5OS04 People management in an international context

Preparation for the Tasks:

• At the start of your assessment, you are encouraged to plan your work with your assessor and where appropriate agree milestones so that they can help you monitor your progress.
• Refer to the indicative content in the unit to guide and support your evidence.
• Pay attention to how your evidence is presented.

Ensure that the evidence generated for this assessment remains your own work

Scenario

You work as a people management professional in a UK manufacturing company operating in the pharmaceutical sector. Your organisation is based on a single site where it employs 3000 people, most of whom are employed in well-paid professional, technical and administrative roles. There are large teams working in research and development, marketing, and production. While your company has been highly successful at exporting its major products, aside from some sales representatives, it has never employed many people to work overseas previously and has not been involved in any international ventures.

This situation is about to change. Your company is about to become a wholly owned subsidiary of a much larger Japanese corporation which has interests in pharmaceuticals as well as health foods and the manufacture of specialist medical equipment. Your site will soon be expanded considerably and become more diverse in terms of its manufacturing capability.

As a result, your core People Management team will double in size over the coming two years and will need, in part, to start focusing on meeting the needs of a larger international corporation headquartered in Japan. The parent company will be expatriating members of its management team to oversee UK operations and there will also be opportunities for established members of the UK based team to work for periods in Japan alongside colleagues there who specialise in people management.

Consequently there is a need for your team to develop its international people management knowhow quite rapidly and to adapt its practices to meet the needs of this new situation. You are asked to lead the project team, working to make this upcoming period of transformative change proceed smoothly and successfully. Your initial task is to organise a two-day training event for all members of the People Management function who are based on your site with a view both to explaining some of the likely challenges which lie ahead and to prepare everyone to meet them effectively.

Your manager asks you to brief her about your plans for this training event by responding to the following 11 questions relating broadly to what needs to be covered. At this stage all that is required is a brief outline of your initial thinking, but it is important that this is appropriate, thoughtful, well-informed and well-justified. 

You may, if you wish, choose a different Southeast Asian country to discuss.  However, you should discuss this with your assessor first and ensure that you have their approval to do so.

Question 1 (AC 1.1)

Drawing on Geert Hofstede’s cultural mapping research, examine the major ways in which UK and Japanese workplace cultures differ from each other and how this may pose significant challenges for your organisation in the future following the takeover.

Question 2 (AC 1.2)

Assess the benefits to your company of employing people in an international context following the takeover.

Question 3 (AC 1.3)

Explain why there is typically some tension in multi-national companies between a wish to adhere to global corporate standards and norms when managing people, and an equally strong need to respect established local standards and norms. How can this tension best be resolved in your company as it prepares to implement the proposed takeover?

Question 4 (AC 2.1)

Assess the major short term people management factors that your company will need to consider during the next few months as the implications of the takeover become clear to the workforce.

Question 5 (AC 2.2)

Explain two major ways in which employment and labour market traditions vary between the UK and Japan. Illustrate each with a practical example.

Question 6 (AC 2.3)

Evaluate two major ways in which common people management practices differ between the UK and Japan.   

Question 7 (AC 3.1)

Explain the main role and function of a well-run and effective international people management function.

Question 8 (AC 3.2)

Consider the features of people management in a typical Japanese company employing professional staff. Which would you like to see adopted by your workplace? Which would you prefer to see not adopted? 

Question 9 (AC 4.1)

Evaluate the potential advantages of expatriating Japanese staff to work in the UK and vice versa.

Question 10 (AC 4.2)

Explain which personal attributes and competencies your companies should consider when selecting staff to work at the new parent company’s headquarters in Japan.

Question 11 (AC 4.3)

Explain which policies and practices your company should adopt for managing the repatriation of expatriate staff after their assignments in the UK and in Japan.

With reference to the scenario, your evidence must consist of:

• written responses to each of the 11 questions above

approximately 3900 words in total (+/- 10%), refer to CIPD word count policy.

GET THIS ASSIGNMENT COMPLETED FOR £159 WITH NO HIDDEN OR EXTRA CHARGES! 100% ORIGINAL AND CUSTOM WRITTEN GUARANTEED.