Comcast Employees example essay topic

COMCAST " America's Leading Cable Provider " By: Bruce Hinman Comcast Corporation, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the largest cable company in the United States. Comcast develops broadband cable networks and are involved in electronic retailing and television programming content. Comcast was founded in 1963 by Ralph J. Roberts, Daniel Aaron, and Julian A. Brodsky in Tupelo, Mississippi. Entrepreneurs who transformed Comcast from a small cable company to a massive corporation that employs over 68,000 people. Of course, with mergers as well as buying other companies, they were taking a great risk. Their risk taking has been a proven success.

The company was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1969 under the name Comcast Corporation from American Cable Systems. Over the next 30 years, Comcast grows to become the well-known company it is today. Moving into the area of programming content, Comcast became majority owner of Comcast-Spectator, Comcast Sports Net (In Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington / Baltimore area), and E! Entertainment Television and Style Network, G 4, The Golf Channel and the Outdoor Life Network over a period of years.

The UK division was sold to NTL (National Trans communications Limited) in 1998, a European cable / cellular company. After the sale of their cellular division to SBC Communications of San Antonio and the acquisition of Greater Philadelphia Cablevision in 1999, Comcast and Media One announced a $60 billion merger, which occurred three years later. In 2001, Comcast announced they would acquire the assets of AT&T Broadband (AT&T's cable TV service). In 2002 Comcast acquired all assets of AT&T Broadband, thus making Comcast the largest cable television company in the United States. In 2002, Comcast paid the University of Maryland an undisclosed amount for naming rights to the new basketball arena built on the campus, named Comcast Center.

In staying competitive with other companies, Comcast has always tried to have the advantage by offering the latest technology. In 2001, Comcast launched HDTV (High Definition Television). HDTV is a form that provides crystal-clear quality wide-screen pictures with compact disc-quality surround sound. The aspect ratio of HDTV pictures is 16: 9 as opposed to today's 4: 3 format. Comcast also launched Video-On-Demand service (VOD) in 2001.

VOD, which is now simply called On Demand, allows one to play news, TV programs, and movies whenever they want to. You can wait to watch the news at 7: 00 pm when you get home from work rather than missing the 5: 00 pm news. Comcast not only offers many cable / television -viewing options, but also offers high-speed internet services. "Comcast's blazing-fast 100% Pure Broadband brings you scorching speeds through a connection that's always on.

Plus, it comes with tons of special features like click-and-play video clips, exciting games, Disney kids' activities, digital music and so much more". Comcast beats competition by providing excellent products and services to its customers. This is especially important in a fast-pasted changing world that leans more on technology every day. Comcast has been the leader in being up-to-speed in the latest advances in technology and options for its customers.

Comcast's biggest assets are its stakeholders. A large variety of up-to-date products are not as valuable if you do not have good service to back those products up, as well as a good reputation in always putting the customer first. This is especially true in the technological field where customers lack knowledge of the new advances. Comcast provides excellent service for all customers' needs with its very own online help desk.

You can not only view your account statements but also obtain a wide variety of help and useful information. Comcast help offers a virtual customer service representative available 24/7 to answer all technical support and customer service questions. This service also allows you to search for your answer, use FAQ's, email customer support directly, join a live chat to discuss issues in their help forum, and a service called "support agent", which provides advanced technology to help ensure uninterrupted Internet service. Download this software to access automated solutions to correct the most common support issues online and offline. As technology continually changes, Comcast will only stay a leader in the cable / internet industry if it constantly changes too. Comcast has proven during it's almost 40 years that it can, and most certainly will, consistently change to insure the best quality and most up-to-date services for its customers.

What would be the downside of Comcast service? After learning all they offer you would think there would be no downside. Everyone would want these services, right? Well, that is their downside. Comcast cannot reach all rural areas. A person who lives outside of the Comcast service area, and cannot enjoy everything that is offered would be frustrated.

Comcast is working to improve reaching out to others. In time, everyone will be able to have cable / high -speed Internet access. Aside from Comcast providing the wonderful service to customers, Comcast also provides a rich, competitive selection of benefits for its full-time employees. Comcast's benefits department is continually evaluating existing and future benefits, with the well being of every Comcast employee at the forefront of their efforts. Comcast offers full-time employees comprehensive medical, prescription, dental, vision, and life insurances. Comcast offers short-term disability benefits that may continue for up to 26 weeks per calendar year.

The short-term disability program is fully funded by Comcast. Employees can also elect long-term disability coverage. Leave to take time off for events such as military duty, birth of a child, adoption of a child, bereavement, or in the event of their own or immediate family members' illnesses is approved by Comcast. One benefit that is becoming popular in today's stressful world is Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The EAP provides assistance with a wide range of personal issues and concerns on a confidential basis.

Comcast not only offers a wide variety of health-related benefits but also offers benefits that "invest in you". Comcast reimburses up to $5,250 per calendar year for approved undergraduate and graduate degree-completion programs. This will encourage anyone to improve his or her human capital (education). Through a combination of vacation days, flex time, and floating and paid holidays, newly hired employees can have up to 22 paid days off during the first year of employment. A much higher standard than most employers as most companies offer 5-10 days paid vacation the first year. Voluntary benefits are also offered, including pre-paid legal services, property casualty insurance, pet insurance and long-term care insurance through convenient after-tax payroll deductions.

Comcast offers 40 lk investments for their employees as well as stock ownership in the company through their Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). The ESPP offers employees an opportunity to purchase shares of Comcast stock at a 15% discount. Each quarter, eligible employees may elect to contribute up to 10% of their pay (not to exceed $10,000 per year) toward the purchase of Comcast stock through payroll deductions. At the end of the quarter, the contributions will be used to purchase shares. After all of these benefits, Comcast takes it yet another step higher and offers its employees free cable and online service. Of course, a popular benefit to all its employees, with Courtesy Cable, employees are provided with the basic service, all pay services, discounted Pay-Per-View, and two outlets.

There is also Courtesy Online Service. Employees living within a Comcast serviceable area will receive one free cable modem, including installation. Having Courtesy Cable and Courtesy Online services can save employees close to $100.00 a month in entertainment expenses. Working for Comcast isn't just valued benefits and great pay. Along with working for such a prestigious comes company the responsibility of holding up to the valued name that Comcast has made for itself. It is expected that once employed at Comcast, an employee must hold up a high standard of ethics.

Comcast is dedicated in making certain that both employees and the corporation itself follow a set code of ethics. Comcast code of ethics applies to employees, officers and directors of Comcast and its subsidiaries. Compliance with the code is a condition of continued employment with, or service to Comcast. Comcast believes that a company will prosper most in an environment that is ethically sound. Employees and subsidiaries are required to read and sign the code of ethics at time of employment and annually to ensure they have a common understanding of the code each and every year. Comcast's basic code of ethics contains the following guidelines: (1) Employees, officers and directors must not permit their personal interests to conflict, or appear to conflict, the business interests of the company; (2) Generally, a business courtesy (i. e., a gift or other item of value for which market value is not paid by the recipient) may be offered or accepted without prior approval only if its market value does not exceed $250.

Business courtesies that equal or exceed $250 in value must be approved by a Senior HR representative; (3) Special care must be taken in connection with offering business courtesies to public officials; (4) All non-public information concerning the company is company property. No one in possession of any material information relating to the company may trade in Comcast's securities or disclose that information to another person; (5) Employees, officers and directors are expected to be familiar and comply with all laws, rules and regulations that apply to the company, including the antitrust laws and laws relating to non-discrimination, equal opportunity, and non-harassment; (6) The company's books and recourse must fairly and accurately reflect its financial condition and results of operations. Of course, like in all companies, there are compliance-based and integrity-based codes. The codes listed above are compliance-based. An employee has to follow those codes by reviewing and signing a document each year stating they have read and understand their obligations as Comcast employees to follow the set code.

Integrity-based codes are ones that are not necessarily in writing, but should be an internal code of the particular individual. One must use their best judgment in any situation to do what is morally / ethically right. Other than a code of ethics, one must look at legality. There are certain things that are illegal not just unethical. Stealing from a company, sexually harassing a co-worker, and physical threats are a few legal codes that one must not break-these may also be included in a company's code of ethics. Comcast not only is a good company to work for, but also benefits our communities in many ways.

Comcast impacts the community the most with its Comcast foundation. The Comcast Foundation was established by Comcast Corporation in June 1999 and is the company's chief source of charitable support to qualified non-profit organizations. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than $12 million in grants to non-profit organizations in Comcast communities nationwide. Comcast offers tools to help better educate our children, which adds to the quality of our life for the future. Cable in the Classroom is Comcast's primary education resource representing the cable telecommunications industry's commitment to education.

Realizing that their products and services can be leveraged as a powerful tool in learning, Cable in the classroom provides Comcast a seat at the table with educators and education policy makers to determine the most effective ways to integrate education and technology. While advances in communications technology have forever changed the way that we as a society share information and knowledge, the ability to read is still fundamental. It is with this in mind that Comcast has launched a company-wide effort - the Comcast Reading Network - to proactively identify and support local reading organizations dedicated to advancing literacy levels and reading skills in all of our communities. Comcast, once again, makes even more of a positive impact on our young people by offering the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship award. Since its inception, this program has recognized more than 2,800 students for their outstanding demonstration of community service, leadership skills, positive attitude and academic achievement with over $2.8 million in scholarship grants. Recipients are awarded a one-time grant for $1,000 to be used toward their pursuit of higher education.

Today, the Leaders and Achievers program is available company-wide, acknowledging the efforts and accomplishments of students throughout Comcast communities. They believe that "Community gives us roots. Change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights. Comcast management is comprised of a Board of Directors. They are basically a matrix organization with Division Managers as the primary buffer between workers and upper management. Comcast's management style is practiced in many forms.

Comcast has a clear set of strategic objectives. Their essential management objectives are communication, motivation, teamwork and goals. They are making communication a top priority, being open to other people, and creating a receptive environment for communication. They do not punish people for being open, especially in situations when the person took the risk to explain new ideas or present workers' disagreements with management.

They encourage their employees to seek new avenues to expand the company without fear of reprisal. Comcast employees feel a sense of purpose. Departments within Comcast work together, not against each other. Comcast has empowered their employees to devote his or her best efforts to benefit the company's interests. Employees are encouraged to consult with, and involve their immediate and or higher level supervisor. Comcast has instituted various employee incentive programs to reward employees for hard work.

Some of these are employee referral bonuses, on the spot awards, promotions, and corporate vacations. Comcast is committed to creating a work environment that allows their people to grow personally as well as professionally. Comcast utilizes a three-tier system to motivate its sales force. They offer a one-time compensation program for new accounts.

Comcast also rewards with compensation when sales projections are met or are exceeded. The amount of compensation is based on volume of sales times a dollar amount percentage that is set at the beginning of each fiscal year. A part of Comcast's mission statement, as highlighted in their Spotlight Issue of May, 1993, clearly indicates, in our opinion, their living by the management Theory Y. It states product quality, company profit and employee satisfaction. Comcast also utilizes the management of objectives tool. They use a system of goal setting and implementations that involves discussion, reviews, and evaluations of those goals.

Comcast management, headed by the president and other top executives, including the CEO, CFO and CIO, develop Comcast's yearly and long term strategic plans. One of their goals is to improve their customer satisfaction as defined by their increase use of metrics such as customer service, is it getting better, getting worse. Using corporate scorecards such as these will help Comcast improve customer relations and also employee satisfaction. Employees are a company's most valuable assets. The requirement for a human resource department is essential.

In order to become a successful company, the human resource department must be able to realize the needs of the company, and ultimately find the resources to fulfill those needs, in order to achieve its goals. However, there is a process to finding these resources, between recruiting, developing, compensating, and scheduling new employees, human resource management is no easy task. It becomes even more complicated for a company like Comcast, who employs over 60,000 people. HR departments are mandatory for a corporation like Comcast because every time they hire an employee, they make an investment to train them. The responsibility of the HR department is to keep the employee turnover rate low.

It is also essential that the HR department work hand in hand with area managers, as well as department managers in order to increase efficiency and productivity. Comcast is much more serious than a retail-clothing outlet, their goal is to train employees as much as possible, and give them the benefits and opportunities to advance in their corporation. They have a variety of different programs for their employees, such as Comcast University, a nationwide training and development center. The benefits for working for Comcast range anywhere from Employee Stock Purchase Programs, where employees can buy Comcast stock at a 15% discount, to 401 k investment plans and even education reimbursement programs for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Fringe benefits like these are part of the package that makes working for Comcast so appealing". Management has the responsibility of producing a profit through maximum productivity".

In any field this makes a managers job tough, but in a service industry it makes it even tougher. This leads to the reason there are always issues between management and employees. Managers have to be hard in order to produce results out of most employees. In the past, this led to the creation of worker unions, and also helped pass many workman rights laws. Today, it's not so much of an issue.

For a corporation like Comcast, most of their employees have great job security. Since they are mainly a communications and service provider, their employees do not have to worry about outsourcing, and there is no reason for them to join a union. Unions are not necessarily outdated, but they do not apply to Comcast. Childcare has become another big issue for many big businesses. With so many households working full time, most employees require some type of childcare benefit to their employees.

Comcast does not have any listed benefits for childcare or eldercare, however this does not mean that none of their offices around the nation do not offer any family benefits like childcare. Comcast does have a parental leave program, for maternity leave, or if someone has a sick family member, or even military related-issues. The leave intervals are granted for up to six months, at a manager's discretion. Comcast is in a highly competitive industry; there are dozens of Internet service providers and digital cable providers out there to choose from. This is why most people cannot watch television without seeing a Comcast commercial. They have to heavily market their product, which is high-speed Internet and digital cable.

The reason that Comcast is so successful is that they have not stopped marketing their product, even though it is the most successful. They seem to follow the four P's very thoroughly. First they chose and tested a product, they priced their product to be competitive, the placed the product in an accessible area, where people are looking for those kinds of services, and lastly they promoted their product. Comcast is notoriously the most expensive of the high-speed Internet providers, however, they are the fastest out of their competitors, and also they have the added convenience of offering digital cable and phone services on the same bill. For some people this is why they choose Comcast, they give customers the benefit of going through one company for three different services.

They also offer great promotions to new customers, such as free digital cable for the first six months of your contract. This is an added perks are necessary to grab a consumers attention, and possibly their business. Comcast must also pay attention to the changing marketing environment and market concept. The global factors market is evolving everyday; therefore Comcast must change with the times and perhaps go global.

Technological factors and sociocultural factors are also playing an impact on how efficient Comcast's services are and who their target market is. The biggest factor Comcast needs to pay attention to is the competitive factor. The only reason Comcast would not succeed is if they lost site of their competition, and could not match the speed, service, price, and selection of their competitors. This is the new market concept, companies cannot only meet the needs of the consumer, they must go above and beyond in order to gain a consumers business or keep their existing customers. Customer relationship management and stakeholder management are playing major roles in most large companies.

Service providers such as Comcast not only want some of a consumers business, but they want all of their business. This is why Comcast offers great promotions, and technical support. It is also the reason behind promotional emails and other fly ers customers receive in the mail. They also seek to have your friends business by reference.

Stakeholder management is also essential to a companies overall success. By keeping in touch, and reaching out to stakeholders in the company, stakeholder management is a big part of helping companies grow. Not only does it bring in new stakeholders, but it also influences existing stakeholders to make further investments. The total product offer is a big part of the benefit of subscribing to one of the many Comcast services. Value is also another factor that consumers calculate when choosing between different providers. This is why Comcast can afford to charge more than their competitors, because consumers are willing to spend the extra buck for the added value.

Between Comcast digital cable, which is more reliable than satellite, and Comcast high speed Internet, which is faster than dial-up and DSL services, the total product offer is definitely worth the extra money to most consumers. They have also adapted their product to suit the markets needs. The amount and quality of channels you can receive with the digital cable is ever evolving and the Internet has progressively become faster. The convenience of in-home wireless network installations, twenty-four hour a day online tech support, and even next day guarantees, their product continues to challenge their other competitors. Another reason Comcast continues to lead despite their higher prices is brand recognition. Although it is not worn or bragged about, it is marketed as being the best.

The association with the marketing of the brand name makes it easier for consumers to narrow their search for these services. They know exactly who the fastest, most reputable company is. Since it is more of a convenience good and service, customers want to make sure they are getting the best. They also use celebrities to market their product, such as Cal Ripken Jr., which makes them more accessible to wider demographics. As their product and brand recognition grows, so will their marketing. Their product life cycle is moving slowly, which is good and shows that they are not going to vanish any time soon.

However, by examining the product life cycle and analyzing the market, they can target new markets, or the most profitable markets. They can also change their marketing strategies based on what markets they are targeting. Right now they are stable enough to not make any drastic changes. However, in the near future as competitors catch up, it will be interesting to see what they come up with. Right now their price is based on demand of their product, the prices will more than likely go down as they move to competition based pricing to compete with the rest of the market. In the case of Comcast, other companies make the modems and cable boxes they distribute and sell.

Comcast sells them directly to the consumer. They do not have a large product mix, so therefore their inventory is not hard to keep stocked. This is why Comcast offers next day installation on most of their products. By making themselves that accessible to consumers, they almost can't be beat as far as their total product offer.

Another reason that they are able to provided these services is, Comcast services are not available everywhere, so most of their business is not far from one of their many nationwide locations. Comcast is not a major player when it comes to advertising. They concentrate mainly on television commercials and newspaper ads. Personal selling and public relations just do not make sense for the kind of product they are projecting. The most effective way Comcast sells its products is through promotional advertising. Promotions are great tools to attract new customers, and more often than not, are only available to new customers.

Television commercials are where Comcast strongly advertises. The problem with T.V. commercials is that they are extremely expensive in proportion to the short exposure time allotted. Comcast does not have the type of product that would be suitable for personal selling or T.V. infomercials. The best for of advertising is free advertising.

Word of mouth through existing customers is the where the majority of business usually comes from. That is why Comcast put such a heavy emphasis on there service and technical support. In 1963 cable television was primarily a means of bringing signals to customers that, due to geographic reason or distance, were unable to receive them clearly with antennas. With technology, over 21 million customers can receive hundreds of channels, Internet access and more from Comcast.

The use of technology continues to progress. Comcast is continuously enhancing existing products such as digital cable and high speed Internet. As a growing company, Comcast has managed to highly skilled workers with experience, knowledge and the desire to further the company's mission of providing excellent service to its customers. Employees are encouraged to complete training each year to enhance their knowledge and skill levels within the company.

Each employee has a Individual Development Plan that consists of training and skill enhancement in which they are measured on. Recent technology investments focused on growth and product differentiation include: - Interactive Program Guide- Integrated Service Delivery Platform- 100% Digital Offering For the quarter ended December 31, 2004, Comcast Cable reported revenue of $4.987 billion, representing a 10.6% increase from the prior year quarter. Video revenue increased 5.9% during the period, reflecting the addition of digital cable subscribers and price increases to our video service. Comcast Cable added more than 250,000 digital cable subscribers during the fourth quarter to end the period with greater than 8.6 million subscribers. Comcast Cable added 60,000 basic subscribers during the seasonally strong fourth quarter of 2004, ending the year at 21.548 million. During the fourth quarter of 2004, Comcast Cable added more than 437,000 high-speed Internet subscribers to end the quarter with nearly 7.0 million subscribers.

Revenues for this service increased 35.9% from the prior year quarter to $855 million, reflecting solid subscriber growth and slightly higher average monthly revenue per subscriber for the quarter of $42.07, an increase from $41.33 during the same quarter of 2003. Advertising revenue increased 17.2% from the fourth quarter of 2003 to $369 million, including increased political advertising during the quarter. Cable phone revenue declined 5.2% from the same period one year ago to $173 million, primarily due to fewer subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2004 compared to 2003. Comcast Cable added more than 10,000 phone subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2004. Operating Cash Flow grew 15.2% from the same quarter one year ago to $1.974 billion, reflecting strong revenue growth and the Company's success in controlling the growth of operating costs. Comcast Cable capital expenditures were $1.044 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004 compared to $1.052 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003.

COMCAST CORPORATION Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations (amounts in millions, except per share data) Three Months Twelve Months Ended Ended December 31, December 31, 2004 2003 2004 2003 Revenues $5,235 $4,742 $20,307 $18,348 Operating expenses 1,962 1,775 7,462 7,041 Selling, general and administrative expenses 1,287 1,247 5,314 4,915 Operating Cash Flow 1,986 1,720 7,531 6,392 Depreciation 940 796 3,420 3,166 Amortization 335 182 1,203 1,272 Operating Income 711 742 2,908 1,954 Interest expense (457) (439) (1,876) (2,018) Investment income (loss), net 241 323 472 (84) Equity in net losses of affiliates (22) (27) (88) (60) Other income 312 11 394 7174 (132) (1,098) (2,091) Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes and Minority Interest 785 610 1,810 (137) Income tax (expense) benefit (360) (215) (826) 16 Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations Before Minority Interest 425 395 984 (121) Minority interest (2) (12) (14) (97) Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations 423 383 970 (218) Income from discontinued operations, net of tax (1) - - - 168 Gain on discontinued operations, net of tax (1) - - - 3,290 Net Income $423 $383 $970 $3,240 Diluted earnings (loss) per common share Income (loss) from continuing operations $0.19 $0.17 $0.43 ($0.10) Income from discontinued operations - - - 0.08 Gain on discontinued operations - - - 1.46 Net Income per common share $0.19 $0.17 $0.43 $1.44 Diluted weighted average number of common shares outstanding 2,228 2,269 2,250 2, 2561) On September 17, 2003, the Company completed the sale of its approximate 57% interest in QVC, Inc. Accordingly, the results of QVC are presented as discontinued operations. REFERENCE Comcast Website - web.