Managing and Leading People across Borders - Essay Example

?managing and leading people across borders 17th December Introduction In order to be successful in the global market, it is vital that as a business man or woman one fully understands the culture of his or her customers. Based on the diversity that exists in the global, multinationals firms should put in place effective measures to ensure that the needs of their customers are met. There are various models of cultural dimensions that multinational firms can use to analyze the cultures of various people in the global market. These include Hosfede and Trompenaars models among others. This paper aims at demonstrating how multinationals can manage and lead people across the border as well as how the expatriates can be made to improve on their productivity through proper hiring and training them among other motivational factors. Geert Hofstede analysis Due to the use of technology people who are from different workplace do interact in many ways since the world has been globalised. Hofstede cultural dimension theory tries to explain how people from different cultures do communicate and intermingle together due to technology. To explain the theory, Hofstede carried a research on employees and was put in five dimensions of culture. Power distance (PD) Power distance explains how imbalance power exists to individuals either in firms or even in homestead. For example high power distance in the society encourages for unequal distribution of power while a low PD encourages equal power sharing among the members (Chulman, 1999). In country like Malaysia, a high PD exists among the companies and thus the companies are centralized and management is under strong hierarchical powers from top management to lower level. Individualism (IDV) High individualism shows how one has a loose connection to others and this can also be related in countries which have high IDV meaning the countries have no strong connection with other countries. Low IDV indicates strongly groups among the countries or individual who work together for common goal (Rutherford, 1990). High IDV indicates that a country like US has one of characteristic that it enjoys challenges and in turn it will have to be rewarded due to the hard work and enjoyment of freedom since it will base its challenges as personal and will not involve other stakeholders. Masculinity (MAS) In country like Japan male are regarded as tough due to traditions and seen as superior than females since they are the provider in the families. In high MAS a female working in the firm is underrated and thus treated as feminine while in low MAS male and female works together without looking at the professionalism of individuals. The traditions are erased in the society and thus a female can do what a male can do. Uncertainty/Avoidance Index (UAI) Uncertainty considers how individual in the society feel when they are in unknown situation. In high UAI, individual tries to avoid as much as possible and when the situation is unknown they are emotional (Jonathan, 2011). In low UAI, individuals are ready to risk and change is regarded as important to the growth of firms. Individual are concerned with long term goals and not what is currently taking place. Long term orientation (LTO) This shows how traditions to the society still exist up to date. For example, in high LTO families are regarded as the root of the society, grandparents and men are the most respected and authority comes from them (Davis, 2004). Education is a must to the society while low LTO encourages individual to be more creative and respect must be shown to the others in the society. According to Hofstede the theory is important and should be practiced by individuals in their life. Trompenaars theory The theory is based on understanding and how one can manage cultural differences. Universalism versus particularism Universalism is based on individual ownership of property and can be shared when one is willing while particularism is state ownership of property where it is shared equally. Individualism versus communalism Individualism believes in personal freedom while communalism is based on groups rather than individual. Specific versus diffuse Specific aspects indicate that one works towards attainment of goals of individual while diffuse indicates whether one works in group or not there is no significant impact. Paul (1995) argues that one should make an effort to meet with others. Neutral vs. emotional The neutral aspect depicts that one will not disclose one feelings anyhow and one base the feelings as individual while the emotional aspects argues that individuals express their emotions to the other partners who they work with. Achievement vs. ascription People believe that one is who she or he is due to the professionalism associated with one while ascription people values one due to power and title. Hall cultural theory Race, ethnicity and post colonial analysis Race and ethnicity has been used by individual countries to oppress others due to greed and superiority complex. Gay/lesbian/queer analysis On his studies on cultural dimensions, Pippa (2003) indicates that communities usually have bad perception for those who practice sexual desire between a member who have same sex and is a private matter to individuals. This is unethical and disrespect to the creator and the society as a whole. Feminist analysis Women in the society have been underrated and they have been expressed as failures in the society men being reflected as superior. Marxist and materialist analysis What one posse makes one to achieve a positive social change in the society and this will make many workers either in companies to be oppressed (Alex, 1985). Ronald Inglehart theory Inglehart theory explains how intergenerational values tend to change from materials to post materials. Modernization and post modernization Industrialization is the cause of modernization and has lead to changes in the society changing the roles of genders since all can fit at one place (Wayne, 2000). Gender equality and cultural change around the world This explains how modernization has changed the roles of individuals from traditional sex roles. The roles of female have been increased as for men being considered more in terms of work. Sacred and secular Religion is more based in poorer countries and those state which have achieved non in terms of economic growth. But traditions are more likely to be seen in the rich countries which have high economic growth. Adler cultural theory Adler emphasized the need of individual to understand their social cultural practices. Unity of individual The behavior and feelings of individual is based upon one and responsible to carry personal issues according to him or her (Inkson et al, 1997). Self determinant and uniqueness One goal is influenced by creativity and power of individual and the theory assumes one is aware of goals. This may emanate from place of birth or thinking ability of individual. The feeling of community Human being should live well with others and respect should be two way traffic for individual to live in harmony. Mental health Individual should help others in the society and should be aware of others concern since one should not be self centered and thus helping others to achieve goals. European value study (EVS) European value study is a study that tries to value human being values and was introduced by European value system study group (EVSSG) (Hall, 1973). The idea of study is to know whether Europeans have common values and whether those values are changing by time. The research also tries to seek whether Christianity values still exists in European life and culture. The research was carried to south and North America with aim of social and political scientists who had to create data and processing European values study. Multinationals and the role of expats Global business activities have become vital as companies embark on expanding their operations and increasing their sales. In order for companies to effectively face off their competitors in foreign countries, it is essential that they establish production facilities and have a presence in those countries. Thus, there is need to send out some of the employees to foreign countries in order to oversee the development strategies of the multinational firms. Expatriates refers to the employees of a home company who permanently or temporary reside in foreign countries. Having been strongly adopted in the 20th century due to the globalization as the global market for professional expand, expatriation has an advantage of being cheaper. This is based on the fact that hiring and training of new workers in foreign countries is an expensive process that may result to the reduction of multinationals profits. On their studies on Intercultural Communication Hsiu-Ching and Mu-Li (2011) indicates that expatriates are free to choose the level of benefits that would make them more productive. For example, if the insurance scheme in the home country is expensive, expatriates can choose an insurance scheme that is not expensive if the foreign countries. However, expatriation is disadvantageous in that the employees must give up the benefits that they enjoy in their home country and start making compulsory contributions in the foreign countries. Based on the fact that expatriates meet quite a number of people from different cultural background, it is essential for them to have the necessary skills to handle their customers. One key type of training that multinationals should undertake is intercultural training (Diane, 1995). This entails proving the expatriates with adequate knowledge in order to ensure that they improve their performance in the new surroundings. Another significance of intercultural training is that it prepares a family or individuals to cope up with ups and downs that they will face in the foreign countries (Michael and Robert, 1998). Similarly, the expatriates must be trained on the working styles and the etiquette of the new culture. Essentially, intercultural training helps the expatriates in effective transition of the workers when moving abroad to work there. One way to improve the performance of the expatriates is through creation of strong multicultural teams in the foreign countries in order to improve the communication process. Through team cohesion, the expatriates will effectively understand the culture of the foreign people. Studies on expatriate adjustment is vital in the sense that it provides one with adequate information on how prepare the expatriates to enter foreign countries thus eliminating the feeling of resentful and isolation (Sharma and Bruning, 2005). Failure by the employees to adjust appropriately in the new market may not only lead to failure of the assignment and high level of attrition, but also it would result to early repatriation. Through the adjustment lifecycle that entails preparation, honeymoon, culture shock and adaptation, the expatriates are well prepared to face off the challenges that they may face in the foreign countries. Similarly, the employees who are taken through the four stages of adjustment benefits from improved personality, self-confidence, cross-cultural capabilities and cognitive abilities among others (Cohn et al, 2005). Thus, it is vital for the managers to hire skilled individuals who offer extensive training to the expatriates on how to adjust in the new cultures. The selection and recruitment process of expatriates is different from that of the domestic workers. Collings et al (2007) maintains that this is based on the long time, significant monetary resources and high costs of the recruitment process. One of the key aspect that firms should adopt during expatriates selection and recruitment is that the recruiters should be effectively trained. Likewise, the recruitment strategies of the employees should be matched with the job requirements (Kim, 2008). Some of the major aspects that are checked by the interviewers include the expatriate’s adaptability to the foreign culture, flexibility, family situation, tolerance, empathy towards and language ability among others. To ensure that the expatriates are developed and becomes productive, they should be exposed to sensitivity training as well as language and cultural training (Shawn and Rebecca, 2004). Such training should be done after the hiring of the expatriates. This will lead to high level of motivation for the workers and increased profit for the company. In reference to compensation, expatriates should be paid high salaries. As compared to the domestic workers, expatriates have more duties and challenges implying that firms should not only provide them with high salaries but their families should be provided with more benefits. This is mostly due to the political, social and economic risks that the expatriates are exposed to during their assignments. During their jobs, Anthony (1999) argues that expatriates should undergo continuous evaluation to assess their performance. This would entail comparing their performance and job description to determine whether or not they are within the stipulated boundaries to achieve their goals as well as those of their firms. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that as understanding the culture of foreigners is an aspect that business people who are focused at going global cannot underrate. By use of the various models of analyzing cultural dimensions, it is possible to effectively understand the culture of people where the firms want to establish their manufacturing activities (Cardy, 2007). On the other hand, adequate training is needed to make expatriates be successful in their assignments. Through the intercultural trainings, expatriates are exposed to knowledge that is vital in facing off the challenges in foreign markets. References Alex, C. 1985. 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