Introduction Joel Spring’s Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality examines the educational policies in the United States that have resulted in intentional patterns of oppression by Protestant, European Americans against racial and ethnic groups. The historical context of the European American oppressor is helpful in understanding how the dominant group has manipulated the minority groups. These minority groups include Americans who are Native, African, Latin/Hispanic, and Asian. Techniques for deculturalization were applied in attempts to erase the oppressed groups’ previous identities and to assimilate them into society at a level where they could be of use to the oppressors. Techniques include isolation from family, replacement of language, denial of education, inclusion of dominant group world view, and provision of inferior teachers and poor facilities. Relationships between educational policy and instances of racism and patterns of oppression are explored in the following. A section will also compare my prior education to the one presented in Spring’s book. Formatting Understanding how European Americans have been able to perceive themselves as superior in psychological, spiritual, racial, and cultural terms is integral to seeing how cultural genocide has occurred in the United States. The basic program is taken from the Roman Imperium which delegates the authority to civilize others by erasing their laws and culture and simultaneously or subsequently installing new laws and mores from the dominant group into the minority group. This plan has been applied by U. S. educators and politicians in an attempt to carry out a perceived upgrade from an inferior cultural program to the superior Anglo-Saxon mixed with Protestantism point of view. This civilized versus uncivilized and Christian versus Pagan viewpoints reveal themselves throughout the history of U. S. education. Native Americans In the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, Native Americans were granted citizenship by the descendants of European immigrants who invaded their territory over 400 years ago. In the years before and after 1924, Native Americans have experienced cultural genocide, deculturalization, and denial of education (Spring, 2010, pp. 8-9). For example, the Naturalization Act of 1790 excluded Native Americans from citizenship, thus preventing them from having a political voice in their rapidly changing world. In 1867, the Indian Peace Commission made 2 requirements for U. S. citizenship: 1) rejection of native religions and 2) acceptance of middle-class American Christianity. The bases of a philosophy that uses superiority and inferiority include racial, linguistic and cultural differences. For European American educators, the “civilizing†of Native Americans included the installing of a work ethic, the creation of desire to accumulate property; the repression of pleasure, particularly sexual pleasure; the establishment of a nuclear family structure with the father in control; the implementation of authoritarian child-rearing practices; and conversion to Christianity (p. 14). The U. S. government’s program of Native American deculturalization was developed in part because it was less costly than fighting and killing them. Thomas Jefferson’s civilization program called for government agents to establish schools to teach women to spin and sew and men farming and husbandry (p. 18). Educational policies such as this set the stage for purchasing land and avoiding costly wars. In 1830, the Indian Removal Act authorized the President to set aside lands west of the Mississippi for exchange of Indian Land east of the Mississippi (p. 28). Cultural-ecological theory puts Native Americans in the category of involuntary minorities. They were conquered and forced into European American customs and beliefs. Replacing the use of native languages with English, destroying Indian customs and teaching allegiance to the U. S. government became major educational policies of the U. S. government toward Indians in the latter part of the 19th century. An important part of these educational policies was the boarding school designed to remove children from their families at an early age and thereby isolate them from the language and customs of their parents and tribes (p. 32). The Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, PA became the first boarding school for Native American children in 1879. Here deculturalization methods were employed. From this methodology and perspective, the patronizing term cultural deprivation has come to imply that a group is without culture altogether (Nieto and Bode, 2008, p. 176). One of the perceived deficiencies of Native Americans was their propensity to share which caused the European Americans to label them as socialists which was anathema to the dominant group’s philosophy. Richard Pratt, the founder of the Carlisle School, sought to instill individualism and self responsibility in order to break Indians from a socialist style of sharing. All boarding and reservation schools taught in English with exceptions including some Choctaw and Cherokee schools that utilized bilingual education. In 1928, the Meriam Report reversed the philosophy that isolation of children was required. The new view was that education should occur in one’s family and community. Several decades later, from 1968 to 1990, a number of legislative acts addressed the mistakes of deculturalization. It was not until 1974 that Indian students were granted freedom of religion and culture by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Later, in 1978, Congress granted all Native Americans religious freedom. The Native American Languages Act of 1990 commits the U. S. government to reverse its historic position which was to erase and replace Native American culture. However, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 reverses attempts to preserve usage of minority languages (Spring, 2010, p. 135). The destruction of cultural self determination for Native American Indians is saddening. By breaking their connection to their native culture through reeducation camps, European Americans justified a world view that saw color of skin and dogma as beacons of superiority. African Americans. Historically, Africans have been involuntary immigrants who were brought to the U. S. to be slaves. They have faced numerous forms of educational oppression based upon perceived racial differences. For example, from 1800 to 1835, education of enslaved Africans was banned. Spring notes that plantation owners were in constant fear of slave revolts and consequently denied their workers any form of education (p. 43). Furthermore, because of the need for children as farm laborers, planters resisted most attempts to expand educational opportunities for black children (p. 57). Schools for African Americans were underfunded after the Civil War (Nieto and Bode, 2008, p. 44). Segregation of blacks and whites was the order of the day for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This resulted in a racial divide, unequal school funding, and inferior facilities. An exception to segregated schooling occurred in 1855 in Massachusetts when it became a requirement to integrate schools. In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment included a clause that appeared to disallow segregation. However this clause has been used to implement segregation in schools also. African Americans from northern states helped those in the transition from slavery to freedom. However there was a division between the philosophies of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. Washington negotiated for segregated schools while Du Bois, in 1909, formed the National Association of Colored People (NAACP) which worked for desegregation (Spring, 2010, p. 52). Washington established the Tuskegee Institute in 1881 after attending the Hampton Institute which was founded by General Samuel Armstrong. The Hampton Institute was an educational model designed to keep blacks subordinate. The primary purpose of the Tuskegee Institute was to prepare freed slaves to be teachers who could instill work values in other freed slaves (p. 33). The Tuskegee Institute received support from Industrialist Andrew Carnegie who saw the apartheid model in South Africa as a format for educating black southerners. Conversely, Du Bois and the NAACP fought against the status quo of a permanent African American underclass in education and the economy (p. 62). It was not until 1954 that the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. The court ruled that separate but equal has no place in education. The separate but equal legislation was from the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, established the precedent for using disbursement of government money as a means of controlling educational policies (p. 117). Additionally, much credit is given to Martin Luther King Jr. for helping move forward civil rights legislation of 1964. The Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, in the 1950s and 1960s respectively, gave African Americans political equality as well as the right to vote. African Americans have made significant gains in the past 100 years; however, the pace of change has been painfully slow. The election of a part African American President is a strong indication that we as a country have come a long way. Hispanic/Latino Americans After the conquest of Mexican and Puerto Rican lands, the U. S. government instituted deculturalization programs to ensure that these new populations would not rise up against their new government (p. 84). As with other groups, the Naturalization Act of 1790 blocked them from attaining citizenship because they were not white. Despite the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1948, Mexican Americans were not given actual citizenship. Citizenship rights were abridged throughout the Southwest through limitations placed on voting rights and segregation in public accommodations and schooling (p. 89). Moreover, in many instances, U. S. farmers did not want the children of Mexicans to go to school, because they wanted them to work longer hours. Mexican students were forced to speak English in schools. In the last half of the nineteenth century, Mexican Americans tried to escape the anti-Mexican attitudes by attending Catholic schools. Here linguistic diversity was respected. Puerto Rico became a colony of the United States in 1898. Again, as with Native American Indians, government policy concluded that it was less costly to instill and replace culture in Puerto Rican schools than it was to employ force with the military. Teachers who only spoke English came from the U. S. to teach students who mainly spoke Spanish. U. S. educational policy in Puerto Rico attempted to replace Spanish with English as the majority language and to introduce children to the dominant U. S. culture (p. 100). Examples of deculturalization methods included U. S. flag ceremonies and studies focusing on the traditions of the dominant white culture of the United States. In 1912, the Puerto Rican Teachers Association resisted the educational policies of the U. S. and defended the use of Spanish in school. One’s native language is the foundation for future learning (Nieto and Bode, 2008, p. 235). In 1951, after 50 years of struggle, Puerto Rico became a commonwealth. Subsequently, Spanish was once again used in the schools without the dogma of English only laws. Additionally, in 1968, the Bilingual Education Act was passed. It was not until 1974 that the Equal Educational Opportunities Act gave protection to the language rights of students for whom English is not their native language (p. 243). Presently, there are many voluntary immigrants from Latin America. These students are often faced with an assimilation policy which is aimed at Americanizing them. Frequently hybridity is the order of the day for these students. Only blind arrogance could make a dominant group believe that they could go to an island of Spanish-speaking people and teach them a new culture in a new language. As with other groups, the denial of schooling or segregation was maintained in order to continue subordinating the minority. Asian Americans Asian Americans, many of whom were voluntary immigrants, include persons from China, Philippines, Japan, Korea, India, Viet Nam, Laos, Thailand and other counties. The combination of racism and economic exploitation resulted in educational policies designed to deny Asians schooling or to provide segregated schools (Spring, 2010, p. 68). In 1872 the California school code provided no public education for Asian Americans while in 1906, the San Francisco School Board created segregated schools for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean students. Finally, in 1974, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Chinese American parents in Lau v. Nichols. The decision required public schools to provide special assistance to non-English-speaking students to learn English so that they could equally participate in the educational process (p. 124). Each group of minority Americans has pushed for improvements in the educational system. By persevering, they have been able to move toward a more equitable educational system. However, there is still the dominant European American paradigm in place. As the percentage of minority Americans rises in the coming decades, I believe we will see a movement toward a more multicultural paradigm. Personal Comparisons My early education took place in an environment of white teachers and students. The furthest my exposure to different cultures went was going to school and growing up with my Catholic and Jewish neighbors. My elementary school and middle school were 100% white and my high school had 2 Hispanic students. For me, this was normal; I knew little of other cultures. When I reflect on my American History and Social Studies classes, I recall a sanitized story presented with many stories about honorable white men. Although I finished my high school education in 1977, I do not believe that Martin Luther King Jr. or Civil Rights was mentioned once. Moreover, a great deal of social upheaval obviously was occurring; however, the only topic related to the turmoil of the era that made it to my awareness was the war in Viet Nam. After high school, I attended a small private college in Pennsylvania where approximately 30 African Americans and 10 Hispanic students attended. I was acquainted with one of the Hispanic students who had a poster of Che Guevara in his room. All of my professors were apparently European Americans and I continued to study mostly dominant culture stories. Recognizing my own lack of personal direction, I dropped out of school and entered into my own version of home schooling. I purchased a bus ticket for Tucson, Arizona; however, I first stopped in Washington D. C. to visit my Aunt. She took me to a book store where I bought some philosophy books. I explored different philosophies and literature. I travelled, worked, read and explored my values and beliefs. I returned to my home town, Lancaster, PA, and decided to return to formal University life at Millersville State University. From 1984-1987, I again had European American professors. In 1991, I reentered Millersville University to take some graduate courses. I looked into getting a graduate assistantship and found an opening in a program called Upward Bound. I interviewed with the director, whom I knew from earlier years, and with a Filipino and African American student. I got the position and subsequently was working in a multicultural enterprise. I prepared lessons for high school children from multiple ethnic groups. The reason Spring’s history of minority Americans was not part of my education was because I was raised in a racially homogenous region. I think that I could have driven east 20 miles, south 15 miles or north 5 miles and everybody would have been white. Going west 2 miles would take me into the middle of Lancaster city where many African Americans and Puerto Rican Americans live. However, I lived a provincial life and did not interact much with people from other cultures in my youth. Furthermore, it was standard policy at that time to teach from a Eurocentric point of views. The effect on White Americans of an Anglocentric and Eurocentric perspective, which does not include minority Americans, is an incomplete and inaccurate understanding of self and world. The effects on minority Americans also leads to an incomplete and inaccurate understanding of self and world include, as well as increased dropout rates and resistance to education. Additionally, cultural discontinuities may contribute to negative academic outcomes (Nieto and Bode, 2008, pp 181-182). Another effect on minority Americans is clearly a net feeling of not being included in the past and possibly being excluded from present and future events. Exclusion’s result is well described in Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. In this book, the narrator is unable to be seen or recognized because he is black. From Spring’s book I learned about the many minority groups that were mistreated and intentionally harmed at personal and cultural levels. Furthermore, I was ignorant about the attempts at deculturalization of Puerto Ricans. Additionally, I knew little about the detailed history of denying education to Asian and Mexican Americans. While I knew about reeducation and denial of education of Native and African Americans, I did not know the extent to which political, economic, and social forces combined to prevent these groups from experiencing their historical culture or from participating in the dominant, European American culture. Conclusion European Americans have quashed cultures in the United States through education. Native American, African, Hispanic, and Asian minorities have witnessed a persistent attack on their beliefs, values, and languages by those who either 1) thought that they were better or 2) wanted to deprive others of their pursuit of happiness in order to support economic and political position. Consistent deculturalization efforts were made toward Native Americans by government agents establishing schools for Native Americans and by boarding schools. By controlling the content and context in which education took place, U. S. educators suffocated Native American Culture and resuscitated it with the European mores. The multiple cultures of Americans from African descent were hollowed through denial of education, physical intimidation, segregation, and inferior facilities. Persistent attempts to correct the status quo by the NAACP, Martin Luther King Jr. , and several other organizations and individuals have moved the U. S. government to redress some inequities in the educational system. Mexican Americans were also placed in English-only schools or no school at all. During the twentieth century, Puerto Rican students faced the same threats of deculturalization as did Asian Americans in nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Legislation in the latter part of the twentieth century has also redressed some inequities in educational opportunities for these groups while, the No Child Left Behind Act has reduced some of the multicultural gains in education which disappoints many in the teaching profession. References Nieto, Sonia and Bode, Patty (2008). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Boston. Pearson Education Inc. Spring, Joel (2010). Deculturalization and the struggle for equality. New York. McGraw-Hill.
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12/12/2019 0 Comments Tata Docomo Essay Example for Free Tata Docomo Essay
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TATA DOCOMO is Tata Teleservices Limiteds TTSL telecom service on the GSMplatform arising out of the Tata Groups strategic alliance with Japanese telecom majorNTT DOCOMO in November 2008. Tata Teleservices has received a pan-India licenseto operate GSM telecom services, under the brand TATA DOCOMO and has also beenallotted spectrum in 18 telecom Circles. TTSL and has already rolled out its services in various circles.India is the fastest growing major mobile market in the world.Building on leadingposition in the market,TTSL. Aims to capitalize on the growth potential to significantlyincrease the subscriber base and market share. The telecom sector is increasing dayby day and the competition is getting more and tougher. Initially Tataservice was providing CDMA and after tieup with DOCOMO they come up in . OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT The objectives of this study/project as follows: * To identify the strategies Tata Docomo is following to grab the Indian market. * To study the schemes and services provided by TataDocomo. * To study thevarious tariffs charged by TataDocomo. * To study the unique features and services offered by TataDocomo. * To perform a SWOT analysis of TATADocomo. * To know the impact of promotional activities on the purchasing behavior of the buyer. * To study the Customer satisfaction level regarding the services provided by TataDocomo. INTRODUCTION TATADOCOMO is Tata Teleservices Limiteds TTSL telecom service on the GSM platform arising out of the Tata Groups strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. Tata Teleservices has received a pan-India license to operate GSM telecom services, under the brand TATADOCOMO and has also been allotted spectrum in 18 telecom Circles. TTSL and has already rolled out its services in various circles. The launch of the TATADOCOMO brand marks a significant milestone Indian telecom landscape, as it stands to redefine the very face of telecoms in India. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the worlds leading mobile operators-in the Japanese market, the company is clearly the preferred mobile phone service provider with a50 percent market share. NTT DOCOMO has played a major role in the evolution of mobile telecommunications through its development of cutting-edge technologies and services. Over the years, technologists at DOCOMO have defined industry benchmarks like 3G technologies, as also products and services like the i-mode TM, mobile payment and a plethora of lifestyle-enhancing applications. Today, while most of the rest of the industry is only beginning to talk of LTE technology and its possible applications, DOCOMO has already started conducting LTE trials in physical geographies, not just inside laboratories! DOCOMO is also a global leader in the VAS (Value Added Services) space, both in terms of services and handset designs, particularly integrating services at the platform stage. The Tata Group-NTT DOCOMO partnership will see offerings such as these being introduced in the Indian market under the TATADOCOMO brand. TATADOCOMO has also set up a Business and Technology Cooperation Committee, comprising of senior personnel from both companies. The committee is responsible for identification of the key areas where the two companies will work together. DOCOMO, the world’s leading mobile operator will work closely with Tata Teleservices Limited management and provide know- how on helping the company develop its GSM business. Despite being a late entrant, TataIndicom, TTSLs CDMA brand, has already established its presence and is the fastest-growing pan-India operator. Incorporated in 1996, Tata Teleservices Limited is the pioneer of the CDMA 1x technology platform in India. Today Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, serves over 37 million customers in more than 320,000 towns and villages across the country offering a wide range of telephony services including Mobile Services, Wireless Desktop Phones, Public Booth Telephony and Wire line Services. HISTORY Tata Teleservices Limited now also has a presence in the GSM space, through its joint venture with NTT DOCOMO of Japan, and offers differentiated products and services under the TATADOCOMO brand name. TATADOCOMOarises out of the Tata Group’s strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. TATADOCOMO has received a pan-India license to operate GSM telecom services and has also been allotted spectrum in 18 telecom Circles. The company has rolled out GSM services in 14 of India’s 22 telecom Circles in a quick span of under six months. The company plans to launch pan-India operations by the end of FY 2009-10.TATADOCOMO marks a significant milestone in the Indian telecom landscape, and has already redefined the very face of telecoms in India, being the first to pioneer the per- second tariff option-part of its ‘Pay for What You Use’ pricing paradigm. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the world’s leading mobile operators-in the Japanese market, the company is the clear market leader, used by over 50% of the country’s mobile phone users. Corporate Philosophy With the aim of creating a new world of communications culture, we NTT DOCOMO will devote all the skills, know-how and energy towards the establishment of more personal communication with our customers that contribute to their heartfelt satisfaction. A New World of Communications Culture More personal communication * Reliable access * Real time access * E-communicationOne-to-one “personal * This gives birth to a new world of communications culture * Freedom to enjoy communications anytime, anywhere with anyone * Opening of endless lifestyle horizons To achieve this In order to create a world of more innovative and enriched communications, we will improve service quality, aggressively move forward with the development of various services. We will also research and develop a more advanced user-friendly communications interface, and at the same time we will provide these services and technologies to an ever expanding area. Customer Satisfaction: * Communications those are always ready when needed. * Capability to contact whomever, from wherever and whenever the customer desires. * Happiness that comes from heart-to-heart communications. * Bringing customers another step closer to realizing their dreams. * Responding to every customer with consideration, courtesy and thoroughness. * Providing products that give customers easy and convenient access to cutting-edge functionality. To achieve this * First and foremost, we will fulfill expectations of customers by fulfilling our response to their needs through improved service quality, building original networks, enriching functionality and expanding the service area. In addition, by providing an expanding and ever-improving selection of services at inexpensive rates, we will deliver satisfaction to a growing diversity of customers. * Making the most of the talents of each individual in our company. * Respect for the individuality and sense of values that are unique to each person. * Enable internal corporate communication to flow free from vertical and horizontal organizational barriers. * Make the most of the ideas of each individual. * Foster a corporate culture that is not restricted by conventional thinking and systems. * Create a creative office environment that supports the fulfillment of the individual. * Fostering an open corporate culture that welcomes the ideas and views of the individual. * Evaluate personnel based on their merits. * Build a company that overflows with a challenging spirit. To achieve this By improving our system and programs for the enhancement of human resources and unifying our human resource development, we will empower each individual to exert their skills to the utmost of their capabilities and discover new potential. At the same time, we will strive to create a workplace that motivates individuals through measures such as improvement of the working environment and labor conditions and enhancement of health and welfare benefits. VISION We will leverage our strength in executing complex global scale projects to make leading edge information and communication services affordable by all individual consumers and business in India. We will offer unparalleled value to create customer delight and enhance business productivity. We will also generate value for our capabilities beyond Indian borders while enabling millions of India’s knowledge workers to deliver their services globally. STATISTICS * Third largest telecom network in the world. * Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.Largest operator in INDIA is BSNL. * INDIA’S mobile market is the fastest growing market in the world. * World’s leading Japan based Telecom Company. * Over the years technologies of DOCOMO has defined industry bench marks like 3G technology. * It is the global leader in value added services. * TATA telecom Incorporated in 1996. * Tata Teleservices is the pioneer of the CDMA 1x technology platform in India. Deep involvement in the launch of 3G has inspired us to create an infrastructure that will allow people and all kinds of objects to communicate a wealth of information. Extended systems will link the home, the office and any number of other locations to bring greater convenience to all aspects of everyday life. For the future, it is our aim to incorporate information gathered by all five senses to achieve an array of services far beyond anything envisaged to date. * NTT DOCOMO is already making rapid progress in such areas through a wide range of innovative research, building expertise and techniques as we move forward towards exciting new business opportunities. * Innovating dreams * Our goal is to create a broad array of exciting new services. Services that will bring undreamed-of convenience to people everywhere. * In addition to Audio Barcodes and 3D Display System introduced in this website, cutting edge technologies beyond the imagination are already under development. These include a system that makes distant objects feel like an extension of the human body for ultra realistic experiences, and advanced chips that will allow items such as household appliances to communicate. Whats more, we are actively realizing 4G technology such as MIMO (Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output) multiplexing technology and a wireless access communications system, as well as contributing to the establishment of specifications for global standardization. * Researchers at NTT DOCOMO have a clear vision of the future. A future that will unite all of the above advances and many more, to create a world where people can communicate at a higher level, regardless of time and space * Telecom industry in India is dominated by major companies like Airtel, Vodafone in GSM services. * Competition is very intense due to low differentiation. * India ended March this year with 391.76 million mobile lines and teledensity is around 36.98. * Airtel enjoys 33.9%, Idea 11.6% Vodafone 19.6 and Tata CDMA has 7.2% of market share respectively. * PRICE * It having attractive tariff plan:TATADOCOMO having 1paisa /sec it is applicable for both prepaid and postpaid. Disruptive Innovation in the Indian Telecom Industry by TataDocomo Wikipedia defines disruptive innovation as an innovation that improves a product or service in ways that the market does not expect, typically by being lower priced or designed for a different set of consumers. Indian Telecom space was “Disrupted†by TataDocomo when they came out with a ‘1 paisa per second’ tariff. We have earlier seen how Reliance India Mobile changed the mobile industry by coming up with the lowest tariff in the beginning of this decade. The call charges were around Rs 2-3 per minute and because of Reliance this was brought down to around Re 1 per minute. TataDocomo was the next one to employ disruptive innovation in the Indian mobile industry. Currently the game is not played on the price front but Value added services front, which is evident from the advertisements of Airtel (Madhavan and VidyaBalan) and Vodafone (Zoozoos) in the past. If Aircel is redefining how telecom operators approach value added services and GPRS in India, TataDocomo is doing its bit to change billing practices. The joint venture between Tata Teleservices and Japanese telecom major NTT Docomo officially began rollouts with a plan to invest $2 billion for its pan-India GSM services. Customer Satisfaction The 21 century belongs to the service sector. The customer of yesteryear was a silent person who uncomplainingly purchased the goods from the market place. There is a new customer emerging today. Customer satisfaction can be defined as, customer satisfaction is the feeling derived by the consumer when he compares the actual performance of the product’s with the performance that he expects of it. The measurement of the customer satisfaction typically begging when a company realizes that their customer s is the people, who provide the revenues that, hopeful, will cover expenses. Most companies start by establishing a customer satisfaction baseline. Then they target year by year improvement. Understanding customer requirement and delivering superior quality goods and services to achieve composer satisfaction lead to the retention and growth of the customer. General Idea about the satisfied customer: Satisfaction is a persona’s feeling of the pleasure or disappointment. It is resulting from comparing a product’s perceived performance with his or her expectations from it. Satisfaction is more of an emotional concept. Today organization are aiming at high satisfaction rather than at customer delight because customers who are just satisfied still find it easy to switch over when a batter offers comes along. Those who are highly satisfied are much less ready to switch over. High satisfaction or delight creates an emotional bound with the brand and customer starts looking at an offering emotionally and just rationally. The aim of marketing is to meet and satisfy target customers needs and wants but knowing customer is never simple. Customer may state their needs and wants but act otherwise. They may not be in touch with their deeper motivations. They may respond to influential to change their mind at the last minute. Some of today’s most successful companies are raising expectation and delivering performances to match. These companies are aiming at TCS- Total customer Satisfaction. Increasing competition (whether for-profit or nonprofit) is forcing businesses to pay much more attention to satisfying customers. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. Customer Loyalty: * These four factors will greatly affect your ability to build a loyal customer base: * Products that are highly differentiated from those of the competition. * Higher end products where price is not the primary buying factor. * Products with a high service component. * Multiple products for the same customer. * Loyal Customers and Loyal Workforces Building customer loyalty will be a lot easier if you have a loyal workforce not at all a given these days. It is especially important to retain those employees who interact with customers such as sales people, technical support, and customer-service people. Many companies give a lot of attention to retaining sales people but little to support people. The increasing trend today is to send customer service and technical support calls into queue for the next available person. This builds no personal loyalty and probably less loyalty for the firm. Before going this route, be sure this is what your customers prefer. Instant Feedback: Recently, many organizations have implemented feedback loops that allow them to capture feedback at the point of experience. For example, National Express, one of the UKs leading travel companies invites passengers to send text messages whilst riding the bus. This has been shown to be useful as it allows companies to improve their customer service before the customer defects, thus making it far more likely that the customer will return next time. Listen to your customers: Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn’t been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a customer’s point of view, I doubt it. Can the sales pitches and the product babble. Let the customer talk and show them that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem. MARKETING STRATEGY TataDocomo appears to be banking heavily on its tariff plans the company is offering a 1 second pulse instead of the usual 1 minute pulse that other telecom operators are offering. This means that consumers are charged on a per second basis, instead of a per minute basis, and end up saving money on unused seconds. A nifty little application “How much can you really save†on Docomo’s website explains how this works. Rs. 0.01/second is a marked change from the Re 1/min and Rs. 0.49/min charges that usually applies. MARKETING MIX 4P’S OF MARKETING MIX: * Product * Price * Place * Promotion. PRODUCT: TATADOCOMO having good range of services.TataDocomo provides both postpaid and prepaid services. TataDocomo having good quality network which provides clarity in voice. PRICE:It having attractive tariff plan: TATADOCOMO having 1paisa /sec it is applicable for both prepaid and postpaid. PLACE:It is having good range of channels of distribution: As Tata already exist in this field of telecommunications as TataIndicom. It has wide range of channels of distribution to sell TATADOCOMO services. PROMOTION:Advertising: TATADOCOMO following different style of advertising pattern in TV ‘and newspapers. Due to that reason it was reaching public very fast. TATADOCOMO PRICING STRATEGY TataDocomo appears to be banking heavily on its tariff plans the company offers a 1 second pulse instead of the usual 1 minute pulse that other telecom operators were offering. This means that consumers are charged on a per second basis, instead of a per minute basis, and end up saving money on unused seconds. A fifty little application “How much can you really save†on Docomo’s website explains how this works. Rs. 0.01/second is a marked change from the Re 1/min and Rs. 0.49/min charges that usually apply. Now while this plan might sound unique, it isn’t that it hasn’t been tried before back in 2004, TataIndicom had launched 1 second pulse plans, which going by their current plans, appears to have been shelved. At present, TataDocomo has launched voice portals, 24-hour music, cricket commentary and voice chat, apart from offering free Missed Call Alerts and VoiceMail. Interestingly, voice based services are also being priced with a per-second-pulse: 24 hour music and voice chat are priced at Rs. 0.02/second. Caller Tune search service ‘Genie’ is also being priced at Rs. 0.02/second. This is a marked change, again, from the per minute pricing, and can offer consumers cheaper options. Mobile pricing innovation – TataDocomo now charges per website for Mobile Browsing! This is surely a first world over – TataDocomo have gone ahead and launched an innovative mobile Internet offering which allows users unlimited usage of their favorite websites on mobile for a fixed cost. TataDocomo has been forefront in coming up with various attractive pricing schemes, especially, in the pay-per-use paradigm. They were first to introduce pay per second billing on calls, which now is followed by every mobile service provider. They followed it with pay-per-minute and pay-per-call pricing plans as well which has made them one of the fastest growing Mobile companies in India. The new pay-per-website offering however, takes it to a complete different level and unheard of pricing strategy. This is a very thoughtful strategy and something which has potential to growth rapidly. TataDocomo pricing strategy. Pay per site offer two combination: * Those only interested in single websites need to pay Rs 10 per site * Those with multiple site browsing needs can opt for a combo pack at just Rs 25 per month. Customers have a bundle of options within various categories of social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In, Orkut), mail options (Gmail, Yahoo, Rediff) and chat messengers (GTalk, Yahoo! Messenger, Nimbuzz). Having said this, there is also a caveat – If you thought it was valid for unlimited use…it is not. TataDocomo pay per site plan categorizes each service under 2 different genres – Social Networking Site and Emailing Instant Messaging. Each site under this genre is priced at Rs. 10/- bundled with 200 MB free data usage valid for 30 days, post which customers will be charged at 1p/kb. There are also 2 Combo options SNS Combo Pack and Emailing Combo Pack and each Combo Pack is priced at Rs. 25/- bundled with 500 MB free data usage post which the customers will be charged 1p/kb. We have been quite impressed the way TataDocomo have gone about their innovative pricing models as well as marketing strategies. “Per Character†SMS Pricing On 8th September 2009, the GSM branch of the Indian carrier Tata introduced a novel pricing strategy for text messaging. Under the brand “Diet-SMS“, Tata-DOCOMO bills its customers “by-the-characterâ€, rather than on a per message basis. It is a very attractive marketing scheme, since many wireless subscribers, almost by habit, tend to pepper their text messages with abbreviations and acronyms. Under the new plan, Tata-Docomo charges “one paisa per characterâ€. For example, a text which reads “tnx†(for “thank-youâ€) is charged at 3paise instead of the normal sms charge. The Impact TataDocomo has gathered significant market share, owing to its pricing strategies. Existing mobile operators are matching the price and the clear winners are the subscribers since all the competition is sending the prices downhill. ADVERTISING MEDIA CHANNELS India TataDocomo, the youngest among telecom players in India to offer GSM, is Presently banking on its services to garner visibility and a share in the telecom pie. The launch of TataDocomo also announced the intention of the brand to associate with the thought do. TataDocomo, for the first time in the country, offered pay-per-second billing; though other telecom providers have followed suit since. The company has carried out a few adverts that highlight the brands unique features and some other topical advertising during Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali. The latest from the GSM provider is the Friendship Express TVC. The ad opens inside train, where everyone is doing their own thing. A couple of the travelers dont like the solemn mood and start humming the Docomo tune. Slowly and steadily, others pitch in and soon most of the train is singing along.  The ad ends with the super, Why walk alone when we can dance together.Cutting through the clutter that the Indian telecom landscape finds itself in with customers forced to jostle with confusing and complicated products, services and tariff plans Tata DOCOMO is ‘Doing the New’ again, with the launch of its new brand campaign, aptly titled ‘Keep It Simple’. Tata DOCOMO’s unique Keep It Simple Campaign is in a form of a stand-up comedy show with many episodes, which will be aired during the course of this IPL season. It focuses largely on how Tata DOCOMO simplifies the telecom experience, and hence the consumer’s life, by providing differentiated products and services. Each individual advertisement starts by illustrating a complexity in the category, and presents the Tata DOCOMO product and/or service as a means of simplifying things. This campaign is simple, captures the various moods of Ranbirdepicting those of Tata DOCOMO Advertisement strategy TataDOCOMO ropes in RanbirKapoor as brand ambassador NEW DELHI: TataDocomo, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices (TTSL), today appointed Bollywood star RanbirKapoor as its brand ambassador. The company has inked a two-year contract with Kapoor and will roll out various televisions, print and outdoor campaigns with the actor, starting with the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. We think TataDocomo is an inspirational brand and so is the charm and personality of RanbirKapoor, so it is a great match. We will leverage him in various campaigns to build the brand further, TTSL Head Corporate Marketing Gurinder Singh Sandhu told PTI. TataDOCOMO will undertake various marketing initiatives with RanbirKapoor, including television commercials, print campaigns, outdoors and retail front displays, he added. The company will introduce its new campaign during the IPL tournament, which kicks off on April According to media analysts, TataDocomo is expected to spend in excess of Rs 50 crore for the 360-degree campaign during the IPL season. Other telecom operators like BhartiAirtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications have also appointed Bollywood stars as their brand ambassadors. While Airtel has worked with Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and KareenaKapoor, Idea Cellular has AbhishekBachchan as its ambassador. Reliance Communications has worked with HrithikRoshan. Vodafone, on the other hand, has found success with its Zoozoos, the egg shaped cartoon characters featured in its ad campaign. Market Competitors of TataDocomo: * Airtel * Reliance Communication * BSNL * Idea * Aircel * Vodafone * SERVICES NETWORK AVAILABLE * Currently, TataDocomo mobile services available in these following circles: * Bihar Jharkhand * Tamil Nadu * Orissa * Andhra Pradesh * Karnataka * Kerala * Kolkata * Maharashtra Goa * Madhya Pradesh * Chhattisgarh * Haryana * Chennai * Eastern Uttar Pradesh * Western Uttar Pradesh * Punjab * Rajasthan ,Recently LaunchedAandRest of West Bengal, Recently Launched. PLANS Tata DOCOMO Daily Plans. When every day is different, why have a fixed plan? A brand new day calls for a brand new plan. Choose from Daily plans on local, STD, Night calling, GPRS Music and make your own Daily Plan. Benefits: * Anytime purchase * Minimal cost * Ease of process How to subscribe: Dial *141# and choose from Daily plans on local, STD, Night calling, GPRS Music. Product options:- Daily Rental Packs (Rs.2) * All local at 1p/2sec * STD at 3p/4sec * Local Night On-net at 1p/10sec * Local On-net at 1p/6sec * USA/Canada UK(F) at 3p/sec * Gulf at 11p/sec * All local National SMS at 1p | Weekly Rental Packs (Rs.10) * All local at 1p/2sec * STD at 3p/4sec * Local Night On-net at 1p/10sec * Local On-net at 1p/6sec * USA/Canada UK(F) at 3p/sec * Gulf at 11p/sec * All local National SMS at 1p | Talk More * 30 local minutes @ Rs.5 onTata DOCOMO Network. * 30 local minutes @ Rs.12 across Networks. * 30 local/National minutes @ Rs.14 * 10 Local/National minutes @ Rs.5 | Night Talk * Now converse through the night. 60 Free Local Night minutes onTata DOCOMO Network. * 30 Free local On-net minutes @ Rs.3 * 20 Free local minutes @ Rs.5 | | a. GPRS10MB Free Browsing @ Rs.5 only.| World Calling * 10 minutes to USA/Canada @ Rs.20 * 5 minutes to USA/Canada @ Rs.10| a. Entertainment15 minutes FREE music @ Rs.5| a. CricketCricket Alerts @ Rs.5/day| Terms and Conditions: * Daily implies active till 12 midnight on the same day of pack activation. Ex: A subscriber activated the pack on 25th Feb10 then the pack with daily validity will expire at midnight of 25th Feburary10#. * In case on night packs the expiry of the pack will be 7 am of the next day of activation of the pack. Ex: A subscriber activated the night pack on 25th Feb10 then the pack with daily validity will expire at 7 am of 26th Feburary10#. * The pack will get activated maximum within 2 hrs of request receipt on the system. You will get an automated confirmation SMS once the same is configured on our systems. * You can activate multiple packs in a day. Competitor Analysis The competition has intensified the past few months with new players and schemes coming in. There has never been a better time for the customer to get a mobile phone connection There are at least six if not more operators to choose from in ever circle. In June 09, TATA DOCOMO broke the old system of tariff by introducing per second billing system. As soon as they did this, the other followed suit with price cuts everywhere. Suddenly the idea of calls being free was not so outrageous. The prices were reduced to such an extent that the viability of the business was in questions. The competitive environment of TATA DOCOMO can be looked at from the following perspectives Airtel v/s TataDocomo * The equal competitors are coming up with their new tariffs, plans, special packs and their varying services to prove themselves to be much competitive and trying to anchor them firmly in this mobile sector. * Currently the TataDocomo came up with its services with an all new tariff scheme of pay per second which has brought out a massive revolution in the market. * On 30th Oct the leading mobile service provider BhartiAirtel launched their much awaited “Pay per Second†tariff all throughout India. The tariff comparison with Airtel and TATADocomo is as follows, * Airtel with its inception on 2001 renders number of customers but their tariff, call rates to different network makes confusion and remains unstable. But Docomo’s 1p/sec throughout India makes consumers to keep track of their account and controls expenses. Airtel has kept different SMS charges even in their Pay Per Second plan with local sms being charged at Re.1 and National sms at Rs.1.50, whereas Docomo introduced SMS charges based on the number of characters. No recharges are needed to opt for per second calling after one year. * Package activation of Airtel ranges from Rs.64 to Rs.99 and varies from circle to circle. Docomo’s does not charge anything extra for activating the per second pack since the tariff plan by default is on per second basis. * The Airtel tariff calculation is hard ranging from 1p/sec to 1.2p/sec , but 20% higher to other operators whereas A2A calls are kept at 1p/sec and that to other operators are charged at 1.2p/sec. But TataDocomo is offering a limited period offer of STD calls at 1p/sec. But Airtel is older than Docomo so it has compact network links than Docomo , so this is the place where Docomo has to establish itself. Meanwhile it is found that Docomo with both GSM and CDMA network added over ‘4 million’ subscribers in September, beating market leader BhartiAirtel yet again. Airtel had 2.5 million new users in September. SWOT ANALYSIS * STRENGTH * WEAKNESS * OPPORTUNITIES * THREATS STRENGTHS: * First to introduce seconds’ tariff plan (seconds pulse) * Good brand image of Tata services * Having large variety of plans * Plans are affordable by any common person. WEAKNESS: * Signal strength. * Postpaid connections are not available as of now. * Customer services are not satisfactory. * Concentrating only on rural areas. OPPORTUNITIES: * Have a great opportunity to expand its services. * To introduce any new plans for internet users. * Introduce 3G compatible services. * To introduce new combined plans like, SMS, Internet, Calling integrated offers. THREATS: * If signal strength is not increased it may lead to change in the network service by the customers. * Tata has to clarify whether this 1ps/sec will continue till its lifecycle. * Heavy competition from all other network providers. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF TATA DOCOMO Brand Image of Tata and Docomo This is another important factor which proves as a major strong point for Tata Docomo. Tata DOCOMO is Tata Teleservices Limiteds (TTSL) telecom service on the GSM platform-arising out of the Tata Groups strategic alliance with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO in November 2008. Both of these are Big brand names in their respective countries; viz. Tata in India and NTT Docomo in Japan. Tokyo-based NTT DOCOMO is one of the worlds leading mobile operators-in the Japanese market, the company is clearly the preferred mobile phone service provider in Japan with a 50 per cent market share. Variety of plans on offer Tata Docomo focuses not only on the price but also makes sure that the variety of services offered is not compromised. There are a number of tariff plans for post pay customers as well as for prepay customers. WEAKNESSES OF TATA DOCOMO One major weakness of this organization would be the lack of adequate infrastructure to service the subscribers that it may initially achieve owing to the low prices. The key issue would be network coverage, where the customers would prefer that a call go through, or not be disconnected, than save Rs. 0.5-Re.1 on a call. At the same time, since operators have so far been focused on the “land-grab†MORALE OF EMPLOYEES IN AN ORGANISATION Good Morale Morale is a way of describing how people feel about their jobs, employers and companies, and those feelings are tied to the behaviors and attitudes that employees exhibit in the workplace. When employees have good morale, they feel committed to their employers, loyal to their jobs and motivated to be productive. They work harder, produce more, meet deadlines and give it their all. Low Morale According to BNET, a website that offers business management advice, low morale takes a toll on employee performance and productivity. Employees become less motivated to work, less committed to their employers, exhibit an attitude of indifference and are absent more often. Companies pay the consequences of low morale, as less work gets done and time and money are wasted. Such characteristics may not always indicate low morale. Be sure that you dont misdiagnose employees as having low morale when they may just be having a bad day. Low morale is indicated by a pattern of these behaviors and attitudes over time. MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF TATA DOCOMO The goal of the Management System and OrganisationOptimisation is to introduce a new organisation and management system at the level of a selected company or a group of companies (holding), as the case may be. The solutions standard subject matter is the conceptual preparation of the clients new organization and the implementation thereof, which is broken down into detailed organisational and functional patterns including job structure and category. Other steps include a preparation of the companys (holding) management rules, setting the basic functions, competencies, powers and responsibilities for individual management levels of a company (holding), and the preparation of a companys (holding) basic internal policies. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE OF TATA DOCOMO In TATA DOCOMO the organizational culture is the workplace environment formulated from the interaction of the employees in the workplace. Organizational culture is defined by all of the life experiences, strengths, weaknesses, education, upbringing, and so forth of the employees. While executive leaders play a large role in defining organizational culture by their actions and leadership, all employees contribute to the organizational culture. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS- Political- • Not favourable in terms of Recent spectrum allocation {2G-scam}. • Political lobbying is prevalent and many companies are taking advantage of it.It has become ubiquotious and creates lots of hassels for the firms. • Due to 2G Scamtherre will be tighter control and auditing system. • Also UPA will bring some new changes as the social pressure is so high{Anna hazaremovemenet}.Some new guidelines are coming up. • TATA may get truly benefitted by their inherent policy of no form of corruption.TATADocomo should be ready for a patient game so that this political uncertainity gets settled. ECONOMICAL- • Teledensity has improved from under 4% in March 2001 to 53% by the end of March 2010.Cellular telephony has emerged as the fastest moving business segment. • Due to high growth rate,hgherteledensity and sustainable domestic demand cellular telephony will surely reamain in the pink of health in India. • Unexplored rural market.Usage may be low but volume can be high. • Due to immense competition and lowest call rates in the world there are wafer thin margins as well. SOCIAL • Youth population is increasing,adoption to new technologies has become daily routine,more litracy rate and more purchasing power of Domestic consumers makes this industry more than attractive. • Youth will control the economy within next 10 years and companies need to meet their ever changing and newest deamands. • Plans and tariffs need to be updated according to current demand and social habbits. • Devolopment of new apps and cool value added services are in demand. TECHNOLOGY- • Tata Docomo is enjoying the distinct advantage of the backing up of NTT Docomo which proven innovative technology.It is first in Inidia to roll out 3G services in India resulted a growth of 30%-40% in VAS and also planning to bring in 3G enabled mobile phones at an affordable price. • It should try to capitalize the capabilities of Wimaxtechnologies,a high speed data connection,which is supposed to have 12 million subscribers by 2012. • As 3G technologies has made in roads in India there is a growing emphasis on speed and coverage. ENVIRONMENTAL- • People have growing concern about the kind of damage cellular wave do to the brain and other parts of the body. • TATA Docomo should be the first to acknowledge the concern of the people by innovating ways that that can make the waves less harmfull. LEGAL- • Recently due to alligations and speculations surrounding the 2G Spectrum sale many service providers are in legal doldrums and have to face wrath of CBI and judiciary. • Whereas TATA Docomo has benefitted from his fare policies,it should par its back for this and march on with the progress it has seen with full vigour, Recommendations * The availability of recharge voucher should be made available when required by the customers. As this give the good impression about the company. * The network coverage is another asset for the company’s image, which needs to be preserved in future. * The overall image of the customer care services was found to be good but with some loopholes related to delays in problem solving. * The company should be more prompt in handling the queries and problem of the customer, which is vary essential for the prepaid card so as to retain the customers with the company in future. * The customer care executives should be more efficient in handling the customer and also more friendly and polite their conversation, while dealing with the customer. * After sales service is required to be maintained properly, which is not up to the mark * Call rates is affordable so it should be maintained at this level. * Many people are using mobile, but majority of them are not aware of the technology they are using. Manytines it happens that a person doesn’t know which technology satisfied his need. Hence awareness should be created among them regarding advantages and differences in the technology. * Supplementary facilities like call wait, call forward, call hold, call divert, call conference should be made more effective to attract customers. CONCLUSION After analysis and interpretation of the data it can be concluded that TataDocomo is providing a broad range of various schemes ranging from international calling to hello tunes. This is the critical factor to attract various customers. Wide range of schemes is also leading to increase in number of customers with rapid pace for TaTA Tariff charges introduced by the TataDocomo are found to be cheaper than other services. TataDocomo has emerged as a giant killer due to their tariff plans and heading towards the position of dominator. TataDocomo is providing some unique features and services like pay per second, SMS per character, pay per site plans that are making them being different from their competitors. Awareness of the TataDocomo is spreading widely among people due to their promotional activities. Buyers are now insisting for cheaper plans or threatening to opt out. Majority of the customers are satisfied with the services of the Tata Docomo and they are not ready to switch on to other service providers. |