Sybil’s choices in managing her team in India have created negative output, which manifests itself in three distinct problems. Firstly, her approach to hiring is based on prior familiarity rather than diversity, which, as a result, is not sufficient. Secondly, Sybil leaves little autonomy to the teams, which provokes infighting. Finally, the lack of cultural acclimatization of Sybil’s employees creates obstacles in communication with clients as well as a sense of inadequacy in employees’ families. The combination of ill-considered decisions propelled the corporation’s management to question Sybil’s competence.
The performance issues of teams deployed to India stemmed from the insufficient empowerment of employees. Despite the allowed degree of autonomy for teams, Sybil makes all decisions on her own, which she communicates to the teams. Instead, the proper team management presupposes more responsibility on the employees. Modern organizations “expect employees to make more decisions about how they perform their jobs” (Noe, 2019, p. 277). Some managerial work, like planning work schedule, should be delegated to the team to empower it. The empowerment factor lacks in the case of AEI’s subsidiaries in India.
Global human resource management follows four concepts – flexibility, motivation, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. These qualities are essential in employees entering a foreign country (Noe, 2019). Therefore, team hiring for foreign assignments should include evaluations of an employee’s verbal and non-verbal communicative skills, sensitivity to cultural differences, enjoyment of challenges, and family support. Having these criteria met is an essential part of hiring a team that will succeed in a foreign environment.
Sybil made a major mistake by failing to prepare the teams for cultural immersion. If I had been in Sybil’s place, I would base the selection of the employees on their capabilities to adapt to a foreign culture. A study by Raghavendra and Shetty found that “higher the work experience, lesser the number of days the expatriates need for acclimatization in the host country” (2018, p. 437). Thus, work experience would be the first among the selection criteria.
Secondly, all teams would undergo a program of cultural acclimatization. Its first step would begin before the actual deployment, and it would be comprised of “language instruction and an orientation to the foreign country’s culture” (Noe, 2019. p. 517). Team members, as well as their spouses, would acquire the necessary communication skills for living in India. The second step would entail the assignment itself, which would also require the employees and their spouses to join a local social network within the first two months. It would help them make connections and build circles of friends. The third step is preparation for homecoming in the form of “providing information about the employee’s community and home-country workplace” (Noe, 2019. p. 517). Overall, proper acclimatization would ease the culture shock, streamline adaptation, and prepare for the return.
Altogether, Sybil could have prevented team problems by applying concepts of global human resources management. Delegating some responsibility to the teams in India would help resolve internal conflicts and empower the employees. The teams themselves should have been selected based on the adaptability of employees to a foreign culture, which comprises communication skills and work experience. Finally, all team members, including their families, should have received cross-cultural training to alleviate acclimatization and prevent cooperation issues with Indian clients. By making appropriate choices in hiring, deploying, and managing, Sybil could have avoided the negative attention of her management.
References
Noe, R. (2019). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Web.
Raghavendra, A. N., & Shetty, A. S. (2018). Riding the waves of culture: An empirical study on acclimatization. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 16(3), 432-442.