Problem Solution:Global Communications

Running head: PROBLEM SOLUTION: GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Problem Solution: Global Communications

Michael Draper

University of Phoenix

Problem Solution: Global Communications

Global Communications (GC), a telecommunications company, has had some trouble of late. With many more competitors entering the marketplace and profits dwindling, it has become necessary for the leadership at GC to come up with a strategy to take the company global and become an industry leader. Senior management's recent actions have created hostilities among many of the stakeholder groups.

This paper will describe the events that have taken place thus far, give the reader a clear understanding of who the stakeholders are, and discuss what opportunities exist for GC. The company will have to implement some new strategies if they are to realize their goals. This paper will explore those strategies and build on them, identify risks, and ultimately lay out an optimal solution for GC to implement. The internal and external pressures that GC faces will be discussed.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

GC has been through several events that have led to their current situation. With GC stock depreciating more than 50 percent over the last three years it is no wonder that investors are concerned about the company's ability to rebound. There is increased competition coming from local, long-distance and international companies. The senior management team at GC took a proposal to the board without "brainstorming" with key stakeholders, namely the employees and the labor union (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 2002, Chap. 19). GC leadership has already reduced educational and health benefits and now proposes to cut jobs and salaries. This proposal has created "dysfunctional conflict" among the employees, the labor union, and senior management (Kreitner & Kinick, 2004, Chap. 14). With the public announcement of its outsourcing plan, GC has contradicted its philosophy: "Our edge is people." GC also faces the real possibility of legal or governmental intervention as a result of the contractual disputes with the labor union. With this combination of events, GC has not yet realized the opportunities that are present. The outcomes of these opportunities that will exist for GC will affect all of the key stakeholders. Understanding the interests of the various stakeholder groups will give the reader a more complete view of the situation that GC faces.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

There are five main groups of stakeholders in the GC scenario. The stockholders are a group of people that are concerned about the past three years of stock depreciation. Stockholders demand that GC take action that will ensure the growth of the company so the stock will appreciate. The management team at GC also wants to take steps to ensure the viability and growth of the company, but they must also be mindful of employee relations and the political dealings with the labor union. The difficult changes occurring within the company are threatening the employees' job security and producing low morale; the balance between work and personal life has been challenging to maintain with the recent benefit reductions. It is in the labor union's best interest to keep employees at GC and help negotiate on their behalf. The union would like to see more employees hired at GC, just not in another country which results in the loss of union jobs in the states. The customers can be divided into two groups. There are the small business customers and the consumer, or residential, customers. Both groups have similar interests. Customers want a variety of products with many options. Customers demand reliable, consistent service at a competitive price. All of these stakeholders have an interest in GC realizing its goal of becoming an industry leader and a global resource, but each group also has conflicting interests with one or more of the other groups.

It is important to understand that there are two types of conflict that can be present in a situation. There is functional conflict, which benefits the company, and dysfunctional conflict, which destroy a company (Kreitner & Kinick, 2004, Chap. 14). The conflicts that exist among the different stakeholder groups have been primarily dysfunctional up to this point. The customers want great service and a full product line regardless of how the stock is performing. Senior management wants the growth of the company to be the primary focus while the labor union wants the employees to be the focus. The employees want to keep their jobs and receive the most pay and benefits possible, even if that means that the stockholders don't make a profit. The stockholders care about the financial bottom line, not the psychological issues caused by job loss from outsourcing. These conflicting beliefs among stakeholders have created ethical dilemmas that must be addressed if this situation is going to have a successful outcome for all stakeholders. What responsibility does senior management have to their existing employees? How far does leadership go in order to make a profit? Should the employees that don't get laid off take the pay cut and relocate, simply for the company's best interest? We must clearly define what opportunities GC can realize if we are to find a solution.

Problem Statement

Global Communications will be a competitive industry leader and a global resource by developing new services and organizational practices that are employee focused. Now that the problem is clearly defined and the opportunities that GC can realize have been described, an ideal future for GC can be envisioned and attained.

End-State Vision

GC will become an industry leader and a global resource. Employees will be part of the decision-making process and will be loyal to the company through affective commitment to the organization (McShane & Glinow, 2005, Chap. 4). By focusing attention toward its employees through changed organizational practices all stakeholder groups will be affected positively. Partnerships formed with other industry leaders will allow GC to offer a comprehensive product line, which will result in the globalization of the company; this globalization will positively impact all