International Human Resource Management

Problem Definition

This case study shows that Fred was not well equipped to deal with the challenges he faced in Japan. He was not aware of the fundamental difference between Japanese and American culture and did not have any practical strategies to deal with the issues.

Evaluation of IHRM Processes

This case study indicates how important it is to prepare expatriates before they are sent abroad on an assignment. Fred Bailey several challenges because he was not aware of the cultural and work place differences between America and Japan. One of the mistakes that Fred made was that he assumed that both regions conduct business in the same manner. This problem is due to lack of expatriate training which was supposed to be provided by his company. Fred was moved to Japan on a really short notice without giving him any proper training and time to prepare. Although the company did their best in making sure that Fred’s family did not face any difficulty when settling abroad by getting them a nice place in Tokyo, paying for his kids’ education. But the company neglected the culture shock issues that were faced by Fred and his family.

The HR department should have provided Fred and his family with pre-departure expatriate training so that they could adjust in the new setting. According to Okpara and Kabongo, (2011), cross cultural development is defined as the process of adaptation to living and working in a foreign country; it is also to include family members in these training programs as well. According to Deshpande and Viswesvaran (1991) and Latta (1999), expatriate training is essential in reducing the expatriate’s need to adjust.

Based on Research, culturally adjusted expatriates are more effective in performing their work tasks (Black and Mendenhall, 1990). One of the biggest problem that Fred and his family faced was communication barriers due to language differences; the Japanese are not well-versed in English. This is really important for Fred, so that he can conduct his day to day business activities smoothly and so that he can learn appropriate work values. The cultural context between the United States and Japan is vastly different; Japan, which has a lower context culture compared to the USA are more indirect in their communication behaviour.

From the case study, it shows that Fred was failed to give attention to the fact that there was a separation between the American and Japanese employees. The Japanese felt uncomfortable in giving their opinions in a public setting and that is why there were different responses from the Americans and the Japanese. This conflict can be better understood with Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions which is “Individualism vs Collectivism”. Collectivism is the degree to which people are integrated into groups while individualism is related how much people like to be independent and on their own (Hofstede, 2011). Based on Geert Hofstede (2016) statistics, USA scored 91 in individualism which is much higher than Japan’s score of 46.

Fred is an individualistic person who is more task- orientated and his American team members are keen on expressing their personal opinions. The Japanese on the other hand focus on building relationships and making decisions with group consensus; they are more comfortable in following instructions.

Importance of Job Analysis and Competency Profiling

In order to hire the best person for the job, it is crucial to understand the nature of the job. This is where job analysis comes in as it is the foundation of all selection and assessment decisions. Job analysis examines the tasks performed related to that job in order to establish the competencies that are required for that job. Thus, a comprehensive job analysis should have been done by the company to make sure that Fred fulfilled all the requirements. He may have been sound technically but was lacking in able to adapt to the new culture. One of the most core competency that Fred lacked was the ability to adapt to his new environment and he found it too overwhelming to understand. He also needed to be more proactive in understanding his Japanese employees in order to build a strong bond with them.