Running head: PROBLEM SOLUTION: GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

Problem Solution: Global Communications Global Communication (GC) was a dominant force in the telecommunication industry. With the recent decline in stock prices, they will consider outsourcing jobs to India and Ireland as a cost cutting measure. With added pressure from stockholders and the need to stay competitive, Global Communications need to offer better services than their competitors do. GC is not alone when fronted with these types of issues. Many companies have struggles to keep their companies alive against the growing number of competitors in any given industry. Management is compelled to make decisive choices in order to turn their companies around. These decisions include the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating the outcomes. Many companies found that maximizing use of employees and organizational communication can be the difference in regaining stability and losing everything. While outsourcing will take away jobs from existing employees and bring down employee morale, companies may want to look into merging with an existing company. Mergers will provide new opportunities, new avenues, and career development that will result in competition and eventually job security. Mergers are a new business opportunity that will allow the company to broaden their horizons and produce skillful associates as well. Global Communications can realize and accomplish new goals by merging with a cable company. This merger will be beneficial to the company and the people working there. This will allow GC to increase profits with the new services they will offer and employees will gain knowledgeable work experience. Both the company and employees are vital factors in the merger process. They need to walk hand in hand to complete the journey. Along with the company’s growth and prosperity, the associates will grow and prosper too. This is the concept of one hand washes the other. This way both parties will look out for each other and reap the fruits of prosperity with each other.
Situation Analysis
Issue and Opportunity Identification Three years ago, Global Communication’s (GC) stock hit an all time low and investors are unsure if they will rebound form the tremendous economic pressure. With this in mind, GC rallied their top executives to strategize on bringing Global Communications into the forefront of the telecommunications industry. They plan to accomplish this by introducing technical call centers abroad while proving new services to its small business and consumer customers. As competition grows Global Communications must come up with the technical erudition that will bring in profits. In order to implement cost-cutting techniques that will improve profitability, Global Communications is looking to outsource to India and Ireland. Where increased technical sophistication is achieved. Internal communications is also a major concern for the company. Effective communication is vital to all organizations because it coordinates employees, fulfills employee needs, supports knowledge management, and improves decision-making (McShane-Von Glinow, 2004). Global Communications has a responsibility to its shareholders to consider all possible sources to resolve issues and make the best decisions. The Senior Leadership Team must come up with a plan to restructure the company and effectively communicate it to all employees. Global Communication's competitive advantage comes from their loyal employees.
Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas
“Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2003, p.486) Global Communication (GC) is at a state of confusion. Three years ago, their stock valued at $28 per share and now is at a low of $11 per share. GC must make changes and make them now if they want to be major contenders in the telecommunications industry. Their Senior Leadership Team must increase profitability by introducing new services by collaborating with a satellite provider and identifying cost-cutting measures by outsourcing call centers overseas to India and Ireland By doing so managers did not involve key stakeholder, Technologies Workers Union, who are now threatening to take legal action. With legal actions in the near future, Global Communications should start integrative negotiations with the union. This type of negotiation will allow both parties a win-win situation
Problem Statement Global Communications will emerge as a major competitor in the global telecommunications industry by lowering over-head cost and demonstrating assurance to their employees and customers.
End-State Vision Global Communication (GC) like many other telecommunication companies is under tremendous economic pressure. This is in part too much competition. In order for GC to satisfy stockholders concerns about diminishing returns, they must enter the global marketplace. With this, Global Communication will be able to provide better telecommunication services to their small business and consumer customers. Global has even collaborated with a satellite provider to allow small business owners better connectivity and accessibility. Therefore, the executives have looked into ways to cut cost that will increase company profits and increase its marketability.
Alternative Solutions Cutting cost does not mean cutting jobs. One alternative Global Communication would like to do is outsource jobs to India and Ireland. However, keeping jobs in house with the use of job training will guarantee job satisfaction. Many companies believe that happy employees make happy customers. Giving employees the opportunity to learn new skills will bring better job knowledge and less of a need to outsource. By implementing a training program, the employee will become more successful and feel more bonded to the company resulting in organizational commitment. Job security is another way to build organizational commitment. Firms should offer enough job security that employees feel some permanence and mutuality in the employment relationship. Global Communication can raise profits by merging with a cable company. Merging with a cable company will bring in new services as well as increase profits. Added services will attract new customers and give the company the opportunity to offer more products.
Analysis of Alternative Solutions Global Communication wants to grow in the telecommunication industry by offering new services to their customers. To compete they must join forces with a cable company that will offer more services to their existing customers. Collaborating with the cable company will allow Global Communication to offer more products and services. The merger with the cable company will give them a competitive edge as well as make a profit. Providing training to existing employees and acquiring new employees will give the company a competitive edge. With the profit, the company makes by merging with the cable company they can then offer existing employees training. This training will give them the knowledge and skills to provide better customer satisfaction. The increase in employee satisfaction and loyalty results in higher customer perceptions of value, which improves the company's profitability.
Risk Assessment and Mitigation Techniques With any new adventure, there are always risks. By training existing employees, the company will allow them to gain new skills and prevent outsourcing. Merging with the cable company will bring a risk of losing existing customers. Global Communications will gain customers as well. They can minimize the risk by offering promotional services to bring back customers as well as new customers.
Optimal Solution Collaborating with the cable company would be the best solution for Global Communication. Establishing a partnership with the cable company will give them the opportunity to retain existing employees and not outsource jobs to India and Ireland. Gaining the technology form the cable company to offer new products and services will allow Global Communication to increase their profits and raise share value.
Implementation Plan Global Communications management team will create two research teams. One team will create training for existing employees and the other will research cable companies. The training team will research the type of training needed to produce high performance employees. This in turn will give employees new job skills to perform at their highest level. By creating a positive work environment Global Communications will keep high performance employees. Satisfied employees will bring in and maintain customers. The other research team will scout cable companies and implement a plan to merge. Once the team has devised a plan that is beneficial to both companies, they will meet monthly to work out the strategies with upper management. In about six months, both companies should start the process of merging with one another.
Evaluation of Results The bottom line for Global Communication is profitability. Global Communication would like to raise their stock price by 40 % in the next three years. When the stock price increases, then the company can start introducing new plans and services. The introduction of promotional packages every six months will bring in new customers. Global Communications has not established an open line of communication with employees and the Technologies Workers Union. Establishing monthly meeting with union members and employees will create a stronger open line of communication with union members and employees.
Conclusion
Not being able to compete globally has created several problems for Global Communications. With their stock prices, dropping stockholders showed concern. GC’s management team came up with options to deal with issues like changes in technology, increased competition, and profitability. Not only were they dealing with these issues but also they had to communicate their plan to the union. Effective communication is vital to all organizations because it coordinates employees, fulfills employee needs, supports knowledge management, and improves decision-making. One recent report estimated that a company's market value increases by over 7 percent when it improves its "communications integrity." Another analysis identifies the leader's communication skills as an important influence on company performance (McShane-Von Glinow 2005). While Global Communication continues to strive to be competitive in the global market, they must continue with their plan of introducing new products and recognize that communication is also a key ingredient in employee satisfaction and loyalty. To combat competition and increase their profitability Global Communication joined forces with a local cable company. This not only increased profits by establishing new services but it allowed employees to develop new skills. This solution is a result of integrative bargaining, that provides the company and employees with win-win results. The company accomplished its goal of profitability and globalization by merging with a cable company to provide new services that will eventually increase their profits. Global Communication assists the union with their goal of job security by merging and providing new job skills. When employees are, content then it reflexes’ in their job performance. This in turn leads to satisfied customers and increased profits.

References
EIU Viewswire. India: Telecoms and technology forecast. The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, May 16, 2007
"Integrative bargaining" A Dictionary of Human Resource Management. Edmund Heery and Mike Noon. Oxford University Press, 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Apollo Group. 22 September 2007
Kreitner & Kinicki. (2003). Organizational behavior, Managing Conflict and Negotiation. (6th ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.
McShane-Von Glinow (2004). Organizational Behavior, Communication in Teams and Organizations. (3rd ed.). New York. The McGraw-Hill Companies.
McShane-Von Glinow (2005). Organizational Behavior, Emerging Realities for the Workplace Revolution. (3rd ed.). New York. The McGraw-Hill Companies
"Strike (labor relations)," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007

http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Table 1
Issue and Opportunity Identification
|Issue |Opportunity |Reference to Specific |Concept |
| | |Course Concept | |
| | |(Include citation) | |
|Global Communication’s goal of cost cutting to make |Global Communication |“Integrative bargaining is an |Integrative Negotiation |
|a profit does not coincide with the unions plan to |required to gain a better |approach to collective that is | |
|bring in more members. |understand of negotiations.|positive-sum and seeks to identify | |
| | |mutually beneficial outcomes. | |
| | |Integrative bargaining often takes | |
| | |the form of joint problem solving, | |
| | |in which management and union come | |
| | |together and try to resolve a | |
| | |problem to the benefit of both | |
| | |sides. (Heery and Noon, 2001) | |
|Global Communication’s goal was to reduce costs |Global Communication |“Nondisclosure Tactic includes |Nondisclosure Tactic |
|through outsourcing jobs to India and Ireland |unethical negotiation |partial disclosure of facts, | |
|resulting in layoffs. Technologies Workers Union |tactics. |failure to disclose a hidden fact, | |
|viewed Global Communication as a source for bringing| |failure to correct the opponent’s | |
|in new members by giving up major benefits. Global | |misperceptions or ignorance, and | |
|Communication informed the union they will benefit | |concealment of the negotiator’s own| |
|with higher salaries and career opportunities. | |position or circumstances.” | |
| | |(Kreitner-Kinicki, 2003, p. 506). | |
|Global Communication executives failed to announce |Global Communications needs|“The grapevine is an unstructured |Hierarchical Communication |
|its strategic plan to Union members and employees. |to develop Communication |and informal network founded on |is the exchange of |
| |Channels to stay connected |social relationships rather than |information between |
| |with employees. |organizational charts or job |managers and employees. |
| | |descriptions.” (McShane-Von Glinow,|(Kreitner-Kinicki, 2003, p.|
| | |2004, p.345) |540). |

Table 2
Stakeholder Perspectives
|Stakeholder Perspectives |
| | |
|Stakeholder Groups |The Interests, Rights, and |
| |Values of Each Group |
|Technologies Workers Union |Interest - to protect and promote the interests of its members in the |
| |workplace |
| |Rights – Fair Contract Conditions |
| |Values – Equity, Reliability, Fairness |
|Shareholders |Interest – Profitability, Longevity and Competitiveness |
| |Rights – Develop a competitive and productive team |
| |Values –Accountability and Social Responsibility |
|Senior Leadership Team |Interest – to compete in a global market and promote technical |
| |satisfaction for the company |
| |Rights – Profitability at a low cost |
| |Values – Integrity, Fairness, Accountability and Social Responsibility |

Table 3

Analysis of Alternative Solutions
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Table 4
Risk Assessment and Mitigation Techniques
|Risk Assessment and Mitigation Techniques |
|Alternative Solution |Risks and Probability |Consequence and Severity |Mitigation Techniques |
|Training employees |Employees unable to grasp concepts |Employees gain new skills |Rectify |
| |Medium |High | |
| | | | |
|Merging with Cable Company |Gain new customers |Losing existing customers |Compensating |
| |High |High | |
| | | | |

Table 5
Optimal Solution Implementation Plan
|Deliverable |Timeline |Who is Responsible |
|Training |1 month |Management |
|Company merger |6 months |Research team |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |

Table 6
Evaluation of Results
|End-State Goals |Metrics |Target |
|Profitability |Raise stock prices |40% stock price increase in 3 years |
|New product (promotional packages) |Number of new products and services |Promotional packages every six months |
|Union relationship |Number of monthly union meetings |One meeting per month |