Attempt all the questions.
Section-A
Question1) You are a human resource manager of the multinational enterprise which is about to send its first executives overseas to staff the new subsidiary. What special training will you undertake for these employees?
Question2) Suggests measures for managing and improving performance of expatriates.
Question3) Critically examine approaches that might be employed in formulating compensation of expatriates.
Question4) Write brief notes on any two of the following:
a) Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
b) Approaches to International Staffing
c) Re-entry & career issues
Section-B
Case Study
JAPAN-BASED NIDEK RESPONDS TO THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION
Surrounded by scenic Mikawa Bay, Gamagori, Japan is the home of Nidek, world’s leading supplier of surgical and diagnostic products for vision care. In 1971, Hideo Ozawa founded Nidek to help doctors protect against vision loss and improve quality of life for their patients. Today Nidek is developing vision prosthesis to restore vision to blind. This “artificial eye” can be ready for use within next 10 years. A leader in innovation, Nidek is firmly established in over 90 countries worldwide, with branch offices in United States, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, and China.
On the company’s 25th Anniversary, Nidek announced its entrance into new business domain of eye and health care. Hiroshi Okada, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Nidek, U.S.A. is excited about new product line geared to baby boomers like himself. “They are able to spend more money to look better or younger,” he says. Laser type dermatological equipment is used for skin rejuvenation or hair removal. Hideo Ozawa’s move to diversify his product offerings, underscores his keen understanding of the requirement for corporate agility in today’s rapidly changing marketplace.
Nidek has long been the respected presence in the global business community, gaining international recognition in 2001 for its company-wide quality control system. “Nidek is truly the quality driven company. ...It has been Mr. Ozawa’s desire from the very beginning. Quality products are the bedrock of Nidek,” says Kuntal Joshi, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Nidek U.S.A.
Despite its considerable business acumen, management at Nidek, U.S.A. was recently faced with unprecedented high turnover rates in its sales force. “Our competitors were stealing our sales people...They were offering more money than I can offer,” David Yeh, Director of Sales explains.
At Nidek Co., Ltd. in Japan, sales people are paid the similar amount biweekly regardless of performance. This system works well in Japan; a traditional country, where one’s work is an extension of one’s identity. Lifelong loyalty to company is expected. According to Joshi Kuntal, “Japanese employees are very hard working; they have sense of pride, a sense of belonging to a company.” By contrast, tenure in America ranges from three to five years. People are more than likely to leave the job for a salary increase or a career opportunity. Aware of the differences between national cultures of Japan and America, Nidek U.S.A. had already implemented a performance based pay check, but even that wasn’t sufficient to hold American sales people.
In the end the crisis presented an opportunity for David Yeh and his management team to restructure jobs of the whole sales force, as well as their bonus plans. After careful analysis, David Yeh utilized Nidek’s vast line of product offerings to resolve situation. He realized that competition allowed sales people to sell only one product, basing their earnings on sales of that item alone. By training sales people at Nidek to sell vast array of products, they can make substantially more money. For now, sales effort at Nidek U.S.A. is back in gear and the discrepancies between Japanese style management practices and American culture have been resolved.
Question5) Case Questions:
a) Can the above problem have been tackled differently? If so, how? If not, Why?
b) Taking the International HRM perspective, can Nidek have evolved a different strategy to deal with challenge of globalization?