Gap Analysis: Global Communications

Running head: GAP ANALYSIS: GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Gap Analysis: Global Communications

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University of Phoenix

Gap Analysis: Global Communications

Global Communications is a telecommunications company facing a changing market and increased competition. The leadership team has come up with a plan to outsource some call centers to other countries and create an alliance with a satellite company to provide additional services to their customers.

In order to compete in the international market, Global must cut costs by outsourcing, however their employees belong to a trade union. This creates a problem in that Global has not included the union in their discussions. This could have legal ramifications as well as create morale issues within the company. The leadership team must communicate these changes to the employees and public in a positive manner to avoid negative publicity and the loss of valued employees.

Global management needs to identify the issues that need resolving and systematically put a plan together to eliminate the risks associated with their current proposal. After evaluating the solutions and looking forward, Global needs to stay focused on maintaining their position in the future once it is achieved. The following gap analysis will cover the issues, opportunities, gap, and end vision ideas that should make this change a success.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

The events that led to the changes Global Communications are making came about with the shift in technology and the competition within the telecommunications industry. With companies able to compete globally, there is too much competition within the industry from other telecommunications companies as well as cable companies who can offer all the same services. With increased companies offering a wide range of services, Global is forced to cut costs in order to compete effectively and increase profitability. To this end, Global Communications senior management has come up with an approach to outsource some of their call centers to India and Ireland and expand new services to small business and consumer customers. Global also joined with a satellite provider to offer video services and a satellite version of broadband. This will mean job cuts and a reduction in salary for employees who remain and are relocated. The plan was accepted quickly and now management is under the gun to communicate the changes effectively to the employees without risking a morale problem that could affect productivity. Also, since the employees belong to a trade union and the union was not involved in the process of negotiating these changes, Global has to consider the legal and public relation implications of not fulfilling their contractual obligation to the trade union. By communicating effectively, offering retention packages, and being proactive about checking into the legal ramifications, Global Communications can avoid some of the pitfalls of their decision.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

The interests between the senior leadership team and the union and the employees are all at odds. The managers' top interests are in profitability and globalization while the top interest of the employees and the union is security. This implies that the leadership team would have to consider the jobs of the employees before their profit margin when making organizational changes and this would not be prudent for them. Meanwhile, the union interest also lies within those contractual obligations, which they believe should be upheld regardless of the state of the company. And finally, the employees' interests lie with security of their jobs, honest communication and fair and equitable compensation for work performed. All three of these interests are at stake in the situation Global Communications is in since they did not communicate their potential changes to the employees which will include layoffs, and the positions that relocated will have pay cuts.

The trade union has the right to be involved in the negotiation process when major changes are made to the company and its employees while the company has the right to make changes to coincide with market competition. This is at odds because again the bottom line for the company is to make money and those profits would be reduced if their plan had to be approved by the union first. The employees right is to have honest communication from their managers, however, if they are made aware of these changes too early, it could result in a loss of employees that are crucial to the success of Global Communications.

The management team values leadership while the union and the employees value respect commitment and integrity. In this situation, the leadership as handled by the Global team has not shown commitment and integrity to the employees, as they would like to see it exhibited but rather to be committed to profitability.

End-State Vision

Global Communications becomes the leader in telecommunications delivery on a global front by retaining the most talented employees with handsome retention packages, thereby increasing trust in the company and it's employees. The union negotiates a fair compensation settlement for employees who lose their jobs and the company officials are able to communicate the proposed plan in a way that minimizes negative publicity. Global then takes profits gained over the next 3 years and invests them in technology and benchmarking studies to stay on top of the market trends.

Gap Analysis

Global Communications is not a leader in the telecommunications industry because they cannot compete as they operate today. Global must cut costs and offer more services and market itself more aggressively.

In order to achieve these objectives, Global has decided to outsource some call centers and cut their workforce. They must also communicate the changes in a positive manner and escape legal action that the union may take.