Evaluation of the Singhania and Partners Strategy
Singhania and Partners have a strong sense of context in their business strategy. The company is on the forefront of planning for change and adapting to it. Cases in point include opening a New York office to take care of the influx of new business from America occasioned by the liberalization of the Indian market, and the vast opportunities opened up by information technology in the twenty first century (Cullen, 2011).
In order to take advantage of the business opportunities offered by the changes in the operating environment, Singhania and Partners work under a Managing Partner who is an expert in law, and a Chief Executive Officer who ensures the business dimension of the firm remains strong. These two leaders offer the two perspectives required for a successful legal practice in India. The managing partner takes decisions regarding the strategic directions the company follows in as far as legal practice goes, while the CEO decides on the best business practices required to make these strategies successful.
Its model of operations is strong now. The senior management is lean hence there is greater efficiency in taking decision and implementing proposals. This arrangement may be insufficient in the context of rapid growth because a larger organization requires greater oversight than the two leaders can provide (BCG, 2010). The law firm needs to reassess the suitability of its organizational strategy in the context of long-term growth.
Evaluation of the five IHRM practices
Under recruitment and selection, Singhania and Partners recruit according to organizational needs and their selection process seeks to incorporate competencies lacking in the company. The company is in a regulated industry, which makes it hard to evaluate their IHRM strategy occasioned by its increasing international profile. The company will experience increasing pressure from international forces to employ employees from other countries in order to make clients more comfortable doing business them (Flannes & Levin, 2005).
Evidence of training for cross-cultural adaption is in the international office of the company. The fact that the company opened a New York office shows that it has an interest to pursue its business objectives at an international level. The biggest undoing is the lack of American staff at senior management. This can limit its capacity to grab the international market from the United States and Europe since clients from these countries will find it easier to work with firms that have westerners in it.
The company seems strong on management development. The fact that there is a partner who came in as an associate speaks well of the management development function at the company. The capacity to develop talent from the lower levels to the point where a person can take up management duties speaks well for the firm.
On the issue of evaluation, the Company seems to have a strong culture of evaluating its progress and that of its employees through weekly senior staff meetings and biweekly all staff meetings. There is inconclusive evidence of a similar culture at the personal level to evaluate the performance of individual members of the staff. However, there seems to be an element of procedural management of talent evidenced by the guarded optimism caused by the interest to return to the company by one of its employees who left for a higher paying position.
According to the discussion by the Managing Partner and the CEO in the case, the compensation plan in the company is strong and attractive enough by industry standards. It includes an attractive monthly pay, and a large bonus at the end of each year. This will serve to retain employees for a longer period despite high attrition rates in the industry.
Practices the Company Can Improve
Training for cross-cultural adaptation calls for more than just opening an office in New York. There is an urgent need for the company to readjust its organizational plan to fit in the needs of its potential clients from western countries. For instance, the company needs to consider either merging with an American law firm, or getting new partners in America to run the New York Office. The fact that the company operates from India, which has restrictive policies on international human resource hiring makes it even more important for the company to consider employing Americans to operate its New York office at senior management levels.
One of the obvious advantages that such a move will bring is that it will make it easier for American investors to work with the firm because of the presence of familiar faces in the management team (Epicor, 2011). In the same vein, the company will have a strategic position in Europe because of the similarity of business practices in Europe and America. In this sense, employing Americans to play senior roles in the company will not only open up the American market. It will also open the European market because of the legal needs of western investors to India.
Recommendations on How to Improve the Current IHRM Strategy
The first thing the company can do to improve its performance is the use of a structured job performance review (Flannes & Levin, 2005). There was insufficient evidence in the case presented that the company uses structured job performance reviews as a means of promoting staff. Employees require a predicable job-performance review system to know how to allocate their efforts. This will help the company to ascertain who the highest achievers are, in relation to the objectives of the company.
Secondly, the company should do everything in its power to maintain its commitment to work-life balance. The issue of “having a life” means a lot to younger employees (BCG, 2010). Their commitment to work is not the same as the older generation. They like to have the opportunity to pursue other interests as they go about their duties. An attractive package, coupled by reasonable working hours, would ensure that the company retains its position as an attractive employer.
Finally, the company needs to explore opportunities to work with employees from a broader international extraction. Currently, it appears that the company is primarily Indian. While this is the result of government policy, there is need for the company to do its best to find ways of including international staff in its payroll. This will provide it with a distinct advantage when it comes to getting business from international destinations. There will be fewer cases of cross-cultural clashes and a greater amount of trust by international clients.
How the Recommended Changes Influence the Organization in the Industry
The recommended changes will create a strategic edge for the company. The ability to serve international clientele will make the company one of the first to adapt successfully its operations to take advantage of the position India is taking as an economic powerhouse. In this sense, the employees will feel better exposed by belonging to a transnational company hence they will have fewer reasons to leave the company. These changes will make the organization attractive, not only to Indian nationals, but also to international employees.
References
BCG. (2010). Creating People Advantage in 2010: How Companies can Adapt their HR Practices for Volatile Times. Boston, MA: The Boston Consulting Group.
Cullen, J. (2011). Multinational Management: A Strategic Approach (5th ed ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Epicor. (2011). Talent Management in the Coming Decade: How HRIS can Help. Workforce Management , p. 42.
Flannes, S., & Levin, G. (2005). Essential People Skills for Project Managers. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts.