Vodafone: Centering in the Human Resource Strategies Introduction An organization and its leaders are very focused on creating

the varieties of strategies that can earn them an advantage. The approach of the leaders in creating the business effective in the market is one of the best function that managers are expected to deliver. Towards the aim of changes and improvement of the business, the managers paid especial attention in the work output of the employees. Workforce, as the fuel of the organization plays a significant role in the organization. In return, the human resource managers are bound to formulate different strategies to enhance the performance of the employees and be more beneficial in the organization. Understanding the Human Resource in Vodafone Vodafone is the one of the leading multinational network operator in the UK. Handling a big business is great challenge and alongside in the difficulty of handling the business is the different approach in handling the diversified workforce or employees. Clearly, the employees of the company understand the nature of their work and the routine of the operations that is made to sustain the quality performance of the organization. But the Vodafone and the business leaders is not satisfied in simply making the employees meet their highest potential. In fact, Vodafone wants to do the same for their employees. If their employees cannot perform well because of the need for travel, then they will use their advantage in technology to reach them, stay in touch, and be on the guide. Furthermore, Vodafone recognizes the importance of the human resource and organization department for being the responsible for recommending and implementing the appropriate selection of the valuable employees. In addition, the management, training and development policies, all just for keeping the corporate guidelines. Vodafone looks at the function of the human resource as the one responsible for defining and implementing the industrial-relation management policies. Strategies: Virtual Conferencing The Vodafone employees always consider their mission to deliver the best of their responsibilities and functions through the approach on the VC or virtual conferencing. The use of the VC and other types of virtual conferencing are acceptable substitute for travel. The traditional way of internal meeting is supported by the

Vodafone for the purpose that the participants should know each other and create a strong relationship between them. But due to the different foreign affairs on most of their employees, it is very rare to include them in the meetings. Therefore, the creation of the VC cut the distance between the mother company and the other branches around the world. Through the use of the VC, the global objectives of the company can be met. The approach of the team in the creation of the VC is based on the collaboration of the personnel in global operations and winning the favor of the technology. Other Practice The VC is also applied in the initial recruitment interviews. Conducted by the human resources, the purpose of the VC is to narrow the filed of the candidates. After the interviews, the upcoming interviews are conducted personally. In a broader sense, the use of the strategy in the human resource function is a great advantage for the company to create more advantage in the company. Through the strategic motivation of the Vodafone, the introduction of the VC reduces the travel costs, the employees exhaust feeling like wear and tear, and the emission of the pollutants or carbons due to the excessive travel. This VC application can fulfill the corporate responsibility of the company and furthermore, attract the competitiveness in the internal operations of the business. Taking the perspective of the employees on the application of the VC or audio, video, or web conferencing in the system, depends on their option and the company suggests the need for travel if the virtual conferencing is not appropriate or available. Conclusion The application of the VC in meeting the goals and objectives of the organization is preferable in Vodafone. The contribution of the VC made significance difference such in minimizing the expenses due to mileage or air travels. In fact, the Vodafone crafted another innovation that will definitely change the traditional training and development for the employees to make their performance enhance and meet the corporate objectives. The Vodafone serves as an example in the technological industry and their example is one of the recommended strategies in gaining the competitiveness for the people. This evidence is one of the strong factors that justify the existence of the technology and its collaboration toward the organizations purpose to meet its goals.

Works Cited:

Icarus ITM., 2008. Case Study: Vodafone, Institute of Travel Management [Online] Available at: http://www.usageandadoption.com/assets/downloads/VodafoneCaseStudy.pd f [Accessed 23 Feb 2010]. Vodafone IT., 2005. Vodafone: Michele Angelo Verna, New Human Resource and Organization Manager [Online] Available at: www.vodafone.it/res/attachments/pdf/Nomina_Verna_en.pdf [Accessed 23 Feb 2010].

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Vodafone Sustainability Integration Case Study 1 VODAFONE Vodafone is a world leading mobile telecommunications company. Vodafone provides a wide range of communication services, including voice calls, SMS text messaging, MMS picture and video messaging, internet access and other data services. The group has 221 million direct customers including private consumers and corporate customers in diverse markets around the world. Governance Overall responsibility for corporate responsibility (CR)/sustainability lies with Vodafones Group Executive Committee (ExCo). The ExCo is chaired by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and consists of two CEOs from Vodafones operating business units Europe and Emerging Markets (Asia-Pacific, America, Eastern Europe and Africa), as well as the Group Corporate Affairs Director, CFO, Chief Technology Director, Group Strategy and New Business Director, Group General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Chief Executive of Global Business Development, Chief Marketing Officer and Group HR Director. CR performance is regularly discussed at ExCo and once a year at Vodafone's main Board. The Group Corporate Affairs Director is the ExCo member with responsibility for CR, and Vodafones Group Corporate Responsibility Director reports to the Group Corporate Affairs Director, as well as leading the Group CR team. The Group CR team works with local operating companies and Group operational functions to develop policies on CR issues. Additional Group resources are also dedicated to key issues, such as radio frequency (RF) fields and health, social products and enterprise, supply chain management and

content standards. For example, there is an ElectroMagnetic Fields (EMF) and a Health and Safety Boards and committees on Content Standards, Privacy and Social Investment, and specific individuals (8) within the Group CR team focus on these issues or other more strategic aspects. A number of the main Group operational functions are involved in CR in various ways: Group Supply Chain is responsible for embedding CR into supplier performance management processes. CR accounts for 10% of our overall supplier rating. Group Marketing is responsible for ensuring operating companies implement the responsible marketing guidelines; the Content Standards team is co-ordinating implementation of content controls for customers; and a Social Products and Enterprise team has been established to develop products with social value. Employment human resources policies in individual operating companies may differ because Vodafone has expanded in part through acquisition. The Group Human Resources Director is responsible for ensuring policies and procedures are consistent for equal opportunities, diversity, health and safety, employee appraisal, training and communication. Network rollout operating company CEOs are responsible for implementing CR policies and guidelines including performance in community consultation, energy usage, ozone-depleting substances identification and phase-out and waste management. Vodafone believes that CR issues are most effectively managed as part of core business processes rather than as a separate 'add-on'. CR is therefore

managed within the Groups mainstream management systems and responsibility allocated to operational line managers. Local operating companies play the key role in implementing CR policies and the CEO of each local operating company has overall responsibility for CR. Every operating company has employees dedicated to CR who work directly with the Group CR team and local business functions. The sizes of these teams vary among local operating companies (from one member to four-six in Germany and Italy for example). This does not include employees working for local Vodafone Vodafone Sustainability Integration Case Study 2 VODAFONE foundations. Each local operating company is free to define the CR function in whatever form works best for them, and no guidance on what the structure should be is provided by corporate. Vodafone Germany, for example, established a CR department as part of the Corporate Communications Division. It reports directly to the operating company Chief Executive. A steering committee, which includes the directors of CR, Marketing, Sales, Technology and Legal Affairs, was also established to ensure that CR is integrated throughout the company. Vodafone Germany also appoints officers within their respective departments to manage key CR focus areas - environment, child protection and RF fields, which are fully aligned with Group CR focus areas and global strategy, but are implemented taking into account local context. Vodafone has established a suite of quantitative (203) indicators to measure and report to stakeholders its impact. A qualitative set of (200) key performance indicators (KPIs) designed as questions are used to measure internal performance. Local operating companies answer these questions on a

quarterly basis, on issues such as energy efficiency, waste management, handset collection, reuse and recycling, health and safety (H&S) and community contributions. Each question is given a score of 0-15 to assess the level of commitment, integration, management of issues, and implementation. Vodafone has also defined specific CR performance targets to be embedded in the quarterly performance review process, where the senior management of Group and local operating companies meet to evaluate the performance of local operating companies. Annual results from this review process are also reported to the Group Board of Directors. A web-based application is used to collect and report on all CR data and information from local operating companies. Data are reported through a dashboard containing the absolute results colour coded to represent progress against targets: Green indicates if the local operating companys score, compared to the target that was agreed by operating company CEOs at the beginning of year is on track/met; Amber if the local operating company is within 0 and -5% of meeting its target; and Red if the local operating company has missed its target by more than 5%. Reports are generated at the Group-level, but all CEOs can access the dashboard to immediately see their results. They will call people responsible for different areas within their company and inquire as to why they havent been able to meet the established targets. They then must explain this to their Group operating business unit CEO (Europe or Emerging Markets). The Group operating business unit CEOs will have a call with the Group CEO as to

why they are not meeting agreed targets. At the end of the year, bonuses are tied to personal performance also against CR targets. (See the assurance section for a discussion on data validation to prevent self-inflation of local operating company scores). Part of Vodafones business case for CR is that the company wants to be recognized as a leader. It wants to explore the potential of promoting development and linking with partners to meet societal needs. It has a number of interesting initiatives in place that will illustrate this (see business development section). Business Processes Strategic Planning: In April 2005, Vodafone approved a five-year CR plan to help the company reach its vision of being one of the most trusted companies in the markets it operates by 2010. The CR strategy sets priorities in the following areas: Vodafone Sustainability Integration Case Study 3 VODAFONE Maintain high ethical standards; Understand and respond to our stakeholders' priorities; Ensure our operating standards are consistent across the Group; Deliver on our promises in three key areas: Responsibility to our customers Reuse and recycling of mobile phones Energy and climate change; and Capture the potential of mobile to bring socio-economic value through access to communications. Local operating companies identify areas and activities to help contribute to meeting these strategic priorities.

Business Planning: Local operating companies work to the strategic priorities identified in the corporate CR strategy, and to the established suite of quantitative and qualitative KPIs for the organization (see governance section above). Every six months, the Group CR team runs a workshop for CR managers and issue owners from all of Vodafones operating companies. The workshops provide the opportunity for colleagues from around the world to meet, develop CR strategies and share best practices. Affiliates (companies where Vodafone does not own a controlling share) and partner networks are also invited to attend these workshop, as well as external stakeholders. Issues of high priority that might emerge from these workshops and require further development by the company would result in a CEO from one of the local operating companies sponsoring the issue, and then bringing together people from throughout the company to further discuss the issue and define policies, guidelines/standards and KPIs to manage the issue effectively. Once approved, these would then be rolled-out across the company. These policies, guidelines/standards become tools to help local operating companies operate consistently according to corporate strategy. Vodafone also uses a Group-wide issues management process to ensure that CR issues are fed into the companys long-range planning across local operating companies. The process involves each operating company and most Group functions reporting to the Corporate Affairs Board 1 on a quarterly basis the most significant local CR issues. The Board ensures that someone within the business is assigned to develop appropriate responses to each issue,

feeding into strategic decision-making. This process helps Vodafone ensure that its strategic decision-making is taking full account of social trends and anticipating new issues as soon as possible. Business Development: Whenever Vodafone considers a merger and acquisition (M&A), a Global CR team member is included in the team that conducts a due diligence review. Vodafone considers a range of CR issues relating to the country of operation, such as the local supply chain, environmental regulations or levels of bribery and corruption, as well as reviewing the acquisitions existing CR policies and programs. The M&A team incorporate in the country report the information provided by the Group CR team regarding the main CR issues Vodafone will be faced with, what the local company is currently doing, and if Vodafone might face negative reputational impacts by acquiring the local company. In terms of product development, Vodafone is increasingly working at integrating CR into its decision-making. Beginning in 2002, Vodafone began considering how its products and services could meet societal needs instead of just customer needs related to network coverage for example. The company began by commissioning third-party research to understand the impacts of mobile phones. Research indicated that there was a link between growth in

1 Includes Corporate Affairs Directors from several local operating companies and departmental heads within Group Corporate Affairs. Vodafone Sustainability Integration Case Study 4 VODAFONE GDP and increases in mobile phone penetration. Social research identified that people with phones were impacted and empowered, having a stronger sense

of well-being, an increased social network and increased economic status. Considering this research, Vodafone began exploring how its products and services could further enhance positive impacts and address some of the societal challenges facing various people around the world. As an example, the company trialed a program in Kenya that facilitates financial transactions through mobile phones, where they act like virtual bank accounts, receiving cash, or through a combination of PIN numbers, facilitating payments. Such a service addresses the issue of financial exclusion and makes money transfers a lot easier, as funds can be received from various outlets and the sender/receiver does not need a bank account, only a mobile phone; as well as supporting areas that do not have local bank infrastructure. The technology is also focused on greatly assisting the flow of funds from migrant workers back to their families. Vodafone has also explored using mobile phones as a means to pay for goods through the transfer of airtime to a recipient rather than an exchange based on money. Such a program has been tried in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Albania and Egypt. The next frontier is mobile public services so people can access services without having to physically go to government offices. This could greatly assist those without easy access to government public services. Vodafone is also working with partners such as BT, HSBC, Unilever, etc. to address the needs of the bottom of the pyramid of the worlds population. This is an area where Vodafones local operating companies have a crucial role to play by identifying the local societal needs. Local operating companies send proposals that are considered by the Steering Groups in Research and Development (R&D). Five-six ideas have been considered in the last six

months; full business cases are built and if approved, the company moves forward on the idea, conducting a trial, usually through partnering with a development agency and NGOs to implement. Risk Management: Vodafones CR team feeds into three unique processes that help the company to manage CR risks. The company has an issues management process (described in business planning section above) that helps to identify potential implications to Vodafone of issues that might impact the business and become a risk. The company also uses a reputation risk management program that identifies the views of stakeholders, media coverage and legal views. It is run by Corporate Affairs and helps to define issues that could pose a risk to Vodafone and if considered a big risk and impact, then the company would start to build a program to deal with the impact. The third risk management approach taken by the company that incorporates a range of CR questions is Vodafones internal audit control questionnaire which is completed by all local operating companies once a year and signed off by their CEOs. This questionnaire is part of the companys formal risk identification process. The results are reported to the Vodafone Group Plc Board of Directors. Each local operating company will use the same processes but the results will be unique reflecting local variables. Vodafone Romania, for example identified, identified RF fields and health, products and services for people with special needs, waste management and energy use as priorities in the 2006 financial year. Vodafone Greece was approached a number of years ago with a proposal to provide gambling services through mobile phones. In applying CR

thinking, considering the social impact and the potential negative impact on the companys reputation, Vodafone said no to this opportunity. Vodafone Sustainability Integration Case Study 5 VODAFONE Project Management: Vodafone has developed social assessment criteria to look at new products and services beyond net present value. The checklists used to assess new products propositions include a specific section on CR and direct Vodafone staff to consider certain CR factors (e.g. social benefit) and apply a score. If scores are below a certain threshold, then the project/product/service/supplier engagement will not go ahead as these may impact in the reputation of the company and the brand. For example, a womens non-profit organization in Egypt approached Vodafone with a project that would allow farmers to easily access market prices. The project involves women going to different local markets in their area and using mobile phones to report back to a central location on the prices of various products. Farmers can then use a mobile phone and enter the product to sell and the phone will report the prices in the different local markets so the farmer can go to the market where there are higher prices and therefore make more profit selling for the highest prices avoiding unnecessary trips to check prices. Vodafone does not receive any real financial benefit from this kind of project, but the social benefit for the farmer is compelling and Vodafone believes it will lead to increased customer loyalty and therefore decided to move forward trialing this project. Disclosure: Vodafones Annual Report includes several pages of information and performance on a variety of CR issues such as employee involvement, health and safety, environmental issues (e.g. energy use, reuse and recycling, etc.),

socially inclusive products, supply chain management, political donations, etc. Vodafone also publishes a stand-alone CR report at the Group level. Vodafone uses a web-based application to collect CR data and information from local operating companies. Group guidelines on data collection and reporting define the key CR performance indicators and require all local operating companies to document sources of data, check data accuracy and have data signed off by a senior executive. Data are also checked and consolidated at the Group level before being rolled-up in the Group level CR Report. There are currently also 11 local operating companies that produce their own CR reports. Assurance: Vodafone uses independent third-party assurance on its CR report, which every year involves the on-site investigation of at least four local operating companies for up-to four days to challenge data and information, look at data collection processes, etc. In order to provide assurance on the self assessments and scores local operating companies submit against the corporate KPIs, every local operating company is visited on an 18 month cycle by the CR Director or CR Executive and one other corporate CR team member. The purpose of these two-three day on-site assessments is to take the local operating companies last quarterly report and challenge and scrutinize the results, looking for strange trends, asking for evidence to support claims, etc. The on-site assessments involve multiple meetings to discuss different CR issues, an investigation of the local operating companys processes that support CR, a review of meeting minutes to ensure CR issues are discussed, etc. At the end of the on-site assessment, a final meeting is held with the CEO to provide feedback on the findings and recommendations going forward.

Internal audit is also involved checking sites and reporting findings back to the ExCo on whether local operating companies are following Group policies and standards under Group Ethics for example. There are a variety of other internal and external assurance processes utilized by Vodafone however; many of them are up to the local operating company to define. For example, a number of local operating companies are certified to Vodafone Sustainability Integration Case Study 6 VODAFONE ISO 14001, EMAS and/or SA8000 and therefore require external verification that their operations meet these standards. Stakeholder Engagement Community Relations: Vodafone engages its stakeholders in a variety of formal and informal ways, both globally and locally. The majority of engagement is carried out within business functions and in local operating companies. As an example, most local operating companies have their own local external stakeholder advisory councils to help them identify and work through issues. At the global level, there is also a 12-person advisory council with experience in the UK government, academia, other businesses, NGOs such as Oxfam, and CR consultancies/opinion leaders such as SustainAbility and Accountability. Vodafone sought feedback from stakeholders on its Group CR Strategy as well as on communications such as the CR report. Where Vodafone is finding stakeholder feedback to be most effective, however, is when it is focussed on specific issues and solutions and informs the work of the experts and policy makers in the company. Vodafone has recently changed its strategy related to stakeholder engagement from generic events with stakeholders presenting their opinions on broad strategy and programs and the companys latest

report, to topic specific conversations related to just privacy, or what can be done to support the people at the bottom of the worlds pyramid, for instance. Vodafone is using this new format to try and understand stakeholder expectations related to specific topics and finding the results to be much richer. Vodafone encourages stakeholder engagement at local operating companies by incorporating three questions into the quarterly assessment/reporting against KPIs. One of the questions specifically relates to how comments received from stakeholders have been integrated into the companys operations. Local operating companies are also required to have a Stakeholder Engagement Plan in place. Investor Relations: Over the last year Vodafone held 14 meetings to discuss CR issues with institutional investors, both mainstream and socially responsible investors (SRIs), as part of the companys CR investors road show. In addition, Vodafone meets with individual investors that request a meeting to discuss specific issues. The meetings are used to talk about performance and also for Vodafone to get information on the views from investors on specific issues. At the present time, the CR Director is involved in these meetings but there is a preference that Investor Relations staff take on more of this role. The CEO also desires to address CR issues more fully in his speeches/presentations to the investment community. Like many companies, Vodafone responds to SRI questionnaires, and actually has one team member dedicated to responding to these investor requests. Vodafone believes that it does well in integrating CR issues into communications and relations with key company investors and the financial community but that it could do better in this area.

Human Resources Recruitment and Orientation: Another area of improvement identified by Vodafone is the integration of CR factors into human resource (HR) management. Vodafone is a young company of only 20 years, ten of which were spent as a company of 300 employees. Through aggressive acquisition, Vodafone now has 60,000 employees. This has resulted in a number of HR policies throughout local operating companies and the need to focus on standardizing these policies and practices. At the global level, CR is integrated into induction training for all new employees, through workshops that talk about the companys CR policies. All employees also receive the booklet on Passion for the World Around Us' that identifies the companys values and its commitment to the goals of CR. Vodafone Sustainability Integration Case Study 7 VODAFONE Vodafone conducts an annual employee survey that includes questions about whether the company is generating trust and adequately managing its environmental impact. Vodafone does seek the approval of employees on what they are doing and the ratings are generally above 90%. Employees report being more highly motivated because of the companys CR initiatives, with local operating companies on average having a better understanding of CR and related higher pride for working with Vodafone. Vodafones internal website is also used for collecting information or ideas from employees on CR initiatives. Training: Vodafone delivers a variety of global training through the use of e-tools, including an e-module on CR. Vodafone is developing a set of new indicators

to identify the number of employees that have also received classroom CR training (e.g. ten global managers received training in social audit; 84% of Supply Chain Management managers and employees have received training on the Code of Ethical Purchasing). Other communication mechanisms are utilized to increase awareness of CR issues such as: topic emails (e.g. climate change); themed events (e.g. invited employees to attend showing of the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, followed by a panel discussion where the Corporate Affairs Director discussed climate change and what Vodafone is doing to improve its practices); monthly CR teleconferences (CR is also discussed between Group functions and operating companies in many other forums connected with operational issues); and the monthly newsletter from the CEO normally contains a paragraph to discuss Vodafones CR initiatives (e.g. one of the last newsletters addressed some of the external recognition Vodafone received related to CR). The CEOs newsletter often addresses Vodafones way of dealing with an issue.

Vodafone also includes CR in the training for its managers. A session on CR is included in the Global Management Development Program, which is a threeday course for the most senior managers. The participants debate a series of issues from the perspective of different stakeholder groups and devise a response. Vodafone is also working at standardizing processes related to training among its local operating companies. For example, Vodafone UK is piloting an elearning training course on the Business Principles for all UK employees. If successful, this would be rolled out across local operating companies.

Performance Appraisal and Compensation: In 2006, specific CR performance targets were defined and embedded into the performance quarterly review process. Local operating CEOs and Group operating business unit CEOs now have their bonuses also tied to personal performance against CR targets. CEOs cascade the performance targets throughout their organizations so the local CR team members, the energy efficiency manager, etc. would also have a CR-related target.

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vodafone's international strategy

Executive Summary
Wireless marketplace opportunities are shifting east. Vodafone is no longer the largest wireless network provider in the world; China Mobile has over 100 million subscribers (China Mobile Limited, 2007) more and, although Vodafone continues to earn more revenue than China Mobile (Vodafone, 2008), Vodafone is in imminent danger of not keeping up with the changing dynamics of the marketplace. To this end, we propose entering a new market: Vietnam.

This report contains a background on Vodafone's international strategy to date, a backgrounder on Vietnam, and a discussion of strategic, financial, HR, and marketing strategies for penetrating the market. The report concludes with blanket recommendations for ongoing Vodafone strategy in Vietnam.

Vodafone Company Background

Vodafone, which is headquartered in West Berkshire, England, has historically been focused on two markets, Europe and the United States, in which it sells phones, network services, mobile entertainment and connectivity add-ons, business solutions, and other wireless products and services. Vodafone's tight Atlantic focus is partly due to the circumstances surrounding the company's formation. Vodafone was a joint venture between U.K. electronics company Racal Electronics and U.S. telecommunications business Millicom in 1983. Shortly after its formation, Vodafone was granted one of the U.K.'s two wireless phone licenses, and spent the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s attempting to meet the skyrocketing wireless demand in the U.K. market, and in emerging European markets such as Greece and Scandinavia. At the end of the 1990s, Vodafone made aggressive moves into the U.S. market by purchasing AirTouch Communications in 1999 and cooperating with GTE and Bell Atlantic to set up Verizon Wireless in 2000 (Hoovers, 2008). However, Vodafone's historic presence in Europe and the U.S. is due not only to its Atlantic background, but also to the fact that the first generation of opportunity in the wireless market was concentrated in these two geographies. As other geographies began to participate in the wireless revolution, and as the European market became saturated to the tune of 90 percent or more (Reardon, 2007), Vodafone established beachheads abroad. In the Asia-Pacific region, Vodafone bought controlling stakes in some operators in India, New Zealand, and Australia, and non-controlling stakes in other operators in China and Fiji. Famously, Vodafone entered (and departed) the Japanese market in 2006 at a loss of billions of pounds. Although the Japanese disaster could easily have been prevented by Vodafone itself (q.v.), the experience soured Vodafone on the Asia-Pacific market. These are the circumstances under which Vodafone is being recommended to enter into the Vietnamese market.

Country Profile
With a population of over 86 million, Vietnam is one of the smaller Asian-Pacific countries but a market of formidable size when considered in global terms. Vietnam is larger than every country in Western Europe, and behind only Russia in all of Europe, in terms of population. Moreover, the Vietnamese population is remarkably young, with 26.3 percent of the people between 0 and 14 years of age and 75 percent of the population under the age of 35 (CIA Factbook, 2008). By this standard, the average Vietnamese is half the age of an average Western European. Given the correlation between youth and wireless use (Wilska 2003, p. 441), Vietnam's population is therefore the ideal consumer base for a wireless services provider, not only at this moment but well into this century given the vast number of Vietnamese who will be entering adolescence and youth in the decades to come. After half a century of bloody and debilitating war with the Chinese, French, and Americans, Communist Vietnam attained unification and independence in 1975. However, the country's leadership did not hew closely to the economic policies of doctrinaire Communism, choosing in 1986 to adopt a functionally capitalistic approach to the economy. Vietnam is part of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and has bilateral trade agreements with many Western countries, including the United States. Economically, Vietnam is integrated into the global economy, although admittedly not at the blistering pace of China.

According to recent research, foreign-invested companies cumulatively accounted for around 27% of the country's (non-oil) exports, 35% of the country's total industrial output...13% of Vietnam's GDP...[and] 25% of total tax revenues (Freeman, 2002). This illustrates the impressive extent to which the Vietnamese government has primed the economy for foreign companies. Culturally, Vietnam is no longer the closed-off, rural state it was for much of the twentieth century. Like other countries in the region, Vietnam has urbanized in a way that is friendly to consumerism: the burgeoning urban centers of Vietnam-Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City-are demonstrating their commercial role in the opening up of Vietnam by the increasing use of billboards along the main thoroughfares, advertising Western consumer goods (Andrews, Chompusri, & Baldwin 2002, p. 262). Moreover, after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, both the Vietnamese government and people have demonstrated their openness to the values and products of Americans in particular and Western nations in general, indicating that the country has never had an existential problem with the West: It is interesting to note that, because Vietnam is changing so quickly, some attitudes now resemble those of the West (Ashwill and Diep 2005, p. 94). The Vietnamese economy has grown steadily at a rate of between 7 and 8.5 percent, and the government has repeatedly demonstrated its ability and desire to keep the country growing at this rate. Vietnam's growth plan includes integrating more closely with Western business interests, as a perusal of the privatization plans for the mobile marketplace (q.v.) will demonstrate. All of these factors bode well for Vodafone's success in this market.

Strategic Formulation:
The purpose of entering Vietnam is twofold: to gain an improved foothold in the Asia-Pacific marketplace, which is providing a booming number of wireless subscribers to the global market; and to pick up a quick win for Vodafone in a market that will be easier to penetrate than China. The strategic and tactical lessons learned in Vietnam may enable Vodafone's improved success across the entire Asia-Pacific geography, and for a relatively low cost of entry. Accordingly, Vodafone will become immediately and intimately involved with the Vietnamese marketplace, because it is a stellar opportunity: Enormous upside: market penetration is 18.5 percent (Research & Markets 2008). Proven market momentum: 800,000 new Vietnamese mobile subscribers, or nearly 1 percent of the company's population, come online each month. Relative lack of peer competition: no global wireless services provider of Vodafone's stature is seriously contesting this market. The advances in Vietnam's telecommunications marketplace are almost unimaginable given the recent state of the country: Vietnam in the early 1990s had a teledensity of one telephone for every one hundred people in a nation of seventy-two million (Curry 1999, p. 58). With Western Europe and the U.S. saturated, and Vietnam skipping entire generations of technology in order to participate in the wireless world, Vietnam is truly a frontier of opportunity for Vodafone, and a market that will rapidly pass the company by should it choose not to enter.

Model of Entry

Vodafone will move aggressively to take advantage of the fast-moving Vietnamese mobile market. Following the 2007 announcement by the Vietnamese government (Reuters 2008) that all state-owned businesses outside sensitive industries such as energy and transportation are candidates for privatization, Vodafone will propose buying a controlling stake in VMS MobiFone, Vietnam's state-run mobile services operator and the largest mobile player in the country. Vodafone will target VMS MobiFone's 15 million subscribers with the full Vodafone portfolio of services. Entering the market via equity means achieving an extensive degree of involvement in a foreign market faster than any other method, which is the stated goal (Johnson & Turner 2003, p. 114). The specific justification for entering the market via the acquisition of a controlling stake in VMS MobiFone is twofold: one, according to Vietnamese law, Vodafone must work through a local subsidiary or joint venture if it does not want to buy a controlling stake in a company; and two, instead of entering into the risk and delay of clearing the legal and cultural hurdles to operating into the country, Vodafone can directly buy into the expertise of the country's largest mobile network provider and leapfrog the stages otherwise required to build a foundation in Vietnam. As a minor but still noteworthy point, Murray (2005, pp. 217-218) makes the point that the costs of doing business in Vietnam for first-time participants in the market can be high because of arcane local laws, confusing salary structures, and other factors that can conspire to trip up the newcomer. Vietnamese companies, especially state-run companies, have a much higher probability of negotiating lower office space and workforce costs. Finally, to enter into a joint partnership of contracted duration, or what the Vietnamese government calls a business cooperation contract (BCC), is to incur long waiting times: the likely commencement of service is some time away fur to the timeconsuming nature of the BCC scheme (World Bank 2000, p. 41). There is low risk for Vodafone in the acquisition of a stake in MobiFone because MobiFone has been actively seeking a privatization partner since 2007. There is precedent for such a deal. In 2006, Viettel, the mobile provider then wholly-owned by the Vietnamese military, was partly privatized, and another provider, Vinaphone, is also a candidate for privatization. Thus, the Vietnamese public sector has experience in privatizing mobile providers, and is now eager to put MobiFone on the block. Since nearly a year has gone by without a serious suitor for MobiFone, Vodafone can expect to appear as a white knight to the Vietnamese government and perhaps obtain a lower price than might have been offered in 2007. In the late 1990s, American Rice entered into a joint venture with Vietnamese company Vinafood and encountered a stream of business problems, some of which emerged from the ambiguity of the cooperative situation, and the way in which it was exploited by Vietnamese suppliers and misunderstood by the Vietnamese public. [For an extended discussion of the arcane dynamics of this situation, consult Latham 1998, p. 65] This event increases Vodafone's risk sensitivity to any joint venture possibility, and mitigates for the company to buy a controlling stake in its own move into Vietnam. We are mindful of the following quote from a Vietnamese manager: When faced with managers who won't listen, we stop taking initiative. Soon we stop offering essential advice. Often the expatriate begins to fail, but doesn't even know it' (Ashwill & Diep 2005, p. 94).

Financial Strategy
As a global company with a large market capitalization and cash resources, Vodafone has typically paid billions of pounds in order to acquire controlling or noncontrolling stakes in foreign wireless service providers. By the standard of Vodafone's past acquisitions, some of which are the largest M&A deals in

the history of business, acquiring a stake in MobiFone will not test Vodafone's resources so as to require any sort of creative financing or leveraging. There is consensus on the validity of this approach in the academic literature: when firms have large resources, the consequences of commitment are small. Thus, big firms or firms with surplus resources can be expected to take larger internationalization steps (Luo 1999, p. 50). That said, Vodafone does have another option if it chooses not to pay cash up front for MobiFone. Kim and Kim (2006, p. 347) explain that a multinational can structure a deal so as to offer a direct loan to its foreign subsidiary as a way of delaying a direct equity investment. This is an unlikely option for Vodafone, and one for which there is no obvious precedent in Vodafone's history, but it is nonetheless available as a financial option.

HR Strategy
There are only two broad options for HR strategy in a multinational context: integration (centralization) and differentiation (localization) (Briscoe and Schuler, 2004, p. 61). Vodafone's global strategy is somewhat confused in this regard, as operations in some countries (such as Turkey) have favored localization, whereas operations in other countries (such as Japan) have favored globalization. In Vietnam, the HR strategy will favor localization. At its highest level, HR strategy will treat subsidiary managers as the key to a successful transition. Research demonstrates the pivotal role of the subsidiary manager in the success of a multinational's localized strategy. In the HR realm, Vodafone is aware that subsidiary managers are demotivated by perceptions of misfit, lack of procedural justice, weak execution, loss of personal control and cultural misunderstanding (Birnik 2007). Managers encounter these problems when they are forcibly integrated into a foreign business logic; however, as Vodafone will follow a localized strategy predicated on giving MobiFine maximum control of its existing operations, we hope to sidestep these particular cross-border HR issues. Vodafone understands that MobiFine has already established an HR strategy, and we do not intend to tamper with it without reason. MobiFine's managers will naturally have to work alongside Vodafone employees from outside Vietnam, but HR policy will sensitive our expatriates to the fact that Vodafone is maintaining the integrity of the local chain of authority and respecting the local culture. This is especially important because the culture of foreign organizations seems an alien to Vietnamese staff as Vietnamese culture does to the newly arrived expatriate (Ashwill & Diep 2005, p. 94). Myloni, Harzing, and Mirza (2007, p. 2057) explain that four factors-a deliberate transfer of HR practices from a corporation's headquarters to its subsidiary, an international competitive strategy, informal control, and the presence of expatriates-all succeed in grafting headquarters' culture on to the subsidiary. We will avoid each of these approaches because: HR practice transfer: the acquisition of the controlling stake is being structured as a Turkey-type deal rather than a Japan-type deal for Vodafone. Accordingly, corporate HR will be removed from the strategy loop right at the beginning of the deal and informed that their role is tactical (to support the new employees) rather than strategic (to impose the Vodafone culture on the new employees). International competitive strategy: admittedly, one of the purposes of our expansion into the Vietnamese market is to better position Vodafone for competition in the Chinese market. However, this does not mean that Vietnam is a corporate experiment. Rather, we wish to learn directly from our Vietnamese colleagues at MobiFine and apply this valuable knowledge to the entire region.

Informal control: In the late 1990s, American Rice attempted to change or challenge existing business processes in the Vietnamese rice industry and lost, as the company was unable to deal with the corruption and cut-throat nature of the status quo in Vietnam. This was a direct result of a control problem - i.e., American Rice attempted to govern an ungovernable set of business conditions. While the wireless business is obviously quite distant, we understand that we are buying a stake in MobiFone's proven success rather than attempting to change the stakes of the wireless marketplace in Vietnam. Our informal control of the company will be accordingly limited. Expatriates: Vodafone realizes that, despite its strides over the past few decades, Vietnam can still be hostile to foreign interlopers. Expatriates will be instructed to keep a low profile, and eschew speaking to the press, making public comments, etc.

Marketing Strategy and Implementation:

Vodafone's Vietnamese marketing strategy will respond to the painful lessons Vodafone learned in another Asia-Pacific country, Japan. In 2006, Vodafone was forced to exit Japan because of a massive hemorrhage of customers. The reason for this failure was simple, and has been noted by industry watchers: Vodafone was focused more on the benefits of using its massive scale to spread the same phones and brand image globally rather than focusing on the trendchasing Japanese consumer (Kiessling, Marino, & Richey 2006, p. 245). We do not intend to repeat this mistake son soon after the bitter lessons of Japan. Chastened by that experience, Vodafone will rely on the existing marketing plan of MobiFone, which has succeeded in attracting hundreds of thousands of new subscribers a month with its current approach. MobiFone is already a hugely successful brand in Vietnam, and we retain the MobiFone name, messaging, and advertising strategies with minimal interference from Vodafone. This approach privileges the experiential knowledge of MobiFone rather than Vodafone objective knowledge, which failed the company in its last venture into the Asia-Pacific region. Aside from the Japanese experience, however, there are other reasons to leave marketing to MobiFone: Global marketing is not easily transferred to Vietnam. Like China, Vietnam has a tonal language that poses problems in marketing communications for firms (Yip 2000, p. 284). Learning from our new Vietnamese colleagues about the special requirements of tonal advertising will be an immensely valuable addition to the knowledge base of Vodafone, which can mobilize this knowledge in China. In addition to language, another potential minefield in marketing is the realm of culture: when Coca-Cola launched its Viet Nam marketing campaign by placing two giant inflated Coke bottles on the steps of the Hanoi Opera House, the Vietnamese scowled at the vulgarity of the...gesture (Shillue 1997, p. 176). Based on this information, there is an unacceptable high chance that Vodafone's advertising culture, with its reliance on garish advertising (including in auto sports environments) will not transfer to Vietnam.

Future Strategic Plan and Recommendations:

The favorable climate for foreign direct investment (FDI) is not only Vietnam but also the entire Asia-Pacific region is highly favorable (Freeman, 2002) As FDI inflows have accrued, and confidence has grown, the foreign investment regimes have continued to improve, in tandem with improvements to the wider business environment in these host countries. There is little doubt that considerable progress has been made over the last decade in the field of FDI activity in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

These trends are based on not only top-down initiatives, such as governmental pushes for privatization and the creation of favorable tax regimes but also the bottom-up affection of consumers in these countries for Western brands, products, and services. However, since we will remain in the background of the MobiFone deal, we will remain happily insulated from the possibility of an unpredictable Vietnamese backlash against the West. Our risk profile therefore dictates that we will not advertise with the Vodafone name or otherwise promote our brand in Vietnam as we do in Europe. We are buying subscribers only, and are content to allow MobiFone to be the operational and marketing face of the Vodafone in Vietnam as long as Vodafone accrues the profits.

How