The Main Challenges Facing John Wilman - Term Paper Example

Human Resource International Management HUMAN RESOURCE INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT Introduction It is common to assume that HR management in a particular country is the same as it is in a different country. For John William, Manners Europe Managing Director, while there are similarities in the HR function between the Netherlands and the United States, the cultural differences between the two countries make the HR function similarly different. HR management can be defined as the activities that are undertaken by various organizations to ensure that their employee resources are effectively utilized (Dessler, 2010: p38). Some of these activities include staffing and recruitment, HR planning, training and education, motivation and compensation, and labor relations. It is important to note that, when a company goes global or international, the organization should consider the changes to the given definition that occur. Different types of employees should be considered, including those from the parent company, host country employees, and third country nationals (Dessler, 2010: p39). This report will seek to discuss the main challenges facing John Wilman with regards to in the case of Manners Europe, including recruitment, motivation, communication, motivation, managerial style and training, and issues to do with organizational culture. In addition, it will also provide detailed recommendations over the next two and half years. Main Challenges facing Manners Europe Organizational Culture Manners Europe’s move to the Netherlands has brought about organizational culture problems that have to do with inconsistency, poor communication, and ambiguity. These three issues have the ability to contribute to an unpleasant and hostile workplace experience, which may make the employees less loyal and results in high employee turnover (Eamon, 2011: p49). One problem that may be facing Manners Europe is ambiguity, in which the employees may fail to comprehend what the organization expects from them. In addition, they could feel that the actual practices at the company are in conflict with the stated policies. For instance, the policies at the workplace may indicate that the management is in support of a work-life balance, which is healthy (Eamon, 2011: p49). However, it seems that the company supports and promotes single people who will not complain even when they are working for long hours. In this case, while the company’s stated claim, may be that they are family-friendly; this may not be the case in reality. Another challenge that may contribute to problems with organizational culture is inconsistency. The employees at the company may feel that its policies do not apply to all employees fairly and evenly. For example, some employees feel that managers are not penalized for actions that most employees are likely to be punished for. The company may also show inconsistency across various functions and departments that may contribute to resentment developing (Ybema et al, 2011: p53). Some examples include people working in the HR department feeling that the IT department is offered better offices and more vacations. Finally, another problem may be poor communication with employees feeling uncomfortable with regards to approaching their supervisors concerns, suggestions, and ideas. From the top to the bottom, the company may not be articulating its goals and expectations clearly, confusing staff members about their roles and responsibilities. Difference in priorities may also lead to issues with organizational culture as the employees may feel that there is over-emphasis on income, which may result in them working for long hours (Ybema et al, 2011: p53). As a result, employees end up taking out their resentment and anger concerning the organizational culture on clients and one another. Recruitment and Human Resource Planning Recruitment of a qualified workforce is one of the fundamental functions of HR, particularly as it feeds into all other departments of the company’s success. The combined costs of training, orienting, and recruiting employees may be high, specifically for full time employees who are offered employee benefits (Doverspike & Tuel, 2010: p44). Recruitment expenses may also be higher in the European setting, compared to the US, as the costs for hiring hourly workers and replacing them may be approximately six months of their wages. In addition, as organizations continue their recovery from the economic recession, most are still using the strategies created when recovery seemed within reach, which has put them under pressure to continue growth even as the economy remains shaky. As a result, companies like Manners Europe have been left with striving for increased growth with fewer resources. In their newer markets like the Netherlands, they are struggling to attract adequate talent in labor markets that are highly competitive and have short supply of managerial and technical skills. Despite the soft labor markets in the EU providing increasing numbers of applicants, the recruiters will still struggle to attract the required skills for meeting the organization’s specific needs (Doverspike & Tuel, 2010: p44). Organizations like Manners Europe also face another challenge in recruitment in that the talent they need, unlike in emerging economies, has already become entrenched in their job descriptions and current roles. As a result of the rising unemployment rates from the economic crisis and recession, the most talented employees are more fearful of leaving their jobs and current roles, while only a small portion of talented and skilled workers are actively looking for employment opportunities (Roberts, 2009: p88). Companies operating internationally also have to be cognizant and sensitive about local requirements. Being able to get the right mix of skills may be a challenge for such organizations. This is because it becomes difficult to identify the people who are capable of effectively functioning under different political climate and labor laws, as well as the difference in values and attitudes. Additionally, the ability to attract staff from overseas is challenging because of the low rate of EU labor market mobility. In this case, the willingness for EU nationals to travel abroad to work is declining with eh annual mobility of EU nationals being less that 0.4% (Roberts, 2009: p88). Communication Communication challenges in the organization, especially international organizations like Manners Europe, can cost the company money and productivity. One of the challenges facing international organizations with regards to communications is language barriers, particularly in diverse workplaces. Although diversity in the workplace portends numerous advantages like insight into global markets and variety in decision making processes, language barrier is common in such a workplace and may turn into a communication problem (Brønn et al, 2005: p66). Language barrier issues may occur between employees of different ages, different ethnic backgrounds, and different industry experience levels, just as it does at Manners Europe. Language barrier ends up creating misunderstandings, making the communication more ineffective. Effective workplace communication is also based on professional correspondence, meant to aid in continuous growth and daily operations of the organization. However, some employees may allow their personal issues to affect communication in the workplace, resulting in communication challenges that may take a while to resolve (Brønn et al, 2005: p67). If employees fail to communicate due to personal disagreements, they will damage the organization’s ability to grow. Lack of feedback is also a communication challenge for the international organization. One way communication is ineffective in exchanging information in the organization and it is important for managerial staff and employees to provide feedback often, which will improve the disseminated information’s quality, as well as how it is delivered (Conrad & Poole, 2012: p47). If a department within the organization sends out confusingly formatted information and the department is not informed of its communication issues immediately, the information will pose communicating challenges. Finally, as with Manners Europe, when new employees are hired into the company, a lack of comprehensive introduction with regards to the best way in which to communicate within the organization poses serious challenges. Organizations that fail to include training on communication as part of their new-hire programs of orientation are forced to contend with new employees, especially as these employees are forced to learn the organization’s proper communication procedures through hit and miss (Conrad & Poole, 2012: p48). Motivation Although motivation may seem like a simple management function in literature, it is challenging, especially for international organizations. Employees who lack motivation have higher chances of not completing their responsibilities effectively, which makes the organization suffer. One of the main reasons why motivation has proven a challenge for international organizations like Manners Europe is because of changes in the workforce. As the employees become part of the company, they have various expectations and needs (Jeremy & Bing, 2009: p228). These employees have different thinking, backgrounds, values, attitudes, and beliefs. Organizations that fail to be aware of these diversity functions in their employee workforce, as a result, fail to be cognizant of the different ways that they can motivate their employees. It is difficult to see the motives of employees on the surface and the organization can only presume them. For example, even if employees have the same educational and professional qualifications, are in the same age group, and have similar work experience, they may still show variance in their performance (Jeremy & Bing, 2009: p228). The major reason for this is that what motivates one employee does not specifically motivate the other employee. Motivating employees in the workplace also becomes a challenge when the job role or description of employees is altered considerably, as well as where the levels of the organization’s hierarchy are lessened (Clardy, 2012: p90). In addition, it may also result where a substantial number of employees are let go as a result of right-sizing or down-sizing. Various organizations have tended to fire and hire employees, as well as pay for performance strategies, without putting additional emphasis on the motivational efforts. As a result, these strategies tend to be unsuccessful, as the employees will overreach without the motivation to do so. Additionally, the nature of needs may also result in challenges to the manager of the organization with regards to motivating employees. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are some needs, which need to be satisfied before others (Clardy, 2012: p90). As a result, employees have diverse expectations and needs at certain points, which keep changing and might contrast with each other. For instance, at Manners Europe, employees who are made to spend more time in the workplace may feel that this time spent in the workplace clashes with their need for affiliation and social needs. Managerial Style and Planning Managers need to be nurtured in order to achieve the best managerial style possible for the organization and it is up to organizations to ensure that they identify the employees with the potential to manage (Elearn, 2012: p77). Along the way, it is important to consider the various challenges that come with managerial style and planning. To begin with, managerial planning faces the challenge of fewer candidates for managerial positions. Soon, organizations will have to face the retirement of managers belonging to the baby boomers generation, while management candidates from Generation Y are not sufficient to take their place. This latter generation, also referred to as the millennial generation, is not interested in taking up management positions, which gives organizations various challenges in finding the right skills and styles of management required from management candidates. Another challenge to management training involves training resources, especially in the present economic recession where budget cuts to training have ensured that training is at a premium (Elearn, 2012: p77). This portends a challenge for organizations in training management staff for both new and existing managers. In addition, although there are low-cost options through webinars, blogs, and expert insights on social media sites, lack of coordination among these resources may lead to non-alignment between management development needs and the organization’s philosophies. Another challenge facing management in the international organization is how to measure the success of the specific style and training. Successful development of the management function needs to be tied to outcomes that are measurable, allowing the organization to make a determination on whether its efforts are being successful or not (Lorber & Skela-Savič, 2011: p201). However, measuring effectiveness and increase in managerial efficiency is difficult and challenging. Using some, methods like employee evaluation, manager evaluation, and self-report may be difficult in circumstances where there is poor communication or workplace hostility. Moreover, comparing baseline data at the start of a development program for managers to the end of a year or six months, while helping to determine if there are improvements in managerial style, may also fail to take into account the workplace culture and styles of management. Finally, time is also a challenge facing international organizations and their management planning function. These organizations and their managers face challenges in the need to respond to external and internal environment changes, as well as the constant demands from new technology, customers, and employees (Lorber & Skela-Savič, 2011: p201). Recommendations Improving Organizational Culture One way for Mr. Wilman to improve the organizational culture at Manners Europe is to train the employees effectively, which will ensure that they know how to correctly work in the organization and what is expected of them by the organization, which will reduce errors and rates of conflict in the organization (Cameron & Quinn, 2009: p63). Changes should also be made accordingly by analyzing the organizational culture at Manners Europe and comparing it to the perceptions and expectations of its employees. One of the basic requirements of a productive workplace culture is an enthusiastic and diverse team, particularly those who are interested in being part of a team. Manners Europe could organize discussions with its employees to talk about issues related to the organization’s current culture, while changes should be brought if they are justified by the discussions. In addition, Mr. Wilman should seek to maintain healthy communication with the employees by ensuring they know about the organization’s leadership and strategies to be adopted by the company (Cameron & Quinn, 2009: p63). Conflicts also seem to be an inevitable part of the current workplace at Manners Europe and have direct bearing on the company’s overall culture. The way Mr. Wilman handles conflict in the workplace will be an indicator of the organization’s workplace culture. Therefore, he should seek to settle conflicts amicably and quickly when they arise (Courtemanche, 2011: p56). In addition, the organization should seek to create an impartial, transparent, and unbiased mechanism for conflict resolution where the employees feel they are treated justly and fairly. This will make them more likely to accept the management’s judgment and accept their mistakes following the exercise of conflict resolution, while also making them feel loyal to the organization, improving the workplace environment (Courtemanche, 2011: p57). Because Manners Europe has employees and managers from various backgrounds, synergy is essential in attaining workplace objectives. In this respect, team building will be important and employees should be engaged in such exercises. Recruitment and Human Resource Planning Mr. Wilman should seek to ensure that the organization takes a moiré strategic approach to employee recruitment, while also moving from its current mass branding taken previously to attract employee candidates (Doverspike & Tuel, 2010: p44). As this is a relatively new market, Manners Europe should focus on communicating their commitment to the Dutch market, promoting themselves as an employment brand, and focusing on individual development of employees. Mr. Wilman should also seek to establish long-term workforce forecasting and planning, rather than focusing on identification and responding to the current needs of talent. The organization should think of various skills that they may require in the future, as well as to build a pipeline of candidates that will aid them in meeting these needs (Doverspike & Tuel, 2010: p44). In addition, he should also seek to focus on skills, rather than only on experience, knowledge, and education. As managing director, Mr. Wilman should seek to use succession planning as a way of building an external talent pipeline. In this case, the HR department should be encouraged to consider both external and internal candidates for the major roles (Škraba et al, 2011: p1507). Organization leaders must focus on those strategies that enable them to identify more than two candidates to fill a specific role, of which one is an external candidate. Manners Europe could also start to build their employment brand in the new Dutch market by developing local career opportunities, especially by exposing their international leaders to the new market. They should also provide compelling career paths for their employees by aligning the professional interests of prospective employees with their current roles (Škraba et al, 2011: p1508). Finally, Mr. Wilman could also seek to develop local roots that will enable the organization acquire domestic talent required to continue growing in the Netherlands. Communication To overcome the challenges of communication at Manners Europe, Mr. Wilman should seek to assess the level of communication by soliciting feedback from the employees by aiming to ascertain if they feel that the communication channels are efficient, while also asking for input on how to improve communication (Eunson, 2012: p58). For example, he could seek to implement a one-on-one monthly or weekly meeting with the employees to help in opening the communication channels further. Direct communication will also be important for Mr. Wilman, especially when communicating important issues, rather than relying on 3rd parties. For instance, displeasure with an employee’s actions that may require them to be given specific directions should be communicated directly to eliminate misunderstandings, as well as giving the employees the chance to seek answers or clarification. The issues should also be spelt out clearly, rather than assuming that the entire organization has the same knowledge and understanding that the management has about the issues facing the company (Eunson, 2012: p59). For instance, where the organization is offering special pricing for top customers, neglecting to give this information to the organization’s salespeople may prove embarrassing for them if they discover the information from clients, rather than from Mr. Wilman (Kovačič & Lužar, 2011: p1509). The organization should also create clear job descriptions to eliminate ambiguity, which should clarify the expectations and responsibilities for all members of the organization. This will improve the communication between Manners Europe’s employees, ensuring that there is no confusion about their specific roles in a project. Finally, Mr. Wilman should implement status reports as a requirement, which will ensure that he does not have to keep tabs on the employee’s daily activities, which seems to be breeding resentment. This will also provide a basis for the weekly discussions mentioned above, while also enabling Mr. Wilman to monitor the employees’ progress on uncompleted tasks and projects (Kovačič & Lužar, 2011: p1509). Motivation It is important for Mr. Wilman to keep the company’s employees motivated in the current economic recession and recruitment challenges. The first step to doing this should be improving communication by personally talking to employees by setting aside time to talk directly with the employees (Yang, 2008: p261). The organization could also personalize recognition of employees by using an employee recognition program that allows employees choose the rewards tat should be given for work well done, such as allowing employees to choose from a list of rewards like gift certificates, concert tickets, or extra time off. An employee shareholder program could also be implemented by allowing the employees to own some stock in the company at discount prices. This will increase their ownership and loyalty to the company, which should also motivate the employees to ensure that the organization is successful (Carmichael, 49: p72). Employee responsibility can also be increased to ensure that the employees have a greater ownership in the organization, which will also enable the organization to become successful (Coulson, 2010: p26). In this case, Mr. Wilman could give his employees the opportunity to take responsibility for various projects, while also offering them training opportunities that should improve their skills. Flexible work schedules will also help motivate the employees at Manners Europe, especially those with families. Such flexible options include job sharing and telecommuting, which will go a long way in motivating and retaining employees. Finally, Manners Europe should seek to reward the good work of their employees by paying them in part on the basis of their work quality. 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