Lecture 8:

Developing A Global Workforce

Connie ZHENG

Agenda
Understand the importance of T &D of global workforce

in MNCs;
Conduct basic training need analysis for international
employees;
Grasp the process of T & D of international employees;
Examine different components of pre-departure training
programs for expatriates;
Appreciate different training methods;
Understand the issues of international training of HCNs;
Evaluate various instruments for developing a global
workforce.

Importance of Training &

Development of International Staff
Minimize expatriate failure rate

globalization process
international competition
need to market products worldwide
international mergers & acquisition
new market access opportunities (Easter Europe, China and
former USSR)

Previous training focus

marketing resource application; technology transfer;
organizational configuration, not on addressing HR needs

New tasks & responsibilities

adaptive ability; cultural sensitivity
well-equipped; best people sent abroad.

Training Needs Analysis

Type of Training
Technical Training

Example

Management Training

Organisational structure, spans of control, reporting

relationships, communication structures,administrative
procedures, government-business relationships, business
environment, marketing issues, HRM issues, investment
issues, ethnical considerations?

Domestic information

Accommodation, schools, hospitals, medical and social

services, shopping facilities and domestic services, issues
related to vehicles, customs and procedures, insurance

Cross cultural training

Information about other cultures, how to adjust

Language training

Few words or phrases, basic understanding, needs of use of

interpreters?

Technology level, cultural and attitudinal constraints on

technology transfer, leadership skills, handle responsibilties

Components of Pre-departure
Training Program
Cultural awareness training
Preliminary visits
Language instruction
Practical assistance

Cultural Awareness Programs

Beneficial to foster an appreciation of the host culture,
Various focuses according to country of assignment,

duration, purpose of the transfer and the provider of

such programs.
Contents of cultural awareness program

environmental briefing and cultural orientation

cultural assimilators;
language training;
sensitivity training; and
field experiences (Tung 1981)

Preliminary Visits
useful techniques in orienting international employees
provide expatriate and family members with a

preview that allows them to assess their suitability for

and interest in the assignment
serve to introduce candidates to the business context in
the host location
encourage more informed pre-departure preparation
exposure to the expatriate community.
potential problem - part selection decision and part
pre-departure training.

Language Training
The role of English as the language of world business
the importance of language training is often downplayed by
those English-speaking countries
Host-country language skills and adjustment
the ability to speak a foreign language improves expatriates
effectiveness and negotiating ability
Knowledge of the corporate language
impact of adopting corporate language upon HRM activities
within the MNCs, e.g. control v. coordination,
standardization of information and reporting system.

Wright & Wright (1994)

The other speaker controls what is
communicated and what is understood. The
monolingual English speaker has less room to
maneuver, no possibility of finding out more
that he/she is given. His position forces him to
be reactive rather than proactive in the
relationship. What he says and understands is
filtered through the other speakers
competence, over which he has no control (p. 5)

Practical Assistance
Provides information that assists in relocation
Makes an important contribution toward the

adaptation of expatriates and their family

Utilises relocation specialists to provide this

area of assistance
May include language training or other types of

local orientations.

T & D for HCNs and TCNs

The shortage of international managers is
becoming an increasing problem for
international firms. While the faster pace of
internationalisation was cited as the primary
reason for shortages, failure to recruit
effectively, retain and develop host country
managers is another key reason to explain
shortages of international managers

Issues of HCN Training

The issue of the expense of cheap labour;
The level of HCN competence relating to training

and cost of MNCs;

The issue of mode of operation v. HCN training
e.g. JV partners request of training unskilled labour.
Training as incentives to attract and retain staff

Local v. HQ training
technical training for operating employees in areas where
certain skills and work practices are strategically essential
Satellite technology to deliver training.

T & D for HCNs and TCNs

A number of factors make recruitment of
HCN managers difficult, they are:
lack of knowledge of local labor markets;
ignorance of the local education systems and
the status of qualifications
language and cultural problems at interviews
trying to transfer recruitment methods which
work well at home to foreign countries

T & D for HCNs and TCNs

Management training provided to HCNs and TCNs
should address:

need to avoid the mistake of simply exporting

Parent country T & D programs to other countries
the management training for host country and TCNs
need to be linked to the strategic situation in each
country as well as to the overall strategy of the firm
the need to utilise much further the practice of
developing HCN managers through developmental
transfers to corporate headquarters

International Training of HCNs

Facilitates specific firm-based training (e.g. technical,

operative, managerial);
Builds a sense of corporate identity through developing

informal networks;
Develops particular skills required in the most cost

effective way (e.g. Ford - Capri);

Broadens the outlook of domestic (HQ) employees

about the firms diversified international workteam;

Possibly transfer HCNs specific knowledge and skills

to HQ.

Methods for Developing

a Global Workforce
A team of international managers should cover PCNs, TCNs

and HCNs for effective global operation;

Developing a team with international experience through
short-term assignments;
International job rotation is one of techniques used to
develop multinational teams and international operators;
External training program using action learning;
International meetings in various locations served as a way
to foster interaction and personal networks that help build a
global team;
Emphasizes diversity for innovation, organizational
learning and the transfer of knowledge.

The aim in a global business is to get the best

ideas from everywhere. Each team puts up its
best ideas and processes - constantly. That raises
the bar. Our culture is designed around making
a hero out of those who translate ideas from one
place to another, who help somebody else. They
get an award, they get praised and promoted.
Jack Welch, CEO of GE

Effective Knowledge Transfer

Creation of global teams and networks of experts through

the actual mobility of people;

Maintaining effective communication systems and
databases that people can draw from;
Having a systematic evaluation of individual's experience
upon completion of an international assignment and
ensuring that where valuable knowledge has been
acquired, this is built into the organizational routines and
taught to others.
Kamoche, 1997, p. 220