MS-029: International Human Resource Management last 3 yrs paper
June, 2021
Section-A
- (a) Briefly discuss the growing importance of international assignments, and the approaches to the staffing MNCs.
(b) What are the reasons for expatriate failures? Explain the skills required to be successful. Give examples.
- Describe and discuss the role of Training and Development in international context and the set of competencies required for a global mind-set.
- What are the barriers to cross-cultural communication and how can they be reduced in order to be effective and successful in international assignment?
- Explain the role of Trade Unions and International Industrial Relations.
- Write short notes on any three of the following:
(a) Mergers and Acquisitions
(b) Universalism in Leadership
(c) Variables Affecting Expatriate Performance
(d) Culture Shock
(e) Functions of International Human Resource Management
- Read the case given below and answer the questions given at the end:
Wipro Technologies of Bangalore, India, was having trouble persuading German companies to outsource offshore, their chip and software design work of Wipro, until the company hired Walter Ortmueller. The German engineer talks, looks, and thinks like the Indian outsourcer’s prospective clients, and that puts him in a better position than his Indian bosses to overcome common local fears about sending high-tech production and back-office operations halfway around the world to workers who speak a different language. Using a middleman ‘‘from the same country generates automatic trust,’’ says Mr. Ortmueller, whose twenty years of contacts in the industry now help him scout and win clients for Wipro. The company had only two technology-design customers when it found Mr. Ortmueller in March 2003, and a year later had ten, most of which it attributes to having a center in Germany staffed with German engineers.
Outsourcing is finally beginning to crack the European market, once a staffing strategy was added of using a heavy sprinkling of local representatives from the same cultural background as the target clients. ‘‘Local presence was a must for the customers’’ in Europe, says, Sangita Singh, Wipro’s Chief Marketing Officer. European businesses ‘‘want to be sure that their voice can be heard within a large organization the doesn’t have its center of operations in Europe,’’ she says. Using locals also provides ‘‘the cultural and linguistic ties that make the clients smile and helps us build stronger relationships,’’ Ms. Singh adds. Mr. Ortmueller understands, for example, that German businesspeople would rather take a direct and unambiguous ‘‘no’’ response for an answer than receive a delayed response. Germans, he says, also are not as open to bargaining as Indian or U.S. companies are. ‘‘If they don’t like the price, they say ‘thanks’ and call the next provider,’’ he says
Offshore outsourcing is growing dramatically in Europe, although still behind the U.S. pace due to European labour laws that make relocating jobs through offshore outsourcing a long and costly process. To avoid layoffs, many European companies outsource only work and projects that require new hiring. But European businesspersons also are generally more reluctant than Americans to take risks or try out new ideas, Indian outsourcers say. But local hires like Mr. Ortmueller help clients overcome this reluctance. ‘‘Without a local partner, our clients would simply not do outsourcing. We bridge the distance between different geographies that can generate a lot of misunderstandings,’’ says Ortmueller. When Mr. Debjit Chaudhuri first came to Germany in 1999 to open an outsourcing office for India’s Infosys Technologies Ltd., a Bangalore based consulting and IT services firm, German companies ‘‘didn’t know what I was talking about,’’ he says. ‘‘You need to build confidence, trying to keep it as German as possible, while giving you the benefits of outsourcing.”
Mr. Chaudhuri’s office hires Germans for their knowledge of the country’s laws and regulations as well as its markets. It also tends to use locals for face-to-face interactions with German customers to bridge language and cultural differences. Wipro has similar clientdevelopment centers in Sweden, Britain, the Netherlands, and Finland and puts the same emphasis on using locals in each country. The company also has sales offices in eight countries in Europe, and for each, the marketing team is about 90 percent locals, Ms. Singh says, compared with only 30 percent in the U.S. sales offices. She adds that in the United States, where language and cultural differences are less of an issue, the sales staff ‘‘could all be Indian.’’
Questions:
(a) Usually hiring locals is associated with a general multidomestic or polycentric overall strategic approach to international business. Is this the case with Wipro Technologies of Bangalore, India?
(b) How does Wipro’s and other similar companies’ local staffing approach in Europe support company strategy and help achieve competitive advantage?
(c) Why is this local staffing approach to support outsourcing client development so important in Europe compared to the United States? Is this approach necessary in all global operations?
Section-B
December, 2020
Section-A
- (a) Explain the concept of culture and its significance in relation to Global Management.
(b) “Diversified Work Forces bring talents, skills, knowledge, expertise and core competencies and thereby contributing to the competitive advantage of the company”. Discuss
- Briefly discuss the approaches in compensating their expatriate employees and the taxation issues.
- Discuss the issues in International Industrial relations, citing examples.
- Discuss and describe the criteria to be considered in appraising expatriates performance with examples.
- Write short notes on any three of the following:
(i) Talent Management
(ii) Ethical Dilemmas of MNCs
(iii) Characteristics of global mind-set
(iv) Transnational structure of organizations
(v) Cultural Sensitivity
- Read the case given below and answer the questions given at the end:
Since the reform initiative in 1979, the Chinese Government has promoted an aggressive policy of export led growth that has been exceptional gains. Currently China has boasted on overage an eight per cent growth rate since the late 1980s. As the Chinese Government struggler with the adaptation from a central economy to one that is dictated by market forces, they have been under the careful scrutiny of the international community
Many members of GATT and the WTO are somewhat apprehensive when they ponder the thought of a twenty-first century dominated by China. Despite this, many of the current economic powers have attempted to negotiate in an effort to bring China into the ranks of the World Trade Organisation. With China’s accession to a WTO many countries of the world are likely to experience imbalance in their foreign trade, including India. Experts, however, say, these will be short-term implications. In the long-run, consumers of the world as a whole will gain. For nearly fifteen years, China has been seeking entry into the World Trade Organisation. With the successful completion of all bilateral Accession Protocols necessary for membership, in the recently concluded Doha Ministerial Conference (2001), China’s membership to WTO has finally been accepted. For many China’s entry into the WTO is a source of consternation, sparing fear of job losses in domestic home markets. Others worry that such a large, yet still highly regulated economy will disrupt the WTO, an institution committed to the principles of free trade. Politically, China preferred to join WTO to sort its dispute with trade partners rather than to take a bilateral negotiation approach, as the latter is usually vulnerable to political intervention. For example, China has had to obtain the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status from the U. S. on a yearly renewable basis. Despite its success in getting the renewal, China has always been tormented over its poor record in Human Rights and Missile Nonproliferation even as the U.S. Congress inter linked these issues with the renewal of MFN status. By joining the WTO, China hopes to ovoid such conflicts with individual countries under the commonly agreed principles of the WTO and obtain permanent MFN status from its major trade partners. The second political consideration relates to the unification of China. After the handover of Hong Kong and Macao, Taiwan remains as the sole territory that the Chinese Government is committed to integrate with. The membership of both China and Taiwan in the WTO will accelerate these linkages for two main reasons. First membership is almost certain to end Taiwan’s long standing ban on direct shipping and air travel between Taiwan and the mainland. Second Taiwan will have to eliminate important non-tariff barriers on Chinese goods, notably the import ban imposed on a large number of goods of China origin. The increased inter-dependence on each side is likely to facilitate the future peaceful unification of China.
Another political reason is to enhance China and other developing economies’ bargaining power over global trade issues. If China thinks that a drafted rule might handicap its interest or that of developing economies as a whole, it might align with other developing economies, together with Hong Kong and Macao, to veto the agreement. In this way, China hopes to replicate its current influence in the United Nations at the WTO as well.
The determination of the Chinese government to transit China’s highly centralised planning economy into a socialist market economy is also one of the most powerful drivers behind China’s desperate bidding for the WTO.
Finally, China has for a long period believed in an export oriented strategy. Therefore, in order to gain access to world markets. China has been vigorous pursuing the WTO, even if it meant opening up its own markets. Impact on India On the positive side, China’s entry into WTO may provide some relief to the Indian Industry. As a member of WTO, China will have to abide by the multilateral rules and the agreements and make its policies transparent. All these may lessen the anxieties of the Indian industry about infiltration of exceptionally low cost products from China into the Indian market. China is likely to lose several of its existing advantages in the process of being WTO complain. Substantial lowering of tariffs, reduction of subsidies etc., should provide significant opportunities for accessing the Chinese market. Removal of quantitative restrictions (since China is not a country with BOP difficulty) is also expected to widen export opportunities. Further with transparent economic and trade policies, it should be easier for the Indian industry to understand this complicated and vast market, establish their presence and develop long-term strategy.
On the negative side, China’s accession in the WTO has created new challenges for India in the sphere of trade and foreign policy. India will come under increased pressure to further liberalise, particularly because China’s offers on trade liberalisation go well beyond India. Chinese entry into WTO is also likely to create impact on some sectors of India industry as under:
1. On manufacturing China has developed an excellent competency over Indian industries. Further India cannot impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports without discretion.
2. In Textile Sector, China will capture India’s market share in the EU and other countries because of their much higher productivity.
3. Indian Auto Industry also, more particularly 2 wheeler industry will get adversely affected for China’s relative cost advantage. For example, China can manufacture scooters for as little as $100.
Following Indian companies to reap the advantage of post-Doha conference and subsequent China’s accession to WTO decided to set up joint venture with Chinese Companies:
1. Bajaj Auto Ltd.
2. Ajanta Clocks
3. Videocon
Overall, its fell by various trade associations and confederation of Indian Industry that trade between China and India will increase after China’s accession to WTOQuestions:
(i) On reading the news about accession of China to WTO, your Organisation, an internationally well known name in manufacturing of white goods, who had just two years’ before started operation in India decide to relocate its manufacturing base in China. Discuss the likely benefits your organisation can reap out of this move. What are likely problems your organisation may encounter in such move?
(ii) What would be the macro level impact on Indian economy with China’s accession to WTO? As a President of a Trade Association (dealing with textiles) what would be your role to protect the interest of your affiliated units.
(iii) On what count, you may consider China’s entry to WTO is a boon to India?
Section-B
June, 2020
Section-A
- Describe the importance of Business Ethics and discuss the ethical dilemas MNCs face with relevant examples.
- What is Global Compensation Management? Describe different approaches to compensate expatriate employees for MNCs.
- What type of the strategies to be formulated for licensing and franchising to enter foreign markets? Illustrate with an example.
- Briefly discuss cultural differences and similarities and explain the strategies for dealing with cultural differences.
- Write short notes on any three of the following:
(a) Global trends in training and development
(b) Cross-cultural differences in leadership
(c) Expatriate performance management
(d) Geo-centric approach
(e) Managing diversity
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Backgorund Information
On a summer’s day in 2008, Charles RamozRamirez was chairing a meeting of the six most senior employees of the HR consultancy he established almost five years ago. His decision to establish the consultancy was an extremely difficult one for him, as he held a senior, wellpaid, and secure position as an HR executive within an MNC based in New York. This HR position within the MNC involved training and developing professional executive staff such as engineers and project managers to undertake overseas assignments mainly in Spanish speaking countries of South America.
At this meeting with his senior staff, Charles reminded them about the history of the consultancy for which they now work. He reminded them thdt there were two main reasons which underpinned his decision to leave the employment of the MNC and set up the consultancy business. First, he found himself being invited to deliver, on an increasingly frequent basis, specialised training sessions on expatriate programmes organized be independent training organizations and even other MNCs. He concluded from the frequency of these requests that there was a scarcity of HR Professionals who possessed genuine expertise in preparing US executives for assignments in Mexico. Second, he did not agree with his HR director’s view of expatriate training which was very much a case of ‘send them and see’. That is, his HR director did not doubt that pre-departure training for expatriates was helpful but she did not see it as a critical success factor. Charles’s view was that pre-departure training of expatrisites was not just helpful; he saw it as a prerequisite for any overseas assignment no matter what its duration. His belief in the value of pre- departure training thus became a key operating principle of the CRR Expatriate Development consultancy organization which he formed on the day he left the employment of the MNC. In essence, Charles established a consultancy which aimed to design and deliver in-house predeparture training programmes for employees of US MNCs who would be taking up assignments. in Spanish-speaking countries in South America.
The approach by the MNC: problems with employees pre-departure training After reminding his senior staff of how the consultancy, came into being, Charles explained to them that a recent event had served to convince him that the emphasis he placed on the training of expatriates was fully justified. Charles informed them that he had recently been approached by the current HR director of the MNC which had previously employed him. (The previous HR director for whom Charles worked had retired approximately two years ago.) The current HR director told Charles that, over the last 12 months, the senior management of the MNC had become increasingly concerned about the general failure of its expatriate workforce to adjust to life in Mexico. As a result, the HR department had commissioned an independent training needs analysis. Part of this analysis was based on responses from 40 engineers who had returned home in the last two years from assignments in Mexico. Charles proceeded to inform his staff about the findings of this analysis which were supplied to him by the HR director of the MNC
The independent analysis provided a fascinating insight into the pie-departure training that the 40 employees had received. Notably, only 25 of them had received any formal pre-departure training at all. Subsequent investigations revealed no obvious explanation as to why the remaining 15 staff had received no formal training. Further, when the MNC’s training records were examined, the Elbowed that the duration of the training received by the 25 staff varied tremendously (see Table 1.)
Table 1: Length pre-departure training received by the 25 employees:
Again, organizational records offered no obvious explanation as to why these 25 employees received training which varied so much in terms of duration.
The training needs analysis document proceeded to report further information about the nature of the pre-departure training received by the group of 25 employees. The 25 employees experienced various pre-departure training methods such as lectures and tutorials including basic language classes, access to online material about Mexico, and cultural awareness workshops delivered by an outside training agency. Prior to their assignments, four of the 25 employees were offered the opportunity to undertake seven day field visits to Mexico. These visits enabled them to meet colleagues already based in Mexico and to visit organizations and places in Mexico that were linked to their assignments. The variation in the pre-departure training received by the 25 employees made it difficult to evaluate the employees’ views about the effectiveness of the pre-departure training they had received. Some anecdotal evidence presented in the analysis did, however, indicate that seven employees who accessed online training material found it to be of little value in terms of cultural preparation for their assignments.
Finally, with an eye on fault training, the 40 employees who had returned from assignments in Mexico were asked to identifY the two biggest challenges that they had faced when working in Mexico. A summary of their responses to this question is presented in Table 2.
Biggest Challenge Number of employees citing this challenge Communication problems with local Workers 28 Technical issues relating to their work 15 Travelling within Mexico 10 Health and diet issues 10 Accomodation issues/td> 6 Loneliness/boredom 4 safety icluding crime 3 Pressure from family in U.S.A. 2 Other challenges cited by only 1 employee 2 *Total number of responses is 80, that. is, two responses per employee.
The implications of the analysis
At this point of the meeting, Charles revealed to his team that, on reading the fairly scathing independent report on pre-departure training, the Board of Directors of the MNC reached the conclusion that training for employees undertaking assignments in Mexico was a priority issue. The members of the Board decided that they wanted to bring in an external consultancy with real expertise in this itea. It was opportune that the independent Investigation into current training arrangements had unearthed a number of documents in which Charles, during the time he was employed by the MNC, had expressed his concern with the training that employees were receiving to prepare them for their overseas assignments. It was quickly established that Charles had left the MNC in order to open a consultancy specializing in this very issue. Charles then informed his colleagues: The HE director of the MNC is commissioning CRR Expatriate Development to design and facilitate a 10-day long pre-departure programme for 30 engineers and project manager who will be taking up medium term (that is, six months to one year) assignments in Mexico over the next year. Using the information we already have from the independent analysis, I want us to put together an initial draft of what this training programme should look likeQuestions: (a) Assume that you are a member of the senior team of CRR Expatriate Development, highlight what you think should be included in the content of the new 10-day pre-departure programme for the 30 engineers and project managers.
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(b) What necessary element you think are essential for this programme and why?
(c) What should be length of the programme interms of its diration and why?
Section-B
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