Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management - Saudi Arabian Mining Company - Case Study Example

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management Name Course Tutor Date Table of Contents Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management 1 Introduction 2 A cultural Framework 3 Case study 1: Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MAADEN) 9 Ma’aden’s Core Values 10 Ethics 11 Environment 11 Community Commitment 11 Employee commitment 12 Case study 2: Nestle Company 12 Human Resource policy 13 Conclusion 14 Introduction The ingredients that propel any company to a sure road to eminent success are embedded in its culture, marketing and human resource management. According to Leonidas, a company’s culture is the practices and values shared by the employees of any particular company. The company culture is fundamental because it decides how successful a company will be. For a company to prosper and grow it must have a company culture that defines its identity. Culture could concern national culture, (about a country), community culture (sub-culture), and corporate culture that refer to an organization. It revolves around norms, values, traditions, customs, religions, beliefs, artifacts, and rituals (78). A cultural Framework It is essential to create a culture in order to raise interest of potential employees and also be able to keep them. Companies portraying a dynamic culture that is more adaptive more often than not will perform better than others. A well founded company culture ensures an optimal future, drives revenues, and empowers employees. It also instills passion in the employees. Business goals are embedded in its culture. To built a culture a decision has to be made concerning what this should be. Over a period of time the culture of a company may change or evolve (Leonidas 45-8). According to Cameron & Quinn the incoming of new employees after the exit of others may automatically lead to a change in the company culture, but if it is very strong, it will withstand this transition. A little change may be noted because of integration of new ideas brought in by the new employees. The culture is depicted in the common behaviours exhibited by the employees of a particular company. Cultural differences between companies should be taken into account by the chief executive officers, international marketing and human resource directors, and managers (56-8). In order to carry out successful international marketing and ensure effective management of human resource the culture of the organization should be taken into account. A culture of a particular organization makes the consumers to have a premeditated perception about the company and anything that is brought to them contrary to what they expect may make them think twice about associating with the company. It is very vital to do cross-cultural analysis in relation to developing a marketing plan. It commences with identification the impact of culture on production function, family purchasing roles, promotion and sales activities, product design, pricing and channel analysis (Onkvisit and Shaw 97). Cateora notes that the departure point is marketing mix parameters and their impact on consumer behaviour. It encompasses responding to a list of questions that may not be specific or exhaustive. The producer dealing in manufactured food will be concerned in understanding the effect of culture on aspects such like eating habits, purchasing habits and consumer taste. A producer of household appliances will want to know potential consumer perspective concerning durability, reparability, and reliability. International marketing huge variables are involved as far as venturing into new environment and country is concerned. According to Hall and Hall, one of the most fundamental environmental determinants to success is culture which explains the reason for various human acts and behaviours. Culture should be studied at an in-depth length to ascertain its impact as a company prepares itself to go international and operate in various countries. Special adjustments in terms of organization actions and plans should be made to ensure the company copes in the new environment (Hall and Hall 67). Marketing is the means through which companies arouse consumer interest in their goods. The process comes up with a strategy that explains business communication, business development, and sales promotion technique. It is through this process that a company establishes a relationship with its customers. It identifies the needs and preferences of the customer and finds ways of fulfilling the fully by the production of appropriate goods and services. Main aim of marketing is to cater for existing needs and emerging needs. This helps the company to stay in focus towards its goals, mission, and vision. International marketing is going beyond the borders of one country and operating from a global level (Phegan 78). According to Paliwoda and Ryans managers and directors of international marketing should take into account the culture differences between organizations before embarking on implementing their functions. As earlier stated the consumers have a preconceived perception about what to expect from a certain company. If what is represented to them be it a real good or an advertisement will look bogus if it is contrary to what they expect. A company that has a strong culture and has cut a cliché as being the best service provider it can when place itself as a market leader as set the pace for others. Such a company may use pricing strategy as a way of penetrating a new market. This company has already built a reputation for itself and adjusting prices will not affect the customer base that it has already acquired (56). The company that is well known and it has built values around itself can initiate anything and become successful. Companies that are emerging has challengers they can only employ alternative strategies to that used by the market leaders who are the pace setters. We more determination and increased creativity market challengers eventually dislodge leaders and they themselves become market leaders. Markus states that new comers into the market can only follow up what challengers and leaders are doing and hence called market followers. They are not well known in the market and their cultures are yet to be known by the consumers and consequently they struggle to make themselves known and acquire dissatisfied customers who are not pleased by the services they are getting from the market leaders and market challengers. Some customers who use their products use them at an experimental level. This means that they are simply trying out a new thing to compare it with what they normally use. Followers have to blend their strategies with more advertising and product promotion to create awareness. If the good made by the market followers come to be liked by the consumers they end up marking huge profits since the product is at an early stage in the product life cycle. The followers after being recognized by consumers they make come up and be great threats to challengers. Followers evolve to challengers and eventually to market leaders. The cultures of the market leaders, market challengers, and market followers are different (Kurtz 78). Consequently the strategies employed by the three different players in the market regardless of the market conditions being the same. Culture differences of the surrounding should be considered before the designing of marketing strategies. This is particularly important when it comes to advertisement. Religion is part of one’s culture and anything that if offensive to one’s religion may cause a consumer to have a negative attitude towards a company irreparably. The setting of the advertisement will determine what will be incorporated in the advertisement (O'Donovan 143). Carefully designing the advertisement is called for to avoid sending out mixed signals about what really was intended to be communicated. If for example in a particular culture women are not allowed to take alcoholic beverages then any advertisement depicting the case will not be warmed up to by the targeted audience in that particular country. A thorough market research should be done to ascertain the nature of the market as far as the culture is concerned and other determinants that affect the promotion and marketing of goods and services. It will be found out that some goods or products should only be advertised to a particular age bracket or gender concerning the culture that is embraced. More so the language to be used in the advertisement is very important. The company management should use a language that incorporates the shared values of the people targeted as the audience. An example is given of China where all advertisement bearing pictures of pigs were prohibited in 2007, this was the year considered belonging to the pig. This was done putting into consideration the Muslim population in the country which was two per cent. In the year 2004, China outlawed a Nike T.V. advertisement that depicted U.S basket ball legend James LeBron in a tag of war with two dragons and an animation cartoon of Kung Fu masters it was disputed that it was an insult to the dignity of Chinese national. The nature and quality of education in every international market will differ. This will be bearing an importance on how the messages should be coded. Literacy levels will determine how complicated a particular advertisement will be. Where the level is low the message should be simple (Terpstra 102). Human resource management is the coherent and strategic approach to management of people working in a particular organization. It involves the employment, development of capacities, maintenance, and compensation of people working in a company with the sole goal of attaining its objectives and goals. Human persons are the most important resource in any organization and it should be handled with the utmost care because it shapes the destiny of the company. In formation of any objectives and setting of goals of the company the opinion or input of the employees from the senior most to the least should be sought so that they feel they are part of the organization and they can identify with it in everything. Aesthetics concerns senses and embracing artistic values comprising of taste, smell, and ambience. These values will decide how an advert is accepted. Bennett and Blythe argue that the employees of the organization will enable the organization to achieve its marketing objectives and more so built a culture that will act as its identity that is, making it stand out from the rest. Human resource management enables a company to achieve its set objectives and implement all the programs that it sets out to accomplish. Differences in cultures of a particular company are also important. Every locality or country has a culture that distinguishes it from the rest. The consumers’ preferences and tastes will be influenced by the culture that they personally embrace. In human resource management the way you treat the employees will vary from country to country. In some countries particularly Islamic countries senior management positions are managed by men and the men may consider it an insult if women were allowed to lead them. In other western countries as long as one is intelligent and qualified regardless of the gender. The duties, responsibilities, and assignment should be allocated considering the culture of a particular community, region, or country. In certain communities particular assignments are left to be handled by a particular age group. A particular company may be surrounded by members from a specific community whose cultures and values should be considered when developing the management or marketing strategies (Papa 89). In particular communities women are expected to arrive early in the home than the men and not the other way around. If women in that particular community are allowed to work overtime and therefore arrive home later than the men, this may bring about conflicts in the families of the surrounding community. The company needs the support of the immediate community for its growth, sustainability, and eventual breakthrough (Bennett and Blythe 76). Case study 1: Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MAADEN) In order to bring to fore these three areas in detail the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MAADEN) and p will be explored to give a clear picture of their culture, marketing and human resource management. We shall commence by looking at the Saudi Arabia mining Company also known as Ma'aden( Niblock 21). The Saudi Arabia mining Company came into being on in 1997 on 23th March for the sole responsibility of enabling the exploitation of the numerous mineral resources found in Saudi Arabia. Currently Ma’aden activities are cantered on actively engaging in the gold business which has advanced to include in five other gold mines namely Al Hajar, Al Amar, Mahd Ad Dahab, Bulghah and Sukhaybarat. There has expansion apart from the gold exploitation to include Aluminium project, Phosphate project and other ventures. Moreover Ma’aden in conjunction with the Ministry of Petrolelium and Mineral Resources has liaised with the local legislators and the government to bring to fore a regulating framework for the control of the mining industry in the country (Shoult 12-8). Ma’aden’s core values are summarized as follows: Ma’aden’s Core Values a) Maintain and implement ethical commercial practices and sober systems of organizational governance. b) Incorporate sustainable advancement consideration within the process of corporate decision-making process. c) Maintain basic human rights and give due respect to customs, values and cultures in handling employees and others linked to the operation of the company. d) Put in place risk management strategies formed with consideration of sound science and valid data. e) Ensure perpetual advancement of healthy performance and health. f) Ensure perpetual advancement of environmental performance. g) Contribute to preservation of biodiversity and incorporated approaches to land utilization. h) Encourage and facilitate responsible product design, re-use, use, and its safe disposal. i) Contribute to institutional, economic, and social advancement of the communities in the area of operation. j) Put in place transparent and effective communication, engagement, and verification of reporting procedures with every stake holder. Ma’aden commitment to corporate social responsibility is engraved in for pillars namely: ethics, environment, community commitment, and employee commitment. Ethics Ma’aden ensures excellent ethical standards are upheld in all areas of its business operation. This commitment stretches past legal and regulatory requirements of Saudi Law involve corporate governance, reporting, compliance, and standard of conduct. Environment Putting into consideration the nature of mining, it can have a significant impact on the environment. Ma’aden ensures that its operations have small effect on the environment after and during the mining ventures. The mining sites are repatriated after the completion of the mining task. The company adheres to international environmental standards. It targets to advance its performance in relation to preservation of the environment. Research has been done to investigate the impact of mining on the environment particularly where new sites have been discovered. The Mandate of carrying out the research was given to international accredited companies under the watchful eye Ma’aden. Due support was given (Cateora 67). Community Commitment For Ma’aden a community implies a village that lies adjacent to Ma’aden site. It may refer to nomadic individuals passing through the sites, corporate business community close by, or the general Saudi community. Ma’aden makes use of inclusive, collaborative, and purposeful encompassing activities that involves the surrounding community through communication and consultation. Ma’aden support and undertake activities that involve social and environmental effect of the company’s operation as a matter of principle with communities nearby. Ma’aden is geared towards the support of sustainable advancements or putting in place operational programs to ensure positive contribution to long-run benefit within the surrounding community without creating dependencies that cannot be sustained (Terpstra and Sarathy 128-9). Employee commitment Core to Ma’aden management principle is its commitment to fostering lasting and strong relationship with the employees. Efficient and internal communication commencing from the board room to mills and mines is the important exercise towards sure success. Ma’aden offers highly competitive salary packages arouse interest and maintain the best workforce at different levels of the company. Ma’aden provides a broad range of benefit to its employees as part of compensation package. These benefits include relocation benefit, medical care, transportation, housing benefits, bonuses, and providing subsidized education programs. Professional development and training programs are also provided. This is done to ensure employee growth occupationally. Environmental, safety and health risks are managed with excellecency. The company objective is to carryout and manages its day-to-day operations without causing harm to the environment or people. Case study 2: Nestle Company Vevey, Switzerland is the headquarter of Nestle that has an employee base of up to two hundreds and sixty-five thousand. Nestle boast of being rich in diversity. At Nestle a person’s ethnicity, passport, and national origin do not play any role. What counts are strength of character, personality, and professional skills. Nestle company was formed in mid-1860s by Henri Nestle quest to find a healthy but an economical alternative means to breastfeeding for lactating mothers who were unable to feed their babies on breast milk. Nestle began doing experiments a variety of combinations of wheat flour, cow milk and sugar in an attempt to come up with alternative means of feeding babies who could not be breast fed. He was out to overcome the problem of infant mortality as a result of nutrition deficiency. A premature infant become his first consumer as the kid could not endure its mother’s milk or other substitutes. The product that he comes up with was named Farine Lactee Henri Nestle (Nestle). Human Resource policy Harris argues that the success of the company is embedded in its ability to attract, develop, and retain employees to ensure growth perpetually. This is observed by all the managers. Employees with professional skills and good personal attitudes are hired to ensure that they develop a lasting relation with the company. One’s ability to advance professionally is one of the parameters that are crucial at recruitment. Each new member is engaged in the development of the company culture through devotion to the organization and having a sense of perpetual growth not giving a chance to complacency (79). Although it is a Swiss company the corporate management is a representative of about nine countries. Only a pastry two per cent of the total sales is generated in Switzerland. Despite of going global matters concerning food are treated at a local level with special references to tastes, local cultures, and habits (Nestle). This means that even the marketing strategy is developed considering the local factors within the country or region in which the company operates in. The company appreciates multicultural diversity and therefore the preferences of the consumers from the locality of operation precede anything else when considering production and diversification. The company centres more on decentralization but centralize where possible. The essence of staying close to the consumers is upheld. Products are developed to satisfy specific need in various markets considering the diversities in cultures. Consequently you will find different tastes of Nestle in every country that the company sells its products (Onkvisit and Shaw 56). Conclusion In conclusion it is a general consensus that differences in culture play an important role as far as international marketing and human resource management are concerned. Every manager or director who thinks about going international should do a cultural analysis to ascertain the viability of his ideas in different countries. This is also important because the specific needs of a particular consumer in a given country can be addressed. Works Cited Leonidas C. Leonidou, et al. (2010) The contribution of leading mainstream marketing journals to the international marketing discipline. International Marketing Review, Vol. 27 Iss: 5, pp.491 – 518. Onkvisit, Sak and Shaw J. John (2004). "Process of international marketing". International marketing: analysis and strategy (4th Ed.). p. 3. Vincent, Peter. Saudi Arabia: an environmental overview. London: Routledge, 2008 Paliwoda, Stanley J. and John K. Ryans (2008). International business vs. international marketing. 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Developing Your Company Culture, A Handbook for Leaders and Managers, Context Press, ISBN 0-9642205-0-4     Read More