Gap Analysis: Global Communications

Gap Analysis: Global Communications

The current economy finds many companies struggling to hold market share, return shareholder investment, maintain product viability, and provide stakeholder stability. Global Communications understands all to well that the economic struggle pertains to the very competitive telecommunications industry. Through the use of issue and opportunity identification Global Communications seeks resolutions to company problems to resolve shareholder confidence, market competition, high overhead, and employee dissonance. The future for Global Communications includes cost-cutting measures and the realization that global diversification could provide a pool of talented, less expensive labor forces, all while opening international sales venues. Identification of stakeholders, their perceptions and dilemmas, will provide a view about the expectations of each group and their interaction with Global Communications. Finally, Global Communications will engage in an end-state vision statement and gap analysis to realize what the future could hold for a company that is willing to be progressive and forward thinking.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

Global Communications, plagued with communication and structural issues, seeks to recognize opportunities instead of detailing lists of problems. Opportunities exist within management interactions with all concerned stakeholders.

Stockholders are unhappy with the current return on investment, which is at a three-year low. Management seeks opportunities to improve shareholder wealth reducing conflict between owner and manager. "…conflict has many faces and is a constant challenge for managers who are responsible for reaching organizational goals" (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004, p. 496).

Telecommunications industry competition has developed into local, long-distance, and international markets all vying for the same business. Management, using decision-making models, recognizes opportunities for growth that begin in diversification through new services for small business and consumer customers. "Decision making is the conscious process of making choices among one or more alternatives with the intention of moving towards some desired state of affairs" (McShane & Von Glinow, 2004, p. 236).

Union negotiations resulted in a loss of benefits to workers who expect a payback in job security. Reality provides a scenario of job changes and outsourcing possibilities, opportunities exist with the use of negotiations. "A distributive negotiation usually involves a single issue…however, more than one issue is at stake, and each party values the issues differently…An agreement can be found that is better for both parties…This is an integrative negotiation" (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004, p. 503-504). Integrative negotiations provide an opportunity for a win-win scenario for management and the union.

Cost-cutting measures are necessary to promote long-term growth and increase profitability. Opportunities exist by examining other companies' failures and successes through the use of benchmarking. "Generic benchmarking can generate significant payoffs to an organization looking for the solution to a problem" (Maul, n.d., Principles of Generic Benchmarking, para. 1). The company must consider opportunities that may result in global outsourcing, current location employee downsizing, and loss of key employees due to instability.

Communication methods are antiquated and bogged down in hierarchy creating a delay in the delivering of vital messages to pertinent parties creating emotional dissonance. "Emotional dissonance is most common where employees must display emotions that are quite different from their true feelings and where emotional display rules are highly regulated" (McShane & von Glinow, 2004, p. 117). Employees, hearing rumors of globalization and outsourcing opportunities, try to protect themselves and believe diminished when communication channels do not produce accurate and timely information. Management looks for opportunities to develop open lines of communication and create an atmosphere of goal accomplishment with all stakeholders.

Global Communications must examine multiple issues, which provide many opportunities to realize company growth. Management focuses on shareholder wealth, decision-making models, integrative negotiations, generic benchmarking, and employee responsibility to realize all possible opportunities. All issues and opportunities rely on making changes. Without change, the company will cease to exist in the competitive communications' market.

Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas

Global Communication's stakeholders