Essay On Global Management

 

Expatriates are the employees of organizations in one nation who are assigned to work with other nations on short as well as long term business projects. Therefore expatriates are responsible for assigning the organizations in establishing their respective business functions and operations in other nations, thereby transferring required skills and knowledge to the organizations and other business partners involved (Bebenroth, 2022). This experience assists the organization in developing the overall management skill base thereby maintaining the ability to succeed within a global marketplace. Expatriation of managerial as well as technical knowledge has been a practice of different multinational organizations as these organizations usually operate in branches globally where skills and knowledge could be shared to develop and enhance the operational efficiency (McNulty et al.,2019). Thus, it becomes imperative for the multinational corporation to prepare a group of skilled employees to take up roles and responsibilities in a specific branch (Kour & Jyoti, 2021). This essay discusses the challenges associated with working as well as living globally and identifies how the team could be prepared to effectively lead and manage virtually in the Singapore branch from the Melbourne location. The essay also discusses how effusively the team could be managed and motivated and what strategies could be implemented to make sure a smooth transition of the team in the new nation takes place.

 

a. Challenges in understanding work expectations and requirements: working along with an international team (Singaporean team in this case) has its unique challenges. This is primarily because the Singaporean team would have their own culture as well as past experience of working and it becomes difficult for ex-pats (from Melbourne) to understand the same in the initial stages. It also became difficult for the ex-pat to go beyond personalities and aim at the results directly. This causes delays and misinterpretations resulting in the ineffective performance of the ex-pat. 

 

 

b. Difficulties in adjusting to different  business cultures: an ex-pat (from Melbourne) might not be able to fit with his working style in Singapore and might not suitably fit with the local business teams in the initial phases (Sakolnakorn, 2019). Thus, understanding as well as learning a new business culture could be exceptionally challenging. In addition to this, if the ex-pat is not flexible and does not have an open mind, it would become more challenging for the ex-pat to live and work in the new nation and take up hoi responsibilities accordingly. 

 

 

c. Language barriers:  this is one of the most common and critical challenges that ex-pats encounter while living and working globally is issues of the language barrier. Language barriers make communicating with the locals difficult and cause conflicts if misinterpreted or misunderstood (Bond-Barnard, Fletcher &Steyn, 2018). This might directly impact the productivity of the team as a language barrier would impact the overall communication of the team and prevent team members from understanding each other. As a consequence, this block or challenge among the ex-pat and the local members might significantly distort effective communication thereby hampering the performance of the team and the organization as a whole.

 

In order to prepare the team in the correct way to operate in different nations, the following ideas could be implemented for tackling the challenges encountered. These include:

 

a. Using the right tools: it is imperative for the organization to make sure that the team to be prepared for the global operations has a specific and effective infrastructure (Brett, Behfar & Kern,2020). Tools like instant messaging software, project  management tools video conferring software and shared drives could be used for easily communicating and sharing progress with the entire team. Thus, with these effective and right tools, the productivity of the global team could be increased with the increment in the team’s efficiency.

 

b. Being culturally aware and considerate: while working with a global team, it is imperative for the leaders to prepare the team in such a way that it is capable of recognizing the cultural differences of the employees, hence, every member of the team must be aware of the time difference, differences in cultural holidays, religions, practices, and languages of each other and be sensitive to this fact thereby willing to compromise to some extent (Guang & Charoensukmongkol, 2020).

 

 

c. Managing fluency and language gap: good communication among ex-pats and local employees is responsible for driving effective knowledge sharing, decision making, ultimately, and coordination and performance results. However, while going to work in a global team and in different nations, it is imperative to prepare the team on the basis of fluency levels with the chosen common language (that is spoken in Singapore). Encouraging individuals within the team and the new ex-pat to routinely ask if others are following them could help in marginalizing this challenge and enable efficiency of team work. 

 

 

Every individual undergoing the transition process is required to understand the patterns and ways that would be followed for a smooth transition to a completely new place (Kai Liao et al., 2021). Thus, implementing different strategies in order to make sure that the transition of the team is smooth in the new nation (here Singapore) is important. These include:

 

a. Embracing streamlined onboarding: setting up an automated employee an onboarding process will allow the team to acquire more relevant information from the employee’s application to flow smoothly into the payroll and other different regions and aspects of the organizational system upon going to the new place (Cai et al., 2019).

 

 

This would also enable the organization in setting up the overall processes thereby making sure that the new team members are ready to start learning their respective responsibilities along with key elements of their work.

 

 

b. Connect with other ex-pats: every organization operates in a globalized world and ex-pats communities are evolving worldwide at a very rapid pace. Thus, finding other ex-pats and international groups that assist foreign communities is imperative and will enable a smooth transition of the team members while working in the new nation. Integrating with ex-pat groups might assist in gaining cultural knowledge of the new place specifically during the initial phases and will also allow the team in interchanging views as well as ideas with individuals coming from other places. 

 

 

c. Delegating tasks to different team members: delegating different portions of the training to different members of the team and scheduling for task transition could also enable an effective flow of information and operation within the new team and in the new place (Guang & Charoensukmongkol, 2020). This would also help in incentivizing the departing employees to be responsible for successful transitions. 

 

a. Building a visual scoreboard: building a visual scoreboard that demonstrates the team as well as individual progress and motivates employees to attain their respective goals is imperative and recommended (Steers, Nardon & Sanchez-Runde, 2017). Organizations can also use analytics and graphics for conveying the monthly or weekly progress by making use of modern applications that could help the managers and leaders in assigning tasks and collaboration successfully thereby managing and handling global assignments. 

 

 

b. Leveraging the power of technology: leaders and managers could implement different digital solutions available for facilitating the online collaboration efforts thereby making it easier to build online communities thereby conducting virtual meetings unlike earlier. This would enable the employees in participating in different work activities and accomplish the goals and tasks assigned thereby engaging them in a better manner. 

 

 

c. Encouraging a growth mindset: in order to manage and handle the team while working on a global assignment, it is imperative to encourage the team members for personal as well as professional growth opportunities (Nurmi & Koroma, 2020). Adopting a growth mindset irrespective of the positions would help the members in learning and growing bot at the same time. Establishing a learning culture within the team thereby motivating employees to test their respective limits and learn new skills to grow professionally is also recommended.

 

Successful repatriation needs proper planning as well as a mutual understanding of both the employees returning and the organization. Hence, demonstrating to participants that the organization is highly committed to their professional development will help in making sure that ex-pat prospects are comfortable in accepting the global assignment (Van Kampen & Kirkham, 2020). Thus, in order to effectively manage the returning employees to the Melbourne location, it is imperative that the organization emphasizes on offering ongoing support on regular basis. Organizations can also enable transition consoling that could help counter the negative cultural shock resulting in upfront repatriation.

 

Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that expatriation of managerial as well as technical knowledge has been a practice of different multinational organizations as these organizations usually operate in branches globally where skills and knowledge could be shared to develop and enhance the operational efficiency. Thus, it becomes imperative for the multinational corporation to prepare a group of skilled employees to take up roles and responsibilities in a specific branch.

 

Bebenroth, R. (2022). Adjustment of Expatriates’ Work Practices during the Covid-19 Pandemic (No. DP2021-13). https://www.rieb.kobe-u.ac.jp/academic/ra/dp/English/DP2021-13.pdf 

 

 

Bond-Barnard, T. J., Fletcher, L., &Steyn, H. (2018). Linking trust and collaboration in project teams to project management success. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJMPB-06-2017-0068/full/html

 

 

Brett, J., Behfar, K., & Kern, M. (2020). Managing multicultural teams. In Organizational Collaboration (pp. 155-164). Routledge.https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315881201-17/managing-multicultural-teams-jeanne-brett-kristin-behfar-mary-kern

 

 

Cai, W., Lysova, E. I., Khapova, S. N., &Bossink, B. A. (2019). Does entrepreneurial leadership foster creativity among employees and teams? The mediating role of creative efficacy beliefs. Journal of Business and Psychology, 34(2), 203-217.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10869-018-9536-y

 

 

Guang, X., & Charoensukmongkol, P. (2020). The effects of cultural intelligence on leadership performance among Chinese expatriates working in Thailand. Asian Business & Management, 1-23. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/64460694/The%20efects%20of%20cultural%20intelligence%20on%20leadership%20performance%20among%20Chinese%20expatriates-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1654433725&Signature=YiovgTd8WQ~kDxXezafAVOrV1xxLDQUBmFDllIFJDQvCfgxVrVUxoBE9VJuXclC0mLYq1P30bYhSk7a3AqhOJlJ2k~ojVXa3W1vM2IfiF9fppnRsqt2naPnhO5M7yiIa78~JG5PRshGkd7aEh1UT3zC~GnEgAnOkpvJ~KvyTIEM-0VRqovtmm4qGJPTa6aqxsDg9qoI7n8diqwjhmPNegKF7qkCwHKeKk0etV3QKUEmz23vrL8WH42xu6kb3vcLueRdAtlpyCp5d7zZTM7lpzv5-n9XTQb8SBK-Tx2h58XoLys8gPz5HWIuyay9IG-95bLYnA4NcHUsJpKGTi4nNgQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA  

 

 

Kai Liao, Y., Wu, W. Y., Dao, T. C., & Ngoc Luu, T. M. (2021). The influence of emotional intelligence and cultural adaptability on cross-cultural adjustment and performance with the mediating effect of cross-cultural competence: A study of expatriates in Taiwan. Sustainability, 13(6), 3374. https://doi.org/10.3390/su 13063374

 

 

Kour, S., & Jyoti, J. (2021). Cross-cultural training and adjustment through the lens of cultural intelligence and type of expatriates. Employee Relations: The International Journal. https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/189979123/McNulty_2019_Highway_to_hell.pdf 

 

 

McNulty, Y., Lauring, J., Jonasson, C., & Selmer, J. (2019). Highway to Hell? Managing expatriates in crisis. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research. https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/189979123/McNulty_2019_Highway_to_hell.pdf 

 

 

Nurmi, N., &Koroma, J. (2020). The emotional benefits and performance costs of building a psychologically safe language climate in MNCs. Journal of World Business, 55(4), 101093.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951620300213

 

 

Sakolnakorn, T. P. N. (2019). Problems, obstacles, challenges, and government policy guidelines for Thai migrant workers in Singapore and Malaysia. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 40(1), 98-104.https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/kjss/article/view/235382

 

 

Steers, R. M., Nardon, L., & Sanchez-Runde, C. J. (2017). Management Across Cultures. Cambridge University Press.https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=smoDEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=(Steers,+R.M.,+Nardon,+L.+%26amp%3B+Sanches+Runde,+C.J.+2017.+Management+Across+Cultures:+Developing+global+competencies,+(3rd+Australasian+ed.).+Cambridge+University+Press,+Cambridge)&ots=0iz8tqoEmf&sig=IreemcTQV0gza-ZN45vilJUgbiI&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

Van Kampen, T., & Kirkham, R. (2020). Assessment of the Supermarkets and Grocery Stores Sector in Australia: A Case Study of Melbourne based MNCand Coles using DEA and VAIC™. Journal of New Business Ideas & Trends, 18(1), 1-11.https://research.usc.edu.au/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/Assessment-of-the-Supermarkets-and-Grocery-Stores-Sector-in-Australia-A-Case-Study-of-Woolworths-and-Coles-using-DEA-and-VAIC/99482293102621