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Dear Students,
Welcome to Week 11! We are entering the final two weeks of this course. This week's lecture marks the final topic for the course. A couple of gentle reminders:
(1) Final Exams Preparations
I hope most of you have begun preparing for your final exams, rather than wait until the last moments to begin studying for the final exams. One student asked me recently, do we need to study Section A Mock Exams Q&A and the case questions for group presentations? While these questions will NOT appear in its original form i.e. word for word in the same form, it would be useful to revise Section A Mock Exams Q&A as well as Question 2 in your reflective journals to have some idea of the questions that will be asked in the final exams. More hints will be provided in next week's live lecture. Please attend!
As always, I am available for guidance and consultation if you are struggling to catch up with your studies. Please email me for an online consultation.
IMPORTANT: The online workshops attendance has been low. The online workshops cover not only discussions of the case and Section A Mock Exam questions, more importantly, but it also provides students with a useful platform to clarify concepts they could not understand. This is particularly important and useful as the lectures are no longer run face to face.
Additionally, the workshops are useful to help students reflect on the grading of their presentation slides. Despite multiple reminders throughout the course, students still overlooked the importance of familiarising themselves with the marking rubric (which the teaching team uses for marking consistency). Common omissions from the group presentation submissions include:
(i) summary of case facts
(ii) linkage of the case to the concepts (i.e. how the concepts are applied in the case)
(iii) Demonstrated use of references (most commonly, lack of/ or inconsistent in-text references, some presentation did not have a reference list, and most presentations are not informed by academic journal articles, some even use websites such as Course Hero that encourages plagiarism)
If the workshop timing is inconvenient for your attendance due to differences in time zone, please take the time to view workshops - ALL workshops are recorded and made available to you in the course site (via Collaborate Ultra).
(2) Details of the Final Exams
The final exams will run as an online exam. As we have moved to online delivery and some students are living in other time zones, the online exams will allow students to submit their answers over a period of 2 days. Details of the final exams as follow:
- i) Same format and structure as listed in the course profile (i.e. 40% of total course marks, Section A Answer 4 short answer questions (no choice), Section B Answer 4 short answer questions based on a case (no choice). Section A Mock Exams Questions and Answers covered in the workshops thus far would be useful to give you an idea what Section A of the final exams looks like. Section B similar to Section A but based on a case where you need to apply concepts by linking your answers to the case information (as you have done in your group presentation assessment).
- ii) The exams case will be released to the students on 18 May (Monday) in this folder.
iii) The exams questions will be released in the assessment folder from 26 May (Tuesday) at 9 am and close on 27 May (Wednesday) at 6 pm (Queensland, Australian Time). (NB: You may email me anytime within this period if you need any clarification on the exams questions)
- iv) IMPORTANT:Students will type their answers in a word document and submit via the online submission link which will open on 26 May (Tuesday) at 9 am and close on 27 May (Wednesday) at 6 pm (Queensland, Australian Time). After this dateline, NO submission is be accepted regardless of reasons (please contact the course convenor if you are unable to sit for this exams during these 2 days)
- v) In week 12, I will run two sessions of 2 hours "live" online lecture (instead of a pre-recorded one) to allow students to ask questions on the final exams.
Week 12: Two X 2 hours Live Lectures via Collaborate Ultra:
18 May (Monday) 10 am to 12 pm
20 May (Wednesday) 1 pm to 3 pm
(3) Teaching Evaluations (SEC) opens this week
Due to the impact of COVID-19, and our transition to online learning, the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) surveys have been cancelled for Trimester 1. The Student Evaluation of Course (SEC) surveys will continue to ensure students have an opportunity to provide feedback on their experience and transition to online/remote learning. Despite the cancellation of SET, your feedback in SEC is most crucial to help the teaching team continuously improve on our teaching, ultimately contributing to a student-centric learning environment for students enrolled in this course.
Here's a link to further information: https://intranet.secure.griffith.edu.au/work/surveys/student-surveys/experience-at-griffith
(4) Workshop Topic: Marketing in The Global Firm (Week 11)
This week, I will lead discussions in the online workshops for the case of "H&M: International Marketing Success Story (Chapter 16, Pages 485-486)".
(5) Week 11 Lecture Topic 10: Human Resource Management in the Global Firm (Textbook Chapter 17)
In this week's lecture, we will explore the topic of "Human Resource Management in the Global Firm". As you read the required textbook chapter and view the pre-recorded lecture, keep the central theme in mind - fundamentally, we seek to answer the question, "How does a firm win in the international platform?". On this note, this week's lecture primarily looks at the critical roles of six key tasks of international human resource management (IHRM).
In general, management is about getting things done through people. The challenge in "getting things done through people" is no two human beings are alike - each employee is unique - we have a different personality, skills, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses. What motivates you, may not motivate me. Thus, a key role of human resource management (HRM) is to select (hire) the right people for the right job. Then, train, pay and motivate the employees to do their roles effectively and efficiently. This HRM challenge is much more complex when a firm is operating in different markets. An employee may be very good in their jobs in the home country, but sending this employee to work in a foreign subsidiary may not guarantee the same success. Thus, for a firm to win in the international platform, the human resource department needs to send expatriates with the right skills, mindset, emotional and cultural intelligence to manage foreign operations.
As always, the topics and concepts in this course are not independent of one another - many are inter-related and connected. By this stage in the course, students would be able to "connect the dots" and draw on your understanding of concepts taught in other topics/previous lectures and connect with the new concepts in this week. The two topics that have close links to this topic are "cross-culturally communications" (managing global teams) and "Ethics, CSR and Corporate Governance" (provide a sustainable, safe and conducive work environment for your employees).
In summary, choosing appropriate strategies for each of the six key tasks of international human resource management is a critical aspect of how a firm win in international markets.
I look forward to seeing you in the online workshops this week. Happy Learning!
Best Regards,
Dr. B
| Subject | Business | Pages | 5 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Section A
Question One
An organization's corporate culture creates a work climate for its employees. Netflix, a giant multinational company in the media and entertainment industry, has a corporate culture that emphasizes the freedom and complete trust of their employees. The company offers employees unlimited vacation time, flexible working hours, and year-long maternity leave. However, it also puts a lot of emphasis on performance and trusts that its employees will deliver quality performance and not abuse the freedom. The culture has significantly impacted the company's global hiring strategy, where it offers above the market pay to attract and retain top of the line employees in the job market. The strategy has seen the company rise from selling and renting DVDs to dominating the entertainment and content production industry.
Question Two
President Trump is applying the theory of Mercantilism. The theory asserts that nations should limit their imports and increase their exports to promote their current account surplus or reduce their current account deficit with its trade partners. China enjoys a comparative advantage in the production of various goods such as electronics making their products cheap. An influx of their exports into the American market has killed several industries because of the low prices of their goods. The introduction of the tariffs will significantly increase the costs of the goods, thus giving American companies a chance to sell their products domestically and recover a market that was lost to the Chinese. Concerning American products, the president can sign new trade agreements with other countries. The tariffs will promote the consumption of American goods in America and open other trade frontiers for the country. Therefore, the tariffs will reduce the value of American imports from China, thus helping to reduce their current trade deficit.
Question Three
Purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic theory that states that the value of a basket of goods in one country is the same as the value of a basket of the same good in another. The assumption is based on the one price law which asserts that freely traded good should trade at the same price around the globe. However, factors such as transportation costs, tariffs, and taxes affect pricing making the goods have different prices in different countries. The difference in pricing of the food baskets, therefore, causes the disequilibrium in the exchange rates of the currencies of the two countries. The purchasing power parity plays a vital role in pricing when entering an emergent market because the use of the relative PPP, which takes into account inflation is used to formulate the price, therefore, making customers pay the same value but adjusted to market factors such as inflation.
Question Four
Private sector union membership continues to decrease for the following reasons; first, labor laws changes. Various countries have implemented laws like the right to work that abolished the mandatory requirement that those working in unionized organizations must be part of the unions. Therefore, an increasing number of employees who do not like unions prefer to work without joining. Secondly, a reduction in the unions' efficiency makes employees feel their contributions to such unions are not helping, thus making them leave the unions. Additionally, the changing nature of jobs in the market to contract-based also makes employees fail to join unions since the contracts are always short. On the other hand, public sector unions continue to be strong because of the realization of the advantages of collective bargaining, especially when dealing with the government. The employees, therefore, unionize in order to increase their bargaining power over the government to increase the chances of their grievances being addressed. The continued reduction in the number of unionized employees in the private sector creates a conducive environment for global business growth. It offers an avenue to control and reduce labor as a factor of production.
Section B
Question five
Using the OLI model, it is not beneficial for Vodafone to engage in foreign direct investment through acquisition in China. This reason is informed by the following factors. First, ownership, the Chinese government does not allow foreign companies to control 100% stake of their companies, especially those in vital industries such as communication. Therefore, there will be ownership problems. Secondly, there is a limited location advantage as the cultural differences and government policies between the company and those companies operating in China will make the acquisition problematic. Thirdly, the acquisition will only offer internationalization advantages stemming from Chinese companies' good understanding of their markets and the country's low cost of production. Therefore, out of the three factors, only one is positive making it not beneficial for Vodafone to engage in foreign direct investment through acquisition in China
Question Six
Vodafone uses a multidomestic strategy. Multi domestic companies have a presence in several countries. However, they constantly change aspects of their business in each country they are in. Vodafone leverages the same strategy. This is evident in its pricing methods. It uses the local currency of the countries in which it operates. Additionally, its product offerings are different in each country it operates in; for instance, it offers different services in Africa due to a limited range of technological adoption as compared to what it offers in Britain.
Question Seven
In order to succeed in Asia and Sub Saharan Africa, Vodafone's management should do the following; first, lower their production cost to leverage price as a competitive front. Offering lower prices will make it affordable for the customers in low-income countries. Secondly, tr management should appreciate the cultural differences and make culturally sensitive advertisements to avoid negative relations with the customers. Additionally, the company should target each diverse group differently to send a marketing message that resonates with them.
Question Eight
Vodafone winning strategy lies in expansion. The company expanded its business through acquisitions and partnerships in various parts of the globe. However, the new order is threatening the company’s continued survival. The threat reduces the chances of the company surviving the new order because of the flowing reasons; first reduction in revenue in its main market, Europe. Secondly, the divestments it made in America and japan significantly reduced its market share. Additionally, the increasing capacity of its major competitors, such as AT&T and China Mobile. These factors pose a severe existential threat to the company.
References
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Appendix
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