Workforce Management for BMC's Middle East Expansion
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Introduction - Strategic Workforce Planning for International Growth
Workforce management in the international context is mainly associated with effective policy and practices that can be developed in a personalized manner that suits the needs of each different market. This report aims to develop a strategic planning meeting in which the people management regarding branching out of BMC into the Middle East is included. Team relocation is mainly conducted here from UK to Middle East which requires appropriate people management. Here, the discussion is based on different contextual factors of the international organization, drivers, and benefits of the employment, convergent or divergent approaches, factors while selecting resources, different people practices, and others. A conclusion part will be provided, to sum up, the entire context of this report.
Discussion
1.1 Overview of the contextual factors of an international organization
International human resource management or the International HRM is mainly responsible to maintain the contextual factors within an international organization. In the viewpoint of Dachsa and Zahradnikb (2022), Internationalization offers manifold advantages such as exploitation of interrelation between geographic areas and business segments, achievement regarding risk diversification and cost reduction, and realization of economies of scale and scope. There are four main contextual factors of an international organization such as culture, economic system, and human capital along with the legal system which needs to be taken under consideration by BMC (Duchek, 2020).
In order to evaluate the culture, “Hofstede Cultural Dimension” can be taken under consideration as BMC is going to relocate its team from UK to the Middle East. As per Hofstede’s dimensions, within the workforce culture of UK, low power distance, high individualism and masculinity, and low uncertainty avoidance are observed (Tallberg and Zürn, 2019). The workforce culture of the Middle East is quite different from the UK. It is essential to take a strong look at this matter to gain effective outcomes. As per the economic system of Middle East, a diverse economic structure is mainly observed here that can be beneficial to maintain a high structure for the existing workers.
In the case of human capital, the presence of low human capital can attract low skills along with low wages and also reduces the scope of high FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). In this regard, it can raise concerns regarding the workforce capability strongly. Legal system is considered the outgrowth of culture and it also reflects the societal norms severely (Rieckmann et al. 2018). Economic incentives are able to develop the human capital whereas, in the capitalist system, this aspect is not observed. Focusing on the legal system of business in the Middle East, it is observed that absence of a systematic or the “up-to-date” legislation system can affect the workplace potential of the new branch of BMC here (Tallberg and Zürn, 2019). However, presence of diversified commercial laws is suitable to manage the business activities and also to run the business smoothly on a long-term approach. From the above context, it is quite clear that relocating a team from UK to Middle East of BMC can be affected due to the changes in contextual factors.
1.2 Drivers and benefits of employment in the international context
Drivers of business in an international context can be considered as the core individuals through whom it can be possible to achieve the basic business objectives along with better financial growth. In case of business expansion of BMC or the relocation of the team from UK to the Middle East, it is essential to keep a strong focus on the international drivers of employment. Autonomy at work along with “opportunity for development” can be considered the core driver of employment from which the workers are capable to get enough influence for conducting their job responsibilities accurately (Lopez-Cabrales and Valle-Cabrera, 2020). It needs to be taken under consideration by BMC as well to enhance employee engagement in the Middle East after relocating the team. The second one is the coworker relationships in the new area of business. Presence of a collaborative relationship among the individuals can be effective to promote the business growth of BMC in Middle East suitably. Leader availability and integrity are also the essential drivers of employment through which it is possible to retain the workers even in the new business culture on a long-term approach (Alrowwad et al. 2018). Existence of appropriate management, competitive advantage,compensation and benefits, and also the company performance matter also for BMC to ensure high employment after its business expansion.
Focusing on the benefits of employment in an international context can be stated that BMC can be able to enforce skilled employee engagement through this approach. Moreover, it is also possible to get easy access to international talent along with better flexibility of the job profiles for the employees. It can also be beneficial to gain the scope for exploring new business markets with the help of capable workers and also develop their problem-solving capabilities effectively (Rouvroye et al. 2021). Enhancement of productivity is also possible in this aspect and better mobility, as well as retention of talent, is also easily conducted by BMC. It is also possible to explore the different aspects and points of view of the employees that promote innovation in the workplace. Each of the benefits is suitable enough to facilitate the business of this organization in the upcoming era.
1.3 Explanation of the convergent or divergent approaches
The convergent approaches can be taken under consideration by BMC to inform the people management policy and practice choices effectively. This type of aspect is suitable enough to ensure a strong move towards uniformity with the existing business approaches within BMC. Rather than using a “one country approach” or a completely different approach, development of existing approaches can be more beneficial for BMC and also its workers to accustom to the changing business consequences in a new country. In refer to the convergence theory in HRM, it can be stated that the presence of specific circumstances within the management on a country basis can be fruitful for BMC to run its business smoothly (Poór et al. 2021). In this case, standardization of key HR policies and practices needs to be developed as per the government rules and norms of Middle East also allows local autonomy severely.
Convergent approaches such as using the best practices, less evidence of the hard convergence, and an increase in the soft convergence can be beneficial enough for BMC. There are several factors as well that are responsible to affect the convergent approaches such as extent of the well-defined local norms, nature of the existing industry, and strength of flow of resources between the parent and subsidiary companies (Lozano and von Haartman, 2018). Environmental drivers, strategic drivers, and structural drivers are mainly responsible to adopt the “globally integrated approach” for better management of the business of this firm. The management of BMC needs to keep a strong focus on this matter to handle the business consequences appropriately.
Evaluation
2.1 Evaluation of factors to consider while selecting and resourcing for the international assignments
International assignments need to pay attention to certain factors in resourcing as well as choosing. There are several factors to consider such as polycentric, ethnocentric, geocentric, and regional-centric. According to Lee et al. (2018), ethnocentric factors are those where companies and people believe that their home countries are superior compared to others. Companies need to consider this factor as companies influenced by this factor tend to ignore opportunities outside their countries. Ethnocentric factors can create a negative impact while penetrating foreign markets and selecting international assignments. These organisations make certain assumptions about their services and products as well as undertake research in international markets. BMC needs to consider this factor to increase its efficiency while choosing and resourcing for international assignments. Polycentric factors can be seen in a situation where managers see countries as unique ones and consider that business runs smoothly in local areas. Polycentric management in business refers to a condition where there is a few attempts for utilizing good ideas from other marketplaces.
Polycentric factors create an impact on selecting international assignments and the aforementioned company, BMC, needs to consider these factors. According to Faulconbridge et al. (2020), regional-centric organisations are those that see similarities as well as differences in a “world region” and design several strategies around the region. Regional-centric factors include differences between two different regions of countries in areas of culture, climate, retail distribution, transport, and others. For example, it can be added that organisations of ASEAN countries are said to be a regional-centric orientation when they show focus and interest in the South-eastern part of Asia. BMC requires considering this factor as it can minimize the effectiveness of opportunities embedded in various regions of the world. On the other hand, geocentric factors can be seen in certain companies which view the entire world as a “potential market”. These types of companies tend to serve the role of global players efficiently in international market areas. Management related to this factor can easily recognize dissimilarities and similarities between international markets and home countries. BMC needs to consider geocentric factors while resourcing and selecting international assignments.
2.2 Reasons behind the differences of people's practices across the international boundaries
People's practices have become a strategic source for achieving the organizational objectives as the practice firmly ensures the streamlining of the business aim with the various operational activities. It has been evident that with the advent of industrialization the business has changed its way of pattern and synchronization has also taken place in its operational practices. Based on the international operation, the concept of people practices also revolved correspondingly. It has also been seen that the presence of various factors such as cultural exchange, distance, femininity and masculinity, religion, language, time concept and others create varies in the people's practices over international boundaries.
It has been seen that the religion of the specific countries has a great impact on the way of business operations as religions to some extent dictate the policy's implication (Malik et al. 2020). Therefore, companies' people practices have to be abided by the religious aspect that in turn negatively affected the workplace culture and code of ethics. Besides, the holidays and holy days vary over countries thereby business firms have to set their pattern of people's practices as per the country's norms. On the other hand, religion also dictates the attire to be worn that some extent affects the people practices of the global firms as the dress code of the employees that the country’s religious views prefer matters much over the organization’s preference.
Language also influences over countries in business operation and negotiate the way of conducting business. Due to having language barriers people's practices are also impacted which in turn raises the financial burden for global organizations. Apart from that, due to the different time zones over countries, the path of communication is also to some extent chocked and operating hours, as well as people practices, differ greatly. Another influential concept includes femininity and masculinity that has a significant impact on people's practices. Due to the presence of various perspectives on this concept balance of gender involvement in the business operation also varies. It has been evident that various countries' markets are dominated by the male gender which also brought differences in the people's practices among global countries (Glaister et al. 2018). Moreover, it can be stated that the massive surge of industrialization has impacted the business culture that accelerate the way of people practices among organizations.
2.3 Evaluation and consideration of cultural and institutional differences in international people practice
The institutional and cultural differences are in the way of managing international people's practice. It has been seen that people practitioners incorporated varying approaches relying on the cultural context of the operating countries. In some cultures, that are collective in nature they make strategies and judgments based on the community welfare not considering individuals' aspects (Sundiman, 2018). The act of doing right for the sake of the entire community helps to create more value in business operation and also retain operational sustainability for global organizations. In another societal context, individualistic approaches have also seen to be incorporated into the operation by people's practitioners that focus on encouraging individuals to make decisions in order to propagate the organizational objectives.
Furthermore, some cultures are quite risk-averse while others possess a risk appetite on a large scale. In this culture, managing of the people's practices allows the international firms to operate their business in a safe and less risky advocacy way. Business organizations thereby benefited from more creativity and innovation in their operation. Apart from that, the slower growth rate has also been noticed among global companies on the risk-averse culture as the organization has to take calculated moves and people’s practices also optimized (Agwu, 2018). Moreover, it can be added that due to the cultural fragility considerable practices in the area of people’s practices are noticed among international firms. By changing the practices as per the cultural scenario, BMC is not only able to maximize its profitability opportunities but also can experience an inclined revenue ratio in the way of its business expansion in the Middle East.
Overview
3.1 Overview of the function of people practices in an international organizational context
People's practices can be denoted as the approaches and processes that are used by the organization in order to enhance their business productivity as well as foster the generation of more values in business towards its people such as suppliers, investors, consumers and employees. Various functions are concerned with people’s practices within the international organization such as creating talent pools, meeting the needs of employees, providing motivation, recruiting people, managing grievances and others.
People's practice is expected to come up with selecting the qualified employees that are crucial for the execution of operational activities in accordance with the organizational strategy. On the other hand, the building of skilled employees is also concerned with such a practice that is purposeful for the retention of organizational competitiveness (Zahra, 2021). In the context of employee empowerment, the HR department of BMC has taken various incentives in the form of development programmes, provision of training and others. Besides, People's practice also helps to meet the needs of workers through the allocation of regular sessions for reviewing and problem-solving. The tactic helps the business organization to access the employee's output and performance that are effective in turn to grab a better position in the operating marketplace.
On the other hand, people's practices play a potential role in order to motivate the employees with the help of rewarding strategy and attracting allowances based on their performance. It can also be added that motivation in the form of regular appraisal helps the employees to sharpen their skills and triggers their self-interest to give their best regarding their responsibilities. As per the organizational data, the HR services of BMC also focus on considering their worker's needs and optimization of the reward practicing all over their operation. The organization also believes in shared practices for the purpose of fostering more development opportunities for the employees that are beneficial for growth at all organizational level. Lastly, it can be added that the good execution of all functions of people practices may help BMC in ensuring the competitiveness of their business operation on the path of their new expansion regarding the Middle East country.
3.2 Explanation of practices and policies influenced by the international context
The presence of a regulatory framework, as well as organizational procedures, is pivotal for the maintenance of business's credibility in the operating marketplace. It can also be stated that lawful operational activities are effective for enhancing investors' attractions that are beneficial for organizational growth. Consideration of various practices and policies helps international firms in the building of rational decisions and promotes an inclusive culture within the workplace. As opined by Brunetto and Beattie (2020), inclusive culture provides support to the employee's empowerment and makes the business firms to be way more capable of deriving competitive advantages in business. Based on the external factors of the operating countries, the people practitioners need to develop the organizational procedures along with policy enforcement.
In the area of selection and recruitment process, various local governmental policies can be considered by the BMC in their new expansion. The consideration of the equity act allows the organization to ensure the provision of equal opportunities to all employees in the various operational activities (Equalitynow, 2020). Incorporation of such policy in the recruiting section ensures an ethical way of hiring that helps in the enhancement of organizational efficacy and also contributes to the enhancement of organizational reputation in its existing marketplace. Apart from that, the act also ensures the delegacy of the training by ensuring training opportunities for all employees. Besides, the act of fair work can also be implied by the people practitioners of BMC in the context of retaining employees' satisfaction by eliminating the occurrences of unethical practices. This legislative framework also allows the international companies to provide a flexible working ambience to the workers that endorse the business growth in turn.
Apart from that, the building of an effective rewarding strategy can help the people practitioners of BMC in terms of retaining the employee's interest thereby the organization can able to grab the monetary profit in their business. Besides, policies of data protection also need to be considered in the framing of the organizational procedures that in turn contribute to the building of a positive image for the organization (Kanya, 2020). Moreover, it can be stated that the governmental or local policies and legislation need to take into consideration by the concerned authorities of global companies for the purpose of making operations in a cost-effective and ethical way.
3.3 Critical evaluations of the reasons behind using expertise for international working in companies
Expatriates are influential individuals, those poses an effective role in the establishment of business operations in the new market by enhancing the management ability of the organization. Due to the presence of several reasons it has been seen that the global organizations opt to use expatriate workers for their international work. Adequate market knowledge greatly fosters the preferential efficacy of business firms. Expatriates are hired by the business companies in order to gain a deep insight into the market scenario which is crucial for the establishment of sound decisions in the way of various operational activities (Rogers and Paul, 2018). Besides, the awareness and local understanding help the business organizations to avoid mistakes and reduce the risk that can limit the market success of the organization. BMC can also apply such tactics of using expatriates in the area of their new expansion for making the strategy more effective.
On the other hand, it has also been seen that expatriate helps the global institutes to instill their organizational culture. They work with distributors, partners, overseas subsidiaries and others to understand the parent's organizational values, standards and culture. Re-evaluation of the organizational culture helps to understand the needs for modification as per the local practices or demand. Expatriates allow the business firms to retain a consistent standard regarding the consumer's services and other export territories with the support of instilling culture. Thereby BMC can follow the advice of expatriates in the way of forming their operational culture in their new marketplace for the context of providing better experiences to its consumers and employees.
As per the various study, it can also add that a mediator role is performed by expatriates in the context of transferring competencies and knowledge to unskilled workers and overseas partners. In an example, it has been seen that in some cases expatriates work with the partners in implementing the practice of corporate working that is purposeful for quality standards. The activity helps the partners in gaining the market and product knowledge thereby improvement in the path of market penetration has been noticed respectively. Appointing expatriates also helps the organization to develop its competencies and management ability by using broader market perspectives and knowledge (Kanya, 2020). Business companies also benefited from the enhanced local control by the use of expatriates' views in their strategic choices. Moreover, it can be stated that the appointing of expatriates can be fruitful for BMC for the purpose of culture building, market knowledge gaining, management ability, and others that are concerned with successful projection of market expansion in the Middle East zone.
3.4 Explanation of process to select, prepare and manage expertise for the overseas relocation for work
Selection: In this phase, the recruitment team of BMC can sort the expatriates on the basis of experience and qualification. Expatriates need to have insights on various issues related to export countries' operations, social standing, culture and others. Besides that, transparency needs to be maintained throughout the process of selection.
Preparation: After the consideration of the successful candidate's thorough preparation comes next. This preparation includes the allocation of training for adopting various technical skills, ensuring of their travel preparation and accommodation, right documentation for travelling and others. Preparation is required for the purpose of offering support to expatriates which in turn motivates them to give their best in their responsibilities.
Management: The recruitment team of BMC can focus on the development of a leadership approach in order to manage the skills and capability development of expatriates. They should be provided with the cleared job description as well as correct objectives in the repatriation process. The provision of constant reviewing can help the business organization to measure their performance as well as provide opportunities to improve their individual effort (Manuti and Giancaspro, 2019). By well managing the expatriates, BMC can able to ensure a higher demand from their market investment regarding their new market expansion in the Middle East.
3.5 Explanation of people's practice to support resettlement and re-entry of overseas workers
People's practices greatly assist the expatriates in order to resettle and re-enter into the export countries in various ways. It has been seen that by simplifying the selection preparation and others' role, People's practices facilitate the performance of the expatriates. They also help in the provision of assistance regarding the travel documentation and other permits related to work in order to enhance the travel experiences of expatriates (Duchek, 2020).The way of offering pre-departure assistance regarding health such as medical tests, vaccinations, and other people's practices also provides supporting guidance to expatriates.
In the context of cultural readjustment, the provision of orientation sessions is pivotal for the purpose of making the resettlement and re-entry in a systematic way. It can be added that expatriates need to cope up with new culture to perform their duties and in this way, the advocacy of people practitioners helps to actualize organizational goals and objectives (Llinás and Abad Puente, 2019). On the other hand, people practitioners help expatriates to be aware of various regulations and laws of the exporting countries. Awareness is required in the context of settling in a harmony of expatriates in the new country. The people practitioners of BMC can focus on building a robust strategy to assist the hiring expatriates for the purpose of boosting their experiences in their work.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, from the above discussion, it can be stated that giving stress on the people's practices as a part of strategic management planning can help BMC to ensure the success of their branch out into the middle east. The consideration of various cultural factors and divergent approaches may help to make the people's practices more effective in the purpose of serving strategic objectives in business. Policies implication in that process is also crucial for making the operation ethical that enhancing the operational sustainability as well. Besides, exploration of the changing pattern of the people's practices may help the organization to come up with a good managing approach in that segment. Lastly, it can also add that the hiring of expatriates may help the company in order to strengthen its market position regarding its new expansion and also building of a strong base of consumers within a short period of time.
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