MGW3681
International Management
Assignment 2
Working in an
International Company
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Table of Contents
1. Abstract 3
2. Introduction
2.1 Benefits of Working in an International Company 4
2.2 The Common Problems for Employees Working for Global Corporations 5
2.3 The Importance of Successful Management of Diversity in International Companies 6
2.4 The Purpose of the Assignment 7
3. Literature
3.1 Culture 8
3.1.1 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions 8
3.1.2 Trompenaars’s and Hampden- Turner Seven Dimensions of Culture 9
3.1.3 GLOBE’s Cultural Dimensions 10
4. Interview Findings and Analysis
4.1 What is a Business Environment at an Organizational Level? 12
4.2 Organizational Level: Benefits and Challenges
4.2.1 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Identified as Challenges 12
4.2.2 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Identified as Benefits 13
4.2.3 Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions Identified as Benefits 14
4.2.4 External Challenges Identified 15
4.3 How did the Expat Overcome the Above Challenges? 15
4.4 How did he Adjust Himself to International Organizations? 16
4.5 Skills/ Abilities and Knowledge that Helped him to Overcome Difficulties 16
5. Conclusion 17
6. Reference List 18
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1.Abstract
An expatriate, or expat, is a person who lives and/or works in a country rather than his/her
origin nation, sometimes temporarily for purposes of employment. For any expat, going
overseas is always a difficult prospect. The foreign world, a small social circles, different
cultures, traditions and languages can make expats feel restrictive.
Likewise, it can be challenging for an international corporation when recruiting expatriates.
A few challenges that can highlighted are; the process of finding people who wants to relocate,
the challenge of recruiting, embarking and retaining employees effectively in international
industries, the problems that expats face when companies give prime preference to workers
from the member nation and ignore expats, and the work-life balance has always been one of
the main difficulties when hiring globally. The report analyses the benefits and challenges an
expat experiences when working for an international company. This research was carried out
through interviews in order to provide in-depth analysis of a work-life balance of an expat.
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2. Introduction
2.1 Benefits of Working in an International Company
Character Evolution and Growth
Employment with a multinational enterprise enhances an employee's exposure to
different market sectors and creates more career mobility options inside the organisation. Major
businesses engage in the professional growth of its workers by continued internal and external
schooling and work preparation. Inside the company, they want the workers to change and
develop (Nyuwasserman, 2019).
Exploitation of Avant-Garde Technology
Technology is mandatory in today’s business world. To every business’s potential
growth. Large businesses also use innovative technologies in diverse contexts and profit from
it. Workers utilize data analysis to browse at tons of documents and identify trends in order to
better develop innovative ideas. International corporations do have resources and financial
flexibility to embrace and leverage this form of technologies to allow their companies
to expand (Nyuwasserman, 2019).
Understanding Other Cultures
Employed in a multinational business, an employee is actively meeting new people,
learning about other cultures and developing their perception of others. It helps them to
be compassionate, obtain further understanding of how people make choices and helps to be a
stronger team member that appeals to all managers in the long run (Nyuwasserman, 2019).
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2.2 The Common Problems for Employees Working for Global Corporations
Recruiting expats provides an incentive for an organization to branch out to thinkers
around the globe. This includes creativity, new talents, fresh concepts and diverse people from
various cultures. There are many factors that make expats resourceful. However, difficulties
emerge when expats are employed.
Culture Shock
Culture clash is a major hurdle to guiding expats. Expats cannot plan to habituate fast.
Travelling over to another country and trying to transition with no apparent assistance to a new
community and workplace culture can be challenging (G.A., 2019).
Discrimination
Workers can be discriminated due to race, colour and gender which can create problems
within co-workers hence affecting labour productivity adversely (Minnesota State
CAREERwise, 2020).
Language Barrier
The communication gaps could be a big obstacle in handling expats on foreign
assessments, based on where the organization is based or how broad the recruiting range is.
Employing workers who are incapable of language skills will cause a considerable
problem for the corporation. These workers may have a prolonged phase of transition to
improve productivity
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If the problem is remain unresolved, workers might feel alienated within and
outside the workplace, raising the likelihood of them terminating their agreement in advance or
becoming disinterested in expanding past their tenure with the corporation (G.A., 2019).
2.3 The Importance of Successful Management of Diversity in International Companies
The world economy is continually evolving, and the only approach to accomplish a
strategic edge is by diversification of the personnel of organizations. Workplace diversity
benefits, as it provides increased value to the company by recruiting diverse talents who fuel
creativity and innovation.
Encourages Individuality in a Corporation
Recognizing that each individual has unique, innovative and fresh concepts and
strategies to offer, workers of diverse outlooks and viewpoints will combine a diversity of
opinions on problems, thus increasing morale and producing improved outcomes (Sokolova,
S., 2015)
Can Develop a Strong Brand
An company reaps much positive credibility and popularity of a diverse workplace
since it is perceived as offering equal job policies (Sokolova, S., 2015)
Motivates Development and Professional Growth
Getting expatriates or individuals via a foreign experience employed in the organization
can allow staff to discover new insights, experiences and communicate with other people
professionally. This empowers the workforce and offers them a different perspective on how
the economy and industry function (Sokolova, S., 2015).
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Augment the Potential of a Company to Satisfy each Distinct Market's Needs
Relevant nation or demographic members can be combined with consumers of common
demographics, making consumers feel more certain and increase customer loyalty to the
business (Sokolova, S., 2015).
2.4 Purpose of the Assignment
This assignment will analyse the impact of working in an international corporation
and assess on how culture can affect an expats working experience.
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3. Literature
3.1 Culture
"Hofstede (1997 )" explicates corporate culture as the "collective programming of the
mind" which differentiates the associates of a company from that of others, and debates that
the beliefs of the pioneers and of the key founders inevitably form the company structure, but
the aspects where these ideologies influence the regular employees of the group will be
confined to collaborative interests (de Hilal, A. V. G. 2006).
3.1.1 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
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3.1.2 Trompenaars’s and Hampden- Turner Seven Dimensions of Culture
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3.1.3 GLOBE’s Cultural Dimensions
Project GLOBE "(Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Effectiveness)" performed an extensive cross-cultural analysis in "62" cultures worldwide
throughout the 1990s and expanded and incorporated prior "cultural attributes" and factors
analysis into nine dimensions.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Power Distance
Future, Power
and
Humane Orientations
Collectivism I:
Societal Collectivism
Assertiveness
Collectivism II:
In-Group Collectivism
Gender Egalitarianism
"Hofstede (2006)" reacted to critiques from "GLOBE". He claimed that, considering
the identical terms, a few of the dimensions of "GLOBE" catch manifestations which are
clearly distinct from the definitions. " Hofstede" included that the perceptions of the
participants to "GLOBE" had created measurements very divergent from the original
conceptual frameworks.
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Organizational culture has been recognised as the "glue" that unites organisations by
offering "cohesiveness" and continuity between the departments. Increasingly, global
corporations are engaged in fostering organizational culture to enhance its subsidiaries'
management, communication and incorporation (Schneider, 1998).
This essay further explores the possible collision between an international
company's organisational culture and the recruited expat's ideals.
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4. Interview Findings and Analysis
4.1 What is a Business Environment at an Organizational Level?
The analysis of organizational culture in an organizational context is an empirical field
dealing with the description, interpretation, prediction, and regulation of human actions
(Encyclopedia of Small Busines, 2020).
4.2 Organizational Level: Benefits and Challenges
4.2.1 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Identified as Challenges
Firstly, the expat describes a Power Distance dimension at the workplace where;
“Sometimes you deal with US counterparts, you feel the acceptance for a Sri Lankan
leader is not always welcome, however teams tend to over a period”
This can be seen as a challenge to the expat in fitting into a foreign culture on an organizational
level, where the organizational culture in the US recognizes and unfair, centralized allocation
of authority.
Moreover, a challenge that can be identified when working in a different organizational
culture is the Individualism dimension where the tendency of workers is only to look after
themselves and immediate family.
“quite transactional when it comes to work, mostly stick to office hours and usually not
be contacted during personal time off period”
This would be challenge when replacing counterparts in an emergency or when a large project
is given, and employees are not willing to work after working hours.
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4.2.2 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Identified as Benefits
Firstly, the international manufacturing plant is identified as a Femineity and
Masculinity dimension. The expat states that;
“The manufacturing plant consists mainly females and the organization keep them
empowered and encourage mutual respect throughout the hierarchy. In recognition of
the need to address gender equality and women’s empowerment, 2003 saw the launch of
MAS Women Go Beyond (WGB); an inclusive women’s empowerment programme that
raised the standards of the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The programme officially
commenced with the structuring of the four pillars of success; Career Advancement,
Work-life Balance, Skills Development and Rewarding Excellence”
This clearly depicts a feminine work environment in terms of manufacturing and the
programme is built to empower women and give them a sense of worth at the workplace.
Furthermore, the expat talks about the benefit of being a part of a team, where he
mentioned;
“it is a global company and there is a multicultural environment which encourages
diversity and innovation. Colleagues help and teach team members and the company’s
‘Collaborative Teamwork’ has become a part of its culture where great teamwork can be
found in any division. Workers are loyal to their specific division and at work their team
is a core prospect and they depend on the team in achieving daily goals”
This type of organizational environment indicates a Collectivism dimension where each worker
is faithful to the team they contribute to and as a result as stated by the expat;
“these scenarios will enhance your people management skills in general and greater
experience to manage situations. Hence, gives you confidence to manage multi cultured,
larger teams over a period”.
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4.2.3 Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions Identified as Benefits
The management in the organizational culture follows a Communitarianism dimension
where the employees are considered part of the team and that they play a major role in the
business’s operations. For instance the expat highlights how lower level employees are treated
and motivated;
“And they are very skilled individual with great industry knowledge and experience.
MAS maintain very high standard of company ethics when dealing with individual in all
levels. MAS has great initiatives’ which support women in all walks of life, support them
in carrier, education or even for them to be great entrepreneurs”
This suggests that every worker in the company is considered to be part of a large team where
the success of the company depends on each worker’s input and not just a single member in
the top hierarchy.
In addition, employees are considered to be working in an Emotional dimension where
they look for ways to express their emotions at the workplace. For instance they smile a lot and
greet each other with enthusiasm. The expat describes this aspect as;
“All plants and business offices manage and maintain in international standards, all
employees have many facilities such as free food, transport, in house medical and some
have day care centers as well”
This indicates that the company board considers employee needs and treats all workers equally
and allows them to feel a sense of belonging at the workplace. The expat highlights that this
organizational culture seem;
“very interesting to understand how people feel and do things, and, the purpose of doing
so gives you the opportunity to learn and deal with individuals effectively”.
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4.2.4 External Challenges Identified
The expat illustrates the language barrier that was challenging when working with US
counterparts;
“Language and the accent could be an issue at time, especially when you have colleagues
from different nationalities and their accent is quite different”
Lastly, the expat highlights external factors such as the time difference and change in
weather as a challenge when adapting to the new working environment;
“The first hurdle you come across is time difference within the countries, as I do not have
any choice. I do have to adapt to time difference during travel and working in SL to
accommodate these changes. The second most is the seasonal weather patterns in US and
related issue such as flight delays due to hash winter condition, respiratory sickness”.
4.3 How did the Expat Overcome the Above Challenges?
As said by the expat;
“Firstly, one needs to understand and accept there are cultural difference in these locations. It’s
quite challenging at times, however we find ways to overcome these over a period of time”
“As long you understand the culture and the way of doing things, it’s quite easy to adapt and
deal with them”
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4.4 How did he Adjust Himself to International Organizations?
The expat understanding to differentiate between the two cultures and adapt to new
environments helped him adjust in an international workplace where;
“Its two different and distinct cultures. It is a very traditional culture vs a very western
culture. Hence, its different to how you greet and meet, food and how to eat, working
habits, language barriers, events to family priorities”.
4.5 Skills/ Abilities and Knowledge that Helped him to Overcome Difficulties
As mentioned by the expat, the skills he compiled of allowed him to successfully adapt to
a foreign environment:
• I had the ability to connect with people easily and be confident in dealing with subject
matters proactively.
• I am a good listener and have communication skills that allows me to communicate
successfully.
• I was aware of what is happening around me and had a good knowledge on the subject
the organization is communicating on.
• It gave me a great experience and knowledge to manage multicultural large teams,
which was good for my CV and the expat experience gave me an opportunity to climb
up the ladder in the corporate world.
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Conclusion
The essay assessed how successful an expat is in an international company where
cultures clashed which was further analyzed though the various cultural dimensions.
The interview showcased that culture plays a vital role where an expat adapts to a new
environment since each country has its own culture. Through these differences the expat also;
“enhanced my business and the product knowledge while I have a good understanding about
US retain markets and the iconic brands in the industry. This helps me to share my knowledge
with my colleagues and support the business growth of MAS and I learnt to understand
different business cultures and individuals that helps my people management skills”.
WORD COUNT: 2198
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