France telecom: The suicide crisis

Résumé du document

France Telecom S.A. is one of the world's leading and largest telecommunications operators in the world. It is the main telecommunications company in France, and the third largest in Europe. The French Telecom/Orange Group is also a world leader in telecommunications services for multinational companies under the Orange Business Services brand.
Before 1988, France Telecom was known as the “Direction Generale des Telecommunications”, a division of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. In 1990, the DGT became autonomous from the French Government: it became a corporation (still public), with an autonomous financing management. Later on, the DGT changed to ‘France Telecom' and was privatized in 2004, leaving the French Government with a 27% stake.
Today, and since the setting up of the “NeXt Plan”, most of France Telecom's activities are gathered under the brand “Orange”. Implemented in 2004, the NeXt Plan aims at reducing the costs and merging all France Telecom's brands under a unique one: Orange; except for the fixed activities that remain under the name “France Telecom”.
To offer customers access to communication, France Telecom uses multiple platforms: fixed line telephone, broadband access, mobile phone telephony and IPTV (Internet Protocol Television).
It didn't take a long time for the French company to become well known across the world. Nowadays, the telecommunications giant is expanding its business and is gradually becoming a global enterprise. In 2007, France Telecom invested in new areas through its geographical presence and services to other areas of business like content, health and the public.
Orange provides mobile, internet and fixed telecommunication services and has 203 million customers in 32 countries. It currently employs about 90,000 people in France and 162,850 worldwide (2010). In 2009, the company's revenue reached €46.19 Billion.

Extraits

[...] Didier Lombard- Chairman of the France Telecom Group- Chairman of the Orange Foundation”. But when we look back to Didier Lombard's and the company's response to the crisis and the way it denied its responsibility for a long time, this attempt to build an ethical image around France Telecom appears ridiculous and hypocritical. If the company had responded correctly and efficiently to the wave of suicide and at the right moment, to communicate on its foundation could have been the good thing to do. [...]

[...] Values France Telecom breaks down its values in five strong adjectives. Here is how France Telecom describes itself, (orange): “Friendly: We take the time to listen. We treat everyone as individuals. We enjoy working and succeeding together. Honest: We are open. We say what we do and we do what we say. We are happy to share. Straightforward: We are direct and easy to understand. We keep things simple. We focus only on what's important. Refreshing: We are brave. [...]

[...] It is the reporter's job to find the truth and they are very good at it. We want our company to be as transparent as possible at the time of vulnerability. Being sincere is what this comes to. If we look sincere, the public and more importantly the stakeholders will respect that and the media will know. There is enough history showing the horrible effects on companies' reputations that are not sincere and try to hide certain truths about the crisis. [...]

[...] Everyone is left alone to confront the pressures, big and small. When a person feels harassed at work, he is less likely to confide in colleagues or seek help. It is a kind of loneliness that settles in the workplace.” (Dejours) Beyond the change in management style, the economic crisis and the increasing number of competitors placed France Telecom in a highly competitive environment, where the employees had to respond to a new logic of profitability where the shareholders' revenue valued the most. [...]

[...] The customers and the suppliers were not seriously considered. The employees got only a “facade response”. Poor and roughly written press releases: in its press releases France Telecom is too factual and doesn't show any concern or empathy regarding the crisis. b. Assessment of what the company did right: The company made attempts to manage the crisis but was slow in implementing its plan; these attempts were not really efficient. Quick implementation of the actions and if the company wouldn't have committed huge mistakes, these attempts could have proved good. [...]