The Case of MultiChoice Group Assessment Answer

Question 1

As a multi-national corporation, MultiChoice is expectedly faced with a number of macro-environmental factors which it has to manage well if it is to keep a head of the queue of the online Television content on the African continent. Ultimately, MultiChoice large presence on the international stage makes the corporation vulnerable to a range of structural, political, and systematic threats. In order for the company to manage these macro-environmental factors well, MultiChoice Group should aim at managing the following political factors to cope up with the changing political dynamics

Stability

The stability of the nation in which a company is operating is important for business operations since it influences investor and customer confidence and thus it has a greater impact on the economy. Political instabilities pose serious implications for the investment, consumption and economic growth of a business (Gupta, 2013). Presently, some of the areas of operations in which MultiChoice Group is operating; South Sudan, Nigeria, and Kenya are faced with political instabilities as a result of both internal and external disputes. If the company fails to handle the current political conflicts in these areas, it may fail to achieve its growth objectives and thus the management will be averse to inject in more capital in the project. Therefore, this makes it important for the top management team of MultiChoice Group to be cautious in their business transnational strategies; the management should at all teams carryout a thorough scan of the political atmosphere and democracy levels in the areas in which they intend to operate not to be affected by the volatile political environment in some of the African countries.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty in the political setting refers to the frequency at which policy regulations governing business activities change (Çitilci, & Akbalık, 2020). To business, these policies could be tax laws, licensing laws, corporate social responsibility laws, environmental conservation laws and many more. It is no doubt that constant policy changes affect business operations and they make decision making even more challenging because of the uncertainty. Gladly, MultiChoice keeps abreast of the changes in the countries of operations and further engages in the amendments of legislations relating to competition, film classification, and copyright and performer’s rights (Dtakyi, 2019). Still, I advise the top management team at MultiChoice Group to always endeavor to scan the environment to ensure that they quickly adapt to policy changes and reset their strategic priorities respectively.

Economic Factors

Economic factors consists of a set of multifaceted variables which affect business operations and ability to realize its economic goals (Çitilci, & Akbalık, 2020). Therefore, the MultiChoice top management team should at all teams obtain in-depth analysis of these factors before commencing their expansion strategies if they are to anticipate the short-term and long-term growth of their corporation especially now that it is known that most African currencies have depreciated against the dollar and the possible impact that this bears on some of its contents that are purchased in dollars (Dtakyi, 2019). The top management team at MultiChoice Group needs to be aware that exchange rate fluctuations risk affect their business profitability. That said, the business finance analysts at MutiChoice Group should make accurate estimations to ensure the unwanted trade and business performance effects are controlled.

Question 2

As alluded to by German-American social-psychologist, humans embrace, accept and implementation of change is the principal of today’s change management structure (Raza, 2019). Similarly, for businesses operating in the technology sphere, change and change management is a routine they have to embrace and implement to sustain their survival as the industry is dynamic. Like other businesses, MultiChoice Group is today faced with stiff competition from key players and market entrants like Netflix, iFlix, Facebook and Amazon which are offering similar services like them something that has increased the number of alternative content streaming services within its territory (Dtakyi, 2019). In particular, this section evaluates how MultiChoice Group can enhance a smooth transition to change intervention using the Kurt Lewin change management model.

Unfreezing

Often, the implementation of change is not a one-piece process especially if that process has to do with stakeholder buy-ins. always, there will be individuals who will resist the new change to be implemented. Learning how to influence stakeholder buy-in towards change is an important facet for a company like MultiChoice that is operating in an environment characterized by consistent changes and innovations. At the internal level of the organization, the top management at MultiChoice needs to instigate a culture that is open to change. Board members and employees of the organization need to be informed that change may always been necessary given the business environment in which they operate and the ever-emerging technologies in the industry for which there content needs to be integrated too to match their customer needs of convenience and comfortability. For example, organizations like Amazon, Facebook and others have evolved to offering live sports events on portable gadgets like mobile phones (Dtakyi, 2019). This makes sense that MultiChoice has had to evolve to enable its DStv subscribers to access similar programming on the Mobile. It perhaps talks to the culture of change that has been cultivated within the organization to keep ahead of the queue in the broadcasting entertainment industry.

On the other hand, not all change implemented maybe embraced in society. More than once, organizations have implemented change strategies only for them to fail at the initial stages. Knowing what your target audience wants is one key stake to ensuring that the change you implement is embraced and possess high chances of success. To ensure this, it would be important for MultiChoice Group to seek for support from the top management, C-suite and the customers. The C-suite in particular ensures the smooth transition of change interventions by offering technical and financial support while the customer information obtained through surveys means that the company implements a change plan that is already in-demand as they already know and have part of the new service being introduced.

Change

After obtaining stakeholder buy-in, the next step on Lewin’s change management approach is implementing the adopted change. Change at an organizational level is notoriously a complex task since the execution of a well-planned process of change does not guarantee the expected results. For example, in relation to the case study, MultiChoice Group is currently proposing a plan to develop dish-less content streaming services with the objective to reduce set-up and decoder costs from the set-up costs of its DStv services. While that sounds an appeasing strategy to both the organizations and its customers, MultiChoice will need to have in place a number of alternatives lest the change does not work out as expected. Network issues, customer reluctance to the change, user-friendliness, and installation challenges are all possible issues that may impede this new change. That said, the South African based content broadcasting corporation should have a variety of alternatives aside the planned change process to include trial and error. With every effort to change, the corporation needs to examine what works, what is not working and which parts of the project where challenging. In short, this change project will best be implemented in phases to guarantee the efficient execution of the change plan.

Refreezing

This is the third and last stage of Lewin’s change management approach. This stage guides on how to sustain the change that has been implemented and to influence stakeholders to consider the new change as the new status quo and will no longer repel to the news of change (Raza, 2019). For MultiChoice to sustain its proposed change idea, the organization will need to formulate and promote measures in which it will sustain the new change both in the short and long-term. Firstly, the corporation will need to assemble a team of technical experts that will help offer training to the management on the installation and functioning of the dish-less services as well offer after-sale support services to their customers. Secondly, MultiChoice Group will need to establish a feedback portal where the team and users will raise feedback on the new service for the company to know what is working and where they need to change. Lastly, MultiChoice should consider giving incentives and subsidizes to its customers to facilitate quick and a smooth transition to the use of its dish-less digital streaming services. 

Question 3

Strategy is a long-term tactic for any business to stay relevant in business amidst a swamped business environment today. Ansoff (1987) says that to succeed and survive in an industry, an organization needs to match the aggressiveness of its operational activities to the changes in demand and market opportunities. Thankfully, MultiChoice Group has over the years shown perceptive strategies to external forces that affect its business operations and implemented strategies that are helping it to continuously grow its subscriber base.

Notably, MultiChoice uses a diversification strategy to sustain and improve its market position at the expense of its competitors. The dawn of 2010 show a number of pay content broadcasting services join the market at cut-throat competition perhaps intended to dislodge MultiChoice’s DStv. These include Startimes, Zuku Tv, Azam Tv and others all which offered content broadcasting bouquet services at low cost prices as compared to DStv. In reaction, MultiChoice launched the GOtv service that offered even much better services to its competitors to cater for its low income consumer segment whilst maintaining DStv for its premium consumer-segment. This meant that MultiChoice not only would increase its customer base but also the company grew its revenues as more people would subscribe to their services.

Secondly, MutiChoice employs defensive strategies to counter and exceed the aggression of its competitors marketing strategies. For example, the corporation has established numerous service points in major towns of the countries in which it operates thereby enhancing its distribution and marketing strategies and helping to fortify its position in the market (WEKESA, 2013). MutiChoice service teams are often seen in the public marketing the firm’s products a strategy which has created awareness and visibility of the brand in the community.

Porter’s 5 Forces Model

Critically, porter’s five forces determine the rules of competition and the profitability of the industry. On the other end, the forces offer a simple perspective for organizations to assess and determine their competitiveness and position in the market (Porter, 1979). For an organization like MultiChoice Group, the Porter’s five forces model offers an ideal tool to use to analyse its competitiveness and protect its subscribers.

To mention first, the entry of new entrants in the content entertainment industry is not within the hands of MutiChoice. In different countries, different interstate agencies regulate the entry of new organizations in the industry. However, the organization can still establish barriers of entry in the sector. Especially, MutiChoice can ensure this by establishing brand loyalty through offering value services, ease distribution costs by launching more branches across the globe and improving economies of scale through efficient production. Already, MultiChoice is faced by the rivalry of competing firms like Startimes, Zuku Tv among others. Sadly extreme rivalry if not well managed is a strong threat to the profitability of the company. As MultiChoice does not have choice but face the competition, the corporation has reacted by introducing GOtv which offers similarly services to those of its competitors a strategy to which the company is commended. Now, MultiChoice also needs to leverage its economies of scale to ensure that maintains an edge in terms of the services it offers to its subscribers to minimize the supplier switching costs.

As a result of the firm competition in the industry, MultiChoice needs to make it a strategy to diversify its supply base and it is so far succeeding. Partly, this strategy is helping the company expand its supply base even to the rural areas. However, for the Corporation to maintain it supply power, MultiChoice should make it a rule for all its suppliers to do business transactions with MultiChoice and in observation of the laws agreed upon ,when entering the contractual agreement. In due course, this will help the company to protect its customers from the exploitative nature of some of its opportunistic suppliers.

As it is alluded to earlier, MultiChoice has no authority as in law to bar entrants in the market. On the contrary, the company needs to craft well its business strategy to maintain its current market position. The current competition strategies like diversification, offensive task marketing ideas are applicable to counter the threat of substitute products in the content broadcasting industry. But, the company needs to stay attentive to modern technologies to which its rival firms are integrating with to offer their services. For example, Amazon is offering live streaming services on mobile phones; MutiChoice certainly has to follow suit not for its subscribers to switch to alternative services. Finally, MultiChoice can manage the bargaining power of buyers by offering superior quality service; signals, and screen display that will lure premium subscribers. Also, the company can niche its services based on the information collected from the different consumer demographics (High value customers vs. low-vale customers).

Question 4: The Systems Theory

The business environment is high-paced today with different organisations implementing different strategies to keep ahead of their competitors not minding the impact this possess to their contenders. Unfortunately, the lack of interdependent relationship has made it so that the market remains a laissez-faire economy with new entrants joining unrestrictedly as they envision gaps to exploit using similar marketing strategies. This can be different if organizations view themselves as partners. For example, if MultiChoice chose to liaise with existing firms in the industry through statutory consolidations, this would ease the degree of competition in the industry. Moreover, online communication systems are entirely interdepend and they work in tandem to ensure broadcast. Notably, this consists of three systems: the broadcasting system which depends on hertzian transfer of information in air, the capable system which comprises of telephone networks and television cable networks (broad-band cable) and last is the video system made up of light system cables that produce, reproduce and store video information (LHOEST, 1982). A brief analysis of the above gives clue that the content broadcasting communication system is an industry that works along interdependent relationships to ensure efficient service delivery. Therefore, the Board of Directors at MutiChoice Group needs to acknowledge the importance of these relationship lest it is operate and offer better services to its subscribers.

References

Ansoff, I. (1987). Corporate strategy. Harmondsworth, London: Penguin.

Çitilci, T., & Akbalık, M. (2020). The Importance of PESTEL Analysis for Environmental Scanning Process. In Handbook of Research on Decision-Making Techniques in Financial Marketing (pp. 336-357). IGI Global.

Dtakyi. (2019, October 4). MultiChoice Group – despite complex challenges, success comes down to value . african.business. https://african.business/2019/10/economy/multichoice-group-despite-complex-challenges-success-comes-down-to-value/

Gupta, A. (2013). Environment & PEST analysis: an approach to the external business environment. International Journal of Modern Social Sciences, 2(1), 34-43.

LHOEST, L. (1982, December 29). THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE MEDIA . COUNCIL OF EUROPE. https://rm.coe.int/090000168091173c

Porter, M.E. (1979). How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard Business
Review.

WEKESA, E. (2013, November). COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY MULTICHOICE KENYA LIMITED . UNIVERTISTY OF NAIROBI. http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/60141/Wekesa_Competitive%20strategies%20adopted%20by%20Multichoice%20Kenya%20Limited.pdf?sequence=3

You Might Also Like

Change Management Assignment Help

Porter's Five Forces: Definition & How To Use The Model

International Supply Chain Management Assessment Answer

Looking For Complete Assignment Sample Get It On WhatsApp