Global Communications Gap Analysis

Gap Analysis: Global Communications

Global Communications is a company that was losing value and competitiveness in the marketplace. In an attempt to save itself the management team has devised a plan to cut operating costs by 40% and to increase product offerings to its customers. This plan involved outsourcing some of the call center labor to India and Ireland. The employees whom were to be outsourced were members of the Technologies Workers Union. When confronted with the plan to outsource labor the union was vehemently opposed to the plan which instigated the conflict between the union and the Global Communications management team.

There were a number of things that could have been done to minimize the impact of the new strategy plan such as maintaining better communication, managing risk, planning for contingencies, and being more skilled at conflict negotiation. It is also noted that the difference in ideology between the two parties made it very difficult to find an amicable solution which benefited both parties equally.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

When putting together the new strategy plan the Global Communications management team did not analyze the complete situation and failed to account for major areas of concern. The first area of opportunity is risk analysis. "Risk is the degree of uncertainty about the outcome of a management decision. The risk of both positive and negative outcomes must be managed." (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 2002) The management team never thought of how the union would react to the loss of jobs. Numerous examples of outsourcing and labor union conflicts have occurred ranging from the automotive industry to the information technology and computer industry and those examples show that care should be taken to analyze the risk involved. Once the risk is understood the management team should create a contingency plan, which allows for "alternative courses of action that can be implemented based on how the future unfolds." (Bateman & Snell, 2003) In almost every situation there are issues that arise that have not been considered or completely understood, but with a good contingency plan in place those issues are no longer a problem. Since the Global Communications management team did not analyze the risk and did not have a contingency plan they have the opportunity to improve their conflict management skills. Since the new strategy plan involved outsourcing union jobs it was easy to see that the union would not easily buy into the new plan. The management team has stated "That is not possible" (UoP Scenario - MBA500, Global Communications) to the idea of changing the strategic plan, and the union has said "You need to reconsider your strategy, especially the outsourcing" (UoP Scenario - MBA500, Global Communications) which leads to the need for conflict management. Sometimes "third party interventions are necessary when conflicting parties and unwilling or unable to engage in conflict resolution". (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004) Global Communications is not the only party involved with an issue and opportunity, the union can improve their integrative negotiation skills. Before the situation reaches an impasse there is an opportunity to find a "win-win" (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004) solution. Both parties have opportunities for improvement and the prospect of improving their relationship.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

There are two main stakeholders involved, Global Communications, and the Technologies Workers Union. Global Communications, as a unified front, is interested in maximizing its profits and technical abilities, while lowering the costs of doing business. The union is interested in maintaining employment, and maximizing benefits, for the union members. While both parties are able to see the opposite perspective and would like to see everyone get what they want, the parties are responsible to their own stakeholders and are bound to uphold their own perspectives first. The ethical dilemmas are the source of conflict between the two entities. When defining the new strategy plan the management team at Global Communications may not see the outsourcing as an ethical dilemma because "Rarely do decisions come with waving red flags that say, "Hey, I'm an ethical issue. Think about me in moral terms!"" (Trevino & Brown, 2004) When defining the new strategy plan the Global Communications management team needs to analyze their group ethics as well as their individual ethics. Since the management team hails from varied environments it is safe to say they have differing values and beliefs. They must take care to present a unified front with one set of ethics and values. It has been shown that when they do not have unified fronts that "Organizations that do not have a heritage of mutually accepted, shared values tend to become unhinged during stress, with each individual bailing out for himself or herself." (McCoy, 1997) There is also an ethical responsibility for the union to help the company become profitable. If the union members are only concerned about themselves there may not be a company to employee them in the future.

End-State Vision

Global Communications is trying to become a global leader in the communications industry while increasing the value of its stock. They will need accurate and timely information so that the management team can become more skilled at managing risk, negotiation and maximizing profits. It is also very important for improved communication to exist between the Global Communications management team and the union leadership. Unity and peace between the union and the management team is also a big priority and common goals along with path to the future need to be defined. It is important for all parties involved to remember that "redefining the direction of one's own life and the direction of one's work group requires a thoughtful blend of personal introspection and calculated action. But the men and women charged with running entire companies sometimes face an even more complex type of defining moment. They are asked to make manifest their understanding of what is right on a large stage - one that can include labor unions, the media, shareholders, and many other company stakeholders." (Badaracco, 1998) The