Executive Summary The report is about the New Service Development of a Telecommunication company. The various differences of the new service development were discussed in the assignment. The assignment also covered the various factors that affect the development of the services. The main factors like price, quality, the style of management, the handling of the projects and marketing etc. are all discussed in the assignment. The recommendations of increasing the profitability of the company and thus all the significant steps are going to be discussed in the assignment. Introduction The success of the company depends upon one most essential and critical factor- ‘the satisfaction of the customer’. However, the satisfaction of the customer does not comprise of only one factor. In fact a number of factors are involved in this process. The one of the most important factors is the development of the product or services. There are various differences between the development of the products and services. In this report the new service development is going to be addressed. The assignment is thus going to discuss about the various factors which affect the development of the new services of the telecommunication company Telstra. The history of Telstra can be traced back to around 1900 and till 1945 the company had the monopoly in the telecommunication services. The company has a number of operations in the telecommunication sector and one of the leading companies of the country. The assignment is going to describe the difference between the development of product and services. The various steps of the new service development are also described in the report. The report is also going to address the major four factors which affect the development of new services. The critical analysis of the company is also being done in the report. On the basis of the critical analysis the report is also going to make few recommendations which could affect the company Telstra positively. New Product Development in Services It is clear that there is difference between the developments of the products from that of services. The numbers of factors made the development of services more vulnerable. The services most of the time have intangibility, the consumption of the services take place at the time of their production. The content of the services is also diversifying and they also have the feature of being decayed immediately. This is the reason that the development steps of the services are different than the steps of New Product Development. (Easingwood, 1986). The steps of the development of the services in Telstra (service company: telecom company) starts with the ‘Designing of the services’ and then the second step is ‘Developing the services’, in this step the various features to be added in the services are determined. In the third step the ‘testing’ is done which include checking the functionality of the services. The fourth step is ‘deploying’ the services in a manner that their engineering performance is applied. The last step is sustaining of the services. (Tech Mahindra Limited, 2017) Factors that Affect the New Product (Service) Development of Telstra Factor 1: The Organizational Factors Culture of Telstra: The culture of any organization plays a very important role in the development of the product. The culture of the organization is that component which determines the level of the support of the people (from the middle to lower management). The innovation is also fostered through the culture of the company. The culture at Telstra has been developed in a way that innovation is supported. The cultural development is very essential for the full support of the people. The organizational culture also has a very important role to play in promoting the competitiveness of the organization. The workforce of Telstra works in collaboration towards the achievement of organizational objectives, this collaboration then results in the better competiveness of the company. (MSG, 2017) Strategic Innovation: The strategic innovation is also one of the most important factors determining the success of the new service development. The customers would not avail the services for long if no innovation is made in them and Telstra’s success is also because of the fact that the company keep on innovating in its services. The strategic innovation comprises of the strong communication and pre-determined effective objectives. Without the effective communication and effective (yet feasible) objectives the success of the strategic innovation is not possible. (Cassia, Massis and Pizzurno, 2012). This is the reason that Telstra has developed the very effective communication mechanism in the company and the objectives of the company are well aligned with the strategy of Telstra, which helps the company to be ahead in the front of innovation. The exciting projects are always carried out in the company has helped the company to be success. The worldwide talent is invited in the company in order to attain and maintain the potential candidates. (Telstra, 2017, I) Structural Setting: The organizational structure is very important in determining the success of the new service development. The new product development requires the dependence and integration of all the activities of various departments and the structure helps in integrating these activities. The Telstra has the structure that the integration of the various activities could be done and services are provided to the customers in a complete manner. (Allen, 2001). The new service development strategy and the organizational culture are closely related and associated. The contribution of the structure in the new service development framework cannot be undermined. At Telstra the heterogeneity of the people is evident in the form of the structure of the company. (Sosa and Mihm, 2017) Research and Development: Another very important factor in the success of the new service development of Telstra is the strength of the research and development in the company. It is the research and development that paves the way for the innovation in the services, the better the R&D of the company the better the services. (Chand, 2017). This is the reason that the Australian company Telstra spends a huge amount on its R&D department. (Hepworth, 2016) Factor 2: Project Associated Factors Synergy of the Project: The new product development’s success also requires the synergy of the various activities for the implementation. The more the project is synergized the more chances of the success of the new product development. (Polskawschodnia, 2013). At Telstra the projects are carried out with full synergy and complimentary. Style of the Management: Whenever a new project is carried out in the form of new product development of services the way it is being managed is pivotal for its success. The management style of the project assures the success of the NPDS framework. The success of the services of Telstra is also credited to the management style of the projects of company. At Telstra it has very well understood that the way the project would be handled will determine its success and thus the company has developed very effective management styles to carry out its project especially with reference to the new service development. (Cengiz, Ayyildiz and Kirkbir, 2017) Support from the Top: Another very important factor in the success of the new service development of the organization is the level of the support of the top management of the company. For the successful implementation of the new service development the full support of the top management is indispensable as the funds allocation, the strategy development and the operational efficiency all such factors are determined by the top management. The top management of Telstra provides the full support in the development of the new services. Factor 3: Factors Associated with Products/Services Prices: The New Product Development Framework’s success is highly associated with the prices of the services. The prices of the services must be able to justify the quality that is being provided to the customers and this phenomenon becomes stronger in the context of the services sector. The prices of the services at Telstra are quite affordable and competitive. The telecom services provided by the company are of high quality and still the competitive prices are kept which attract the customers. Telstra has developed the appropriate strategies related the prices and thus the company has got the huge success in the country. (Kong, 1998) Quality: The quality (as a factor affecting the new service development) has a strong link with the NPDS of the telecommunication industry or any other industry for that matter. The high quality of the components of the services is indispensable for the success of the service delivery as the final result. The company Telstra’s high quality of the services has played a very significant role in the success of the company. Adoption of Inventive Ways: The new service development is also highly affected by the adoption of the inventive ways. The innovative aspects of the services help reducing the monotony of the delivery of the services. As we have already discussed that the services are perishable and they are consumed at the time they are delivered. Thus innovation is essential for successfully developing the new services. Telstra is well known for its innovation Advancement of Technology: In today’s era the success of the companies depend upon their adaptability oy the changing environment. The higher technology makes the companies able to deliver the services in the most appropriate and suitable manner. The speed, quality and prices etc. all are affected by the technology advancement. The technology has become the main source of reducing the costs and delivering the services in the most effective manner. (Interaction Design Foundation, 2017). Telstra is a telecommunication company and the services that are provided by the company are of high quality because of the technological advancement. The High Definition of the calling, the speed of the internet and various other factors affect the new service development of Telstra. (Telstra, 2017, II) Factor 4: Factors Associated with Markets Focus on the Target Market: While the new services are developed and delivered it is very essential to assess the level of the concentration of the target market. The segmentation is required to develop the marketing and targeting strategies. If the market is highly concentrated then the strategies would differ from the highly scattered market. The Company Telstra has a wide range of market to cover and thus the aggressive marketing strategies are adopted by the company. (McNally, Akdeniz and Calantone, 2011). The services are developed according to the level of the concentration of the target market. Competition: The level of the competition is also an important factor of the new service development in the service industry. The services are developed and delivered the competitive intensity of the industry. The industry of telecommunication of Australia is highly competitive. This intense competition has enabled the companies to provide the high quality services to the customers (to sustain in the competitive market). The new services of Telstra are developed keeping the fact in mind that the company needs to provide the high quality services for the long run survival of the company. Marketing: The marketing is also a very important factor affecting the new service development of the company. The marketing paves the way to attract the customers and thus providing the way to make the improvement in the services. A study has revealed that around 25% of the success of the new service development is contributed by the marketing. (Drechsler, Natter and Leeflang, 2013). The role of marketing is in the cycle of the NPDS as the marketing is the base through which the needs of the consumers are identified and the services are altered according to the needs of the consumers. Thus the success of the new service development highly depends upon its marketing. (Serkan, Tansel and Gokhan, 2007) Critical Analysis of Telstra The critical analysis is required for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the company. The various strengths and weaknesses are required to be known in order to cater the market in the effective manner. (Westbrook, 2016). The strengths and weaknesses of Telstra are as follows: Strengths Brand Reputation: The reputation of Telstra is very strong in the country as Telstra is one of the leading companies of the company. When the new service of Telstra is launched in the market the acceptability of the services doesn’t strive to be achieved. The strong reputation of the company helps the company getting the trust of the customers. Leading Network: Telstra is one of the leading networks of Australia which is one of the essential components of the new service development. The strong strategic alliance with the partners makes the company able to develop the services with higher quality. Infrastructure: This is one of the greatest strengths of Telstra that the company has the strong infrastructure. The development of the services requires the compatible infrastructure and the strong infrastructure have played the significant role in the successful development of the services of Telstra. The telecom services of Telstra have a wider effective coverage which gives the company a lead to its customers. (Studymoose, 2016) Latest Technology: The latest technologies have been adapted by the company. Telstra has very well aware of the fact that to sustain in the market the company must be able to adapt to the technology. Telstra has acquired various projects in order to be ahead from its competitors and provide the services to the customers for their higher satisfaction. The company has marked its presence through the social media which is the perfect example of technology. (In:Sight, 2014) Weaknesses Fierce Competition: The competition is very fierce in the telecom industry of Australia. The intensity of the competition is very high and thus this has made the share of the market limited. The market share of the telecommunication is around 45% and this could have been better if the competition would be less fierce. (OzMobileNet, 2017) No International Presence: The lack of international presence has also made the share of the market limited. The company has the opportunity of tapping the international market and thus the share could be increased which could fetch the greater results for the company. More Concentration on Postpaid Services: The one of the weaknesses of Telstra is that its focus seems to tend more towards the postpaid services and this has had the adverse effect on the prepaid services of the company. The sale of the prepaid services has been stagnant while the postpaid services are doing really well for the company. Around 9 millions of users are prepaid users and thus there is a great potential for the prepaid services. (Whirlpool, 2012) (Source: Self-Drawn) Conclusion The assignment has discussed the various aspects of the new product development in the context of the services. The basic differences in the services and product development have been discussed in the assignment. After the analysis of the assignment it has been found that the success of the new services development depends upon four factors. The first factor is related to the organization like structural setting or cultural environment etc. The second factor is related to the project like the way it is being handled and the support it has gotten. The third factor is related to the product or services itself. These are the factor like the prices of the services or quality of these, how inventive these services are along with the advancement of technology. The fourth and last factor is related to the markets in which the services are required to be sold. The segmentation or the targeting, the level of the competition etc. are also associated with the success of the services development. The assignment has made the learner able to understand that what are the weaknesses of the company Telstra which it needs to overcome along with the strengths which could give the company the huge benefits. The assignment is then followed by the recommendations which have been made after the critical analysis of the company. Recommendations More Offers: As the competition at Telstra is very fierce thus it could be suggested to the company that it could provide more offers to attract the larger number of customers. The lucrative offers will help the company getting more customers which will increase the profitability of the company. Going International: Another recommendation that could be given to Telstra is that the company can also seek to go international. As it has already been discussed that the reputation of the company is good thus, this will help in making the company grab the share of the market easily. More Focus on Prepaid Services: The Company Telstra should also focus more on its prepaid services as there is a great potential in this area too. The company could provide various schemes in order to tap the share of the market where the great potential lies. New Projects/ Ventures: The Company can also seek to start new projects and ventures. There are various other businesses which the company can enter. The company can plan to enter into non telecom services where it can use its expertise of consumer analysis and experience of service delivery. 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