Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation in Singapore - Research Paper Example

?Table of Contents Introduction Research Objectives Research question 3 Research methodology 3 Literature review 3 Company background 4 How diverse is the OCBC workforce in Singapore 5 The existing strategies and policies used by the human resource management in handling diversity in its employees 6 The challenges brought about by a diverse workforce 7 Findings 8 Discussions 11 Conclusion 14 Reference list 16 How Human Resource Management Handle issues relating to Diversity in OCBC Bank in Singapore Introduction In each and every organization, diversity has been an issue of concern thanks to the concept of globalization. People from varied cultural background have found themselves working together despite the fact that they hold very different views, norms, values and beliefs on a set of issues at hand. As suggested by Mor Barak, M. 2010 diversity at work place does have a set of both advantages and disadvantages and it is upon the responsibilities of the human resource department to capitalize on diversity for the betterment of the organization in this case OCBC Bank in Singapore. The paper will critically evaluate how human resource in the bank incorporates strategies and policies to better handle and nurture diversity within its workforce. Research Objectives The broad objective of the study is to find out how OCBC handle the issue of its diverse workforce. The three specific objectives of the study are: To establish how diverse the workforce in OCBC is. To find out the existing strategies and policies employed by the human resource management regarding diverse workforce To examine the challenges brought about by a diverse workforce Research Question How diverse is the OCBC workforce in Singapore? What are the existing strategies and policies used by the human resource management in handling diversity in its employees? What are the challenges brought about by a diverse workforce Research Methodology Both qualitative and quantitative research design will be utilized as they will cover the broad aspects of the study and enable a concrete conclusion and recommendation to be drawn. The tool used to collect data includes both primary and secondary sources. Questionnaires as well as interview guides will be distributed to OCBC employees and the human resource department respectively as they are the target population. Data will be analyzed using SPSS and presented descriptively using tables, charts and graphs. Random and careful biased sampling will be used to arrive at the desired sample Literature Review It has been argued that human or workforce is the most important asset that dictates the future of any organization, OCBC Bank in Singapore not being an exception. According to Boxall & Purcell, 2008 workplace diversity has been defined severally but one definition adopted is; variety of differences and uniqueness among and between individuals within an organization. The concept entails issues relating to of age, sex, religion, ability, disability, race, ethnic groups, color, nationality and even sex orientation, educational background, job title to mention but a few. If the HR have in place best strategies and policies to nurture diversity, the results are better as it helps in increasing adaptability, widening service range, more effective way of executing duties as well as bring a diverse ideas that can yield the desired satisfaction to customers hence propelling the organization to greater heights (Katharine, et al 1995). On the other hand, there are challenges brought about by a diverse workforce and this include resistance to change, hindrance on implementation of diversity in place of work polices, difficulties in sharing information Company background OCBC is the longest operating bank in Singapore having been established in 1912. Today, OCBC has been ranked by world analysts as the second largest financial services group in Southeast Asia, most highly-rated bank and one of the world’s strongest bank ( OCBC Annual Report 2010). OCBC provides financial services solutions through a network of 500 branches and representatives in 15 countries and territories that include Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong SAR, Brunei, Japan, Australia, UK and USA. In Indonesia, the bank holds more than 400 branches and offices operated by its subsidiary PT Bank NISP. In Singapore, OCBC offers various banking portfolio that includes bank assurance sales, home loans, unit trust distribution, personal credit, small and medium-sized enterprises market and the Singapore Dollar capital market. OCBC operates under subsidiary arrangements and groups. The subsidiary that handles its insurance operations is the Great Eastern Holdings, considered as the largest insurance group in Singapore and Malaysia in terms of market share and asset. Another subsidiary, the Lion global Investors, is in charge of asset management, has become the largest management company in Southeast Asia. Its private banking services is provided by another subsidiary, the Bank of Singapore, which has also been ranked as among the top five global private banks in Asia. OCBC has the adopted a vision “to be the bank of choice with world class standards recognized for its caring and trustworthiness”. It has a mission to conduct and operate its business “as an honorable corporate citizen that grows together with the society in a sustainable manner by: Providing and developing innovative and high quality financial services that exceed growing public expectations with best results Nurturing mutually beneficial and cooperative networks based on mutual trust Creating a work environment that ensures the growth of professionalism and organizational renewal with a familial spirit Building public trust through ethical, caring and prudent behaviors Source: OCBC-NISP How diverse is the OCBC workforce in Singapore? To answer this question, we need to understand the diversity of OCBC’s operations in its various territories. As the bank continues to explore opportunities by expanding in outside territories, the need for hiring of competent workforce is a continuing process for the bank. Its present 8,000 workforce is composed of diversified cultures of individual because of race, education and experiences. In hiring employees, OCBC strives to find the best jobs fit for each individual that matches his/her qualifications, experience and interest with a suitable position. An example of diversity in OCBC management is the mixed composition of the nationality of its key managers; the CEO, Mr. David Conner, is apparently an expat national while the rests have Asian sounding names. This has been mentioned only to impress in the study the diversity in the workforce in the OCBC that practically starts from the top management. The diversity likewise starts with the hiring process of the company as shown in its website that stresses on their need for exceptional individuals to join the bank. In this aspect, it is assumed that the bank posed the importance of education, qualifications and interests of an applicant as needed for the position. The diversity of the employees in OCBC could also be seen according to its educational attainment; that, according to Linked-in, (n.d.), 50% of its present employees has bachelor’s degree, 32% has masters degree and 18% are high school graduates. The composition of personnel according to job functions is: 69% general and administrative; 19% to sales and marketing,, 9% is assigned to executive leadership and 3% is assigned to research and development. The existing strategies and policies used by the human resource management in handling diversity in its employees. Relative to working relations, OCBC has set the following values to implement for the people working for them. First, the bank strives to treat each other fairly and with respect, support their colleagues and invest in their development to realize their full potential. The bank likewise has adopted the recognition and reward system for outstanding performance. OCBC encourages teamwork and to actively support each other across the organization in working together for a common purpose. It has also impressed upon every employee to have total responsibility from among them. To support this value formation, the bank invests in infrastructure, process improvement and skills to lower its delivery costs. As a strategy to implement its vision, particularly those related to personnel, the bank maintains the use of a Balanced Business Scorecard in order to have a disciplined approach of performance management. With reference to personnel discipline, the bank strategies are stated as: ‘To build people resources with a focus on diversity, cross-border management skill sets and competences to support our overseas expansion efforts. To maintain our share ownership schemes so that all our employees can easily own OCBC shares. To continually improve employee satisfaction so that we are increasingly recognized as a regional employer of choice. To provide employees with challenging and rewarding opportunities and create work environments that support and help realize your fullest potential” (OCBC Annual Report 2010) To hold this strategy, OCBC has offered the following advantages to employees: Market competitive remuneration package, flexible lifestyle benefits program, and comprehensive training program, equity ownership program, cross border /functional exposure and continuing education schemes. (OCBC annual Report 2010 ) The challenges brought about by a diverse workforce While it has been acknowledged in several studies that there are definite advantages in having diversity in the workplace, this also brings about challenges to management. Greenburg’s (2005) description of challenges of diversity in the workplace points to two important factors in the workplace: first is communication in the workplace and second is the resistance to change. He sees the cultural and language barriers as a main challenge to management in clearing out diversity. The reason given is that there will be confusion, lack of teamwork and low morale when the key objectives are not clearly defined due to ineffective communication. The second factor is the resistance to change. Greenburg (2005) figures out in his study that there are always employees who will always refuse to accept that the cultural setup of their workplace is changing. The challenge to OCBC therefore is in knowing what the diversities common to their personnel are, assessing and evaluating these diversities so that policies can be added or eliminated. An employee satisfaction survey has been done to determine which obstacles become barriers for an efficient cultural management in the bank. Kelli, et al. (2005) in their study about diversity in the workplace, said that the challenge to management is not merely recognizing the differences but in acknowledging the differences in people. Accordingly, the process involved are recognizing the value of differences, combating discrimination and promoting inclusiveness. Kelli, et al described that diversity becomes a challenge to management due to losses in personnel and work productivity and discrimination.. On this, it is the contention of Kelli, et al, “that there is no single recipe for success” but rather it will depend on the manager’s ability to understand what is best for the organization based on teamwork and the dynamics of the workplace. Findings A structured questionnaire was given to 50 employees of OCBC to find out their perception on the cultural diversity approach of the company. Due to limitations of time and resource, only 50 samples were gathered. Representative samples were 25 Singaporeans, 10 Chinese, and 15 Indonesians. The 5 point questionnaires are answerable by “yes or “no” and needs a brief explanation for their answers. The sample of the questionnaire is shown below: Respondent No. Nationality YES NO 1. Do you speak English fluently 2. Are you fully aware of your duties and responsibilities to the company? If the answer is no, why? 3. Do you cope up with the duties assigned to you? If no, why? 4. Do you think there is a need for a training to help you adjust in your workplace? If so, what training? 5. What do you think are the diversity problems in your workplace? Answers of the respondents are set on Tables 1 to 5 and summarized accordingly. Table 1 Question 1: Fluency in speaking English Language Respondents N YES NO Singaporeans 25 9 16 Chinese 10 6 5 Indonesians 15 5 10 Table 2. Question 2. Awareness of duties and responsibilities Respondents N YES NO Singaporeans 25 20 5 * Chinese 10 7 3** Indonesians 15 11 4*** Reasons for NO answers: * Not fully explained ** Cannot fully comprehend English written words *** Difficulty in understanding rules written in English Table3. Question 3. Ability to cope up with duties and assignments Respondents N YES NO Singaporeans 25 21 4 * Chinese 10 6 4** Indonesians 15 5 10 *** Reasons for NO answers: *Cannot work with the team **Hard to explain details *** Same difficulty in understanding verbal language Table 4. Question 4. Need for training Respondents N YES NO Singaporeans 25 24 1 Chinese 10 8 2 Indonesians 15 13 2 Kinds of training suggested by respondents are communication development, goal settings in jobs, performance and professional developments. On question No. 5 that asks common diversity problems in the workplace, 25 respondents claimed difficulty in verbal communication, 15 answered matching of education to job positions and 10 replied the need for skills training for the position. Discussion A limitation of the study was set to 50 samples composed of mixed nationalities of respondents; 30 females and 20 males. Sex, age, religion, culture were not deemed considerable reasons for diversity and discrimination in the employment in the OCBC. In the hiring process what matters to them are the education and experience that are needed in the performance of their duties. As shown in the review of literature, communication and resistance to change are some of the factors that are contributory to performance of duties of personnel, so the questions were formulated along this line of thinking. To have a clout of authority for the research, permission was requested from the bank authority to gather the interview. To set the scenario for communication diversity, the first research question is about language because according to the Singapore-expats (n.d) review about the city, expatriates and foreigners may encounter language problems in the beginning of their stay in Singapore. This is due to the fact that Singaporeans use “Singlish” to communicate although English is now being taught in schools. Singlish is a mix of English with other languages mixed into the English. In the same way Chinese commonly use their own dialects to communicate, and sometimes, inter-dialect groups don’t understand one another’s language. In Indonesia, Bahasa is the official language and is used as medium of communication Result of the interview showed that 16 out of 25 Singaporean respondents have communication problems, 5 out of 10 Chinese employees could not speak English fluently and 10 out of 15 Indonesians are not able to speak English fluently. This situation clearly shows cultural diversity in use of language as each national has own language. English, although adopted as second language has a different intonation when it is spoken by a foreigner that sometimes may sound funny or bad and is not easily understood. Sometimes, an interpreter is needed to facilitate understanding. This situation may not also do well when they communicate with the bank’s clients who have diverse culture. Awareness of duties and responsibilities is considered significant to the performance of employees. In this concern, it is important to know if employee understand fully what is required of them in the job. From the 50 respondents, 20 Singaporeans replied they are aware of their responsibilities, 7 Chinese answered conformity, and 11 Indonesians said they are aware of their duties as their jobs prescribed. Reasons given by those who understood their duties and responsibilities were they were described to them in their dialect. The negative answers of respondents explain the problem in communication as they claim difficulty in English communication. It is contingent and the standard operating procedure that duties and responsibilities are explained by the Human Resource Department to a new employee. It is assumed that the code of conduct and job descriptions of the company are standardized in English language. For one who has been accustomed to reading and writing in their own language and dialect, employees may find difficulty in understanding the instructions. When asked if respondents are able to cope up with their work assignments, 4 Singaporeans replied they find it difficult to work with the team; 4 Chinese find it difficult to explain details and 10 Indonesians said it is not easy to understand the English verbal language. Respondents expressed their need for training and development as majority of respondents replied they need training. As to the kind of training needed, respondents suggested communication development, goal settings in jobs, performance and professional developments. On the final question as to cultural diversity problems the encounter in the workplace, common problem is difficulty in verbal communication, mismatched education to job positions and the need for skills training. The failure of the questionnaire is its inability to assess the problem of resistance to change. It was expected from the interview that resistance to change will be extracted and come out as an issue. However, no answer was gathered relevant to resistance to change. The only answer nearest to this issue is the difficulty of having to deal with teamwork but the reason is due to language barrier, and not according to culture of an individual. Result of the study shows that communication is the most important diversity issue that needs to be resolved by the bank. Other problems that come out show communications as the root cause of diversity among the three kinds of nationals employed by the bank. The Singaporean, Chinese and Indonesians are foreseen to encounter cultural diversity because of their language barrier and could become a problem at the beginning of their hire in the bank. Their productivity and morale could probably be affected by language barrier and lessens their involvement in the team effort. Knowledge transfer from expats and collaboration with local executives becomes difficult because of lack of team work. Findings of the study also gave the management the proper tool for managing the diversity in the bank. A survey done on a regular basis would show management’s own biases and prejudices as well as that of the employees which they are concerned with. On the research question of strategies used by management to solve conflict in diversity, study found out that OCBCs has continually stressed on teamwork to their employees. Findings of the survey showed some could not cope up with team work because of language barriers. Conclusion As globalization becomes the advent of the times, there will be a mix of expats and local executives that will be sharing their talent to become a pool of management expertise. This is evident in the study that due to OCBC.s global expansion, cultural diversity will exist among its employees who will come from several parts of the globe. As part of this dynamic change, the OCBC should encourage a culture of learning where everybody can share their knowledge and experience into a number of practices across borders in multiple offices. Understanding the cultural diversity helps the organization to determine the challenges and obstacles to diversity present in the OCBC workplace. Now that the survey is completed, the results can help management to build and implement a tailored strategy to maximize the effects of its diversity in the bank environment. The kind of strategy to be created does not involve training alone, but should include a diversity management plan that should pervade in every department and function of the organization. References List Boxall, P & Purcell, J. 2008. Strategy & Human Resource Management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Greenberg, Josh. Diversity in the workplace, benefits, challenges and solutions. http://EzineArticles.com/11053.viewed 20 July 2011 < http://ezinearticles.com/?Diversity-in-the-Workplace:-Benefits,-Challenges-and-Solutions&id=11053> Green, Kelli A, Lopez, Mayra, Wysocki, Allen, and Kepner, Karl. (2009) Diversity in the workplace: benefits, challenges, and the required managerial tool. EDIS. University of Florida IFAS Extension. Publication No. HR 022. Katharine C., Griffin, R. & Marcie S. 1995. Workplace Diversity. New York: F+W Publication Company. Linkedin (n.d). OCBC Job function composition. 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