MIGRANT WORKERS AND EXPATRIATE ASSIGMENTS

Or known as economic migration, involves the movement of people from one country (or region) to another primarily for employment related reasons (IPPR 2004).

Migrant workers are used extensively for crop harvesting, mandating that they follow the harvest seasons (Business dictionary 2011).

http://www.cv-library.co.uk/news/893/Small-firms-'struggle'-on-migrant-worker-recruitment-.html

REASONS TO GO AWAY

physiological needs

safety needs

social needs

steem needs

self actualization

desire for money

EXPATRIATE

to exile (oneself) from one's native country or cause (another) to go into exile.

Managing expatriate assignment
according to Adler and Gadhar,1990 expatriate assignment are used as a source of managerial development, that allows individuals to develop the requisite international skills to become a more valuable resource to their MNC; and subsidiary control to ensure headquarter consistency in terms of strategy and operational policies.

• Success of personnel assigned abroad depends largely on their preparedness through training in culture, customs, and language.
• Recognize them for their work and potential for making contributions to the firm now and in the future (this can help shape proactive returnees).

Expatriates are workers who leave their home country to work in another but they are usually sent by their employer to perform an important job or as a part of the company’s policy which is all about sending employees abroad for them to have the experience of working in another country with different people and then go back to apply what he/she had learned in the benefit of the company.

This category of migrant workers is treated separately because of the nature of the movement itself. Normal migrants move because they want to find better opportunities and sometimes that’s not the case and because of their low level of training and skills they find themselves working in worst conditions as they would be in their home country. Expatriates on the other hand leave their home country with all the guarantees and the support of the company who sends them. They don’t have to worry about what job will they find or if they’ll even find one, they have their accommodation arranged for them and usually with the same or more comforts than they have at home.

SOURCES

•  Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved March 11, 2011, fromhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/expatriate Expatriate. (n.d.).  Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/expatriate
• migrant worker figure: http://www.cv-library.co.uk/news/893/Small-firms-'struggle'-on-migrant-worker-recruitment-.html

• Expatriate Assignment, Adjustment and Effectiveness: An Empirical Examination of the Big Picture

Jeffrey P. Shay, Sally A. Baack Vol. 35, No. 3 (May, 2004), pp. 216-232  Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3875146

• figure 2: http://orgycultdcart.blogspot.com/
• Mezias, J.M and Scandura, T.A. (2005) A Needs-Driven Approach to Expatriate

Adjustment and Career Development: A Multiple Mentoring Perspective,

International Business StudiesJournal of, Vol. 36, No. 5 (Sep.), pp. 519-538

COMMUNICATION AND VIRTUAL TEAM

VIRTUAL TEAM

According to Miles and Snow (1986) virtual team is an evolutionary form of a network organization, authors use advanced information and communication technologies to interact, members seek to collaborate productively while geographically dispersed.

Virtual teams are groups of people working on interdependent tasks, geographically distributed, conduct their core work mainly through an electronic medium and share responsibility for team outcomes. Although a virtual team is an evolutionary form of a network organization, new forms of organizational governance may have profound implications for both job content and security. In the other hand Henry and Hartzler (1998) define a virtual team as a group of people working closely together though geographically separated and may reside in different time zones; also as “cross-functional workgroups brought together to tackle a project for a finite period of time through a combination of technologies.” Virtual teams may therefore work across distance, time, and organizational boundaries (Langevin, 2004, p. 3)

http://blog.softheme.com/6-rules-for-better-communication-in-virtual-teams/

According to Powell, 2004 virtual teams represent one such organizational form, one that could revolutionize the workplace and provide organizations with unprecedented level of flexibility and responsiveness.

in a virtual team, the members have to take into account some dimensions:

• communication
• understanding
• role clarity
• leadership attitude
• well-planned monitoring mechanisms

VIRTUAL TEAM CULTURE

COMMUNICATION

is the evoking of a shared or common meaning in another person. exist some barriers for communication:

1. physical separation
2. status differences
3. gender differences
4. cultural diversity
5. language

http://www.masternewmedia.org/es/etiqueta-para-movil-chat-voip/como-evitar-ser-intrusivo-en-la-comunicacion-online.htm

Middle management communication and interaction practices and their influence on employee satisfaction and motivation:

Strong managerial communication skills and interactions are essential leadership behaviors, yet despite an explosion in communication mechanisms available, employees have continued to experience increased separation from management because of ineffective communication practices.

QUESTION

Accroding to Kuruppuarachchi (2009), what benefits and problems arise as a consequence of

the creation of virtual team? Identify five each. Based on this, explain how to make the transition from a more traditional team structure to the more distributed team

structure?

the benefits of creating virtual team are:

• all members are from different locations (have different beliefs,ways of working)
• members are communicated through media as computers,virtual committees and mails
• the team task is so structured so it is neccesary coordination
• The availability of a flexible and configurable base infrastructure is one of the main advantages of agile virtual teams.
• they save time and improve aspects because of the interaction with different people



the problems of creating virtual teams are:

• those are geographically dispersed (over different time zones)
• Driven (or guided) by common purpose
• Involved in cross-boundary collaboration
• Small team size
• It is not a permanent team, so team members may belong to different companies

to make a transition from a more traditional team structure to a more distributed one the leader has to

their opinions and suggestions , cares about member’s problems, gets to know

them, expresses a personal interest in them and defines responsibilities of all members and

exercises authority, all those aspects in order to create a new organizational structure where members can create and offer new ideas and opportunities to the organization, and finally asign task and research to each member to achieve goals.

SOURCES

•       Horwitz, F. M., Bravington, D., & Silvis, U. (2006). The promise of virtual teams: Identifying key factors in effectiveness and failure. Journal of European Industrial Training, 30(6), 472. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215390296?accountid=45662
• virtual team figure: http://blog.softheme.com/6-rules-for-better-communication-in-virtual-teams/
• Communication: professor presentation
• communication figure: http://www.masternewmedia.org/es/etiqueta-para-movil-chat-voip/como-evitar-ser-intrusivo-en-la-comunicacion-online.htm
• midle management Communication: Arons, P. A. (2010). Middle management communication and interaction practices and their influence on employee satisfaction and motivation. University of Phoenix). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/840764168?accountid=45662

THE ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN MERGING PROCESS

Organizational culture in merging process helps to explore the challenges and opportunities in integration process. mergers and acquisitions have a unique potential to transform firms and to contribute to corporate renewal (angwin,2001).


The following figure gives an overview of the different elements that should be taken into account when dealing with organizational culture.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Is cleared that a diverse group of variables has an influence on the organizational culture, the different influencing factors some in the broader and the more direct environment of the organization as visualized as surrounding influences. The organization should be aware of those variables. Some influences are:

·         National culture

·         The evolution of the business

·         Professional associations

·         Stakeholders

http://www.nhorizons.ca/en-change-culture-change.asp

Effective integration can be defined as the combination of firms into a single group, creating joint efforts to achieve goals inside the organization. international mergers arre more likely to bring together people with different values and beliefs about the work place. So, merger implies the reconstruction of a new social indentity.

According to Datta and Grant, 1990 tow organizational integration variables are relevant in the acquisition process:

1. the motive for the acquisition (decision making process): it influences the degree of required interaction between members of each organization.
2. the process of implementation: it proves if the strategy is or not effective if it leads to high levels of tension and conflict

acquisitions selection decisions are driven by financial and strategic considerations

ACCULTURATIVE PROCESS

according to Nahavandi and Malekzadeh, 1988 this process discribes the cultural changes resulting from the interaction of one organizational culture with another.

http://mavilabe.blogspot.com/2011/01/organizational-behavior-national-and.html

QUESTION

According to the case studies (in class and in textbook), what are the practical steps to minimize the feelings of uncertainty normally expected by employees, and also to facilitate the learning process to occur between the two groups of people in their process of cultural and behavioral integration?

the practical steps to minimize the feelings expected by employees are:

• mantaining competitiveness
• Sustaining performance momentum
• Driving employee engagement and commitment in tough times
• Seizing the slowdown as a time to build capability
• Building new skills and capabilities required to win in challenging times
• Maintaining knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the face of extraordinary turnover caused by downsizing
• Sustaining organizational culture
•  Providing essential messages through the downturn
•  Reinforcing one of the most powerful change resources
• Ensuring continued employer attractiveness/employee value proposition
• Shortening time to employee effectiveness
•  Building leaders who can teach leaders
• Ensuring a robust leadership pipeline
• Driving strategic alignment
• Encouraging continued innovation
• and external orientation

SOURCES

• organizational culture: http://www.nhorizons.ca/en-change-culture-change.asp

• Alzira Salama, Wayne Holland, Gerald Vinten (2003) "challenges and opportunities in mergers and aquisitions: three international cases studies-Deutsche bank-bankers Trust; British petroleum-Amoco; ford volvo" journal of European industrial training. vol 27 Iss:6,pp313-321
• cultural change: http://mavilabe.blogspot.com/2011/01/organizational-behavior-national-and.html

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING +MANAGING CHANGE+MANAGING CONFLICT

According to Hubber (1991) organizational learning is about the effective processing, interpretation of, and response to information both inside and outside the organization. This information may be quantitative or qualitative, but in general is explicit and in the public domain. The organization tries out new methods and tactics to get rapid feedback on their consequences in order to be able to make continuous adjustments and adaptations. For this theory, there are a number of dilemmas and problems identified by Levinthal and March (1993) as the between exploration and exploitation in the use of technology, because the former may lead to the development of new strategies and knowledge in the long term and the latter may lead to high profitability in the short term. Organizations have to find the appropriate balance between latter and former.

there are 2 styles of learning:

• Lower-level learning which Duncan (1974) calls "behavioral- level learning”,  that level of learning that is concerned with controlling the firm as it adjusts to the environment – the desired level of learning for routine decisions
• Higher-level learning aims at adjusting overall rules and norms rather than specific activities or behaviors. The associations that result from higher-level learning have long term effects and impacts on the organization as a whole.

http://digital-business-world.blogspot.com/2010/12/organizational-learning-of-chris.html

organizational learning is compounded by 4 phases:

1. The identification of information that seems relevant to learning
2. The exchange and diffusion of knowledge, either from the individual to the collective level or at the collective level itself
3. The integration of knowledge into existing knowledge systems at a collective level, an individual level, or both
4. The transformation of the new knowledge into action and the reapplication of the knowledge into organizational routines

Finally as conclusion organizational learning is a dynamic process that does not happens only through time, but also through different levels or dimensions of the organization. The dynamics is created through the tension between the organizational assimilation of new knowledge developed at individual level (feed-forward), and the use and individual exploration of organizational pre-existing knowledge (feedback).

MANAGING CHANGE:

according to Kavitta Singh (2009) change is a process of moving from present state to a desired state that individuals, or groups undertake in response to dynamic internal and external factors that alter current realities.

change can influence and modify important aspects of an organization as  technology, structure and strategy.

http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/Needs/Framework/Pages/default.aspx

QUESTION:

SOURCES:

• Organizational learning and the learning organization http://books.google.com.co/books id=pF2pcrSa49IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=learning+organization&hl=es&ei=_Nh_Tfm5IsG_tgfhwNTICA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

• types of organizational learning figure: http://digital-business-world.blogspot.com/2010/12/organizational-learning-of-chris.html

• (source: Curado, C. (2006). Organizational learning and organizational design. The Learning Organization, 13(1), 25. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215656843?accountid=45662). http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.eafit.edu.co/docview/215656843/12E409843FC450CC40E/2?accountid=45662
• Deal T. and Kennedy, A. (1982). a corporate cultures. Adision-wesley.
• managing change: http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/Needs/Framework/Pages/default.aspx

MANAGING DIVERSITY

according to Cox, 2001 diversity is the variation of social and cultural identities among people existing together in a defined employment or market setting. 

 Groups made up of diverse personnel do a better job of analyzing and attacking problems (ibid). 

VALUING DIFFERENCES:

means recognizing and appreciating that individuals are different, that diversity is an advantage if it is valued and well managed, and that diversity is not to be simply tolerated but encouraged, supported and nurtured (Jamieson and O’Mara 1991). 

diversity management

A way of creating an environment that will enable all people to use full potential to

accomplish the mission. diversity has misunderstandings as:

• communication style
• trust
• accents
• stereotypes
• values and beliefs

http://www.valleywater.org/Careers/DiversityDefined.aspx

Managing Diversity: Contemporary Business Issues

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qusp7A8u3Mw

DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY, CONFLICT AND WORK GROUP OUTCOMES AND INTERVENING PROCESS THEORY:

with respect to members' demographic backgrounds can have a powerful effect on both turnover from the group and on the group's performance on cognitive tasks (i.e., "thinking" tasks that involve generating plans or ideas, solving problems.

according to Lisa Hope Pelled within a work group, diversity

or making decisions). While such diversity tends to increase turnover, its effects on cognitive task performance are more mixed, sometimes enhancing performance and sometimes

impairing it. An understanding of how diversity leads to these outcomes may help managers enhance work group effectiveness.

QUESTION

Since diversity is a source of competitive advantage, what could be the recruitment strategies to effectively target to diverse groups? What would be the consequences of ignoring diversity?

the recruitment strategies to effectively target to diverse groups is to arrange a effective communication style, believe and trust in each opinion and idea, being open-mind talking about regional aspects, evidence stereotypes, determine common experiences strong values and beliefs of each group.

the consequences of ignoring diversity are:

• the organization is missing different perceptions
• in a group task, the members can not develop an effective work
• similar personalities arrange ineffective solutions and problems inside the group
• the same structure of leadership creates lacy workers and non creactive works
• different accents can create misunderstandings in a common task

SOURCES

• 
  

  Cox Jr., T. (2001) Creating the multicultural organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
• managing diversity figure: http://www.valleywater.org/Careers/DiversityDefined.aspx
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qusp7A8u3Mw
• Demographic Diversity, Conflict, and Work Group Outcomes: An Intervening Process Theory

  Lisa Hope Pelled Organization Science Vol. 7, No. 6 (Nov. - Dec., 1996), pp. 615-631  Published by: INFORMS  Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2635051

 

DECISION MAKING AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

Is known that decision-making involve people of different cultures and also this concept differ in the tendency to cooperate with others and to determine the cultural explanation for all the differences presented in a decision-making process.


Exists a mixed-motive game that is a situation in which an individual faces a conflict between maximizing collective interests named defection maximizing collectives interests named cooperation; in the other hand we find cultural individualism known that consists of closely linked individuals who see themselves as independent of collectives, cultural collectivism consists of linked individuals who see themselves as part of one or more collectives and finally cultural cooperation among members.


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgreP9DK8Qo4Y8vZ_5fOw_trOV_NXauHimijwecHvfMoXM3rzHHW2YdQHDFkZLlcSjx-tEUkH3BjCVYk8I9RZRYjT3q04ltgt2dttwnrIY1Tc4oXGxpspyUx8QqY2Mro0AfrZxxW_yfvYPF/s1600/respect-individualism-collectivism.jpg

There are four combinations of self:

1. horizontal individualism: maximize self interest or self goal
2. horizontal collectivisim: interdependent
3. vertical individualism: cooperation varies as function of the extent to which their personal outcomes would be maximized.
4. vertical collectivism: cooperation varried in 2 dilemmas group outcomes-maximized

The decision making process consists in, first recognize the problem or need, then identify the objective of decision, you gather and search about the situation and establish alternatives to solve the problem, then you evaluate each course of action and finally you implement the decision and follow up.

Exists some models of decision-making as the rational one that shows how individuals should behave, bounded rationality which suggest that there are limits for decisions and finally there is garbage can model which affirms that decisions are random; also in the decision-making theory exists risk aversion and the risk taker.
According to the lecture individual differences affect decision-making with characteristics as intuition and creativity, but some cultural differences in the process influence:
problems selected
time orientation
importance of logic and rationality
belief in the ability to solve problems
preference  for collecting decision-making


http://www.homelifedreams.ca/join_us_for_sucess.html
Although ethical behavior is an important aspect in organizations as acting in ways consistent with one´s personal values and the commonly values of the organization and society; there are three ethical theories:

1. consequential theory: emphasizes the consequences of results of behavior
2. rule-based theory: emphasizes the character of the act itself rather than its effects
3. character theory:emphasizes the character, personal virtues and integrity fo the individual

The cognitive moral development has a process of madurity in terms of making ethical decisions the fisrt one is premoral level (avoid punishment and serve inmediate interest), the second one the conventional level (live up to friend´s expectation and observe societal laws) and the other is pricipled level (principles of justice and right, and self-selected ethical principles). To conclude there are some qualities for ethical decision-making as the competence to indentify ethical issues and evaluate the consequences of the courses of action; the self-confidence to find different opinions about the issue and decide what is right in terms of a situation and the willingness to make decisions when all that needs can not be known and the ethical issue has not established solutions.


http://blogs.nature.com/nanomech/2007/04/14/environmental-chemistry-in-review


QUESTION:
¿what are the impacts of culture in terms of mixed-motive decision-making?
The impacts of culture are that not always people in society are interested in maximizing personal and collective interests due to it creates competitive between people and generates less cooperation in different situations as conflict, persuing profit and regulatory policies to improve each one benefits to keep their selfs in a higher level into a competition or simply in daily life.
An other important impact is that mixed-motive creates that workers or managers in a decision-making process try to avoid reliable information and intentions in organizational behavior, therefore this situation makes that internal factors in the organization does not work and run in the right way to achieve goal and common tasks inside a group.
Finally this decision-making creates a worse perception of each values and attitudes inside the organization, because they are demostrating a false image in order to develop tasks and decide in a process to compete between its members.

SOURCES:

• http://www.actionm.com/problem_solving_decision_making.aspx
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgreP9DK8Qo4Y8vZ_5fOw_trOV_NXauHimijwecHvfMoXM3rzHHW2YdQHDFkZLlcSjx-tEUkH3BjCVYk8I9RZRYjT3q04ltgt2dttwnrIY1Tc4oXGxpspyUx8QqY2Mro0AfrZxxW_yfvYPF/s1600/respect-individualism-collectivism.jpg
• http://www.homelifedreams.ca/join_us_for_sucess.html
• http://blogs.nature.com/nanomech/2007/04/14/environmental-chemistry-in-review

The corporation

Multinational corporations seemed to threaten governmental prerogatives, it disminishes the relative power of individual enterprises and reduces their effective autonomy, this is due to the growth of foreign direct investment  (FDI), it provides to MNCs greater direct impact on domestic production, employment and and other indicators.

Due to the MNCs are more diverse and diffuse, corporate national identities are less restricted by the political limitations of state boundaries; besides, changes in  the relatioship between MNCs and nation-states make them to be closer to interdependence and globalization. Contemporary MNCs have created a powerful influences in the global economy.
http://www.celsias.com/article/california-town-takes-nestle-over-water-rights/


In the other hand capitalism has changed its traditional process of production, it means that the new way to broke barriers and create connectivity among countries has  made that policies, economies and social changes has other important aspects to improve and exploit, therefore as MNCs exist and it has created its own regulations and ways to make progress through devasting and explointing the society, the environment and the financial resources. In this sense the entire world can percieve that those owners are being like psychopaths devasting our natural and basic resources  not thinking in their social responsabilities in the moment they create a corporation; the corporation as legal institution has to follow a certain regulatory policies in order to avoid social disparities and scaricites of resources.

Differences between you as owner and a corporation:

http://www.bcscredit.com/incorporating_tab/c_corporation.php

Each factor that has influenced MNCs running as economic indicators, social impact and technological progress created externalities for them as some extra costs ans benefits that come from external activities involve in the corporation but do not influence the final price, finally the corporation has be commited with limited liability due to increase their market, avoid social campaings and create new products and technology but calculating which factor and elements can affect whole society.
Corporation externalities:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGTD5Bn1m0

According to the documentary there is an important and influential person that has oppened to society the opportunity to express their ideas and opinions about MNCs impact, he is Michael Moore a controversial but defender person, is fighting for justice, concience, human rights, liability and honesty in the real world of MNCs, he is showing to the world that as is very important to create, expand markets and evolve also is important to get those factor as key tools to corporations act as preventors and defenders actors as the most important ones in this process of innovation and progress in this century.
Impact of corporations in natural resources:

http://in.reuters.com/article/2010/09/21/idINIndia-51634020100921

QUESTION
¿as a legal organizational model, how does the rise of corporations influence the aspects of culture in persuing profit?
The rise of corporations influences the aspects of culture in the way that is the principal actor in this process, so is affected by the lack of reliability infront the community as direct consumers and their own workers, second the corporation violate laws, legal policies and passes over their workers to persue profits by showing a artificial image to the society as legal actors.

SOURCES

• http://www.celsias.com/article/california-town-takes-nestle-over-water-rights/
• http://www.bcscredit.com/incorporating_tab/c_corporation.php
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGTD5Bn1m0
• http://in.reuters.com/article/2010/09/21/idINIndia-51634020100921
• Kline, john M. 2006. "MNCs and surrogate severeignty." Brown journal of world affaires 13, no 1:123-133
• documentary about MNCs