Research Paper on Operation Project Management: Oman Telecommunications Company

Introduction

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) is a telecommunications company located in Oman. The company is the primary provider of internet services in the country. The organization provides internet services to the residential, corporate customers and the government. The organization is the first and primary service provider in the country and thus plays a significant role in the telecommunications sector. There are a total of four telecommunications organizations in the country, i.e., Omantel, Ooredoo, Renna, and Friendi. Omantel and Ooredoo Omancontrol the largest share in the telecommunications market in the country. The highest shareholder in Omantel Company is the government which has 70% of the total shares while the remaining 30% is owned by the public sector (Maguire & Amireh 2018).

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The telecommunications industry in Oman is growing rapidly. This is so because the number of customers keeps increasing day to day. Telecommunication organizations in the country, therefore, have to incorporate innovative management skills with high-tech machinery and equipment to increase the internet services to the customers (Naqvi, Al-Shihi, Ali 2011). The organization's operation management (OM) practices are set such that they are effective in addressing business needs. Ooredoo which is the second largest telecommunications organization in Oman in terms of market share has an aim of gaining a higher market share in the telecommunication sector in Oman. This report will critically examine three OM implemented by Omantel, compare and contrast between Omantel and Ooredoo Oman and lastly examine ways to improve operational performance within Omantel.

Omantel's Operational Management (OM)

Omantel Company fundamental pillars of the business strategy are to implement agile human resource strategies and translate the business to become more business savvy (Hedges, 2015). To achieve a higher market share and face of the recent competition from rival organizations, Omantel Company should implement OM practices in the strategic decision areas. The organization's strategic decisions areas refer to the aspects that the company needs to streamline together to achieve optimal performance. Omantel is currently facing stiff competition from other organizations in the telecommunications sector in the country. It is therefore essential for Omantel's operations management to address concerns in these strategic decision areas (Rajasekar & Al Raee 2013). This will indeed help the organization maintain high service delivery. Omantel has an integrated approach to the strategic decisions of operations management (OM). Three strategic decision areas whereby Omantel Company has and can implement OM practices include; quality management, supply chain management, and job design and human resource.

Human Resource and Job Design

The managerial roles at Omantel Company are played by the board of directors. The board is comprised of eight members, six of whom represent the government. The remaining two represent the private shareholders ('Oman Telecommunications Company' 2016 ). The board is responsible for ensuring that the organization works towards achieving the set goals and maximize shareholder value. The organization has developed an HR strategy which is aimed at promoting a conducive environment and boosts employee morale. Through this strategy, the organization encourages its staff to come up with creative ideas which can assist the organization in expanding (Maguire, Ojiako & Said 2010). The employees are encouraged to propose approached which are then forwarded to the management, i.e., the board of directors. The HR department is tasked with recruiting and training an employee to improve communication and develop them.

Human resource management addresses job design and HR strategic decision area through the combination of divisional HR practices and global corporate HR practices (Jacobs, Chase & Aquilano 2004). The primary OM objective in job design and human resource is to ensure that the workforce at Omantel is adequately skilled and knowledgeable. This OM has ensured that the organization hires competed for the workforce through the corporate standard and talent sustainability policy.

Process and Capacity Design

The primary objective of OM in this strategic decision area is to ensure that an organization has adequate resources and a developed process to support production (Heizer & Render 2008). Organizations should ensure that it utilizes its resources maximally and also ensure that there is process efficiency.

Omantel is a service provider with a high resource capacity. The organization has a workforce which is highly skilled and knowledgeable ('Oman Telecommunications Company' 2016 ). The government of Oman has invested heavily on the organization, and thus resources are adequate. The organization conducts regular evaluations of processes and capacity requirements. This ensures that all the required resources are available which in turn minimizes issue during service delivery to its customers.

Quality Management

In the quality management strategic decision area, an organization's operation managers deal with satisfying consumer's expectations on the quality of products and services. Analysis of the organizations' total quality management (TQM) reveals that Omantel workforce has limited knowledge and understanding. The organization enjoys a wide market in the telecommunications a factor which has resulted in poor quality management techniques. In the previous years, the organization lacks a strong competitor and thus is reluctant on total quality management in its service provision to consumers. However, in the past few years, the government of Oman has awarded three telecommunications organizations licenses to operate in the country. This has created a competitive environment in the telecommunications sector. This shows that there is a significant need for the organization's management to introduce OM in this strategic decision area.

Omantel operations management should be set that it aims at providing the highest quality products and services to its customers in the telecommunications industry. The company should implement quality standards in operational processes to satisfy service and product quality requirements. Quality management practices that Omantel can implement to achieve this operational management objective is to ensure continued training of the workforce. According to Oakland & Oakland (1989), training is the single most significant component in trying to improve quality. Through continuous training, the organization will be able to meet changes in the telecommunications sector environment as well as changes in technology. The management commitment to quality management is also crucial for the organization to achieve TQM.

Omantel vs. Ooredoo

Omantel has a higher volume dimension compared to Ooredoo. The customer base of Omantel is highly established, and thus the organization offers a higher volume of telecom services in the market. Ooredoo Oman provides landline voice services to business and residential customers. Also, the or,organization provides a range of post-paid and pre-paid mobile phone plans as well as broadband internet service both mobile and home. On the other hand, Omantel is the primary provider of internet services in Oman.

Omantel enjoys a stable variation in demand for its services. Most of the customers subscribed to Omantel are loyal and thus utilize the services offered by the organizations highly. On the other hand, Ooredoo has a high variation in demand. Customers have yet to build trust with the organization, and thus the usage of its services is flexible.

Lastly, Omantel has a lower visibility dimension compared to Ooredoo. Ooredoo is a new entrant into the Oman telecommunications sector and thus is striving to increase its market share. The services offered by Ooredoo are of a higher quality when compared to Omantel. Ooredoo has already implemented total quality management, a technique which Omantel is yet to adopt (Rajasekar & Al Raee 2013).

Ways to Improve Operational Performance within Omantel

Quality Improvement

The report has identified that Omantel has yet to implement efficient total quality management techniques. Quality services and products will ensure that customer satisfaction is increased which in turn increases customer loyalty towards Omantel brand. Quality is essential in marinating a competitive advantage over Ooredoo and the other three telecommunications organizations currently operating in Oman. The failure to implement TQM in the operation process will lead to reduced services and products being offered to the organization's customers. Therefore, Omantel should ensure that quality is maintained in all services and products and also ensure that any customer complainants on quality are handled effectively.

Employee Training

Training is fundamental in every organization. The telecommunications industry is rampantly changing as new technologies are introduced. Organizations which fail to adopt the changes in the business environment are more likely to fail (Boudreau et al. 2003). Therefore organizations are expected to adopt new changes and continuously evolve their business operations to accommodate the changes. Omantel should capitalize on training to ensure that employees are equipped with the required skills and knowledge in the industry. The organization should benchmark on the business practices being implemented by telecommunications globally and adopt those practices that are likely to improve its business operations. Workshops should be conducted whereby workers collaborate to solve the various business challenges that may arise.

Creativity and Innovation

Creativity and innovation are responsible for new and revolutionary ideas in any business environment. Organizations are more likely to improve their operational performance and achieve a competitive advantage over their competitors if it implements new ideas presented by their workforce (Stevenson, Hojati & Cao 2007). Omantel should encourage its employee to be more creative and innovate new ways to improve operations at the organizations. Omantel should offer the employee with incentives such as rewards for the best ideas. This will, in turn, create new ideas in the telecommunications industry which the organization can capitalize on achieving improved operational management and a higher market share in the long run.

Conclusion

The report has discussed Omantel and Ooredoo which are the two main telecommunication providers in Oman. The report has identified, quality management, human resource, and job design as well as process and capacity design as the main decision strategic areas where Omantel operation management practices can be applied. The report has carried out a comparison of Omantel and Ooredoo Oman using the 4 Vs. of operation management. To improve operational performance, Omantel should implement quality management techniques, conduct training of employee and encourage creativity and innovation.

References

Belwal, R. & Amireh, M., 2018. Service quality and attitudinal loyalty: Consumers' perception of two major telecommunication companies in Oman. Arab Economic and Business Journal, 13(2), pp.197-208.

Boudreau, J., Hopp, W., McClain, J.O. & Thomas, L.J., 2003. On the interface between operations and human resources management. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 5(3), pp.179-202.

Heizer, J.H. & Render, B., 2008. Operations management(Vol. 1). Pearson Education India.

Jacobs, F.R., Chase, R.B. & Aquilano, N., 2004. Operations management for competitive advantage. Boston: Mc-Graw Hill, 64, p.70.

Maguire, S., Ojiako, U. & Said, A., 2010....