RBS Visit Cox Comms, USA
London MA students study visit to
COX Communications, San Diego, California USA
Postgraduate students from the Regents Business School London MA
in International Management Programme visited Cox Communications
Inc., San Diego, California in mid April 2007. The group was
invited for a study visit to Cox Communications call centre which
is located at Copley Campus on Copley Drive in San Diego. The RBSL
team was competing for the International Collegiate Business
Strategy Competition 2007 at the same time.
Cox Communications Inc. is the third-largest cable provider in
based in the USA; the organisation is noted for its high-capacity,
reliable broadband delivery network and superior customer care. For
Cox, it’s not about being the biggest; it’s about being the
best.
With more than 6 million total residential and commercial
customer relationships, over 22,000 employees and a firm commitment
to education, the Cox team is widely regarded industry leaders,
having earned multiple distinctions in customer satisfaction,
diversity practices and company strategy. In 2006, Cox received the
US highest honour in J.D. Power and Associates' residential
cable/satellite TV customer satisfaction study as well as in 2005
for customer satisfaction among high-speed Internet service
providers.
Since 1962, Cox has built high-quality communications networks
and delivered quality cable television programs in the USA. A
full-service provider of telecommunications products, Cox offers an
array of advanced digital video, high-speed Internet and telephony
services over its own nationwide IP network, as well as integrated
wireless services in partnership with Sprint.
Cox Business Services is a full-service, facilities-based
provider of communications solutions for commercial customers,
providing high-speed Internet, voice and long distance services, as
well as data and video transport services for small to large-sized
businesses. Cox Media offers national and local cable advertising
in traditional spot and new media formats, along with promotional
opportunities and production services.
For Cox, education is more than just a commitment — it’s a way of
life for their employees and their business explained Larry Hofer,
Jr., Vice President of People Services, Cox Communications Inc.
Today, Cox provides complimentary cable television service and
high-speed Internet access to schools and libraries in their
service areas, investing more than $100 million through in-kind
resources to improve education since 1989.
Extending their commitment to education through industry
programs like Cable in the Classroom and Model Technology Schools,
Cox is bringing high-end education technology to schools, exposing
parents, students and teachers to a world of new learning
opportunities. In 2003, Cox also became the national technology
partner for Boys and Girls Clubs of America, providing video and
Internet technology at no cost to their centres in Cox markets. Cox
has given these clubs over $1 million in cash contributions and $20
million in in-kind services.
Cox also developed the award-winning Take Charge! initiative to
help parents create safe boundaries around children’s mass media
experience. Through national partnerships with Common Sense Media,
John Walsh and the National Centre for Missing & Exploited
Children, Cox is educating parents and teens on media safety. The
company make it easy to find great educational TV shows and Web
sites, while keeping families safe from content they find
inappropriate. Additionally, since 2004, Cox has provided more than
$25 million in advertising time to promote the use of parental
controls.
Cox continuously seeks out national and community partnerships
that can be extended within each service area, in addition to
encouraging service areas to create local education programs that
fit the needs of specific communities.
The Regents Business School London group also learned that the
COX Grand Quest spirit and commitment to education is rooted in Cox
Enterprises Inc., the parent company of Cox Communications, which
traces its history back to 1898. From school teacher to founder of
the company, James M. Cox served three terms as governor of Ohio
and ran in the 1920 U.S. presidential election as the Democratic
nominee. In that same year, Gov. Cox purchased his first newspaper,
the Dayton (Ohio) Evening News.
More than a century later, Cox Enterprises’ USA annual revenues
exceed $10 billion, with extensive interests in newspapers,
television, radio and automobile auctions.
The RBSL group was also treated to a sumptuous buffet ‘working’
lunch and a grand tour of the COX Communications call centre at
Copley. The RBSL group comprises Marcel Raschle, Herve Jamar,
Vashty Soegomo, Guillaume Klotz and Tobias Diebold and led by
Faculty Tutor, Eric CK Chan. The group was hosted and met by Larry
W. Hofer, Jr., Cox Communications, Vice President of People
Services, and his COX Senior Management team of Jeff, Ann, Nancy
and Chris. It was an enjoyable insightful and interesting visit to
a US based corporation.