Global Communications Benchmarking
Global Communications has several problems facing it due to their outsourcing project and the accompanying layoffs. Team A focused on four issues facing Global Communications and used generic benchmarking to find possible solutions. The issues faced were not unique to Global Communications and in fact are common in the business world. The issues were diversity and inclusion, layoff management, management-union relationships, outsourcing, and advertising campaigns. The goal was to once again make Global Communications' a leader in the communication industry.
General Electric (GE) has several groups that provide access to management for various groups within the company (General Electric, 2007). Abercrombie and Fitch had a well deserved and documented reputation for hiring based on race, closing off avenues of valuable input (CBS News, 2004). Global Communications had minimal dialog between upper management and the union and employees and could learn from GE's example of gathering input from employees from all areas of the business. By empowering employees to create change and implement new ideas Global Communications could have ensured that the employees have an invested interest in seeing the business succeed. The goal would have been to inform and share because no matter how much access to management employees have, layoffs are sometimes inevitable.
Charles Schwab and Ford are two examples of a proactive approach to layoffs. After exhausting all other options, the layoff decision was made. Ample notice, generous severance packages, rehiring options, and positive spins all helped to keep morale up (When bad things happen to good companies p.2). Ford and Schwab were able to turn a potential crisis into a positive event b ...