Operational Excellence Case Study: Digital Divide Data

Our company regardless of size, product and service is one to which you can apply the principles of operational excellence. The basis for this paper is a published case of Digital Divide Data (DDD) Company show-cased in the expansion of the company.

Company Overview

DDD began operations in Cambodia in 2001 as a small IT company involved in outsourcing with few employees but has grown over the years as a non-profit social enterprise that is recognized globally. Through its entrepreneurial prowess, DDD has been able to serve clients successfully in Cambodia and Laos to even bag the prestigious Skoll award for entrepreneurship but now wants to expand operations to United States, Western Europe and Africa.

Situational Problem

DDD has gained trust with the local community in Phnom Penh and Battambang in Cambodia and Vientiane in Laos. Starting operations in a different country and succeeding requires trust of the local people and administration. For instance, DDD has managed to train and offer scholarship to more than 1300 youths from disadvantaged backgrounds in Cambodia and Laos. The initiative has enabled the company establish foot print in the two countries due to integration with locals. The top management is able to make decisions that help drive the company and ensure it complements with local people, government and expectations for a company perceived as foreign. It’s also able to make decisions on the business model and operational framework to adopt and pursue for success by scaling up and exploiting its social impact model globally. The model has enabled the company to thrive through engaging a pool of employees from different countries such as the management team which is based in the US, expatriate volunteers and short-term assignees in Laos and Cambodia (Brunswicker & Vanhaverbeke, 2015).The situational problem is one presented by the company’s top management for analysis and recommendation for course of action and the best strategy to expand to the prospective new frontiers.        

Recommendation on Operational Strategy

Operational strategy involves setting broad objectives to direct enterprise on the overall goal. Planning the path generally rather than on specific terms aimed at achieving the ultimate goal. It also involves dealing with overall picture rather than stress on individual activities. DDD can adopt an operational strategy to penetrate new markets which can be partnership, organic growth, social franchising or joint ventures. The future of the company in terms of breakdown, breakeven or breakthrough is determined by adopting a progressive operational strategy.  The right choice from the start and ensuring the company has social impact enabled DDD break even on operational expenses in the past (Slack, Chambers & Johnston, 2009). It was able to secure a number of large multi-year contractual jobs from European and US clients as well as penetrate local market in Cambodia through a contract to offer services to Mobitel- the leading Cambodia mobile telephone provider.

Recommendation on Service Innovation

To achieve more success and expand to even other continents where the company is yet to make in-roads, the strategy is service innovation through focus on social impact like it has done in Cambodia and Laos-addressing poverty and marginalization through training and scholarships to the less privileged youths and people with disability. Power and politics will play a major role for top management to make decisions on partnerships and joint ventures in new markets which are hard to penetrate and with similar companies already established with a substantial market share (Slack, Chambers & Johnston, 2009). Further, feasibility studies are useful in ensuring that DDD ventures in markets where it can penetrate and break even in a shorter time.

References

Slack, N., Chambers, S., & Johnston, R. (2009). Operations and process management: principles and practice for strategic impact. Pearson Education.

Brunswicker, S., & Vanhaverbeke, W. (2015). Open innovation in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs): External knowledge sourcing strategies and internal organizational facilitators. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(4), 1241-1263.