Yola: Managing Multiples Challenges

How should Lingham manage the dual structure?

We are conscious thank to the case reading that Mr Lingham is facing a major dilemma: South Afrika is cheapest than Silicon Valley. The labor cost is indeed more attractive there. But he cannot manage to relocate its locals only in South Africa because Yola needs to keep in touch with their partners who are indispensable for company's probability and technology awareness.

It's thus on this background Mr Lingham will have to manage its dual structure.

How should he manage the structure? I would answer by saying he has to make (according to me) two improvements, the one concerning human resources, the order concerning the balancing of functions between the two locations.

First of all, concerning its structure, because of the lower labor cost in South Africa he should relocate there a part of its jobs while keeping enough function centers there to maintain closed relations with partners and benefits of technologies synergies.

Secondly concerning its human resources, Yola because of the growth forecast and thus the number of employees it is expecting in the next few years, will face more complexes human issues. Therefore to deal with these issues, Mr. Lingham should develop a coherent human resources management structure inside of the whole group, creating a Human resource section in Cape Town where it is inexistent until now. The company structure indeed is going to change; offices in Cape Town would have a higher importance and wouldn't only manage support functions.

There, Mr. Lingham should for example proceed to a very strong selection of their employees before hiring so that they correspond as most as possible company values (e.g. patience, team working skills).

Furthermore, resulting from the new structure, the online team working as distant global relations will become a higher substantive part of the company day-to-day life which means that the company will really face a real culture challenges. It confirms the important role human will play in the future of the company.

In conclusion, M. Lingham will have to manage its company structure by modifying and adapting human resource policy to this new structure and to the arrival of future employees.

How viable is the proposed expansion into the developing world as a future source of competitive advantage for Yola?

The company proposed in fact to base its competitive advantage on a rapid internationalization capability into markets that their competitors cannot reach.

I have a shared opinion concerning this strategy.

Prima facie, it seems to be a good idea but on another hand it seems being a breakable competitive advantage:

First of all, I'm explaining