Paper CASE Homework
The following outline is suggested:
o Your paper should be based on the case you have been assigned.
o Answer the case questions at the end of the case in the text book.
o Identify what is happening within the case in terms of HRM, provide recommendations based on what you have learned from this course
Length: 4-5 pages.
i. Facts of the Case. This should include all those significant factors that impact the situation.
ii. Key Issues. Based on your analysis of the facts of the case, determine what issues are affecting the organization and determine what decisions need to be made.
iii. Alternatives/Options. What alternatives/options exist for each of these issues? Generate a set of alternatives for each action and compare the pros and cons of each, including any problems expected in implementing each alternative.
iv. Recommendations. State what strategic changes the organization could make and justify your choices. Itemize specific actions needed to implement your strategy, including any required to overcome anticipated obstacles.
CASE STUDY
"One of the biggest HR challenges facing global businesses today is how to most effectively train and develop a global workforce. In fact, there seems to be no single generally accepted approach for handling this increasingly important function. Even firms in the same industry adopt very different approaches. Take Chevron, for example. Chevron is a global energy company headquartered in California but with operations in more than 180 countries. Chevron uses a flexible approach to training in that it assesses each training opportunity as a unique activity and then develops it accordingly. Japan tend to be cordial. Unions are created and run by the businesses themselves. Because Japanese culture discourages confrontation and hostility, unions and management tend to work together cooperatively. Disputes are usually dissolved cordially and through mutual agreement, and it is rare that a third-party mediator must be consulted. Strikes are also rare in Japan. For instance, Chevron announced plans to open a new production facility in Angola and wanted to staff the facility with local employees and managers. However, the firm also felt that local employees lacked some of the technical skills needed for their new positions. Chevron also has a long-standing partnership with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAT) in Canada. SAT agreed to develop a custom training program to help train Chevron's employees for their new assignment. Forty-five Chevron employees from Angola then spent 11 months in Alberta learning new technical skills. Schlumberger, the world's largest energy services business, uses a different approach. All Schlumberger employees are trained locally. Sometimes relying on local expertise and sometimes relying on Schlumberger managers sent on temporary assignment, Schlumberger employees routinely receive classroom training on the newest job skills as well as managerial competencies without needing to travel."
"Meanwhile, Schlumberger's biggest competitor, Haliburton, uses a hybrid model for employee training. Like Schlumberger, Halliburton uses local experts plus its own managers to provide on-site technical training. However, managerial and leadership training activities are centralized at Texas A&M University's Mays Business School in the United States. Each year, several hundred Halliburton managers travel to Texas from around the world for training programs ranging from 1 to 5 weeks. This training is focused on management and leadership competencies and is in-tended to help prepare high-potential managers for future leadership roles. Ironically, however, while most global firms do a reason-ably effective job of preparing employees and managers for overseas jobs and assignments, most also do a somewhat less effective job of helping people on short-term foreign assignments prepare for their return home. Companies sometimes invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to help a manager prepare for and then execute a foreign assignment, but then devote virtually no attention to that manager when the assignment ends and the manager returns home. Unfortunately, though, about 20 percent of managers and other professionals leave their employer within 2 years from returning home after an extended overseas assignment. Consequently, it would seem that even globally success-ful companies still have aways to go in developing comprehensive training and development strategies for their employees.6"
i. Why do you think there is so much variation in how companies handle global training and development for their employees?
ii. What kinds of additional training might be used for managers taking on a new overseas assignment?
iii. Assume that you have been on an overseas assignment for 2 years but are now preparing to return home. What might you do to prepare for this transition?
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.