ADC Telecommunications: Research: Leadership And Organizational Behavior

Submitted By zamin
Words: 762
Pages: 4

MGMT 591: Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Project Proposal

Overview of Organization

The organization that will be the topic of discussion in my final project paper is ADC Telecommunications. ADC is a publicly traded, global, manufacturing telecommunications company whose headquarters are in the Twin Cities. We primarily sell copper and fiber products to customers like Verizon and AT&T/Cingular. Like many other telecommunication companies, ADC went thru a significant down-turn around 2000. Not only did locations get shut-down and hundreds of people got laid off, the morale and culture of ADC changed. ADC went from having a top benefits package to having a decent benefits package. They used to have all types of employee incentives and appreciation activities. Now the employees are lucky if they get a caramel apple in the fall and an appreciation meal at the holidays. Rewards for employees doing well are not there anymore.

With the down-turn, ADC lost a lot of their highly skilled, highly valuable employees. They’ve consciously tried to higher “the best of the best” but ADC, at the current time, is not willing to provide the salaries and benefits to get “the best of the best.” ADC has really been focusing on cost-cutting measures the last couple of years. Thus, about everything that differentiated ADC from other companies has gone out the window.

I am an accountant for ADC in the business unit setting. I started with ADC in January of 2006. I was not around for the major down-turn, the benefits package reduction, etc. However, I work everyday with people who were there for that and who have had a negative attitude towards ADC ever since. They constantly discuss how it used to be, so it brings everyone down because well all think of how much better it’d be with all of those benefits.

Cost-cutting activities are alive and well at ADC today too. I have been there for less than two years and have seen three locations within the US close down and at least four outside of the US close. I’ve seen employees at headquarters get walked out just because they want to reduce the workforce and have less employee expenses. It can make it a difficult place to work at when you never really know if you’ll be the next person walked out the door.

Beyond lay-offs, ADC is attempting to cut costs in a lot of other areas, such as not purchasing new computers and other new equipment that would improve efficiency, so that money can be saved right now. Even though ADC was profitable in 2006, they decided not to give out any bonuses to employees. Yearly employee events have turned into every two or three year events. Gyms were supposed to be built at the facilities but that is no longer going to occur so money can be saved. Needless to say, overall morale around the place is quite low and ADC is having a hard time in keeping people around. Even those who have worked there for 10-20+ years have been