone Japan later changed its name to SoftBank Mobile. On 9 October 2006, Vodafone New Zealand bought New Zealand's 3rd largest internet service provider, iHug, and on 1 November 2006, Vodafone Australia signed the Australian Football League (AFL)'s biggest individual club sponsorship deal with the Brisbane Lions for seasons 2007, 2008 and 2009.

On 6 February 2007, along with the partnership with Digicel Caribbean (see below), Samoa was added as a Partner Market. Then on 11 February 2007, the Company agreed to acquire a controlling interest of 67% in Hutchison Essar Limited for US$11.1 billion. At the same time, it agreed to sell back 5.6% of its AirTel stake back to the Mittals. Vodafone would retain a 4.4% stake in AirTel. On 21 September 2007, Hutch was rebranded to Vodafone in India.

On 6 February 2007, Vodafone Group signed a three-year partnership agreement with Digicel Group. The agreement, which includes Digicel's sister operation in Samoa, will result to the offering of new roaming capabilities. The two groups will also become preferred roaming partners of each other. Along with Digicel's markets, the Vodafone brand is now present in 81 countries, regions, and territories. What is interesting to note, is that as well as being partners,

Digicel and Vodafone are also rival operators in Fiji, where Digicel Fiji recently[when?] launched, and Vodafone owns a minority (49%) stake in Vodafone Fiji.

On 10 February 2008, Vodafone announced the launching of M-Paisa mobile money transfer service on Roshan's (Afghanistan's largest GSM operator) network: Afghanistan was added to the Vodafone footprint.

On 5 September 2008, Vodafone purchased Australia's largest bricks and mortar mobile phone retailer Crazy John's adding 115 retail stores to its local operations.

On 9 February 2009, Vodafone Australia announced a merger with 3/Hutchison via a joint venture company VHA Pty Ltd, which would offer products under the Vodafone brand. dtac in Thailand is signed as a partner network of the Group on 25 March 2009.

On 19 June 2009, Vodafone-Hutchison Australia (VHA) announced the end of its outsourcing of retail operations. VHA committed to buying back and managing its entire retail operation, including 208 Vodafone-branded retail outlets Australia-wide. This project was slated to be completed by 1 September 2009.

On 31 August 2009, VHA enabled an extended 900 MHz 3G UMTS network which functions outside their 2100mhz 3G network, boosting Vodafone's 3G population coverage from around 8% to around 94% on dual-band 900/2100mhz 3G UMTS devices.

Nar Mobile in Azerbaijan was signed as a Partner Network on 22 July 2009, while Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan was signed on 12 November 2009.

Africa and the Middle East

Egypt

In November 1998, Vodafone Egypt network went live under the name ClickGSM.

On 8 November 2006, the Company announced a deal with Telecom Egypt, resulting in further co-operation in the Egyptian market, and increasing its stake in Vodafone Egypt. After the deal, Vodafone Egypt was 55% owned by the group, while the remaining 45% was owned by Telecom Egypt.

On 28 January 2011, Vodafone complied with Egyptian government instructions to suspend Internet service "in selected areas" during a period of anti-Mubarak protests. The company issued a statement that "Under Egyptian legislation, the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply with it."

Vodafone also received public and media criticism for allowing the authorities to send mass pro-government messages via SMS over their network during the protests. One such message requested that "honest and loyal men" should "confront the traitors and criminals". Vodafone

later issued a statement asserting that they had no choice but to allow the messages to be broadcast, and that they had complained to the Egyptian authorities about the practice.[

Kuwait

On 18 September 2002, Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with MTC group of Kuwait. The agreement involved the rebranding of MTC to MTC-Vodafone. On 29 December 2003, Vodafone signed another Partner Network Agreement with Kuwait's MTC group. The second agreement involved co-operation in Bahrain and the branding of the network as MTC-Vodafone.

South Africa (Vodacom)

On 3 November 2004, the Company announced that its South African affiliate Vodacom had agreed to introduce Vodafone's international services, such as Vodafone live! and partner agreements, to its local market.

In November 2005, Vodafone announced that it was in exclusive talks to buy a 15% stake of VenFin in Vodacom Group, reaching agreement the following day. Vodafone and Telkom then had a 50% stake each in Vodacom. Vodafone now owns 65% of Vodacom after purchasing a 15% stake from Telkom.

On 9 October 2008, the company offered to acquire an additional 15 per cent stake in Vodacom group from Telkom. The finalised details of the agreement were announced on 6 November 2008. The agreement called for Telkom to sell 15 per cent of its 50 per cent stake in Vodacom to the group, and demerge the other 35 per cent to its shareholder. Meanwhile, Vodafone has agreed to make Vodacom its exclusive sub-Saharan Africa investment vehicle, as well as continuing to maintain the visibility of the Vodacom brand. The transaction is closed in May/June 2009.

On 18 May 2009, Vodacom entered the JSE Limited stock exchange in South Africa after Vodafone increased its stake by 15% to 65% to take a majority holding, despite disputes by local trade unions.

Ghana

In December 2007, a Vodafone Group-led consortium was awarded the second mobile phone licence in Qatar under the name "Vodafone Qatar", and on 3 July 2008, Vodafone agreed to acquire a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom for $900 million. The acquisition was consummated on 17 August 2008. The same group-led consortium won the second fixed-line licence in Qatar on 15 September 2008. Vodafone Qatar is located at QSTP

On 15 April 2009, Ghana Telecom, along with its mobile subsidiary onetouch, was rebranded as Vodafone Ghana.

U.A.E.

On 28 January 2009, the group announced a partner network agreement with Du, the second-largest operator of the United Arab Emirates. The agreement involved co-operation on international clients, handset procurement, mobile broadband etc.

Libya

On 24 February 2010, the group signed a partner network agreement with the second-largest operator in Libya, al Madar.

The Americas

In the United States, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, the country's largest mobile carrier after their merger with Alltel. The percentage of the customer base, and revenues of Verizon Wireless that Vodafone consolidates is slightly lower, since some Verizon Wireless subsidiaries have minority investors. (Hence the exact percentages that Vodafone and Verizon report vary from period to period: in June 2006 Vodafone reported that Verizon Wireless owned 98.6% of its customers at that date.) Before this joint venture was formed, Vodafone merged with AirTouch Communications of the U.S. in June 1999, and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. In September 1999, Vodafone Airtouch announced a $70-billion joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. Verizon Wireless was composed of Bell Atlantic's and Vodafone AirTouch's U.S. wireless assets, and began operations on 4 April 2000. However, Verizon Communications – the company formed when Bell Atlantic and GTE merged on 30 June 2000 – owns a majority of Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone's branding is not used, nor is the CDMA network compatible with GSM phones. This relationship has been quite profitable for Vodafone, but there have historically been three problems with it. The first is the above-mentioned incompatibility with the GSM 900/1800 MHz standard used by Vodafone's other networks, and the consequent difficulty of offering roaming between Vodafone's U.S. and other networks. The other two stem from the fact that Vodafone does not have management control over Verizon Wireless. Vodafone is thus unable to use the Vodafone brand for its U.S. operations, and (perhaps more importantly) has no control of dividend policy at Verizon Wireless, and is therefore entirely at the mercy of Verizon management with respect to cash flow from Verizon Wireless.

Perhaps as a consequence of these reasons, Vodafone made a bid for the entirety of AT&T Wireless when that company was for sale in 2004. Had this bid been successful, Vodafone would presumably have sold its stake in Verizon Wireless, and then rebranded the resultant business as Vodafone. However, Cingular Wireless, at the time a joint venture of SBC Communications and BellSouth (both now part of AT&T), ultimately outbid Vodafone and took control of AT&T Wireless (the combined wireless carrier is now AT&T Mobility), and Vodafone's relationship with Verizon has continued.

Early in 2006, Verizon re-iterated their desire to buy out the remaining 45% of stock of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone Group. Vodafone has also repeatedly indicated that it would be willing to buy out Verizon's stake.

Verizon has announced that its 4G data network will be LTE, which is considered part of the GSM path and not the CDMA2000 path Verizon has been using; it has been suggested this is to appease Vodafone, which uses GSM on its own networks.

On 11 May 2008, Vodafone sealed a trade agreement with the Chilean Entel PCS Chile, in which Entel PCS has access to the equipment and international services of Vodafone, and Vodafone will be one of the trademarks of Entel for the wireless business. This step will give the Vodafone brand access to a market of over 15 million people, currently divided among three companies: Telefonica Movistar, Claro, and Entel PCS.

1.3 SWOT Analysis

Strengths . Complementary strenghts of Vodafone & Hutch esaar . The brand name it has in the indian market  . The kind of subscriber bas it has in the indian market . It has the 2nd higest market share in India(source : wikkipedia) . It has a 2nd higest subscriber base in inda 1st being airtel . Its strong advertising startiges and impact on people . Its Indias 3rd biggest mobile carrier(source: Business standard) .Its mindblowing

Weaknesses . Low R&D . Ubiquitiouegory, products, services . High customer churn (33.33%) . Rural India unable to relate to the brand  . Poor network coverage

Opportunities  .Emerging markets and expansion abroad . Innovation .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) . Tower sharing business with Indus Towers

Threats 1. Highly competitive market 2. Still lags behind major competitors in USA

 3. Extremely high penetration rates in key European markets 4. European Union regulation on cross-border cell phone usage by customers

1.4 competitor Analysis

In a period just short of twenty years from its initial public offering, the Company had had just three Chief Executives. The fourth CEO, Vittorio Colao, stepped up from Deputy Chief Executive in July 2008. Each of his predecessors made a personal contribution to the development of the Company.

Sir Gerald Whent, at that time an Executive with Racal Electronics plc, was responsible for the bid for a UK Cellular Network licence. The Mobile Telecoms division was de-merged, and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in October 1988 and Sir Gerald became Chief Executive of Racal Telecom plc. Over the next few years the company grew to become the UK's Market Leader, changing its name to Vodafone Group plc in the process.

Sir Christopher Gent took over as Chief Executive in January 1997, after Sir Gerald's retirement. Sir Christopher was responsible for transforming Vodafone from a small UK operator into the global behemoth that it is today, through the merger with the American AirTouch and the takeover of Germany's Mannesmann.

Arun Sarin was the driving force behind the Company's move into emerging markets such as Asia and Africa, through the purchases such as that of Turkish operator Telsim, and a majority stake in Hutchison Essar in India. Faced with increased competition, and penetration rates above 100% in the more mature European markets, he saw it necessary to diversify from being a mobile-only business into a company which provided all telecommunications services. This has seen Vodafone launch DSL and other fixed-line services in markets such as Germany and the

UK.

Financial results

Vodafone reports its results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Vodafone has some large minority stakes, which are not included in its consolidated turnover. In order to provide additional information on the overall scale and growth trends of its business, it publishes "proportionate turnover" figures, and these are included in the tables below. For example, if a business in which it owns a 45% stake has turnover of £10 billion, that equals £4.5 billion of proportionate turnover for Vodafone. Proportionate turnover is not an official accounting measure, and Vodafone's proportionate turnover should be compared with other companies' statutory turnover.

Vodafone also produces proportionate customer number figures on a similar basis, e.g. if an operator in which it has a 30% stake has 10 million customers that equals 3 million proportionate Vodafone customers. This is a common practice in the mobile telecommunications industry.

The group's recent first quarter trading update (24 July 2009) saw management reiterating its profit guidance for the full year. Whilst revenues across Europe had been relatively weak, mirroring general economic conditions, there had been a positive showing from South Africa, with the company's Indian purchase of Hutchison Essar continuing to generate returns. Meanwhile, its joint venture with Verizon in the US had strengthened further, with Vodafone's overall customer base now standing at 315 million – 8 million having been added during the first quarter. In addition, management noted that its cost reduction programme, targeted to save £1bn in operating costs by the end of the 2011 financial year, would reach 65pc of its target by the end of the current financial year. The Group admitted in August 2010 that £1.25 billion in tax that should have been paid in Britain was actually paid in Luxembourg and elsewhere.

Principal Competitors: British Telecommunications PLC; Deutsch e Telekom AG; France Telecom Group; AT&T Corp.

The Afghanistan launch was followed in April 2008 by the announcement of further a further launch of M-PESA in Tanzania. As an operator of money transmission services, Vodafone became subject to anti-money laundering regulation and in July 2008, it was

revealed that it had deployed a sanctions and PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) screening solution from Datanomic for weekly screening of 2.5 million customers in Tanzania. The

screening service was to be rolled out to Afghanistan, Kenya, India and Datanomic

disclosed that the solution might be used to screen all of Vodafo

Chapter 2

Literature Review

TEAMWORKING SKILLS

 

Exercise on team working skills The roles people play in meetings.

What makes an effective team?

Tips for group work exercises in selection centres

Observer assessment form for group exercises

 

All employers are keen to recruit graduates who are able to co-operate, solve problems and work in teams. As less hierarchical organisations have emerged with project teams, self-managed work teams and management teams, so the requirements to 'Get on well with people', and to 'Work with and through others' become increasingly important.

Teamwork involves working confidently within a group, contributing your own ideas effectively, taking a share of the responsibility, being assertive - rather than passive or aggressive, accepting and learning from constructive criticism and giving positive, constructive feedback to others.

Exercise on teamworking skills.

The questionnaire which follows should help you to analyse the workings of a group and should help you to reach some tentative conclusions about your role in a team. For this exercise you will need to think of teams of which you are or were a part. These could be project groups for your course, seminar groups, sports teams, societies or clubs in which you were involved, vacation jobs in which you were part of a team, or even perhaps when you were sharing a house with a group of students.

Try to answer the 28 questions as honestly as you can. Click on "First Question" to begin. Please try to answer ALL the questions. You can go back to questions to change your answers by clicking on the previous question button.

The roles people play in meetings.

There are a number of different roles that people adopt in meetings some of which are listed below. These roles are not always constant - one person might adopt several of these roles during one meeting or change roles depending on what is being discussed. Your score for each category should give you some idea of which of these roles you play in teams.

ENCOURAGER

Energises groups when motivation is low through humour or being enthusiastic. They are positive individuals who support and praise other group members. Don't like sitting around. They like to move things along by suggesting ideas, clarifying the ideas of others and confronting problems. They may use humour to break tensions in the group.

Try to maintain harmony among the team members. They are sociable, interested in others and will introducing people, draw them out and make them feel comfortable. They may be willing to change their own views to get a group decision. They works well with different people and can be depended on to promote a positive atmosphere, helping the team to gel. They pull people and tasks together developing rapport. They are tolerant individuals and good listeners who will listen carefully to the views of other group members. They are good judges of people, diplomatic and sensitive to the feelings of others and not seen as a threat. Able to recognise and resolve differences of opinion and the the development of conflict, they enable "difficult" team-members to contribute positively.They may say:"We haven't heard from Mike yet: I'd like to hear what you think about this." "I'm not sure I agree. What are your reasons for saying that?"

LEADER

Good leaders direct the sequence of steps the group take and keeps the group "on-track.". They are good at controlling people and events and coordinating resources. They have the energy, determination and initiative to overcome obstacles and bring competitive drive to the team. They give shape to the team effort. They recognise the skills of the individuals and how they can be used. Leaders are outgoing individuals who have to be careful not to be domineering. They can sometimes steamroller the team but get results quickly. They may become impatient with complacency and lack of progress and may sometimes overreact. Also see our leadership styles test

What makes an effective team?

It has a range of individuals who contribute in different ways (see the roles above) and complement each other. A team made up just of planners would find it difficult to cope with changing deadlines or plans whereas a team full of spontaneous individuals would be

disorganised: you need both types. A good team produces more than the individual contributions of members.

Clear goals are agreed that everyone understands and is committed to.

Everyone understands the tasks they have to do and help each other.

It has a coordinator who may adopt a leadership style from autocratic to democratic depending on the circumstances. Different people may assume the role of leader for different tasks.

There is a balance between the task (what do we need to do?) and the process (how do we achieve this?)

There is a supportive, informal atmosphere where members feel able to take risks and say what they think

The group is comfortable with disagreement and can successfully overcome differences in opinion.

There is a lot of discussion in which everyone participates. Group members listen to each other and everyone's ideas are heard.

Members feel free to criticise and say what they think but this is done in a positive, constructive manner.

The group learns from experience: reviewing and improving performance in the light of both successes and failures.

And what makes an ineffective team

People talk more than they listen and only a few people may contribute. Some members are silent and don't contribute. They may be indifferent, bored or afraid to

contribute.

Members ideas are dismissed or even ridiculed and their views are ignored.

There are arguments between members of the group (as opposed to constructive differences of opinion).

One or two members dominate the others and make the decisions.

Disagreements are put to the vote without being discussed.

Some members are unhappy with decisions and grumble privately afterwards.

Little effort is made to keep to the point or to work to deadlines.

There is a lack of clarity regarding goals and specific tasks are not agreed.

Roles are not delegated to particular team members.

There is a lack of trust and helpfulness.

Members don't talk about how the group is working or the problems it faces.

 

Tips for group work exercises in selection centres.

If you are invited to a selection centre as part of the interview process, it's very likely that you will have a group task, such as a case study, where your performance in the group will be assessed. Here are some tips to help you to perform well. Read a quality newspaper in the weeks before the assessment centre - sometimes topics for discussion will be based on recent items in the news.

When you read the information given for a group exercise, underline key points and the likely arguments and counter arguments. Look for any red herrings (irrelevant or misleading facts).

Try to be yourself. Don't try to put on a façade or mask.

Talk to the other candidates and assessors between exercises to help keep yourself relaxed.

Keep a note of the finish time. Don't allow the group to over-run. Statements like "look we only have 5 minutes left so we need to get a move on" may help.

If a particular group member is quiet try to get them to contribute. It's a good idea to encourage them along the lines "We haven't heard from Mike yet - I'd like to hear what you think of the proposal."

Voting for a particular choice is a last resort and should only be used if persuasion and consensus have failed and time is running out.

Go for quality rather than quantity in your contributions. Don't talk aimlessly. Try to move the group forward by your contributions e.g. "Look this is now going anywhere. Why don't we move on and come back to this topic later"

Summarising can sometimes help to clarify the position. "Before we go on shall I summarise what we've agreed"

If a dominant individual tries to "hijack" the group, don't be afraid to challenge them, but do this calmly, logically and diplomatically, not by attacking them. You could ask "What are your reasons for saying that?"

If you are made leader of an exercise it's a good idea to ask for volunteers for particular tasks such as note taking and to delegate responsibility. Identify the strengths of the other group members and use them. Don't get too involved in the fine detail of the task - your role as the leader is to keep an overview.

Keep cool and use your sense of humour. Be assertive, tactful and persuasive and work with the group. Listen to what everyone has to say. Don't interrupt or put down other group members.

Try to be creative - introduce new ideas or build on the ideas of others.

Group exercises Kent students have been asked to undertake at selection centres

A discussion on who we would save given that X amount of people were in a cave, and the cave entrance had collapsed, so chances were that some people were going to die. We had to decide on the order of rescue. (Cable & Wireless)

Given 4 plastic cups, 4 plates, masking tape and 8 sheets of very large paper, construct a bridge capable of holding a stapler (the stapler isn't seen until you've finished). (Cable & Wireless)

A choice of two possible factory buildings: have to make a decision as to which one you would choose. They give you info such as budget and details about each building. Don't think there is a right or wrong answer, just have to justify what you value to be the most important criteria. (AXA)

We were a small start up company who were to create and organise an event for the launch of the 2012 Olympics. There are certain requirements such as budget and timescales but the rest is up to you to come up with something appropriate. 50 minutes to prepare and then 10 minutes to present it as a group. (ATOS Origin

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH AND

METHODOLOGY

In September 2010, an investigation by Private Eye magazine revealed certain details of Vodafone's tax avoidance activities. It was reported that Vodafone routed the acquisition of Mannesmann through a Luxembourg subsidiary, set up to avoid paying tax on the deal, and continued to place its profits in Luxembourg. Following a long legal struggle with HMRC (during which a senior HMRC official, John Connors, switched sides to become head of tax at Vodafone), it was eventually agreed that Vodafone would pay £1.25bn related to the acquisition. Based on Vodafone's accounts, experts have estimated the potential tax bill written off as a result of the negotiations was over £6bn.

The news of this legal tax avoidance sparked angry protests, beginning in October 2010 and ongoing as of April 2011, outside Vodafone shops across the UK, organised under the banner of UK Uncut. The first protests caused the simultaneous closure of over a dozen stores, including the flagship Oxford St. branch.[54]

Vodafone was also assessed a $2.5 billion tax over its acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa's Indian assets in 2007, a demand that it contests.

Vodafone was implicated in the violent suppression of pro-democracy protests in Egypt's 2011 demonstrations. On 27 January, Vodafone, responsible for much of Egypt's telecommunication infrastructure, shut off all voice and data services for Egyptian citizens and businesses at the request of the Egyptian Government under Hosni Mubarak The Daily Telegraph of the UK reported, "The Egyptian government’s action is unprecedented in the history of the internet." U.S.-based Internet intelligence firm Renesys stated, "in an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the Internet." Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao said the

company was obliged by law to comply with the instructions of the Egyptian government.

Business data Vodafone Group Plc at Google Finance Vodafone Group Plc at Yahoo! Finance

Vodafone Group Plc at Hoover's

Vodafone Group Plc at Reuters

Vodafone Group Plc SEC filings at EDGAR Online

Vodafone Group Plc SEC filings at the Securities and Exchange Commission

Vodafone companies grouped at OpenCorporates

3.1 Objectives and purpose of the study.

Principles

The objective of the Vodafone tax department is to maximise shareholder value in relation to the taxation consequences of all aspects of the Group's business activity:

Within the overall Group strategy In compliance with relevant laws, disclosure requirements and regulations and While protecting Vodafone's reputation and brand.

Vodafone is not able to determine the "fair" amount of tax for it to pay, overall, or in any particular territory. It believes its obligation is to pay the amount of tax legally due in any territory, in accordance with rules set by governments.

The maximisation of shareholder value will generally involve the minimisation of taxation. It will also involve choices as to the jurisdiction in which to locate capital and/or business activity. Such choices will take account of all the business consequences, including the taxation consequences, of operating in that location.

The maximisation of shareholder value involves taking due account of long term considerations and risks including the maintenance of corporate reputation and relationships with governments. It also requires the management of other risks, including the possibility of, and consequences of, disagreements with tax authorities over the application of the law. The management of risk will take all related issues and stakeholder interests into consideration.

Responsibilities and Professional Conduct

Tax professionals will aim to:

Effectively manage the Tax Risk and Administration Policy of the Group Observe all applicable laws, rules and regulations Apply diligent professional care and judgement to arrive at well-reasoned conclusions Ensure all decisions are taken at an appropriate level and supported with documentation that evidences the facts, conclusions and risks involved Where tax law is subject to interpretation, seek, as applicable, written advice or confirmation from third-party advisers or Counsel, prior to reaching and/or to support decisions

Vodafone Group plc Tax Code of Conduct Vodafone Group Plc is the world's leading cellular telephone operator , boasting more than 165 million subscribers and annual sales of more than £31.5 billion ($64 billion). The Berkshire-based comp any is not only the largest corporation in the United Kingdom, it is also the world's third largest generator of free cash flow, trailing only GE and Microsoft. Vodafone is also leading the battle to standar dize global mobile telephone standards ahead of the expected next-gen eration boom in the industry, in which voice, video, data, music, gam es, Internet, payment and other services are expected to merge into u sers' handsets. Vodafone's success in the 2000s came through its aggr essive acquisition strategy, which included the nearly $63 billio n purchase of AirTouch Communications in 1999 and the $183 billio n takeover of Mannesmann--the world's largest ever acquisition--in 20 00. The company is present in more than 30 countries, with a focus on the European markets, as well as Japan, where it is that market's nu mber three mobile telephone player. In the United States, the company holds a 45 percent stake in the Verizon Wireless joint venture with Bell Atlantic. With fewer large-scale acquisitions available to gener ate double-digit growth into the second half of the 2000s, Vodafone h as begun to concentrate on rolling out so-called 3G services to its m arkets. The company is listed on the New York and London stock exchan ges. Arun Sarin has been company CEO since 2003.

3.2 significant of the study

Develop and foster good working relationships with tax authorities, government bodies and other related third parties Undertake all dealings with tax authorities, government officials, ministers and other third parties in a professional, courteous and timely manner and Lobby and seek to influence applicable governments and other external bodies (e.g. OECD and the EU) where possible and appropriate to shape future tax legislation and practice in ways that promote the Group's interest (e.g. consistency, stability, competitiveness).

Commercial Rationale The commercial needs of the Group are paramount and all tax planning will be undertaken in this context. Where alternative routes exist to achieve the same commercial result, the most tax-efficient approach should be recommended.

All advice and solutions to operational and corporate initiatives should be clear, timely, relevant, business focused and value added.

Due consideration will be given to the Group's reputation, brand and corporate and social responsibilities when considering tax initiatives, as well as the applicable legal and fiduciary duties of directors and employees of the Group and will form part of the overall decision-making and risk assessment process.

Policy on Disclosure Compliance with all relevant legal disclosure and approval requirements will be adopted and all information will be clearly presented to the tax authorities or other relevant bodies, as appropriate. Openness, honesty and transparency will be paramount in all dealings with the tax authorities and other relevant bodies.

Other Policies and Procedures On all projects the required approvals and procedures detailed in the Group Governance Manual will be complied with.

In addition, the Group Business Principles and any other relevant codes are separate requirements which apply to all members of staff.

Assurance Should any person have specific queries about this Code, or would like advice on implementing it, they should speak with their line manager and, if not adequately addressed, those queries should be brought to the attention of the Director of Tax Strategy and Policy or the Corporate Finance Director. If confidential advice is required or there are concerns that cannot be addressed through line management, please contact the Group Human Resources Director or the Group Audit

3.3 collection of data

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA:There are two types of data:1. Primary data2. Secondary data.Primary Data:The primary data are those which are collected a fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in character.Secondary Data:In the case of secondary data the nature of data collection work is merely that of complication.Collection of Primary Data:1. Observation Method.2. Interview Method.3. Through questionnaire.4. Through schedules.Collection of Secondary Data:1. Various Publication of the Central, State and local government.2. Technical and trade journals.3. Book magazines and newspapers.4. Report and publications of various associations connected with business and industry, bank stock exchange etc.5. Reports prepared by research scholars, universities economists etc. in different field.

Collection of My Secondary DataIn my research study I used only primary data and I collected it through the questionnaire methods, I collected these data from Lucknow.

RESEARCH DESIGN:- My research was exploratory research so I am discussing only exploratory research design. In exploratory research design hypothesis is developed on the basis of the influencing variables which are available. The main purpose to do research design is to find new ideas for which the researcher must always remain alert. There are three principles stages of exploratory research design.First Stage: Survey of secondary information sources.Second Stage: Interview with knowledge persons.Third Stage: Examination of situation that are analysesto the problem.Vodafone was the brainchild of Racal Electronics Ltd., a modestly pro sperous U.K. electronics firm, and Millicom, a U.S. communications co mpany. Developed as a joint venture during the early 1980s, Vodafone was granted a license to develop a cellular network in the United Kin gdom and was introduced under the auspices of Racal in January 1985. The new subsidiary's success was stunning. The corporate sector was q uick to appreciate the advantages of mobile telecommunications, and i ndividuals were equally quick to spot the status symbol potential of

the new technology; fueled by business need and Yuppie culture, the d emand for mobile phones skyrocketed.

Vodafone found itself one of only two entrants in the United Kingdom in a virtually unregulated new industry; the other member of the duop oly was Cellnet, which remained Vodafone's principal competitor into the 1990s. Throughout the 1980s the company created much of the techn ology, and enjoyed most of the profits, of this rapidly expanding fie ld. Racal Telecommunications' profit and loss history from 1985 to 19 89 succinctly describes the matter: in the year of its creation, Voda fone was operating at a loss of £10 million; by the end of the decade pretax profits were over £84 million. Racal soon develop ed allied divisions, including Vodac, Vodata, and Vodapage, to expand the number and type of services the company offered.

By 1988 Racal Telecommunications Group Ltd., as Vodafone and the rela ted subsidiaries were officially known, was by far the most successfu l player on the Racal Electronics team. The parent company, fearing t hat the Telecommunications Group was hampered on the stock market by its subsidiary status, and wishing, in addition, to enhance other asp ects of its business with profit from Vodafone stocks, proposed a par tial flotation of the subsidiary. Millicom, the second largest shareh older, who lobbied for a complete sell-off, opposed the move; in the end, only 20 percent of the share capital of Racal Telecom was offere d on the market. Three years later, however, Racal Electronics recons idered, and Racal Telecom was separated from its parent company in 19 91, at which time the name was changed to Vodafone Group Ltd.

Dominant in the 1990s

Vodafone was a market leader in the United Kingdom since its inceptio n. Its main competitor, Cellnet, jointly owned by British Telecom and Securicor, was also granted its license in 1985 and grew as steadily as Vodafone. However, it always remained a step or two behind, with Vodafone generally enjoying some 56 percent of the market. The two re mained the only companies on the scene for approximately eight years. Although an industry regulator, Oftel, existed, frequent rumors that the duopoly would be subjected to some sort of price regulation neve r materialized, on the grounds, it is thought, that further competiti on in such an obviously lucrative industry was bound to eventually ap pear. As the Daily Mail commented in early 1993, "Profits from mobile phones have been mouthwatering." Such competition did appear when Mercury, in a joint venture between Cable & Wireless and the telephone company U S West, issued its challenge in 1993.

Amid much publicity and a flurry of marketing, Mercury's Personal Com munications Network, called One-2-One, was launched. Mercury's advert ising campaign hammered home a message of lower costs. By offering lo w prices and even free off-peak local calls, Mercury forced the two t elecommunications giants into a price war, but only in the London are a, where Mercury's operations began.

One-2-One was seen primarily as a bid for the private market of mobil e telephone users, whereas the majority of Vodafone's customer base w as in the corporate sector, where demand and the tariffs charged were historically higher. Despite this, the company was clearly not unmin dful of the competitors' interest in the vast untapped private market . It first responded to the

threat of Mercury's introduction with its own countermarketing. After One-2-One was operating, Vodafone introd uced new options such as Low Call, which, with its lower rental costs but higher call charges, was targeted at individuals who used their phones less frequently than business customers. Another new initiativ e, MetroDigital, a service begun in 1993 that allowed subscribers low rates when calling from an urban "home cell," was aimed at least in part at the personal user market.

Mercury's One-2-One employed the new digital technology rather than t he analog systems used until then by Vodafone and Cellnet. Digital te chnology represented a significant advance in the industry, as its us e allowed for higher quality, better security, and lower costs. Not t o be outdone, Vodafone too was expanding its digital network, and the company expected operations to be fully digital by the end of the 19 90s.

As of the mid-1990s it was too soon to assess the ramifications of Me rcury's entry into the market, or indeed that of newcomer Hutchison M icrotel, which began operating its Orange network in 1994. Most finan cial analysts predicted, however, that there was room for all in a ma rket so ripe for expansion; increased competition would thus have lit tle effect on profit margins.

Although Vodafone Ltd. was clearly its flagship company, the Vodafone Group as a whole comprised several wholly owned subsidiaries that su pported or complemented the activities of Vodafone Ltd. Vodac was the group's service provider, buying cellular airtime wholesale from Vod afone and selling it, equipment, and services to customers via servic e centers, retail outlets, dealers, mail order, and special corporate accounts. Another subsidiary, Vodapage, operated a nationwide radiop aging network; among the services it offered were Healthcall Medical Answerline Service; Neighbourhood Watch Information Line, a crime pre vention service; and even the Rare Bird Alert News Service. Paknet, a radio-based national public data communications network, had a clien t base of banks, retailers, utilities, alarm companies, and others, a nd had a variety of applications. Country councils used it to handle traffic measurements, and British Rail used it for credit card author ization.

Vodafone had been involved as well in a number of other specialized a pplications of its capabilities. "SafeLink," introduced in 1992 in co njunction with the West Yorkshire Police, gave individuals fast acces s to the police via the Vodafone network. The "Callsafe" service, dev eloped the same year, allowed stranded motorists to contact the Autom obile Association. Perhaps the company's highest profile special appl ication, however, came in 1993 when it provided the emergency mobile phone service to environmental rescue workers following the wreck of the tanker Braer in the Shetland Islands.

Vodata, another crucial subsidiary, developed and marketed new produc ts and services for Vodafone and Vodapage customers. The company pion eered information services for users such as the Automobile Associati on's "Roadwatch" and the Financial Times' "CityLine." "Recall, " the world's largest voice messaging service, was introduced in 1992 . "Vodastream" fax allowed customers access to up-to-date macro-econo mic statistics compiled by the Central Statistical Office; "Met fax" gave the latest weather bulletins; and "Vodafax Broadcast" allowed th e facsimile transmission of information to several different destinat ions simultaneously.

Vodafone Group International was a rapidly growing component of the g roup. Active in seeking opportunities and implementing projects abroa d, Vodafone International looked likely to one day be as important to the group as Vodafone Ltd. itself. In 1993 the company was awarded a license in Australia to operate that country's third digital mobile telephone network. In the same year, consortia of which Vodafone was a member received similar licenses to operate in Greece and Germany. Vodafone also had substantial interests in France, Scandinavia, Hong Kong, Fiji, Malta, and Mexico. Although start-up costs for foreign ve ntures were obviously high, the field was very lucrative, and Vodafon e was continually on the lookout for new possibilities. Analysts pred icted that Vodafone would increase its investments with the aim of ac quiring more foreign associates and, eventually, subsidiaries.

A digital system that allowed international calls between participati ng countries was introduced in the early 1990s. Called the Global Sys tem for Mobile Communications (GSM), it was first used by Vodafone, w hose introduction of EuroDigital in 1991 allowed customers to "roam" throughout Europe and Scandinavia. In 1994 the company acquired a 10 percent stake in Globalstar, an international consortium formed to de velop a satellite-based network that would allow mobile telecommunica tions to operate everywhere in the world (except the polar ice caps) by 1998.

As of 1994, Vodafone operated one of the world's largest cellular net works, with over one million subscribers. This, combined with the com pany's increasingly high international profile, made it a safe bet th at Vodafone would continue its prominent role in the expanding mobile telecommunications industry. The Mail on Sunday confidently p redicted in 1993: "We're on the verge of a communications explosion. By 2000, nearly all of us will have a phone in our pocket." It was hi ghly likely that for many, that phone would be a Vodafone.

Digital phones took some time to catch on due to a limited service ra nge and reliability problems; they accounted for only 13 percent of m obile phones in Britain in 1995. However, the new wave of digital ent rants did force Vodafone and other analog providers like Cellnet to t rim their pricing somewhat. Earnings for the fiscal year ending March 1996 fell 4 percent in the face of stiff competition from Orange and One-2-One. However, Vodafone's foreign operations soon began to post positive results.

Thanks to its profitable operations at home, the concept of credit re mained foreign to Vodafone until July 1996, when it sought European c apital to increase its stake in France's number two mobile phone prov ider, SFR. It paid FFr 1.8 billion ($346 million) to raise its sh areholding from 10 percent to 16.5 percent. Vodafone also had equity positions in a number of other European and Asian cellular companies.

Chris Gent, who had sat on Vodafone's board for a dozen years, was ap pointed CEO in January 1997. He had never attended college but won a reputation as a shrewd businessman in the banking and computing indus tries. The company introduced a new corporate identity in the summer of 1997, uniting the six cellular providers it had acquired (Vodac, T alkland, Vodacom, Vodacall, Astec, and People's Phone) under the Voda fone brand. Vodafone began to restructure its network, laying off 250 employees. Its 300 retail outlets dropped competitors' products afte r the change. The success of One-2-One and

Orange prompted regulators to allow Vodafone and top rival Cellnet relative freedom. All four p roviders promoted heavily during the Christmas 1997 season, each hopi ng to ensure its fair share of the widening market. The fastest growi ng segment, low-income clients, was being accommodated through pre-pa yment plans.

SUMMARISER/CLARIFIER

Calm, reflective individuals who summarise the group's discussion and conclusions. They clarify group objectives and elaborate on the ideas of others. They may go into detail about how the group's plans would work.= and tie up loose ends. They are good mediators and seek consensus.

They may say: "So here's what we've decided so far""I think you're right, but we could also add ...."

The Merger of the Millennium

Beginning January 1, 1999, subscribers became able to retain their ph one numbers after switching providers. On the same date, 11 European countries introduced the Euro currency unit, making cross-border acqu isitions theoretically more attractive. However, Telecom Italia's sha reholders still chose the hostile offer Italian typewriter manufactur er Olivetti tendered in February 1999 over the friendly one of Deutsc he Telekom largely due to nationalistic sentiment.

It would be a few months before Vodafone exploited the possibilities of the redefined European financial environment. Meanwhile, it merged with U.S. West Coast cellular company AirTouch in the summer of 1999 , paying $68 million. Although this merger thwarted Bell Atlantic from its plans for coast-to-coast wireless coverage, Gent was soon p lanning a huge new venture with this East Coast company as well.

German telecommunications giant Mannesmann AG bought Orange for $ 33 billion in October 1999. Some saw the expensive purchase as a move to dissuade potential corporate raiders. However, the teaming of Ora nge and Mannesmann scuttled plans Vodafone had with Mannesmann's Germ an and Italian mobile phone units and Vodafone launched its own takeo ver bid on November 16.

Before the takeover was closed, Vodafone had formed a joint venture ( Multi Access Portal or MAP) with Vivendi, the French media and teleco m group, shutting off a potential white knight from Mannesmann. The G erman company was also constrained by a lack of poison pill and other takeover defenses in its home country.

After a spirited campaign played out in the media, in February 2000 V odafone AirTouch acquired Mannesmann AG in the largest corporate take over ever, surpassing even the merger of AOL and Time Warner in the p receding month. At $180 billion, the final price was nearly twice the original offer. Vodafone shareholders owned 50.5 percent of the new company, Mannesmann

shareholders 49.5 percent. Its market value o f $314 billion made it the largest British company and the world' s sixth largest, according to Barron's.

It also entered the millennium as the only truly global wireless phon e company. The post-merger Vodafone claimed more than 42 million mobi le telephone subscribers in 25 countries. (Business Week recko ned Vodafone was paying $9,000 per customer.) However, the real p rize was Mannesmann's position in the European Internet market. Gent hoped to use the German company's established ground-based Internet s ervice to grow Vodafone's own new wireless-based Internet service. Al though relatively untried at the time, the fusion of mobile telephone and e-commerce technologies offered unprecedented marketing opportun ities.

In April 2000, the Verizon Wireless joint venture with Bell Atlantic was launched. The European Commission approved the Vodafone-Mannesman n merger in the same month, stipulating that the combined company sel l off its Orange unit and allow competitors access to its internation al network for three years. Vodafone also planned to sell Mannesmann' s old automotive and engineering businesses.

Vodafone was showing strong customer growth in all areas. Its stock h ad doubled in the previous six months as investors caught on to the g roup's potential. In May 2000, France Telecom SA announced it was buy ing Orange for £25.1 billion ($37.4 billion), creating Euro pe's second largest mobile phone group with 21 million subscribers. A ggressive competition lay ahead. The Globalstar communications satell ite, in which Vodafone had an interest, was launched in the same mont h, and the Vizzavi Internet portal developed with Vivendi debuted.

Ever looking forward, Vodafone was developing new devices offering fa ster mobile connections than most Americans had on their home PCs. It s control of the tiny screen on millions of such units across Europe and beyond placed it at the center of a telecommunications revolution . More than one analyst expected Vodafone to become the world's large st company.

The first half of the 2000s proved a disappointment for the global mo bile telephone market, as the telecommunications sector, and the high -technology market in general, went into an extended slump. The poten tial of the new high-speed mobile telephone protocol sparked a fierce bidding war that saw most of the industry become heavily indebted. Y et Vodafone, which had maintained a relatively clean balance sheet co mpared to its heavily indebted competitors, successfully navigated th e difficult market. Indeed, between 2000 and 2005, the company more t han quintupled its global revenues and more than quadrupled its inter national subscriber base.

In 2001, Vodafone boosted its position in Japan, acquiring control of Japan Telecom Co. and its mobile carrier J-Phone Co., the number thr ee player in that market. Vodafone also took control of Spain's numbe r two, Airtel, which was subsequently renamed Vodafone Spain. In Irel and, the company bought Eircell in a deal worth EUR 4.5 billion. By 2 002, the group's subscriber base already neared 90 million, and reven ues had topped $34 billion. The company had also achieved the num ber one or number two position in a number of core markets, including Britain, Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and i ncluding Verizon's number one position in the United States. However, the company's growth had not yet translated into

growing profits; in deed, in 2002, the company posted a loss of £13.5 billion ($ ;21 billion), the largest ever annual loss in U.K. history.

In the meantime, the main growth phase of the mobile communications m arket appeared to be completed. In Europe for example, mobile telepho ne penetration had reached 70 percent overall (and higher in individu al markets). In the United States, too, analysts estimated that marke t had already reached 75 percent of its potential. Another difficulty for Vodafone came in 2003, when Chris Gent, described as a "swashbuc kler" who had led the company on its $300 billion expansion drive , announced his decision to retire.

Named in Gent's place was Arun Sarin, who had previously led AirTouch before its acquisition by Vodafone. Business Week describe Sa rin as "a skilled integrator of different businesses." Sarin's skills appeared to be the perfect complement to the post-Gent Vodafone, a s prawling business with 122 million customers and sales of more than & #36;55 billion. Indeed, among Sarin's first moves was to lead Vodafon e into an agreement with Microsoft in an attempt to develop a single international mobile handset standard, seen as a crucial development for the future growth of the mobile communications industry.

Yet Sarin quickly surprised observers, launching a takeover bid for A T&T Wireless in the United States in early 2004. Vodafone's bid w as topped by Cingular Wireless, however, dashing Vodafone's hopes of becoming a dominant U.S. player independent of the Verizon joint vent ure.

Elsewhere, Vodafone's difficulties increased. In Japan, the company a ppeared to have flubbed its bid to position itself in the 3G market t here. Vodafone's commitment to handset standardization, which led the company to roll out a limited line of new handsets for its global op erations, failed to take into account the highly specific nature of t he Japanese market. As competitors launched their own, highly stylish handsets offering cutting-edge services, Vodafone's own handsets app eared quaint. At the same time, competitors' networks boasted downloa d speeds as high as eight times faster than Vodafone's network. The r esult was a drop in the group's market share, down to 17.8 percent in 2005, and losses in its subscriber base.

In the meantime, with few large-scale acquisition prospects available , at least in the short term, Vodafone's growth prospects appeared to depend on the development of its 3G business. The company launched a n aggressive rollout of its new 3G-capable handsets, as well as a ran ge of non-voice services, such as photo messaging, video and music do wnloads, and the first transmissions of new mobile television program ming. Yet the company faced increased competition for the market, as a new range of 3G competitors, including Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampo a, entered the European market. At the same time, a number of other p layers, notably France Telecom's Orange, had begun a drive to build u p scale in order to create a true rival to Vodafone.

With 165 million subscribers and sales of more than £31.5 billi on ($64 billion), Vodafone was the outright global leader in the mobile communications market at mid-decade. The company remained inte rested in further acquisition opportunities. Some analysts suggested that, having failed in its bid to acquire AT&T Wireless, Vodafone might instead launch an effort to take over

the combined AT&T an d Cingular business. As one of the world's largest companies, Vodafon e expected to continue setting the pace for the global telecommunicat ions industry.

Additional Details

Public Company Incorporated: 1985 as Racal Telecommunications Group Ltd.

Employees: 60,109

Sales £31.55 billion ($64 billion) (2005)

Stock Exchanges: London New York

Ticker Symbols: VOD.L; VOD

NAIC: 513322 Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications

3.4 Techniques of data analysis

SAMPLING METHODOLOGY

Sampling Technique:Initially, a rough draft was prepared keeping in mind the objective of the research. A pilot study was done in order to know the accuracy of the Questionnaire. The final Questionnaire was arrived only after certain important changes were done. Thus my sampling came out to be judgmental and convenientSample design:-Lucknow.Sampling Unit:The respondents who were asked to fill out questionnaires are the sampling units. These comprise of employees of MNCs, people.Sample size: The sample size was restricted to only 100, which comprised of mainly people from different regions of Lucknow due to time constraints.Sampling Area :The area of the research was Lucknow, India.

IDEAS PERSON

The ideas person suggests new ideas to solve group problems or new ways for the group to organize the task. They dislike orthodoxy and not too concerned with practicalities . They provide suggestions and proposals that are often original and radical. They are more concerned with the big picture than with details. May get bored after the initial impetus wears off. See our lateral thinking skills page

EVALUATOR

Evaluators help the group avoid coming to agreement too quickly. They tend to be slow in coming to a decision because of need to think things over. They are the logical, analytical, objective people in the team and offer measured, dispassionate critical analysis. They contribute at times of crucial decision making because they are capable of evaluating competing proposals. They may suggest alternative ideas.

They may say:"What other possibilities are there?" or "Let's try to look at this another way." or "I'm not sure we're on the right track."

RECORDER

The recorder keeps the group focused and organised. They make sure that everyone is helping with the project. They are usually the first person to offer to take notes to keep a record of ideas and decisions. They also like to act as time-keeper, to allocate times to specific tasks and remind the team to keep to them, or a spokesperson, to deliver the ideas and findings of the group. They may check that all members understand and agree on plans and actions and know their roles and responsibilities. Acts as the memory of the group

They may say:"We only have five minutes left, so we need to come to agreement now!""Do we all understand this chart?""Are we all in agreement on this?"

 

Observer assessment form for group exercises

Here are the sort of criteria on which your contribution to a group exercise at a selection centre

might be assessed. You might like to use it to make notes on the contributions of particular group members.

Participation

Participates enthusiastically in discussion.

Spoken Expression Expresses his/herself clearly and coherently.

Originality of Ideas Introduces new ideas. Builds constructively an the ideas of others.

Brings a fresh approach to a problem.

Quality of Thought Analyses the problem well. Gets to the root of the problem.

Influence on Others Makes a point which is accepted. Influences the direction and nature of the discussion.

Open Mindedness Listens to carefully to other members views. Incorporates the points made by others into their own.

Facilitation of the Discussion Makes a direct attempt to help another person. Squashes a dominant interrupter to allow someone else to make a point.

Judgment Discriminates clearly between the important and the trivial.

Does not allow his/her feelings to sway decisions.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF VODAFONE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SURVEYObjective:-

This Survey is designed to bring about a sharp understanding of the market potential for telecommunication products. The corporate support to different brands. The study is made to assess and access the consumer desire from versatile angles leading to skim out the potentially of

market strengthening Vodafone cellular action plan meeting future target not only this much but it also makes a gesture to assess the current to rest competitors of telecommunication.The following are the main objectives of this survey:1. To find out the degree of market potentiality for Idea.2. To study the present and future needs of mobile along with corporate support to a particular brand of telecommunication connection in comparison to other competitor of telecom.3. To study the impact of attributes like price quality of connectivity and services etc. for preferring a particular brand of telecommunication connection.4. To assess the potentiality of respondent as future target customer for Vodafone telecommunication.

CHAPTER 4FINDINGS

ANDANALYSIS

MARKETING

According to marketing concept, an organization should try to provide products that satisfy customers' needs through a coordinated set of activities that also allows the organization to achieve its goals. Customers satisfaction is the major focus of the Marketing concept .An organization should must determine what customers want and use this information to create

satisfying products The organization must also continue to alter ,adapt, and develop products to keep pace with customers- changing desires and preferences. The marketing concept emphasis that marketing begins and ends with customers.The marketing concept is not a second definition of marketing .It is a management philosophy guiding an organization overall activities .This philosophy affects all organizational activities, not just Marketing .Production finance, accounting, personnel, and marketing departments must work together. Today, businesses want to satisfy customers and build meaningful long term buyer-seller relationships. The term relationship marketing refers to long term mutually beneficial arrangement in which boththe buyer and seller focus on value enhancement through the creation of more satisfying exchanges.To expedite exchanges and develop beneficial exchange relationships, firm marketing managers must develop and manage marketing strategies. A marketing strategy is a plan of action for developing, distributing, promoting, and pricing products that meets the needs of specific customers. The marketing strategy articulates the best use of the firms' resources and tactics to met its objectives. To develop and manage marketing strategies, marketers focus on several tasks: Selecting a target market, developing a marketing mix, assessing environmental forces, and managing marketing efforts effectively.A target market is a specific group of buyers on whose needs and wants a company focuses its marketing efforts. Marketing managers may define a target market as a vast number of people or as a relatively small group.A market opportunity exist when the right combination of circumstances and timing permit an organization to take action to reach a particular target market.

VALUE OF MARKETING

Every organization should follow/abide the values of Marketing. i.e. Ethics and Social responsibility.ETHICS Ethics may be one of the most misunderstood and controversial concepts in marketing. Nevertheless, this concept and its application need to be examined in order to support Marketing decisions that are acceptably and beneficial to the society.The term ethics relates to values and choices and focuses on standards, rules, and codes of conduct that govern the behavior of individuals. Marketing ethics refer to principles that define acceptable conduct in marketing. The most basic ethical issues have been codified as laws and regulations to encourage marketers to conform to society's expectations of conduct. At a minimum, marketers are expected to obey theses laws and regulations .however. It is important to realize that marketing ethics goes beyond legal issues: ethical marketing decisions foster trust in marketing relationship.Some marketers engage in ethical behavior because of enlightened self interest, or the expectation that ethics pays. These businesses believe that if they do not act in the public interest, the public and customers will strike back with restrictive regulations and legal action. Research has shown that the values of and examples set by the organization often have more influence on ethical decisions in marketing than a persons own value.

Developing awareness of ethical issues is important in understanding and improving marketing ethics. An ethical issue is an identifiable problem. Situation or opportunity requiring an individual or organization to choose from among several actions that must be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Compared with ethics, social responsibility represents a broader conceptualization. Social responsibility in marketing refers to an organization s obligation to maximize its positive impact and minimize its negative impact on society. Whereas ethics relates to doing the right thing in making individual and group choices, social responsibility is achieved by balancing the interest of stakeholders in an organization.The four dimensions of social responsibility are generally considered to be a) Economic b) legal c) ethical and d) philanthropic concerns.• Economic: Be profitable• Legal: Obey the law - law is society's codification of right and wrong.• Ethical: Be ethical – Obligation to do what is right, just and fair.• Philanthropic: Be a good corporate citizen -- Contribute resources to the community: improve the quality of life.

FRANCHISING

Franchising is an arrangement whereby a supplier, or franchiser grants a dealer, or a franchisee, the right to sell products in exchange for some type of consideration The franchiser may receive some percentage of total sales in exchange of furnishing equipment, building, management know-how and marketing assistance to the franchisee. The franchise supplies labor and capital, operates the franchised business, and agrees to abide by the provisions of the franchise agreement.Franchising offers several advantages to both the franchisee and the franchiser. It enables a franchisee to start a business with limited capital and use the business experience of others. Moreover, nationally advertised retailers are often assured of customers as soon as they open. If business problems arise, the franchisee can obtain guidance and advice from the franchiser at little or no cost. Franchised outlets are generally more successful than independently owned businesses .Less than ten percent of franchised retail businesses fail during the first two years of operation, whereas approximately half of independent retail business fails during that period. The franchisee also receives materials to use in local advertising and can take part in national promotional campaigns sponsored by the franchiser.The franchiser gains fast and selective product distribution through franchise arrangements without incurring the high cost of constructing and operating its own outlets. The franchiser therefore has more capital for expanding production and advertising It can also ensure, through the franchise agreement, that the outlets are maintained and operated by its own standard. The franchiser benefit from the fact that the franchisee, being the sole proprietor in most of the cases, is likely to be very highly motivated to succeed. Success of the franchiser means more sales, which translates in to higher royalties for the franchiser.

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND

SUGGESTIONS

Conclusion

Vodafone uses the capabilities of the mobile phone to bring value to both developing and

developed economies. The impact of mobile technology on developed markets over recentyears has been immense and has focused on providing added value to customers throughnew and improved functions and features. By comparison, the impact of technology onemerging markets such as Kenya has provided a real lifeline both to individuals and to smallbusinesses. The mobile phone has helped economic development in emerging economies.With growth in the provision of mobile phones, Vodafone has enabled great improvements infacilitating the flow of money and information, which is vital for economic growth.By improving Kenya’s telecommunications infrastructure and by providing the M-PESA system,Vodafone has enabled more people to access and transfer money. This has also helpedsocially by helping people to take advantage of employment opportunities away from theirhome towns and villages.

Suggestions

Following are the few suggestions to

Vodafone

for improving the market share and image of the products concerned.

1. PRODUCT

*Modification must be brought about in AIRTEL, in terms of quality. Its demand should beincreased.

2. PLACE

* The brands must be made available easily in, PCO & general stores.

3. PROMOTION

*Company must undertake extensive promotional activities like advertisements must be releasedin different Medias to create brand awareness.*Free samples should be distributed among the prospects. Sales promotion tools like gifts, contestsand coupons must be given to retailers as well as customers and prospects.* Catalogues should be distributed among customers.

4. PRICE

* Price should be as competitive as other company maintains* Distribution of new connection should be in reach of customer pocket

ANNEXURE

Q1. Which Brand you, prefer most?

1. Airtel

2. Vodafone

3. Reliance

4. TATA

5. Idea  Q2. How long you have been using this Product?

1. 0-2 Years

2. 2-5 Years

3. 5-10 Years

4. More than 10 years  Q3. Are you using other product with Airtel?

1. Yes

2. No Q4. Do you collect any information search before making purchase?

1. Yes

2. No

Bibliography www.vodafone.com

www.wikipedia.com/project on vodafone

www.googe.com/swot analysis

www.google.com/finding and analysis