Target: MTN
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| *We're totally not aliens |
A quick indoctrination introduction:
Our company name: XenoVation
Our vision: To be a consultancy that brings innovation, no matter the scale, to most if not all industries across the galaxy globe.
Our mission: To bring out of this world solutions to earthly problems.
Our values: Values innovation highly but also values achieving innovation in an ethical way that benefits most, if not all, individuals or parties involved.
More information on our About Us page.
Behind the Name: XenoVation
We came up with the name XenoVation after an arduous task. We first tried to find terms that involved innovations and tried to form a name using External Innovation. This created Exovation first but soon found that a company with that name already exists. So we destroyed them. We then searched for a logo to help us find inspiration. We came upon a image of a satellite on game-icon.net that lead us to think about a space themed name, to go with advanced technology and innovation. One thing lead to another we decided on...aliens, specifically the term "xeno" which means "foreign" or "alien." This in turn created "XenoVation".
Behind the Logo: Aliens!
Because we are totally not humans aliens we decided it would be fun to follow the theme of space and aliens. We thought up the brilliant idea of including a UFO in our logo "abducting" (as if ) the company name but it became messy and ineligible. We stuck with the concept of a UFO because we felt it was fitting for our theme only instead of an abduction (for science) we drew inspiration from James Cameron's Aliens movie and even used a similar font with white text over a black background. The UFO features Red, Green and Blue which represent RGB colour systems used to represent colours on a computer screen to fit in with the modern technology theme.
The Chosen one...
Our chosen South African organisation for experimenting analysing is MTN. According to MTN (n.d.) they are a world class communications and cellular network company that focuses all of their attention on the African continent. They strive to achieve economic empowerment for African countries through the use of communication and the improvement thereof.
History of MTN
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The year 2002 saw MTN installing a solar payhone in the middle of Lake Victoria for the local fishermen to make use of. In 2005 MTN was one of the first operators in all of Africa to implement 3G connectivity in to its services.
Between 2006 and 2008 MTN's subscriber base increased from 40 million, across all the countries they operate in, to 100 million subscribers and then in 2013 their subscriber base reached 200 million subscribers.
MTN's Core Values, Vision and Mission
MTN (n.d.) states that the following is what they consider to be their vision, mission and values:
Vision:
To lead the delivery of a bold, new digital world to their customers.
Mission:
To make their customer's lives a whole lot brighter.
Values:
MTN values leadership, integrity, relationships, innovation and a can do attitude. They pride themselves on their ability to make the seemingly impossible possible, connecting people with their families, friends and oppertunities and enriching lives through their products and services.
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| https://www.mtn.co.za/everyday_services/useful_extras/Pages/SimSwap.aspx |
Products and Services
MTN (n.d.) provides a wide array of calling services to their customers, such as voicemail and conference calling. They also provide Messaging services (SMS and MMS) as well as data and internet services. Not to mention that you can get cellphones from them on contract.
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Successes and Failures
Successes:
According to Computer Business (2007) MTN is one of the most active TeleCommunication companies when it comes to setting up cellphone coverage in rural areas where other companies might have decided to abandon the areas. MTN also has a lot of successful innovations that they can boast with. According to their website (n.d.) MTN was the first in South Africa to introduce free calls to emergency services and introduced instant messaging in South Africa. MTN (n.d.) was also classified as one of the 30 hottest brands in the world.
Failures:
According to Fin24 (2015) MTN has been fined by Nigerian authorities with a R71 billion fine for not disconnecting customers with unregistered SIM cards. Their mishandling of the situation, and how they are dealing with the fine by claiming they are not at fault, is what has caused MTN stocks to drop drastically in worth with the issue still unresolved.
Organogram
The following is MTN's organisational chart according to The Official Board (2017).
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| https://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/mtn |
Why we Chose to Analyse MTN
We at XenoVation chose to analyse MTN because it is a local business that has grown significantly in size not only in South Africa but all across Africa and some parts of the Middle East. They have also been in business for 23 years which means they are more likely to have successes, failures and innovations for us to analyse. MTN is also part of an industry that is ever changing, meaning that they need to innovate to stay relevant. All of these combined make them a perfect candidate for our analysis.
