Culturally Compatible

8/4/2019 Culturally Compatible

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CULTURALLY

COMPATIBLE

HUMAN RESOURCE

STRATEGIES

This Report Is a Collaborative Effort Of:

(MB-08-12)

(MB-08-16)

(MB-08-06)

(MB-08-20)

(MB-08-61)

(MB-08-75)

(MB-08-33)

Iqra Khan

Sidra Ghazanfar

Zoya Chaudhry


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Kokab Khalid

Mudassir Khalid

Sher Afghan

Faizan

REPORT SUBMISSION

With Due Respect We the Group Members SubmitThis Human Resource Report to Our Instructor of

Human Resource Management

Madam Bushra Baig


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface....4

Culture..

..5

Organizational structures for global business....5.

Cultural compatibility & HR..

....8

Globally oriented culture..

..9

Globalization vs. cultural identity..

11

Cross-cultural differences and HR.

13

CASE STUDY- conflict resolution strategies of Canadian and Chinese executives

.......17.

CASE STUDY-German industrial enterprises.

.18

CASE STUDY- leading Chinese telecom corporation Huawei.21

Implementing global HR strategies..

.24

Cross-cultural competent HR....25

Effective HR strategies in globalization

26

References..

28


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Report: culturally compatible HR strategies of TELENOR.

.34

Companyprofile.35

Vision & core values of Telenor...

.36

Organizational structure.....

37

HR department of Telenor.

37

Global

presence.38

Cultural compatibility inTelenor..40

Culturally compatible HR strategies of Telenor

46

Challenges.48

Conclusions49

Comments.

.49

Recommendations..

50

Our visit.

51


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PREFACE

This report reviews the Human ResourceManagement (HRM) of Telenor, the second largest

telecom company in Pakistan. We give a briefhistory of the company and tell about the

corporate human resource of Telenor primarily in

Pakistan. It put light on the culturally compatibleHR strategies of the organization around the

globe. Telenor is a multinational company that hasset up its operations in Europe and Asia. This


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report puts light on the specific Hr strategies,policies and practices of Telenor that makes itculturally compatible in different nations. We

start our consideration with the theoreticalknowledge of culturally compatible HR strategies

giving some real life case studies of leadingmultinational & transnational organizations. In the

end we conclude with our recommendations forglobal organizations.

CULTURE

Culture is the customs and civilization of a particular people orgroup

CULTURAL COMPATIBILITY


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It is the capability of different cultures to live togetherharmoniously.

When an organization goes global and sets up its operations in some

other country, it faces a totally different culture of that particularlocation. This local culture is their in the attitudes, work styles,demands and perceptions of the local human resource. A globalizingorganization thus has to make its home culture compatible with thelocal culture in order to survive in the local market. The newtransnationalenvironment requires a plethora of individuals who canwork internationally who are ultimately flexible, accommodating,and adaptable to different cultures and varying ways of doing

things. Those organizations who effectively pursue culturallycompatible HR strategies actually achieve success in long-run.

Studies on the success or failure of individuals in an internationalsetting have indicated that American expatriates experience afailure rate of 30 to 40 percent as compared to many Europeans andJapanese, whose failure rate has been estimated as low as sixpercent (Tung 1988). It appears that some countries or cultures aremore effective at producing successful global professionals thanother countries.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES FOR GLOBAL

BUSINESS

There are 4 main organizational structures for global business:

1) Domestic exporter - heavy centralized

activities in one country (financing, sales,marketing, human resources, strategicmanagement) while sales are dispersed usingagency agreements, and subsidiaries that arereliant on the home company. i.e. Caterpillar Corp.


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HR STRATEGY:

Domestic exporters just have to rely on the sales staffof local area; therefore they adjust the HR policiesregarding the pay scales, skills required and evaluationfor sales personnel only.

2) Multinational firm - control and management offinances out of central home base, whileproduction, sales and marketing operations are inother countries. Products are made to fit local

markets i.e. financial firms, General Motors etc

HR STRATEGY:

Multinational firms have to set their HR strategies forthe employees of all departments according to theculture of respective firms. Here the budget of thefirms is being set in home base while the pay scales as

well as incentive plans & benefits are the corediscretions of national firms.

3) Franchisers - product is created, designed andfinanced in home country, but for product-specificreasons, there is a heavy reliance on foreignpersonnel for production, marketing, and humanresources. i.e. McDonald's, KFC

HR STRATEGY:

Franchisers are just like multinational firms with theonly difference that multinationals create the wholeseparate set up for all national campuses while thefranchisers follow the strict policies and strategies of


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HR being pre-set by the home base. However franchisesmay carry out specific HR plans as per the local culturaladjustments but within a restricted provision of base.

4) Transnational firms - have no national homebase, have several regional home bases, andoptimize supply and demand constraints locally,central core for decision making, but dispersedpower and financial power to the divisions. i.e.Citicorp, Sony, Ford

HR STRATEGY:

Transnational firms retain the freedom of decision-making in determining its own HR strategies. Suchstrategies follow the cultural adjustments in the bestinterest of company. Such HR strategies are fullycoated with local cultural essence that gives the firm anew home environment.

CULTURAL COMPATIBILITY AND HUMAN

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Human resources or, as some would call it, human capital, isbecoming the most important asset for most organizations in theworld. As the New Economy pervades in the worlds communities andorganizations, it becomes necessary to study and pay close attention


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to the impact of Globalization and Technology in shaping todaysstrategy for managing culturally diverse human resources.

Globalization has resulted in significant implications for HR

functions as they attempt to develop global HR strategies anddesign programs and processes to manage a global workforce. The

key to success is to balance global standardization and localautonomy.

The challenge for Human Resource leaders is really to understandthe role of Human Resource Management in an organizationcompeting in a global business environment and effectively define

the critical issues and responses necessary in implementing astrategic Human Resource Program.

Studies on the success or failure of individuals in aninternational setting have indicated that Americanexpatriates experience a failure rate of 30 to 40percent as compared to many Europeans and Japanese,whose failure rate has been estimated as low as sixpercent (Tung 1988). It appears that some countries or

cultures are more effective at producing successfulglobal professionals than other countries.

Moore (2003) argues that there are 10 countries thatproduce the largest number of good global managers:Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland,Sweden, Denmark, Singapore, Australia, and Finland.According to Moore, what these 10 countries have in

common is their size. While they are not dominantpowers in their geographic regions, they are consideredsignificant players on the international stage. Thesemiddle-economy countries face the everyday reality thatthey are not the most important culture in their regionand thus they find themselves constantly negotiating


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between their own culture and identity and that ofsurrounding dominant cultures. In order to besuccessful, individuals growing up in mid-sized countrieslearn to embrace multiple ways of looking at the world.

They grow up with a duality (or plurality) that obligesthem to work effectively with their neighbors. It is thisability to be all things to all people that helps suchindividuals to be successful in a global context. Whenworking on global teams or in other countries, the abilityto think outside your own culture and see an issuethrough the eyes of another is critical to success(Moore 2003)

In the field of psychology considerable work has beenconducted on peoples sensitivity to intercultural issuesand their ability to adapt to other cultures anddifferent ways of doing things. Some organizations havemoved to personality testing to better ascertain thelikelihood of success of individuals working in aninternational environment.

GLOBALLY ORIENTED CULTURE

Much has been written on the influence of culture and globalorientation on business. These deeply ingrained assumptions,generalizations, or images that influence how we understand theworld and how we take action.

An ethnocentricmindset is one that basically holds ones own values,

beliefs, and culture are intrinsically superior to those of others.Ethnocentric individuals interpret the world through the eyes oftheir own culture, not recognizing, even devaluing, cultures that aredifferent from their own. If it works here, itll work anywhere,exemplifies the ethnocentric individual. Ethnocentric can play an


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important role in preserving standards and uniformity across theglobal corporation.

A polycentricmindset is one that adapts and assimilates to the

values, attitudes and beliefs of another culture. Because they arehighly attuned to the conditions and expectations of other cultures,polycentric individuals can play the role of empathetic advisors,effective at bridging the gap and transferring knowledge betweenthe local environment and corporate. The danger with thepolycentric mindset is the tendency to go native, sometimes to thedetriment of the organizations objectives.

A geocentricmindset is one that believes there are certain culturaluniversals and commonalities in the world and that no culture issuperior or inferior to another. The geocentric mindset accepts thepremise that bright people [do] bright things around the world(Sullivan 2001). Also called cosmopolitans, these types ofindividuals focus on finding commonalities and spreading universalideas and juggling the requirements of diverse places (Kanter1995).

GLOBALIZATION vs. CULTURAL IDENTITY

It is fair to say that the impact of globalization in the cultural

sphere has, most generally, been viewed in a pessimistic light.Typically, it has been associated with the destruction of culturalidentities, victims of the accelerating encroachment of ahomogenized, westernized, consumer culture. This view, theconstituency for which extends from (some) academics to anti-globalization activists (Shepard and Hayduk 2002), tends to


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interpret globalization as a seamless extension of indeed, as aeuphemism for western cultural imperialism.

Into this world of manifold, discrete, but to various degrees

vulnerable, cultural identities there suddenly burst (apparentlyaround the middle of the 1980s) the corrosive power ofglobalization. Globalization, so the story goes, has swept like a floodtide through the worlds diverse cultures, destroying stablelocalities, displacing peoples, bringing a market-driven, brandedhomogenization of cultural experience, thus obliterating thedifferences between locality-defined cultures which hadconstituted our identities.

WEST VICTIMIZING EASTERN CULTURE

Though globalization has been judged as involving ageneralprocessof loss of cultural diversity,

some of course did better, some worse out of this process. Whilstthose cultures in the mainstream of the flow of capitalism those inthe West and, specifically, the United States saw a sort of

standardized version of their cultures exported worldwide, it werethe cultures of the developing world that have been mostthreatened. Thus the economic vulnerability of these non-westerncultures is assumed to be matched by a cultural vulnerability.

GLOBALIZATION PROLIFERATES CULTURE

Cultural identity is at risk everywhere with the depredations ofglobalization, but the developing world is particularly at risk. But

another, quite contradictory, story can be told: that globalization,far from destroying it, has been perhaps the most significant forcein creating and proliferatingcultural identity. To take just oneexample, Manuel Castells devoted an entire volume of his celebratedanalysis of The Information Age to the proposition that: Our worldand our lives are being shaped by the conflicting trends of


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globalization and identity. For Castells, the primary oppositiontothe power of globalization lies in the widespread surge of powerfulexpressions of collective identity that challenge globalization onbehalf of cultural singularity and peoples control over their lives

and environment (1997: 2). Far from being the fragile flower thatglobalization tramples, identity is seen here as the up surging powerof local culture that offers resistanceto the centrifugal force ofcapitalist globalization. The impact of globalization thus becomes,more plausibly, a matter of the interplayof an institutional-technological impetus towards globality with counterpoisedlocalizing forces. The drive towards globality combines logic ofcapitalist expansion with the rapid development of deterritorializing

media and communications technologies. But this drive is opposed byvarious processes and practices expressing different orders oflocality.

GLOBAL-LOCAL CULTURAL STRATEGY OF HR

In a global-local strategy, cultural differences amongst employeescan be seen as a strategic advantage for cross-border learningcapabilities and the flexibility of the company.

This policy can be summarized as follows:

As much global integration as possible, as much local adaptation asabsolutely necessary.

Hewlett-Packardmanager illustrated thedirection in one sentence:

We want one solution for the world rather than 54 countrysolutions. We optimize at the company rather than the

country level.

IBM, on the other hand, values a regionaldifferentiation in their human resource policy. They


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believe in making exceptions, in flexibility in the area ofdeployment even as far as differentiatedstandardization:

This is the span needed to bridge the political and culturalgaps,

especially between westernized corporate cultures and Asiancountry cultures (Begley/Boyd

2001).

CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND HR

A growing body of research has emerged over the past decadelooking at cross-cultural differences in negotiation style [Fisher1980; Tung 1984]. These studies conclude that people of differentcultures use significantly different negotiation approaches. Thesedifferent approaches include:

communication styles used

Persuasion strategies employed

Protocols followed.

CROSS_CULTURAL CONFLICTS:

Negotiation studies all point to possible differences in the wayconflict is viewed and managed, little attention has been paid to

differences in reacting to cross-cultural conflicts in negotiations.Yet, the handling of conflict is critical to any effective cross-cultural negotiations.

When two parties negotiate in a joint project, buyer/sellerrelationship or any other business context, conflict inevitably arises


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[Habib 1987]. It may arise because of differences in theperceptions of the decision making environment, or preferences forparticular actions, behavioral styles and/or goals between theparties [Fisher 1974]. How the parties respond to conflict also

depends on a number of factors, including the nature of theconflict, the cultural orientation of the individuals, and theaffiliation of the parties. It is clear that how the parties perceive,respond to, and choose to resolve conflicts is critical to the successof any long-term business relationship. Individuals from differentcultures are known to adopt different conflict resolution strategies.Ting-Toomey [1988] proposed that members of collective culturesperceive and manage conflict differently from those in

individualistic cultures.

INTRA- VERSUS INTER-CULTURAL NEGOTIATION

STRATEGY

There is no consensus on whether decision makers extend theirdomestic negotiation styles to negotiating with cross-culturalpartners. Managers may assume different negotiation styles withparties of another culture to seek greater cooperation [Graham1985].

When dealing with members of a foreign culture, amanager may try to adopt behavioral patterns similar tothe other party. The negotiators who appear similar maybe more attractive to the other party and, thereby,enhance the bargaining outcomes (see review by Evans[1963]; Rubin and Brown [1975], and Francis [1991]). A

business deal is a business deal, and profit maximizationknows no cultural boundaries.

DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL OF INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY


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Milton Bennetts Model of Intercultural Sensitivity provides auseful roadmap for understanding the acquisition and maturity ofindividual cultural awareness. and global orientation. Bennett (1993)postulates a development progression that that all individuals go

through as they develop into geocentric or cosmopolitans (seeFigure 13). As individuals mature globally, they move from theethnocentric stages of denial, defense, and minimization to theethno relative stages of acceptance, adaptation, and integration.Other empirical work has demonstrated that the more internationalexperiences individuals have, the less ethnocentric they become(Guy and Beaman, forthcoming). Hence, associates who have reachedthe ethno relative stages of their individual development those

with geocentric mindsets are vital for the new chaordic,TransnationalHR organization to function effectively.

COLLECTIVISM/INDIVIDUALISM

The differences between the Chinese and North American cultureare well documented.

COLLECTIVISM:

The Chinese culture is collective and of "highcontext."

Collectivism emphasizes group harmony and

interdependence.

Chinese negotiators dislike taking the initiative andnormally pay more attention to maintaining a harmoniousrelationship


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When successive efforts within the inner circle fail,the conflict is likely to be met with resolute force bythe authorities

PRC executives were also found to be moredichotomizing (i.e., inclination to classify the world intoextremes-black or white, evil or good

In their decisions, more likely to consult theirsuperiors

motivation for favoring certain norms over others isalso driven by cultural factors

Societal norms are known to reward those whosubscribe to them and punish those who deviate

HR STRATEGIES

In two-person, buyer-seller simulations, it is more effectiveto use competitive (domineering) strategies to negotiate withChinese.

avoid open conflict, and when a conflict emerges, it must beresolved in inner circles before it becomes serious enough to

justify public involvement.

avoid potential conflicts and smooth over issues.

use delaying tactics

use more obliging and avoiding conflict resolution styles

maintain relations as key motivators in their negotiationstrategy

INDIVIDUALISM:


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The North American culture is individualistic and of"low context

Individualism emphasizes individual rights and

independence.

American negotiators tend to be authoritative,autocratic and in a hurry to make a deal

American executives are less dichotomizing

less decisive

American executives emphasize personal motivations(Self-Esteem, Position In Company) or situationalexplanations as key motivators

HR STRATEGIES

in two-person, buyer-seller simulations, it is more effectiveto use problem-solving integrative strategies to negotiate withAmericans

use less obliging and avoiding conflict resolution styles

show more concern for goal achievement

individuals be responsible for all decisions by themselves.

Turning to superiors for instruction on ordinary conflicts,particularly task-related conflicts could signal incompetence

at one's level of responsibility

Here, a case study on conflict resolution concerning Chinese and

Canadian culture would more elaborately describe it.


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CASE STUDY: CONFLICT RESOLUTIONSTRATEGIES OF CANADIAN ANDCHINESE EXECUTIVESExecutives from two cultures-Canadian and People's Republic ofChina (PRC)-were asked to respond to conflict in the context of a

joint project negotiation scenario. They responded under twoconditions-when the potential partner firm was from their ownculture and when the firm was from the other culture. Eachexecutive evaluated potential partner firms that would likely causetwo different types of conflicts- "person" related and "task"related-using in-basket decision scenarios.

The study used a 2 (Country: Canadian and PRC executives) by 2(Culture-Intra versus Inter-cultural) by 2 (Conflict: Person-relatedversus Task-related conflict) experimental design. This studydiffers from existing literature by studying:

(1) How executives from collective and individualistic cultures react

to conflicts in joint projects

(2) How intra- and inter-cultural negotiations differ

(3) How person-related and task-related conflicts generatedifferent resolutions by executives of collective and individualisticcultures

CONCLUSION

This study confirms that home culture orientation (collectivismversus individualism) affects executives' responses to conflicts.Executives from countries which differ in this cultural dimensiontend to adopt different strategies to resolve conflict, develop


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different expectations about possible outcomes, and be motivatedby different causes.

The collectivist/individualist orientation was also found to affect

social rules used to maintain group harmony. A superior isresponsible for maintaining an effective balance betweensubordinate human relationships and corporate goals, and in Chinathe superior/subordinate relationship usually has been. This studyfound that being from a different culture does not place one in adisadvantageous position in negotiation. Executives from both PRCand Canada used the same conflict resolution strategy and weremotivated by the same underlying factors regardless of the culture

of the potential partner. While this may put internationalnegotiators somewhat at ease, by lending support to theglobalization of business norms, the finding may be situationspecific.

This study found that person-related conflicts elicit differentresponses compared to task-related conflicts. Regardless ofculture, person-related conflicts seemed to invite negative, morerelation-oriented (versus information-oriented) responses, andappeared to be less satisfying, if more controllable, than task-related conflicts, treated with caution. Executives from differentcultures may tend to assume different strategies during suchprocesses.

CASE STUDY: GERMAN INDUSTRIALINTERPRISESA few years ago it was typical to give ones subsidiaries a free reinand send managers overseas from headquarters only. But today agreat deal depends on overcoming this one-way street and in looking


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for and employing the best-suited managers, regardless of theirorigins. What contributions can human resource management maketowards a companys global orientation an area in which local scopeand latitude are traditionally very high.

This is a study on German industrial enterprises namedDEVELOPING GLOBAL HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES byHans-Erich Mueller. It shows that in recent years German industrialenterprises have re-aligned the management of their executivestaff. Cornerstones of this quiet revolution are a policy ofworldwide parity of executives in evaluation, remuneration anddevelopment, greater participation of those with line responsibility

from product areas and regions in strategic development, as well asa re-alignment of human resource instruments. Worldwidestandards in human resource policy are key factors in thecompetition for qualified managers. Not only companies, but alsoexecutives need to adjust.

Do you have worldwide HR policies, that is, policies that apply to allemployees regardless of location?

This is one of the central questions underlying interviews with HRMexecutives of the twelve largest German manufacturers, which tookplace between the summer and fall of 2000. This includes thelargest German companies excluding trade, banking and insurance, aswell as energy suppliers according to the Business Week Global1000, 12 July 1999

GLOBAL INTEGRATION:

The same worldwide standards for senior management in evaluation,compensation and development are the milestones en route towardsa global human resource strategy, which has only caught on in recent

years at German companies like BASF, Bayer, DaimlerChrysler,Henkel, Lufthansa, SAP, Schering, Siemens, and Volkswagen.


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Henkelsees itself as a leader in human resource policy, both withinand beyond its own areas of business, one which brings about moreequality of treatment and fairness, so that qualified executives cancommit themselves to the company and participate in its success.

Deutsche Telekomand Preussag(the former steel manufacturer-turned tourism giant), who have recently become more internationalin their orientation, are just now in the process of preparingthemselves for a cross-border, integrated human resource policy.The autonomy of the newly purchased overseas companies has beensubstantial so far. Bertelsmann, where deployment has traditionallybeen decentralized, has just begun a more integrated policy for

senior management. Lufthansa in the Star Alliance network, too,participated recently for the first time in creating a soundfoundation for a global executive management scheme.

FOUR ALTERNATIVES FOR A CROSS BORDER STRATEGY

Local Adaptation:

1) International Strategy:

Appropriate when there is littleforeign business knowledge transferfrom the center of headquarters.

Coordination costs are low.

2) Multinational Strategy:

Affiliates are autonomous and localadapted.


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Cross-border advantages ofstandardization and learning are low.

Coordination-costs are lowest.

Global Integration:

3) Global Strategy:

Advantages of standardization ofpolicies and practices.

Strong centralism.

Lack of local responsiveness causesdisadvantages.

National segmented markets,cultures, policies set barriers

Coordination costs are high.

4) Transnational Strategy:

Uses advantages form globalization,localization and cross-border learningsimultaneously.

Coordination costs are highest.(seeBartlett /Ghoshal 1998)

Companies successful across borders with corporate headquartersin Germany have pursued a more globally integrated human resourcestrategy

CONCLUSION


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In recent years, many of the largest German companies havecompleted the change towards a transnational strategy for seniormanagement: Worldwide guidelines with enough flexibility to adjustto local situations, a global as far as possible with local

responsiveness and interpretation of criteria, as well as a networkof systems development contributing to global integration (see fig).The drivers of this transformation are adjusted company strategiesand structures, the lack of qualified senior executives for globalcompetition and the fact that managers have staff in manycountries. Additional impetus has come about by a change in theexpectations of executive managers and their desire for equality oftreatment.

The consequences: changes in the expectations placed on seniormanagement broader and greater international experience and thedissolution of traditional centers of power, which the headquartershad offered previously.

CASE STUDY: LEADING CHINESETELECOM CORPORATION HUAWEI

Huawei was established in 1988 as an IT product trading firmin Shenzhen. Its internationalization drove since 2001, now itis serving of the top 50 IT operators in the world. HW hasrepresentation offices in over 100 countries and over 1 billionusers. It is now employing over 60,000 employees, 48% ofwhom working in R&D.

BUSINESS STRATEGY:

Innovation


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High quality

Low cost

Excellent customer service

GLOBALIZATION STRATEGY:

Less developed countries first, then developedcountries

Occupy market first (loss-making) then make profitthrough maintenance and upgrades

MOTIVES OF OVERSEAS EXPANSION:

Market seeking

Asset seeking

HR STRATEGY:

Deployment of Chinese expatriate to set upoperations first

Localization to overcome language and culturalproblems, also to show commitment to local economy andobservation to local labour law deployment of socialcapital

HWS GLOBAL HR STRATEGY AND CHALLENGES IN

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

HR challenges:

The Hr challenges faced by HW include the retention problemdue to lower pay than western companies. Another challengebeing identified was the low competence of local employees in


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poor countries (low literacy and project management skills).There were also cultural differences in work values of othercountries. HW faced many cross-cultural issues betweenChinese expatriates & local employees. And there was lack of

identification of local employees with HWs corporate cultureor HW as their employer.

HWs adopted HR strategies:

HW promotes local employees to ranks which they will not getin western companies. They introduce local practices to suitlocal employees (e.g. bank loan guarantee letters). They carry

out cross-cultural team building through social events. Theyalso adopt the strategy of sending key local employees toHWs HQ for training and development. HW does thedeployment of locals as deputy managers to look afterpersonnel issues because the locals know the people-relatedissues well. Hw believes in learning by doing in developing HRpractices to suit local needs, e.g. borrow western companiesgood HR practices. In addition to the practical strategiesbeing adopted by HW, they deploy emotional intelligence inunderstanding local employees needs and provide support aswell.

CONCLUSIONS

HWs HR strategy is characterised with high-performancework system and paternalism typical of oriental culture.Creation and mobilization of social capital of employees plays

an important role in supporting HWs global business strategy.Mobilizing political capital is crucial for Chinese organizationsto develop international markets, esp. in emerging economies

CULTURAL MISALIGNMENT


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In many cases cultural misalignments are a byproduct of majororganizational change initiatives, such as total quality management,employee involvement or reengineering. Each of these initiativestypically requires some cultural adjustment to be effective, even

though they all seem to have similar goals, such as treatingemployees as critical assets, focusing on customer satisfaction anddelegating authority broadly. Even when the optimal culture forsupporting these initiatives has been identified and agreed to, thedifficulties associated with making adjustments to the currentculture must still be dealt with.

.

IMPLEMENTING GLOBAL HR

STRATEGIES

"Top-level managers in many of today's leading corporations arelosing control of their companies. The problem is not that they havemisjudged the demands created by an increasingly complex

environment and an accelerating rate of environmental change, noreven that they have failed to develop strategies appropriate to thenew challenges. The problem is that their companies are incapableof carrying out the sophisticated strategies they have developed.Over the past 20 years, strategic thinking has far outdistancedorganizational capabilities.

Today, people create national competitiveness, not, as suggested byclassical economic theory, mere access to advantageous factors ofproduction. Yet, human systems are also one of the majorconstraints in implementing global strategies. Not surprisinglytherefore, human resource management has become "an importantfocus of top management attention, particularly in multinationalenterprises.


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The clear issue is that strategy (the what) is internationalizingfaster than implementation (the how) and much faster thanindividual managers and executives themselves (the who). "Thechallenges [therefore] are not the 'whats' of what-to-do, which are

typically well-known. They are the 'hows' of managing humanresources in a global firm.

How prepared are executives to manage transnational companies?How capable are firms' human resource systems of recruiting,developing, retaining, and using globally competent managers andexecutives? A recent survey of major U.S. corporations found onlysix percent reporting foreign assignments to be essential for senior

executive careers, with forty-nine percent believing foreignassignments to be completely immaterial.

Which firms are leading in developing globally competent managersand executives, and which remain in the majority and lag behind?That majority, according to a recent survey of 1500 CEOs, willresult in a lack of sufficient senior American managers prepared torun transnational businesses, forcing U.S. firms to confront thehighest executive turn-over in history.

By contrast, it describes the approaches of some of the world'sleading firms that distinguish them from the majority. There is noquestion that the world business is going global; the question raisedin this article is how to create human systems capable ofimplementing transnational business strategies. Based on theirresearch, the authors support the conclusion of the recent 21stCentury Report that of executives who perceive their international

operations as shelves for second-rate managers are unsuited forthe CEO Job in the year 2000, or indeed any managerial job today.

CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENT HR


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Transnational managers must learn about manyforeign cultures' perspectives, tastes, trends,technologies, and approaches to conducting business.

Unlike their predecessors, they do not focus onbecoming an expert on one particular culture.

Transnational managers must be skillful at workingwith people from many cultures simultaneously. They nolonger have the luxury of dealing with each country'sissues on a separate, and therefore sequential, basis.

Similar to prior expatriates, transnational managersmust be able to adapt to living in other cultures. Yet,unlike their predecessors, transnational managers needcross-cultural skills on a daily basis, throughout theircareer, not just during foreign assignments, but also onregular multi country business trips and in dailyinteraction with foreign colleagues and clientsworldwide.

Transnational managers interact with foreigncolleagues as equals, rather than from within clearlydefined hierarchies of structural or cultural dominanceand subordination. Thus, not only do the variety andfrequency of cross-cultural interaction increase withglobalization, but also the very nature of cross-culturalinteraction changes

Review a range of global business strategies along with eachstrategy's requisite managerial skills.


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EFFECTIVE HR STRATEGIES IN

GLOBALIZATION

RECRUITING, DEVELOPING AND RETAINING QUALIFIED

MANAGERS

Qualified managers have become a bottleneck factor ininternational competition. Cross border

and interdisciplinary experience is expected and not alwaysavailable. In addition, loyalty to the company has depreciated.

Headhunters are poaching the best people. How do companies withinternational experience handle this problem? Corporate itself isaddressing the subject, human resource instruments for executivesare realigned creating a winning employee value proposition.

INCORPORATING GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE

Executives should see themselves as drivers of a common corporateculture. They travel more, send e-mails around the world,participate in tele-conferencing, familiarize themselves withbusiness magazines and business schools and, in short, are part ofknowledgeable and mobile elite. This is reason enough for formerbarriers to disappear, allowing questions about comparisons andequity to emerge. The new media make the flow of information and

communication around the world possible. But how and to whatextent this new media can be employed in the development of anintegrated global executive strategy also depends on the individualstrategy and corporate culture. Company networks and verydecentralized structures seem to hinder global standardization,whereas a growing international business


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Responsibility frees a substantial and powerful drive. Finally, thedegree of integrating business areas and the regions will differ.

REALIGNING PERFORMANCE AND COMPENSATION SYSTEMS

An improved integrated human resource management is the answerto changes in the companys strategies due to increasedglobalization. The starting point includes basic values and guidelinesbeing worked out and formulated by international teams and theappropriate tools. The goal is to increase the global standardizationof appraisal and compensation systems for executives and at thesame time to incorporate local qualities.

REFERENCES

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REPORT

ON

CULTURALLY COMPATIBLE

HUMAN RESOURCE (HR)STRATEGIES

We believe growth comes from truly understanding the needs of

people to drive relevant change

COMPANY PROFILE

Telenor Group

Telenor ASA is an international provider of high qualitytelecommunications, data and media communication services. It


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ranks as worlds 7th largest mobile operator with a total of 164million subscribers in its mobile operations.

Telenor Pakistan

Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to itsoperations in Asia together with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh.

Telenor Pakistan launched its operations in March 2005 as thesingle largest direct European investment in Pakistan, settingprecedence for further foreign investments in the telecom sector.The company has crossed many milestones and grown in a number ofdirections, making Telenor Pakistan a leading telecom operator ofthe country.

Telenor is the fastest growing mobile network in the country, withcoverage reaching deep into many of the remotest areas ofPakistan. In the most difficult terrains of the country, from thehilly northern areas to the sprawling deserts in the south, at timesTelenor is the only operator connecting the previously unconnected.

It is keeping ahead by investing heavily in infrastructure expansion.With USD2 billion already invested, it has extended agreementswith its vendors for network expansion and services until 2009. Theagreements, with a potential to result in USD750 million worth oforders from Telenor Pakistan, are some of the biggest of their kindin the industry.

Telenor is spread across Pakistan, creating 2,500 direct and25,000-plus indirect employment opportunities. It has a network of

23 company-owned sales and service centers, more than 200franchisees and some 100,000 retail outlets.


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VISION OF TELENOR

Telenors vision is simple: We're here to help

It exists to help its customers get the full benefit ofcommunications services in their daily lives.

CORE VALUES OF TELENOR

Make it Easy

We are practical. We don't complicate things. Everything weproduce should be easy to understand and use. Because we never

forget we're trying to make customers' lives easier.

Keep Promises

Everything we set out to do should work, or if it doesn't, we're hereto help. We're about delivery, not over promising, actions not words.

Be Inspiring

We are creative. We strive to bring energy to the things we do.

Everything we produce should look good, modern and fresh. We arepassionate about our business and customers.

Be Respectful

We acknowledge and respect local cultures. We do not impose oneformula worldwide. We want to be a part of local communities

wherever we operate. We believe loyalty has to be earned.

STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION

In TELENOR the hierarchy is very lean, in general the whole setupis centralized, all the matters are to be reported to the main

company and all the policies and targets are approved at the higherlevel. But at the department level the structure is decentralized.


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TELENOR has following functional departments:-

Technical

Customer operations

Finance

Administration & Procurement

Human Resource

Co-ordination (Govt. relations)

Marketing

Current CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of TELENOR is John EddyAbdullah

HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

HR department of Telenor is in Islamabad head office where itcontrols and handles all the HR activities of Telenor.

VICE PRESIDENT

MANAGER

DIRECTOR

EXECUTIVE

ASSISTANT MANAGER

INTERNEES

Human Resource departments

hierarchy is as follows:-


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Current VC (Vice President)

HUMAN RESOURCE of TELENOR

is Ms. Nayab Baig

GLOBAL PRESENCE

Europe

Norway

Telenors wholly owned Norwegian mobile operation is the countrysleading telecommunications operator

Services: Broadband, Mobile, Telephone, TV

Companies: Telenor Norway, Canal Digital, Conax,Norkring, Telenor Satellite Broadcasting

Denmar k

Sonofon is the second largest mobile operator in Denmark

Services: Broadband, Mobile, TV

Companies: Sonofon, Cybercity, CBB, Canal Digital

Sweden
http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/norway/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/denmark/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/sweden/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/norway/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/denmark/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/sweden/


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Telenor is the third largest mobile operator in Sweden

Services: Broadband, Mobile, Telephone, TV

Companies: Telenor Sweden, Bredbandsbolaget,Glocalnet, Canal Digital

Finland

Canal Digital is Finlands leading television distributor

Services: Broadband, TV

Companies: Canal DigitalHungary

Pannon is the second largest mobile operator in Hungary

Services: Broadband, Mobile

Companies: Pannon

Montenegro

Promonte has more than 450 000 mobile subscriptions inMontenegro

Services: Mobile

Companies: Promonte

Serbia

Telenor is the second largest mobile operator in Serbia

Services: Broadband, Mobile

Companies: Telenor Serbia
http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/finland/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/hungary/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/montenegro/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/serbia/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/finland/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/hungary/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/montenegro/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/serbia/


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Ukraine

Kyivstar is the largest mobile operator in Ukraine

Services: Mobile

Companies: Kyivstar

Russia

VimpelCom is the second largest mobile operator in Russia

Services: Mobile

Companies: VimpelCom

Asia

Pakistan

Telenor is the second largest mobile operator in Pakistan

Services: Mobile

Companies: Telenor Pakistan

Bangladesh

Grameenphone is the largest mobile provider in Bangladesh

Services: Mobile

Companies: Grameenphone

Thailand

dtac is the second largest mobile operator in Thailand

Services: Mobile
http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/ukraine/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/russia/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/pakistan/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/bangladesh/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/thailand/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/ukraine/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/russia/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/pakistan/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/bangladesh/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/thailand/


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Companies: dtac

Malaysia

DiGi is the fastest growing mobile operator in Malaysia

Services: Mobile

Companies: DiGi

CULTURAL COMPATIBILITY AROUND THE GLOBE IN

TELENOR

The best way to see the cultural differences depicting in the work,performance, perceptions, attitudes, behaviors and even statementsof HR of different nations, is to observe the views given by

themselves in their interviews. Following is such an interview thatwas taken by two employees of Telenor relating to two different

cultures and two different nations.

Name: Lawrence Ooi

Position: Head of Sales, Central Region

Company: DiGi

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Q: Describe briefly a typical day at your work
http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/malaysia/http://www.telenor.com/en/global-presence/malaysia/


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I am responsible for the sales in the central region of Malaysia, which is thearea around Kuala Lumpur. This region accounts for 50 percent of the totalsales in Malaysia. There are approximately 6000 dealers nationwide. I needto make sure that all our 3000 dealers have enough supplies, that we reach

our sales targets and that our brand has a prominent position in the salesoutlets. I have weekly meetings with my sales staff to maintain the overviewand keep myself updated on new telecom product launches and promotionefforts. I also am required travel to the other regions to get new impulsesand see what our competitors are doing.

Q: Why did you join the Telenor Group?

Before, I worked for a telecom company that had a really strict hierarchyand too many rules and regulations for my taste. So I wanted to find a new

job in the telecom industry. I had heard a lot of positive things aboutTelenor, so when my current position became available I applied and gotthe job

Q: What are the best parts of your work?

It is fruitful to work with many skilled people and help them to reach theirgoals. In addition, when good ideas are developed into strategies, it is veryinteresting and challenging to execute it and see how it progresses.

Moreover, there are no barriers in DiGi as you get to voice out your opinionsand all suggestions are taken into account before plans are being formulated

Q: How would you describe Telenors work environment?

It is a great atmosphere here, and our facilities are open and modern. Weare given the flexibility to work where we like, and manage our own time

Q: If you should choose one word to describe Telenor, what would it

be?

Dynamic! This is a very dynamic company. We find solutions quickly toproblems that arise. Unlike other companies in which policies are set, plansare derived and execution is expected. In Telenor, we get to set our ownstrategies.

Q: Can you describe a special event that you especially enjoyed?


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We had a prepaid registration drive last 2 years and my team had to patrolall dealers outlet in Central region at the last minute before midnight toensure we registered as many subs as possible. The next morning, had abreakfast meeting with Johan (CEO) and committee for an update session

and planned on further action to execute. It was a truly remarkableexperience as I got to work with people of all levels to complete a simple yetimportant task

Q: Describe your career in Telenor so far

This is my first position in Telenor, which I have had for three and a halfyears now. Time passes really fast, and I feel that my career is developingrapidly, especially due to the several development programs I get access tothrough Telenor. I find that the financial workshops and leadership sessions

I have attended enables me to perform better in my job.

Q: What are your professional goals?

I like the responsibility and the challenges being a manager, so I would liketo develop myself further as a leader and take on bigger tasks in the future

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I like to spend time with my wife and children. We often go on longer trips inthe weekends to go shopping, try new food and relax on the beach. PenangIsland is one of our favorite locations.

My hobby is to collect recyclable paper bags from grocery stores. Thediversity fascinates me. They come in all shapes and colors. I have severalhundreds paper bag at home, from all over the world. My wife is not toohappy about that, though

Name: Miljana Kijanovic

Position: Internal Communication Manager

Company: Telenor Group Headquarters and TelenorSerbia


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Location: Oslo, Norway

Q: Briefly describe your job at Telenor

I work with internal communication in short, that means I am part of theteam that provides employees with the information they need in their dailywork as well as news about the company. Currently, I am part of the editorialteam in the Group Communications department in Norway. Previously Iworked as head of the internal communications staff in Serbia. GroupCommunications at Telenor ASA felt that it would be useful to get differentviews on internal communication based on my experience of working for aTelenor operating company in another country. So, here I am in Norway. This

is an exciting opportunity for me and the recognition is important. At thesame time, I am pleased to see that people in Telenor are aware of thedifferences that exist across a big international company and are ready tolisten and learn more.

The job I have now does not differ much from the one I had before. Just asin Serbia, we start the day summing up recent events and news stories.Then, we plan forthcoming activities. I still write articles and stories for ourintranet portal, which is something I enjoy doing. Besides that, I am involved

in the development of the new intranet, which will be used by tens ofthousands of employees worldwide. Being even a small piece of the puzzle ina complex project like that is exciting.

Q: Why did you join Telenor?

I used to work for Mobtel, the Serbian telecommunications provideracquired by Telenor in 2006. It was a change for me suddenly to be a part ofan international telecommunications group. The way we do business now isquite unlike my previous experience. But it has certainly changed for the

better. We were used to a strict well, old-fashioned hierarchy. That is notwhat it is like at Telenor. It does not matter whether you are a manager ornot - everyone sits side by side in the office. That is quite unusual forSerbian companies.

Q: What has your career at Telenor been like so far?


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I have been in the telecommunications sector for over 10 years now, andtried several interesting jobs. My first position with Telenor was also myfirst role as a manager and an important opportunity for me. The job I wasdoing there brought me to Norway, where I now have the chance to continue

working within my profession and at the same time learn how things look andwork from a different perspective.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your work?

Internal communications is a new profession in Serbia, so I was fortunate tohave the opportunity to be one of the pioneers and set the standards. Duringa recent Public Relations conference in Belgrade, I held a presentation infront of a wide audience about internal communications

Q: How would you describe the work environment at Telenor?

When I started to work with Telenor in Serbia, we had just moved into anew building, located in the new part of Belgrade. Our Belgrade offices havea cool, modern design. Everyone enjoyed the benefits that make it anattractive place to work, such as free refreshments and massage chairs.Now, I know the concept is the same here, in Norway. The Telenorheadquarters just outside Oslo - at Fornebu, has an incredible position justby the sea. The view over the fjord is different from the grey urban

landscapes I was used to. I also admire the Telenor art collection, both hereand in Belgrade.

Colleagues are the most important part of any work environment. I miss mycolleagues in Serbia, our discussions about work, but also the time we spenttogether out of the office. Still, I am forming new friendships and gettingto know new people in Norway. Although there is a similar work cultureacross Telenor, there are differences in our native cultures that makeworking together interesting, sometimes challenging, but certainly enrichingfor all of us. Working and living in another country and a new environment,enables me to develop not only professionally, but also as a person.

Q: If you had to choose one word to describe Telenor, what would it

be?


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Actually, I would choose two important words: freedom and responsibility.At Telenor, you are given the necessary tools to do your job, but you are nottold howto perform your tasks. For instance I have flexible working hours,and can take my laptop down to the lake during the summer to enjoy the sun

while I am working. We have a lot of freedom - as long as you produce theresults. I really value this freedom.

Q: Can you describe a special event at work that you particularly

enjoyed?

I was part of the committee responsible for planning and organizing our one-year anniversary in Serbia in 2007. It was a big event with activities forboth employees with families, as well as external partners and othersinterested in celebrating this milestone. We had an outdoor party with a live

DJ, puppet theatre for the children, sports activities, and a lot more. It wasa great success! Everyone loved it.

Q: What are your professional goals?

I want to develop my career with Telenor further, and strengthen myinternal communications and branding competence. I was tempted to exploreinternational opportunities and I still am. It really exposes you to new ideasand viewpoints and helps to open your mind to new ways of doing things

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I like to be active and I enjoy sports. Rollerblading and skiing are myfavourites, so I really look forward to the skiing season in Norway. I alsolove the gym and I often go to the one at Fornebu as an employee here Ihave almost free access. The gym is located at the offices, which is veryconvenient.

OBSERVED DIFFERENCES

The difference in the statements of the two is quite obvious; one is

a woman other is a man. Another difference is that they work in

two different cultures of nations. It is a fact that cultural

differences make difference to the HR practices. It isnt necessary


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that what is valuable to one culture man is also valuable to other

cultures man.

It is observable that the lady is answering to all thequestions very descriptively while the man is answeringprecisely and to the point

Both of them switched to Telenor from anothertelecom company. The lady switched it because shewanted to work in an internationally recognized companywhile our Malaysian friend didnt like the strict

environment of former company.

The lady got promoted due to her learning and theman got promoted through workshops.

The lady has the professional goal to workinternationally while the man wants to move verticallyupward to managerial posts.

The typical European lady is very sporty while the manis truly Asian and want to spend spare time with hisfamily

The lady loves recreational activities at work whilethe man enjoys work related activities.

OBSERVED SIMILARITIES

In short the cultural differences are quite obvious through their

priorities, likings and dislikings. However the company based ideas

are completely same like

Both joined Telenor impressed with its freedom ofexpression


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Both are provided the career opportunities

Both are given the environment compatible to theircultures so that they may not feel the odds.

Both have described their company Telenor in thesame sense of goodness.

Both have described their work environment as free,respect giving as well as responsible.

These similarities are the result of Telenors culturally compatible

environment being provided to its human resource.

HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES

We discuss Telenors strategies which make it culturally compatibleto the human resource of different countries where so ever it hasset up its operations. Following are these strategies:

RECRUITMENT:

Telenor claims FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

The hiring criterion in Telenor is same throughout theglobe. However due to changes in the skills, knowledgeand abilities of people in different countries , Telenorhas varying staff hiring priorities eg here in Pakistan


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university education is quite common and cheaper ascompared to western countries. Pakistan has a pool ofgraduates and post-graduates, so obviously moreeducated and skilled person is hired whereas in western

set ups Telenor has mostly graduates in job positions.

Telenor hires young and talented people more ascompared to experienced elderly in Asian countries. It isdue to the fact that the creativity and freshnessrequired by service sector like Telenor is found in only

young talents in Asia. The middle aged people in Asiancountries are less enthusiastic and fresh. However

people in western countries remain enthusiastic andfresh for a relatively longer period of time. 80% ofTelenors staff is young blood.

GENERAL SET-UP

There is a lot of respect given to all employees. Herethe manager shakes hand with the mop. All theemployees self-serve themselves. They are not allowed

to make the service men work in their service

There are no cabins in any Telenor centre. There is acentral lobby where the front desk men to the RegionalOfficer (RO) all sit together.

As a cultural symbol Pakistani Telenor offices haveplaced a big bell with a string on the main door of

offices. It is for the purpose that any one who feelshimself satisfied with Telenor can ring the bell. It is incoincidence with the practice of Late Mughal KingJahangir who used to listen to the petitions of his subordinates whoever has any complaint.

TRAINING


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Training system is much vibrant in European Telenorset-ups. But owing to the lesser revenues generated inAsian markets, Telenor is not carrying out best traininghere. Training is always ignored in Pakistan by all.

However Telenor keeps on conducting one day trainingfor its employees throughout their work life.

JOB DUTIES

Telenor is carrying out equal and uniform strategieseverywhere. Its job duties and their requirements aresame. It offers flexible work hours to all employees in

its customers service call centers. There is nodiscrimination on gender base in Telenor.

The reward system is same everywhere. Everyone isrewarded on good performance in monetary units as wellas recognition and applaud.

All employees working in Telenor along with theirfamily members are medically insured. They can get up

to 10 lakhs on medical treatment. Owing to the morehealth problems among aged in Asian countries, Telenorprefers to retain young and healthy employees. Inwestern countries mostly young people are medicallytested for maladies.

There are no pension plans in Telenor. There areprovident funds provided in Telenor.

CULTURAL COMPATIBILITY

Telenor do value the culture of its transnational baseseg in Pakistan Telenor has the policy to send its 2employees on Hajj every year


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Telenor arranges aftar for its staff in Ramzan.

In the last annual meeting of Telenor, They havedecided sherwani as the dress code in Pakistan.

Even in inter-province culture differences, theexample of Quetta is interesting where employees arentasked to wear suits. They wear shalwar kameez

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Referring to the Denmark issue created in Pakistanagainst Telenor, its HR had no impact due to this

controversy. Not a single employee felt against Telenor.It was a great achievement of Telenor that it got in theshape of loyalty and concern of its HR towards Telenor.

CHALLENGES

Telenor face many challenges with the ever growing need ofcompetent Human Resource. It is really hard to hire and retain thebest people especially around the globe. The global companies face

many challenges regarding the cultural identity of respectivenations. They have to adjust culturally to the environment of

respective countries. And when even hiring the HR staff of thatvery country, the organization is exposed to many challenges to

make them perform at their best.

CONCLUSION


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By keenly analyzing the Human resource Management of Telenor, wethe group members agree that Telenor is carrying out satisfactoryculturally compatible strategies for its HR. Although it is notpromoting the cultural identity agenda that aggressively but even

then it is facing much less cultural conflicts among its HR. It may bedue to the reason that it has divided itself in just two markets:Europe & Asia. The European market almost holds the same cultureand three of its Asian market countries are Islamic. We camethrough very unusual facts about managing any companys HR. Webelieve that managing a competitive and culturally compatible HR ina competitive global market is a tough job. And Telenor is so farquite successful in hiring and retaining exceptionally talented HR

worldwide.

COMMENTS

As students of human resource management, among other things, webelieve that the globalization and the advancement of technologyinfluences how organizations should react and adjust to the

changing times and economy. Every company will have to find its ownroute and this will depend on the situation and will be differentfor executive management and specialized staff. The decisiveturnaround within todays human resource policy appears to be inthe replacement of both local autonomy and the home countrypreference. We will not seek to deny the obvious power ofglobalized capitalism to distribute and promote its cultural goods inevery corner. Nor will we take up the argument now very commonly

made by critics of the cultural imperialism thesis that a deepercultural impact cannot be easily inferred from the presence of suchgoods. What we will try to comment is something more specific: thatcultural identity, properly understood, is much more the productofglobalization than its victim.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

We as students of HRM can just recommend global companies (inthis case Telenor also) within the sphere of our knowledge,exposure and literature survey. WE recommend that:-

A worldwide audit of IHR (International HumanResource) programs and plans should be conducted atleast every three years as a matter of course. While

guidelines and an approval process help managementnavigate through obvious change, subtle changes withinthe company, local market practice, legislation, andemployee demographics can erode programseffectiveness over time. Multinational pools areparticularly subject to degrading without continuouscorporate sponsorship and should also be re-evaluatedperiodically.

Each organization must decide whether it has theright people in the right places to make the changes,whether these people have been adequately trained,given the necessary resources and focused on the rightobjectives, and whether they believe they will berewarded for their contributions. HR strategy must beconsistent with the needs of the organization, and itscomponent strategies must provide alignment with the

organization's objectives.

Human resource strategies can be powerful tools forsignaling cultural change and reinforcing those changesonce they are made. Who is hired and retained, howpeople are paid, and what behaviors are deemed


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desirable all send strong messages about the desiredculture. The potential of HR strategies and programs forshaping organizational culture cannot be overestimated.For HR strategy to realize its full potential, the

organization must first determine what its culture is andwhat it should be. Then the organization can create aplan for aligning culture with its mission andenvironmental or contextual realities by managing theculture from what it is to what it should be.

We wish a very best of luck to TELENOR. May it progress andachieve its desired goals. (AMEEN)

OUR VISIT

ISLAMABAD HEAD OFFICE TELENOR

Documents

Culturally Compatible