Organizational Behavior in Global Context - Case Study Example

Table of Content Introduction...............................................................................................................3 Role of Motivation in Global Businesses..................................................................3 Motivation and Culture in the International Business Context ….............................5 Strong Organisational Culture........................................................................6 Human Capital Management..........................................................................7 Incorporation of Motivation into Global Business Strategy.......................................7 Conclusion..................................................................................................................9 References...................................................................................................................11 Introduction Motivation is what arouses a person's interest to do something and sustains the person's interest in attaining that end (Walker & Miller, 2009: 202). In other words, motivation is the kind of feeling that makes a person want to attain a given end. And when the person is in the process of attaining that end, 'motivation' urges him on to complete it to the very end. Where motivation is lost, an individual does not seem to be interested in doing a particular thing. Motivation is very important in the work place. This is because motivation defines what a person desires to be doing at a given point in time. This means that a business with workers motivated towards attaining organisational goals is likely to get a higher level of output than one that has workers who are motivate to attain results that are different from the organisation's objectives. It is therefore imperative for managers to align the needs of individual workers with the objectives of the organisation (Boddy, 2005). Global businesses have a wide scope in strategy formulation and strategy implementation. This means that international businesses of that nature will need to be careful in attaining this end. This is because there are numerous concerns like culture and other variations that need to be put in place to ensure that motivation in all parts of the organisation enjoys high levels of motivation. This paper examines the concept of motivation in the global context. The research question is “what is the role of motivation in global businesses and how can it be attained?” In arriving answering these questions, the following objectives will be addressed: 1. Assessment of the importance of motivation in global businesses 2. Evaluation of motivation and culture in an international business setting. 3. Identification of how motivation can be fixed into the global strategy of an organisation. Role of Motivation in Global Businesses “Historically, the main motivation of international business bass been the exploration of natural resources.” (Cherunilam, 2007: 331). This is very much applicable to the period between the Age of European Exploration and the 1960s where the concept of colonisation ended. In this period of time, there was a significant desire for the creation of businesses that would trade in foreign land and exploit natural resources in those lands. This led to European control of the Americas, Africa and most of Asia. The drive for the attainment of prosperity from trade in these foreign lands led to the European colonisation of these nations. However, after the decolonisation of nations throughout the world by the 1960s, there was the need to change the systems of doing business in foreign lands. Instead of the traditional colonial companies, there were multinational corporations that were formed. The fundamental motivation of acquiring cheap natural resources overseas continued to play a key role in these multinationals. In the 21st Century, the motivation of making more profit from international trade continue to be a significant drive in international business expansion drives. This is now carried out through accessing foreign markets to sell goods to foreigners, and mobilising cheap labour to cut down cost of production (Cherunilam, 2007). Global business expansion is often a blend of motivation and outcome (Kline, 2010: 5). In other words, most businesses set up international operations with a view gaining more profit consistently over a period of time. The outcome of such drives lead to results which keep those businesses going. In analysing motivation in global businesses, Gasper states that role of motivation is intertwined with leadership, performance and corporate goals (2005). This means that top level management of organisations take the decision to invest in a foreign company. This decision is supported by a motive, which is often economic in nature. The motive causes the strategic managers to set up performance standards that are linked with the corporate goals of the organisation. They therefore open the international organisation and ensure that those goals are met. In this analysis, it is conclusive that motivation is in the centre of global business' psychological framework. Stated differently, motivation is the main factor that causes businesses to open up international branches of their operations. This is clearly defined by the driving force which is included in the international strategy of the organisation. In order to attain the ends of the international expansion drive, the organisation needs to involve all major stakeholders, particularly the human resource base. For the organisation to succeed, the goals and aspiration of the workers and managers in the international branch will need to be aligned with the original motivation that led to the international expansion drive. As such, motivation is a very important aspects of international strategy. The ability to translate the motivation of the international business into the local context is the key to the success of an international organisation. Motivation and Culture in the International Business Context Motivation is individual in nature (Aswathappa, 2010). It is concerned with how a person's aspiration relates to the organisation's aspiration. In an international business context, this is a very serious situation. This is because the managers from the home country might encounter extremely different people in the host country who have very different tendencies. As such, they might not be appropriately tuned towards the attainment of the objectives of the international business. On the other hand, international managers also operate in a brand new culture (Cheng, 2000). This means that if they want to be successful in aligning the motivation of the business owners with that of individual workers in the host country, they need to understand the culture. Cheng points out that the sensitive areas in this quest include authority, bureaucracy, creativity, fellowship, verification amongst others (2000). If these areas are handled without the adequate sensitivity to cultural needs, there is a likelihood that conflicts would arise which will cause some degree of divergence in the attainment of the motive for establishing the international business. Hofstede (1991) states that culture is the software of the mind. This is because culture dictates the preferences and tendencies of people towards certain trends and activities. Culture is the basis for standard setting in most societies, as such, it is important to find ways of dealing with them to keep employees in a host country productive and aligned to the objectives of an international business. In trying to find a solution to the optimisation of cultural knowledge in international business, two approaches appear in literature. The first is the creation of a strong organisational culture. The second involves the transformation of the human resource management function to a human capital function. Strong Organisational Culture Organisational culture refers to the norms and the practices that are accepted with in a given entity. It is a sub-culture that might evolve over the years and might be significantly different from the culture that exists in the wider environment. As such, multinational organisations can set up a 'black box' of an organisational culture development system that would sort out the different likes and dislikes of the people who work in the organisation. Through this, an distinct approach to motivation could evolve. Such an exercise can be conscious or unconscious. Through this, motivation can be skewed towards the cultural needs and desires of all the people in the branch of the host country. Leung et al (2005) identify important trends and debates that goes on in the evolutionary process of the formulation of a culture. There is often a question of cultural divergence or convergence in determining motivation type. There is also the process of cultural change which involves changes in tastes and attitudes by both the local and expatriate workers/managers. This changes the desires and aspirations of people in the organisation and leads to a single unified motivation system in the international business. As the evolution continues, there are new concepts of analysing motivation needs. This leads to novel constructs in the culture. This set the framework for an appropriate motivation structure which can be accepted by all in the organisation and create the win-win effect that a good motivation plan must address. Additionally, there is the need for some kind of moderation of the effects of culture. This can be done through a strong authority and it could best be played by a local or foreign manager in consultation with the people of the organisation. This trend of organisational culture development blends the elements of globalisation and localisation to form a unique and distinct culture that encourages the optimal performance of all the workers of the organisation. Human Capital Management Human capital management is an evolution from the traditional human resource management (Van Marrewijk and Timmers, 2003). Human resource management appears to utilise a transactional approach to get employees to work and attain results. It contains many of the limitations of personnel management that human resource management sough to change. On the other hand, human capital management has a transformational effect on people in an organisation. In other words, it aims at providing a degree of improvement for workers as they attain the objectives of the organisation. In terms of motivating employees, human capital management attempts to scientifically align the needs and desires of employees with that of the international organisation (Van Marreivijk and Timmers, 2003). This include improving competence and accomplishment, integrating them in the organisational fabric and allowing them to build a vision of self actualisation with the international organisation. This leads to dedication and the elimination of cultural tensions. Incorporation of Motivation into Global Business Strategy The idea of motivation is an important aspect of the operation of an international business. As such, the business needs to find ways and means of ensuring that the international motivational gaps between the local workers and the international organisation are closed (Coade, 1997). In this quest, the senior managers of the organisation will need to check and explain culture and analyse the differences between the two cultures and try to make compensatory amendments to keep local employees motivated (Dlabay and Scott, 2010). This is done by a conscious effort of the international manager to understand the values of the local society. Once this is done, the organisation can put in place some intrinsic and extrinsic motivation packages that can lead to the continuous development of the employees in the host country. Mourdoukoutas (2006) identifies four main packages that can be flexed in the local environment to meet local needs. First of all, the bureaucratic approach involves changing the methods of appraisal and promotion to suit local conditions. In a country like Japan, there might be the need to use more rigorous approaches of promotion to ensure that employees or managers remain committed. This might not be appropriate in America where employees are used to much more flexible methods and ease in hiring and firing. Also, international managers need to find the most appropriate methods of rewarding outputs. In most cases, the yardstick for linking output with goals of the organisation in one place might be very different from what might work in another. So managers need to study and consult and set up an appropriate system in the international business. Incentives can also be given in the way and form that satisfies the deepest needs and aspirations of the employees. Whereas they should reward employees who seek to meet the objectives of the international business, the should also be appropriate to the setting within which the business is operating. Managers in an international environment also need to find ways of rewarding people according to local customs and expectations. This will enable the people to align their personal and individual allegiances to the business although it might be from a very different country. Becker on the other hand favours an approach where the specific qualities and features of different classes of employees are examined closely and used as a yardstick to provide unique forms of motivation (2000). This will mean that the international business will seek local advice to classify employees according to demographic, personality and work related groups. Under demographic classifications, the age, gender, education, culture and nationality of the employees will be the yardstick. Based on that, the appropriate motivation that such a group of people expect to carry out the objectives of the organisation will be sought. In the case of personality, the achievement needs and ambiguity tolerance of individual groups will be the relevant factors. They will act as yardstick to determine appropriate forms of motivation for people. Finally, work related issues like tenure, levels to manager as well as organisation size can be reviewed and used as basis to provide appropriate motivation for each group of employees in the host country. Conclusion Motivation is an important aspect of global businesses. First of all, it acts as impetus and raison d'etre for international businesses. Additionally, motivation provides the guidelines for setting objectives and targets for business owners. It is very important for the motivation of employees in a foreign country to be aligned with the motivation of the owners of an international business in the home country. In attaining this end, culture is a very vital component that needs to be addressed adequately. This can best be done by the creation of an organisational culture that encourages employees to give off their best. Secondly, the concept of human capital management, which aims at transforming the employee by linking her personal development needs with the organisation can be employed. In order to attain motivation in an international business, senior managers need to close the gap that exists between the local employees and foreign managers. This can be done by learning about the local culture. Once this is done, the organisation can find ways of incorporating them into the various motivational packages to provide the best forms of motivation for the employees in the local setting. References Aswathappa, S. (2010) International Business New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Becker, K. (2000) Culture & International Business London: Taylor & Francis Group. Boddy, D. (2005) Management: An Introduction New York: Financial Times Prentice-Hall Cheng, J. (2000) Culture & International Business Tsighao University Press. Cherunilam, F. (2007) International Business: Text & Cases New Delhi: PHI Publishing Dlabay, L., Scott J C (2010) International Business Mason, OH: Cengage. Gasper, J. E. (2005) Introduction to Business Mason, OH: Cengage. Hofstede, G. (1991) Culture and its Consequences: Software of the Mind New York: Financial Times. Kline, J. (2010) Ethics for International Business Decision Making in a Global Political Economy London: Taylor & Francis Leung, K., Bhagat, R. S., Buchan, N. R., Erez,M and Gibson, C. B. (2005) “Culture and International Business: Recent Advances and their Implications for Future Research” Journal of Management. Vol 36 (4) Mourdoukoutas, P. (2006) Business Strategy in a Semi-Global Economy Boston, MA: M. E. Sharpe. Rugman, A. M. (2009) Oxford Handbook of International Business Oxford University Press. Van Marreivijk, M. & Timmers, J. (2003) “Human Capital Management: New Possibilities in People Management” Journal of Business Ethics Vol 44 No 213 Walker, J. R. & Miller, J. E. (2009) Supervision in the Hospitality Industry: Leading Human Resources Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Publishing. Read More