HR Actions of Multinational Corporations - Dissertation Example

Critically analyse the HR actions multinational corporations should take to facilitate expatriate adjustment. The high level of competition in today’s global marketplace, the role of a global human resource management system is essential to be successful. Having a robust and dynamic human resource management system proves to be indispensable for many reasons, including the crucial role that it has to play to facilitate expatriate adjustment to ensure there is success of expatriate projects and assignments (Scullion, 1999). It is a given fact that different forms of expatriate assignments are very important to any corporation that has presence in different nations for functional success (Adler, 1983). Incorporating any expatriate to the functional as well as the developmental environment of an organization is also necessary to ensure that expatriate has a healthy working atmosphere around him or her. Many researchers and HR professionals are interested in understanding how to facilitate expatriate adjustment in order to make sure that the global projects that invariably involved a considerable amount of investment prove to be successful. Many different factors are involved in expatriate adjustment and it is the responsibility of the human resources management to facilitate this process. This study aims to explore the various actions that the HR can take to facilitate expatriate adjustment in a smooth manner. Many researches from consultancies (GMAC, 2006) have shown a consistent and substantial growth in the number of people who have been sent abroad by their employee. In light of this, it is necessary to understand the different ways in which an organization can ease the process and make it comfortable for the employees to adjust to a different country and organizational set up. According to the model of international adjustment developed by Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991), expatriate adjustment has three inherent domains; one is adjustment to an overseas workplace, adjustment to interacting with the host nationals and adjustment to the overseas work atmosphere. As per the research done by Navas et al (2007), there are six domains that are crucial in expatriate adjustment, and they are politics and government, work, economics, social relations, family relations and ideology. According to Navas, the domains are listed based on the increasing resistance to change. For example, employees would easily adjust to the government rules, work, economics and so on, but they would not easily adjust the belief, value systems and ideology of the host country. The Human Resources department can decide on working on each of these aspects based on the tenure as well as the previous experience of the employees. Expatriate adjustment has a good influence on the performance of the employees and if there are, some issues related to adjustment there are high chances that the performance may get affected in various degrees. In this study, the various factors that need to be addressed by the HR in order to ensure a smooth a transition. Choice of the Right Person Before the decision related to selecting an employee for an expatriate assignment is made, it is necessary to explore different aspects. One such aspect is flexibility. It is necessary to understand the level of flexibility that an employee brings in to the organization (Feldman and Thompson, 1993). If an employee finds it difficult to work in different groups or teams within the same organization in the same location, there are chances that he or she may find it even more difficult to adjust in a foreign location. Hence, the HR personnel should ensure that the person has displayed a good amount of flexibility in their current roles before sending them for an overseas assignment. It is also important to understand the manner in which employee responds to change in the organization. In addition, it is also necessary to test the aptitude of the person to live abroad. The employee should be open to the idea of living in another country for the fixed tenure. In addition, the interest of the individual in the concerned project or the assignment is also something that should be given importance. If the employee is not open to living abroad or does not nurture the required passion and interest for the project, the assignment may not show the required results. Cross Cultural Training The success that an expatriate employee would bring to the global assignment would depend on the cross-cultural adjustment that he or she is able to make (Sappinen, 1993) According to Tung (1982); cross-cultural adjustment is directly related to the performance on the assignment and is negatively related to any premature termination of the assignment. Due to this, a considerable amount of research has gone to determine the various ways in which cross-cultural adjustment can be improved. Many corporations in order to teach the expatritates, the most appropriate and acceptable behaviour in the host country offer CCT or Cross Cultural Training. CCT can be defined as the different ways of intervention that has been designed in order to improve the knowledge as well as the skills of expatriates to help them operate effectively in the unfamiliar host culture (Brewster and Pickard, 1994). The HR can play a very important role in providing up to date as well as relevant cross-cultural training to the employees who are being sent on assignments abroad. Cross-cultural training can include various sessions that will help the employee as well as the family understand the various aspects of social and cultural life in that particular country. It has been noticed that a huge portion of existing CCT programs is based on anecdotes and second hand information; where as an ideal program should be based on research and first had experiences. For example, many HR professionals assume that cultural similarity would be inherent in nations where the first language is same. This is a just an assumption and hence, in such cases, HR can do proper research to ensure that a proper and updated CCT program is developed. Family Adjustment According to Kreitner, one of the main reasons for the failures of foreign assignment is due to family related problems (Kreitner, 1989). He feels that many expatriates return home without completing the assignment because the members of the family cannot adjust to a new soico-cultural environment. The education of children, proper facilities of healthcare for the entire family, holistic development for the children are some reasons that the family is not able to adjust well to the environment. Climate related problems; inability to adjust to the facilities as well as the culture in the new environment can influence the decision of the employee to move back to their original location without ensuring the success of the project. While these factors could largely depend upon the city or location to which the employee is sent, the HR can make sure that an expatriate with a family relocation is sent to a place where the necessary basic amenities are available in order to minimize adjustment related issues of the family. The HR also can provide enough information about the location and facilities present in the new places so that the employee can make the decision to opt for the location based on the information provided. Clarity on Compensations and Benefits A key attraction in taking up any assignment abroad would be the additional benefits in terms of compensation. The HR should provide clear data and information around this. The compensation depends largely on the country that the employee is going to work in. It is necessary for the HR to ensure that the compensation provided is in line with the cost of living in that particular nation. The compensation and benefits plan should be designed considering the various factors such as food allowances, accommodation and transport. In case the assignment is for a short term, there should be enough clarity on per diem allowances and other alternative facilities. The key action that HR should take in this regard is to educate the employees regarding the benefits so that they do not face confusion once they are on board for the assignment. Many MNCs now sign contracts for expatriate employment so that there is no doubt regarding the benefits that an employee is eligible for. The HR personnel can ensure that a written contract is always signed so that there is enough clarity on the matter. Healthcare and Medical Support A factor that many individuals dread is regarding the availability of good healthcare and medical support system. The healthcare system of each country is different and may come in with different price ranges. Providing health insurance while visiting abroad is something that the HR can work on so that the employees can be assured about the expenses of healthcare (Ruffin, 1993). Apart from that, it is also necessary that the employees are aware of the medical facilities that would be available in the new country and what would be the nearest medical centre that they could reach out to in case they need medical attention. For example, creating a list of hospitals, medical labs as well as pharmaceutics can be a good exercise by the HR to ensure that the employee has all the information with regard to medical care. In addition, it is best to introduce the employee to a local contact who would be able to guide them to proper healthcare facilities when the need arises. It is necessary that the expatriate families are also familiarized with international health care plans and they have been educated on how to access the services and support that they are entitled to. Hence, HR can play a crucial role in taking of any tension related to medical support that the employee may be worried about. Easy Access of Information The toughest thing to locate in a foreign country would be relevant and up to date information. Very often, the adjustment kit and the catalogue provided end up being outdated and hence, cause confusion as well as frustration. The HR, from time to time should ensure that the information provided is consistent and is up to date. The information that should be provided to an employee before he or she goes on a foreign assignment should include emergency contact number, medical care numbers, contacts of the police and ambulance, information on banks, tourist and travel information, embassy details and other basic essentials like grocery and food information. This will help the employee be assured of where to look at for what information. Language Support The challenge of expatriate adjustment becomes even more intense if the employee is sent to a country where he or she does not know or understand the basic language for communication. This can be a challenge in both official as well as personal front. While at work, the employee may take a considerable time to get started on the assignment and adjust with the team because of the language barrier. On a personal front, it would be difficult for the employee to carry out basic essentials like shopping or travelling because of the lack of knowledge of language. It is necessary for the employee to learn basic essentials of communication in the language and HR can facilitate that. For example, many companies introduce language-training sessions as a preparation for an expatriate environment. They also make sure that the new office has some bilingual support to whom the employee can turn to in case if emergencies. While many organizations consider this as a trivial problem, it has come to notice that easy communication has often enhanced the productivity of an individual who is working from another country. Repatriation Just like expatriate adjustment, families and individuals may face trauma and adjustment issues when they get back to their original location after having lived abroad for a considerable amount of time. This could be due to numerous reasons. Their home location would have changed drastically from the last time they lived here. In the same way, the expatriates themselves would have changed because of their experience in living abroad, and they may find to adjust in the previous environment. In addition, they also begin to miss the expatriate compensation and benefits, and often feel that they earn much less that what they did when they worked abroad. Repatriation is often underestimated, as the assumption is that most people would not have any sort of issues adjusting back to their own home ground. However, the challenge of relocation back is almost as big as the challenge of relocating to a new place. It has been noticed that when both the organization as well as the expatriate plan the process of coming back in a proactive manner, the adjustment problems are very less, the expectations are more real and the adaptation time is shorter. Facilitating career planning, regular communication with the home office and successful organization planning done by HR has seen positive results and eased the process of repatriation. Social Network If the employee is going alone to a different country, it is highly possible that he or she will feel lonely and depressed because of the absence of a social life. Living in an alien country without friends or family can be a difficult scenario and it can have an effect on the productivity levels of an employee (Selmer, 2002). Here, a lot would depend on the individual attitude of the person on how they adjust to the country. However, the HR professionals can also get involved in to make the matters easier. For example, some organizations send two or three people together on the assignment to bring in more efficiency as well as to provide companionship. In some organization, there are many rope-in programs that would help an individual get acclimatized to the new work environment. Expatriate social committee that ensure that the employee has a group of people to spend time with has also proven to be very helpful in order to avoid loneliness. In some cases, employees are directly sent to a client location, and not the corresponding office. This can add to the challenge for adjustment. The HR to facilitate better networking can strengthen client and vendor relationships. Conclusion The HR professionals can play a deep and insightful role in facilitating expatriate adjustment by working on the different aspects that have been mentioned above. In modern days, the human resources professionals are expected to do far beyond the role of an administrative dimension. Hence, it is necessary that they get actively involved in expatriate adjustment and come up with innovative methods to facilitate the global assignments. With a little co-operation from the employees and with adequate research, the job can be handled with utmost ease. The HR team also should keep in mind that the information that they provide to their employees should regularly be updated based on research as well as first hand information. A strong network with the office that the employee is going to go and work maintained by the human resources management team also proves to be very effective. Small efforts in the direction of expatriate adjustment can make a considerable difference on the success of a global assignment. References Adler, N .J . (1983) `Cross-Cultural Management Research : The Ostrich and the Trend, Academy of Management Review, 8, pp226-32. Black, J. S. & Mendenhall, M. 1990. 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