Global Communications Gap

Global Communications GAP Analysis

Profitability for telecommunication companies has gotten very difficult as competition increased. The need for creative solutions to problems has become a must for companies to break free from the trend of decreasing stock prices. Global Communications (GC) is no exception to the hard times facing the telecom industry. This paper looks at the current problems for GC, the opportunities facing them to eliminate the problems, and finally the end-state goals of the company.

Increased competition is a major concern for everyone in the telecommunication industry. Company mergers and acquisitions have created bundled communication products that combine local, long-distance, and international calling markets into one bill for the consumer. This new product suite pushed many companies into competition for the same customer base in major metropolitan areas. To make matters worse, cable and cellular companies have stepped into the same market to offer one stop communication packages for consumers. These packages include broadband internet, free local and long distance calling, and cellular service for a low monthly fee. GC must look for an alternative product line to increase the company's value for small to medium sized businesses.

Two opportunities are in the works for GC that would help the company become more profitable and increase the company's global market share. The first opportunity is the introduction of new services that will allow GC to compete with local telephone and cable companies. The new services will include a partnership with a satellite provider that will allow the customer internet access along with wireless telephone access.

Secondly, the company has decided to outsource call centers to India and Ireland as a method of cost-cutting measures to further help the company realize profits. By outsourcing the call centers to these countries, the company can gain cheap labor that is already trained in the areas needing more detail. The outsourcing also opens up the door of global markets in the locations the call centers open. GC will become a household name in areas of India and Ireland where the company can tap into new markets with the telecommunication suites.

With these opportunities come conflicts with the Union. One of those problems was created by the unwillingness to involve the Technology Workers Union in the decision to outsource some of the technical call centers to India and Ireland. The Senior Leadership Team created an extreme conflict by not involving the Union in any aspect of outsourcing the call centers. In recent bargaining agreements the Union has given up 20% of the education and health benefits for long-term success of GC. Now with the Union being blindsided with potential layoffs from the outsourcing the leadership team has created no room for negotiations from the Union. The Union refuses to work with the team on making the move a success.

This conflict with the Union is due to distributive negotiations on the part of the Senior Leadership team. "A distributive negotiation usually involves a single issue--a 'fixed pie' -in which one person gains at the expense of the other" (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2003). By outsourcing the calls to India or Ireland, the only side gaining in the negotiation is GC. The Union stands to gain nothing by agreeing to this deal. Anyway one looks at this conflict it will be a win-lose situation for the Union.

Next the decision not to include the Union with the outsourcing also questioned GC's philosophy "Our Edge Is People". Outsourcing jobs to other countries will force the company to layoff many employees. This move shows the companies lack of commitment to job security and loyalty to its workers. GC is sending the message to current and future employees stating job security and satisfaction are not the main concerns inside the minds of executives. Increased profitability regardless of the repercussions on employees or the community is what matters most to the organization.

Although these problems raise specific concerns for both parties, there is truly only one main problem for GC. GC needs