Cultural Profiles of Canada and Norway - Assignment Example

International Human Resource Management. STUDENT’S NAME: INSTITUTION: INSTRUCTOR’S NAME: DATE: Online question 1 General Electric Co. is the largest private sector employer globally. The company has a total of 307,000 employees of which 135,000 are foreign. This gives a foreign employee percentage of 43.97% BHP Billiton Group Ltd is the highest ranked Australian firm. The firm employs a total of 49 496 people. The united states dominate the list with a total of 20 corporations. Online question 2 Cultural Profiles of Canada 1. Power distance Power distance entails the fact that all the people in societies are not equal. It can as well be stated that it is the extent to which members that are of doesn’t have any influence in institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is unequally distributed. Canada has a score of 39 on the power distance dimension. The Canadian culture is associated with interdependence among its citizens. This is also depicted by the lack of class distinctions in a particular society. Similar to other cultures that has a low score on the power distance dimension, hierarchy in organizations within Canadian are established for convenience and accessibility. Superiors or people at the top are always accessible whereas managers rely on individual employees and teamwork for their expertise. It is a tradition for managers and staff members to consult one another, discuss some issues and to share information freely. Canadians always value or prefer a straightforward exchange of information, when it comes to communication (The Hofstede centre, 2015). Individualism Individualism measures the degree of interdependence that a particular society maintains along with the members of that society. In a society that values individualism, the people are expected to look after themselves and their families. On the individualism dimension, Canada has been allocated 80, which is its highest dimension score. Just as the same as in the business world, employees of a certain organization, are expected to be self-reliant and also show some elements of the initiative. Again, basing on the exchange-based side of work, decisions on hiring and promotion made considering the evidence of what one has done or can do. Masculinity Canada scores 52 on the masculinity dimension. This can be characterized or considered a moderately “masculine” society. Canadians also tend to have a work-life balance and are likely to create a special time to enjoy personal pursuits, family gatherings and life in general. With this considered, Canadians are also hardworking and also work towards achieving high standards of work in all the areas. Uncertainty avoidance The Canadian score on this dimension is 48, and therefore we can deduce that the Canadian culture is more “uncertainty accepting.” This is depicted by the easy acceptance of new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try something new or different. This may, however, be related to technology, business activities, or various products. Canadians are tolerant of new ideas or opinions from anyone and they allow the freedom of expression. Canadian culture is not based on rules, and they also portray a non-emotional behaviour. Long Term Orientation Canada scores 36 in this dimension, and can be rated as a normative society. The people that are associated with such societies always have a strong concern with creating or coming up with an absolute Truth, and hence they are normative in their thinking. They portray a lot of respect for traditions, a small propensity to set aside for the future, and a focus on attaining quick results. Indulgence Canada has scored 68 in this dimension, which means that the Canadian culture can be classified as indulgent. People in societies who can be categorized as indulgent, mostly show some willingness to know their impulses and desires concerning enjoying life and having fun. They also have a positive attitude and are always optimistic. Cultural profiles of Norway. Power distance Norway scores 31 on this dimension, meaning that the Norwegian culture can be characterized by: Being independent, equal rights for all, superior’s accessible, coaching leader, management facilitates and empowers. Decentralization of power is evident, and managers mainly count on the experience of their team members. Communication is direct, participative and consensus orientated. Individualism Norway scores 69 and hence can be stated as an individualistic society. With this, the “Self” is important and personal opinions are valued and expressed. Communication can be categorized as explicit. People respect most the right to as there are clear lines that cut across between work and private life. The employer-employee relationship is mainly based on a contract and leaders focus on management of individuals. Masculinity Norway scores 8 in this category, and it comes as the second most feminine society. With this score, it means that the softer aspects of culture are valued. Some of this aspect include levelling with others, consensus and sympathy for the underdog. They take care the environment and those who are trying to be better than others are never rewarded at all. Interaction is mainly through dialog and “growing insight” is valued as well as self-development is encouraged. Uncertainty avoidance Norway scores 50 and hence does not indicate any preference on this dimension. Long Term Orientation With a score of 35, Norwegian culture is more normative. People in these societies have a firm concern with establishing the absolute Truth; they are therefore normative in their thinking. They respect their traditions and focus on achieving quick results. Indulgence In this dimension, Norway scores 55. Therefore, Norway has an intermediate and inconclusive aspect Qn. 3. Guanxi Guanxi can be stated to be a term that refers to connections or relationships that exists between people. It is also similar to networking, which is a social capital that has a potential to be translated into economic, political, and symbolic. However, to the Chinese guanxi is defined as a system of favouring in which obligation and indebtedness are generated and there is no time limit to repay it. The legal structure of China is not the same as that of the western countries. Guanxi can also be promoted through personal interpretation an in situations where there is no reliable rule of law or in the absence of a functional government. Guanxi has also developed more with the mentality of corrupt government systems in place. With this in place, it can be used to punish the offenders who break the law. Guanxi can be categorized as a system that allows for connection between people who will offer some assistance, one way or the other. One with the right guanxi can accomplish or achieve any set goal whereas someone with a wrong guanxi will likely to use many channels to achieve their objectives. Social networking is seen as played a bigger role in matters concerning recruitment and selection processes. People who are connected with the seniors or managers of some organizations are always favoured when they are being selected for some positions whereas those who doesn’t have any connections are always left outside. Qn. 4. Cultural intelligence Cultural Intelligence, can be defined as a person’s capability to function or to work effectively in situations that are depicted by cultural diversity (Linn, 2012). It can as well be stated as a measure of a particular person's capacity to function effectively in a multi-cultural environment. Employers and organizations apply CQ as a way to foster tolerance and enhance cross-cultural interactions. Main challenges faced by multinational firms in setting wage rates. Short of Talent. When employing new staff, finding someone who has got real talent and expertise in the area of the line of work is usually hard. Most of the people always tend to have inadequate knowledge in the areas they intend to work in. Culture differences. Expatriate failure. Here, there might be a shortage of workers and hence could not employ the local people. Skills and competence of call centre agents Active Listening When selecting call centre staff, it is vital to consider major skill and competence to ensure that can carry out the task effectively. A call centre staff should possess an active listening skill. This is to enable him/her to get the customer problems and complaint rights. An accurate understanding of the problem always leads to the determination of best solutions possible. Not everyone possesses the trait of active listening. This is why it is important to keenly asses the potentials on an applicant during the interview. Good listeners always provide the best customer relation since they can address customer need accurately Good Memory Retention A call centre personnel who handle the customer queries should have a good memory to retain vital information. This is because most of the customer queries usually revolve around company policies, identification of affected customers and the detailed descriptions of the product. To reduce time wastage in confirmation of the transactions with the customer, it better to select the staff member with ability to remember most of the information. For an effective customer service memory retention is a key factor facilitates quick follow-ups thus improving the customer satisfaction. Efficiency An effective customer service is normally characterized by proactive responses to the customer needs. Call center personnel should be able to react quickly to the customers to demand and ensure satisfaction of the services. To ensure efficiency, the employees should not relax and wait for the customer to request for the follow-up but participate actively by ensuring that they engage the customer to improve the quality of services. When hiring the employees, it is important to ensure that they possess skills that will enable them to meet the expectations of the organization. Negotiation skills Call centre personnel should possess the negotiation skill to enable them to reach easily the agreement with the customer on behave of the manager. If the customer calls to inquire about the terms of service, he/she should be able to persuade to agree with going terms of the organization within the shortest time possible. This is skill is necessary for the task because it help to reduce the incidence of an unsatisfied customer going to convey negative information about the product. Ability to communicate clearly Apart from being a good listener, call center personnel should be able to convey information to the customer in a manner that it is accurately understood. The order of thoughts, facts and ideas in a communication should be logical. He/she should be able to employ different skills of communication to ensure the intended meaning is arrived at. Ambiguity confusion and irrelevant should be avoided in the communication. During the staff selection process, eloquent people are more likely to secure such job due to their communication competencies. To improve the quality of service at the call centre, an organization need to select the staff that has that qualities that suit the smooth operation on the at this point. During the staffing interviews, the panel should critically analyze the applicants’ potentials to recruit the required personnel. Training is also important. This is to familiarize the staff of the expectation of the o operation at the call centre. Online exercise 7 The German bank that that sent Andrea on an international mission is to be blamed. They never set out plans on the experienced gained by Andrew from the global mission would be utilized for the benefit of the German economy. While away Andrea worked hard until he achieved the managerial position like the one he was expecting to hold in the German bank but on return he was not considered a resourceful person. The problem facing Andrea was contributed by the economic recession in the economy of Europe. This made the German banks grow at a slow rate compared to the New York where there was economic boom lasting for several years. If the economies could have been the same, the banks in Germany could have created more jobs at the managerial position for Andrea. To prevent this situation from happening, the officers sent out for global missions should be considered when they come back because they possess vast experiences that can be beneficial to boosting the home country economy. Organizations should recognize the officers from a global mission experience. If possible, plan for the leadership position for the before sending for the mission. Andrea should not accept the offer of junior staff but instead return to the Germany with the family and still retain the previous job in new since the job does not involve working from one office but travels to different parts of the world. Online exercise 8 Barriers to border trade CEOs are afraid of running businesses abroad because they are used to how the businesses are run in the own countries. There exists risk in China that only local investors are aware and able to avoid; foreign investors will not consider thus increasing the chances of failure. These risks include negotiation with trade unions and slow growth economies. Chinese CEOs do not have ample time to study and learn from the encounter of other CEOs because, Chinese businesses has hardly survived the competition abroad. Few companies have been successfully managed from abroad hence many CEOs lack experience and afraid of failing if they try. The regulation and procedures involved for the business to be approved to operate abroad is lengthy problematic and time consuming. The currency conversion is problematic creating huge inconsistencies. In China, the relationship between businesses is normally built over a longer period. Contrary to the abroad deals, it only takes up to six months in which CEOs are not okay which. Online exercise 9 Redistribution policy in Europe and United States Some studies show that the use of direct tax and social transfers in the United States is effective in reducing income inequality than it does in Europe. A comparison has been done, and it indicates that a combination of tax and social transfers reduces the Gini index by 18% in the United States while United Kingdom it reduces by 24%. Recently Great Britain has looked for ways to change the context at which the redistribution of income can be effected. Families and working individuals have experienced an increase in income before it drops significantly. The effects of direct taxes on the income of the working generation have a significant effect on the redistribution of wealth. United States and Europe countries have focused on the reform policies to ensure that economic effect on income due to great regression is cushioned. From the trends observed in 1980s that created a crisis, the two countries strive to place the new policies that are focused at redistributing the government support and reduce the government debts. Dynamics of recent policies point out the changes in certain fiscal parameters. Crucial patterns are expected to be achieved for the economy to be stable. In southern Europe, the most addressed causes behind the economic crisis are the expensive benefits. Benefits systems are reconfigured to the state system allowing the government to take full control of the income distribution. The government can protect the poorest group while subjecting the high-income group to heavy taxation policy. Corruption The five top very clean countries in terms of corruption prevalence are Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden and Norway. The most corrupt countries are South Sudan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Korea (North) and Somalia. The main reason behind the prevalence rate of corruption in these countries is good governance. Countries that have an established, and good structure of governance always have control and strict measures that govern some of the vices like corruption. This is so because everyone is below the law, be it leaders or the ordinary citizens. However, in countries that have a higher rate of corruption have a poor form of governance. This way, leaders mostly are left with the freedom to do anything that they feel like they should do since they see themselves be above the law. Online Question 5 The “McWage Index” Comparing Real wages Hourly wages differ from one country to another; McDonalds is one of the biggest franchises in the world with a reach of its distributions in over 140 countries in the world. Mc Donald’s have developed standards that are strictly flowed by its all the franchises in the world, these standards make all McDonalds restaurants the same, offering the same food at the same pricing and same amount. Where the catch comes is on maintaining the same hourly wage rate to its employees in all this country. This has practically proved to be a challenge as different counties have different economic standards and taxation systems. McWages focuses on the entry-level basic crews at every McDonalds in the world. This standardised payment system was developed because the jobs are identical, consider the following aspects of the job: labour input is the same, hedonic job qualities are required, they produce identical products using identical technology. There are a standard operations and training manual that ensures that all employs work the same hours and perform the required duties all the time. McWages maintains s hourly wages of crew and training squads, data from two cities were compared to 2 restaurants per city were compared and the correlation of median and averages wages was found to be 0.9999. McWages collected from several countries (Canada, Czech Rep., Denmark, India and Italy) were all consistent with the measurements of the Economists, a correlation of 0.99 was recorded. I think that McWages has helped in the management of efficiency in the management of franchises as there are no additional expenses other that the projected expenditures. This makes the international trade much easier. The main challenges facing multinational companies in maintaining a constant wage rate it all it branches could be the differences in tax systems and the cost of living standards in different nations. Taxation systems are different from one country to another when allocating payment and wage one should ensure that they do not end up infringing the lives of their workers. The cost of living should be put into consideration, economic standards of nations differ by their development rates and the per capita income of the nation. Online Question 6 Qualities of Emergency Inbound Call Attendants Emergency inbound call attendants are the first correspondents of the company that a caller interacts with in case of any inquires being made to the company. These group of individuals communicate and pass important information on call inquiries and make referrals to the required departments within the organizational structure. An inbound call attendant should be very articulate with the way they speak to inbound callers, he or she should have perfect verbal skills to enable a proper communication. A good call attendant should be able to organize detailed schedules to place appointment times for clients. He should have a clear understanding of the organization roles, services and products and in case of lack of the required knowledge they should be able to refer the client to the right department. Another trait that is required of a call centre attendant is the ability to get the maximum required information within the call time limits. Call centres are sometimes red alert rooms (911 call centre), these jobs requires one to be on the for approximately 12 hours straight on, as a matter of fact the timelines are overtasking, I would appreciate if call attendant be given breaks as call are redirected to other call attendants in a queue so that one attendant can take a time out. Exhaustion and mental workout are what would discourage one from taking an inbound call attendant job opportunity. References World Investment Report, (2014) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: Annex Tables. Palais des Nations, Switzerland. Viewed on 26th May, 2015 Linn, V (2012) Cultural Intelligence. Viewed on Michigan State University. 26th May, 2015 http://www.linnvandyne.com/cq.html The Hofstede centre (2015) Strategy, Culture, and Change: Cultural Tools. Viewed on 26th May, 2015 http://geert-hofstede.com/norway.html Corruption Perceptions Index (2013) 177 countries. 177 scores. How does your country measure up? Berlin Germany. Jianlian, W. (2008). An Analysis of Business Challenges Faced by Foreign Multinationals Operating the Chinese Market. International Management, University of Nottingham Ningbo 315100, China Briscoe, D. (1997). International human resource management. Englewood Cliffs. Read More