Unitel is one of the largest telecommunications companies (telcos) in the Asia-Pacific region. Like most large telcos it was formerly government owned but was privatised in the early 1990s. Since privatisation, however, Unitel has faced increased competition from foreign and local competitors. Unitel remains profitable, but the telecommunications industry has seen considerable innovation in terms of both products and services in recent years. Automation and increased competition have also become pronounced features of the industry. Senior management at Unitel are concerned that the firm's culture needs to be improved if the telco is going to continue to grow its presence and maintain its profitability in a continually developing and changing market.

Last year, Unitel senior management unveiled a new corporate strategy to guide Unitel into the next decade. Called "Vision 2023", it is an ambitious program which aims "to place customers in a pivotal position" and to seek "excellence in products, customer service, product delivery and corporate image". Developed by an external management consulting firm, Vision 2023 aims to reposition Unitel as the "best enterprise in the region" by developing "action teams" and "change teams" whose role is to encourage "possibility thinking" and "customer comes first values" in the large industry incumbent.

Vision 2023 has been enthusiastically embraced by many senior managers at Unitel. "It is bringing field staff and high-level management together for the first time", remarked one plant coordinator. "Problems are heard, solutions sought and once found their implementation is pursued". "Unitel has a lot of internal problems", said another manager, "and I see in Vision 2023 the possibility of salvation". "I don't see anything wrong in trying to produce more trust in the company" commented a technical officer. "The regular Vision 2023 de-briefings help to let all staff know what is going on and offer all of us a chance to have input into things".

Some managers see Vision 2023 as creating a "bottom-to-top" communication system and inaugurating a new style of management founded on a renewed commitment to staff, getting employee involvement in problem-solving, improving customer service and creating a "family-type" environment. Yet there is also a considerable degree of scepticism about Vision 2023 among Unitel's 32,000 staff. "I don't think Vision 2023 is accepted by my workmates", observed one customer service operator -- "they generally regard it as a joke".

It is clear that Vision 2023 has many critics at Unitel. As one senior technical officer commented, "I hold a serious concern that some managers and staff have an almost fanatical and single-minded belief in the ability of Vision 2023 to save the company." "They do not tolerate others who do not share their views", remarked another. "I believe a climate is being generated where people who dissent are marked out and discriminated against" he concluded.

Vision 2023 has led to much standardisation at Unitel (from the timing of coffee breaks to the introduction of new forms of financial reporting) and improvements in internal communication (e.g., through the institution of a company-wide e-newsletter and an internal video conferencing system). It has involved the development of goals or "milestones" that each of the restructured Unitel departments are expected to meet. These include "enabling decisions to be made at the lowest possible level", the development of a "customer needs" tracking facility (called Unicats) and the implementation of a decision-making process called the "U-test". The "U-test" is essentially a diagram which asks Unitel management and employees to consider the following three questions when making any decision:

(1) "If I were a customer, would this satisfy me?"

(2) "If it was my business, would I do this?" and

(3) "If it is done this way, will the team support it?"

But the benefits brought by the new strategy are often contested even by some managers. "I find the Vision 2023 program a complete waste of money," commented one regional manager. Most staff seem to have accepted that Vision 2023 has created a rift between "believers" and "non-believers" at Unitel and has exacerbated rather than solved many pre-existing problems. Some departments have even taken to sending Vision 2023 material "straight to the small circular filing system" (i.e., the rubbish bin). "Where once there was a team spirit," complained a senior maintenance officer, "now we are being told all our problems are 'self-inflicted' and that it is our attitude that most requires changing."

Other staff spoke of "cheerleaders" and "puppets" when describing advocates of Vision 2023 who worked in their departments. "Management are deaf," claimed one sales officer -- "our office has been faced with constant understaffing, excessive overtime and a shortage of materials and products." "The rank and file," complained another, "are expected to 'work smarter', but management seem only to care about buying the cheapest equipment and about belt-tightening on bread-and-butter items such as computers and photocopiers."

Some staff remain dismissive of Vision 2023: "Some friends of mine went to a Vision 2023 presentation last year", recalls one technician, "and they said it was really verging on lunacy for want of a better term." Another commented "We were down at Albert Park, 300 of us in a huge white tent, and after the HR director had spoken one of the senior engineers loudly muttered 'what a wanker'." A training executive commented that Vision 2023 has "a cultish feel about it - there is no methodology or systematic approach to it". Vision 2023 is seen by some as an opportunity for management to move "believers" in over the heads of local technical leaders with a view to breaking down staff influence. "I'm scared of it", said a young employee, "I'm scared of Vision 2023's power to control people".

Unitel has produced a monthly video bulletin called "Vision news" that depicts the benefits of Vision 2023. In one episode, an assistant technician relates how she has been taught new skills and that Vision 2023 is good for her personal development and job satisfaction. In another episode, a programmer describes how "Vision 2023 has allowed me to go to management with my ideas and talk to other people within my section." A third employee relates that Vision 2023 is all about "Unitel people using their initiative to solve problems, finding new ways of doing things which benefit the customer".

A senior employee contended that "Vision 2023 has cost a lot of money and achieved very little of what Unitel management want it to do." Another IT executive commented that "Vision 2023 lacks structure and has not received proper management commitment." It is widely suspected that Unitel's board is now considering abandoning the program.

Provide some recommendations for the leadership and management at Unitel.