Sample BE462 International Human Resource Management Assignment

BE462 International Human Resource Management Assignment Sample

Assignment Brief

You are expected to write an essay of no more than 2,000 words.
All submissions must be presented in typescript (MS Word format), 12pt, 1.5 line spacing.
Please read the additional notes below carefully.

Assignment Question

A company of your choice is looking into sending an employee to a foreign country.

Your company director is asking to prepare a cross-cultural support package for the employee. This plan should address the following information in a format of your choice:

Part A. The context (500-800 words)

- Identify Business Strategy and Needs (around 200 words)

- Your HR plan must be tied to the overall business plan. Hence you should start off by assessing the goals of your company.

- What will be the company’s goals and objectives for the expatriation?

- What is the nature of the expatriation?

- What will be the product and what is the potential size of the market?

- Is there a demand to justify the internationalisation strategy?

- Country Analysis (recommended word count = around 500 words)

• - Compare the general conditions of both countries (parent and host), including:
• - General values,
• - Political/legal/socio-economic situation
• - Social institutions
• - Standard of living
• - Physical environment

- Job analysis and Job description (recommended word count = around 100 words)

- What is the position required in the foreign country? What are the main skills and experience required to meet the company’s goals and objectives?

Part B. Expatriate’s Cross-cultural Support Package (around 1200-1500 words)

- What will the cross-cultural training involve (around 800 words)? Explain:
- In brief the content
- pedagogical approaches
- duration
- when they will be provided.

- What will the cross-cultural support involve (around 300 words)?
- Why is it important for your particular organisation, and in the particular country context (around 100 words)?

Learning outcomes targeted

Through this assignment students should be able to critically evaluate organisational change in relation to:

- Appraise how national institutional and cultural differences lead to differences in country specific HRM practices and underpin the differing perspectives on HRM

- Exercise judgement regarding the skills required by international managers for the management of cultural diversity.

- Analyse the impact of international businesses on their host countries' systems and evaluate convergence or divergence in HRM practices and approaches.

- Critically review HRM practices in a range of countries, in relation to work and organisational design, employee resourcing, reward and benefit systems, the management of performance, and the professional development of different kinds of employees.

Solution

Introduction

The following study will focus on developing a plan which will aim at developing a package for cultural support in order to prepare an employee from Wesfarmers for a new foreign job location. The home country along with the host country’s analysis will be performed and a brief description of the cross-cultural training plan will also be provided.

Part A

Business Strategy and Needs

Objectives and goals and expatriation

- To support Wesfarmers overseas market-based commercial operations.
- To encourage transparent and ethical human resource development for organisational growth (Wesfarmers, 2022).
- To promote and sell a variety of items produced by Wesfarmers in the United Kingdom.

The above-mentioned objectives are required to enable cross-cultural management, and Wesfarmers' innovation assists them in growing their business from Australia to the United Kingdom market.

Nature of expatriation

The nature of expatriation can be referred to as the support that a company is given in order to conduct business organisation overseas with the same company. This includes the purpose, outcomes, activities during the expatriation process and other contextual factors (Shortland & Perkins, 2022). Given the dynamic changes that occur in every country, these factors may undergo modifications that present a number of obstacles to expatriates.
Company’s product and market size

Figure 1: Revenue graph of Wesfarmers
Source: (Statista, 2022)

The company that is forming the cross-cultural training plan is Wesfarmers and Wesfarmers is a conglomerate organisation. The company mainly deals with building materials, home improvements, technological products, outdoor living and many more (Wesfarmers, 2022). The market size of Wesfarmers in Australia is huge. The company generated a revenue of 30.8 billion and has over 107,000 employees and is the 441st most valuable organisation in the world.

Justification of expatriation strategy

Yes, there is a need for justifying the company’s internationalisation strategy since Wesfarmers operates internationally and every year the company transfers its employees to host countries (Kanstrén & Suutari, 2021). Hence, justifying the internationalisation strategy is important for best assignment help.

Country Analysis

Parent country: Australia

General values: The general values of Australia include fairness, respect, freedom and equal opportunity and maintaining peace, security and prosperity are also prime values of the country.

Political/socio-economic/legal situation: The political situation of Australia is quite stable and Queen Elizabeth the 2nd is the head of the country. The queen is only the head figure while all the main functions are performed by the state government and governor in-general (Coleborne & Dunk, 2022).
Australia is the world's 13th biggest economy. In the year 2017, the GDP increased by over 2% (Welfens & Baier, 2018).

The legal factors of the country include employment laws, regulatory bodies, industry laws, consumer protection laws and many more.

Social institutions: There are various social institutions present in the country such as the health system, education system, aged care system and political system.
Living standard: Australia is one of the countries that have a high living standard (Nguyen & Wang, 2019). There are various job opportunities, well-developed education infrastructure and financial services that help the people of the country live a standard life. Higher standards imply a higher salary and also a greater cost of living.

Physical environment: The physical environment of Australia mainly includes low-lying plateaus with desert, mountain ranges in the south-east and east, south-eastern fertile plains and rangelands.

Host country: United Kingdom

General values: The general values of the United Kingdom include rule of law, democracy, individual liberty, tolerance and respect.

Political/socio-economic/legal situation: The United Kingdom often faces political issues due to the Brexit issue and the aftermath of Brexit (Welfens & Baier, 2018). The businesses in the country are affected by Brexit and trade laws and employment laws in the country also politically affect the country.
The UK is the 20th largest per capita in the world. The business market of the country is also very diverse and it allows for the growth and development of businesses in the country. The GDP of the country is 2.2 trillion which is among the largest GDP in the world. The education and health care systems in the country are also well-developed which offers greater employment opportunities.

Social institutions: The social institutions of the United Kingdom include racecourses, cinemas, theatres, libraries, literary institutions and museums and art galleries (Lust & Rakner, 2018).

Living standard: The UK holds the sixteenth position in the index of quality of life. The infrastructure of the country is well-developed and the country is also a hub for multinational business organisations which provides great employment opportunities.

Physical environment: The physical environment of the United Kingdom includes low mountains and undeveloped hills, and rolling plains on the south-eastern and eastern sides of the country. The country also has a temperate type of climate.

Job analysis and Job description

Wesfarmers intends to relocate its staff to the United Kingdom in order to expand its operations in the business market of the United Kingdom (Wesfarmers, 2022). The employment post of Marketing Assistant and export sales is necessary for this reason.

The following description of talents and experience required to be an exceptional marketing assistant and export salesperson:

- Clear and fluent nonverbal and verbal communication skills.
- Well-developed knowledge and understanding of marketing tools and implementation.
- Teamwork management that is highly integrated and independence and flexibility of work.
- Excellent managerial skills with a thorough understanding of export operations.

Part B

Overview of the cross-cultural training
The cross-cultural training plan is developed in order to prepare the expatriate employee for his new job location in the United Kingdom as Marketing Assistant and Export sales. The plan provided below will help in understanding the entire plan in detail.

Brief overview

In order to develop a goal-oriented and successful training programme that maintains the principles of international HRM, the plan needs to be well-defined and strategic. The plan must provide effective cross-cultural training techniques that aim to enrich the employee’s language, communication and develop cross-cultural awareness (Shepherd, 2019). The plan should also focus on developing the employee’s knowledge regarding courtesy, etiquette and other aspects that will help the employee to better adjust himself to the new country. The following awareness and comprehensive knowledge of these factors are necessary for shaping the employee as the ideal employees for expatriates in the United Kingdom.

Figure 2: Cross-cultural training programme requirements
Source: (Pinterest, 2022)

The most basic prerequisite for employees to acclimate to their new country is a competent communication style. A thorough awareness of communication styles is also required for successful work in the host country.

Management style is critical for good corporate organisation, which is required for long-term growth (Heyes et al., 2020). In the host country, a competent management style offers employees a sense of belonging and expands their knowledge of the company's organisational procedures. During cross-cultural training, the employee must be made aware of the importance of understanding the management styles of the host country.

Monitoring and comprehending this style in the expiate employee will assist them in appropriately supervising notable leadership and management techniques in the new country. With the development of professional communication skills, the employee will be able to effectively work and adapt to the new surroundings (Vare et al., 2019). Effectiveness in communication and fluency in language will help in fostering quality teamwork and collaborative spirit in the employee.

Pedagogical approaches

In a globalisation era management team of the company must apply pedagogical approaches to creative beneficial cross-cultural training programmes for Wesfarmers employees who will be expatriated from the parent nation to the host country.

Behaviouralism: The behaviouralism theory can be applied in the training programme as it effectively describes the correct use of introduction-based and lecture-based learnings in order to effectively implement this training in the expatriate (Levinthal, 2018). The orientation training must be provided to the employee so that the employee can be prepared for the orientation process. The basic cross-cultural skills must be developed in the employee so that the language, non-verbal communication and the culture of the new country can be understood by the employee.

Liberationism: In this method, the employee must be placed at the heart of a democratic atmosphere where all values are combined to generate fresh concepts (El Ashmawi, Sanchez & Carmona, 2018). This method emphasises understanding of diversity, experimental activities, small- and large-group interactions, and theme-based content for Wesfarmers personnel throughout training.

Social Constructivism: This strategy is also used to establish major learning themes and ideas in the social and communal setting (Lombardo & Kantola, 2021). In the case of Wesfarmers, expatriate cross-cultural training is clearly a collaborative activity between the learner and assessors.

Constructivism: Employees will learn through their individual and practical experience, as well as reflection on their job, in this facet of training. It also includes training in unseen pedagogy, which trainees apply in a cross-cultural learning centre (Merve, 2019). Such a constructive approach is particularly productive for Wesfarmers personnel in the United Kingdom, and it aids in project work, critical business operations, and inquiry-based learning. A variety of approaches are included in this strategy for future learning.
Duration

Table 1: Duration of the training programme
Source: (Self-developed)

Deliverables

It is critical to demonstrate to management that cross-cultural knowledge training was completed successfully. This programme additionally promotes excellent outcomes by ensuring communication enablement and diverse cultural understanding.

Cross-cultural support

The training programme contains core cultural understandings as it is crucial for the proper management to set effective interaction between the working teams and the diverse group (Dambi et al., 2018). The company operates internationally and has good experience in preparing employees for a new job location. The company has provided cross-cultural support to various employees and has been quite successful in doing so. The company allows the employees to freely discuss issues that they feel might act as a barrier in the new country. The management team of the company focuses on identifying the aspects where the employee lacks and develops programs that aim to bridge that gap (Giorgi et al., 2020). This significant cross-cultural training programme also aims in developing the professional communication of the employee and enhancing the managerial skill of the employee as well. As a result of these sessions and training, a diverse group of people have the opportunity to collaborate with one another, which ultimately aids in their development. Furthermore, it has explored a variety of managerial methods in this regard. It is necessary for the aforementioned organisation to develop tactics for better implementing this management style.

Importance of cross-cultural training

Cross-cultural training is quite important as it helps in effectively preparing an employee for a new culture and a new job location where he will be promoted to (Setti, Sommovigo &Argentero, 2020). Cross-cultural training helps in developing cross-cultural awareness among employees which helps them easily adjust to a new culture. Multinational organisations often provide cross-cultural training to their employees so that they can have a better understanding of the country, its cultures, language, communication style, etiquette and many more aspects. Cross-cultural training also helps in developing the professional communication skills of the employees which benefits them in better networking with potential business partners. This training also helps employees in understanding the business market of the host country. This not only helps in developing market knowledge and market dynamics understandings, it also helps in the business of the country since the knowledge regarding the host country’s business market can be applied in the business expansion process (Kaihlanen, Hietapakka & Heponiemi, 2019). In addition to this, cross-cultural training also helps in professional development since employees who participate in this training get to know about a completely different business market and they can also develop their skills according to the requirements of business institutions in that specific country.

Conclusion

It can hence be concluded that with the help of this cross-cultural training plan, the expatriate employee will be able to develop cross-cultural awareness and it will also prepare him to get easily adapted to the new surroundings. The training programme will also be helpful in understanding the culture of the United Kingdom better which will also help the employee in mixing well with the new workforce in the United Kingdom.

Reference list