Gap Analysis: Global Communications

Gap Analysis: Global Communications

Global Communications is under tremendous economic pressure along with other telecommunications companies in an industry struggling to compete with the increasing global market. Global Communications is facing numerous issues and has many opportunities as they implement strategies to introduce new products and services, increase technological sophistication, and expand into the global market. Global Communications has, and will continue to experience ethical dilemmas and conflicts among stakeholders as they find ways to increase growth, reduce costs, and struggle to increase profitability while maintaining effective organizational communication.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

Global Communications stocks have experienced a depreciation of more than 50% of their value over the past three years, and the confidence in the telecommunications industry is diminishing. The level of competition in the telecommunications industry has forced Global Communications to compete for the same business as the local, long-distance and International markets. For Global Communications to ensure survival in the competitive telecommunications industry, the company will be required to provide new services, technological sophistication, and identify actions that will reduce costs, grow their client base, and to maintain current shareholder satisfaction and enhance return on equity. The leadership team developed a plan and presented their ideas to the Board. The Board agreed with the decisions of the leadership team and supported the ideas of globalization, reducing unit costs through closing domestic call centers and shifting technical call centers to India and Ireland. Unfortunately, due to the methods of communication the leadership team chose to relay the results of the Board’s decision, the Technologies Workers Union experienced a lack of trust and support of the leadership team’s plan as a grapevine effect took place among management, employees, and the Union.

The leadership team did not carefully evaluate their method of communication with stakeholders and created personal barriers with regard to the level of trust. This barrier created a distortion in the communication between the leadership team, Technologies Workers Union, and the employees. Kinicki and Kreitner (2003) stated, “communication is more likely to be distorted when people do not trust each other,” (p. 525). The leadership team now has an opportunity to develop a more effective communication plan that will reduce these barriers by effectively communicating with all the stakeholders and maintaining integrity through honesty and respect. Kinicki and Kreitner (2003) define distortion as, “an important problem in organizations because modifications to message can cause misdirectives to be transmitted, non-directives to be issued, incorrect information to be passed on, and a variety of other problems related to both quantity and quality of information,’” (p. 543).

Additionally, the issue of distortion was also created when the leadership team chose a media that lacked information richness. The complexity of the proposed reorganization of Global Communications, did not match the messages that were being communicated to the stakeholders. Global Communications has an opportunity to incorporate interactive media, increase effective communication among stakeholders, and reduce the risk of inappropriate information reaching employees and the public.

Global Communications’ leadership team developed a plan to increase growth and profitability, increase technical sophistication for customers, and reduce the gap between competitors. The plan encompassed many of the stakeholders needs, however, the needs of the Technologies Workers Union and the employees were not evaluated with the same equality. Global Communications and the leadership team have an opportunity to evaluate the needs of the Union and the employees and incorporate their needs in future communications, thus reducing potential conflicts. One of the opportunities the leadership team failed to communicate was how the shift in technical sophistication to India and Ireland creates growth and future domestic job opportunities. This is an important concept that the leadership failed to include in their communications with stakeholders, that could have prevented some of the distortion the Union and employees are expressing concern over.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

The various stakeholders related to the Global Communications’ scenario are the Board Members, leadership team, shareholders, employees and management, the Technologies Workers Union, customers, and the community at large. Conflicting interests