Global Communications is doing business in an industry that has seen increased competition and finding it hard to remain profitable in the communications industry. The company must find creative ideas to separate them from the competition. The company must improve profitability by cutting costs and plan strategically to become a global resource and be able to offer comparable or better services than the cable companies who have entered the telecommunications arena. This paper will demonstrate the problems that Global Communications is facing along with the issues and opportunities. The paper will establish alternatives and arrive at an optimal solution by using the decision-making model and problem-solving skills. The paper will also show how the company will implement their plans and how progress will be evaluated and what needs to be altered to make the company successful.
Issues and Opportunities Identification
Global Communications stock have taken a nose dive over the past three years and the company must provide new services and find innovative ways to attract new customers in the global market. The company must communicate more efficiently with the union so that conflict does not become a major factor in negotiations. The company must use organizational commitment as a tool to identify employees they know are committed to the mission and goals of the organization and are still loyal to the company during the transitional period (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). Being able to retain loyal employees in the midst of enormous cutbacks will also be a challenge for the company. The company will need key employees to help the business transition into new markets and prosper so that the company stock will increase in value in the long term.
Global Communications will also be able to use the alliance with satellite and wireless providers to gain a significant share of the global market. The company will use strategic negotiation strategies that will create a win-win situation for everyone involved. Global Communications has the opportunity to become the leader in the telecommunications industry.
Table 1
Issues and Opportunity Identification
Issue Opportunity Reference to Specific Course Concept (Include citation) Concept
Global Communications failed to involve the union in the negotiations for cutting jobs. The company will need to retain top talent during the transitional phase of the company rebuilding.
This is an opportunity for Global Communications to meet with the union and discuss who will be affected by the job cuts and how this will benefit the employees and the union.
Global Communications should be looking for organizational commitment from employees who are loyal to the company and their coworkers to know who will be willing to stay long term and not quit after finding a new job because they are insecure in current job (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005).
Emotional Intelligence
Global Communications will need to retain dedicated and qualified employees through the rebuilding process. The company will need to communicate the 10% pay cut but emphasize the 15% retention bonus and also be truthful about future events The company will need to use effective communication so that issues and decisions are not heard through the grapevine that can start rumors (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005).
Communication
The competition is fierce in the telecommunication market and Global Communications has created an alliance with a satellite provider and partnered with a wireless provider. The partnership will allow Global to compete in local markets and offer the same services as competitors with better pricing. The company will need to negotiate contracts and pricing packages that will benefit the customer and the company to create a win-win situation for all parties (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004). Integrative Negotiation
Table 2
Stakeholder Perspectives
Stakeholder Perspectives
Stakeholder Groups
The Interests, Rights, and
Values of Each Group
The stockholders of the company The stockholders want the company to increase stock value and become more profitable. The stockholders want to see Global Communications become a major player in telecommunications. The values of the stockholders are to make a profit and also keep the integrity of the company. Accountability is also important to the stockholders.
The employees of the company The employees are loyal and committed to the company, which was demonstrated when they gave up 20% of health and education benefits to help the company. The employees also want to receive fair compensation and retain job satisfaction and want top management to be honest about the longevity of the company
The customers
The customers of Global Communications are looking to have more services at a value price. The customer would also like to see quality service and do business with a company that is socially responsible.
The Union The union has the interest of negotiating employee contracts that include medical benefits, raises, working conditions, and other benefits. The values the union must adhere to are accountability and fairness to make sure that the negotiations are a win situation for the employees and that everyone is treated fairly.
Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas
The stakeholders are the stockholders, employees, customers, and union who are all very unhappy with the way business is going at Global Communications. The stockholders have the interest of wanting to see a return on their investment in the company. The stockholders will not want to invest more money in a business that is on the verge of bankruptcy. Global Communications has to be accountable to the stockholders and regain their trust and the only way this can happen is for the company to generate a profit. The employees believe that they were not informed of the recent changes and believe they were not treated fairly or given the respect they deserve. Global Communications will have to restore job satisfaction to eliminate the emotional dissonance that has erupted as a result of job layoffs and cutbacks (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). The customers are important stakeholders whom are concerned with recent events and believe they will not receive quality service and will receive price increases for services. Global Communications should focus on customer loyalty and upholding the integrity of the organization.
Problem Statement
Global Communications will restructure the organization and increase market value by expanding into the global market by honing decision-making skills and using effective communication methods
End-State Vision
Global Communications will become the global market leader in telecommunications by introducing new technologies and working to meet the needs of the stakeholders.
Alternative Solutions
Global Communications has performed generic benchmarking to evaluate what other companies that have saw their stock values decrease have done to bring stock values back up. Many of the companies looked at during the benchmarking experienced global problems that could have put the business in bankruptcy but used the negativity to the advantage of the company. Many of the companies had to deal with ethical dilemmas and decided to put the customer before profits. Global Communications has looked at the organizational practices of businesses in various industries and will begin applying these practices in the company restructuring (University of Phoenix, 2009).
Johnson and Johnson is one of the world’s largest health care companies and the company has managed to earn a return on capital making it the fifth most valuable company in the Fortune 500 (Colvin & Shambora, 2009).
The company has experienced its share of issues and problems that could have destroyed the business. In 1982, three people in the Chicago area died from cyanide poisoning found in Tylenol capsules. Tylenol is a pain reliever and at the time was Johnson and Johnson’s largest brand. The company had to make some tough ethical business decisions that involved the company’s reputation and the safety of the public because the company did not know the source of the contamination.
Johnson and Johnson’s decisions would affect the stakeholders because recalling the product from shelves would cause the company to lose up to $100 million. The company immediately communicated via the media to the public not to consume any Tylenol product until the company could determine what happened. The company pulled the product from every shelf and showed that the company cared more for the safety of the public rather than the profits the company would lose from the recall. The company turned a potential nightmare into a marketing strategy by introducing their new triple safety seal packaging during a news conference.
The company put ethics before profits, which is one of the reasons the public has put trust in the Johnson and Johnson brand over the years. The company could have easily put the incident aside and focused on other company products but decided to face the problem head on and follow the company’s credo and believe in the business principles that are written.
Kmart is another corporation that has restructured the business by shutting underperforming stores and merging with Sears to regain the position of the number two discount retailer behind Wal-Mart. Kmart has emerged from bankruptcy to become a success story. The company took a hard look at the way the business was being managed and made changes in upper management. The company also changed the look and atmosphere of stores to reflect today’s shopper.
Table 3
Analysis of Alternative Solutions
Analysis of Alternative Solutions
The first alternative was for Global Communications to offer value pricing for packaged services. The rating for this alternative was a five because customers are always looking for value prices. The company could have various packages that will fit any budget. The company will see a growth in revenue because the company will attract new business because people like to believe that they can get a bargain for their money. Boosting employee morale was the second alternative and given a rating of five because if the employees are not happy then the business will suffer. The company needs to improve positive affectivity in the employees (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). The company can create programs that will extrinsically motivate employees. Offering rewards for a job well done improves job satisfaction and builds organizational commitment (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). Receiving feedback from employees on decisions is the third alternative and rated four because allowing employees to give their opinions on decisions will show them that the company cares what they think and value their opinions. The company must also communicate better with the union and employees about decisions that will affect their job security. The final alternative was to develop an aggressive marketing strategy with a rating of five. Successfully marketing the products and services of Global Communications will allow the company to attract new customers and retain the loyal customers the company has. The company must aggressively let the customers know that it can provide the services they want and need for home and business.
Table 4
Risk Assessment and Mitigation Techniques
Risk Assessment and Mitigation Techniques
Alternative Solution Risks and Probability Consequence and Severity Mitigation Techniques
Packaged Services • Cable provider offer same service
• Risky partnership • high
• medium • Offer lower price
• Maintain good working relationship
Aggressive Marketing Plan • Targeting the right customer
• Meeting customer needs
• high
• medium • The marking plan has to target right market
• The customer needs have to be met or plan will fail
Feedback from employees • Effective communication
• Listening to employee ideas
• high
• low • Not communicating effectively could hinder progress
• Ignoring employee ideas will lose employee loyalty
Risk Assessment and Mitigation Techniques
Global Communications will be providing packaged services at an affordable price for customers. The company is operating under conditions of uncertainty because they are not sure that the packaged services will produce the results they expect (Bateman & Snell, 2004). Global Communications will be providing a service the customer wants but the risk is that the cable providers could offer a similar or the same service at a lower cost. The alliance that Global Communications has formed with the satellite and wireless providers could be in jeopardy if the organizations do not all have the same vision. The businesses must have the same goal in mind and everyone must be on the same agenda for the partnership to succeed. It will be important for Global Communications and the satellite providers to build strong relationships for future negotiations that will create a win-win situation for all parties involved (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004).
The marketing strategy of Global Communications needs to be aggressive but the company has to take into consideration the target market. It may be necessary for the company to have different marketing ads for different countries. The ads will have to address the needs of the customer as well as the needs of Global Communications. The company will have to spend their advertisement dollars wisely to reap the rewards and benefits.
Communicating to the employee and receiving feedback are also very important because communication is the key to success. The company has to rebuild trust with the employees and communicating what is going on in the business will allow the employees to offer their feedback on issues. Communicating will also alleviate the element of surprise if cutbacks have to occur in the future because the employees are aware of the financial situation of the company.
Optimal Solution
Global Communications has to go through a restructuring of the business to position the company to enter the global market. The company must make changes in the decision-making process by taking the time and not making hasty decisions because time pressures can result in the failure of making a well thought decision (Bateman & Snell, 2004). The company has recruited Katrina Heinz from a European global provider to help with moving some of the call centers to India and Ireland. Initially, the move will reduce costs to the company by 40%. The company will have access to high skilled employees for lower pay. The company can soften the blow of layoffs to United States workers by communicating the plans and not letting the employees feel like they are just a number to the company. The company should offer training so that employees can transition into other positions with the company or make finding another job easier. The company also does not want to look bad in the eyes of the public by portraying the company as just another business that cares more for the bottom line than people.
Global Communications has to compete with cable providers who are offering Internet, cable, and phone service at reasonable prices. Global Communications has a strategic plan to compete with the competition. The company has formed an alliance with a satellite provider and wireless provider to offer the same services to residential customers and businesses. The alliance partnership will be the chance for Global to improve and learn new technology so that the company will be able to have an advantage over the competition. The company must also be in a position to offer a lower price than competitors on products and services. The outsourcing of jobs to India and Ireland should also attract new customers for the company. The company must let customers know that the company is here for the long term and can meet their needs and demands.
The company will need to ease the minds of employees who did not get cut during the restructuring. The employees need to know that the company is financially stable although the stock has lost over 50% of its value in the past three years. The company will need to have the employees focus on the growth strategy and not worry about job security.
The company can also look at the success of businesses like JetBlue and Lucent Technologies that saw their stock prices plunge and within a few years the company stock had gained back over 70% of the original value. These organizations took a hard look at what wasn’t working and used determination to restore employee’s faith and reinvent their corporate image.
Table 5
Optimal Solution Implementation Plan
Deliverable Timeline Who is Responsible
Marketing Plans 12 months Sy Rodriguez and Nancy Everhardt
Finalize Partnership Alliances 12 months Katrina Heinz
Job Cuts 6 months Joel Thompson and Maria Antez
Implementation plan 6 months Entire Management Team
Implementation Plan
Global Communications must begin the implementation plan and set and follow timelines and delegate tasks to the appropriate personnel. The company must first notify the employees of upcoming layoffs. Joel Thompson/Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Public Relations and Maria Antez/Vice President of the Technologies Workers Union must meet to discuss severance packages for the workers who will lose their jobs. The company can also offer displacement services to employees. The layoffs will have a negative impact on the company’s remaining employees so it is important that the company put perks programs in place to boost low employee morale. The employees should be given six months notice before terminating employment and severance pay will be based on years of service to the company. The company needs to compile a generous package to demonstrate appreciation for the employee’s hard work over the years.
The company should have the contracts assembled and signed by the satellite and wireless providers so that everyone is ready to conduct business. Katrina Heinz has to work with a team to decide which US call centers will be closed. The company should also sell the real estate of the centers being closed and use this money for moving expenses. The company will need to have partnerships in place and real estate on the market within 12 months.
Sy Rodriguez and Nancy Everhardt should prepare an aggressive marketing campaign and contract with a well-known respected celebrity to shoot ad campaigns for the company. This will be displaying a trusted individual to the public who will let the customers know about the new alliance and the affordability of services. The company should have a limited introductory offer for new customers who sign up with Global Communications for Internet, telephone, and cable services. The company should also offer discounts to current customers. The company will also gain hundreds of new customers when the call centers are up and running in India and Ireland. The marketing strategy should be complete within 12 months because the company does not want to continue to see a decline in stock values.
Table 6
Evaluation of Results
End-State Goals Metrics Target
Provide customers with packaged services at a competitive rate Increase of customers 10% increase per quarter
Ease employee job and wage concerns Job satisfaction and employee retention Within 18 months
Increase company stock value New business and partnerships With 2 years
Evaluation of Results
Global Communications can measure the organization’s success by evaluating the competitive price packages for bundled services the company will begin to offer. The success of the new call centers in India and Ireland. The new customers the company will gain by going global. The company can also measure success because the morale of the employees are boosted resulting in job satisfaction and the retention of qualified skilled workers. The company can measure success by looking at the stock price increase within two years because the company applied organizational practices and principles and followed a code of ethics.
Conclusion
Global Communications will become competitive by introducing new services and products to businesses that will enable the company to increase the price of the stock. The company will realize the opportunities available that will benefit the business and better sustain itself with the new call centers in India and Ireland. The company will realize that making changes and restructuring the business is the only way to remain competitive in a global market. The company can also achieve the end state goals by following the implementation plan and using the decision-making model to make decisions which are best for the company. Global Communications will need to solve the problems and focus on the issues that will turn into opportunities by working together with management, union, the employees, and business partners. The company must be put in a position to promote long-term growth.
References
Bateman, T.S., & Snell, S. (2004). Management: The new competitive landscape, (6th ed). [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved December 21, 2009, from University of Phoenix, MMPBL500 course website.
Colvin, G., & Shambora, J. (2009). J&J: Secrets of success. Fortune, 159(9), 116. Retrieved January 26, 2010, from MasterFILE Premier database.
Gomez-Mejia, L.R., & Balkin, D.B. (2002). Management, 1e. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved December 21, 2009, from University of Phoenix, MMPBL500 course website.
Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2004). Organizational behavior, (6th ed.). [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Retrieved January 14, 2010, from University of Phoenix, MMPBL500 course website.
McShane, S.L., & Von Glinow, M.A. (2004). Organizational behavior: Emerging realities for the workplace revolution (3rd ed.). [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Retrieved January 14, 2010, from University of Phoenix, MMPBL500 course website.
University of Phoenix. (2009). Week two overview. Retrieved January 6, 2010, from University of Phoenix, Week Two, rEsource. MMPBL500 course website.