How the Employees Were Encouraged to Involve Themselves in the Learning Organisation Atmosphere of Equipos - Coursework Example

Academic Paper Purpose The study discussed the case of ‘Equipos’, a Mexican subsidiary of an American multinational corporation (MNC) that had effectively implemented the attributes of a learning organization. The study is focused on the motivation factors that influenced the involvement of the employees in the learning strategies of the organization. Design/Methodology The methodology followed for this study was based on the review of previous literatures on the subject. Findings The study revealed that the HR practices of Equipos played a significant role in motivating the employees. The organization had adopted the practices of the parent company as per the requirement of Mexican culture. The generally practiced HR policies of Equipos included regular training, communication, setting of lucid and consistent objectives, high wages, acknowledgment for accomplishments, team works, flat organization structure, in addition to a learning-oriented organizational culture. These factors motivated the employees to perform and adhere to the management practices, which enabled Equipos to develop into a learning organization. Contribution This study can be beneficial for comprehending how in spite of cultural differences between the parent company and the subsidiary, the organization can efficiently accomplish its business strategies with the help of its employees’ participation by motivating them. Keywords Motivation, Culture, Employee Participation, HR Practices, Management Practices. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 5 Discussion 6 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction The modern day organizations are striving hard to sustain their market position in the prevalent competitive business circumstances and gain a competitive advantage over their peers. In doing so, a large number of business organizations are shifting their orientation towards management approaches that encourage organizational learning. It had been observed that multinational corporations (MNCs) that are focused towards global learning have attained competitiveness and agility to handle the escalating intricacies of the global business environment (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1989). However, when the MNCs employ learning approaches in their subsidiaries that are located in foreign lands, it is important for these MNCs to comprehend the issues that could impact the execution of various management practices that assist learning. Some of the major issues that could impact the execution of the management practices are difference in culture, and other environmental aspects such as socioeconomic, political, educational, and legal issues (Adler, 1997; Farmer & Richman, 1970; Negandhi & Prasad, 1971). Hence, while spreading the learning practices to their subsidiaries, it is essential for the management of the MNCs to recognize the extent to which miscellaneous issues together with, but not restricted to the domestic cultural principles, have an effect on the transferability of diverse management practices. Managers should be aware of what issues might aid the accomplishment of learning strategies that initially seem to be contrary and mismatched with the culture of a nation. Gomez (2004:3) had stated that “Learning strategies rely heavily on employee involvement”. Gomez (2004) had stated so in his article, where he discussed the case of an American MNC and its Mexican subsidiary ‘Equipos’. Equipos had effectively taken up the attributes of a learning organization from its US based parent organization. This is in contrast to the widely perceived notion that the employee participation and other management practices that are related to a learning strategy are generally incompatible in the cross-cultural context. The paper essentially accentuates on how the employees were encouraged to involve themselves in the learning organisation atmosphere of Equipos. In the process of discussing the strategies employed by the management of Equipos, the paper also draws on the theories of motivation as well as cross-culture. Discussion It is crucial for MNCs to make sure that their transition as a learning organization is spread throughout their overseas subsidiaries and not limited to the parent company only. As a result, the subsidiaries become imperative associates in developing the MNCs’ competitive edge. Different subsidiaries employ different approaches to build up knowledge. While some prefer to borrow or acquire knowledge through business associations like mergers, there are others who accentuate the significance of in-house creation of fresh and innovative knowledge. For the later group of subsidiaries, the participation of employees plays a significant role in the organization’s execution and accomplishment of the learning policies. This is because employees are the principal basis of knowledge creation as well as transmission across the business. Gomez (2004) had affirmed that such type of learning approaches depend profoundly on the participation of the employees in the daily decisions along with experimentation involved in a learning organization. In case of ‘Equipos’, the subsidiary had productively implemented the traits of a learning organization, such as formation of teams, continuing knowledge development approach, participative management, in addition to open vertical as well as horizontal communication. Several categories of factors such as environmental, organizational and human resource practices had attributed the facilitation of Equipos’s learning orientation. Nevertheless, the most crucial aspect in Equipos’ success as a learning organization is the comprehensive involvement of its employees in the process. In this regard, it can be perceived that the comprehensive participation of the employees in the implementation of the learning approach is due to ample employee motivation. The environmental factors impacting Equipos’s learning orientation are likely to have a profound influence on the organizational culture of Equipos and the behaviors of its workforce. Several modern day scholars have acknowledged that the dissimilarities in the culture of different employees in an organization can have an intense influence on the employees’ motivation and their behavior towards work. Thus, it has been widely accepted that though the process of motivation is general across the world, there is a significant influence of culture on the definite contents and goals followed. The scenario of Equipos can be discussed in relation to the Herzberg’s two factor motivation theory in cultural perspective. Herzberg had affirmed two aspects of motivation in his ‘The Motivation-Hygiene Theory’. According to him, the first group of factors which have an impact in the enhancement of the motivation of employees are refereed as ‘motivators’, and they comprise of accomplishment, acknowledgment, work, accountability, progress and growth. The second group of factor mentioned by Hertzberg are the hygiene factors, which though do not have considerable influence in the enhancement of the motivation amongst the employees, are essential to preserve a certain extent of staff motivation. The hygiene factors comprise of policy and management of the organization, administration, and association of the employees with their seniors, subordinates and colleagues, the working environment of the organization, salary, position and security among others (Kim & Kamalanabhan, 2009). Nevertheless, a range of researches that had been conducted in various developing as well as developed countries have declared that the outcomes of their findings were not always aligned with the theory proposed by Herzberg. This inconsistency is due to the inter-changeability of the motivational and hygiene factors amongst themselves. To be precise different cultures have different perceptions of these two groups of factors. Hence, a factor that is measured as a hygiene factor according to the Herzberg’s theory can be observed as a motivational factor in a certain organizational culture, resulting to this contradiction. Consequently, the elements that contribute to the two factors have to be altered and adapted as per the system of the organization culture of each organization (Kim & Kamalanabhan, 2009). In case of Equipos, the human resource policies of the organization had acted as the motivators and the environmental and the organizational factors had acted as the hygiene factors. One of the crucial factors for the involvement of Equipos’s employees in the learning strategies is the fact that the age of about 70% of its employees were 30 years or under. The young workforce entailed that the employees possessed less inhibition to learn new ideas and practices. Moreover the young employees possessed more inventiveness and creativity in comparison to their older colleagues. These attributes, for instance, openness to learn, ingenuity, and inventiveness among others, are necessary requirements for establishing a learning organization (Gomez, 2004). Equipos operated in an industrial atmosphere that consisted of an influential and dominant union. Equipos functioned closely with the employee union in addition to offering them high salary compensations in return for a cooperative rapport. As a result of the elevated wages along with the cooperative association, the employee union had no opposition to the formation of worker teams in the organization and the amplified participation of the employees. The payment of superior wages enabled Equipos to draw and retain skilled employees, in addition to motivating them to acknowledge and abide by the management practices of Equipos. However, Gomez (2004) had revealed that even the employees who had better external offers in terms of salary were not willing to leave the ‘culture’ of Equipos. Hence the HR practices and the culture of Equipos can be considered as the linkage connecting the environmental as well as the organizational factors and the behavior of the employees associated with productive and efficient organizational learning practices. Moreover, it should be noted that the Mexicans generally do not give much precedence to work teams as against their families. However, the management of Equipos had succeeded in making the Mexican employees to perform in work teams by making the employees perceive the team as their extended family. The employees’ perceiving the team as extended family, acted as an influential motivator for enhanced employee participation. According to the equity theory, the level of motivation is augmented when the employees think that they obtain reasonable and justifiable handling with regard to others. Steers & Sanchez-Runde (2001), affirmed that the equity theory is based on the opinion of people, on how they appraise the equity. The source or base of an individual’s opinion depends on his or her value system, which has been acquired by the individual by means of socialization. This is because social norms influence an individual’s perception of which input or output is pertinent. In this context, Pyun (2000) had illustrated that the perception of justice played a decisive role in the effectiveness of the individual’s performance. The employees of Equipos were paid generously and the company worked in close association with the employee union, which strengthened the employees’ perception that they were treated justifiably by the management. This augmented their motivation to work as per the management practices to accomplish the organization’s learning strategies. The foremost HR practices that facilitate learning in Equipos are continuing training, regular communication, employee participation, lucid and consistent objectives, incentives and acknowledgment for desired behaviors, formation of teams, flat organization structure, as well as an organizational culture directed toward learning. Additionally, the HR practices implemented by Equipos were culture-specific and attuned to the requirements of the host nation, Mexico. The HR practices of the US based parent company were efficiently adopted to suit the Mexican culture. These HR policies were designed to generate a culture in the organization that is conductive to ongoing learning practices (Gomez, 2004). Equipos gave much emphasis to regular communication with the employees, set clear and definite goals for its employees and offered rewards as well as acknowledgment when the employees accomplished their goals. This approach of Equipos had immensely motivated their employees to sincerely participate in the learning environment, which in return facilitated the organization’s objective of becoming a learning organization (Gomez, 2004). Equipos’ approach can be aptly related to the ‘goal setting theory and feedback in cultural perspective’ (Kim & Kamalanabhan, 2009). This theory states that the goals set by individuals control their and activities and performance, and hence an individual who sets definite as well as tough goals, is able to accomplish more in terms of performance that the one who sets simple and broad goals. However, this relation is considered to depend on two vital issues, viz. commitment to the goal and performance feedback. Thereby, the performance of an individual is reliant on his commitment towards his goal as well as the feedback he receives on his performance. This has been justified by the fact that people are generally apprehensive regarding uncertainties and as a result, desire to receive recurrent and comprehensive feedback. This can be accomplished either by setting clear and definite goals or by attaining thorough and regular feedback. The employees of Equipos were given lucid and definite goals; hence they were completely aware of their duties and there was no uncertainty involved. In addition to this, the management of Equipos communicated with the employees on a regular basis, this helped the employees receive frequent feedbacks from the higher management. The communication process and the employees’ access to the management were amplified owing to the fact that there were only 170 employees in Equipos. The small number of employees ascertained that even the General Manger of the company was acquainted with majority of the employees (Gomez. 2004). Conclusion It has been observed in the study that Equipos, the Mexican subsidiary of an American MNC, had productively transformed itself and developed all the attributes required for a learning organization by means of its HR practices. The HR practices of Equipos were designed taking into consideration the culture-specific aspects of Mexico. In doing so, the subsidiary had adopted the management practices of the parent organization to be compatible with the requirements of the local culture and environment. The management of Equipos worked closely with the employees, giving the employees definite goals, proper training and feedback, higher wages, incentives and recognition on successful accomplishment of the goals. This approach motivated the employees and they participated ardently in the implementation of the management practices that were required to accomplish the learning strategies of the company. The flat hierarchy of Equipos and its comparatively small size benefitted the employees as they had direct access to the organization’s management. References Adler, N. J., 1997. International Dimensions Of Organizational Behavior. South-Western College Publishing. Bartlett, C. A. & Ghoshal, S., 1989. Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution. Harvard Business School Press Farmer, R. N., & Richman, B. M., 1970. Comparative Management And Economic Progress. Cedarwood Publishing Co. Gomez, C., 2004. The Influence Of Environmental, Organizational, And HRM Factors On Employee Behaviors In Subsidiaries: A Mexican Case Study Of Organizational Learning. Journal of World Business 39, 1–11. Kim, H. D. & Kamalanabhan, T. J., 2009. Developing A Theoretical Framework For A Cross-Cultural Employee Motivation Study. Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai. Negandhi, A. R. & Prasad, S. B., 1971. Comparative Management. Appleton Century Crofts. Pyun, S. H., 2000. A Motivational Approach of Organizational Justice Orientations in South Korean Public Sector. Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 10 No.1. 249-264. Steers, R. M. & Sanchez-Runde, C. J., 2001. Culture, Motivation, And Work Behavior. Blackwell. Read More