International Human Resource Management Case Study
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International Human Resource Management Case Study
Introduction
For decades, human resource management has been recognized as a vital area in the management process and one that is important for organizations. International companies such as No Name engage in a process of internationalization and globalization obliging them to demonstrate competitiveness in the global market. In order to maintain this competitiveness, No Name will be required to develop and innovate a great capacity to react to the recent happenings within the organization. In this sense, a suitable employee management will endow the organization with an indispensable capacity needed to ensure that the company survives (Bornay-Barrachina, 2019). Finding ways to deal and manage the people effectively with all the human resource areas as identified in the case study is vital to No Name’s success. Indeed the management of people and work towards the desired end is a vital activity in organizations where humans are employed (Pokharel, 2016). That means that its existence does not need to be decoratively justified. Furthermore, human resource management happens to be an unavoidable of not only starting but also growing an organization.
Although there exist a wide range of variations in the engaged managerial resources, styles, and ideologies, the management of people in an organization takes place in one form or another. One may question the comparative performance of a particular human resource management model in a particular context or its contribution to the performance of an organization relative other investments within an organization like advertising campaigns, new production technologies, and acquisition of properties (Bornay-Barrachina, 2019). This, without a doubt is an important line of analysis but what should not be questioned is the significance of the process of human resource management itself. It is impossible for an organization to grow or survive without an attempt to organize and manage people within the organization. This paper will address the strengths and weaknesses of the four key areas in human resource management presented in the case study in ensuring that a No Name thrives. The four key areas that will be discussed include Diversity Management and Culture and International Performance Management, Training and Development using key theories and insights and then relate them to the case study. These areas will be discussed in the order described above then recommendations will be provided in terms of the significant of the points discussed, the implications for the conclusion on the topic, and other factors of relevance.
Diversity Management
Diversity management is an essential approach which not only acknowledges but also respects the contributions that all groups in an organization make irrespective of their gender, race, sexual orientation, or culture. However, there are arguments that affirmative action as a diversity management tool leads to the paradox of diverse discrimination (Dobbin & Kalev, 2016). This is where discrimination is practiced against some groups to avoid discriminating against other groups. This is usually based on the premise that a statistical imbalance in the workplace is due to the discrimination against the groups that are underrepresented. Despite that, studies have proved that diversity management plays an important role in fighting against prejudice, stereotypes, and any form of discrimination because of an individual’s assumptions and perceptions towards another group (Rakowska, 2021). Diversity management maximizes the benefits and minimizes the barriers of different behaviors, opinions, and attitudes of humans within an organizations. As stated in the case study, although No Name has a policy that states all employees must be respected irrespective of their age, race, gender, ethnicity, etc., there is still an intolerance towards working with others from different generations. This behavior is attributed to the social cognitive theory which suggest that categorization is being used by individuals to simplify information. Such categories allow people to easily and quickly classify data and often, individuals are categorized by their physical and visible features like age, sex, and race. Therefore, when one sees another person of a different race, there is occurrence of automatic processing and they activate beliefs about that particular race. Even if the individual is not visible, they can be subjected to automatic categorization. For instance in the case study, No Name does not recruit people with disability in China although they are qualified for a job.
A proper diversity management in an organization empowers all groups as people’s mindset against other groups are changed and the organization’s underlying culture especially in the culture is what impends change (Rakowska, 2021). This is one of the things that make business multicultural. In today’s competitive environment where organizations are fighting battles against rates of attrition, the view of not embracing diversity can imply losing out on a lot of money and failure to attract and retain the most qualified and competent employees.
Culture
Organizational culture is vital in influencing an organizational success in a global system. The management of organizational culture directly interacts with human resource management. According to Al Haderi & Ahmed, (2015), at the present and in the future, no one can question the sole and proper type of organization because an organization would be irrelevant without humans. An organizational culture core function is facilitating human potential development including its creative and innovative potential. Although culture is a representation of an organization’s clear vision about its nature, identity, and values, it is not always the case. According to Deloitte University Press, only 12% of employees are confident in the effectiveness of a company in driving the culture they desire. Another study by Chatterjee, Pereira, & Bates, (2018) found that about 65% of employees feel that they lack a strong culture of work with an organization. Whether employees are aware of their organizational culture or not, without positive influence and direction, negative factors tend to take hold which shapes culture in ways that are harmful to an organization (Chatterjee, Pereira, & Bates, 2018). In that regard, the case study demonstrates how No Name’s culture is a negative one where the mantra “near enough is good enough” has been adopted. This has led to the production of low quality products which in turn has led to complaints from customers. In addition, work relations has been affected thanks to this culture.
Deal and Kennedy model of organizational culture states that a significant influence on the culture of a company is the business environment it operates. Dean and Kennedy (1983) asserted that corporate culture embodies what is required to ensure success in the work environment (Deal & Kennedy, 1983). They look at two dimensions: the level of risks associated with the activities of the company and the promptness at which employees get feedback on the success of strategies or decisions. In the case of No Name there is a miscommunication among teams which is affecting the overall performance.
An organizational culture can reflect or betray the organization’s core value. How an organization conducts business, interact as a team, manage workflow, and treat the customers add up to experiences representing who they are as an organization (Chatterjee, Pereira, & Bates, 2018). In short, an organizational culture represents its beliefs in action. A robust corporate culture keeps the organization’s core values at the center and front in every aspect of its organizational structure and daily operations.
Performance Management
The systems of performance management which includes performance appraisal and development of employees are the HRM’s “Achilles’ heel. “Performance management suffer flaws within organizations with managers and employees frequently complaining about their ineffectiveness. A study by Tahiri, Kovaci, & Krasniqi, (2020) shows that only 30% of employees agree that the system of performance management tends to improve their performance. Less than 40% of them stated that the system established clear goals of performance. Although those results suggests that performance management systems are poorly designed, it is normally not poorly developed processes and tools causing problems with performance management (Qamar & Asif, 2016). Instead, these problems arise because performance management is personal and most of the time is a threatening process between employees and managers. This is demonstrated in the case study where there is a lack of performance reviews apart from the headquarters which takes an ad hoc approach and does not consider the economic factors affecting business targets.
The relevant theory which applies is the goal setting theory which suggests that the individual goals that employees establish play a vital role in their motivation for greater performance. This is due to the fact that an employee keeps following his goals and if they fail to achieve those goals, they either improve performance or modify those goals to be more realistic (Latham, Seijts, & Slocum, 2016). Furthermore, goal setting helps in the development of action plans tailored to guide the employees and the organization alike (Greco, & Kraimer, 2020). Several scholars have confirmed that the correlation between improved organizational results and goal setting is positive (Qamar & Asif, 2016). There is a lack of goal setting in No Name because there is no policy that underpins performance management in the organization. Also, there are no clear measures.
According to Cappelli & Tavis (2016), organizations that focus on constant performance management yield better results in terms of business. The organization that dedicates its time to regular performance assessment and reviews have higher chances of seeing an increased employee motivation since the latter are encouraged to frequently think about their individual and organizational goals. In addition, performance management improves consistency (Cappelli & Tavis, 2016). If the organization determines this process concisely and clearly, then managers, employees, and human resource professionals will know what and when to do. This way, tracking the growth of employees or their need to be supported if there is lack of performance is not only simplified but also identified promptly.
Training and Development
Many organizations perceive training and development as a fundamental part of HRM activities. Technically, training and development includes change in an individual’s skills, attitude, or knowledge with a resulting behavioral improvement. According to Jha (2016), emotional intelligence, attitude, and motivation are responsible in making training and development effective. This has developed negative perception because the employees may lack some or all of these factors which in the end, the training process would be ineffective (Jha, 2016). Therefore, employees should first be motivated to learn new skills and abilities and should also support the efforts of the employees in practicing such skills within the organization. In No Name, this function of human resource management has been neglected and disregarded. There is lack of training that would help employees to integrate into new surroundings In addition, there is lack of management development programs making the employees not to be aware of their career prospects because there is no utilization of career development plans.
The applicable theory is expectancy theory which tells that employees learn when they believe that from the training they gain new knowledge. In the case of No Name, Alice Morgan believes that a training program would have helped her to integrate into the new surrounding and lack of training led to her taking long to get used to her new working environment. According to the theory, learning would only enhance when connected to the outcome (Lloyd & Mertens, 2018). Indeed, training and development is vital to improved performance of the employees. According to (Chaudhry et al 2017), in order for training to be effective, the activity must be planned and conducted after an intense need analysis. Most importantly, training and development must be conducted in a learning atmosphere. In the process of designing a training and development program, the individual and organizational goals must be on top of mind. Even though it might not be possible to make sure there is sync, the chosen competencies ensures that there is a win-win for both the organization and the employee. Since technology is rendering many employees unskilled and with knowledge workers replacing industrial workers, training and development is at the core of human resource management. Now, the responsibility is on the department of human development to proactively take a role in response to training and organizational needs.
Conclusion and Recommendations
No Name is one of the companies that should focus on the human resource management on an international basis considering it operates in Australia, China, Singapore, and Vietnam. The strategy of an organization on globalization has a strong effect on the established approaches to human resource management. This approaches in turn influence how human resource management functions are implemented within the organization. In diversity management although No Name’s management requires employees to respect each other despite their differences in age, race, sexual orientation etc., there is still an intolerance towards working with others from different generations. The theory that applies in this case is social cognitive theory where individuals categorize others based on their physical characteristics and then hey activate beliefs about that particular race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. As a result, they end up treating them indifferently based on their characteristics. Therefore, No Name should implement a proper diversity management in the company to change people’s mindset against other groups.
The second area of human resource management discussed is organizational culture. It was identified that an organizational culture’s core function is facilitating human potential development including its creative and innovative potential. No Name’s is recognized as negative where the employees give the impression that they would resist any changes. The Deal and Kennedy model of organizational culture was applied in this area in which a significant influence on the culture of a company is the business environment it operates. Since the business environment in No Name is negatively affecting its culture and consequently the employees’ attitudes towards their work, the organization should establish a strong corporate culture that encourages team work and proper communication across different departments to ensure a positive outcome, production of high quality products, and improved performance.
The third area discussed is performance management which is a function that helps managers to monitor and assess the work of the employees. The goal in this case is the creation of an environment in which employees can perform better and produce work that is of high quality. The goal setting theory was applied in this area which suggests that the individual goals that employees establish play a vital role in their motivation for greater performance. This is due to the fact that an employee keeps following his goals and if they fail to achieve those goals, they either improve performance or modify those goals to be more realistic. No Name’s performance management lack a clear set of goals and have high expectation of the employees. No Name should dedicate its time to regular performance assessment and reviews so that the company can have higher chances of seeing an increased employee motivation since the latter are encouraged to frequently think about their individual and organizational goals.
The final area discussed is Training and Development. And it was concluded that it is a vital area of human resources. Thanks to training and development, employees performance and productivity is boosted which in turn, improve the corporate culture and reduce employee turnover. In No Name, there is a lack of training and development and employees are expected to learn things on their own and adapt to new environments on their own. The theory that was applied in this area is Expectancy Theory which tells that employees learn when they believe that from the training they gain hew knowledge. No Name should implement a training and development program that would help employees gain more knowledge on their work related characterizes and help them adopt easily to new environment. The significance of these findings is that an organization is not about structures, strategies, and system, it is about people. In order for an organization such as No Name to survive and grow locally and abroad, they need to adopt practices of human resource management for successful strategy execution. The implications of this conclusion is that HRM functions should be tailored according the environment in which it operates both locally and internationally. This will ensure that employees’ performance is improved within the organization.
References
Al Haderi, S. M., & Ahmed, F. B. (2015). The Negative Effect of Organization Culture Could Slow the Usage or the Adoption for the Technology. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 6(9).
Bornay-Barrachina, M. (2019). International Human Resource Management: How Should Employees Be Managed in an International Context? In Managerial Competencies for Multinational Businesses (pp. 174-194). IGI Global.
Cappelli, P., & Tavis, A. (2016). The performance management revolution. Harvard Business Review, 94(10), 58-67.
Chatterjee, A., Pereira, A., & Bates, R. (2018). Impact of individual perception of organizational culture on the learning transfer environment. International Journal of Training and Development, 22(1), 15-33.
Chaudhry, N. I., Jariko, M. A., Mushtaque, T., Mahesar, H. A., & Ghani, Z. (2017). Impact of working environment and training & development on organization performance through mediating role of employee engagement and job satisfaction. European Journal of Training and Development Studies, 4(2), 33-48.
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Dobbin, F., & Kalev, A. (2016). Why diversity programs fail. Harvard Business Review, 94(7), 14.
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Jha, V. (2016). Training and development program and its benefits to employee and organization: A conceptual study. International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology, 2(5), 80-86.
Latham, G., Seijts, G., & Slocum, J. (2016). The goal setting and goal orientation labyrinth. Organizational Dynamics, 45(4), 271-277.
Lloyd, R., & Mertens, D. (2018). Expecting more out of expectancy theory: History urges inclusion of the social context. International Management Review, 14(1), 28-43.
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Qamar, A., & Asif, S. (2016). Performance Management: A Roadmap for Developing Implementing and Evaluating Performance Management Systems. South Asian Journal of Management, 23(2), 150.
Rakowska, A. (2021). From Diversity to Human Resources Diversity Management: An Overview of Concepts. anna rakowska, 11.
Tahiri, A., Kovaci, I., & Krasniqi, A. (2020). Human Resource Management, Performance Management and Employee Performance Appraisal by SME Managers in Kosovo. International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), 8(4), 288-298.