Operating a global firm in a foreign country comes with a bunch of challenges due to different cultural dispositions of workers. Most global business such as the Emirates Airlines send foreign managers to set up businesses in foreign countries where they acquire the human resources locally. The manager’s role to manage these teams to deliver a common goal irrespective of their differences in cultural background and origin.
Emirati managers will find it difficult to adapt to the rapidly changing worker profiles. It is also due to the fact that management of human resources is a challenge in a foreign country. In China, the workers are used to a more hierarchical structure where each one is accustomed a clear, distinct role and monotony of duties. (Briscoe and Schuler 75). This is in contrast with western nations such as England where workers have delegated responsibilities and flexible lines of operations. Such differences may create tension between Emirati managers and their workers who are used to different ways of working. The manager should understand the culture and fine tune the workers with time.
Cultural differences among people towards business is another challenge. Different nationalities have different perceptions and beliefs on the business. UAE managers need to understand this cultures and come up with ways on how to avoid conflict while running a business. In China, foreign managers need to familiarize themselves with the three traditional philosophies; Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Understanding this culture will help the manager to accommodate the divergent cultural dispositions in order to build a stronger relationship with his workers. Differences in the labor market, employment systems in different nationalities is challenges for UAE and any other multinational.
Effective communication in any multinational is critical to its success. Language barrier is a challenge that is faced by all the managers in the foreign countries. UAE is Arabic and English speaking nation and the managers to work in foreign countries are required to acquire some level of fluency in the local language
Understanding the subtleties of worker's qualifications is another problem that Emirati managers encounter. The skills that managers need may not be provided by the local training systems. This means the managers are not able to assess the skills of the applicants properly. (Watson, Maxwell, and D'Annunzio-Green 36). It has been contributed greatly by lack of standardization of education in a global context. The understanding of this system and disparities will enable the managers to hire the right skills and the right compensation. These may lead to workers feeling underestimated in cases where there is outsourcing to compliment the skills.
The manager’s role is to retain the talents while lowering the cost. This can prove to be a tough challenge on the manger’s part. The workers expectations of huge salaries from multinational always create a crisis that managers must address. The workers may feel that their efforts are not well paid off by these foreign companies due to their magnified expectations of the remuneration. The managers in these multinational corporations don’t have any role in determining the remuneration scales as most of they are standardized.
Emirati manager’s first task is to earn the trust of the worker. The managers should familiarize themselves with the culture and educational systems of the country to avoid any ideological collisions. Effective communication in the company is paramount to ensure that the workers value and feel the foreign manager is the right man for the job. Training in the local language can earn the trust in the shortest time. Involvement of the workers in decision making will help the workers feel part of the company. Corporate social events, remuneration programs and direct communication helps to integrate the foreign managers into the foreign country to the point where the nationality issues becomes long gone.
Works Cited
Briscoe, Dennis R, and Randall S. Schuler. International Human Resource Management: Policy and Practice for the Global Enterprise. London: Routledge, 2004. Print.
Watson, Sandra, Gillian A. Maxwell, and Norma D'Annunzio-Green. Human Resource Management: International Perspectives in Hospitality and Tourism. London: Continuum, 2002. Print.
