Case about the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRG) - Assignment Example

? Case about the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Preliminaries and Executive summary The ICRC as an international organization is faced with major global challenges due to the fact that its workforce comes from different cultural backgrounds. The level of cultural change is very minimal and measures need to be taken to improve the situation. This paper addresses the refinement of specialist HR supported functions and preparing the way for cultural Change at ICRC. The strategic importance of achieving cultural diversity within the context of changing global environment cannot be overemphasized. If well managed, global diversity can ensure that resources of ICRC are harnessed and transformed into very important asset for the organization. However, this cannot be realized in the absence of a change in the culture of the organization. HR functional practices need to transcend across all departments and be supported with a good culture that encompasses all the needs of its employees (ICRC, n.d). The issues that affect ICRC have been in existence for quite some time now but effective measures have not been undertaken to ensure that they are tackled in the global perspective and the organization is still clouded with origin issues where the Swiss culture seems to play a deciding role in what happens within the headquarters of the organization and without in other foreign missions. There is a general assumption in this study that achieving a global diversity through cultural change is possible if well managed (ICRC, 2010). Certain limitations do exist such as resources to be applied in such a massive restructuring program to meet the objectives of the plan. The refining of specialist HR supported functions is very essential if ICRC has to realize its objectives and this will have to be done through a program which paves the way for a change in culture. Certain key factors for such an ambitious program have been outlined and analyzed. There are critical elements which need to be put into account to enable the organization achieve this course. Conclusion has been drawn putting in mind the key concepts or theories relevant to the subject and these have been related to the evidence as far as the facts are concerned. Recommendations made are in line with the program that has been discussed in the analysis. These recommendations are actually some of the crucial things that need to be done in order to realize the success of this plan. An implementation program has been set to outline the relevant action steps that could be followed in order to meet the target of refining the specialist HR supported functions and in that case make way for the cultural change at ICRC. This paper will be very helpful to Mr. Stroun in his quest to change the course of things at ICRC given the dilemma that he finds himself in. the most important thing that came out of this analysis is the fact that maintaining the current culture which is traced back to Switzerland is detrimental to the achievement of global diversity and should thus be re-evaluated and incorporated with new global thinking. Change is thus inevitable for ICRC (Elon, 1998). Table of Contents Preliminaries and Executive summary 2 Table of Contents 4 1.0Introduction 5 2.0How best to Refine Specialist HR Supported Functions and Prepare the Way for Cultural Change at ICRC 7 3.0Conclusions 12 4.0Recommendations 14 5.0Implementation 14 References 16 1.0 Introduction Diversity within the workforce is deemed as a strategic initiative, if this is well organized and handled in a manner that is beneficial to the ICRC organization. Good management of global diversity ensures that this strategic resource is harnessed and transformed into an asset for the organization and thus could set a platform for the next frontier in creating competitive advantage for the organization. The purpose of this paper is to analyze, illustrate and report on how best specialist HR supported functions can be refined to suit the organizational needs of ICRC and in essence do prepare the way for Cultural Change at this organization so as to enable it realize its goals both in HR department and the whole organization in general. Cultural diversity occurs when HR functions and components transcend the national boundaries of a home country and this has been attributed to the increasing importance of an organization such as ICRC being part of globalization, participating in global mobility and inherent competition, as well as tackling the demographic shifts, which are common in the global labor market (U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Personnel Policy August, 2001). Various HR issues and culture problems are affecting ICRC HR functions across the organization. There is conflict between the personnel in HQ and those in operations. The issue of gender parity is also part of the problems faced by ICRC. Most of the specialists come from various foreign countries with different cultural orientations. Coming up with what would be considered as ICRC culture and making the whole organization adapt towards this cultural change is very important. Shaping this cultural practice towards the changing environment in a way that does not affect the mission of Red Cross seems to be a major headache for senior management at ICRC. The confinement of operations and running of the ICRC on the cultural values and aspirations held by the Swiss people is a major undoing for this organization if it has to receive a successful global diversity (Bach, 2000). Among the assumptions being held in this analysis is the idea that the development of global mind-sets is possible. This is where ICRC should have to promote openness to and create awareness of some spheres with multiple meaning; be able to encompass a complex representation of those cultural dynamics that do arise; and, bring forth the integration of necessary ideas and actions that are geared towards both the global and local environment. This would have the critical importance of ICRC creating the capacity to overcome the domestic myopia that could appear to engulf its operations both at the headquarters and within the fields in various countries. Another assumption would be that when these issues have been addressed and well implemented, the value of diversity would be achieved and that ambiguity will be eliminated. If ICRC could be able to focus on diversity and inclusion, it would be able to develop an environment that is accommodative to the leveraging of cross-cultural characteristics and individuals who have a global mind-set and in that manner be able to optimize the benefits of cultural change while at the same time being able to refine the specialist HR supported functions (ICRC, n.d). The move is however limited by the fact that resources needed for such an ambitious program would be quite immense and needs inputs from various sources, a factor which would be difficult to achieve since ICRC is a humanitarian organization that depends on the goodwill of donors but not a commercial entity with profit making ventures. The other challenge would come from the rigidity of some people to change and abide by new global practices, based on their backgrounds. The structure for this report will take the standard form of reporting where this introduction part is followed by a thorough analysis of the refinement program for the HR functions and cultural change practices needed at ICRC; conclusions drawn where justification will be done by theory, evidence and concepts; recommendations made; and implementation outlined in action steps is formulated. This paper takes a general approach on this topic and thus avoids a case study on a specific country since ICRC is aimed at surpassing all borders in hiring and service provision (ICRC, 2010). 2.0 How best to Refine Specialist HR Supported Functions and Prepare the Way for Cultural Change at ICRC The ICRC has set out certain strategic objectives which it has been working towards achieving them and these are the strengthening of its capacity to designing and managing the operations which seem to be very multidisciplinary; enhancing its accountability; and finally expand the effectiveness of its operations. These objectives cannot be achieved without critical consideration of how the HR will spin across the various functions of ICRC and addressing the cultural change concept within this ever changing global environment (Danish UN Mission, 2007). There is need to change the norm. Looking at the ICRC organizational structure, we find out that The Assembly is considered as the supreme body which governs all the activities of ICRC. It is thus involved in the formulation of policies, outlines the general objectives to be pursued and defines the institutional strategy, besides being the approving body for all budgetary and account matters (Forsythe, 1999). If change in culture is to be realized, then it needs to start at the top. The composition for this body should thus be re-evaluated. The traditional approach of delegates moving to the top managerial positions need to be stopped and in this case, recruitment for top positions within the governing body must be done considering all corners of the workforce pull such as delegates, professionals, and the labor market supply where applicants who have not worked with red cross in any manner or level are also given top priority. The flow of power to the Assembly Council should be coherent and thus this council should not be taken as a subsidiary body but rather an important player in matters affecting ICRC. For that reason, its jurisdiction needs to be expanded. Consideration should not be solely based on matters that are within its competence but should rather be on those strategic options, competencies, and measures that relate to the policies of the organization which go beyond funding, personnel and communication (Winskill, 2000). As such, foreign members need to be given top priority to give this council a global face. The directorate, which is an executive body of ICRC should be left with the application of the issues agreed upon by the Assembly and Assembly council and should ensure that ICRC runs smoothly with strict consideration of the individual and collective needs of the staff. ICRC has issues relating to gender representation. There are problems with maintaining the needed gender balance within the field operations due to the fact that most of the areas dealt with by Red Cross are conflict zones and harsh climatic areas. These areas tend to favor men as opposed to women. As such, the only point at which the organization can exercise or be seen to practice full gender representation is at these governing bodies. If it can moderate and achieve a 50-50 gender representation of its membership, other areas such as HQ and the operations might follow suit. Without this practice being instilled at the top level, there is risk of having one departmental function, mostly that at the headquarters having one gender, female, more than the other gender, male. A total overhaul is thus necessary. Diversity is not simply in terms of people from different locations in the world with different cultural backgrounds. It also encompasses issues such as gender balance, intellectual capability, and power balance. These issues have not been fully addressed by ICRC. These structural changes need to be carried out up to the lowest level of staff within the organizational structure (U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Personnel Policy August, 2001). In order to make the cultural global diversity a success, the HR professionals need to come up with a plan aimed at strategically managing this global diversity in line with other functions within ICRC. The factors considered key to achievement of this global cultural diversity across all functional areas would rely heavily on this plan which would entail global mindsets that are cultivated by means of formal education and learning skills in various fields such as education; building teams that surpass borders or cross-border teams and projects; carrying out learning programs that are based on cultural orientations of various groups; and ensuring that international work programs benefit those that deserve them, for instance by equal distribution of specialists where needed and avoiding creating a safe haven for local employees (Danish UN Mission, 2007; ICRC, 2010). This strategic planning of the workforce by the HR should be done across all the functional areas or departments of ICRC. The program therefore needs to spin in IT, HR itself, Finance, Accounts, Supply, Procurement, Medical, and all other functional areas and structures within the ICRC including the management crop. There are however; some key elements that need to be considered as a broad strategic approach towards the global diversity management plan. These key elements are considered taking into account the fact that managing change of culture within the ICRC would not be a walk over thing if the experience exhibited by other organizations in similar dilemma is anything to go by (Bach, 2000). To ensure the refinement of specialist HR supported functions and prepare the way for cultural change at ICRC the elements for such a global diversity plan would entail: Consideration of practitioner specialist’s competencies (Winskill, 2000), which are those attributes that such a person exudes or has for completing a specific job; there is also a need to establish a strong operation case that is deemed relevant to the mission, vision and general and specific objectives of ICRC. This would ensure that the behavior patterns of the workforce are in line with the requirements set by the organization and that they are moving in coherence (Munoz-Rojas & Fresard, 2000); there is to be a paramount need for commitment coming from the top level where management practices are well exercised and the leadership of the ICRC is involved; there is a need to clearly restate the current vision, mission and strategy of ICRC; the recruitment and sourcing of employees need to be further re-evaluated. The current system does not actually give equal opportunities to people from diverse backgrounds to be part of the staff of ICRC. This is because of the fact that talent could be exhibited in different ways and settings. The assessment criteria used does not put into consideration the finer endowments that different people have. For this reason, there is a possibility of having people from a crop considered educationally and linguistically refined yet who lack talent while those who are talented yet challenged by these two factors are left out. There is thus the need to recruit individuals based on a collective mixture in terms of their differences and similarities in terms of personal values, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds, and characteristics, factors which vary from individual to the other and thus a single assessment setting is not enough; programs aimed at retaining employees at ICRC are very crucial and have to be put in place. This comes from the fact that many employees of ICRC look at it as a starting point to a brighter career and a rite of passage instead of considering it as a base where they can work permanently and build their careers while identifying themselves with and at ICRC; training and development across all the functional departments has to be carried out. This ensures that the skills are nurtured, knowledge base created, and employees are motivated; the orientation program needs to be changed into an onboarding process where this is designed to bring in new employees, welcome them and educate them on the changed culture of ICRC; communication is another element that needs to be considered in this plan. There should be a mechanism of feedback whereby there exists an internal mechanism for the transfer of such gained knowledge and ideas across these specialists HR supported functions so that diversity is ensured; the new cultural change within ICRC should be communicated to the outside world through various channels such as advertising to instill their importance; employee diversity is leveraged and this aspect appears to be the end-state of this cultural change program; strategic alliances, beneficial partnerships geared towards meeting certain goals across these functional areas is of critical importance; the employees need to be put into thinking ethically and socially responsible way as a means of shaping their behavior and this is to be done through instilling a sense for corporate social responsibility in them wherever they are posted; and finally, there is the important need of carrying out performance measurement to ensure that these practices are in line with the change program and also ensure that a sense of accountability is cultivated across all functional areas. These elements cannot be ignored if the ICRC is to realize refinement of specialist HR supported functions and prepare the way for cultural change (ICRC, 2010; SHRM, 2009). Before undertaking these actions aimed at creating global diversity across the functions, it is important that HR have a clear understanding of the present stage where globalization is and the general desired goals of ICRC. Finding a fit for ICRC in terms of the continuum of globalization is very essential. There are stages of ensuring that cultural diversity is well implemented within all functions and this could be at compliance, acceptance, learning, and leveraging stage or empowering. From the critical analysis of ICRC, we can see that this organization is moving from the acceptance stage into learning stage, although; various factors have played a serious role in ensuring that it remains stuck in the acceptance stage since not all the functional departments and practitioners see the need of cultivating cultural change within its functions as an important means of achieving overall ICRC goals. The HR functional department needs to evaluate critically and find ways of propelling ICRC into the next stage of learning and eventually realize leverage. Of vital consideration is the fact that successful global diversity across all specialists HR supported functions and Cultural Change must be diagnosed and continual efforts put in place putting into account many policies rather than seeing it as a onetime thing with a silver bullet solution (ICRC, 2010). It is necessary for HR function in ICRC to plan for the needs of human resource. As such, there must be a uniformed approach providing a disciplined matching of personnel with the anticipated needs of ICRC. An integration of the functional needs and the cultural aspects of the employees would be a perfect fit for the ICRC. 3.0 Conclusions The ICRC needs to come up with a global diversity program that tackles HR issues and link them with the other functional components. In this process, it is important to critically identify the direction which ICRC needs to take in relation to its vision and this should be projected. Anticipation of future human resource needs across these functional areas is also important. Cultural change should be in line with the changing global environment and the viability of the current workforce needs to be re-examined to establish whether they are in line with this planned change. Factors to consider while addressing these changes include the legislation of various countries to abide by their standards, technological changes within the global environment, social changes that are ever emerging and increasing, cultural orientations of different people, and other factors that could affect effective functioning of these specialists. Current resources need to be reallocated to align with the actions in human resource department because lack of such support may mean failure of the program. Carrying out of workforce analysis could come in handy in addressing these issues. Hiring of top level personnel should not be based on the working history with the ICRC but rather on competence and various sourcing avenues need to be considered while making such decisions. This is important more so at this time when there needs to be an overhaul of the organizational structure to reflect the changing global demands. Vacancies that are created by the internal movements through transfer and change of professions should not be filled only by the existing staff moving up or across the ladder but rather be made competitive based on the supply and demand forces within the international labor market (Sellars, 2002). Indeed achieving refined specialist HR supported functions and prepare cultural change at ICRC is not an easy task. It requires the involvement of all the international stakeholders and efforts put in to ensure its success. As mentioned earlier, confining the operations and running of the ICRC on the cultural values and aspirations held by the Swiss people is a major undoing for this organization if it has to receive a successful global diversity. The specialist HR supported functions should be forecast in line with the mission and vision of ICRC. Other issues needed to be put in mind while doing this are the occupations of these specialists, grades, locations of their positions, cultural backgrounds, and other factors that are pertinent to ICRC. It is necessary that such elements such as training, career development, retraining, succession planning, delayering, volunteers, sourcing competitively, improvement of productivity, restructuring organizational positions, and positioning management planning with the needs of these functional departments be done appropriately (SHRM, 2009). Finally, the plan for tackling issues related to labor is necessary. These issues could range from legal and contractual provisions, involvement of the employees, negotiations, climate for union-management relations, and the potential outcomes that could be considered adverse for ICRC. It is possible to achieve organizational cultural change, although this is not an easy task (Bach, 2000). 4.0 Recommendations A thorough analysis and problem solving approach should be put in place to ensure that gaps are pointed out to support the change program; There is need to restructure the whole organization ranging from the Assembly downwards to the lowest staff level. This should be based on issues such as cultural mix, gender equality, and competence, among others; Identification of which stage in cultural change management needs to be done to point out areas that need to be tackled; Gender equality in staff and top level management should be ensured by carrying out a new recruitment exercise; A change in the global mindsets that are cultivated by means of formal education and learning skills in various fields should be done; Key elements in the global diversity program should be addressed one after the other and in unison; A massive education of the workforce on the need to appreciate the organizational change is necessary to help in the ownership of the program. 5.0 Implementation Action steps Reason Time Cost i. Analysis and Problem Solving To ensure that all weaknesses across functional areas and cultural orientations are identified and solutions to such problems established At the very beginning of the exercise $ 5, 000 ii. Restructure the whole organization To fall in line with the changing culture of the global environment After problems have been identified To be agreed upon by the organization iii. Identification of the stage in cultural change management To set a benchmark for celebrating milestones At the beginning Part of the $5,000 in (i) above iv. Gender assessment and Recruitment To find out the gender parity within the organizational human resource Continuous time duration for the life of the organization Continuous cost to be incurred by the HR v. Changing the global mindsets To align the staff’s thinking with the changing cultural environment and help in their acceptance and appreciation of change. Continuous timeframe duration for the life of the organization Continuous cost to be incurred by the HR vi. Addressing key elements in the global diversity program To ensure that all areas are well tackled and vital components of the program are addressed. Continuous time duration for the life of the organization Continuous cost to be incurred by the HR vii. Massive education of the workforce Creating awareness and imparting cultural knowledge among the workforce Continuous but in different phases to ensure that it does not affect the operations of ICRC Dependent on the annual budget. References Bach Stephen (2000), HR and New Approaches to Public Sector Management: Improving HRM Capacity, Workshop on Global Health Workforce Strategy, Annecy, France, Danish UN Mission (2007), Danish Organization Strategy for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2007-2010, Danish UN Mission, Geneva Elon Amos, (1998), Switzerland’s lasting demon, New York Times Magazine Forsythe David P., (1999), Making the Geneva Conventions relevant after the Cold War, International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 81, No. 834 (1999) ICRC (2010), Annual Report 2010, retrieved on 20th October 2011, from http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/annual-report/index.jsp ICRC (n.d), The International Committee of The Red Cross: Managing Across Cultures, Integrative Case Munoz-Rojas Daniel & Fresard Jean-Jacques (2000), The roots of behavior in war: Understanding and preventing IHL violations, International Committee Of The Red Cross Sellars Kirsten, (2002), The Rise and Rise of Human Rights, Sutton, Phoenix Mill SHRM (2009), Managing Workplace Ethics, retrieved on 20th October 2011, from http://www.ethicsworld.org/ethicsandemployees/managingworkplaceethics.php U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Personnel Policy August (2001), Workforce Planning Instruction Manual Winskill R. 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