Gap Analysis: Global CommunicationsGlobal Communications faced a difficult and daunting decision. The company is in decline and a new growth strategy is ready to be implemented. The growth strategy will allow Global to become more competitive and responsive to its customers. However, the implementation of the plan was not clearly conceived, causing conflicts and divisions. How can Global solve its problems? The problems addressed by Global were examined and measured against the concepts presented in the cited texts. Situation Analysis Identifying Problems and Opportunities In the scenario downloaded from rEsource, global communications faced difficult times. The share price fell more than 60% over a three-year period. Shareholders were anxious and their confidence was waning. The scenario indicated strong pressure for an economic turnaround. The entry of cable companies into the telecommunications industry was blamed. Cable companies, with advanced technologies and infrastructure, were able to not only provide television entertainment, but also telephone and Internet access. This was something where global communication was lacking. Global communications could no longer compete in customer service. In Understanding Business, 5th Ed, Nickels and McHugh state: Competition among businesses has never been as great as it is today. Some companies have found a competitive advantage by focusing on making high-quality products. The goal for many companies is zero defects, no errors in the creation of the product. However, simply producing a quality product is not enough to allow a company to remain competitive in world markets. Companies now need to offer quality products and excellent service at competitive prices. That's why GM is building car plants in Argentina, Poland, China and Thailand. Combining excellence with low-cost labor and minimizing distribution costs has led to larger markets and long-term growth for GM (pp10-11). This is the environment in which Global operates. The cable companies have the high quality products that are in high demand. As a result, Global intends to benefit not only by updating its products, but by introducing new products and services, targeting specific customer demographics, and decreasing expenses while increasing customer satisfaction. Nickels and McHugh also state that there are four factors to operate in a highly competitive environment. The first is to compete by delighting the customer (Nickels and McHugh, 1999, p.11). This is what Global intends to do by introducing its own strategic alliances with satellite and wireless providers. Along with new calling capabilities, video and wireless services now make one-stop shopping convenient for the customer for all their communication needs. Additionally, the outsourcing plan is designed to increase the technical sophistication of the support staff to provide a better customer experience.