Organizational Behavior Analysis: Verizon and AT&T

Organizational Behavior Analysis:

Verizon and AT&TJorge Cardenas, Rick Farmer, Leslie Menard, and Leslie Morgan

OLCU 613 Seminar in Organizational DynamicsFebruary 24, 2011

Verizon Communications, Inc.

• Based in New York• Wireline, wireless communications• Broadband Internet• Fiber-optic communications, information and

entertainment• Formed in 2000 from a merger

• Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp.

AT&T, Inc.

• Based in Dallas, Texas• Formed in 1997 from four other entities• Added BellSouth, Cingular Wireless, YP.com,

and AT&T Corp.• Mobile broadband and broadband Internet• IP-based television and communications• Wi-Fi and wireless communications

Organizational Behavior

• Assessed against four areas:• Employee Motivation• Internal and External Communication• Power Bases and Power Structures• Organizational Culture

• Organizations similar in structure• Organizations differ in products and

culture

Motivation

Verizon

• Interview – employee felt valued

• Tiered compensation structure

• Leadership training and employee development

AT&T

• Interview – employee did not feel valued

• Tiered sales but competitive environment

• Luke Wilson motivational speech

Communication

Verizon Communications, Inc.

• Formal• Memos, meetings, press

releases, etc.• Informal

• Blogs, email, text messaging, social media

• Thinkfinity• Extensive website offering

database resources and teaching aids for K-12.

AT&T, Inc.

• Formal• Memos, meetings, press

releases, etc.• Informal

• Blogs, email, text messaging, social media

• Aspire• Contribution to preventing

high school dropouts

Power Bases

Verizon Communications, Inc.

• Reward• LEAD program

• Referent• Shifting leadership

• Legitimate and Expert • Flat organizational

structure• Coercive

• Unknown

AT&T, Inc.

• Reward• Varied benefit packages

• Referent• Frequent leadership

changes• Legitimate and Expert

• Flat organizational structure

• Coercive• Unknown

Culture

Verizon

• Respect• Diversity• Inclusion

• Individual rewards• Organization sees “crisis

and change as opportunity, not threat”

AT&T

• Teamwork with an emphasis on sales

• Morale issues• Tiered recognition de-

emphasizes individual effort

Conclusions and Recommendations

• Verizon: • Individual recognition• Training and leadership skills• Communications carry value and

meaning• Rework executive compensation

structures

• AT&T• Increase individual rewards• Place higher value on human capital

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Mick, J. (2009, December 23). Amid low employee morale, AT&T turns to inspirational speech from Luke Wilson. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from Daily Tech: http://www.dailytech.com/Amid+Low+Employee+Morale+ATT+Turns+to+Inspirational+Speech+From+Luke+Wilson/article17211.htm

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Shields, M. (2010). Verizon's strategy: simple, boring, effective. MediaWeek , 20 (23), 26-27. Retrieved February 14, 2011, from EBSCOhost database.

Verizon Communications. (2009, October 5). Verizon announces restructuring focused on growth acceleration and productivity enhancement. Retrieved February 14, 2011, from Verizon: http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2009/verizon-announces.html

Verizon Communications, Inc. (2010). Code of Conduct. Retrieved February 20, 2011, from Verizon Communications, Inc.: https://www22.verizon.com/about/careers/pdfs/CodeOfConduct.pdf

Verizon Communications, Inc. (2011). Corporate Responsibility - Workplace. Retrieved February 15, 2011, from Verizon Communications, Inc.: http://responsibility.verizon.com/home/results/workplace