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Gap Analysis: Global Communications

Global Communications has, in the past, been a large player in the telecommunications industry. Today Global Communications faces challenges from an over saturated market and new services to consumers. It must find a way to restore its place as an industry leader and raise the declining stock price. To do this Global will employ cost cutting strategies not seen in the industry before which will also lead to new challenges. Challenges to ethical questions, resources and the ability to adapt to an international market.(4)

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

Evolution and change are constants in any industry. Telecommunications is no exception, it seems that telecommunications has to change, evolve and adapt as quickly as any other industry. Global Communications is currently in a market that requires change in order for it to survive the aggressive competition and the variety of services that are being offered by other companies within the industry.

Global Communications senior leadership has developed a plan to combat its declining stock price and make Global an industry leader. Global's plans include layoffs at North American call centers and new international call centers that reduce average cost per call by 40%. Global has also created alliances with strategic partners to expand the services that they offer. These plans will make Global an industry leader on a global scale and set a new standard for others to follow when considering international employment as a cost cutting tool.

These opportunities will also challenge Global's ability manage conflict and negotiations.(3) Managing communications barriers between the company's new international teams, deal with the ethical dilemma that they will face when restructuring and layoff employees. These issues and opportunities are critical when considering whether Global will succeed. If Global can effectively execute will set a new standard in the industry but if it can not use problem solving techniques: using tools, processes, and creative approaches it will not survive.(2) Global has obligations to share holders, employees, business partners and ethical standards of practice. (3)

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

Global has set a plan in place for grow and cost cutting, in order to do this employees of one of it's North American call centers will lose their jobs due to the new international call centers. Some may be asked to stay but will do so at a pay decrease that would follow a decrease in benefits, recently agreed to by the workers union before they were aware of the layoffs. Global must also consider the ramifications that moving their call centers, to cheaper international locations, may have on the industry in terms of setting a new standards that would affect the U.S market.

Global employees as a whole must see that these changes are necessary in order for Global to continue to operate but many may not see the benefit, particularly those that are slated to lose their jobs. Employees may see this as a sign that Global is losing its employee focused environment to one of numbers first at any cost, even if this means backing out of union contract and sending hundreds of jobs overseas. This may hurt moral and ultimately productivity. The workers union sees the changes as just that and is in direct conflict with the direction Global has chosen to take.

The leadership at Global must play a very delicate balancing game between employees and shareholders. The goal is for Global to be a profitable company for its share holders but it must do this at a cost that is not too costly to its employees. Employees are what make up Global and if the changes it intents to make hurt employee moral and possibly even consumer perception of Global it may not succeed do to lack of support. Global must consider its ethical responsibility to those employees that will lose their jobs by evaluating compensation packages for employees, to ease employee and consumer tensions. In line with protecting its image Global faces the challenge of dealing with an opposing workers union and the challenge of being one of the first in an industry to move hundreds of jobs over seas.(3)

Shareholders have a very simple interest and that is profit. Short term losses for longterm gain are acceptable. Shareholders must remember their obligations to employees, communities and the industry when they pursue profits.

End-State Vision

Global will become and international player in the telecommunications industry by implementing innovative ways of expanding its current product line and cutting operational costs. These innovations will lead Global to the top of the industry and in doing so Global will be able to rewards its employees and consumers. Global's success will lead to more jobs, better benefits and opportunities for existing employees, which will give global management the tools needed to succeed in an international market.(4)

Gap Analysis

In order for Global Communications to successfully pull through its plan of international leadership it must deal with the challenges set from by these new ideas. First global must deal with the loss of the employees in North America. The layoff will no doubt hurt the company image and employee moral, to counter this Global should closely consider severance packages that compensate employees enough to alleviate some of the stress to losing there jobs. They must also clearly define that without these changes and unfortunately, loss of their colleagues they all may loss their jobs because without these changes Global will no longer be able to keep up with the competition. Global must strike a deal with the workers union to ease opposition and better company moral. This may include promise of replacing jobs when Global has reached a specific end point or the improvement of benefits for those employees staying. Although, difficult to speculate what will ultimately come of a compromise talks need to restored with Global leading the way.(3)

Global has been successful in the past in the U.S. market but now faces the tasks of becoming an international company. Training for current and future employees on communicating within an international, cross cultural work environment will be a key to the transition. Global will also be asking its staff to use new and creative approaches to solving problems.