Managing Diversity And International Performance: A Case Study Of No Name Aircrafts

Managing Diversity at Workplace

Discuss about the Human Resource Management in Global Economy for Culture.

The aim of this essay is to provide a brief introduction about the human resource activities initiated in the external environment. In the current environment, it is becoming difficult for the companies to implement their activities in such a way that growth is achieved in the international market. Specifically it is becoming difficult for the international companies to organize their activities and attain competence. Also, these problems increase with the increase in the activities of the organization in global environment. Cross cultural management is the biggest issue that is being recognized by the companies in the current business scenario. The essay explains the case study of ‘No Name’ aircrafts, the company is headquartered in Australia and it has its subsidiaries in China, Singapore and Vietnam. The CEO of the company is concerned about their decreasing profits. The company fails to manage the diversity challenges present in the environment. Also, the organization in unable to manage the international performance. The international performance of a company can only be managed when the top level managers initiate activities according to the environment in which they are, but quite differently the aircraft operates same rules and guidelines for all the subsidiaries of the company that distress the employees. Further, talking about the aspect of training and development in the company it should be noted that inefficiency of human resource management team makes it difficult for the company to sustain the employees; also there is no systematic workforce planning system in the organization that makes it difficult for the employees to survive (Bader, Schuster, & Dickmann, 2015).

Further, the below mentioned essay provides information about the international activities of the aircrafts and issues faced by it. It explains the challenging issues faced by the company like, diversity management, international performance management, training and development of employees. Furthermore, the essay also provides some recommendations to the aircrafts in order to improve their current business activities. The essay explains the issues faced by the aircrafts in above mentioned cases. By gaining information about the case study, the below mentioned essay explains various theories related to the case. The case also helps in analyzing that the aircrafts is not working well in the industry, it is facing lack of organizational profits due to inefficiency of the management to perform various functions in international market. More details about the essay are discussed below:

Resource-based Theory of Diversity Management

Diversity at workplace refers to the activity initiated by the human resource management of the company with an aim to employ people coming from different parts of the world in the organization. With the increasing competition present worldwide, it has become important for organizations to diversify the workplace environment and gain competence as well. Diversity can act as tool for organization to attract employees as well customers in the business of aircrafts. However, as diversity helps in integrating the business activities and succeeding in the market, it also provides some negative impacts to the organization. One of the biggest negative effects of diversity is management of workplace. People coming from different backgrounds feel awkward and difficult in adjusting themselves in diverse environment (Deresky, 2017). The HR management of the company is unable to maintain positive effect of diversity in the environment due to which employees create disputes and leave the organization. This acts as a negative impact on the position of the organization in the global environment.

The resource based theory of diversity management states that there are four resources of the organization namely financial capital, physical capital, human capital, corporate capital. These resources can either assist of adversely affect to the growth of organization (Al Ariss, & Sidani, 2016). According to this theory organizations that make use of more diverse resources under the given four categories tend to earn more in the competitive market than other homogenous organization. The diversified organizations practice innovation that helps them in sustaining their growth in the international market. In addition to which, the organizational culture theory explains that values and behavior of employees contributes to success of the organization. It helps the company in managing the workplace environment and earning efficiency as well (Farndale, et. al., 2017).

Relating it to the aircraft company, it should be noted that the company has although employed diversifies workforce in the organization but they are unable to manage them efficiently. The company faces many issues in the organization like, communication at workplace, negativity in the environment, resistance of employees, believe in near is good enough policy etc. Firstly, it should be noted that if an organization uses the policy of diversity in the organization then they should take adequate measure to apply it correct otherwise it can adversely affect in image of the organization (Gannon, Roper, & Doherty, 2015). The company is unable to carry forward their information due to ineffective communication, as the culture and background expatriates is different due to which they are unable to understand the information conveyed by Australian employees. Differences in background and thinking create disputes in the organization that leads to negative environment (Beugré, 2017). The staff resists to initiate good changes in the organization resulting to which the company is unable to improve the quality of products and services that they serve. This aspect is affecting the overall organizational profits. Thus, it should be noted that the company should understand the importance of culture and diversity and then only initiate activities in such a way that the customers along with the organization are satisfied with the activities of the company and do not think of leaving it (Kang, & Shen, 2017).

Organizational Culture Theory

Managing the performance of the employees and rewarding them accordingly is one of the most important ways to keep them happy. The company needs to initiate adequate measures related to the performance appraisal method of the employees so as to reduce the employee turnover rate of the company. Manpower is the biggest asset of the organization, thus the management should be liable to keep them satisfied so as to initiate organizational success. Further, the performance management team of the organization effectively helps the top level management in identifying the work done by every employee of the company and rewarding them accordingly. The reward can be in the form of monetary as well non-monetary. It should also be noted that an international organization faces many challenges in the environment while initiating the process of performance appraisal in the organization (Reiche, Stahl, Mendenhall, & Oddou, 2016).

The company also incurs huge cost while initiating this method. According to the behavioral management theory, the managers need to treat the employees as their asset and they should treat them equally. In this way management can satisfy the employees by fulfill their needs. Further, the rating scale method of employee performance management explain that the company consist of several numerical scales that represents job related to the performance aspects such as output, initiating, dependability, accountability, attendance etc. (Sung, & Choi, 2014). The total numeric sore of each employee is calculated on the basis of which conclusion is made in the organization. Each person is given to scale between excellent to poor. On the basis of this score only the employees are being incentivized in the organization. The advantage of this approach is that it can be easily adopted by company and provides an accurate result related to the performance of the employees of the organization. Lastly, it should be noted that this aspect removes the biasness present in the environment (Vigneau, Humphreys, & Moon, 2015).

Relating this theory of performance management to the given case of Aircraft Company, it should be noted that the company do not hold any system related to the performance management and appraisal of the employees of the company (Carinci, et. al., 2015). As international performance is closely connected to the international performance appraisal but sadly the organization is lacking this type of facility in their system. The company is placed in the international market but it does not have any formal performance appraisal system for rewarding the expatriates (Vaiman, & Brewster, 2015). The Australian branch of the company uses an ad hoc approach of reviewing the employee hat does not consider the economic conditions of the environment in which subsidiaries are placed. The employee feels pressure because the company aims to follow the same decision for subsidiaries irrespective of the differences present in environmental conditions. Resulting to which, the company fails to satisfy the employees by rewarding them optimally. The organization should use adequate measures that easily identify the work done by the employees and provide them monetary as well as non-monetary incentives accordingly. This will reduce the conflicting performance outcomes (Welch, & Björkman, 2015).

Managing Performance of Employees

Training and development is another most important aspect of the international organization. With the help of this process the expatriates learn to work in the organization properly. The companies present in the international market now days spend more than half of their income on the process of training and development. As employees are the biggest asset of the company so if organization will invest on improving their biggest asset then it will ultimately help them to survive in international market. Training and development is the learning phase under which the employees gain information about the image, history and future prospects of the company. This aspect helps the company in molding those expatriates according to their organizational requirements. Also, it should be noted that the process of training and development helps the employees in mixing with other employees of the organization. This process helps them in getting close to each other (Aguinis, & Kraiger, 2009).

Further, it should be noted that it is not easy to train the employees according to their requirements. As all the employees belongs to different backgrounds and cultures so conflicts might arise in the organization with cultural activities of one employee overlap the cultural activities of another employee. Also, it should be noted that in an international organization different employees have different opinions about activities. One person might agree to one activity while other employee’s opinion might differ (Barak, 2016). So, this issue can raise difference among employees. Furthermore, it should be noted that cognitivism theory states that the manager should focus improving the mental health of the employees than improving the physical actions. Improvement in mental abilities will help the employees to think strategically ad act according. Apart from that the connectivism theory states that there many ways of learning in an organization. The employees can use free online courses, chats, conferences etc. to learn and train themselves according to the activities prevailing in the environment of other subsidiary company. But, the employees should be keen enough to learn not like in the given case of aircrafts (Lopez-Valeiras, Gomez-Conde, & Naranjo-Gil, 2015).

The organization has inefficient training system under which they are unable to train expatriates properly resulting to which they have started leaving the jobs. The HR manager is the one who is responsible for initiating such activities. But there is no strict decorum for implementing training programs in the organization. Resulting to which, the employees feel stressed while working in a diverse environment. The expatriates struggle hard to sustain their activities in diverse environment (Brouthers, Nakos, & Dimitratos, 2015). They face difficult in surviving their growth in different environment. In order to training the employees properly, the company needs to prepare a systematic workforce development program to train the employees and help them adopt the policies and procedures of the organization. Further, it should be noted that unlike the given organization, the international organizations should implement a formal plan that should include all the important details that the employees should know in order to train themselves with the activities of the company (Greene, & Kirton, 2015).

Behavioral Management Theory

Conclusion and Recommendations

Thus, in the limelight of above mentioned events, it should be noted that there are many issues faced by the company in the international environment. Initially, the essay explained about diversity and culture management and theories related to it. Further, it explains international performance management and lastly training and development. All three aspects play huge importance in helping international organizations in succeeding in tough market conditions. Further, it should be noted that in the current environment, it has become tough for the company to survive easily without performing excellent in the target market. The companies need to initiate effective human resource management techniques otherwise they will start losing their organizational profits like in the given case of the Airlines. The company needs to manage diversification activities, initiate performance management programs and train and develop the employees adequately in order to maintain the level of optimum profits in the environment. In this way they can easily sustain their growth in the environment. Further, below mentioned are some of the recommendations given to the company with the help of which they can sustain their activities in the international environment.

The company should use the facility of diversity properly. There are two different types of organizations present in the environment one in homogenous and the other one is innovative organization. The homogenous organization does not earn well because they do not have diversification in its activities. But if an organization initiates the activity of diversification then they should adequately address the issues related to it and solve them. The company should not lose its efficiency in order to initiate diversity. They should adequately manage different types of cultures present in the environment. No employee should feel cultural while working with the organization. Cultural shock will reduce the willingness of a person to work effectively in diverse environment. Thus, they should address the diverse issues related to the employees and aim to solve them (Rice, & White, 2015).  

Further, with respect to the international performance management and appraisal procedure, the company should adequately use the system that address the economical differences present in different parts of the world and allow the company to work accordingly. The company should procedures that understand the cost of living for people at different cities and other economic issues and then appraise the employees accordingly. For instance, if cost of living in China is costlier than Vietnam, then the company should not appraise the employees at same pay scale; instead they should promote the employee living in China with higher pay scale so that they can easily fulfill their basic requirements in China. The company should prepare a single format that all the subsidiaries should follow according to differential conditions resent in the environment.

Rating Scale Method of Performance Management

Training is the most important aspect that helps an expatriate to initially survive in the organization and development helps them to sustain their activities in the organization. So, the company should convince the existing employees to train the expatriates (Hornstein, 2015). This process will initiate friendliness in the organization and help the employees to interact easily in the organization. This process will also collaborate both types of employees in the organization and help the expatriate to learn from the experienced people of the company.

Thus, by using these approaches the company can regain their position in the market.

References

Aguinis, H., & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of training and development for individuals and teams, organizations, and society. Annual review of psychology, 60, 451-474.

Al Ariss, A., & Sidani, Y. (2016). Comparative international human resource management: Future research directions. Human Resource Management Review, 26(4), 352-358.

Bader, B., Schuster, T., & Dickmann, M. (2015). Special issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management: Danger and risk as challenges for HRM: how to manage people in hostile environments.

Barak, M. E. M. (2016). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage Publications.

Beugré, C. D. (2017). Role of International Organizations. In Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa(pp. 81-89). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

Brouthers, K. D., Nakos, G., & Dimitratos, P. (2015). SME entrepreneurial orientation, international performance, and the moderating role of strategic alliances. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 39(5), 1161-1187.

Carinci, F., Van Gool, K., Mainz, J., Veillard, J., Pichora, E. C., Januel, J. M., … & Haelterman, M. (2015). Towards actionable international comparisons of health system performance: expert revision of the OECD framework and quality indicators. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 27(2), 137-146.

Deresky, H. (2017). International management: Managing across borders and cultures. Pearson Education India.

Farndale, E., Raghuram, S., Gully, S., Liu, X., Phillips, J. M., & Vidovi?, M. (2017). A vision of international HRM research. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(12), 1625-1639.

Gannon, J. M., Roper, A., & Doherty, L. (2015). Strategic human resource management: Insights from the international hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 47, 65-75.

Greene, A. M., & Kirton, G. (2015). The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical approach. Routledge.

Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291-298.

Kang, H., & Shen, J. (2017). International Performance Appraisal Policies and Practices. In International Human Resource Management in South Korean Multinational Enterprises (pp. 113-140). Springer, Singapore.

Lopez-Valeiras, E., Gomez-Conde, J., & Naranjo-Gil, D. (2015). Sustainable innovation, management accounting and control systems, and international performance. Sustainability, 7(3), 3479-3492.

Reiche, B. S., Stahl, G. K., Mendenhall, M. E., & Oddou, G. R. (Eds.). (2016). Readings and cases in international human resource management. Taylor & Francis.

Rice, M. F., & White, H. L. (2015). The multiple dimensions of diversity and culture. In Diversity and Public Administration(pp. 11-31). Routledge.

Sung, S. Y., & Choi, J. N. (2014). Do organizations spend wisely on employees? Effects of training and development investments on learning and innovation in organizations. Journal of organizational behavior, 35(3), 393-412.

Vaiman, V., & Brewster, C. (2015). How far do cultural differences explain the differences between nations? Implications for HRM. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(2), 151-164.

Vigneau, L., Humphreys, M., & Moon, J. (2015). How do firms comply with international sustainability standards? Processes and consequences of adopting the global reporting initiative. Journal of Business Ethics, 131(2), 469-486.

Welch, D., & Björkman, I. (2015). The place of international human resource management in international business. Management International Review, 55(3), 303-322.