Verizon company overview and operations

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS

Summary

The focus of this paper in on Verizon Communications, which is an American multinational telecommunications company based in New York City but incorporated in Delaware. The company has its roots in the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in that the company was formed after a merger between Bell Atlantic and GTE. Bell Atlantic was formed out of the breakup of Bell Systems into several companies with each company being referred to as Baby Bells. Bell Atlantic was one of the Baby Bells. Verizon was formed in 2000 and this was considered to be the largest merger in American corporate history. The company is listed on the NYSE and the NASDAQ using the ticker VZ. While the merger was announced in 1998, it took two years for the two companies to get the approval of their shareholders, state approvals, and federal government approvals. This was all due to how big the merger was and the effect it would have on the telecommunications sector. Bell Atlantic and GTE were both large corporations by themselves and they controlled a huge market share individually.

This paper focuses on the history of Verizon starting from the merger of the two companies that formed Verizon. This is followed by an analysis of the ethical standards used by Verizon, which are called the \\\\\\\"Verizon Credo.\\\\\\\" These standards have focused on the values of respect, integrity, performance excellence, and accountability. Each employee is required to read, understand, and practice these values at all times when interacting with suppliers, and customers. The company\\\\\\\'s social responsibility has been discussed and a focus made on the different programs used by the company. Global aspects of the company and its impact on the bottom line have been analyzed. Company culture and marketing are the last items discussed in the paper.

Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is stylized as Verizon. It is an American multinational telecommunications company based in New York City. However, the company is incorporated in Delaware (Verizon Media Relations, 2016). Verizon is an integrated telecommunications company providing wireline voice and data services, internet services, wireless services, and published directory information. The company operated through Verizon Business Group and Verizon Consumer Group segments. The business segment offers wireline and wireless communications services and products that are focused on corporations and businesses. Some of the services offered by the business segment include video and data services, security and managed network services, corporate networking solutions, network access to deliver various Internet of Things (IoT), and local and long-distance voice services. The consumer segment delivers a consumer-focused wireline and wireless communications services and products. Verizon has a presence around the world and it generated revenues of $131.9 billion in 2019 (Verizon, n.d.). It is ranked 20 in the fortune rank of 2019 and it trades in both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ exchange using the symbol VZ (Verizon Media Relations, 2016). The symbol was selected as it uses the two letters of the Verizon logo, which graphically represent speed and echoing the company\\\\\\\'s name origin veritas and horizon. Veritas is a Latin word that connotes certainty and reliability while horizon signifies forward-looking and visionary. This name was selected out of a pool of 8,500 candidates. Verizon is truly a 21st century company. Verizon is a global communications company that delivers the promise of the digital world to millions of customers each day. With this in mind, the company expanded into content ownership by acquiring Yahoo! in 2017 and AOL in 2015. Yahoo! and AOL have been amalgamated into a new company called Verizon Media. Currently. Verizon is one of the three remaining companies that have their roots in the former Baby Bells.

History of Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications was formed with the merger of Bell Atlantic Corporation and GTE Corporation on June 30, 2000 (Verizon Media Relations, 2016). The company began trading on the NYSE on the same day the merger took place and on the NASDAQ exchange on March 10, 2010. Verizon was formed out of many mergers that had been taking place over a couple of years before the culmination of the final merger. Different companies were involved in the merger and they all had their roots in the beginnings of the telephone business. Government regulation had largely shaped the evolution of the telephone industry throughout most of the 20th century. However, when the Telecommunications Act of February 8, 1996, was signed, federal law directed a shift to a more market-based policy. Verizon was formed out of this promise of a more competitive marketplace. The mergers that formed Verizon are considered to be the largest in the United States business history, which all culminated in the definitive merger agreement that was dated July 27, 1998 (Verizon Media Relations, 2016). The two companies that merged to form Verizon namely Bell Atlantic and GTE had each evolved and grown through the years by using mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Each company had its proven track record of successfully integrating business operations.

GTE was one of the world\\\\\\\'s largest telecommunications company with its 1999 revenues of over $25 billion. Bell Atlantic was larger than GTE and its 1999 revenues were over $33 billion (Verizon Media Relations, 2016). The merger of the two companies was valued at $52 billion when it was announced in July 1998. The main aim of merging the two companies was to create a company with a scope and scale to compete as a telecommunications industry top-tier company. There were many hurdles to overcome and this caused the merger to close after two years. The two companies had to get approval from their shareowners, 27 state regulatory commissions, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and seek clearance from the US Department of Justice plus other international agencies.

The FCC approval of the merger came with 25 stipulations aimed at preserving competition between local phone carriers, investing in new markets, and broadband technologies. With the merger, Verizon became the largest telephone company in the US. It operated 63 million telephone lines across 40 states. Verizon inherited 25 million mobile phone users after the merger and it offered internet services and long-distance calling in New York City initially. The company later expanded its long-distance calling operations to other states. Verizon Wireless was formed two months before the FCC gave Bell Atlantic and GTE the approval to merge (McDonough, 2017). Verizon Wireless was formed out of the merger between Bell Atlantic and Vodafone, which was a British telecommunications company. Bell Atlantic owned 55% of the new venture and Vodafone retained 45%. It is due to this deal that Verizon managed to get mobile phone users. When the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE was finally completed, Verizon Wireless became part of Verizon and due to the size of the company, Verizon was able to offer national coverage at the most competitive rates, which gave it an advantage over the regional providers.

Verizon’s Ethical Standards

Verizon Communications has a code of ethics that the company has code-named the \\\\\\\"Verizon Credo\\\\\\\" and it adheres to the values of respect, integrity, performance excellence, and accountability (W. Verizon, 2014). Verizon has placed integrity at the core of who the company is and it forms the foundational values of the company. Integrity plays a vital role in establishing trust between the company and its customer, suppliers, and colleagues. The company expects that each employee will conduct company business with integrity and be accountable to both the company and the customer. Verizon being a global company with an extensive supply chain needs to ensure that it conducts its business ethically y and responsibly. It is for this reason that the company developed its credo to ensure that it maintains its reputation for trust and responsibility anywhere it operates. Verizon aims to positively impact the customers and communities it serves. For this reason, all employees have to adhere to the code of conduct developed by the company and in case a supervisor directs an employee to violate the Credo the employee should report the supervisor (W. Verizon, 2014). With such a guideline, it becomes easy for employees to adhere to the guidelines as they cannot be forced or coerced into violating the Credo. This way the company can be certain its employees are following its guidelines.

Verizon Credo is built around six principles that the company uses to define who employees, the company, and associates are.

\\\\\\\"We have work because our customers value our high-quality communications services.\\\\\\\" This principle indicates to the employees that without the customers the company would not exist. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that the employees treat customers with the utmost respect at all times (Verizon, 2018). This is done by delivering superior customer experiences and the products the company delivers to its customers.

\\\\\\\"We focus outward on the customer, not inward. We make it easy for customers to do business with us, by listening, anticipating, and responding to their needs.\\\\\\\" This principle pushes employees to understand the products the company has and be able to explain the different products to a customer. Employees should anticipate a customer need and have a product that will satisfy this particular need. All this should be done ethically as having a high ethical standard is considered to be a competitive advantage.

\\\\\\\"We know teamwork enables us to serve our customers better and faster. We embrace diversity and personal development not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s smart business.\\\\\\\" Verizon encouraged teamwork amongst its employees and it pushes its employees to not be driven by ego. Team entails communicating openly with each other and to customers, respect each team member, and honor the commitments made to the customers. Employees are encouraged to air their opinions and there is no room for unconstructive dissent (Verizon, 2018). The company encourages employees to come up with ideas and to share their ideas with others regardless of the title and seniority level.

\\\\\\\"We believe integrity is at the core of who we are. It establishes the trust that is critical to the relationships we have.\\\\\\\" This principle encourages employees to always conduct business in the right way and to always do the right thing. Whenever an employee is dealing with a customer, he or she should follow sound business practices. The company notes that competitors are not enemies, rather they are challengers who should be used to push the company to improve. The company shares its success with the community where it operates intending to make the world a better place.

\\\\\\\"We know that bigness is not our strength, best is our strength.\\\\\\\" Verizon is more agile than other companies and employees are encouraged to be fast thinkers. While taking risks is encouraged, personal accountability should follow. One should ensure they commit to what they say they will do and they should ensure they complete a task fully.

\\\\\\\"Everything we do is built on the strong foundation of our corporate values.\\\\\\\" Employees should understand the customer depends on them all the time. Therefore, they should be ready to give their all and to know that what one has done today was enough. Tomorrow they will do even better.

Social Responsibility

Verizon Communications has focused its corporate social responsibility (CSR) around its customers. The company has a goal of reaching and maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. The theory of CSR as posited by Carroll (2016) notes that businesses should work towards satisfying the interests of their stakeholders. Verizon considers its customers to be the primary and most significant stakeholder group for the company. Therefore, customer interests have defined much of the company\\\\\\\'s CSR programs. Customers are interested in high-quality services at a reasonable price. Customers are also concerned about sustainability and how the company\\\\\\\'s CSR programs contribute to improving their lives (Verizon, 2020). Verizon has the Verizon Innovative Learning program, which provides internet access, technology, and curricula to assist educators and students living in underserved areas in the US to gain access to wireless services. Verizon also has the HopeLine program, which gives mobile devices and offers financial support for domestic violence survivors. Employees are also involved in the company giving program as there is an employee giving program that facilitates employee involvement in community activities. Employees can give their time, skills, and money (Verizon, 2020).

There are environmental issues that the company focuses upon. There are ecological issues the company has focused upon like environmental protection and conservation. Verizon has a green energy initiative, a water conservation initiative, and a sustainable sourcing program. These initiatives are aimed at increasing Verizon\\\\\\\'s sustainability level. The company managed to reduce its carbon intensity by more than 50% from 2009 to 2019. Verizon has integrated solar technology into its infrastructure, which reduces the company\\\\\\\'s usage of fossil fuels (Verizon, 2020). There has been a push towards environmental conservation and customers have been pushing companies to reduce their impact on the environment. This has encouraged the company to diversify its energy sources and to invest more in renewable energy sources, which have assisted the company to reduce its carbon footprint.

Verizon has a policy of equal employment opportunities and equal pay equity. The company also has a family benefit that includes parental leave policy, and alternative workweek programs. There are policies for diversity and inclusivity within the workplace. All these are employee CSR programs geared towards motivating employees and improving their morale. Verizon considers its employees are part of the company\\\\\\\'s stakeholders and how the company treats its employees will have a huge bearing on its customer image. Customers are concerned about employee welfare and they will be interested to know how a company treats and deals with its employees. It is for this reason that the company had to ensure that it has policies supporting inclusivity and supporting its employees as part of its social responsibility.

Verizon has influenced its suppliers to also enhance their CSR activities. Suppliers would like to continue working with the company and for this, they have to ensure that they also conduct their businesses in a manner that does not harm the image and brand of Verizon. Suppliers have to adhere to strict guidelines and to ensure they are not involved in activities that fuel conflict or involved in labor law violations. The company has a supplier code of conduct that mandates suppliers to facilitate their sustainability (Verizon, 2020). This initiative aims at promoting corporate citizenship among its suppliers. Verizon also focuses on the interests of its investors. One of the initiatives is to reduce the environmental impact of the company, which will improve its brand image, competitiveness, and attractiveness in the telecommunications market. With these initiatives, the company is more sustainable and stable in the long term.

Global Aspects

In today\\\\\\\'s business environment, most companies are affected by social, economic, legal, political, and technological factors. These factors play a key role in determining the operations of the company. The same would apply to Verizon. The company has a global presence and it is faced with numerous factors that might restrict the operations of the company. However, by understanding the factors and knowing how to navigate through them Verizon has managed to establish itself globally. Verizon is in the telecommunications business and it is affected by legal and political forces in countries where it operates. For example, in Canada, the company was faced with foreign investment restrictions which denied the company the opportunity to make direct network investments and offer its services in Canada. These restrictions force the company to reduce its investments in a country, which makes it pricey to run its operations in the country. However, Verizon has been pushing to have the restrictions removed to allow for more competition and to encourage innovation.

Verizon has managed to spread its network and it currently covers around 200 countries. This makes the company be a truly global enterprise and there is a high chance that when you visit a country you are likely to find Verizon services there. To ensure that its services are available in all these countries, Verizon had to have political, economic, and social goodwill to support its endeavor. This was made easy by the company\\\\\\\'s ethical operations and CSR programs. To get political support, the company had to demonstrate how it will support local communities through its CSR programs. Telecommunications has the potential to offer vital services to areas that have limited access. Verizon has managed to spread its services to remote areas. This has opened up some of these areas and technology has improved their economy.

There are also global aspects of climate change. Verizon has been pursuing to reduce its carbon footprint and to increase its usage of renewable sources of energy. This has seen the company reduce its emissions by almost 50% through the use of solar power to power its infrastructure. This improves the lives of the communities where it has set up its infrastructure and also contributes towards the use of green energy in the world. Sustainability is a vital factor when it comes to global operations. Some markets are highly concerned with how a company operates. Companies that have a high carbon footprint are not supported in these countries, which limits their global market. Verizon has managed to gain access to many global markets because it supports climate change initiatives and it is employing policies aimed at reducing its use of fossil fuels.

Company Culture

A company\\\\\\\'s organizational culture establishes a set of principles, beliefs, and values that will affect employee behavior. Verizon uses its company culture to ensure high-quality products. High quality is seen as a competitive advantage that will form the basis of Verizon\\\\\\\'s strategies in the telecommunications market. Therefore, Verizon will benefit from the contribution made by its company culture to its overall business competitiveness (Barry, 2018). Verizon has set its company culture to encourage its employees to always support aims for high quality. With high quality, the company can attract customers and will stand out from the competition. Employees are encouraged to focus on achieving high quality at all times when performing their work. This motivates employees to develop solutions that will company with the company\\\\\\\'s high-quality standards. Verizon has emphasized on quality and reliability in employee output. When employees are delivering high quality in their work, they are supporting the overall strategy of the company and promoting the company\\\\\\\'s products and services based on quality.

Verizon has a culture of being customer-centric. This means the company focuses on the needs and expectations of its customers (Barry, 2018). Customer satisfaction is supported in all instances in the customer journey. Being customer-centric, Verizon employees are motivated to identify customer expectations and offer solutions aimed at satisfying customer expectations. Towards this end, the company has human resource programs that train employees on how to offer high-quality customer service. This empowers employees to understand and preempt the needs of a customer. Employees are given the knowledge and training they need to interact with customers and to focus their efforts on satisfying customer needs.

Verizon has a culture of teamwork where employees are encouraged to collaborate for the success of their team. When there are high synergy and effectiveness in a team, the team will achieve its objectives, which will in turn promote high-quality. Teamwork is vital for the company especially in research and development, infrastructure maintenance, and problem-solving. Without teamwork, the company would not be able to innovate on its products, maintain its infrastructure, and solve some of the critical customer problems it faces. Research and development are highly dependent on employees collaborating and working as a team. Without this cohesive teamwork, the company would never be able to have a successful research and development team.