Global Communication - Generic Benchmark

Running head: GENERIC BENCHMARKING: GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Generic Benchmarking: Global Communications

University of Phoenix

Generic Benchmarking: Global Communications

Problem/Opportunity Statement

• Global Communications will grow to become a leader in communications industry by using effective communication and actively involving all the stakeholders in the implementation of their plans.

Generic Benchmarking

The benchmarking process is more than just gathering data on how well a company performs against others--it's a method to identify new ideas and new ways to improve processes and as a result, to better meet customers' expectations. (Elmuti, Kathawala, & Lloyed, 1997). Benchmarking takes various different forms; Generic benchmarking can be employed in any industry, Functional benchmarking looks at similar practices and processes in organizations or companies in other industries, Competitive benchmarking compares a company’s processes to its competitors’ processes and Internal benchmarking observes processes or practices within an organization over time under the lenses of set goals and objectives (Fischer, 2001). Here, we will be looking at various companies that faced problems similar to Global Communications and look at how the companies reacted to those problems and try to use benchmarking to apply those results to Global Communications.

Generic Benchmarking: Topics

1. Union-Management relationship

Union-management relationship is very important for success of any company that has an active union. It can make or break a company’s plans for implementing change and moving ahead with the future in mind. “A union-management relationship gone sour can be ugly-and costly” (Jusko, 2003). Both the union and the management have to work together for the success of the company. They have to understand that the success of the company depends on the success of the employees and viceversa. This did not happen in the case of Global Communications. The management in this case exluded the union from the decision making process and thus made it even more resolute to resist the outsourcing which might be in the longterm interest of the company and its employees.

2. Outsourcing

Recently a large number of companies have gone for outsourcing of some sort or the other. The decision is mostly driven by business objectives such as cost reduction, increasing flexibility, gaining access to particular technologies, or simply to concentrate management bandwidth on core activities (Outsourcing Institute, 1998; Perkins, 2004 as cited in Khanna & Randolph, 2005). The Global Communications has taken a decision to outsource some of its call centers to India and Ireland. Now it faces issues that come with outsourcing вЂ" laying off or relocating employees. Thus there has to be a best practice that has to be followed with the implementation of the outsourcing process and dealing with those issues. Khanna and Randolph (2005) propose best practices for human resources during and after outsourcing. They also propose to look for alternative to pure outsourcing.

3. Involving the stake holders in the problem solving process

All the stake holders play a crucial role in a problem solving process. The stake holders define how the problem is framed and how it is solved and also how the solutions are implemented. It is very important, therefore, to involve as many stake holders as possible in the solution stage of the problem solving process. It improves the efficiencey of the whole process if someone who needs to be part of implementation stage is also involved in the planning stage. Thus if the employees are supposed to be involved in the implementation of a solution, they better have inputs in the planning stage of the problem too. This is completely contrary to what happened in the case of Global Communications.

4. Communication

Communication is very important for the success of a company вЂ" any company. If there is a breach in communication or lack of communication at any level in an organization, it can be disastrous. Communications breakdown can lead to chaotic situations where no one knows awhat or how to do. Therefore, it is very important for a good an efficient communication be maintained throughout the organization at all levels.

Generic Benchmarking: Companies

1. Union-Management Relationship

International Specialty Products Corp. (ISP)

ISP was facing problems similar to the Global Communications. According to general site manager Frank Stevens, they were up against poor quality, rocketing costs and low morale among other problems (Jusko, 2003). They could have looked at the employees as problem and taken drastic steps but instead they chose to involve and engage in a relationship with the union that defied the usual adversarial nature. They started something called High Performance Work Organizations (HPWO) partnership with the union and laid the base for a long lasting and solid relationship. The partnership is an agreement which according to Jusko “promotes shared decision-making as the means to help a business grow and flourish.” Thus they brought about a complete turn around and its manufacturing performances over a short period of three years between 1998 and 2001 showed significant improvements. Its cost savings and increased profits related to team based continuous improvement increased from $1.42 million to $5.83 million (Jusko, 2003).

Global Communications (GC) on the other hand, did not include the union and its employees in the decision making process and did not even show the courtesy of informing the union of the decision before they found out from unofficial sources. This could cost GC a great deal of time and efforts as the union will offer a more resistance to the decision of outsourcing and laying off its member workers. This situation could have been avoided if the union was involved in the decision making process and thus was made part of the solution. In that way, it would have been