Employees are the chief plus of organisations today. Many surveies show that the happier employees are, the better the public presentation of the company. The organisation in a company is really of import and can make the difference between the companies which operate in the same market. However France telecom did non understand the importance of this portion of the company. In the old ages 2000 France telecome was pointed out by the intelligence due to the figure of self-destruction of employees inside the company.
It will explicate what was their initial policy about the organisation of the company and how they manage to better the state of affairs until holding a respectful organisational behaviour. After a short description of the company. there will be an analysis of their manner of pull offing but furthermore about the worked environment of the company and the ambiance which terrify the employees. Then there will be a portion about the deficiency of motive of the employee due to the direction of the board. The 3rd portion raises concern the squad atmosphere and the force per unit area applies on the employees. And eventually the last portion trades with the diverseness and the fact they arrived to alter their manner of manage the employees inside the company.
Description of the instance
France Telecom is a Gallic multinational Mobile operator, one of the few mammoth companies in the telecommunications Fieldss, supplying Internet entree and phone subscriptions to more than 300 million clients in 35 states. The company was created in 1988 and now employs about 170 000 people. It has become the largest telecommunication corporation in Europe and the 2nd largest in the universe with a turnover of about 45,5 billion euros in 2011. Indeed, France Telecom operates all over Europe under the trade name Orange, but is besides the proprietor of major telecommunication companies around the Earth.
In France, this company was talked about in the imperativeness in the old ages 2008 and 2009 because held responsible for the self-destruction wave that followed a restructuring program. Although the figures might change from one beginning to another, it is said that approximately 40 self-destructions were reported in less than two old ages. The people who committed self-destruction or attempted to make so for that affair, were by and large well-balanced people whose working methods had been wholly turned upside down by the reaching of new engineerings in their company. As a affair of fact, France telecom ‘s employees have been overwhelmed by a excessively volatile environment in footings of methodological analysis.
The twine of self-destructions can be traced back to 2005, when the company presented the “ NExT ” program, a recovery program for the old ages to come that aimed at cut downing costs particularly by decreasing wages disbursals and implementing a convergence policy for its merchandises and services. This immense restructuring program enabled France Telecom to cut down its figure of employes by more than 10 % . These big cuts in budget and work force represent what could be seen as an improbably aggressive direction manner at that clip. That twelvemonth, they cut 22,000 occupations and changed the occupation descriptions of another 10,000. There were 29 self-destructions among France Telecom employees in 2002, 22 in 2003, 12 in 2008 but they received really small promotion.
The former caput of France Telecom SA, Didier Lombard, who was placed under probe for his function in the batch of self-destructions, said that he rejected the thought that “ programs critical to the endurance of the company might hold been the cause of human calamities. ” On July fifth 2012, it was announced that other executives, including the former caput of Human Resources, were being placed under probe every bit good. Besides torment, the direction of France Telecom is besides being investigated for forestalling the operation of the company and traveling against workers ‘ hygiene and safety demands.
Market rigidnesss due to Gallic Torahs refering layoffs, it was hard for France Telecom to allow travel long-standing telecoms workers. Alternatively, the company adopted “ intimidation ” tactics to promote unwanted workers to go forth the company.
The late employees of France Telecom have blamed their work environment and working conditions in the letters they left for their households and friends, utilizing words such as “ psychological torment ” , “ direction of panic ” and “ an compulsion for consequences ” .
An probe revealed a “ really hapless general feeling ” , “ strained physical and mental wellness ” , and a “ tense and even violent working environment ” for some classs of forces.
Even an intercession of the Gallic authorities, which holds 27 % of the company ‘s portions, was necessary to halt this black state of affairs. The Labour Minister of the clip ordered the company ‘s main executives to acquire out of their offices and travel out in the field to hear employee ailments face-to-face.
Case analysis
1. Competition / Environment / Pressure / Learning
The company passed from province monopoly into planetary telecommunications giant. The changeless managerial and market force per unit area made the on the job environment at France Telecom intolerable.
It appears that from 2005 until 2010, France Telecom ‘s employees had been forced into making occupations they did non experience related to, undertakings they were non trained to make, and transferred overnight to offices far from place. They have complained that they were under changeless force per unit area to discontinue from directors.
The corporate civilization at France Telecom was questioned in the medias every bit shortly as the “ suicides instance ” started to do noise. The self-destructions were blamed on a direction compulsion with net income and productiveness marks. That companies have to cover with major alterations, that ‘s normal, but that it leads to people ‘s deceases?
At France Telecom, there was no feeling of belonging that linked people together. This lead to high degrees of absenteeism, stress-related unwellness, household issues, and more unsafe: accidents and self-destructions.
Learning
In this high force per unit area and high changing environment, employees have chances of larning but what is the point if it does n’t lend to a general feeling of fulfilment of the employees?
When come ining the company 20 old ages ago, they thought they would be working in the same metropolis, with the same people, and climb the hierarchal ladder as they got older. Alternatively, after a few hebdomads developing, they got thrown into call centres where merely the gross revenues degrees count and where they were in changeless competition with the others.
It seems that the direction at France Telecom was utilizing the “ Operant Scheme ” in a derived manner. Alternatively of seeking to modify the behaviour of their employees through positive or negative effects, they were utilizing this scheme to gross out them in order to do them go forth the company.
This is wholly the antonym of what a good direction squad is supposed to make, which is to act upon the employees so that they give the best of themselves at work, in a favorable environment. It is the duty of anyone in a supervisory place to make a positive environment for those on his or her squad. A good leader besides has to wish his or her employees, non seek to hold them discontinue their occupation by the terminal of the month.
Honoring employees ‘ accomplishments, supplying occupation challenges, offering coaching and guidance are the bases of societal acquisition. Puting ends is besides a major facet of direction that ushers and directs people ‘s behaviours. It reduces emphasis, struggles and ambiguity, improves public presentation ; and was most surely non the chief concern of France Telecom ‘s direction squad.
As the environment at France Telecom was non favorable to interaction between employees and directors, a Management By Aims Program ( one of the best methods for long term public presentation ) was non an option. Some employees say that they “ should non hold been merely abandoned like that, without personal counsel. ”
Personality
Peoples have personality penchants that have deductions for their acquisition procedure.
However, how can the demands of the employees be met in such a altering environment? Those who look for intending effort to hold a planetary position on a topic are frustrated. Those expression for more inside informations and applications can ne’er use them.
Stress
Work emphasis is caused by factors in the work environment every bit good as external force per unit areas that spill over into the workplace. They can come from undertaking, function, interpersonal or physical demands. One of the most complex work-related causes of emphasis is function struggle.
At France Telecom, employees frequently did non cognize what their function in the company was, which produced a batch of emphasis for them. And as said earlier, emphasis has a cost associated with absenteeism, tardiness, and sometimes even work stoppages or work arrests, which of class influence the turnover of the company.
Didier Lombard, admitted in September 2009 that he had “ made errors, which has increased the emphasis on my employees ” .
“ My co-worker ‘s decease will alter nil. For Didier Lombard [ the CEO of France Telecom ] , we are merely pawns. We mean nil. He says that we are merely suicide manner victims, copying one another. But things can non travel on like this. It is one self-destruction excessively many. ”
Anne-Marie, committed self-destruction
Stress comprises wellness hazards and psychological jobs in the long tally. It can sometimes take to suicide.
2. Motivation
France Telecom & A ; Employee Motivation
Motivation is the procedure of eliciting and prolonging purposive behaviour.
However, we saw earlier that between 2005 and 2010, France Telecom did non give aims and ends to its employees.
In March 2010, the company announced that it planned to get down establishing about a 3rd of their director ‘s fillips on societal standards, such as occupation satisfaction of the employees. The alteration was implemented as portion of a program to cover with the issue of roseola of self-destructions.
The determination to bind fillips to worker satisfaction and absenteeism was the latest attempt to turn to the self-destructions jobs. As a affair of fact, many of the people at the company who committed or attempted to perpetrate self-destruction blamed their actions on working conditions, forced transportations, or fright of occupation loss, which we saw earlier brings a high degree of emphasis in the workplace.
It was a good thought to better the environment and working conditions at the company. But why did it take a roseola of self-destructions for France Telecom to understand that directors are accountable for the satisfaction of those who report to them?
Maslow ‘s Theory of demands
In Maslow ‘s Book Motivation and Personality ( 2006 ) , it is stated that people can non be motivated to travel on to higher degree demands when they feel their basic demands are non met in a satisfactory manner. For illustration, hapless leading keeps people at lower degrees whereas change, invention, and bettering productiveness, require people to be at higher degrees. France Telecom learnt this the difficult manner.
Another theory states that motive factors such as acknowledgment, duty promotion and growing bring occupation satisfaction. On the other manus, bad working conditions, low position, and unqualified supervising can merely convey occupation dissatisfaction.
Late France Telecom employee blamed the atrocious on the job conditions and explained that self-destruction was the lone manner out. This is a really utmost state of affairs of occupation dissatisfaction but it merely underlines until where a direction of panic can convey its employees.
If France Telecom had wanted to undermine the organisation by gross outing its employees, it would non hold succeeded better.
3. Teams / Learning
Most of France Telecom ‘s employees worked in squads. On an single degree, squad or group members derive benefits from the corporate experience of teamwork. These single benefits can be organized into 2 classs: Psychological familiarity and Integrated engagement.
Psychological familiarity is emotional and psychological intimacy to other squad members. It consequences in feelings of fondness and heat, positive respect, communicating, and support. On the other manus, neglecting to accomplish psychological familiarity may ensue in feeling of isolation and solitariness.
Integrated engagement is closeness achieved through undertakings and activities, it consequences in enjoyment of work, societal individuality and self-definition, being valued for one ‘s accomplishments and abilities, chances for power, and influence. It contributes to societal psychological wellness and wellbeing.
Whereas psychological familiarity is based more on emotions, integrated engagement is based on behaviour and activities.
The success of both of these signifiers of group familiarities are necessary for the public presentation of an organisation. It improves group coherence and prevents buming.
A squad demoing these features is called a “ Mature Group ” . Team members know their mission and the manner they can act around their co-workers. They are normally more originative and can self manage.
France Telecom ‘s direction failed to sufficiently authorise its employees so that they were non able to take their ain determinations within their squads, they did non cognize their mission or aims. In add-on to all that, team coherence was inexistent because of the changeless place alterations and reassignments.
In these conditions, communicating is even harder. Some ethical quandary arised, such as:
Were employee ‘s rights respected? Was the direction at France Telecom a signifier of torment? Why did it take a moving ridge of self-destructions to blow the whistling?
Training
The necessity of France Telecom to accommodate to modern engineerings such as the computing machine and the Internet was besides a prima factor of the restructuring program in the 2000 ‘s. Although, on this facet, it seems that the company offered formations and preparations to its employees. This explains besides why the scope Group is today a major histrion in the telecommunications industry.
4. Diversity ( Prize )
Diverseness
After Al, cubic decimeter it seems that France Telecom did non make everything wrong. In fact, in July 2010, diverseness was successfully integrated within the restructuring program with really ambitious aims. For illustration, one of them was to make the degree of 35 % of directors that are adult females. France Telecom-Orange even earned last twelvemonth the “ Gender Equality-European Standard Certification ” . It is one of the first companies in Europe to be certified.
This measure emphasizes the turning point at France Telecom. The direction squad learnt its lesson and is now seeking to do things right for its employees. When the Group was audited before being granted with the award, a figure of strong points were revealed. The policies, schemes, duologues and enterprises present in different entities of the Group were extremely appreciated.
Brigitte Dumont, Deputy Director of Group Human Resources says: “ We are really proud to hold obtained this enfranchisement which recognizes the coherency of our gender equality in the workplace policy and which reinforces our motive to prosecute our attempts right across our European footmark and in other states across the universe. ”
Gender equality is non the lone end the France Telecom-Orange Group is seeking to prosecute. It besides aims at bettering ability diverseness. Although this undertaking merely started in 2011, it seems promising.
Conclusion / Other Example
To set it in a nutshell, France telecom had some jobs about their manner of pull offing their employees and the force per unit area put by the directors. But after a batch of period of suicide inside the company, France telecom had to alter their organisational behaviour because the intelligence pointed them out. but France telecom was non the lone company which had self-destructions inside of the company. there are many illustrations like Renault of Foxconn which occurred in the same period. For illustration in Renault there had some self-destructions related to a undercover agent instance in which some employees were suspected and they could non accept the force per unit area established by the board of Renault.
Nowadays we know less instances about self-destructions in France because the manner of pull offing the employees changed inside the company and because today the moralss ‘ portion of a corporation is really of import.
Beginnings
France Telecom Suicides in 2008/2009
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.nytimes.com/2010/04/10/business/global/10ftel.html? _r=0
hypertext transfer protocol: //www2.macleans.ca/tag/france-telecom/
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/12/france-telecom-suicides
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.theworld.org/2012/07/executives-france-telecom/
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/06/us-france-francetelecom-idUSBRE8650XB20120706
Motivation
hypertext transfer protocol: //corporatedeathspiral.blogspot.fr/2010/03/france-telecom-employee-motivation.html
Competition, force per unit area
hypertext transfer protocol: //m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/suicides-shake-french-telecom-giant/article4297351/ ? service=mobile
Diverseness
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.yatedo.com/p/Laurent+Depond/normal/46020d2fb4a0975cff8bdc68dfbd7a49
Teams/Learning
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/why-are-so-many-france-telecom-workers-dying-1795171.html
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.droit-individuel-formation.fr/25-formation-france-telecom-filiales.html
Other illustrations:
Foxconn ( Apple and Microsoft maker ) , “ No self-destruction ” treaty
2010
hypertext transfer protocol: //edition.cnn.com/2012/01/11/world/asia/china-microsoft-factory/index.html
Renault ( 4 people in one hebdomad in the same workshop )
hypertext transfer protocol: //m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/suicides-shake-french-telecom-giant/article4297351/ ? service=mobile ( at the terminal )
Presents
gender equality in the workplace: France Telecom-Orange earns Gender Equality-European Standard enfranchisement
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.orange.com/en/press/press-releases/press-releases-2011/gender-equality-in-the-workplace-France-Telecom-Orange-earns-Gender-Equality-European-Standard-certification
Workplace hapiness
hypertext transfer protocol: //minnesota.octprod.publicradio.org/display/web/2012/10/16/daily-circuit-workplace-happiness/
hypertext transfer protocol: //www.youtube.com/watch? feature=player_embedded & A ; v=XD6N8bsjOEE ( 10’20 ” ) ( 12 ‘ ) ( 13 ‘ ) ( 16 ‘ )
