Global Communications Benchmarking

Since 1928, Motorola has been committed to innovation in communications and electronics. The organization has achieved many milestones in its 75-year history. The organization pioneered mobile communications in the 1930s with car radios and public safety networks. The organization made the equipment that carried the first words from the moon in 1969. They led the communications revolution with the first commercial handheld cellular phone in 1983 and the first all-digital high-definition television (HDTV) technical standard in 1990. Today, as a global industry leader, excellence in innovation continues to shape the future of the Motorola brand (Motorola, 2002).

Motorola has faced a number of challenges that have required it to re-examine its approach to employee development. With over 100,000 employees worldwide, Motorola was one of the first companies to institute a corporate-wide learning institution, Motorola University, which became a benchmark for learning. Recently, in order to better position itself for new market challenges, Motorola has redesigned its educational vision, structure and practices. Motorola’s educational strategy now focuses on three goals: developing a supply of leaders and high performers; linking learning to individual and business unit performance; and creating a more cost-effective, responsive learning system.

On an organizational level, a new structure has been created, The Office of Leadership, Learning and Performance, to oversee the design and creation of learning solutions in an integrated manner. The educational functions of Motorola University have been decentralized and are now guided by a new Chief Learning Officer (CLO). Approximately 80 percent of Motorola’s learning budget now resides in business units that determine learning needs and resources. The remaining 20 percent of the learning budget goes toward implementing corporate-wide learning solutions. By decentralizing these learning activities, Motorola has eliminated almost all of the physical facilities of its internal University, increasing the amount of training per dollar spent while reducing the overall education budget (Motorola, 2002).

The company has instituted a comprehensive program to develop its high performers and set a 100% retention goal of these staff. Motorola believes all its employees must build critical business knowledge, team leadership skills, and general business acumen. To help employees build knowledge and skills, Motorola provides a wide array of customized internal training opportunities and a generous tuition reimbursement benefit. Much of the company sponsored training blends high quality Web based learning with face-to-face training (Motorola, 2002).

Motorola’s talent development system ties individual performance to organizational performance. Employees work closely with their supervisors to set performance goals aided by an electronic support system that facilitates timely feedback and reviews. Goals are measured and reviewed quarterly. Employees report that this new performance management system has more closely aligned employee and business needs (Motorola, 2002).

Bell Atlantic, in the last century, the Bell telephone companies known as the Regional Bell Operating Companies and often referred to as the "Baby Bells" have undergone an amazing metamorphosis from America's only telephone service provider to a diverse group of companies providing a full range of telecommunications products and services, including wireless communications, directory advertising and publishing, long distance, cable and digital television, internet and information services. It was formed