Relationship Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Relationship Marketing - Essay Example The affiliates include the employees, customers, suppliers and distributors. He argues that, it is healthy for a business to establish a strong foundation that will retain its customers rather than trying to acquire new customers every time. Relationship marketing according to Kanagal (2009) is a philosophy to change the eager customer behaviours and the implementations taking consideration of what the customers think about the company and what the employees should know about the customers. He adds that business should dwell on identification, establishment, enlargement, maintenance and modification of relationships with customers thus building both history and future. According to the definitions, relationship marketing entails taking consideration of the channel to acquire new customers, nurturing and satisfying their needs. In satisfying customer’s needs, companies are able maintain their customers rather than trying to convince and attain new customers. It is clear that a good relationship with and knowing what they need fosters success in business. In general, RM can be defined as a channel towards business success developed through building a strong foundation that maintains the stakeholders of the business. The channel considers engaging customer requirements, preference and tastes in an effort to deliver the best services that will retain them and create a bright future of the business. Relationship marketing helps in building knowledge, preference and trust factor in customers. In the current world of technology, there is the luxury to know and decide on whom to trust in every purchase. Businesses need to step extra mile to create know, like and trust factor system (Morgan & Hunt, 1994). The system can be achievable through consistent activeness on social media networks, offline networks and websites. Responses and ability to interact with customers helps build a strong platform for the

Global Communications Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Global Communications Worksheet Essay Your supervisor wants to send a brief e-mail message, welcoming employees recently transferred to your department from different regions across the company, which are Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Create a clear and concise welcome message that would be appropriate for these groups of employees. Research the communication style of each of the following countries: Brazil Russia India China Transcribe the following welcome message for the employees from each country: I wanted to welcome you ASAP to our little family here in the States. It’s high time we shook hands in person and not just across the sea. I’m pleased as punch about getting to know you all, and I for one will do my level best to sell you on America. Complete the table below with your transcribed welcome messages. Also indicate whether each of the countries are more individualistic or relationship focused, and whether they are direct or indirect in their communication. Country Transcribe Welcome Message Relationship or Individualistic? Direct or Indirect? Brazil

Risk Analysis of German Banks

Risk Analysis of German Banks During this assignment, the German banks data were compared to that of France and Italy banks. A simple regression analysis was performed. The data suggests that there are great variations in the basic principles when are applied in finding out the exact risks. In general, it is noted that that the France and Italy banks are more riskier than the German banks. In the financial institutions, the risks are assessed in a very particular manner. The purpose of discussing risks is to encourage the investors in the banking sectors. Therefore the managements and high level authorities in the banking system apply the various tools in addressing the risks. It is very eminent that the with out the support of the banking systems by and large the businesses can not grow, as these should be. Therefore there must be some ways of addressing the risks in the very first place. Including to satisfy the share holders and stakeholders, and other stakeholders, (Watson and Head, 2005). There are eminent differences in between the emerging market financial systems and the banking systems of developed countries. However the reasons for this significantly. It is noted that the various researchers, scholars, and academicians have shown divided ideas. As we can that some of them had a firm view about the unstable macroeconomic environment, and rest of the scholars have come forward with the point about weaker risk management practices, (Beck et al. 2003). Keeping the importance of risks assessment and its management, the followings are highlighted, so that this issue can understood in an acceptable way. Literature of Review: The banks invest their money in the different projects, such as buying of shares, construction projects, and other financial intuitions. There is also a fact that the management s in the banks monitor, evaluate and judge the performance of their projects during and after the completion of projects. Similarly, Ma, and Eli (2005) indicated that the implementers in the banking sectors must get the lessons for the previous years, failing to this would be failure of the whole project. Basically they (Ma and Eli) did support the theory of application, which suggests that investing directly to the system do not justify the action. There must be a some kind of rational in addressing the risks in the financial and highly competitive environment. In addition, to above, according to Bank for International Settlements, (2002) and Topping (2005) while highlighting the importance of risks evaluation and its management indicated that the some of the factors which contribute the risks are such as, the changing nature of macroeconomic risks, new forms of risks to the banks, and whether or the abilities, skills and other measures have really improved in addressing the issues of risks. In very simple words, it is found that the risks increase when the banks do not imply certain methods. These methods are related to see and judge the results of previous years when there were projects in the pipe lines. Some of the high rated researchers, scholars and professionals such as Chris (2008) and Topping (2005) basically indicated the following levels are addressed and if done, then there are less chances of increasing risks, such as: Risk identification: This is very basic stage where the banks can identify the risks. In simple meaning in the inputs are discussed broadly, and its implications are noted before, during and after the completion. In broader sense, this is done at the sites, where projects will be launched. Particularly, the following points can help in identifying the risks, such as: †¢ Who will take responsibility for risk identification? †¢ Process for risk identification, including existing and new products, and †¢ Regularity in reviews. Risk measurement: The followings nine factors can be measured during risk measurement such as: Capital, Assets, Market risks, Earnings, Liabilities, Business, Internal Controls, Organisation, Management. Whereas while talking about frequency of risk measurement, the followings should be noted very carefully, such as: Sources of data, it includes market prices and position information Risk measurement tools, given the complexity and level of risk assumed, Ability to measure risk at both transactional and portfolio levels. Methodology to ensure all identified risks are monitored, Accuracy, and clarity of monitoring reports, Involvement of management and staff in having the reports, Comparability of output against predetermined limits. http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/policy/p10.pdf The benefits of risk assessment: There are multi-layered assessment benefits to the banks and financial institutions. It include such as to make profits and distribute among the shareholders. It helps the clients for the banks others (employees) satisfied. This brings more jobs to the public and indirectly helps in boosting GDP. The risk assessment keeps busy the staff in doing their professional work. It can be seen that the supervisors need to spend time on-site discussing the issues with senior bank management. The time taken to perform this work will vary from bank to bank depending on the size and complexity of the institution. However, following a risk assessment, the supervisor will be better placed to decide on the intensity of the future supervision having obtained a better understanding of a banks risk profile. The intensity of supervision and the amount and focus of supervisory action will increase in line with the perceived risk profile of a bank. One advantage this has for banks is that the cost of supervision, in terms of management time or through direct costs. WE have to agree that the banks pay high costs for initial assessments, and in turn if their projects are completed, the banks then take benefit of having high wages and other facilities. The bank official especially in the third world are highly paid. Table 1 shows the three pillars in the banking sector Pillar 1 Minimum Capital Requirements Pillar 2 Supervisory Review Pillar 3 Market Discipline Market risk _ No changes from Basel I Credit risk _ Significant change from Basel I _ Three different approaches to the calculation of minimum capital requirements _ Capital incentives for banks to move to more sophisticated credit risk management approaches based on internal ratings _ Sophisticated approaches have systems/controls and data collection requirements as well as qualitative requirements for risk management Operational risk _ Not explicitly covered in Basel I _ Three different approaches to the calculation of minimum capital requirements _ Adoption of each approach subject to compliance with defined ‘qualifying criteria Banks should have a process for assessing their overall capital adequacy and strategy for maintaining capital levels _ Supervisors should review and evaluate banks internal capital adequacy assessment and strategies _ Supervisors should expect banks to operate above the minimum capital ratios and should have the ability to require banks to hold capital in excess of the minimum (i.e., trigger/target ratios in the United Kingdom; prompt corrective action in the United States) _ Supervisors should seek to intervene at an early stage to prevent capital from falling below minimum levels Market discipline reinforces efforts to promote safety and soundness in banks _ Core disclosures (basic information) and supplementary disclosures to make market discipline more effective Source: KPMG, 2003. The Table 1 above shows the details of three pillars. These guidelines are apparently seems to be quite added information for the banking managements. But again there is an inverse argument, who accepts the challenges, threats and then commits to carry out the assessments, so that the future risks could be minimised at least. Methodology and Data: The data for the banks regarding Germany, France and Italy was analysed by the Excel programme. During this analysis, a simple linear regression was carried out. There were altogether 8 parameters which were used. However in case Germany banks were compared to that of France and Italy. The parameters were such as, index, loans, equity, LA, NIM, ROAA, ROAE, and CIR. As a matter of fact these parameters are the base lines for the banks to work/operate in the competitive financial markets. Results and Discussions: The results of the analysis are presented below. It has already been indicated that the German data is compared to that of France and Italy. The Figure 1 below shows that the relationship between the German banks and France banks seems to be very poor. It means that the ways the German banks are applying are entirely different to that of France and vice versa. Figure 2 discusses the regression analysis of German banks versus Italy banks on the basis of index. It can be seen that again the relationship still very week. The data regarding loans is presented in the following Figure 3, in this case German banks were compared to that of France banks. The results show that the way the German banks are obtaining or lending loans are not comparable to that of France. It can also be seen from that Figure 3 that R2 value is too weak. Figure 4 shows the data comparison between the German banks and Italian banks. Again the regression analysis indicates that there is not good relationship between the two. Even when we look at the equation, it suggests that Italian banks approach is entirely negative to that of German banks regarding extending loan facilities to the businesses. In reality equity is the very important parameters, banks work against equity either way. It means if banks are getting loans from other financial institutions, it works on the basis of equity. It also argued here that the poor relationship between the German banks and France clearly demonstrates that there are more risks for the France banks when compared to German banks (Figure 5). Figure 6 highlights the comparison between German banks and Italy banks. The relationship between the two still very poor. It can also be seen that this relationship is negative. The data regarding LA is presented in Figure 7 and the relationship between German banks and France is indeed very poor. The results of LA regarding German banks and Italy banks suggest that there is negative relationship between the two. The same can be seen from Figure 8. Figure 9 suggests that the relationship regarding NIM for German and Italy banks negative, it means no relationship at all. The data concerning NIM is presented in the Figure 10. It can be seen that the relationship between the German banks and Italy very poor. As this relationship shows negative relationship. The analysis of ROAA regarding German and France banks is given in Figure 11. The negative relationship shows there is no strength in particularly applying the same approach. Again this ratio is highly important to note the differences in the banks. The results of analysis are given in Figure 12. It can be seen that there exists negative relationship between the German banks and Italy banks. Data regarding ROAE ratios is compared between the German and France banks. The same can be seen in Figure 13. The negative R2 value indicated the weakness of the relationship. Figure 14 suggests that the relationship between the German and Italy banks is negative. It means that the way the German banks are calculating ROAE is not same in case of Italy. The data in reference to CIR is shown in Figure 15. The comparison between the German and France banks shows that there is a negative relationship. The comparison about CIR between Germany and Italy clearly shows that there exists negative relationship. The same data is shown in Figure 16. When we look at the Figures above, in most of the analysis conducted for the various parameters show that there is a negative relationship. It means that the strength of the approach differs. As a matter of fact, it is argued that the methods of calculating risks are nearly similar in the German, France and Italy banks. So a question arises, why it is so? There could be many reasons behind the explanations. But very viable and quite acceptable refers to the non availability of the data during the months and years. The data shows big gaps, and further suggests the approaches in calculating risks in the banks are not same as in regarding Germany. Conclusions and recommendations: When we look above, it can be seen that there are different ways and means are being used by the three countrys banks in calculating the various ratios, including loans and debts. It is also very clear that there is no relationship when the data were tested through regression analysis. There is likely possibility that the German banks are not using those principles, where are used by the France and Italy banks, or vice versa. Concerning recommendations, it is suggested that the German banks if use the similar way of in disbursing loans especially; there is high probability that the risks could be deep down compared among the three countrys banks.

Was Macbeth A Traitor :: essays research papers

'Macbeth deserved to die because he was totally responsible for the betraying the Scottish king, Duncan, and the Scottish people';. Write an analytical essay in which you explore the forces behind Macbeth's murdering ways. Macbeth deserved to die for betraying the Scottish king, Duncan, and the Scottish people; however, he was not totally responsible for his actions. Lady Macbeth and the three Witches also played a major role. They were responsible for convincing Macbeth to begin the series of events, which eventually led to the destruction of order in Scotland. Once she had received news of the three Witches' prophecies, Lady Macbeth was intent that she would eventually become Queen of Scotland. Initially, Macbeth had decided not to murder Duncan, 'We will proceed no further in this business'; (Macbeth, Act I, scene vii). However, Lady Macbeth was determined to continue with her original plan. She repeatedly insulted Macbeth's manhood, provoking him to continue with the plans to murder Duncan, 'When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man'; (Lady Macbeth, Act I, scene vii). She appealed to Macbeth's 'vaulting ambition'; so as to intensify the effect that the Witches' prophecies had on him, 'Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor! Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter'; (Lady Macbeth, Act I, scene v). She convinced Macbeth that the rewards of the murder would far outweigh the drawbacks and clear their conscience, 'A little water clears us of this deed'; (Lady Macbeth, Act I, scen e ii). Although Macbeth dearly loved his king, Lady Macbeth yielded such a persuasive power over him that he was convinced the Witches' prophecies of Duncan's murder and the resulting kingship were his rightful fate. The three Witches deceived Macbeth by proclaiming ambiguous prophecies, which led him to believe that he would be a powerful and loved king. The second apparition, 'Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth'; (a bloody child, Act IV, scene i) led him to believe that he would never be harmed, as nobody alive can be 'none of woman born';. Macbeth failed to realise that the apparition was referring to Macduff, who was born by caesarean. The third apparition, 'Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to High Dunsinane hill shall come against him'; (a child crowned with a tree in his hands, Act IV, scene i) also fooled Macbeth into believing that he would not be harmed as king.

Problems of Human Services Clients Essay

In this paper, I will be describing the range of problems facing human services clients and how the specific helping skills that can be used with clients. There are many problems a human services faces with a client. The needs can range from helping clients with issues such as, substance abuse, mental or physical illness, grief, disabilities, caring for children and families, domestic violence, Veterans, and a personal loss. Also, a human services clients can have a large range of family problems that can lead into more difficult problems. (Woodside & McClam, (2011). A human service worker must gain clients trust to help a client get the best possible help they need. For instance, some predictable problems are due to a rapid change in society such as loss of jobs, homeless of families with disabilities. However, we all need to work together as a team so that we can provide help with their daily needs. In addition, when human service professional is working with a child they must identify if the home is a safe place to live. Also, a human service must ensure that a child have its basic needs to survive. They can also work with the parents by helping them with family planning such as birth control for each individual. Moreover, a human service professional can also help with parenting classes for their parents. Some countries cultures are different. However, there are several ways a human service can guide parents how to fill out an application for food stamp assistance so that the family will have a meal to eat every day. Another problem a client may face is to find good childcare for their child. For instance, a client may have job, but can’t afford a daycare for their children due to low pay wages. (Woodside & McClam, (2011). Human services help clients that need assistance with low income housing. There are some people facing problems with domestic violence in their home. However, most situations can be dangerous and physical violent causing someone to get hurt or bodily injury causing a death. Moreover, children living in a violent environment can be in danger for their lives. Therefore, a child can be taken from their home by human services because the child is no longer safe. Human service helper must take the necessary measures to finding a foster or an adoptive parent for their client children’s. The primary categories of problems that affect a client of human services are gather together into social-cultural barriers. Moreover, there are a huge figures that affect clients whom need services under this group. There are many problems in some cultures, a women can’t accept family planning services from a human service provider because the woman can’t make that decision. They would have to get permission from their husbands. Communication is the key to understand one another by sending messages to each other. We use communication to get to know the client perspective of the situation. (pg. 201). A human service provider pay close attention of the client by focusing on the verbal and nonverbal messages from a client. Communication is a very important factor in helping with a client. According to Woodside & McClam, (2011). Furthermore, communicating with one another can make the problem solving process of a client flow smoother. Woodside & McClam, 2011 report that communication involves sending a message to another person with the conscious intent of affecting the receiver’s behavior. (pg. 201). In figure 7. 2 (pg.  201) shows the method when a person is receiving the message and if he understands the sender message correctly this is an effective communication. A message can be verbal or nonverbal. For instance, a client can walk into a human service office, the helper say to him verbally,† Hello, how are doing today? † A verbal communication is when words come out of a person mouth. The client didn’t speak to the human service provider, he just shrug his shoulders and nodded his head forward. The behavior of the client was non-verbal because he didn’t show any reaction. The well-educated skillful helper interpret the sender’s message by the client behavior. (Woodside & McClam, 2011). (OKUN & Kantrowitz, 2008). Reported the professional worker is able to hear what the client was saying by the way he reacted. Moreover, a person may smile and give out a handshake, this a non-verbal behavior. Non-verbal behaviors consist of a client’s posture, tone of voice, gestures, eye contact, and touch. For example, when we first go out on a date, we want to impress the other person by smiling, talking in a soft low voice. Furthermore, good eye contact is better whenever, we are communicating with each other. Therefore, we must make a good impression when we first meet a person. Next step in helping skills that can be utilized with a client is listening and responding. (pg. 204). Listening and responding according to Woodside and McClam, (2011). Researched that the way we listen and respond to person is very important in the helping skills process because a human service provider can build a trusting relationship with their client. Moreover, a person must hear what the other person is saying by sending a message verbally or non-verbally. Some people think they are good listeners, but most people aren’t. (See Table 7. 3). (Woodside & McClam, (2011). There are healthy behaviors in communication such as, verbal behaviors. Verbal behaviors are mirroring a person feelings, clarifying, showing a sense of humor, providing information that a client needs, explaining helper roles, sharing information about oneself, being non-judgmental, asking questions, making the right use of gestures and touching. Nonverbal behaviors are making eye contact, listening to a person, smiling, nodding head one’s head, leaning forward, maintain a relaxed posture, facing the client, displaying facial expression, being punctual, and maintaining a moderate rate of speech. (pg. 204). In addition, we must focus on the client by utilizing these helping skills to help provide the necessary help a client may need. In the text book, (pg. 205). There is a certain kind of listening a human service engage in is called responsive listening or active listening. There are two ways of responsive listening or active listening that is presented by Egan (2010, pp. 134-135) he offered that there are many things that a helper can do to talk to a person that they are paying close attention. (Woodside & McClam, (2011). In conclusion, Egan (20) researched that there are five behaviors that a human service professional can follow to let their clients know they are listening. First, s means face the client, O means adopt an open posture, L means lean toward the other person, E means maintain good eye contact, and R means try to be relatively relaxed. Furthermore, these are acronym SOLER. Moreover, remembering these acronym can show a person that the helper is listening. Attending behavior is another way a helper can let the client know that they are pay attention and listening. In this paper, I have discussed some ranges of problems facing human service clients and specific helping skills that can be used with clients.

Obama’s Commencement Speech

Obama’s Speech Everybody knows how good of a speaker Obama is. His speeches always seem to convince the audience, but it is not by everybody understood what distinguishes him from other speakers. Certain skills he frequently uses help him reach his main purpose, but the question remains what these skills include. Therefore, the aim of this commentary is explain how the use of rhetorical devices makes Obama’s speeches stand out and memorable. Rhetorical devices are techniques that an author or speaker uses in order to convey the listener or reader a message with the goal to persuade him or her towards a certain perspective.There are a lot of different kinds of techniques such as irony and the use of metaphors. When listening carefully to Obama’s speeches one is able to distinguish certain rhetorical devices that seem to keep coming back in every other of his speeches. We could say Obama has got some favourite techniques which clearly seem to help him in giving exc ellent speeches. When we take a closer look at Obama’s commencement speech for the Illinois university school of medicine we can also find the devices that keep coming back. The Technique he uses the most frequently is the so called ‘tricolon’, which can also be called ‘the rule of threes’.Tricolon uses series of three to emphasis certain issues and by this making his point even more clear and memorable. In Obama’s Inauguration speech alone we are able to find twenty two example of tricolon and in this commencement speech he also is not ‘afraid’ of using it. Already in his first sentence we are able to find an example of this device: â€Å"After four years of endless work, sleepless nights, and constant stress†. And even though this is his first sentence and it is a joke, he already stresses the fact that his audience has worked hard and that it is something they can be proud of.Also by using three word groups each from a n oun and an adjective he makes the ‘situation’ seem even more dramatic and funny. Another example when he uses tricolon is â€Å"genocide in Dafur or the AIDS epidemic or the fifteen-year-old who was gunned down on front of his house. † By using three examples instead of two or four examples he reaches the just the right point where people will get his point, understand him, where they have had enough time to think about the situation, are able to identify and keep remembering his words.There are many more great examples but tricolon is of course not the only rhetorical device he uses. Barack Obama also knows exactly how to use the pronouns ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’ in a good and effective manner. By using specifically these three pronouns much more often than pronouns such as she, he or they, he is able to create a higher degree of intimacy and solidarity towards his audience. He makes his audience feel as if he is talking to them personally even though he may be speaking to an audience of thousands of people.Also when his topics concern some issues such as the health care issue in this speech, he is able to twist his story in such a way that he really believes that there is a solution and that certainly together we can always come to a solution. It is amazing he is able to tell it in such a way that the audience is also going to believe it. â€Å"This is why we need you. We need you to dream, we need you to speak out, and we need you to act. And together, we can build a health care system in this country that finally works for every American. This part of his speech is a perfect example where all of the most important rhetorical devices come together and work effectively together. We can identify his use of pronouns, tricolon (â€Å"We need you to dream, we need you to speak out, and we need you to act. †) and also anaphora. Anaphora is another of Obama’s favourite techniques. â€Å"We need you† is already repeated four times in just two sentences. The five following paragraphs also consist of anaphora, because they all begin with â€Å"We can (have)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Repeating this part of the sentence does not only give the speech a nice structure, it is much more than that.It is saying in an indirect way that we really, honestly can, but in a much more effective way. Because every time the audience is reminded of that ‘fact’ and when things keep coming back one will be able to remember it easily with the effect that one can also start to believe in his words. â€Å"Perhaps you will first notice when a doctor tells a woman that her husband will need a life-saving procedure that their insurance does not cover and their family cannot afford. Perhaps it will be the late-stage diagnosis of a cancer that could have been prevented with a routine of screening that the patient’s health care plan just doesn’t cover.Perhaps it will be the endless stream of people who wait and wait in the emergency room which is the only place that will treat the uninsured. † Is another example were anaphora and tricolon are combined to create a stronger effect. Again three examples are used together to increase the power of the three separate examples another thing is that all three examples start with â€Å"perhaps† which is used to link the three separate examples but also again to make it more memorable. So Obama knows exactly how to use words in order to create the effect he likes: being persuasive, personal and productive.Every speaker has got his or her own characteristics in their way of speaking and so does Obama. His good and effective way of speaking distinguishes him from others. He is able to create this effectiveness by the use of important rhetorical devices. The three most important devices he uses Obama uses are tricolon, the correct use of pronouns and anaphora. By using these both separate as together he is ab le to make speeches in which his message comes across at the good manner and he is able to make speeches in which he can be as effective and persuasive as possible. 1. 058 words

Development of Multinational Personnel Selection

S w 9B07C041 Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTINATIONAL PERSONNEL SELECTION SYSTEM Professors Diana E. Krause and Reiner Piske wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail [email  protected] uwo. ca. Copyright  © 2007, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2007-12-11On Monday morning at 8:30 a. m. , Dr. Thomas Koch was leaving his luxury condominium on the 28th floor of a building specifically constructed for expatriates and Hong Kong’s wealthier citizens. He was going down to Causeway Bay, towards his office in Hong Kong’s central business district. On the way, Koch listened to the voice mail messages on his cell phone, one of which was from the assistant of the firm’s owner, Peter Koenig. The message stated that Koch was expected to call back before his meeting with the human resources (HR) team that he was leading.The human resources team meeting was scheduled in order to bring together German and Chinese human resource experts to form a crossfunctional project team. In the context of global restructuring, the company, ComInTec AG & Co (ComInTec), had introduced a new region al management level. As a result, 25 middle management positions were expected to be filled in the Asian-Pacific-region (APAC) (e. g. regional head of purchasing, regional head of supply chain management, national chief executive officers (CEOs), national head of finance and accounting, and national head of operations).A new personnel selection system was expected to fill these positions with qualified employees. ComInTec’s own recruitment channels, as well as â€Å"head hunters,† would be hired for the recruitment process. The overall responsibility for implementing the new personnel selection process was the responsibility of the project team. According to the company’s inhouse global localization policy, 90 per cent of the new management positions were filled by individuals who originated from the country they would be working in.The affected areas included sales and marketing, purchasing, supply chain management, and finance and accounting, at locations in H ong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Melbourne, Sydney and Shanghai. The managers’ annual salary ranges between â‚ ¬40,000 and â‚ ¬150,000, depending on the location. The new personnel selection system for APAC was part of the company’s new objective to standardize all human resource instruments for selection purposes around the globe. This new personnel selection system had to be developed internally. Page 2 9B07C041 BACKGROUNDFor several years now, Koch had been finding faults in the design of the individual assessment centres. According to Koch’s opinion, there was only very limited opportunity to influence possible modifications because the individual assessment centres were conducted by external consulting firms. Additionally, Koch questioned the validity of the information obtained from the centres, as well as the personnel selection system as a whole. ComInTec had little interest in empirically evaluating the validity of the assessment centres and statistically analyzing the outcomes of such personnel selection procedures.Koch also felt the need to improve the contents of the structured interviews that were based on the candidate’s current situation, as opposed to the candidate’s previous work experience. Koch firmly believed that what happened in the past was likely to be repeated in the future, and therefore had very little appreciation for selective interviews that did not consider the candidate’s past. Overall, efforts to improve the current selection systems had only rarely been undertaken due to limited time and the budget allotted for personnel affairs — a memorable fact that Koch had already pointed out to the management several times.The development of a new multinational personnel selection system now posed a huge challenge for Koch and his project team. There was one fact, however, which he noticed with relief: there were no expatriates in the new selection system because the selecte d managers were required to be living in APAC. Currently, ComIncTec simply sent those candidates abroad that had the necessary technical skills and experience, regardless of intercultural competencies.Koch remembered how difficult it was at times to find someone willing to move his or her centre of life, including family, to a different country. He also knew from his own emigration experience that no training (e. g. language or cultural norms) was offered to prepare him. With this in mind, he hired staff for his project team that would globally represent the countries involved: a Chinese research assistant who completed a bachelor in HR management, another trainee from China, and a German intern who had completed four semesters in psychology.The team, which also included additional HR managers from the headquarters office, had already been working on the development of the new personnel selection system for four months. Over the past few weeks numerous meetings had been held, yet no significant progress had been made. One reason could be attributed to the fact that there was obvious heterogeneity between the German and Asian team members’ opinions regarding the new personnel selection system. This created an ambiance that was tense and dissent with respect to sharing the workload.For today’s meeting, the goal was to come to a consensus on several important issues: (1) what individual modules the new personnel selection system should contain, (2) whether country-specific adaptations were necessary and feasible for each module, and (3) the implementation process of the new personnel instrument at each APAC location. The APAC-situated plants were the company’s top-selling ones; therefore, any wrong decisions with respect to HR (e. g. personnel selection) were extremely cost-Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. When Ko ch first heard about the above changes, it immediately occurred to him that this would not be easy. He knew that personnel selection procedures currently varied significantly between countries. He also knew that the existing selection instruments were by no means flawless in any specific country. After the application documents were analyzed, structured interviews with the candidates were conducted by a department representative and an HR specialist.If both interviewers came to a positive conclusion on the candidates’ qualifications, the top candidate completed an individual assessment centre in order to point out his/her interpersonal competences rather than his/her professional competencies. The individual assessment centres consisted of biographical questions, case studies on leadership in an international context and participation in a leaderless group discussion. Ultimately, additional references were obtained for each candidate, although different procedures existed in different countries.For example, references gathered in Asia only confirmed a candidate’s previous function and duration of employment according to common employment law. After reference checks were completed, each candidate received written feedback and a report was generated and added to the successful candidate’s personnel file. Page 3 9B07C041 intense. The personnel selection system in APAC, as a whole, would have large-scale consequences affecting the entire company. As Koch was walking in the crowded Causeway Bay area he was not paying much attention.To Koch, who could not distinguish between Asians, it seemed as if they were crawling across the streets like ants, all busy on their phones. As usual, it was a very hot day. For Koch, now 48 years old, this was intolerable. He took off his light-coloured linen jacket and placed his tie, threatening to strangle him, in his brief case. He had returned from a business trip in Sydney the previous Saturday and was still feeling the effects of the lengthy flight. The next business trip was scheduled for the upcoming Thursday — off to Jakarta for a week, Shanghai, then Munich for a meeting of the Global Steering Committee Human Resources.He checked his schedule and remembered the phone call he received earlier from Koenig’s assistant. Koch would be arriving at his office within 10 minutes, which allowed him time to return Koenig’s phone call before the scheduled meeting. It had been 17 years now that Koch had been working in the HR department for ComInTec and three years in the regional headquarters in Hong Kong. After working many years for ComInTec he was currently the HR director, thanks to his determination, networking skills, ability to be highly adaptable to new situations, and his talent to be at the right place at the right time.He was in charge of all HR decisions within ComInTec in APAC. ComInTec was a worldwide leading industrial company with administration, plants, an d sales offices in Central Europe, Eastern and Western Europe, APAC, Central and South America, and North America. Like many other companies, ComInTec was forced to establish downsizing procedures between 2003 and 2006. Worldwide, 900 jobs were cut. Koch was actively involved in the staff cutbacks that had taken place. He had visited the plants, equipped with PowerPoint presentations that had been verified by the executive board to be politically correct.He spoke to the workers and praised ComInTec’s ethics and corporate philosophy, despite the cutbacks. He communicated the cutbacks to the workers as a temporary crisis, pointing out that it was mainly due to natural fluctuations and that it was part-time employees who were cut, with the affected workers being offered fair compensation packages. In consequence of the general economic situation in the years of 2003 to 2006, ComInTec unfortunately had no other option. He additionally thanked the staff for their loyalty and appre ciation with personal gifts and reports in the company’s internal newsletter.Since then, the company had recovered from the crisis. ComInTec employed 23,000 employees worldwide and made more than â‚ ¬5. 8 billion in sales. Koch arrived at the elevator to his office. He was surrounded by Asian colleagues in the best mood, all in uniformly grey suits, greeting each other as they waited for the elevator. When he got off the elevator, there were two of the three Chinese secretaries serving tea and fruits. His appearance always caused a general haste among the secretaries. They all confirmed his daily appointments, signifying that his work day had officially commenced.Koch called on a secretary, who came running on the double, accompanied by a â€Å"Yes, sir! † and a big smile, yet she avoided eye-contact by looking down to the floor. She reminded him that Koenig was waiting for him to return his call. Without being able to name a cause for it, this secretary’s be haviour triggered uncertainty in Koch. All her gestures appeared submissive as she perpetually nodded her head — regardless of praise or dispraise — always understanding and friendly. Koch picked up the telephone and Koenig instantly began speaking: Mr.Koch, you know how much I appreciate your dedication to the company, but I have concerns about the current international selection procedures. We need something that is going to work, and work immediately! And don’t you dare try to offer me this empirical or validity stuff. I don’t give a damn. You have a whole department with highly qualified people. I assume you are capable of filling these vacant management positions. We also need a selection system that works everywhere. We cannot afford to apply differentLicensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 4 9B07C041 procedures in every c ountry. What we need are consistent procedures, something applicable cross-nationally and cross-regionally. You, as a cosmopolitan, should know exactly what I mean. I also expect everything to be documented to a tee. Although Koch shared Koenig’s enthusiasm for an improved personnel selection system, there were many complications that could arise of which Koenig seemed obviously unaware.As sensitively as possible and with all due respect, Koch tried to inform Koenig about possible problems. First, Koch argued that although a multinational personnel selection system could have its advantages, these advantages may become costly when they are not easily implemented in each region. Each country had its own unique economic and education situations, which would undoubtedly become problematic when creating a universal personnel selection system. Koenig should only think of Thailand, for example, where it is more difficult than anywhere else to find qualified managers.With respect to cultural differences, Koch argued that a standardized personnel selection system would also most likely ignore cultural differences and culture-specific circumstances. This would not only affect the individual modules of the system, but also the basic job requirements, the adaptation of modules to specific countries, and the use of specific personnel selection methods. Koch also expressed his concern with Koenig’s lack of interest in testing the validity of the new selection procedures: Mr. Koenig, something that is expected to work should be tested thoroughly.This is the only way to be certain that it will actually work. We will need to test and then evaluate each and every single module in each country. This process will provide a basis on which we will be able to improve the original procedures. Due to all the possible problems that may arise with the new system, it is imperative that we invest in developing it properly. Of course, that wasn’t exactly what Koenig w anted to hear: Don’t tell me about problems, I want solutions, and you should not forget that this is what I pay you and your team to do. You have until the end of this week to deliver final and written conclusions of this matter.If not, I will reduce your team in Hong Kong by half, and I will delegate the development of this new system to global headquarters. â€Å"Mr. Koenig,† Koch replied, â€Å"please keep in mind that my team has been working on this assignment for months, including weekends. † Nevertheless, Koenig underlined Koch’s point of view with the commanding tone typical of him: â€Å"Either you will come up with something useful by the end of this week, or central headquarters will do the job. End of discussion. † Koch responded: Mr. Koenig, we have known each other for 17 years now and you know that I always do what’s best for this company.I strongly believe that as your HR manager, it is my responsibility and duty to inform y ou about possible risks and problems that may exist with an ad hoc-developed and unevaluated multinational personnel selection system. Koch advised Koenig again that his demands could lead to severe difficulties. Koch also added: Mr. Koenig, please remember the problems we experienced a few years ago with respect to staffing cutbacks. You wanted to send employees, who had been working for the Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13.Page 5 9B07C041 company for many years, home without any kind of termination pay. Everything was to be done by us, without any kind of external consulting. I assume you remember that I told you in advance how risky such a staff reduction can be. I am certain that you will also remember that I informed you that the legal process would create a high financial risk to the company with employees with legal action seeking claims for damage s and compensation. At the time you had underestimated the situation, and as a result our legal department had to deal with all the consequences.We were lucky that our lawyers were able to win most of the cases. Koenig was listening to these remarks with irritation and responded: Dr. Koch, I am at the end of my tether with you. You need to stop focusing on the past. It’s all water under the bridge. We are now looking at 25 people we want to hire. This is my company and not yours. I will be participating in today’s meeting via video conference. I expect you to prepare everything at once so that the video conference will be working. And don’t forget that I have put you in charge of the entire new personnel selection system.Koch would need to accept the fact that all of his objections to Koenig’s instructions fell on deaf ears. He knew Koenig well enough to understand exactly what he wanted and that he would not change his mind. For Koenig, endless loyalty t o the company, endurance, a hands-on mentality, and assertiveness were most important. He was known for his strong control orientation not only by the members of the global steering group, but also by the plants’ employees. Two weeks prior, he went to Malaysia unannounced and snuck into one of the plants in order to see the night shift’s work with his own eyes.In addition, every executive knew that Koenig had established staff employees, so called key functionaries, in every country. The task of these key functionaries, or spies as Koch liked to call them, was to report to Koenig about everything that was happening on site in detail, particularly any wrong doing of management. But Koenig did not trust these key functionaries either, with his motto being â€Å"Trust is good, control is better. † Only if there was 100 per cent agreement between headquarters and the key functionaries was he willing to attribute a certain degree of credibility to the situation.Koch could therefore understand the tactics of Koenig because they somewhat resembled his own tactics. Koch, nevertheless, had difficulties with Koenig’s control procedures because they directly affected him and his team. In response to these procedures, Koch had established in APAC that each meeting and each decision that was to be made must be recorded by three individuals. Piles of paper were accumulating in his office as a result, and even special storage rooms were needed to store the paper masses.Furthermore, Koch remembered the intention coming from the central HR department, to standardize all personnel selection procedures including all criteria and approaches around the globe. This matter ended in talk due to conflicts regarding this question. With all this in the back of his mind, and the increasing pressure on his shoulders, Koch remarked to Koenig at the end of the phone call that the meeting would possibly take several hours, and that he assumed Koenig would not like to spend his precious time listening to every single detail regarding APAC’s selection system.Koenig agreed that attending the meeting via video conference would not be in his best interest with respect to time, but instead insisted even more that he receive the final draft of their decisions and the meeting minutes by Friday. Koch was proud to have successfully appeased Koenig’s concerns for the moment, and he next turned his focus to the scheduled meeting. He was horrified when he glanced at his watch and realized that it was already 9:30 a. m. He jumped up abruptly from his desk and left for the conference room.When he arrived, his whole team and an unknown staff employee from global headquarters, probably a key functionary, Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 6 9B07C041 Well, I ask today that you all present results from the past few months of hard work. I am only interested in the results and would like to avoid any long discussions concerning details. Mr. Koenig expects our final decisions in writing this upcoming Friday.In the case that he does not approve our recommendations, this project will possibly be passed on to global headquarters. As a result, we will lose team members. You now know the importance of our meeting today. We need to legitimize our right to exist. The Chinese colleagues agreed by nodding their heads uniformly. Koch noticed that this behaviour was always to be expected when there was an order from a member with higher hierarchical status. From Koch’s perspective, this was a phenomenon reflecting cross-cultural differences (see Exhibits 1 and 2).He often asked himself why his Chinese colleagues seemed to forget all priorities regarding time and content as soon as there was an order coming from someone higher in the hierarchy. How often did he observe his Chinese colleagues change t heir work completely and without any objection according to the orders of someone with higher status? Koch quite often got the impression that his Asian colleagues and co-workers followed the principle â€Å"Seniority is king. † Yue Yu, a Chinese HR employee, rose to speak. In her concise way, she stated: One crucial question concerns the definition of the job requirements and their profiles.After several discussions we have come to the conclusion that the positions to be filled differ in their content. Hence, we plead to define the job requirements specifically for each position, and to allow flexibility of the job requirements for other positions. More precisely, we want to diagnose 15 dimensions: five components that test the candidate’s professional competencies, and 10 dimensions that evaluate social competencies. Andreas Mueller, the German economist who possessed extensive experience in HR management, countered Yue Yu: â€Å"You must be joking.The inclusion of 15 dimensions is not what our team has decided on. That is your opinion, which is not shared with anybody here. I told you many times that the acquisition of 15 dimensions is simply impossible. † â€Å"Yes, that’s what you said earlier,† answered Yue Yu, â€Å"but I find we should establish as many dimensions as possible. † â€Å"Well, I disagree,† Mueller continued, who could not stand being interrupted, â€Å"It is important to define clearly distinguishable job requirements that are measurable, describable, and that are equally relevant in all countries of APAC. Yue Yu, intimidated by her German colleague’s manner, blushed and looked down towards the floor, signaling that she did not dare to say anything further. Yue Yu often found it difficult to cope with negative feedback, particularly when it occurred in front of her colleagues. There had been several times already that she could not stand up to Mueller, which seemed to affect her mor e and more each time. She had once spoken to Koch about her difficulties communicating with Mueller; however, Koch was quickly irritated by the complaint and asked her to wait and hope for an improvement of the situation. Koch assumed the confrontation betweenLicensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. were already waiting impatiently. In order to keep the meeting attendees occupied while they waited, the thoughtful secretary was serving coffee and snacks, resulting in a second breakfast for many of them. Koch welcomed everyone, apologized for being late, and began the meeting, â€Å"We are here today to decide about the future personnel selection system for APAC, which, when complete, will influence the complete international employee selection system within ComIntTec considerably. After these introductory words, he asked the German intern Sarah Goldmann and her Chinese HR assistant Dai Wei to record the meeting minutes. Koch continued, â€Å"I need everything we discuss here today to be recorded in detail. The records must happen with the precision of a surgeon! † The German team members threw disfavouring looks at each other; however, the Asian team members approved of the instructions by nodding their heads. Koch started: Page 7 9B07C041 he two colleagues was generally just a misinterpretation due to cultural differences (see Exhibits 1 and 2), and told her to bring the matter to his attention again only if it was absolutely necessary. Yue Yu never discussed the situation with Koch again. The German, in-house psychologist Sabine Weitmann, who was known for her differentiating thinking, decided to join the discussion: In my point of view, the question regarding the number of dimensions is only secondary. It is important that we first establish the contents of the job requirements. I suggest we replace the term job requirements with the more modern term competencies.In my opinion, a multinational requirement profile should contain competencies such as technical and vocational skills, social competencies, leadership competencies, communicative competencies, flexibility, and adaptability. â€Å"Why these skills and not others? † interjected Dai Wei, the Chinese HR assistant, who was not satisfied with Weitmann’s selection of skills. â€Å"Well, during my studies at the Strategic Human Resource Management Institute in Hong Kong, where I completed my MBA, I learned and experienced that a multitude of skills are inessential in personnel selection.I think we should therefore consider additional skills. For example, stress tolerance, resilience, cooperation skills, willingness to learn, ambiguity tolerance, goal-orientation, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, and intercultural competencies. † â€Å"But Dai Wei,† contradicted Mueller, â€Å"It is totally obvious that this kind of proposition will encounter problems. That is simply not doable. Besides, the intention to establish more than six job requirements turned out to be problematic in the past.Did you ever think about the difference between intercultural competence and social competence? † Dai Wei was obviously irritated by the criticisms he received in front of the team and was in the process of losing his temper, which was easily detected by looking at his face, which had become flushed. These well-known signs alerted Weitmann, who tried to calm the situation with her objection and who cherished the illusion of having salvaged this precarious situation: â€Å"We should not waste anymore time debating this topic, which we’ve already discussed many times before.Let’s stay focused. † Clearing his throat, Mueller stated, â€Å"It is pointless to discuss the skills and job requirements. We are under time pressure and I therefore suggest that we bring about a majority vote wi th respect to the skills. † â€Å"No,† said the Chinese trainee, who participated in a communication training course last weekend and had been therefore sensitized to group dynamic processes, â€Å"A majority vote is not the solution. It may lead to good decisions not succeeding because certain team members follow the uniform opinion of the majority.We should try to reach a consensus on this issue. † While the Asian colleagues began to nod their heads in agreement, Mueller, who did not like to leave anything to chance, responded, â€Å"Well, I believe there should be six dimensions, namely planning/organization, initiative, adaptability, conflict management, decisionmaking/goal-orientation, and leadership. These dimensions are not only important for a manager’s success in APAC, but on a worldwide scale. † â€Å"Andreas,† countered Weitmann, â€Å"what are your conclusions based on? We need dimensions that have been empirically verified.Altho ugh it is great that you have your opinion, what we need are empirically validated dimensions. † â€Å"Well, I would like to settle this dispute,† replied Bettina Carter, a German lawyer who had lived in California for many years, and who was now ready to explore the world of APAC with her American husband. The always down-to-earth Carter opined, â€Å"Clearly, this is easy. We simply use the German dimensions and adapt them to the management positions in APAC. I am certain that everybody here knows that these are the dimensions mentioned by Mueller earlier. Koch, who was already feeling mentally exhausted from listening to the discussion, said: Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 8 9B07C041 I neither have the time nor the energy to be debating these arguments. Our hands are full and even though we’re going in the right direction, it is only a first step to come up with dimensions. I am in charge of everything here and I would like to avoid losing my head over these debates. Let’s vote. Who agrees with the dimensions suggested by Sabine?Silence took over the room. â€Å"Who will support the dimensions outlined by Andreas? † The vote was suddenly interrupted by a cellular phone ringing in the tone of an alarm system. â€Å"Sorry, sorry about that,† apologized the Chinese trainee, who was no longer writing the meeting minutes, but instead trying to control his cell phone. Koch concluded: There you go! It is official and we agree. I hereby announce that the job requirements for the selection of managers be assessed on six dimensions: planning/organizing, initiative, adaptability, conflict management, decision-making/goal-orientation, and leadership.These dimensions will be used for managers in all departments (e. g. sales and marketing, purchasing, supply chain management, finance, and accou nting) and all locations (e. g. Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Melbourne, Sydney and Shanghai). We will also incorporate vocational competencies. All recorders please write down that statement. Eventually Goldmann, the German intern, remarked with satisfaction that she could finally score with her boss: â€Å"It appears to me that the definition of the job requirements should not be done separately from the new personnel selection system module definitions.I learned in university to define certain requirements for module X and the requirements that will then be tested in another module Y. † Everybody in the room was surprised at this, and even Weitmann and Mueller complimented Goldmann for her suggestion. â€Å"Yes, this is a very good proposition, indeed,† Weitmann said. Mueller, who saw his chance to get back to the topic, added, â€Å"We should continue with a systematic approach. Let’s decide on the modules, and then we can substantiate the job requirements per module. Sabine, surely you will agree with me on this. After the long-lasting debate, which still wasn’t very productive, Koch was now only following the discussion half-heartedly. Similarly, the Chinese trainee was on the verge of falling into a deep trance. Koch decided he would no longer intervene on the discussions, â€Å"Now I am just going to sit in on this meeting,† he thought to himself. These people are beating around the bush and are trying to profile themselves at my cost. I am under Mr. Koenig’s pressure, being spied on by the headquarters’ staff employees, in a city that is still strange to me, and without any hope for improvement.With a loud voice he blurted out, â€Å"What shall it be,† and everybody in the room looked at him in an alienated fashion. â€Å"Is everything OK? † the German intern Goldmann, who found this behaviour extremely strange, asked with worry. She remembered an introductory course of clini cal psychology and believed that this behaviour could be an indication of a pathological disorder. However, Koch replied, â€Å"Yes, of course, everything is perfectly fine,† which temporarily reassured Goldmann.It was now Koch’s intention to fulfill his leading role by trying to motivate his team members to move on to the next important issue: the definition of the modules and the job requirements for each module. Dai Wei responded, We have been working on this question for a very long time, and after several modifications and discussions, we finally agreed. We think as a team that a multinational Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 9 9B07C041 Yes, Dai Wei,† replied Yue Yu, who was always intent to maintain harmony. Weitmann, who was still a bit annoyed because her suggestion regarding the competencies was rejected, stated: Dai Wei , you forgot an important module. When I attended an international conference in Philadelphia, I had the opportunity to meet an internationally-known scientist. Like me, the professor considers it essential to use standardized testing procedures. The professor has shown empirical evidence that validity of personnel selection increases if psychometric testing procedures are used in addition to other modules.For that reason, I advocate for intelligence tests and personality tests to be added to the personnel selection system. We have discussed this before and my suggestion was received positively. Replied Mueller: Sabine, your test knowledge is impressive, but unfortunately such procedures will lead us into a dead-end street. As you know, standardized tests have several disadvantages. They are not generally highly accepted and cultural problems exist. Are you aware of any intelligence or personality tests that can be applied equally worldwide and for which there are test theoretical i ndices available?Weitmann, getting worked up about the topic, responded, â€Å"Well, these are minor problems, and if we need to we can ask our interns, trainees or HR assistants to develop such standardized tests. Or we could assign an external consulting firm to the task. † Carter, who in the meantime was scrolling through her voluminous labour law book, jumped into the conversation: I don’t think we should debate this issue any further. We have already decided several weeks ago to include testing procedures in the selection process. Just to be sure, I will confirm that the testing procedures coincide with the labour laws.We should now concentrate on how the individual modules will look and what skills should be covered in which module. â€Å"That is a good suggestion,† agreed Dai Wei. Increasingly gripped by this trend-setting suggestion, Mueller now cleared his throat and offered to summarize the contents of the modules: After due consideration, we have come to the conclusion that the first step of this multinational personnel selection system will be conducted in a similar manner at all Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. election system for APAC should be two-tiered. The first tier consists of three modules: a viewing of the candidates’ application documents, a telephone conference with the applicants that should be conducted in an unstructured manner, and the obtaining of three references from former employers. Unlike the current procedures, references should not only be used to verify past employment and the duration of employment, but also include a statement regarding the candidate’s personality. Four modules will follow in the second tier.Specifically, a panel interview, a biography-oriented in-depth interview, a simulated group exercise, and testing procedures. Does everybody still agree on these modules and the two-tiered system? Page 10 9B07C041 Koch stepped in, â€Å"Thanks, Andreas for your summary. Dai, could you please illustrate the second tier modules in an equally precise fashion? † â€Å"I will try,† taking a deep breath, Dai Wei said: The second level of the selection process will consist of — as already mentioned — a panel interview, a biography-oriented in-depth interview, a simulated group exercise, and a test.The purpose of the panel interview is to obtain detailed information about the candidate with respect to the required skills Andreas just summarized. That means that the competencies will be evaluated in this module of the selection process. The panel interview is a standardized exercise based on the critical-incident-technique. The candidate describes one critical situation and his or her behaviour in each situation for each of the six job requirements. Instructions and questions for the candidates have already been p repared.I will give you an example for the dimension â€Å"planning/organization. † The instructions will read: â€Å"An efficient manager has to be capable of organizing his or her agenda well in order to achieve specific goals. This includes, but is not limited to, prioritizing competing tasks well and delegating tasks to other employees in a timely fashion. Discuss a time last year when you had to keep a tight and challenging schedule. Also include methods you usually apply for time management. This introductory instruction will be followed by five open-ended questions that have to be answered by each candidate. An example for the dimension â€Å"planning/organization† is as follows: â€Å"Think about an event in which you showed previously discussed skills. Explain the circumstances. Describe precisely what you have done in order to manage this situation. What was the outcome? Who will be able to verify what you have described here? † The candidate will rec eive similar questions for the remaining five dimensions. Each candidate will be given an hour to prepare his or her answers.Afterwards, they will be given 30 minutes to present the results, with panel members given the opportunity for queries. Each candidate will then receive a score for each dimension (e. g. 5 being outstanding, 3 being acceptable, and 1 being unacceptable). The scores will then be Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. locations. Module one, a viewing of the candidates’ application documents, shall be conducted by applying the â€Å"6-eye-method. That is, three persons will be analyzing the applicant’s documents regarding his or her suitability for the targeted position. The result of this analysis is a preliminary selection of candidates. Individual telephone conferences with the remaining candidates will follow. The confere nces will be attended by the candidate and two members of our team: the supervisor at the site in APAC and one person from the German headquarters. The conference shall be conducted in an unstructured manner with everyone having the opportunity to ask the candidate questions.The goal of the conference will be to verify the candidate’s suitability for the position, his or her motivation for the position, and to obtain a general, overall impression of the candidate. If a consensus is reached that the candidate is suitable for the considered position three references from former employers or colleagues will next be obtained. As you all know, the reference system has paid off well in Europe, especially because it enabled us to identify all those cheaters and impostors. This will likely be doable in Asia as well.In the case that the references are predominantly positive, the first level of the selection process is completed. Subsequently, the candidate will have to pass the module s of the second tier. Dai Wei, would you like to illustrate the modules of the second tier in detail? Page 11 9B07C041 â€Å"Let’s move forward to the second module in the second tier: the in-depth biography-oriented interview. † Dai Wei continued: At this stage we verify a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, but the primary objective is to gain insights into the candidate’s private and professional past.The in-depth biography-oriented interview shall be conducted by a psychologist. We are especially interested in the candidate’s expectations, how parents and other family members have influenced him or her, how cultural background affects his or her decisions, and possible untreated conflicts the candidate may have to face. The interview shall not be oriented towards job requirements, but instead consider the candidate’s complete life span and be of a general nature. Following this in-depth biography-oriented interview, a psychological opi nion shall be furnished.This opinion will be filed in our documents, without the candidate having the right to view it. It is important that the interviewer and the candidate have the same cultural background in order to prevent any possible misunderstanding during the interview (e. g. a candidate for a position in China shall be interviewed by a Chinese psychologist). Although this requirement may create additional expenses, we find it justifiable and needed to ensure an accurate expert opinion on the candidate’s qualifications is obtained. â€Å"Dr. Koch,† Dai Wei said, â€Å"What do you think about this approach? â€Å"I am not quite sure at the moment,† Koch responded, â€Å"I think it is very likely that a few of the suggestions just are not feasible given the high costs involved. For now, I am not able to say anything definite. We will have to wait. † Exhausted by the long-lasting discussions, it was becoming more and more difficult for Koch to sta y focused and absorb the arguments. He noticed that Yue Yu had not spoken out on anything, including the rivalry between Weitmann and Mueller Koch was convinced, as he could see in many different situations that a leader should stay out of these issues. One could not change things anyway. Change,† it crossed Koch’s mind, â€Å"Can one change a situation, in one’s life? No, people never change. Neither do circumstances in life. You get thrown in and there is no way out, and it would be a hopeless undertaking to try it. † Koch tried to take control over the situation again: â€Å"Well, let’s move on to the two last modules of the selection system. Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. summarized, forming the basis for the decision as to the panel’s level of recommendation.We discussed for a lengthy time whether we shoul d inform the candidates in advance about the dimensions (e. g. the meaning of each). In order to guarantee transparency for the candidate, we decided to inform them of all dimensions a priori. It is our hope that this will increase a candidate’s acceptance and understanding of the module’s purpose. Furthermore, we discussed whether the critical incidents should be presented in English, or whether they should also be available in other languages. We discussed the pros and cons thoroughly. From my own experience, it is difficult at times to communicate to someone in a second language.We decided it would be best to give the candidates the option of answering the questions in their language of choice. The instructions and questions will therefore be translated by professional translators from English into the particular language. In order to guarantee accuracy in the translation, the instructions and questions will be translated into English again (i. e. the back translati on technique). Although this extra translation step may appear as more work, it is warranted to ensure the translation is indeed reflective of its original content.These extra expenses can offer a tremendous advantage, especially for the Shanghai location. We are certain that we can effectively cover relevant dimensions that are cross-culturally important with this method. A separate pre-test is not designated. Page 12 9B07C041 Sabine, please explain modules three and four. How do they look? What competencies do they include? Are there any culture-specific adaptations that need to be dealt with? † Weitmann eagerly began to inform her colleagues about the modules: I can certainly do that.We are looking at a simulated group exercise and the adoption of standardized test procedures. The group exercise has been integrated in order to acquire typical dimensions, which are usually diagnosed in assessment centres, in a similar way. The assignment of an assessment centre for one or tw o days and the culture-specific adaptations would mean increased expenses. For these reasons, we have excluded this option, and alternatively will be using simulated group discussions. The candidate and three professional role players will participate in the leaderless group discussions. The role layers have to complete a two-day-long training session, after which they will receive an internal certificate stating that they can act as professional role players. Prior to the group discussions, the role players will receive specific instructions containing standardized roles. The role players include the â€Å"devil’s advocate,† whose task is to contradict the candidate’s opinion, the â€Å"supporter,† who is always on the candidate’s side, and the â€Å"viewless one,† who does not participate in the argument, but who will propose opinions that don’t have anything to do with the topic at all.Prior to the discussion, each participant will be informed about the topic. The chosen topic should deal with issues that contribute to the development of the employees in their own department. The topic shall be identical APAC-wide. We have deliberately chosen a topic away from specific skills in order to allow each candidate equal chances for the completion of this task. Naturally, candidates with strong leadership skills will have advantages over those who have only been in a leading position for a short time.The candidate will not be informed that the discussants are role players with specific assignments. The dimensions that will be evaluated in the group discussions include communication, cooperation, stress tolerance/resilience, assertiveness, and ambiguity tolerance. The roles and individual instructions will only be available in English in order to standardize the exercises cross-nationally. The group discussions shall also be carried out in English. The candidate will be given 15 minutes to prepare for the discussion after the topic has been revealed.The whole discussion will be video-taped. This recording will then be made available to three independent observers, who will ideally come from different countries. It is their task to observe the candidates’ behaviour during the discussion, and to assess the candidates’ behaviour with respect to all relevant dimensions and in compliance to the behavioural scale available to the observers. Additionally, each observer has the opportunity to write down his observations qualitatively.The observations of all observers will then be collected and statistically converted into a final score for each candidate. It is important to mention that every observer, who can be recruited from any hierarchical level, must pass an observer training course that teaches the basics of behavioural observation, the meaning and importance of such exercises, the dimensions, behavioural indicators for each dimension, as well as the role players’ assignment s of their specific roles. That concludes all the information we have gathered on the simulated group discussion.Goldmann, interrupted: Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 13 9B07C041 I don’t want to be rude, but isn’t it important to take the candidate’s perspective into consideration, as well? I mean, if the candidate has no clue about the situation in which he or she is in, he or she deserves clarification as well as extensive feedback once the group discussion is completed. I think that extensive feedback, in both oral and written form, must absolutely follow the module. It is nice that you think that,† Mueller countered: Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. But unfortunately nobody cares about th e candidate’s perspective. We are interested in choosing the right person, certainly not in satisfying the applicants. What horseplay — these never-ending discussions on fairness and acceptance. Reality differs significantly from the ideal procedures we are taught in university, my dear.It is really annoying the kind of stuff that is being taught at our renowned universities, and most likely by professors that have not seen much outside of their institutes, let alone in a company. Goldmann, who only wanted to contribute with a suggestion, was obviously upset about the comment. She could barely hold back her tears as she marched out of the conference room. The Chinese trainee followed her with the intention of calming her down, losing the handouts he had prepared for the meeting and that he was supposed to distribute beforehand.Finally, Yue Yu ran out of the room and into the female washroom, where she found Goldmann looking miserable, in tears and close to a nervous br eakdown. â€Å"Dr. Koch,† Carter, who saw herself responsible to demonstrate her judicial knowledge, advised: I think that this argument has merit to it. Candidate feedback is important. Just imagine the consequences and damaging results of not providing feedback. Feedback should not be underestimated. I am particularly thinking about rejected candidates. ComInTec cannot afford these kinds of mistakes. † Koch agreed only partly and replied: Mrs.Carter, now you have subscribed to this view, too. Do you have any precedent? As you know, all candidates receive feedback in writing regarding their overall impression. As you should know further, this feedback does not cover any specific dimension or module, but it offers a very good general conclusion. Should candidates be interested in the impression they made, they simply need to read the report. That should be sufficient. I do not agree that we should focus on unpleasant feedback, or would you like to conduct all of those c onversations yourself, Mrs. Carter?Now the psychologist jumped into the discussion, acting as a mediator. She pointed out the following: The question regarding the feedback should not be our priority. We still need to discuss module four. I am talking about the testing procedures that have to be included in the selection system. As I have mentioned before, it is essential to use psychometric testing procedures. Insofar, module four consists of an intelligence test and a personality test that every candidate has to complete. That gives us indicators for â€Å"general intelligence† as well as for the â€Å"big five. The specific test procedures will be used still have to be specified for each country of course. But I am convinced that we will be able to manage that. Page 14 9B07C041 With the Goldmann still in the bathroom crying, there was only one recorder left, which resulted in much of the meeting no longer being documented. Dai Wei, who had returned to the meeting and was trained in presentation techniques, felt obligated to conclude the points that were most important with the use of a flip chart: If I may conclude, we have decided that the ersonnel selection system consists of two tiers that include several modules. We have specified these modules in content and procedures. Hence, we have achieved the first step of our meeting. We intended furthermore to specify the adaptations for each target country and how to implement those modules. We need to next reach a consensus on the second and third goal of this meeting. Koch commented: Dai Wei, what are you thinking? It is already 1:30 p. m. and that means that the time for our meeting is more than up. We won’t be able to decide on the remaining points today.I expect that the recorders will make a flawless and written report available by 9:00 Wednesday morning. Please pass this on to Sarah and Yue Yu. This will give me time to review all the meeting minutes and finalize any unresolved issues. You should expect a final copy of the resolutions on the multinational selection system to be available by Friday at 9 a. m. With respect to the issues that were not resolved today, I will make the decisions myself and include them in the report. This resolution shall also deal with the questions that we could not look into, due to the lack of time today.I don’t care how you will do it – just do it. Thank you for your attendance at this meeting, Dai Wei, Sabine, Mrs. Carter, Andreas, and honourable sir of staff. † With these words, Koch terminated the meeting. Due to the lengthy meeting, there was no lunch break. This particularly bothered the Chinese team members, but it was not voiced. Koch believed that Asians set a high value on lunch breaks because they highly value food and money. Unfortunately, Koch could not be bothered to worry about it — according to him, food and money were the lower motivators on the Maslow Pyramid of needs.He muttered under his b reath: Those Asians, it’s always just about food, money, and shopping, and they are continuously on the phone — what do they have to tell each other all the time? How often do I see them yelling at each other in Chinese, hard and ruthlessly, whereas they always show me a smile? You never know what they really think, and when I ask them they tell me something positive anyways. Negative remarks in front of the boss are obviously a big taboo, and the word ‘no’ does not seem to exist in their vocabulary.Right after the meeting, Koch went straight to his office and did not come out again for the rest of the afternoon. Koch received the meeting minutes on Wednesday and wrote his final report for Koenig. Koch later received a short notice sent by Koenig via e-mail on Friday afternoon. Koenig informed him that important basic conditions and necessary adaptations had not been taken into consideration sufficiently in the new multinational personnel selection system; therefore, he had handed the case over to global headquarters.In addition, the e-mail stated that there would be staff-related consequences for his department in Hong Kong. In response, Koch sat down to write a long letter to Koenig’s attention. Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 15 9B07C041 Exhibit 1 DIMENSIONS AND INDICATORS OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (HOFSTEDE) Power Distance: Degree to which society members accept an unequal distribution of power.Characteristics of large power distance: Inequalities among people are expected and desired. Less powerful people should depend on the more powerful authoritarian values Organizational hierarchy reflects inequality between higher-ups and lower-downs Centralization is popular Subordinates expect to be told what to do Wide salary range between top and bottom of organization The ideal boss is a benevole nt autocrat or good father Privileges and status symbols are popular Uncertainty Avoidance: Degree to which society members feel uncomfortable by uncertain or unknown situations.Characteristics of strong uncertainty avoidance: Uncertainty is felt as threat, feeling of anxiety Fear of ambiguous situations What is different, is dangerous Suppression of deviant ideas Resistance to innovation Motivation by security Masculinity/Femininity: Masculinity pertains to societies in which social gender roles are clearly distinct (i. e. men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success whereas women are supposed to be more modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life); femininity pertains to societies in which social gender roles overlap (i. e. both men and women are supposed to be modest, ender, and concerned with the quality of life). (pp. 82-83). Characteristics of masculine societies: Dominant values are material objects and success Money and things are import ant Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Men are supposed to be assertive, ambitious, and tough Women are supposed to be tender and take care of relationships Girls cry, boys don’t Live in order to work Stress on equity, competition among colleagues, and performance Resolution of conflicts by fighting them outPage 16 9B07C041 Exhibit 1 (continued) Characteristics of feminine societies: Dominant values are caring for others and maintenance of relationships People and warm relationships are important Men and women are both supposed to be tender and take care of relationships Work in order to live Stress on equality, solidarity and quality of work life Resolution of conflicts by compromise and negotiation Individualism/Collectivism: â€Å"Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look af ter himself or herself and his or her immediate family.Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth on are integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyality. † (p. 51).Characteristics of individualist societies: Individual interests prevail over collective interests Identity is based on the individual Employer-employee relationship is a contract that is supposed to be based on mutual advantages Hiring and promotion decisions are supposed to be based on skills and rules only Management is management of individuals Task prevails over relationship Characterisitcs of collectivist societies: Loyalty for the ingroup (family) Identity is based on the social network to which one elongs Harmony should always be maintained and direct confrontations should be avoided Employer-employee relationship is perceived in moral terms, like a family link Hiring and pr omotion decisions take employees’ ingroups into account Management is management of groups Relationship prevails over task Source: Geert Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, London, 1991.Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 17 9B07C041 Exhibit 2 ASPECTS OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: ANGLO VERSUS ASIAN Asian Collectivism: â€Å"related self† Group identity, group achievement & rewards, group loyalty, â€Å"guanxi† High power distance (hierarchy) Low power distance (equality) – Work allocation based on competence, rather – Age/seniority is King! Formal interactions than age – Do without asking – Partnership is encouraged – Empowerment regarded as a threat – Informal interactions – Empowerment is the key to growth Control Harmony – Individuals take control â€⠀œ Be in harmony with others rather than show – Free expressions initiative or take charge – Disagreements and differences are not a threat – Emphasis on politeness, respect and emotional restraint – Difference maintains harmony; equality upsets harmony Secular Religious/spiritual – Keep your religion to yourself – In Muslim countries, workplace, ethics, codes of behavior and dress are guided by Muslim religious teachings – Time off during working hours for prayers for Muslims Circular thinking (high context) Linear thinking (low context) – Circling around the topic – Speech and argument patterns are linear – Colorful and flowery language in India – Ideas backed by explanations and examples – Concise – Hate waffling Shame/Lose Face Guilt – Governed by own conscience and internal – â€Å"What will others say? – Group pressure to maintain group reputation sense of right and wrong – â€Å"Give face† — don’t question your leader – â€Å"Lose face† — look bad when publicly challenged – â€Å"Save face† — don’t own up your own mistakes – â€Å"Gain face† — look good when praised in public – â€Å"Thick face† — no shame, don’t care – â€Å"Show face† — manager visits your home – â€Å"Got face† — speech, behavior, dress reflect status in a family, business, or community – Anglo Individualism: â€Å"separated self† Unique, personal space, goals, achievements Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13.