Research Korner: PCCW Case Studies

Managing Change - Sustainability Improvement Project for PCCW Hong Kong

Introduction Paper is one of the most energy-intensive commodities since it has large direct energy requirements, as well as substantial indirect energy use through its reliance on chemical inputs. Paper production and consumption are growing most rapidly in developing regions at nearly double the world average rate (Duchin et al., 1994). The demand for paper and the increase in its consumption have caused alarm to most countries and businesses in various regions. The raising paper consumption has led to ecological and environmental problems for the whole world. More paper being used means that there are additional wastes for every company that uses paper products. An increase in demand for paper by companies means that more trees will be cut down in various parts of the world. Companies that care and wanted to show that they have corporate responsibility started to take action regarding these issues. Various companies have decided that they want to reduce paper consumption.  One company that wants to reduce its paper consumption is PCCW Hong Kong. Being a caring company that has Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), PCCW decided that it needs to do something and call for action & campaigns towards the cause. The reduction of paper consumption will try to solve ecological and environmental problems; it will also create actions that can benefit the company operation by cutting the usage of paper and lowering the cost of waste management.    This paper intends to design a small and sustainable improvement project for PCCW Hong Kong to reduce its paper consumption. The paper will make use of various tools and methods to introduce change in the company. Background/Drivers for change PCCW is recognized as the largest telecommunication enterprise in Hong Kong. PCCW operates in many small business units. PCCW offers products and services in fields like Telecommunications services, Television and Media Content, IT Services, PCCW Solutions and Infrastructure.  PCCW has made contributions to ICT and IT; such contributions include landline telecommunications, mobile telecommunications, broadband internet and PCCW solutions. The ICT and IT contributions provided innovation for the industries in Hong Kong and other parts of the world. There are various drivers for change; one is increasing innovation/IT knowledge. Change should be implemented because there is an increase in innovation and such innovation increases the demand for paper.   Another driver for change is the change of value, operation cost & effectiveness. PCCW is changing its values, operation costs and effectiveness; by reducing paper consumption the company can slowly achieve the changes it desires.   Moreover, the issues about waste management are another driver for change. The increasing paper consumption poses a problem for waste management. The accumulated waste can cause problems regarding the disposal of such waste.   If the company does not decrease its consumption of paper it will need to determine newer means of managing its waste. Ecology/environmental issues are also drivers for change. Paper consumption is an environmental issue for the world because the materials used in the making of paper are mostly consisted of wood. As more paper is used, more trees tend to be cut down. This causes the flooding in some countries.   Lastly, a driver for change is the corporate responsibility of the company. Like all other corporations, PCCW has a social responsibility to refrain from abusing the environment and to reduce their waste. This led the company towards thinking about determining actions to reduce paper consumption.   Stakeholder analysis The parties that will be mostly affected by the proposed change include the employees, customers, paper suppliers/printing companies.  The employees will be greatly affected because they will have to reduce their use of paper. This may be inconvenient as it requires them to change their work habits.  The employees are the ones that will have to adjust to the changes in the use of paper thus their cooperation will be required once the change process starts.   The people who will gain considerable benefits from the change are the government and the environmental groups. The change will provide an opportunity for the government to work with PCCW to build a pilot scheme in order to build a good image.  The change can help the government to become a pioneer by starting off the campaign to save their environment. This would build a better image for the government and it will help them have a successful start in creating change in their environment. The government will also receive fewer complains and criticism from the environmental groups as the reduction of paper use will solve the issues raised by environmental groups and appease their demands.  This will also allow PCCW to gain respect from certain environmental groups.  The government can create a huge impact the change process, this will only happen once the government becomes interested in the effects of the change process.   There is a small chance that the customer will be affected by the change process because the various printed documents/ information they want may not be accessible or be in limited numbers. The customers will have a hard time in accessing monthly bills/statements, promotion pamphlets, reply forms and application forms because they would all be converted to an electronic document format. Paper reduction means that PCCW will refrain from sending any hard copies to their customers.     Two similar parties that will be minimally hit by the change proposal are the paper suppliers and the printing companies.  These groups are the ones that make and sell paper products; the reduction in the demand for paper would cause a decline in the business growth.  The reduction of the demand for paper products would cause the company to implement personnel reduction or close down the printing business.   Issues Diagnosis & Overcome Strategies/Solution Finding Force field analysis is an exceptional tool developed by Kurt Lewin that provides managers with the opportunity to effect change (Gottlieb 2001). The next figure shows an analysis using force field model. One driving force for the change process is minimized environmental issues; less paper use means less damage to the environment. Another driving force for the change process is cost reduction for businesses. Less paper use could mean reduced supply expenses on paper products. Moreover, a driving force for the change is energy preservation in terms of product delivery. The lower demand for paper makes paper companies reduce their delivery schedules and helps in minimizing energy use. Reduced use of energy can be beneficial to the environment.  Lastly, a driving force for the change process is the belief that paper reduction will show that the company has social responsibility. Paper reduction will give a brand new image for the company and how it wants to provide responsible service to clients.   One restraining factor is that it causes an inconvenience to personnel and their clients as they will have only a limited use of paper products. Paper reduction will force the employees to use limited paper supplies.  Paper reduction can result to reduced quality of work. The change process may compromise the quality of work done by the employees. Some employees depend heavily on paper products and the reduction of such office supplies may lead to them downgrading their services.  Paper reduction in PCCW could result to unemployment. When delivery schedules are reduced it means that the company will have to reduce the paid work hours of the personnel. If things grow worse, the alternative for the company is to terminate some personnel. The change process may result into habit change which may be the cause of strained relationships between the firm and the personnel. The change process will require the employees to change some of the things they do to perform their tasks, the employees will not like the change and this will result to arguments within the company. The change process may also lead to a forced discovery of alternatives to paper. Examples of alternatives can be in the form of electronic documents. The alternatives will dramatically reduce the number of paper consumed without sacrificing the quality of the employees work. The alternatives may give the company higher expenses due to the cost of researching and implementing the use of alternative technologies to paper. .    Resistance and Strategies to Overcome These Most people are afraid of the unknown. They often assume that the change may be inconvenience as it requires them to change their habits. Resistance to change is an emotional/behavioral response to real or imagined threats to an established work routine (Sims 2002).  People in the organization might resist change because of psychological modes, systems models, institutionalized models and culture models. Employees feel fears and anxieties when they are informed about the change process, this is an example of the psychological mode of resistance to change. The reduction of paper usage may increase the employee’s workload because they will have to convert documents into a format accepted by electronic documents. For clients, they will worry about the security issues when they use the electronic document systems. PCCW can solve these issues through consultative and empowering activities that can help in overcoming their anxiety and fear.   Sometimes employees believe that the change system is impractical; this is an example of restraining to change through the system mode. The file system and document circulation system may tend to still use paper for keeping records of salary bills or tax documents of employees. For clients, they may not like to change their habits and to then synchronize it with the change process. PCCW can remove such resistance through redesigning systems and making sure that these systems support new changes. When employees think that the change is unnecessary that means they are practicing the institutionalized mode of resistance to change, This mode gives them a belief that the change would force them to learn new skills to replace the traditional way of paper documentation. It is vital for PCCW to demonstrate the value of the proposed change or the urgency of change for organizational success or survival.   Employees have their own beliefs and principles, once they see that the change is different from their beliefs they will resist the change. This shows that they practice the cultural mode of resistance. Organizational culture is one of the toughest resistances to change.  This type of resistance cannot be easily removed since it is embedded in every employee of PCCW. The employees should be given a clear explanation on why such change is needed and what are the proposed alternatives to paper.     Kotter Process of change In every process in life and business a procedure should be followed; Kotter’s process of change will be used to provide an organized means to initiate change within PCCW. The process of change needs to make use of a multi-step process that will create power and motivation that is sufficient to overwhelm all the sources of resistance to change.  The process of change will only be successful if it is driven by high-quality leadership, not just by excellent management. 1. Establish a sense of urgency             To establish a sense of urgency, there will be posters containing facts about the increase of paper consumption, company expenses on paper products, environmental decay due to increasing waste and what the company wants to do with such issues. These posters should be placed on various bulletin boards in the companies’ offices and subsidiaries. The intended target viewers of the posters are the PCCW personnel located in their different offices. For the clients there will be informative notes and suggestions on PCCW’s website.  The informative notes will contain the figures for the increase in paper use, the increase in waste for the company and the proposed paper reduction scheme.  The informative notes on PCCW’s website will also include the new policies about paper use and paper consumption by the company.  For the paper suppliers PCCW should send out corporate letters informing them about their reduced orders for paper products. The letters will contain the reasons for the reduced orders of paper products.   2. Form a powerful coalition Coalitions will be formed with the organization Conversation Association of Hong Kong. This association is a champion of sustainable development and is dedicated to the protection of the environment. PCCW would also involve Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department in the coalition.  The coalition assists each other in making sure that paper usage will be reduced. The Conversation Association of Hong Kong and the Environmental Protection Department would help PCCW in gathering data that will explain why there is a need to reduce paper use. The two organizations will help PCCW reach the intended viewers of the message.   3. Create the vision The vision is to reduce paper consumption in PCCW and its subsidiaries. By 2010 PCCW and its subsidiaries will have reduced their use of paper products by 50%. The vision is to motivate the personnel and the clients to reduce their usage of paper products. The project also aims to motivate the personnel to use electronic documents.   4. Communicate the vision The members of the coalition will first hand information regarding the vision of the company and how it will be attained. The vision will be communicated via personal correspondence during the meetings of the coalition. The employees will know the vision through posters that will be placed in the office bulletin boards. The customers will know the vision through articles and postings in PCCW’s website. The paper makers will be informed of the vision through corporate letters.   5. Empower others to act PCCW should initiate some sort of contest wherein the department which can reduce paper use after three months will be given a special commendation or a discounted price. PCCW will also install in its website a portion where clients and employees can suggest alternatives to paper products. This portion of the website would encourage the customers and the employees to determine means to reduce paper reduction without causing them much discomfort.   6. Plan for short term wins To achieve short term wins the management of PCCW needs to reduce the paper works by minimizing some of their processes and recording procedures. The management would have to determine means to reduce the steps in making records about transactions made by the company.   7. Consolidate improvements and produce further change The improvements that have transpired will be consolidated and analyzed to see whether additional change should continue. It will then be consolidated with other changes that have happened.  Recordings of the changes within PCCW will be documented through electronic documents.   8. Institutionalize the new approach In this step the coalitions have complete assurance that the personnel and the customers have minimized the use of paper. In this step a strong system is being implemented to institutionalize the use of paper.  When the people have been institutionalized they will not be tempted to make use of paper and they will rely on the use of electronic documents. Change leadership For change to be a success it needs to be run by a competent person or a person that knows how to lead. Change is not a process that automatically gains its goals; it needs proper guidance and direction for its goals to be reached. The leadership on the change process is a hard task since one needs to know how to overcome the barriers and resistance to change. Those who are assigned to lead the change process needs to know how to establish change with the use of the organization’s culture. To manage change, leaders need to have an established direction. In the case of PCCW, the focus of the management should be on making sure that paper use will be reduced by 2010. To manage change leaders need to align the people. Through the website and bulletin board postings about the need to reduce paper consumption the managers of PCCW can try to motivate the personnel to think of means to reduce paper use. The manager should give additional information about why the change is necessary for the company’s survival.  To manage change the leaders need to inspire the employees. The managers of PCCW should be the first ones to reduce their use of paper products so that the employees will follow them.   Evaluation Approaches In evaluating the change process, two approaches are used and those are formative and summative. In the formative approach the effects of the changes will be observed and taken note of while the change process transpires. In this approach the initial issues and effects of the change process will be known and actions will be taken to prevent complications.  During the change process the amount of paper used by PCCW should be recorded according to the different departments and subsidiaries. Each department would email their records of the number of papers used over the number of papers available in a department’s inventory. By doing this the company can check whether the employees followed the paper reduction scheme. After all records are collated, they will be analyzed to see if there is an increase or decrease in paper consumption. During the change process, the management should coordinate with the waste management group to determine how much paper has been put in waste bins by each division of PCCW.   In the summative process the effects of the changes will be observed and taken note of after the whole change process has expired. In this approach the change process has been completed, the evaluation serves as a concluding part of the whole process in this approach the overall effect of the change process is seen and notes will be taken on what should and should not be done on the succeeding change processes. In the summative approach the strong points of the change process will be recorded for future references. After the change process the managers should check for the total consumption of paper for the whole year; it will be compared with the paper consumption for the previous years. After the change process, the paper waste of the company before the change process will be compared with the paper waste of the company after accomplishing the change process. Conclusion To reduce the paper consumption the PCCW should make sure that its managers are willing to reduce their use of papers. The managers would then motivate the employees and the customers to change their practices regarding their use of paper.  The managers need to make sure that the change process will be followed and if any change needs to be made, they will be ready to integrate it to the process. The managers need to be wary of the risk exposure while the change process is being implemented. The managers need to be ready for the resistance by some of the employees, customers and suppliers. The best thing the managers should do is slowly reduce the paper supplies allocated for each department; by doing this each personnel would not be tempted to consume paper products.   References Bentivegna, V, Brandon, PS & Lombardi, PL (eds.) 1997, Evaluation of the built environment for sustainability, E & FN Spon, London.   Doherty, TL & Horne, T 2002, Managing public services implementing changes: A thoughtful approach to the practice of management, Routledge, London.   Duchin, F, Idenburg, A, Lange, G & Thonstad, K 1994, The future of the environment: Ecological economics and technological change, Oxford University Press, New York.   Fishbein, M, Goldberg, ME & Middlestadt, SE 1997, Social marketing: Theoretical and practical perspectives, social marketing: Theoretical and practical perspectives, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ   Gilley, JW & Maycunich, A 2000, Organizational learning, Performance, and change: An introduction to strategic human resource development, Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA.   Gottlieb, MR 2001, Managing group process, Praeger, Westport, CT.   PCCW Corporate Website 2008, Company background, viewed 12 August, 2008, <http://www.pccw.com/eng>.   Sims, RR 2002, Managing organizational behavior, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.     Appendix: Time line for the change process

Managing Change - Sustainability Improvement Project for PCCW Hong Kong

Introduction Paper is one of the most energy-intensive commodities since it has large direct energy requirements, as well as substantia...

Organizational Analysis: PCCW Directories

Organizational Analysis: PCCW Directories   Introduction             Organizations today operate in a competitive environment. Different environmental factors have changed the way organizations function. In order to be successful, an organization needs to be able to compete effectively through its resources, capabilities, and strategies. This paper attempts to analyze the organizational processes, design, strategies and structure of PCCW Directories, a subsidiary of PCCW Limited. PCCW is an Asian organization that has a centralized organizational structure. Power and control rests on the top of the corporate hierarchy. Recent developments and changes in the both the company’s internal and external environment has led the company to gradually restructure and adopt ‘western’ style of management. The expansion of the company resulted in the creation of different divisions and businesses.   Company Background: PCCW Directories             PCCW (Pacific Century Cyber Works) Limited is the largest and most comprehensive communications provider in Hong Kong and one of Asia’s leading players in Information and Communications Technologies.             PCCW Directories is a part of the Advertising and Interactive Services. It offers highly-effective advertising solutions primarily to small and medium-sized businesses via traditional print directories and catalogues. PCCW Directories is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PCCW Limited. PCCW Directories is one of the leading directory market players in Asia.   Primary Business of the Organization             The company specializes in directory services. Advertisers and users are able to connect through the company’s integrated media platform. The company offers print products and online and telephone inquiry directory services. Among the primary businesses of the company are: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Internet Yellow Pages – attracting 23 million page views per month, Internet Yellow pages (IYP) is one of the most popular portals in Hong Kong and offers customers maximum advertising exposure on the Web (PCCW: Annual Report 2005). </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Online Search Advertising – this provides a one-stop, online search advertising services that covers local, mainland and overseas markets. </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%">Mobile Yellow Pages – through the mobile yellow pages, consumers are now able to search for, and connect to local services and merchants instantly using their mobile phones (PCCW Directories Ltd. 2008). </li> </ul> Size of the Organization             Approximately, there are 14,500 employees working in PCCW. The company has a presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and mainland China, as well as Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.   Structure of the Organization: Hierarchy of Authority             Like many Asian contemporaries, PCCW is a family controlled firm. Historically, Asian firms are highly centralized. PCCW was tightly controlled and managed in hierarchy dominated by the founders and their immediate family members. The hierarchy of authority is considered as centralized. Centralization according to Hendrick (2002) has something to do with where formal decision-making occurs within the organization. In centralized work systems, formal decision-making is concentrated in a relatively few individuals, group, or level, usually high in the organization. The board of directors of the company is responsible for the management of the company. key responsibilities include formulation of the overall strategies of the company and its subsidiaries, the setting of management targets and supervision of management performance (PCCW Annual Report 2005).             However, because of intense competition, globalization and demands for Asian firms to adopt western style of management, firs such as PCCW are starting to adopt a more flexible corporate structure (Yeung 2005). PCCW is positioning itself as a major telecom player in the Asian Region, with long-term ambition to venture into the established markets in Europe. PCCW is now venturing into the UK’s wireless broadband business while its core business remain in Hong Kong’s fixed lines. This wireless broadband venture is new to the UK market as well as there are currently no operators offering such services.   Mintzberg’s Configurations             Mintzberg (1979) developed a taxonomy of organizational structures in different categories of organizations – the entrepreneurial, bureaucratic (machine and professional), divisional, adhocracy, and matrix. He suggested that, as organizations grow, they undergo structural changes – from the entrepreneurial to bureaucratic, divisional and finally matrix structures. The growth of PCCW has led to the formation of other divisions, which handle different businesses. PCCW Directories is one of the divisions of PCCW. We can say that the organization’s structure is divisional.   Corporate Mission and Strategy: Differentiation             The most dominant strategic management paradigm in recent years is known as competitive strategies model. Exemplified by Porter’s (1980, 1985) work, this approach addresses the issue of how firms compete within their product markets. Porter identified two competitive advantages that provide a firm with a defensible position: cost leadership (lower cost) and differentiation. The lower cost advantage is defines as the ability to more efficiently design, manufacture, and distribute a comparable product than the competition. Products with unique and superior value – in terms of quality, features, and after-sales service – are examples of the differentiation competitive advantage.             PCCW pursues a differentiation strategy. To keep ahead of its competitors, PCCW is adding new services as quickly as possible on all fronts. Differentiation according to Oden (1997) is a strategy with which the organization seeks to distinguish its products or services from those of competitors. The firm may use advertising, distinctive product features, exceptional service, or new technology to achieve a product perceived as unique. In order to fulfill its differentiation strategy, PCCW Directories offer innovative services and technologies to its consumers. For example PCCW Directories has formed partnerships with online giants such as Google, eBay Hong Kong, SINA Hong Kong and Yahoo! Hong Kong. Users are also able to perform keyword searches via Mobile Yellow Pages to find retailers and suppliers, as well as enjoy discounts and privileges from more than 10,000 participating outlets. These are some of the strategies that PCCW Directories is employing to achieve differentiation (Quin and Cameron 1983). The company is able to achieve its mission of providing quality service to its customers. The organizational structure supports the company’s strategy.   Life Cycle Stage             PCCW Directories can be considered as a company that is in the entrepreneurial stage. In the entrepreneurial stage, executive dominance is established through personal, informal management patterns and structure, flexible communication and coordination procedures both within the organization and with its environment. Personal attention and rewards are given for the mobilization of resources and attainment of legitimacy for the organizational domain from the external environments. The creation of the organization's ideology, and the paternalistic reward system does not rely only on the level of professionalization of the executive, but rather on his or her entrepreneurial skills.   Environment             Every organization faces a different reality in the marketplace depending on its products, customers, technologies, government influences, and so on. To be successful, the organizations need to perform certain activities very well. The environment where the organization operates is an important factor in its success. The external environment is an important factor that affects a company’s goals, objectives, strategies and performance. It is also important in the setting of company missions and corporate culture (Deal and Kennedy 2000). The internal analysis provides an objective understanding of the controllable factors in the organization’s internal environment, identifying those with the greatest long-term impact on the organization’s position. The objective of this analysis is to identify the organization’s major strengths and weaknesses with respect to its overall mission.             According to Duncan (1979) structure is a pattern of interconnections, interactions, and coordination that links the technology, tasks and human components to ensure that the organization accomplishes its purpose. Duncan categorizes a business structure in terms of two general types: functional and decentralized. Most businesses are one of these two, or some mixture of the two. The functional business structure is divided into departments and groups according to the function they perform, while the decentralized organization makes products or geographical divisions independent. Communication in the functional type is usually vertical, up and down a pyramidal structure. The decentralized structure cuts down on the directions from the top and allows each division to act as an autonomous business. We can say that PCCW, because of different factors, such as globalization and its rapid expansion has moved from functional to a more decentralized organization structure. PCCW Directories as a subsidiary acts as an autonomous business.   Dimension of Uncertainty             Based on how many external factors that affect the organization and the number of competitors, the dimension of uncertainty can be described as simple or complex. The stability of the environment is also important as it affects the company’s operation. PCCW Directories operate in complex environment where environmental factors especially technology are unstable. The level of uncertainty that the organization needs to deal with is high. There are also numerous other factors that affect the organization’s operation. There are different market forces that affect the company’s operation and strategies. The policies and regulations set by the Hong Kong government and regulatory bodies that oversee the telecommunications and media sectors namely the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) and the Broadcasting Authority (BA). Hong Kong’s growing economy has a tremendous impact on the growth of the company. Because of the flourishing economy, strong demand for data services is growing. General growth led to more business premises requiring services.  PCCW Limited is committed to maintaining a high standard of corporate governance and strives for transparent, responsible and value-driven management focused on enhancing the value of the company to its shareholders.             In order to effectively deal with the external environment, the organization pursues different strategies like investments in research and development, cooperation with other organizations, coordination with the government and other regulation bodies and active marketing and promotion. Organizational Culture             Organizational culture includes the values, norms, rites, rituals, ceremonies, heroes, and scoundrels in the history of the organization. organization defines what a new employee needs to learn to be accepted as a member of the organization. Each organizational culture divides into multiple subcultures. An organization’s structural design creates varying subcultures and processes within the organization. Subcultures grow readily within these differentiated parts of the total organization. They also grow readily within departments, divisions, and different operating locations of an organization. Organizational culture plays several important roles in organizations. The two major roles of culture are (1) adaptation to the organization’s external environment, and (2) coordination of internal systems and processes (Sims 2002).             Power and Control             Power is a process by which a person induces change in another’s behavior or attitudes. Power is considered as the basis of all organized action. As a social structure of human interrelationships, the organization controls the action of individuals; and control over others in power. Control in the organization rests on power. Organizationally, power is described as the ability to make something happen – the essence of the causal relationship. Authority is a manifestation of power characterized by position and relationship within the formal, hierarchical system. Authority connotes the legitimate right of the holder to command, decide or determine the way the organization will go (Fairholm 1993).             When it comes to control, the corporate governance principles of the company place emphasis on upholding a high standard of ethics and integrity in all aspects of its business, and on ensuring that affairs are conducted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.  The Chairman of PCCW is LI Tzar Kai, Richard and the Group Managing Director is So Chak Kwoong, Jack. The role of the Chairman is separate form that of the Group Managing Director. The Chairman is separate for overseeing the functioning of the Board while the Group Managing Director is responsible for managing the Group’s business.   Evaluation of Organizational Effectiveness: Balanced Scorecard Approach             The balanced scorecard according to Neely (2002) identifies and integrates four different ways of looking at performance (financial, customer, internal business, and innovation and learning perspectives). The balanced scorecard reflects many of the attributes of other measurement frameworks but more explicitly links measurement to the organizations strategy. The balanced scorecard approach according to Neely (2002), has a number of features which make it a good vehicle for structuring an array of performance measures. First, it makes a clear link between the advocated strategies of an organization and the performance measures it uses to monitor and control strategy implementation. Second, the four major areas in which performance measures are to be devised (financial, customer, business process, and innovation and learning) closely match the main stakeholders of the organization. Third, there is a clear attempt to model the main drivers of future performance.   Conclusion             PCCW Directories is one of the leading directory market players in Asia. The company’s primary businesses include internet yellow pages, online search advertising, and mobile yellow pages. Like many Asian companies, PCCW’s organizational structure is centralized with power and control at the top of the organizational hierarchy. However, because of different environmental factors, the company is gradually adopting a more flexible corporate structure. PCCW Directories is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PCCW Limited. PCCW Limited’s success and growth has led it to adopt a divisional structure. Based of Porter’s competitive advantage model, we can say the PCCW pursues differentiation as its corporate mission and strategy. Differentiation is a strategy with which the organization seeks to distinguish its products or services from those of competitors. PCCW Directories as a subsidiary is still in the entrepreneurial stage. PCCW is moving from functional to a more decentralized organizational structure wherein different processes are handled by different divisions or business units. PCCW operates in a complex environment where the level of uncertainty is high. In order to deal with uncertainty the company strategically invests in different activities such as research and development. The company also builds relationships with other organizations through coordination, joint ventures and acquisitions. The power and control in the company, primarily lies in the top management. Only a small group of people decides on the company’s affairs.   References   A Year of Business and Growth, Annual Report (2005). PCCW. Retrieved             January 7, 2008, from http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:CTPNz-            aREs0J:www.hkex.com.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/20060413/00008/EW F108.pdf+%22pccw+directories%22+%22pdf%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=16   Duncan, R. (1979), ‘What Is the Right Organization Structure? Decision Tree             Analysis Provides the Answer’,  Organizational Dynamics, p. 59.   Fairholm, G. W. (1993). Organizational Power Politics: Tactics in Organizational             Leadership, Praeger Publishers: Westport CT.   Hendrick, H. (2002). An Overview of Macroergonomics. In H. Hendrick and B.             Kleiner (Eds.), Macroergonomics: Theory, Methods, and Applications (pp.             1-24). Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.   Mintzberg, H. (1979). The Structuring of Organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:             Prentice Hall.   Neely, A. (Ed.). (2002). Business Performance Measurement: Theory and             Practice, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England.   Oden, H. W. (1997). Managing Corporate Culture, Innovation and             Intrapreneurship. Westport CT: Quorum Books.   PCCW Annual Report (2006). PCCW. Retrieved January 7, 2008, from             http://202.66.146.82/listco/hk/pccw/annual/2006/ar2006.pdf   Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries             and Competitors. New York: The Free Press.   Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior             Performance. New York: The Free Press.   Quin, R.E. and Cameron (1983). Organizational Life Cycles and Shifting Criteria             of Effectiveness, Management Science 9, 33-51   Sims, R. R. (2002). Managing Organizational Behavior, Westport, CT: Quorum             Books.   Yeung, H. W. (2005). Globalizing Asian Business: Dynamics of Change and             Adjustment. Retrieved January 7, 2008, from             http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/geoywc/publication/Globalizing%20Asian          %20Business.pdf

Organizational Analysis: PCCW Directories

Organizational Analysis: PCCW Directories Introduction Organizations today operate in a competitive environment. Different...

Small sustainability improvement project for PCCW Hong Kong to reduce paper consumption

Executive Summary Change will always be a part of any business operations. Change is done whenever there are flaws in how a company provides services to the clients. Change occurs in various sectors such as retail, banking, manufacturing, airline and others. One company that allowed change to transpire in their organization is PCCW. In implementing change, the company will have to make sure that the change will be managed well to prevent any complications. This paper will continue the discussion on the initiation and management of change. This paper will feature the drivers for change. This paper will determine the nature of change and its scope. Moreover this paper will discuss the barriers to change and how to contradict the resistance. The paper will also give a recommendation on what should be done when the firm wants to introduce change in the future.     Introduction Paper is one of the most energy-intensive commodities since it has large direct energy requirements, as well as substantial indirect energy use through its reliance on chemical inputs. Paper production and consumption are growing most rapidly in developing regions nearly double the world average rate (Duchin et al., 1994). The demand for paper and the increase in its consumption have caused alarm to most countries and businesses in various regions. The raising paper consumption led to ecological and environmental problems to the whole world. With more paper being used means that there are additional wastes for every company that uses paper products. An increase in demand on paper by companies means that more trees will be cut in various parts of the world. Companies that care and wanted to show that they have corporate responsibility started to make actions with these issues. Various companies decided that they want to reduce paper consumption.  One company that wants to reduce paper consumption is PCCW Hong Kong. Being a caring company that has Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), PCCW decided that it needs to do something and call for action & campaign. The reduction of paper consumption will try to solve the ecological and environmental problems. The reduction of paper consumption will create actions that can benefit the company operation by cutting the usage of paper and lower the cost of waste management.    The paper intends to design a small sustainability improvement project for PCCW Hong Kong to reduce paper consumption. The paper will make use of various tools and methods to introduce change in the company. Background/Drivers for change PCCW is recognized as the largest telecommunication enterprise in Hong Kong. PCCW operates in many small business units. PCCW offers products and services in fields like Telecommunications services, Television and Media Content, IT Services, PCCW Solutions and Infrastructure.  PCCW has made contributions to ICT and IT; such contributions include landline telecommunications, mobile telecommunications, broadband internet and PCCW solutions. The ICT and IT contributions provided innovation in the industries in Hong Kong and other parts of the world. There are various drivers for change one is increasing innovation/IT knowledge. Change should be done because there is an increase in innovation and such innovation increases the demand for paper. Another driver for change is the change of value, operation cost & effectiveness. PCCW is changing its values, operation costs and effectiveness, by reducing paper consumption the company can slowly achieve the changes it desires. Moreover a driver for change is the issues on waste management. The increasing paper consumption poses a problem for the waste management. The accumulated waste can cause problems on how to throw out such waste.   If the company would not decrease its consumption of paper it would need to determine newer means to manage its waste. A driver for change is ecology/environmental issues. Paper consumption is an environmental issue in the world because the materials used in making papers are mostly consisted of wood. As more papers are used, more trees tend to be cut. This causes the flooding in some countries. Lastly a driver for change is the corporate responsibility of the company. Like all other corporations, PCCW has a social responsibility to refrain from abusing the environment and reduce the increase of waste. This led for the company to think about determining actions to reduce paper consumption.   Nature and scope of the change process When the concept of change management first took root, change was treated as a deliberate intervention by specified change agents who set out to design and implement new strategies and operational procedures in order to enhance organizational functioning (Naylor 1996). While some researchers recognize that even planned, strategic change has a processual and emergent character, there is still an underlying assumption in the change management literature that change is top-down and executive-driven. To the extent that change management is now very much associated with downsizing and reductions in headcounts (Cunha, JV, Cunha, PE & Kamoche 2002).  The change process is not an instant thing that will have an instant effect. It takes a lot of months for the change process to show its result. Organizational change is not just about work processes.    It's also about what people feel and believe their hopes and expectations. And these feelings and beliefs are so strong that they can make or break a change effort. All too often, however, managers remain unaware of what their people really feel during organizational change. And it's not because they're bad managers (Butkus & Green 1999). There are certain companies that can be easily persuaded to fall into competitive traps and problems. These kinds of companies relax too much and are unprepared for changes in its environment. On the other hand there are some companies that know how to be creative enough to revolutionize their strategic thinking and innovate. Revolutionizing a company’s thinking can be good to counter any changes coming.  Various changes come to a company; these changes can be in the form of expansion or the resurgence of more problems. The problems vary on its effect on the firm and its operations. Corporate change will be no easy transition marked by minor modifications of a firm’s current lifestyle and ways of doing business (Benveniste et al. 2000). Usually when a company experiences more problems at shorter intervals this means the company has to undergo changes. These changes can bring both benefits for the company. The benefits that the company will acquire from the changes it has made may be present after some time. The changes can bring a better future for the company as long as it is gradually completed. Organizational changes should be finished with less time wasted and without any knowledge management, information tends to be scattered and disorganized causing more time wasted for the learning process. Organizations with the purpose of starting change need to have good leaders so that the learning process would be uninterrupted and cannot be influenced by outside forces. Outside forces can be in the form of questions about the change process and contradictions from different sectors in the firm.  The change process is environment oriented in nature. The change process focuses on doing something  to change some practices so  that it can change the environment.  The scope of the change process includes only the company’s paper materials and how it is used by different individuals from within and outside the firm.  The change process will gradually introduce the need for change amid  the benefits that one will achieve from the change process.   Stakeholder analysis The parties that will be mostly affected by the proposed change include the Employees, customers, paper suppliers/ printing companies.  The employees will be affected because they will have to reduce their use of paper, it might be inconvenient to them because they need to change their work habits.  The customer will be affected because the various printed documents/ information they want would not be accessible or would be in limited numbers. The customers would have a hard time in accessing monthly bills/statements, promotion pamphlets, reply forms and application forms because it would all be converted to electronic document format. Paper reduction means that PCCW would not send any hard copies to the customers.  A party that will be hit by the change proposal is the paper suppliers and the printing companies.  This group is the ones that makes and sells paper products, the reduction of demand for paper would cause the decline in the business growth.  The reduction of the demand for paper products would cause the company to implement personnel reduction or close down the printing business. The persons that will benefit from the change are the government and the environment groups. The change will provide an opportunity for the government to work with PCCW to build a pilot scheme in order to build good image.  The change can help the government be a pioneer to start the campaign to save their environment, this would build a better image for the government and it will help the government a successful start in creating change in their environment. The government will also receive lesser complains and criticisms from the environmental groups. The reduction of paper use will solve the issues raised by environmental groups and it will appease their demands.   It will make the environmental groups give respect to PCCW.    Kotter Process of change In every process a procedure should be followed, Kotter’s process of change will be used to provide an organized means to initiate change within PCCW. The process of change needs to make use of a multi-step process that will create power and motivation that is sufficient to overwhelm all the sources of resistance to change.  The process of change will only be successful if it is driven by high-quality leadership, not just by an excellent management.   1. Establish a sense of urgency             To establish a sense of urgency, there would be posters containing facts on the increase of paper consumption, company expenses on paper products, environmental decay due to increasing waste and what the company wants to do with such issues. These posters would be placed in various bulletin boards on the companies’ offices and subsidiaries. The intended target viewer of the poster would be the PCCW personnel located in their different offices. For the clients there would be informative notes and suggestions on the PCCW’s website.  The informative notes would contain the increase in paper use, the increase in waste for the company and the proposed paper reduction scheme.  The informative notes in PCCW’s website will also include the new policies on paper use and paper consumption by the company.  For the paper suppliers PCCW would send out corporate letters informing them about their reduced orders for paper products. The letters would contain the reasons for the reduced orders of paper products.   2. Form a powerful coalition Coalitions will be made with the organization Conversation Association of Hong Kong. This association is a champion of sustainable development and is dedicated to the protection of the environment. PCCW would also involve Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department in the coalition.  The coalition assists each other in making sure that paper will be reduced. The Conversation Association of Hong Kong and the Environmental Protection Department would help PCCW in gathering data that will explain why there is a need to reduce paper use. The two organizations will help PCCW reach the intended viewers of the message. The coalition will happen in the beginning of the change process and will not end until the objectives will be met.  The coalition will create further plans for the change process. The coalition will begin with communication with the concerned authorities. 3. Create the vision The vision is to reduce paper consumption in PCCW and its subsidiaries. By 2010 PCCW and its subsidiaries would have reduced their use of paper products by 80%.  The vision is to motivate the personnel and the clients to reduce their usage of paper products. The project also aims to motivate the personnel to use electronic documents.   4. Communicate the vision The members of the coalition will first hand information on what is the vision and how it will be attained. The members of the coalition will know the vision through the use of various communication strategies and instruments. The vision will be communicated via personal correspondence or conversations during the meetings of the coalition. The employees and the customers would know the vision through the use of bulletin board postings and website postings.  The paper makers would be informed of the vision through corporate letters or corporate e-mails.   5. Empower others to act PCCW would initiate some sort of contest wherein the department who can reduce paper use after three months would be given a special commendation or a special price.  PCCW will also install in its website a portion where clients and employees can suggest alternatives to paper products. This portion of the website would encourage the customers and the employees to determine means to reduce paper reduction without causing them much discomfort.   6. Plan for short term wins To achieve short term wins the management of PCCW needs to reduce the paper works by minimizing some of their processes and recording procedures. The management would have to determine means to reduce the steps in making records about transactions made by the company.   7. Consolidate improvements and produce further change The improvements that have transpired will be consolidated and analyzed to see whether additional change should continue. It will then be consolidated with other changes that have happened.  Recordings of the changes within PCCW will be documented through electronic documents. One personnel would be assigned to monitor, document and consolidate the change process and how it has affected the firm. The personnel would make sure that every part of the change process is documented and recorded.   8. Institutionalize the new approach In this step the coalitions have finished making sure that the personnel and the customers have minimized the use of paper. When the people have been institutionalized they will not be tempted to make use of paper and they will rely on the use of electronic documents.   Resistance and Strategies to overcome the resistance Most people are afraid from the unknown. They often assume that the change may cause inconvenience to change their habits. Resistance to change is an emotional/behavioral response to real or imagined threats to an established work routine (Sims 2002).  People in the organization might resist change because of psychological model, systems model, institutionalized model and culture model. In the psychological model the personnel may feel anxiety or fear.  The reduction of paper usage may increase the employee’s workload because they will have to convert documents into a format accepted in electronic documents. For clients, they will worry about the security issues when they use the electronic document systems. PCCW can solve these issues through consultative and empowering activities that can help in overcoming their anxiety and fear.   In the system model employees sees the change process as impractical given the existing systems. The file system and document circulation system may tend to still use an actual paper for keeping record of salary bill or tax documents of employees. For clients, they may not like to change their practices and then synchronize it with the change process. PCCW can remove such resistance through redesigning systems and make sure that these systems support new changes. In the institutionalized model organization members resist change when they believe that it is not necessary because the change would force them to learn new knowledge to replace the traditional paper documentation. It is vital for PCCW to demonstrate the value of the proposed change or the urgency of change for organizational success or survival. In the culture model members resist change that is contrary to their dominant beliefs Organizational culture is one of the toughest resistances to change.  This type of resistance cannot be easily removed since it is embedded in every employee of PCCW. The employees should be given a clear explanation on why such change is needed and what are the proposed alternatives to paper.      Evaluation Approaches In evaluating the change process, two approaches are used and those are formative and summative. In the formative approach the effects of the changes will be observed and taken note of while the change process transpires. In this approach the initial issues and effects of the change process will be known and actions will be taken to prevent complications.  During the change process the amount of paper used by PCCW would be recorded according to the different departments and subsidiaries. Each department would email their records of the number of papers used over the number of papers available in a department’s inventory. By doing this the company would check whether the employees followed the paper reduction scheme. After all records are collated, it will be analyzed to see if there is an increase or decrease in paper consumption. During the change process, the management would coordinate with the waste management group to determine how much paper has been put in waste bins by each division of PCCW. In the summative process the effects of the changes will be observed and taken note of after the whole change process has expired. In this approach the change process has been completed, the evaluation serves as a concluding part of the whole process in this approach the overall effect of the change process is seen and notes will be taken on what should and should not be done on the succeeding change processes. In the summative approach the strong points of the change process will be recorded for future references. After the change process the managers would check for the total consumption of paper for a certain year it would be compared with the paper consumed for the previous years. After the change process, the paper waste of the company before the change process will be compared with the paper waste of the company after accomplishing the change process.   Recommendation for future changes The company should fix communication lines between those that will be affected by the change process. Communication between the leaders of the change process and the stakeholders of the change process is vital so that the change process will have lesser barriers and lesser issues.  The company should make sure that the personnel they will hire will be amiable to any change they will suddenly introduce. This will reduce the need to adjust to change. Adjusting to change costs some time and can cause the loss of interest towards the change process. Having amiable personnel will prevent problems between the leaders of the change process and the personnel.   References Bentivegna, V, Brandon, PS & Lombardi, PL (eds.) 1997, Evaluation of the built environment for sustainability, E & FN Spon, London.   Benveniste, J, Dunphy, D, Griffiths, A & Sutton, P (eds.) 2000, Sustainability: the corporate challenge of the 21st century, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, N.S.W.    Butkus, RT & Green, TB 1999, Motivation, beliefs and organizational transformation, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.]   Cunha, JV, Cunha, PE & Kamoche, KN (eds.) 2002, Organizational improvisation, Routledge, New York.   Doherty, TL & Horne, T 2002, Managing public services implementing changes: A thoughtful approach to the practice of management, Routledge, London.   Duchin, F, Idenburg, A, Lange, G & Thonstad, K 1994, The future of the environment: Ecological economics and technological change, Oxford University Press, New York.   Fishbein, M, Goldberg, ME & Middlestadt, SE 1997, Social marketing: Theoretical and practical perspectives, social marketing: Theoretical and practical perspectives, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ   Gilley, JW & Maycunich, A 2000, Organizational learning, Performance, and change: An introduction to strategic human resource development, Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA.   Gottlieb, MR 2001, Managing group process, Praeger, Westport, CT.   Naylor, LL 1996, Culture and change: An introduction, Bergin & Garvey, Westport, CT.   PCCW Corporate Website 2008, Company background, viewed 12 August, 2008, <http://www.pccw.com/eng>.   Sims, RR 2002, Managing organizational behavior, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.

Small sustainability improvement project for PCCW Hong Kong to reduce paper consumption

Executive Summary Change will always be a part of any business operations. Change is done whenever there are flaws in how a company prov...

Strategic Analysis of PCCW Hong Kong

Strategic Management Coursework Assignment         Strategic Analysis of PCCW Hong Kong         (Name of Student) (University)           (DATE)     Executive Summary   This assignment discusses and analyzes a specific company, which provides adequate information regarding one of its essential aspects, its human resource. A brief profile of the company is provided, including the company objectives, operating industry, and competitive position or environment. The evaluation and analysis of the organizational change process of the company is done by using different tools of analysis, in relation to strategic development.   The company chosen for this analysis is PCCW Limited, which is regarded as the leading company in Hong Kong and in all of Asia that provides communications services and information technologies. Findings of the report include possibly adopting both resource-led and market-led strategic development business models, particularly the Core Competence strategic option in order to improve the productivity and performance of PCCW’s human resource. However, major recommendation for the organization includes implementing additional trainings and seminars for the benefit of the employees and the organization as well. Another recommendation is using an appropriate Information System that would contribute to the improvement of the communication between the organization and its shareholders or suppliers.              Table of Content   Cover Page                                                                                                                  1 Executive Summary                                                                                                    2 Table of Content                                                                                                         3 Introduction to the Report                                                                                          4          Brief for the Case Object                                                                                            4 Strategic Analysis                                                                                                       6 Strategic Formulation                                                                                                 8 Strategic Option                                                                                                          13 Evaluation of Strategic Option                                                                                   15 Strategic Implementation                                                                                            16 Conclusion                                                                                                                  18 References                                                                                                                  20   Introduction to the Report   This assignment discusses the strategic development of PCCW, Hong Kong’s leading Telecommunications Company. One of its important aspects, its human resource are given emphasis and importance, being responsible for the success of the company in terms of providing effective products and services. A strategic analysis through identification of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) is provided. In relation to this, identification of strategic options is also done, along with its evaluation in terms of its implementation. With its implementation, the factors that must be taken note of, such as problems, success factors, advantages, and performance indicators are determined.   Brief for the Case Object   PCCW Limited is the largest telecommunication company in Hong Kong and considered one of Asia’ leading competitors in terms of Information and Communication Technology or ICT. It contributes in enhancing Hong Kong ‘s image as a center of technology and business superiority, with its outstanding innovation, particularly with its IP-based business services, New Generation Fixed Line services, broadband pay-TV, Internet access, media content, large-scale IT solutions, mobility, and wireless innovations (Company Profile PCCW 2008). PCCW defeats its powerful rival, Singapore Telecomm, with its purchase of Hong Kong Telecomm Corporation, and thus, signed an agreement with British Cable and Wireless Limited on the acquisition of Hong Kong Telecomm. After its merger, the market value of the new and bigger corporation would exceed US$70 billion (Current Situation and Characteristics of the Asian Telecomm Operating Industry Development 2008). Being formerly known as Pacific Century CyberWorks, PCCW is now the leader in telecommunications services in Hong Kong and the city’s dominant carrier, operating 2.5 million local-exchange lines and about 1 million broadband access lines through subsidiary Cable & Wireless HKT (PCCW Limited Overview 2008), leading the company to efficiently provide its services to the citizens of Hong Kong.   The corporate business objectives of PCCW include maintaining its competitive positioning in the industry through providing support to the community and the environment and by sustaining its high-quality products and services that cannot be matched by its competitors. It supports services and products that would help make Hong Kong an IT hub, develop computer literacy and familiarity with the Internet of the community through education, and uphold environmental best practices (Community and Environment 2008) for the benefit of the whole community or society. Such objectives are being met by PCCW given the competitive environment it is in. It has been indicated that being one of Asia’s key telecommunications centers, Hong Kong’s environment is characterized with ‘great connectivity and services, and a high concentration of fiber optic cables connecting throughout the region and the rest of the world’ (James 2002). At present, ‘Hong Kong is probably the most competitive wireless environment in the world, with 71% of the wireless world that is served by GSM technologies in over 180 countries’ (James 2002). This leads to the discussion of the most crucial aspect of the organization, its human resources, being the key contributor to the success of the business organization. As such, the contribution of the organization’s human resource will be discussed, being essential in its strategic development and management.   Strategic Analysis - SWOT Analysis   One of the important strengths of PCCW is its clearly defined goals and objectives, which help drive the success of the organization in terms of how they provide efficient products and services to consumers. Not only does the organization focus on the competitive position of its organization, but also on the welfare of its human resources, the society, and the environment as a whole. PCCW also maintains the leading position in terms of its products and services, which include IP-based business services, New Generation Fixed Line services, broadband pay-TV, Internet access, media content, large-scale IT solutions, mobility, and wireless innovations (Company Profile PCCW 2008), enabling the company to maintain its leading position in the market. The company also has different business strategies for multiple level market entry, such as providing solutions for port management, security and CCTV systems, audio and visual solutions, and technical support and maintenance services to various sectors in the industry, including governments, public services, aviation, and broadcast engineering operations. It also re-entered the mobile market, collaborated with real estate and broadband companies, and improved its telephone directories. In terms of structure, the contribution of its large team of professionals, experiences and knowledge in the IT industry provide excellent ICT solutions that would help customers develop innovative and challenging business opportunities. However, the highly diverse and mobile workforce of the company serves as its primary weakness, as the lack of their synchronization may contribute to the increase of internal crises and problems in the company. Nevertheless, important opportunities for PCCW include the changing needs of their consumers, which can further drive their innovation in terms of services and technologies. This then further increases the demand of the company’s consumers for their services and products, which consequently drives the sales, competitive position, and success of the organization. The continuous growth of the organization can also drive its capacity expansion, which can help increase its workforce and its innovation strategies. In addition, a good opportunity for PCCW is also its affiliations, which may further provide the organization with new ideas and strategies that would propel its success and development in its industry. Aside from opportunities, threats also hinder the smooth operations of PCCW. Changing needs of consumers may serve as its vital threat, serving to make their prior products and services useless, particularly when new technologies are in line. Another vital threat are the external drivers of the organization, namely, politics, economics, society, and technology, as PCCW has no direct control over the many possible changes that may happen to them. Such uncontrollable changes must then drive the organization to adapt itself in order to function effectively in the industry. Threat also includes the internal conflicts and problems brought about by workforce conflict, communication conflict, and culture conflict in the organization.   Strategic Formulation The concept of strategic development is defined as the identification or determination of the short- and long-term strategies that will be employed by an organization in order to achieve each of its goals (Social Entrepreneurs Inc. 2007). It is one of the important elements of strategic planning, which involves organizing, directing, managing, and controlling all the necessary strategies and plans involved in obtaining the goals and objectives of a particular organization. Another term essential involved in the concept of strategic development is the term ‘development’, which is said to occur when a gain in experience is effectively combined wit the conceptual understanding that can illuminate it, given increased confidence both to act and to perceive how such action relates to its context (Wilson 2001, 7). It then happens through experience or by learning from mistakes and successes (Joy-Matthews et al. 2004, 9). In this sense, understanding the concept of strategic development also involves understanding other concepts, such as learning, development, and strategic planning, which enable an organization facilitate and sustain changes that lead to its success in its industry. Both resource-led and market-led development strategies are being observed, wherein resource-led development strategy involves facilitating change in the organization due to changes in its resources, while market-led development strategy involves determining the different aspects or elements present in the market such as product, customer, strategy, planning, and other marketing concepts.        As mentioned, resource-led strategic development involves facilitating change and development on the part of the organization’s resources, and for this particular organization, PCCW, resource-led strategic development is addressed through its human resources. In this regard, business models that can be effectively used for resource-led strategic development include both BCG Matrix and Core Competences. The BCG Matrix is the business portfolio or growth-share matrix, which is used in order to analyze the flow of funds or the proper allocation of resources in an organization. In addition, it is based on the product life cycle theory, which can be used to identify the priorities that must be provided in the product portfolio of a business unit. This is because in order to guarantee the long-term value creation of a business, the organization must have a portfolio of products that contains both high-growth products in need of cash inputs and low-growth products that produce a lot of cash (The BCG Matrix Product Portfolio Method 2008). Thus, with PCCW, it can be perceived that it is considered a Star. This is because a Star produces large amounts of cash due to its strong relative market share, but also consumes large amounts of cash due to their high growth rate (The BCG Matrix Product Portfolio Method 2008). From this analysis, it can be understood that PCCW has a high market share in Hong Kong, and at the same time, produces more than enough sales and profit that it can consume. In this sense, the company’s industry performance is attractive, thus, generating the company’s competitive advantage over its competitors. Another business model that can be used for resource-led strategic development is Core Competences. It has been indicated that a core competence is the result of a specific unique set of skills or production techniques that deliver value to the consumers. Such core competences take a product or production orientation rather than a market orientation. It emphasizes that thresholds, which can be in the form of resources and competences must be achieved by an organization in order to remain competitive. In addition, in order to remain competitive, an organization must be able to sustain three important resources, namely, Material, Human, and Intangible, with adequate and appropriate maintenance of Intangible Resources making the state of the organization most difficult to achieve (Core Competences Marketing and Core Competences 2008). Such Intangible Resources include activities that use resources of the organization, such as reducing cost, identifying relevant markets, and adding value. Using this business model, it can be understood that PCCW has already achieved Core Competences that cannot be matched or achieved by other organizations in Hong Kong. Because the company has already achieved the sustenance of its Intangible Resources, its competitors would be having a hard time to achieve the same reputation and competitive positioning it has.   On the other hand, understanding market-led strategic development in terms of its application in PCCW can be achieved based on two business models, namely, Ansoff’s product-market matrix and Generic Strategy. It has been indicated that Ansoff’s product/market growth matrix suggests that an organization attempts to grow depending on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets. It suggests four growth strategies, namely, Market Penetration, in which the organization focuses on selling existing products into existing markets; Market Development, wherein the organization seeks to sell its existing products into new markets; Product Development, wherein organizations aim to introduce new products into existing markets; and Diversification, wherein an organization markets or sells new products to new markets (Ansoff’s Product/Market Matrix 2008). In analysis, it can be understood that two possible growth strategies are able to be applied by PCCW, namely, Market Development and Product Development. This is because the company focuses only on providing both old and new products and services to solely the market of Hong Kong. The other business model that can be used for market-led strategic development is Generic Strategy. According to Michael Porter’s Generic Strategy, the strength of an organization falls into one of two headings, namely, Cost Advantage and Differentiation, and applying such strengths three generic strategies are obtained, Cost Leadership, Differentiation, and Focus. Such are termed generic strategies because they are not firm or industry dependent. The Cost Leadership strategy emphasizes efficiency, requiring considerable market share advantage or preferential access to raw materials, components, labor, and many others, and involves low-cost strategies that could assist the company gain significant market share (Porter’s Generic Strategies 2007). Differentiation Strategy involves the production of a new product, which offers excellent value for the customers’ benefit, and to be able to do so, extensive research, communication and innovation must be done (Generic Strategies – Michael Porter (1980) 2008). Lastly, Focus Strategy emphasizes on specific or particular segments from a larger market (Power and Power 2007). Based on the three strategies, all three strategies can be utilized by PCCW. This is because all three strategies would help PCCW in sustaining and maintaining its competitive position in the market. This is because the wide range of products and services that the company offers its consumers enables PCCW to utilize and maximize the use of the different strategies in order to effectively reach its target consumers.                Strategic Option In terms of resource-led strategic development, both BCG matrix and Core Competences are suggested. Benefits of using the BCG matrix include enabling PCCW to take note of the increase or decrease of its market share and growth. The use of the BCG matrix would also enable PCCW base the amount of cash it was able to use and the amount of cash it was able to generate. In terms of using the Core Competences business model, its benefits include allowing PCCW to take note of its competences, including the different activities that are essential in sustaining the competitive position of the organization. It also enables the company to identify the needed and still lacking competences in order for it to stay on top of the market and among its competitors.   In terms of market-led strategic development, both Ansoff’s product/market matrix and Porter’s Generic Strategies are suggested. The benefits of using Ansoff’s matrix include allowing PCCW to determine the direction of the organization in terms of its product or service development. It also allows PCCW to take note of the markets available for its expansion. Lastly, it helps PCCW determine the needed strategy in order to sustain its competitive positioning in the market. Similarly, using Porter’s Generic Strategies also allows PCCW to determine the right and appropriate strategies to be used by the organization in order to sustain its competitive position in the market.   Using such business models includes determining the different resources needed by PCCW in order to utilize them. The use of the BCG matrix requires the market share data of the company, particularly the present statistics data and the data that indicate the growth of shares of the company. It also requires PCCW’s sales inventory and profit data. Using the Core Competences business model requires the different resources being utilized by PCCW. It requires the current performance of the company based on the resources. It also requires the increase or the decrease of the resources that affect the overall performance of the company. Using the Ansoff matrix requires the evaluation of the current market targeted by PCCW, including the evaluation of the current products and services it offers. The responses of the customers of PCCW are also crucial, including the evaluation of the strategies currently used by the company. Using Porter’s Generic Strategies requires the evaluation of the current strategies being used by PCCW. It also requires the evaluation of the current performance and skills of its human resources, and the current market, products, and services it offers to its target market.   Using such business models have overall positive outcomes for PCCW. Using the BCG matrix would help the company evaluate the input and output of cash flow in PCCW. It would also help the company evaluate its market share. It would help PCCW figure out the appropriate strategies that it can use in order to sustain its position in the market. It would also help identify problems in the company. Using the Core Competence business model would help PCCW identify the problems of the company easily based on the performance of its resources. The business model would also help PCCW figure out the proper solutions to problems. It would also help figure out the impacts of the increase or decrease of resourced it utilizes. Using the Ansoff matrix would yield positive outcomes, such as identifying the need for new products or markets, identifying the need for sustaining old products and markets, and identifying the strategies to be used for maintaining PCCW’s competitive positioning. Lastly, using Porter’s Generic Strategies would help the company identify the skills needed by its resources, help identify the strategies to be used to improve its overall performance, and help identify problems to be encountered in the future.   Evaluation of Strategic Option   Advantages of using both resource-led and market-led strategic development business models involve addressing the many issues and aspects of human resources, such as organizational culture, attitudes, activities, motivation, leadership, and productivity. It also involves the improvement of the quality of products and services of PCCW by eliminating defects. Customer satisfaction and loyalty is also given emphasis through the improvement of the quality of products and services provided by the company. Lastly, its use also emphasizes on different employee interventions that improve overall company performance.   In terms of suitability, such business models are deemed highly suitable because it addresses organizational culture in an organization, and this is particularly needed in a highly-diverse organization, such as PCCW. In terms of feasibility, using this strategic option is highly feasible as PCCW has the necessary background and knowledge regarding their use. Given its rich organizational structure, it is perceived that the employees in the organization have the necessary expertise and experiences needed to evaluate the usefulness and relevance of the models in PCCW. In terms of acceptability, it is perceived that the use of the models is highly acceptable because the welfare of the whole organization and its consumers are given importance.   In addition, advantages also include the focus on the supply and products of PCCW, enhancement of good communication between suppliers and the organization, and addressing the needs of the consumers.   PCCW primarily provides products and services to its consumers, thus, needing the support of its suppliers. The use of such business models is also feasible because given its organizational structure, the expertise and experiences of its employees would be necessary to evaluate its need. In addition, because PCCW is an established IT services company in the market and industry, it would not be difficult for the company to communicate with its suppliers effectively. Lastly, its use is also highly acceptable because this strategic option deals with providing enough supplies and products for the welfare of its consumers and the company as well.   Strategic Implementation   The implementation of all four business models is being adapted as strategic options for PCCW. However, moving one lower level means that more specific strategies are to be implemented. Choosing only one strategic option from the business models, it can be suggested that the Core Competences business model is the most appropriate. This is because based on the overall performance of PCCW, it can be perceived that is able to sustain its threshold, thus, no other company in Hong Kong would be able to match its performance in terms of providing the products and services that it offers. In this regard, it can be suggested that the company was able to utilize all its resources effectively, thus, making the Core Competence business model the appropriate strategic option to be implemented.     However, in terms of its implementation, continued individual employee training and development programs must be assigned. Such programs should be used to ensure and to maintain an appropriate balance between the needs of the organization and the needs of the employees, to maintain and sustain the knowledge and skills that the organization demands. PCCW can also use and implement an Information System or any Internet-based program of communication for more effective and up-to-date transaction and negotiations.   Problems in the implementation of the strategies involve the resistance of the employees or shareholders, miscommunication, lack of appropriate resources or funds, and the delay of the needed IS program or training materials.   Success factors include the attentiveness of the employees and shareholders, the improved quality of the products and services offered by PCCW, more consumers and sales, improved communication, smoother operations, and compliance to policies and regulations.   Performance indicators include the number of consumers retained and added, including their feedbacks, employee turnover, and the balance between the sales made by PCCW with its debt.   Conclusion This assignment discussed the strategic development of PCCW, Hong Kong’s leading Telecommunications Company, provided its objectives and its competitive environment in relation to its performance in the industry. To emphasize the importance of its human resource a strategic analysis was done through examination of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Identification of strategic options is also done, along with its evaluation in terms of its implementation. With its implementation, the factors that must be taken note of, such as problems, success factors, advantages, and performance indicators are determined.   References Ansoff’s Product/Market Matrix. 2008. http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm. (accessed May 20, 2008). Community and Environment. 2008. http://www.pccw.com/eng/AboutUs/CommunityandEnvironment.html (accessed May 9, 2008). Company Profile PCCW. 2008. http://www.pccw.com/eng/AboutUs/CompanyProfile.html (accessed May 9, 2008). Core Competences Marketing and Core Competences. 2008. http://www.marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_core_competences.htm. (accessed May 20, 2008). 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Strategic Analysis of PCCW Hong Kong

Strategic Management Coursework Assignment Strategic Analysis of PCCW Hong Kong (Name of Student)...