Question

Scenario: Jorge, as the global team manager, was hired to manage some new global teams for AlternativeSource Inc. (ASI), an alternative-energy company implementing wind, solar, and water-generated energy systems throughout the globe. Jorge had worked previously for a gas exploration company in North America, so he simply hired many of his previous company’s employees who had worked for him at the gas exploration company. Jorge deployed the teams along with their families to work with Indian nationals and clients in India. Since India is such a large country, although there is some autonomy for the teams, all decisions were made by Jorge and then subsequently communicated with the teams. After 5 months in the field, the teams are not performing well. The team members are frustrated by what they termed as internal conflicts and “the clients’ lack of cooperation,” and their families seemed to be unhappy in the new environment. The ASI executive management team is beginning to ask questions not only regarding the team’s performance but also regarding the hiring process used. ASI has an employee handbook saying that the company hires people based on abilities from a diverse pool of candidates that also represent their diversity of global clients. After completing your chapter reading and reviewing the Learning Activity regarding culture and global human resource management (HRM), address the following checklist items.

● Describe the problems you discern in this situation from the brief facts provided.

● Describe how the global teams in India are managed versus how they should be managed.

● Apply global HRM concepts from your reading to the hiring of the teams.

● If you had been Jorge, how would you have applied all of the cultural adaptation concepts from your Reading and Learning Activities areas that would fit this scenario at the outset to help the team members and their families be successful in adjusting to India?

Please address all four bullet points :)

Answer 1

Q-1: Describe the problems you discern in this situation from the brief facts provided.

A: The problems that can be discerned in this situation from the brief facts provided are threefold:

i) The teams hired by Jorge were from the gas exploration business and not the alternative-energy one. So, there could have been a mismatch in job profile and competencies.

ii) These employees selected were based on Jorge's personal recommendations and were his ex colleagues so he hired them based on familiarity and loyalty and not necessarily hired on the basis merit and due process leading to perceptions of nepotism in the recruitment process.

iii) These teams were based in North America and deployed across India. It is not mentioned that they were provided training in cultural diversity and social customs in India before being expatriated or deployed in India. This could lead to culture shock and conflict in style of working. India is a pluralistic society with a complex social order characterized by a multitude of ethnic, linguistic, religious and caste divisions.

Q-2: Describe how the global teams in India are managed versus how they should be managed.

A: Global teams in India are provided with a lot of autonomy and flexibility due to the complex social structures and diversity as compared to North America. However, in this case, all decisions were made by Jorge and then subsequently communicated with the teams giving very little scope for autonomy to the Indian senior management team showing little faith and confidence in them. This led to an unwarranted and undesirable situation after 5 months in the field, where the teams were not performing well. The team members were frustrated by what they termed as internal conflicts and the clients’ lack of cooperation.

Q-3: Apply global HRM concepts from your reading to the hiring of the teams.

A: The AlternativeSource Inc. (ASI) has an employee handbook saying that the company hires people based on abilities from a diverse pool of candidates that also represent their diversity of global clients. In this case, Jorge in his capacity as the global team manager entrusted to manage some new global teams had violated the due process by not complying with it leading to an unwarranted and undesirable situation after 5 months in the field, where the teams were not performing well. The team members were frustrated by what they termed as internal conflicts and the clients’ lack of cooperation. Thus, the global HRM concepts to the hiring of the teams from the reading are people should be hired based on abilities from a diverse pool of candidates that also represent their diversity of global clients especially since India is a pluralistic society having a complex social order client management was necessary.

Q-4: If you had been Jorge, how would you have applied all of the cultural adaptation concepts from your Reading and Learning Activities areas that would fit this scenario at the outset to help the team members and their families be successful in adjusting to India?

A: First and foremost, it would have been best to follow the ASI company's employee handbook which says that the company hires people based on abilities from a diverse pool of candidates that also represent their diversity of global clients. It is paramount to comply with company policy and rules so that there is no fallout in the future for the individual Jorge's sake as well as the company and its clients sakes. Had Jorge implemented the hiring process as laid down in the company's employee handbook, he may not have gone wrong since he would have brought in the correct talent pool based on a meritorius system instead of one steeped in nepotism. These meritorious employees should have first been trained and conversant in Indian customs and culture before being deployed / expatriated so that they would be aware of cultural differences and different working styles of local teams and local/regional clients attitudes and expectations so that these teams and their families would have been able to successfully adjust in India. In India, business is built on rapport and relationships with personal contact established and maintained with clients and employees rather than just running the business solely rules and procedures. Further, empowering local teams would have lead to better adaptability in decision making better employee and client relations. These meritorious employees should have first been trained and conversant in Indian customs and culture before being deployed / expatriated so that they would be aware of cultural differences and different working styles of local teams and local/regional clients attitudes and expectations so that these teams and their families would have been able to successfully adjust in India.