FRED:

AN INNOCENT ABROAD Analysis Paper By: Simn Beltrn Echeverri Executive Summary

Kline & Associates is a multinational consulting firm with presence in 19 countries. The most recent office is located in Tokio, Japan. Six months ago, after a sudden strategic move of the managing director to the England, HR had to fill that position in less than 3 weeks. The solution was to look internally because there was no time to find a management level person with the proper expertise and also so they could skip any possible training. Fred Bailey, a very qualified employee in the San Francisco office fitted perfectly the profile according to the partners, which HR department seemed to back up. So three weeks later, after intense load of work to hand in his current position and no training at all to fill the new managing position abroad, Fred and his family flew to Japan. Since the starting meeting with his staff, he felt some distance with the Japanese crew. Not only distance to him, but also between the Americans and the Japanese in general. Japanese kept giving a vague response to his inquiries. Fred however, didnt do anything to correct this. So this kept on going until it even started affecting business when pursuing a huge contract with a top 100 Japanese multinational company. Simply there is no full understanding of the traditions and

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

 of the specific business practices in Japan by top management in Klines Japan office. This lack of understanding happens also within the office in relation to this client, when Tashiro Watanabe, a young Japanese associate, was commended to write a report on the potential client but is not being able to hand in when expected. The feeling from top management was about why didnt Mr. Watanabe mention this likely delay. This evidences that there is a big communication problem among the expatriates and the Japanese at all levels. It has also has come to the attention that Mr. Baileys family might be experiencing the same cross-cultural problems at home, to the point of considering returning to United States. This must be addressed as well, however with more care since employees personal matters shouldnt be of the companys incumbency. Problem Statement Expatriate managers in Kline & Associates Japan branch seem to not fully understand Japanese culture and business practices. The company has not been doing pre-departure cross-culture training nor anything similar until now to prepare the expatriates. Because of this the president, Fred Bailey, for example is experimenting a culture shock, both at work and at home, while in Japan. This is seriously affecting the results of the company, his performance and his relation with his wife Jennifer, who is experiencing other cross-cultural problems. Also some other expatriates seem to have similar cultural understanding problems.

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

 This is evidenced in the distance perceived between the expatriates and the Japanese staff. A solution must be found before it is too late and the big Japanese company that is about to sign with them backs up. Firm Goals Since the Japan branch is a new branch, growth in penetration in the market is essential. Nurture Freds talent and if the Japan assignment is a success, invite Fred to be a partner of the company. Constrains Time. The big client might just sign with another consulting firm any time soon. Budget. Work force costs are already very high with a high percentage of expatriates (17.5% of workforce). Assumptions There is a silent concern in the headquarters about the stagnation of the Japan branch. Not only there are no new worth mentioning clients but also the only prospect is about to be lost. However, they do not consider Freds capabilities to be the cause.

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

 Competition in the Consultancy market is high in Tokio. Mr. Bailey is an open person to new cultures and practices. Analysis of alternatives

A. Hire an International HR and Training firm to implement an intense Cross- cultural training to Fred, Ralph, all other recently arrived employees and in a lower intensity to the whole branch. Then personally with Freds family there should be suggested a similar training process, especially in language, starting with his wife Jennifer who is feeling badly because of the cultural distance. B. Terminate immediately Freds contract in Japan and hire a Japanese managing director or an American with big knowledge on Japanese culture and business. This way the company can cut instantly the communication barriers between top management, staff and clients. However, this would take some valuable time and if they only find a Japanese that fits this profile, the communication distance will definitely grow with the Headquarters. This solution doesnt helps for the other 7 expatriates that apparently are suffering similar cross-cultural problems. So it would either have to be mixed with some cross-cultural training or with replacements, which would be very difficult to accomplish and a waste of talent.

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

C. Develop a new job position that would be an internal consultant in Japanese culture and business practices. This person must be in constant communication with top management to be able to address the pertinent issues with all the necessary information. Since he would have access to sensitive information, he should sign a deep confidentiality agreement to be safe. This person should also have real time translation abilities so he can be top management translator when dealing with important meetings with non-English speakers. However, when the consultant is not always there the problems might continue, both internally and externally. So this alternative should also be mixed with some cross-cultural training as well to compensate to the availability of the consultant.

Conclusion Since both alternatives B and C seem to take cross-cultural training as a key necessity, then the alternative that should be implemented is A. Alternative B is disregarded because the firm truly believes in Freds potential. Alternative C is disregarded mainly because it doesnt provide a long-term solution. Since the main problem falls in the lack of knowledge in cross-cultural matters from the American managers, this training should be implemented immediately. A firm with the proper knowledge on international human resources and training, especially in

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

 issues related to Japan, must be hired immediately. The time constrain is important to take into consideration since this kind of training must last at least one or two months to be effective and by then the big client being pursued might not be there anymore. So the training proposed must address this conflict as an initial case to analyze and fix. Only with finding the solution to the issues regarding it, the rest of the training can continue normally. In relation to Freds family integration into Japanese life, the company must provide as well assistance to protect the investment done in Fred. The Japanese staff (82.5% of the work force) must have some basic training as well in cross-cultural issues so they can also partly adapt to the foreign company way of business and personnel. The same HR firm should also provide this service. The solution seems costly, however it is the only alternative that could be implemented fast and if successful guarantee a long-term solution. If only the top 100 Japanese company was signed, these costs would be minimum in relation to the benefits. Also alternatives B and C seem costly as well and will be on a permanent basis, while this training will have a big initial investment plus some small investments on the long term. Implementation First of all, from the headquarters, with help of Mr. Bailey and the HR Firm, they must determine which employees, other than Fred and Ralph need this kind of

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

 Cross-cultural training. Since budget is a constrain, this must be done carefully so there is no unnecessary nor excess training. Training must be mandatory or else the company must move towards hiring more Japanese managers in order to connect more with the local culture. This will pressure employees into paying more attention to the training. The first stage of training shouldnt last more than two weeks with daily two hours sessions. This stage must include two sections of a standard cross-cultural training: Impression approach and Assessment center. Here the external consultant should focus the training on the actual problem, so it can be fixed and work as a real-life example for them to learn better. Since there is some sensitive information regarding the case, the consultant must sign a confidentiality agreement and therefore he can know the case better and assist more properly. The second stage of training would then be less intense on two hours sessions twice a week for 2 months. In this case all possible sections in standard long-term cross-cultural training must be present, these would be: Impression approach, Assessment center, Field experiences, Simulations, Sensitivity training and Language training. This stage must be divided into two sections, one related to work-related circumstances and other to personal circumstances. In Freds case, one out of the two weekly sessions must be with his wife, if possible at their home. This way, the company makes sure the adaptation process is better for Fred at all levels. This stage might receive some resistance, however it turns

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

 out fundamental for the success of the project. Top management from the headquarters must address this recommendation personally to Fred, to make him clear this is very serious matter for the company. The third stage would be a lot less intense and would follow an assessment made on each persons advance in the subject. The only common subject that will continue for everybody in this 3 months stage is Language Training. Periodically during the training, Japanese mandatory tests must be made to guarantee the effectiveness of the lessons. The lessons would continue as far as necessary, depending on each position specific needs based on management and HR departments opinion. The training for the Japanese workforce should be done at eh same time with a suggested duration of 1 month with weekly sessions of 2 hours orientated to American culture and business practices. Also the company should reinforce the companys values and goals as part of this course to make sure they internalize them, apply them on a daily basis and therefore be align with their American peers. To continue the process of integration of cultures within the company, after the Japanese staff finishes their training, there should be implemented a Buddy Program and some periodical integration events. First the HR department with help from the external HR Firm must determine strategic pairs of employees (one American and one Japanese) to help each other in the necessary matters and do some kind of cross-mentoring. At the end of each semester, each employee must

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad

 hand in an appraisal form regarding the cross-cultural advance in his peer. Second, there must be made integration events once every two months, such as dinner parties to motivate the communication between the two cultures. These events should be planned with the suggestions of the staff so they fulfill everybodys expectations so they are welcomed and effective. After this training Kline & Associates can guarantee that their staff has some clear understanding of the Japanese culture and business practices, hence the results must improve as this seemed to be the main problem leading to the stagnation of the Japanese branch.

Simn Beltrn Echeverri June 13, 2012 - MBA Human Resources Management Individual Assignment Fred Bailey: An Innocent Abroad