The Optus’ Floptus

Part 1: Introduction and Definitions
The quality of any organisation’s supplied parts has a direct effect on the quality of their
finished goods and services. This assessment requires you to conduct research and use
quality academic literature to illuminate following topic: “The Importance of Quality in
Procurement Management”
Drawing upon a range of appropriate academic sources your report should:
 Introduce the topic of the effect of quality on finished goods and services;
 Define the term quality and discuss some consequences of receiving poor quality
products.
 Define and describe the term Total Quality Management; and
 Define and describe the role of Quality Assurance.
Part 2: Case study analysis
Recently Optus has been involved in a very public, reputation-damaging incident as a result
of poor quality finished product/service. Optus failed to stream the World Cup Soccer and
experienced ongoing quality issues. Read the Optus’ Floptus case study (see below) and
provide an analysis:
 Summarising what happened;
 Why it happened;
 Indicate in what ways Optus has been affected as a result of this quality failure; and
 How would you recommend Optus repair the damage to their brand’s image, reengage their affected customers and improve quality output in the future?
Use academic literature sources to help provide evidence for your response.
Submission details:
Please submit an electronic copy of your finished report via Canvas Turnitin, including a
signed assessment cover sheet, by the due date.
Report length is 1500 words (+/-10%), excluding references. Your report should follow a
formal report structure with appropriate headings. You should use appropriate in-text
citations and a References section at the end of the report.
References and in-text citations should be in the Harvard style with a minimum of 8 different
ACADEMIC sources being included (marks will not be awarded for the use of non-academic
sources such as Wikipedia/websites etc.). Swinburne Library as some excellent resources
for helping you determine what acceptable academic sources are, where to search for them,
or how to reference in the Harvard style. Helpful information on Harvard referencing can be
found here: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-complete-guide/
This assignment constitutes 20% of the overall mark for the unit, with marks being awarded
on the following criteria:
Ability to identify & successfully discuss, evaluate and analyse key issues - 6
Evidence of significant academic research having been conducted - 6
References/citations presented in the Harvard format – 4
Professional presentation of the report – 2
Clear writing and expression - 2
Case Study – Optus’ Floptus – from News.com.au 27 June 2018:
Optus Sport says it has fixed issues with streaming service and will not
repeat mistakes
OPTUS is hoping true football fans have a short memory and can forgive and forget as
it vows not to make the same mistakes again.
Benjamin Graham
news.com.au JUNE 27, 2018 1:51PM
Source: https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/world-cup/optus-sport-says-it-has-fixedissues-with-streaming-service-and-will-not-repeat-mistakes/newsstory/6f814ce1e45970b2cdc58d16825c2abd
OPTUS has vowed not to repeat its mistakes and insisted customers would be able to stream the remaining
World Cup matches without any dramas.
The under-fire telco told news.com.au the problem with its streaming service affected less than a quarter of
those watching the World Cup games online and that the complaints had almost ceased.
News.com.au was invited to the Optus Sport broadcast studio in Sydney last night to watch the highly
anticipated Australia-versus-Peru match.
Optus head of TV and content Corin Dimopolous used the opportunity to stress that the problem had almost
been fixed.
“It’s frustrating for us because it’s such a small thing and it just gets in the way of the work we are doing,” Mr
Dimopolous said. “But we are not going to make the same mistake again.”
Optus lured the exclusive rights away from SBS in an $8 million deal that put games behind a paywall in
Australia for the first time. It was then forced to give up its exclusive broadcast deal last week and hand cash
back to customers.
Optus chief executive Allen Lew announced the embarrassing backdown via a phone conference with reporters
last Wednesday following a weekend of outrage from fans unable to watch games due to streaming problems.
That’s not a football pitch.Source:Supplied
Football fans were furious at Optus and it didn’t take long for venting on social media to reach hysterical
heights.
A frustrated member of staff working at the telco’s broadcast studio compared the shambles to the “sinking of
the Titanic”.
“It was that bad,” he said.
He said production staff felt as if they were doing a good job, but this was tantamount to rearranging the
deckchairs on the sinking ship.
He told news.com.au there were three agonising days when staff were left wondering what was going on and
what would happen, while outrage skyrocketed.
Even Karl Stefanovic joined the chorus of outrage, slamming Optus on the Today show.
“It’s the biggest show in town. Instead of watching the World Cup, we are watching ‘playback error’ on our
phones,” Stefanovic said.
“Optus is hopeless. If you can’t deliver the product you’re selling, you go out of business. The only problem is
no one else can sell it, they don’t have the rights, Optus has the rights.”
But the telco staffer said “sensationalist” media outlets had made the streaming issues “seem like the end of the
world”.
He said he believed true football fans had forgiven Optus and forgotten about the streaming issues because of
the quality of its coverage.
The Optus Sport broadcast team of Mel McLaughlin, Sydney FC’s Alex Wilkinson, and Socceroos greats John Aloisi and Mark
Schwarzer at the broadcast facilities in Sydney.
Socceroos legend Mark Schwarzer was also optimistic about Optus’s streaming future, telling news.com.au the
debacle may prove beneficial in the long-run as the telco removed the $15 paywall to win back World Cup fans’
favour.
“People can now look at what we’re doing and what SBS are doing without having to pay and they can make a
choice about what kind of coverage they want based on that,” he said.
Schwarzer joked that he had not been personally affected by the streaming issues and said the team in the
broadcast studio had been focused on delivering quality content.
“It was out of our hands in the studio,” he added.
This sentiment was echoed by production staff for the World Cup coverage at the Sydney hub, which is manned
24/7 by more than 100 staff.
One staff member in the control room told news.com.au the problems had stemmed from Optus’s operations at
Macquarie Park in Sydney’s northwest, while the production side of the network’s coverage had been close to
seamless.
You would imagine an abundance of expletives, yelling and cups of coffee being flung across the room, in the
midst of the chaos.
However, Mr Dimopolous said the atmosphere, in the TV studio at least, was remarkably “calm”.
Another sleep-deprived telco worker said the streaming system used to broadcast the wall-to-wall coverage
would “never be perfect”, but believed Optus had shown there was an appetite for in-depth sports coverage in
Australia.
The Optus app and sport streaming services will remain free and open to everyone in Australia for the remainder
of the World Cup and through to August 31.
The telco said Australians who had already paid for the service would receive full refunds. Football fans will
also get the opening few weeks of the 2018-19 English Premier League season free through Optus because of
the fallout from the streaming issues.
Mr Dimopolous said he hoped Aussie sports fans could look past the whole saga and give Optus a go.
“We hope that people will give us a go because it’s free, so people can compare us to SBS and decide for
themselves which coverage they prefer,” he said. “At the end of the day, people can vote with their feet and if
they don’t like it they can leave it.”