Internationalising the Departments for Devices and Accessories of a Communications Technology Company

Abstract

Ambitious financial goals and low performance in the past years are forcing a leading communications technology company to develop new ways of improving its business. The company’s headquarters are located in a European country, but the company also owns subsidiaries in its neighbouring countries. These subsidiaries are independently operated and synergies are hardly made use of. Through closer and more efficient cooperation between the headquarters and the subsidiaries, two objectives could be achieved: To save costs on the one hand and to increase sales on the other hand. This transformation into an international department for communications technology devices and accessories with integrated processes and consistent goals is implemented in a project. Representative sections of the department are selected to run a pilot; the rollout is supported by trained change agents from within the company who ensure sustainable anchoring of the new processes afterwards. Four factors turn out to be the most important components of these changes: Changing employees’ mind-sets, creating expertise, defining new processes and anchoring sustainable change in the company.