Social Foundation of Thought and Action - Essay Example

? HRM Assessment Guide Contents Question 3 Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Conclusion 8 Reference 9 Question 2 10 Introduction 10 Definitions 10 Discussion 11 Summary and Conclusion 15 References 2 16 Question 1 Introduction Several leading global organizations are trying to capitalize on the potential opportunities that have developed due to globalization. These organizations expanded their business operation boundaries in several global markets in order to achieve several potential competitive advantages, such as high brand value, high market share and potential global customer base. The purpose of the essay is to determine the principles that are maintained by organizations during the development of domestic human resource policies and multinational human resource policies. In addition to this, the study will discuss the similarity and differences of these principles. A multinational or a domestic organization when develops human resource strategies and policies according to the host country’s work or religious culture, then it can be defined as domestic practices and policies. On the other hand, an organization develops human resources policies or strategies in several global operating market places according to the cultural or religious background of people or employees, it can be considered as multinational human resource policies and practices. Discussion Global business environment has become highly competitive as several leading organizations are operating within a similar industry. In addition to this, these organizations are continuously developing unique business strategies in order to maintain its significant competitive edge in global market place. Human resource department is considered as one of the important department of an organization. Several leading national and multinational organizations have given significant importance to their human resource department in order to ensure effective business performance. Skilled and effective workforce can be considered as major business growth driver for an organization. It is highly essential to maintain significant workplace performance through effective human resource strategy and policy development in this competitive global business environment. Similarities There are several differences and similarities in domestic and international human resource policies and performances. National or multinational organizations generally try to develop human resource policies to improve the workplace environment and motivate the employees to perform well (Cooke, 2003, p.72). Each and every organization develops human resource policy in host or international country to foster recruitment and workplace performance management process. A multinational organization follows same step or process in all the operating countries regarding the recruitment activities. Job posting, advertising and interview procedures follow same structure in all the countries. Differences in human resource policy in domestic and international countries take place regarding organizational culture of an organization, workplace diversity programmes in an organization, leadership styles in the organizations and use of motivation tolls in the organization (Colling and Terry, 2010, p.98). It is true that an organization has to develop these strategies differently in several global markets due to difference in cultural background and behaviour of people. In addition to this, multinational organizations generally develop different types of policies due to various political aspects in different countries, such as wage distribution regulation, labour policy and employment policy. Differences It is important for a multinational organization to implement cultural or social research and survey activity before entering into the international market. It is very much essential to considered different external environmental factors as it helps the human resource department to develop policy. It already has been discussed that there are significant similarities in domestic and international policies. But the major problem arises when the management of the organizations deals with people from different cultural background in international market. Multinational organizations generally develop strategies in different countries based on the culture of people. For example, McDonalds developed different organizational culture and CRM strategy in different countries. It helps the organization to retain skilled employees and enhance business performance in international market (Wasbeek, 2004, p. 48). In addition to this, similar hierarch or corporate culture in all the global market places can hamper the business performance as the employees will not get encouraged or motivated to work with that company due to cultural barrier. Employing different national categories of workers and maintaining or controlling their performance is not an easy task for a multinational organization. Three types of employees can be categorized in a multinational organization (Durai, 2009, p. 17). These categories are parent country employees, host country employees and third country employees. In this present era of globalization, several leading organizations are generally adopting merger or acquisition strategy in international market place. It can help a multinational organization to get the local client base, existing supply chain network and effective business operation resources in international countries. Organizations in parent country develop similar kind of human resource policies. It is easier for the organization to control and motivate the workforce due to limited cultural and language barriers. The multinational organizations in parent country do not face problems like communication barrier due to similar cultural background of employees. In host countries, the multinational organizations with different subsidiaries have to follow the existing corporate culture of the subsidiary organizations. If the multinational corporations try to follow one and only human resource policy in all the operating countries, then it will be difficult for the employees to adjust with the new policies and regulations. For example, P&G is one of the leading FMCG brands globally. The organization recently acquired Gillette. P&G did not change the brand name and organizational culture of Gillette as it will be difficult for P&G to maintain its competitive position for Gillette. Third country’s employees are those employees who are outsourced by a multinational organization in host or parent country. The management of these multinational organizations try to implement effective training and development programmes for these third countries’ employees in order to increase their skill, competency and ability (Dunning and Lundan, 2008, p. 65). In addition to this, it is important for the organization to undertake several initiatives in order to minimize the possibilities of language barriers, cultural barriers and several types of workplace conflicts. The multinational organizations need to focus on effective leadership style of the managers in order to enhance the communication process within the departments of an organization (Solt, 2010, p. 27). However, it is true that several leading global organizations give respect to the cultural values of the employees. Several risk factors are associated with the business expansion activities in global market. Domestic organizations do not face that much external environmental issues and challenges like the international or multinational organization. Different political aspects, social issues, environmental policies, technological adoption and different legal policies create critical challenges for the multinational organizations (Regis, 2008, p. 33). Government of several countries developed different business policies for the organization. Therefore, it is difficult for the organizations to maintain smooth business performance in global operating areas quite easily and comfortable. Several organizations face problems like employment and wage distribution issues in global market place (Fisher, Schoenfeldt and Shaw, 2008, p.107). Due to different cultural background, it is important for the organizations to hire loc al or domestic managers or leaders to guide the entire workforce successfully to the business objectives in different host countries. On other hand, lack of good health and safety aspects of employees in a workplace can create several legal issues for the organizations. According to workplace safety act, it is important for the multinational organizations to ensure good and safe workplace environment (Gallo, 2011, p. 54). Maintaining all the legal policies can help an organization to mitigate all the possible risks associated with business operation strategies and activities. Wage rate of employees differs in all the countries around the globe due to different economic environment. First of all, it is essential for an organization to consult with the public body or government of a country before entering in to that nation. There are several environmental and legal concerns that need to be considered during the development of human resource policies and practices. Significant leadership style is highly required for an organization in order enhance collaborative work performance (Branine, 2011, p. 91). It is important for the leaders to maintain effective workplace diversity in global areas. After recruitment and selection process the multinational organization should think about induction and orientation process for the employees. It will help the employees of different cultural background to understand the ethical vale of the organization. In addition to this, these activities will help the employees to understand job responsibility quite significantly. Bonus distribution and leave policy is a critical area to consider. It should be considered by the organizations during the policy development process according to the cultural and religious background of the employees. Conclusion It is clear from above discussion that there are various differences and similarities in the domestic and multinational policy development process. Organizations in multinational countries have to consider each and every external environmental factors regarding policy development process. Skilled and effective workforce helps a multinational organization to maintain its significant business performances. Lack of motivation and confidence can hamper the performance of employees. Therefore, it is essential for the multinational organizations to develop strategies based on the cultural background of employees. Domestic organizations have to consider limited amount of elements and aspects while the MNCs need to focus on each and every external environmental factors regarding human resource policy development process. Reference 1 Branine, M., 2011. Managing across Cultures. Stamford: Cengage learning. Colling, T., and Terry, M., 2010. Industrial Relations. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Cooke, W., 2003. Multinational Companies and Global Human Resource Strategies. London: Greenwood Publishing. Dunning, J., and Lundan, S., 2008. Multinational enterprise and Global Economy. New York: Springer. Durai, D., 2009. Human Resource management. London: Sage. Fisher, C., Schoenfeldt, L., and Shaw, J., 2008. Human Resource Management. London: Routledge. Gallo, F., 2011. Business Leadership in Chaina. London: Kogan page. Regis, R., 2008. Strategic Human Resource management and Development. New York: McGraw-Hill. Stol, R., 2010. Differences and Similarities between Domestic and International HRM. Munich: GRIN Verlag. Wasbeek, D., 2004. Human Resource Management Practices. New York: Springer. Question 2 Introduction A senior manager is being sent by a company to look after the operations in the Middle East for an initial period of two years and a prospective extended period of another two years. This report tries to investigate the various training and development programmes that need to be conducted for this individual before he embarks upon a new phase in his career. The objective of the training programme is to groom the employee with the new culture that he would be exposed to and how the challenges that come in the way of the operations in the new environment should be met by the employee (Torbion, 1982, p. 102). The induction programme would also make the return of the employee with the successful completion of the tenure guaranteed. Therefore the objective of this essay is to discover the various facets of the International Human Resource Management practices in light of this particular case. Definitions Expatriates are professionals who are sent abroad by the organisation they work for. The transfer is generally as temporary or permanent one depending on the nature of assignment they are engaged with. They are distinguished from the immigrants in the sense that they still belong to their original native countries and they are sent for a specific reason by the companies they are engaged with. The expatriates are skilled professional as distinguished from the immigrants (Brewster, 1991, p. 21). This case studies about an individual who is the prospective expatriate who would be sent to the Middle East for e temporary tenure of two years or four years depending on his performance. International Assignments are specific jobs that a person working in a multinational organisation has to perform. The multinational organisations are those companies which generally have their headquarters in the parent country but have their operations in different countries across the globe. These MNC’s have this practice of sending their employees for various assignments to their overseas operations. These transfers with the sole motive of international assignments are on a temporary basis. International assignments are essentially practised in the companies because globalisation has brought the entire world on a same platform. The cross cultural environment in the organisations culminates new ideas that help the businesses make better decisions and to have an access to the global markets (Hofstede, 1980, p. 219). For this reason the companies that have offices in different countries need to understand the cultural background of the respective countries which helps them to move ahead with the business functions. For this an induction program is essential for the prospective expatriates. The induction programme throws light on the opportunities and the challenges that the employee may face while working in the foreign country (Allard, 1996, p. 38). Along with that the training provides an idea to the person of how to deal with the new environment and how to maximise the benefits of working in the overseas operations of an organisation. Repatriation on the other hand is the reverse of expatriation in which the employees return to their native countries after serving a definite tenure in the foreign lands. The repatriating employees come back to the countries in which they have their citizenship. Discussion Cross Cultural Training programmes have become an essential tool for grooming the individuals who are to be sent abroad for different assignments. Challenges are faced by the expatriates in every sphere of the work that they intend to perform and therefore a thorough training is essential. However, very few companies actually provide with such solutions to their employees in the pre-departure period. In this particular case the employee who is to be sent to the Middle East would face a lot of challenges for which trainings essentially need to be imparted. The challenges that the person would face would include the communication problems (Black, 1990, p. 7). It is assumed that the native language of the employee is English. On the other hand the country where he would be settling temporarily would be an Islamic Country where the main language spoken would be Arabic along with the use of other languages like Persian, Turkish or Armenian. Thus the person needs to overcome the communication barriers at the first instant. Along with this the office where he would be working, would be located in such areas inhabited by the native people. So majority of the employees are expected to be Middle Eastern. So they would be communicating among themselves in their native language (Bandura, 1986, p. 75). Norms or the customs of the Middle East operations of the country would also be different to the person as he had faced in the native country. There would be different set of laws and byelaws which the person has to abide by. The human resource practice of the Middle East operations would also be different pertaining to the difference of the cultural backgrounds in the two countries. Therefore it can be seen that there would be multifaceted complexities faced by the manager (Trompenaars, 1997, p. 187). The induction training should be conducted in two phases essentially. The first phase would be the pre-departure training which would take place in the native land of the employee. This would be the initial phase where the employee would get to know about the benefits and the challenges that he would face in the Middle East (Tung, 1988, p. 63). The post arrival training would take place after the arrival in the location where the international assignment has been scheduled. Since the person has to adjust in the new environment on his own he would be undergoing different types of experiences at different points in time. In the initial phase of the job he would be enjoying the new environment and would be encouraged to understand the various aspect of the new culture. Post honeymoon period he would face a culture shock which would lead to drop in the motivation level of the employee. Finally he would start adjusting to the new culture till he becomes accustomed to it and will try to derive the best out of the available opportunities. This relationship between the degrees of adjustments over the tenure of assignment of the employee can be depicted well with the U-Curve (Pedersen, 1995, p. 26). The employee has to be enlightened about these phases that he would be experiencing in the forthcoming months of his career. The employee can be trained under the different kinds of cross cultural training methods. The first type is the Cognitive Approach in which the orientation would be through the lectures about the business and the workplace environment that would be existent, the religious practices of the country and the geographical and climatic nuances. An alternative approach would be the Affective Approach in which trainings would incorporate the reactions of the employees in which awareness about the culture is imparted. This would essentially involve people of the culture where the employee would be going to and the interaction would provide an insight to the employee. A third type of approach is the Experiential Approach in which simulation techniques are used to groom the employees in the right manner. The employee would have an on field experience if they undergo this training and has a real feel of the work culture he is yet to experience (Brake and Walker, 1995, p. 23). Additional language training is also essential for the employee to survive in the workplace as well as outside the workplace in the Middle East. The training would include the General Organisation specific training and the job training relating to his field of operation. On the other had the mandatory training include the special trainings relating to the health, safety and the legal issues. A critical evaluation of the training is also necessary to find out the loopholes and the areas where there is scope for improvement. Proper feedback would enable to company to know if the selected candidate is right to go for this particular job. Most of the employees who are sent to the foreign lands generally refuse to come back to the original lands if they find that the opportunity for employment and the education facilities for their children are better in the foreign land as compared to their home countries. This is essentially true for those people who are sent to the foreign countries along with their families. Therefore the companies need to be careful while formulating their policies and have to train and develop their expatriate employees in such a way that they do not refuse to come back to their homelands at the end of the tenure. The successful placement can only be ensured if the candidates are groomed in the proper way. Summary and Conclusion From the above discussion of the case it is clear that the employees who are to be sent abroad essentially need to undergo the training and development programmes otherwise they would not be able to survive in the long run. An employee when goes to a foreign land takes with him the cultural nuances which blend with the foreign culture. Alternatively a repatriating employee brings with him the cultural aspects of the nation that he had visited. The cross cultural ambience and a global corporation can be run successfully if the process of exchange is undertaken in a healthy manner. References 2 Bandura, A., 1986. Social foundation of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. New Jersey: Prentice- Hall Trompenaars, F., 1997. Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business. New York: McGraw Hill. Hofstede, G., 1980. Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Pedersen, P., 1995. The Five Stages of Culture Shock: Critical Incidents around the World. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Allard, L. A. C., 1996. Managing globe-trotting expatriates, Management Review, Vol. 85(5). Brewster, C., 1991. The Management of Expatriates. London: Kogan Page. Brake, T. and Walker, D., 1995. Doing Business Internationally: The Work book to Cross-Cultural Success. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Training Press. Black, J. S., 1990. Locus of control, social support, stress and adjustment in international transfers. Asia Pacific Journal of Management. Vol. 27(1). Torbion, I., 1982. Living Abroad: Personal Adjustment and Personnel Policy in the Overseas Setting. New York: John Wiley. Tung, R. L., 1988. The new expatriates: Managing human resources abroad. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger. Read More