Global Communications: Gap Analysis

Running head: GAP ANALYSIS: GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Gap Analysis: Global Communications

University of Phoenix

February 26, 2007

Gap Analysis: Global Communications

Global Communications is a telecommunications company that was once an industry leader. Other companies have made adjustments to drop Global Communications to the middle of the pack. Now it is their time to make necessary changes to remain profitable and competitive. They are introducing new products and services to reach a global customer base. Global Communications also wants to outsource its' technical call centers to Ireland and India. Outsourcing will lead to a reduction in costs and more expertise in technical support. The biggest challenge facing Global Communications is the care and concern of their current employees, who will most likely lose their jobs.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

Global Communications realizes that the telecommunications industry is changing rapidly. They need to adapt to the current form of business; or else they will be out of business. Their competition is adapting by creating new products and services for a newfound customer base that spans around the world. Global Communications has seen their stock price fall nearly 17 dollars over the past three years due to increased competition. The time to make drastic changes has arrived, even though some of them will not be popular.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

The biggest conflict in this scenario is the realistic massive layoffs that are forthcoming. Employee morale and productivity will drastically decline when they find out they are losing their jobs to foreigners. These are the same loyal employees who have worked hard to make Global Communications successful today. But, the ethical dilemma is that Global Communications cannot survive unless these changes are made. However, they do have a social responsibility to these future unemployed workers. It is highly immoral to just release these people and be done with them.

End-State Vision

In the future, Global Communications recaptured their previous title of "industry leader." They see their stock climbing back to the $28 level. Outsourcing is saving a tremendous amount of money, and the company is profitable and competitive once again. And the union issues eventually were somewhat resolved. Nearly half of the employees took a transfer, while another good portion took an early retirement option. Of course, there are still some former employees who will be forever disgruntled towards Global Communications.

Gap Analysis

There is a huge gap facing Global Communications presently, as there would be for any company looking to make wholesale changes. The biggest area of concern is what to do with the current employees. Massive layoffs would lead to a public relations nightmare. Another situation in the gap is the introduction of new services and products to a global customer base. To help with the transition, Global Communications has partnered with a satellite provider and a wireless provider.

The main goal of Global Communications is to become competitive and profitable again. They have decided to outsource their customer call centers to Ireland and India because it is cheaper to do so and those countries provide more technical expertise. Smart decision-makers know that outsourcing is an indispensable business tool to not only reduce cost, but to drive business value into their enterprises (Accenture outsourcing services). To get where Global Communications wants to be, they will have to significantly downsize their domestic call centers, thus putting many employees out of jobs. This will set a major precedent for the whole industry.

Global Communications will need to create a new set of values that reflects today's realities. They need to inform their employees that the telecommunications industry is changing and is more competitive. If these employees can somehow stick with the company, Global Communications believes that everyone will be better off in the future. But, with a pay cut looming and a recent reduction in health benefits, many employees may lose faith and trust in Global Communications.

Conclusion

Global Communications realizes that the telecommunications industry has changed, and they need to make changes in order to remain competitive and profitable. The biggest change they want to make is outsourcing their call centers to India and Ireland because it is cheaper and the technical support is more advanced. But Global Communications still has to deal with their current domestic employees. They want to move some of these employees into other areas of the company. The remaining employees will be laid off. Global Communications has an ethical dilemma that needs some sort of resolution.

References

Accenture outsourcing services: Application outsourcing, infrastructure outsourcing and

business process outsourcing. Retrieved February 21, 2007, from

http://www.accenture.org/Global/Services/By_Subject/Outsourcing.htm

Gomez-Mejia, L. & Balkin, D (2002). Management. New York: The McGraw-Hill

Companies.

Gunther, Robert E., Hoch, Stephen J., & Kunreuther, Howard C (2001). Wharton on making

decisions. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Kinicki, Angelo & Kreitner, Robert (2004). Organizational behavior: Managing conflict and

negotiation. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies

Trevino, L.K. & Brown, M.E. (2004, May). Managing to be ethical: Debunking five business

ethics myths. Academy of Management Executive, 18(2), 69. Retrieved February 20,

2007, from EBSCO database.

Table 1

Issue and Opportunity Identification