What Are the Ways of Controlling and Treating International Employees - Essay Example

The concept of international workforce has become an important issue for global organizations that have to work with a diverse workforce. In the 21st century, global trends have resulted to the formation of complex work forces characterized by different categories of individuals from different countries, religions, and even cultures. The diversity issues have come along with different challenges and human resource managers must adopt new strategies to control and handle international employees. This essay aims at identifying various ways that the companies can control and treat their international employees to ensure that they perform optimally. The essay provides an important ground which a multinational company can use to sustain a cohesive workforce amid the challenges of international markets. Ways of Controlling and Treating International Employees In the 21st century, many business organizations have laid down strategies to the international market in an effort to increase their business profitability. As domestic markets become saturated, most business firms create an international strategy to invest in growing markets for their products. While new market segments provide organizations with opportunities to grow, they pose a great challenge to the management and these challenges may lead to the failure of these organizations. International market segments have unique business characteristics, customer demands, regulations, and cultural differences. In principle, international markets require unique approaches due to the variation in market characteristics. The concept of international employees has gained more attention as companies anticipate meeting workers from different countries and who differ in terms of work attitude, culture, religion, color, and race. All these factors become increasing important as companies venture in international markets where the employee mix becomes increasingly complex. The managers are faced with the challenge of accommodating the differences of international employees and adopting tactics to ensure that they work harmoniously within the same organization. Effective leadership strategies are essential for managers to control and treat international employees and to ensure that they are aligned to the organizational goals. The role that employees play within an organization is crucial and this explains why international companies must pay keen attention to employee coordination within the work place. Employees are major stakeholders within an organization and the role they play has a direct impact on the organization output. Employees play key role in implementing the strategic management goals of the organization at the operational level. The commitment of the employees and their alignment determines the level of organizational performance. Organizations consider addressing employees’ issues as one of the corporate social responsibility strategies (Dahlsrud, 2008). However, in one way, this is a strategy that organizations use not to benefit the employees but for their own benefit. Many organizations use employee management strategies to optimize their profits. For instance, some companies pay high overtime rates to its workers as one way of motivating the employees to increase their output value (Kampf, 2007). Within the international work place, satisfying the employees’ unique needs is a complex process that demands effective management strategies. The ability of human resource managers to control and treat their workers properly influences their performance in the long-term. Globalization and cross-cultural management are terms that emerged as a result of organizations efforts to expand their business operations in the international market. Business globalization has many advantages to the organization and this is why many organizations are pushing their operations in the international market. Global strategy helps organizations to take advantage of emerging market segments where business potential is higher than in local markets. This provides an opportunity for the organization to optimize their profits by investing in rapidly growing markets. Also, globalization helps organizations to increase its customers which will have a positive impact on the performance of the organization. As competition becomes severe in local markets, organizations are pushed to invest in geographical markets to ensure that they survive the severity of this competition. However, the international business market has many risk factors that threaten new market entrants. First, the cultural factors influence business strategy. In the international market, the organizations has to work with different cultural attributes that influence the not only the customer tastes and preferences but also the employee performance (Bhagat et al, 2012). On this note, a multinational company needs to develop a leadership strategy that suits the cultural tastes of the new markets. Diversity in work place has been heightened by the demographic changes that have been evidenced in the modern world. For instance, in China, the labor force has received new entrants with immigrants from the Western countries and Africa, which has had a significant impact on the issue of labor management. Another change that has had an impact in China’s business market is the issue of retirement age that has now seen more people retires than those that are entering the market. Consequently, there is a constriction in the workforce and the rising population of learned women is the only chance to feel that gap that now remains open. This situation is quite different in the United States where the labor gap is insignificantly small. Gender balance in the employment sector has become another important issue for international employees. For instance, women have very little chances of acquiring job in the technical labor market in some countries. The China Economic reviews report provided that only two CEOs were present in the Chinese FTS 100 companies. Over the last 30 years, China has experienced a slow population growth rate, which can be attributed to a low fertility rate of about 1.4. However, there has been a great economic growth due to cheap labor provided by immigrants and an increase in female dominance (China Economic Review, 2013). The globalization trends have led to an increase in employee diversity, hence posing new challenges to management in multinational companies. Diversity management is one of the issues that have come up in the 21st century international markets. Human rights activists have pushed for global diversity management strategies in the international business environment as part of their commitment to ensure that people are not discriminated on the basis of the gender, race, culture, religion, or even color (Erlenkamp, 2007). The main objective of diversity management strategies is to ensure that all citizens in the world are provided with equal chances of developing and growing despite the characteristic differences that exist among them. For an organization to maintain its corporate image in the international business environment, it is crucial to pay attention to the diversities that exist within the environment they operate. To design an effective diversity management, companies needs to identify the diverse characteristics of population in the markets that they exist. The issues of religion, culture, and gender are likely to emerge within the international markets due to the close relation of different groups within the market. The existence of these differences within the international work force demands new tactics of maintaining a cohesive work force. Before handling international employees, it is crucial for managers to understand their workforce. When entering a new market segment, it is crucial for an organization to conduct a thorough research on the cultural characteristics of the particular market environment and the way this influences business. A thorough market research is crucial to establish the possible effects of culture on the performance of the employees and customer attitudes. To overcome these challenges, companies need to focus on the formation of cohesive multicultural work groups. To develop efficient work groups, managers need to provide effective communication channels at all levels of the organization. Communication ensures that each employee in the organization has the freedom to express themselves in the best way possible. The efficiency of the communication channels determines the extent to which team members are able to come together and agree on issues (Fatima, 2013: Nica, 2013). On this note, the language of communication should be chosen depending on employee characteristics; it should be one that every employee is able to understand and communicate efficiently. Streamlining communication will open the opportunity for teams to develop a strong relationship despite their cultural differences. In the business scope, the management have a role to maintain healthy social relationships that promote harmony and peace within an organization. The behavioural theories judge provides the ethics that the managers should use while modelling business decisions (Carroll & Shabana, 2010). According to these theories, the right behaviour is one that paves way for every person in the work environment to live happily with the other and avoid misconduct within the organization. For instance, communication is one of the significant channels of expressing personal opinions within an organization. Ethically, every employee has the right to express their opinions and the management should create this opportunity to create harmony in the work place. Therefore, organizations fulfil their responsibilities to avoid the losses that would arise if they fail to fulfil obligations. A good example is when organizations suffer losses due to strikes and high labour turnovers when they fail to satisfy their employees. On this light, managers use corporate social responsibilities to appeal to other stakeholders to play their roles efficiently towards positive transformation of their firms. Managing the behaviour of the employees is an effective strategy to control the behaviour of the workers and to ensure that they work in harmony. Language use in the international work environment has garnered a lot of attention from various researchers, triggering them to conduct empirical researches to examine the necessity and application of polite language in the work environment. Within the last fifteen years, voluminous research has been conducted to examine efficiency of communication strategies in the workplace and the emphasis placed on politeness (Mills, 2003). This trend has emanated from the changes of worker environment due to significant global transitions that have had considerable impacts on the employment structure (Wardhaugh, 2011). One issue that has affected the social structure is the employee diversity that has been brought about by the concept of diversity management that demands that all cultures and genders be appreciated in the work environment. Civilization has allowed women to rise up in formal employments in the effort of maintaining gender balance in the work place. At the same time, the work environment is now characterized by people from different corners of the world making language use a more sensitive issue in organizational behaviour. Many researchers have attributed politeness to the existence of power boundaries within the hierarchical structure of any organization. Mabelle (2009), in his research of the social interaction in business meeting examined the need for politeness among between the different power levels in the business environment. He recognized the sensitivity of language discourse in the business environment as the key determiner of health social interactions within such environments. After examining various board meetings, Mabelle (2009) identified that the majority of top level management personnel adopts polite language as a way of facilitating social cohesion during business discussion. He noted the use of solidarity terms such as ‘colleagues’ and ‘brothers and sisters’ in reference to junior employees during interactive sessions. The conclusion of this author is that polite language in the gluing substance that binds the management and the workers together to achieve the goals of the business entities. The results of this research point out to the significance of polite language in the work environment as a bridge between different cultural differences within the work environment. The human resource managers have a role to control the population of international employees within the work place. The organizational selection and recruitment process is an activity that the human resource managers take seriously to obtain the best work force within an institution. The selection process is an activity that involves selection of only qualified employees who suit the minimum requirements of the position and fill the existing employee gaps effectively. For an organization to achieve its goals, it requires skilled personnel with adequate skills and experiences to handle the needs of the organization. In various companies, the selection process takes at different stages. The applicants undergo scrutiny for academic qualifications, skills, experiences, and leadership qualities. The human resource managers set clear the qualifications of the position in their advertisement to ensure that only the qualified candidates apply. Those with less than minimum requirements are dismissed at the preliminary stage even before the first interviews. This saves on time and cost that is used for hosting the interviews, regarding the high number of applicants who turn up to their advertisements. In the oral interviews stage, the human resource officers scrutinize for personal qualities and leadership skills. The human resource managers provide a former orientation to the successful candidates. The orientation process is a good way to facilitate employees work behavior and this helps them to adapt more quickly and to work become part of the work team more quickly (Fottler, Naresh, and Grant, 2010). It provides international employees with an opportunity to adopt the organizational culture quickly. Also, the selection process allows the managers to accommodate both local and international employees within the work force. To effectively treat international employees, it is crucial for an organization to enhance cultural integration within its business network. Cultural integration allows people from different cultural environments to come together and share in a positive manner. On this basis, the organizations should foster cohesion in the organization but giving the employee the opportunity to understand each other to ensure that they can get along much smoothly. For instance, an organization is likely to face great challenge in handling the Asian market where rigid religious believes affect worker cohesion. In forming multicultural workplace, the organizations need to develop an organizational culture that is fair for every person irrespective of their cultural and religious heritages (Eisenberg et al, 2013). One way that companies should enhance cultural integration is by providing social functions that will allow employees to come together and interact freely so that they learn from each other. This way, member of the workgroups will come together to form close relationships that will foster their cohesion. Secondly, the organizations must prepare to handle intercultural crisis that are likely to emerge in such business markets. Remaining culturally neutral is the only way that the human resource management can prepare to handle cultural issues that emerge among workgroups. The human resource should ensure that all employees understand the organizational goals and that it is the role of each member of the team to contribute in the development of these goals. Leadership style in cross-cultural business environment varies from one market segment to the other. As multinational companies operate in different cultural environments, leadership competencies are necessary for the organization to survive in these markets. Adler & Gunderson (2008) state that global competency is necessary in foreign business markets. One necessary characteristic for global leaders is that they must understand the value of behavioral approach in the business environment. Since cultural orientation is expressed in unique behavior among employees, managers must be able to detect these behaviors and develop strategies to induce healthy organizational behavior. Secondly, leaders in foreign markets must be able to utilize employee feedback in developing corrective actions within the organization. As employee express their issues through the open communicational channels, the leaders should utilize this information to foster effective organizational behavior in the organization. Ability to develop corporate training programs will assist leaders to develop competence within their employee network and establish strong work relations (Greblikaite & Daugeliene, 2010). Effective leadership in foreign business markets will allow organizations to position themselves within the new business environment. In the international markets where Home furniture ltd has invested have different cultural attributes that can need to be addressed using different leadership styles. For instance, the Asian markets are characterized by strong cultural attributes that are hard for managers to tackle (Clark & Vemuri, 2008). Notably, unlike other market segments, the Asian and Arabian citizens are more resistant to cultural changes and will maintain their cultural attitudes even in the employment sector (Syed & Özbilgin, 2010). Most of these cultures feel that the western cultures are more superior and that they dominate the employment sector. To fight inferiority complex, human resource managers should provide motivative leadership to foster the morale of these employees at work. They should help to see themselves as equal human beings in the work environment. On the other hand, North American markets are characterized by complex cultural structures that affect employee cohesion. The employee population in North America comprises of many different cultures and Home furniture leaders must approach the complex employee behavior. However, the employees in this environment are less attached to their cultures and transformative leadership would help to change worker attitudes (Szkudlarek et al, 2013). In this view, Home Furniture Company should apply different leadership styles in their different target market segments. The legal frameworks within different countries have become tools to control the way companies handle international employees. Issues such as discrimination in the labor force on the grounds age, gender, height, and even culture have become important matters within the legal structure. In many countries, the issue of diversity management has been recognized and measures have been instituted to control employment discrimination. There are well established legal frameworks that govern the employment sector in order to provide equal opportunities for all the citizens of this country. For instance, the constitution of China and its judicial framework protects the right of employees in the country. Article 33 of the constitution requires that every person be treated equally in all spheres including the political, economic, cultural, and social spheres. In addition, there are a number mobilization programs that have been instituted to govern the right of employees in this country. For instance, the Global Best practice program advocates for a healthy intercultural competition within the Chinese industrial sector that aims at reducing the cultural and gender bias that has stood against the minority groups such as foreign investors and the female population (Harris, 2013). However, Zeng (2002) points out that there exist a lot of weaknesses in the constitution implementation especially at the judicial level. At the same time, the China labor act provides little defense to the complainants who are often victims of discrimination. For managers, complying with the legal standards is an important aspect of controlling the international employees’ population within their organizations. As part of the corporate social responsibility, organizations are bound to conform with the government regulations as one way of fulfilling their responsibilities to the people of the country. To deal with international employees, the managers must understand various laws that the government has set to regulate the labor sector. Various labor laws within a country provide guidelines to companies on the way they should handle their workers. For instance, the organizational Health and Safety Act provides that all workers, irrespective of their origin should be provide with healthy work environment to ensure that their health is at no stake while working. For a company that operates internationally, it becomes mandatory for the human resources to understand and comply with different laws to ensure that they satisfy the legal conditions (Chan, 2013). Failure to comply with legal stipulations within a country may attract legal actions that may be costly for a company. Companies that are committed to work within the legal frameworks are more versed to handle the international employees and have better work relations. In conclusion, international companies currently face a big challenge in satisfying the needs of international workers. The diverse needs of the international employees makes a complex process to manage them and ensure that they work together to implement the management goals. However, since the employee harmony is a priority if a company has to realize its goals, managing their issues becomes a top priority for managers. The current global trends have led to the convergence of different societies together, which has considerably contributed to cultural integration. The international employees needs vary from one country to the next, an issue that makes it more complex to handle their differences. To achieve work efficiency, the human resource managers use various ways to control the worker population. To begin with, the managers address diversity issues from the time they recruit the employees. At this stage, the human resource managers control the cultural mix they prefer for their organization. Next, organizations streamline communication and social interaction to foster worker interaction. Healthy work relations can as well be induced through development of a diversity management policy that addresses any conflicts between the employees. Adhering to legal structures is an important milestone to ensure that international employees are provided with their rights. The strategies that an international company use to control and treat its employees influences it performance within the market. References Adler, N. J., & Gundersen, A. (2008). International dimensions of organizational behavior. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western. Bhagat, R. S., Triandis, H. C., & McDevitt, A. S. (2012) Managing global rganizations: A cultural perspective. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Carroll, A. B., & Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: a review of concepts, research and practice. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 85-105. Chan, J., (2013). Global Economic Crisis Drives China’s Pro-Market Reforms. Retrieved from :< http://www.globalresearch.ca/global-economic-crisis-drives-chinas-pro-market-reforms/5337735> China Economic Review, (2013). Managing Diversity. Retrieved from: Clark, E, & Vemuri, R., (2008). Conducting business in Asia: Prospects and strategies for international managers, Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 27, 5, pp. 49-64, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 March 2014 Dahlsrud, A., (2008). How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions. Corporate social responsibility and environmental management, 15(1), 1-13. Eisenberg, J, Hyun-Jung, L, Brück, F, Brenner, B, Claes, M, Mironski, J, & Bell, R., (2013). Can Business Schools Make Students Culturally Competent? Effects of Cross- Cultural Management Courses on Cultural Intelligence, Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 12, 4, pp. 603-621, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 March 2014. Erlenkamp, M., (2007). Managing international Teams and Workforce Diversity. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Fottler, D, Naresh, K. and Grant, T., (2010). Strategic Human Resource Management in Health Care. Bingley: Emerald. Fatima, O., (2013). Multicultural Environments and Their Challenges to Crisis Communication, Journal Of Business Communication, 50, 3, pp. 253-277. Greblikaite, J, & Daugeliene, R., (2010). The Growing Need of Cross-Cultural Management And Ethics In Business, European Integration Studies, 4, pp. 148-152, Harris, D., (2013). American-Chinese Intercultural Workplace Communication: Getting it Right. Retrieved from :< http://www.chinalawblog.com /2013/06/american-chinese-intercultural-workplace-communication-getting-it-right.html> Kampf, C., (2007). Corporate social responsibility: WalMart, Maersk and the cultural bounds of representation in corporate web sites. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 12(1), 41-57. Mabelle, V., (2009). Power and Politeness: A study of Social Participation in Business Meetings with Multicultural Participation. Retrieved from: < http:// www .academia.edu/1350631 /Power_and_politeness_> Mills, S., (2003). Gender and Politeness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nica, E., (2013). The Importance Of Human Resources Management To The Health Care System." Economics, Management & Financial Markets. Syed, J., & Özbilgin, M. (2010). Managing cultural diversity in Asia: A research companion. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Szkudlarek, B, Mcnett, J, Romani, L, & Lane, H., (2013). The Past, Present, and Future of Cross-Cultural Management Education: The Educators Perspective, Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 12, 3, pp. 477-493. Wardhaugh, R., (2011). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: John Wiley and Sons. Zeng, X., (2001). Enforcing Equal Employment Opportunities in China. Retrieved from: < https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/jbl/articles/volume9/issue 4/Zeng9U.Pa.J.Lab.%26Emp.L.991.pdf> Read More