Challenges Faced by HR Manager in Relocating a Manager from Australia to France
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This essay evaluates the key challenges faced by the HR manager in Sydney while relocating a manager from Australia to manage a branch in Paris, France. It discusses the cultural differences, living standards, taxation policies, and living costs that impact the working life of a manager in France in 2019.
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P a g e|0 International Human Resource Management
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P a g e|1 Whileexpandingtheiroperationsininternationalmarkets,therearevarious challenges faced by human resource department of a company which is necessary to be addressed in order to ensure that the company is able to sustain its growth in the market. Implementation of effective international human resource management (IHRM) policies enables companies to address their HR issues while managing an international team (Brewster, Vernon, Sparrow & Houldsworth, 2016). The objective of this essay is to evaluate the key challenges faced by the HR manager in Sydney while relocating a manager from Australia to manage a branch in Paris, France. This essay will evaluate key challenges relating to HRM and employment relations issues that impact the working life of a manager in France in 2019. This essay will evaluate key cultural differences which an HR manager has to take into consideration while relocation a manager in France such as living standards, language, and minimum wage. The living standard and values of people in France are considerably different than compared to people in Australia which impact the effectiveness of management policies. In comparison, Australia has a better living standard of employees since they receive better healthcare, insurance and retirement benefits (Hiew, Halford, Van de Vijver & Liu, 2015). These elements must be taken into consideration by the manager to ensure that he/she leads the team in Paris while considering these factors. People in France are less friendly than compared to Australia; therefore, the manager must be prepared for a culture shock. In order to build positive employee relations, it is important that the manager must earn the trust of employees in France before implementing changes in the organisation. People in Paris prefer to keep themselves busy all the time whereas it is not the case with Australia where people are more spontaneous while making plans (Holmes & Looseley, 2013). The manager should make sure that he/she pre-planned the meetings with employees and other business partners to avoid offending them by following local customs. The manager has to take into consideration the difference between taxation policies of Australia and France while managing the operations in Paris. In Australia, income taxes are the most significant taxation which is collected by the federal government. However, in France, taxes are levied by the government, but, collected by public administrators which include three institutions: the central government, local governments and the social security association (ASSO) (Carbonnier, 2013). Non-residents in France usually pay tax on their
P a g e|2 income at a minimum French tax rate of 30 percent; non-residential individuals in France are only taxed for income which they generate through French sources (Expatica, 2019). On average, the income tax rate in France in 2017 was 45 percent. In Australia, the tax is imposed if the income of a person goes above $18,200 whereas, in France, the tax is imposed on the income above €9,964 (ATO, 2019). In Australia, people have to pay GST at the rate of 10 percent on goods and services which they consume whereas, in France, people have to pay the Sales Tax Rate at 20 percent (ATO, 2018). The differences in taxation policies must be taken into consideration by the HR department; for example, the manager relocating to Paris should receive the salary from the Australia office to avoid paying higher tax in France. The living costs difference between France and Australia should also be taken into consideration by the manager while dealing with employees. In Australia, the prices for consumer goods are 1.25 percent lower than compared to France along with restaurant and groceries prices (Numbeo, 2019). The HR manager has to pay higher for purchasing consumer goods and groceries while living in Paris, France. However, the rent prices are substantially low in France than compared to Australia because people pay 36.18 percent higher rents in Australia. These factors are necessary to be taken into consideration by the HR manager to address key HR challenges while relocating the manager from Australia to France. Employees and business partners in France might not prefer to meet at restaurants to discussed business details which the manager should take into consideration to be considerate and avoid offending them Bocquier et al., 2015). Understanding and communicating the message in the right tone is important for managers in order to ensure that they build a strong relationship with employees. In the case of Australia, English is the most commonly spoken language in organisations; however, in France, French is the most common language in the workplace (Yagmur & Van de Vijver, 2012). The manager who is relocating from Australia to France should learn basic French in order to ensure that he/she is able to interact with employees. The employees might feel disconnected with the management if they are not able to discuss their issues in their local language. Many employees might also face challenges while communicating in a foreign language such as English which will discourage them from sharing their ideas and issues with the management. The manager can hire an employee as a translator to share his/her ideas
P a g e|3 with other employees; however, it will reduce the efficiency of the communication. Therefore, it is important that the manager must learn to speak and understand basic French in case the employees in the organisation did not speak or understand English (Patrick & Kumar, 2012). This is also crucial for the manager to build a strong relationship with his/her staff members to ensure that they did not feel disconnected from the management and they are encouraged to share their views with the management in the decision making. Employees in France are extremely uncomfortable with uncertainty, and they prefer to engage in the decision-making process which is not the case in Australia. This cultural difference can be understood through Hofstede’s cultural dimension model which is a great tool that can be used by companies to understand the cultural differences between two nations and implement HRM policies while taking these differences into consideration (Taras, Steel & Kirkman, 2012). There are six dimensions given in this model which include power index, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation, and indulgence. In case of uncertainty avoidance, Australia scored 51 whereas France scored 86 which high a major difference between the two countries (Hofstede, 2019). It shows that employees in Paris, France prefer to know that future policies implemented by the company and they did not like to be surprised by new provision. The manager that is relocating from Australia has to take this factor into consideration they affect employee relationship in the workplace, and it creates conflict between the management and employees (Gentina, Butori, Rose & Bakir, 2014). In Australia people are more relaxed and comfortable with uncertainty than compared to France; therefore, in France, the manager should give employees idea regarding future policies and collect their feedback to avoid employee resistance to change. In conclusion, there are various differences between the culture and policies of Australia and France which are necessary to be taken into consideration by the HR managers to ensure that the manager who is relocating from Australia to France did not face any challenges. Key differences such as living standards, taxation policies, uncertainty avoidance, and living costs are compared in this essay to understand the key differences between the cultural factors of both countries and how they might affect the employee relations in the organisation. Following are various recommendations which should be taken
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P a g e|4 into consideration by the HR managers to ensure that they avoid key HR challenges in the relocation of the manager. The HR manager should provide culture training to the manager who is relocating to ensure that he/she is prepared for the cultural differences, and he/she did not face a culture shock. The training should also be given regarding taxation differences and understanding of taxation policies to avoid complications. The manager should not try to change the culture of France to make it more like Australia; instead, HR policies in France should be catered to the local culture in order to avoid resistance in the workplace and promote positive employee relations. While taking decisions in the company, the manager shouldensurethathe/sheshouldencouragetheFrenchemployeestogivetheir contribution in the decision making process so that they feel like a part of the organisation. It will also make them comfortable with the management since they will be able to share the challenges which they face in the workplace. These international human resource management policies will ensure the efficiency of the company, and they will address the challenges faced by the manager while managing the employees in France which is crucial to sustain the growth of the company in the market.
P a g e|5 References ATO.(2018).GST.Retrieved from https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/GST/ ATO.(2019).Individualincometaxrates.Retrievedfrom https://www.ato.gov.au/Rates/Individual-income-tax-rates/ Bocquier, A., Vieux, F., Lioret, S., Dubuisson, C., Caillavet, F., & Darmon, N. (2015). Socio- economic characteristics, living conditions and diet quality are associated with food insecurity in France.Public health nutrition,18(16), 2952-2961. Brewster, C., Vernon, G., Sparrow, P., & Houldsworth, E. (2016).International human resource management. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Carbonnier, C. (2013). Pass-through of per unit and ad valorem consumption taxes: evidence fromalcoholicbeveragesinFrance.TheBEJournalofEconomicAnalysis& Policy,13(2), 837-863. Expatica.(2019).AguidetotaxesinFrance.Retrievedfrom https://www.expatica.com/fr/finance/taxes/a-guide-to-taxes-in-france-101156/ Gentina, E., Butori, R., Rose, G. M., & Bakir, A. (2014). How national culture impacts teenage shopping behavior: Comparing French and American consumers.Journal of Business Research,67(4), 464-470. Hiew, D. N., Halford, W. K., Van de Vijver, F. J., & Liu, S. (2015). Relationship standards and satisfaction in Chinese, Western, and intercultural Chinese–Western couples in Australia.Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology,46(5), 684-701. Hofstede.(2019).CountryComparison.Retrievedfromhttps://www.hofstede- insights.com/country-comparison/australia,france/ Holmes, D., & Looseley, D. (Eds.). (2013).Imagining the popular in contemporary French culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
P a g e|6 Numbeo. (2019).Cost of Living Comparison Between France and Australia. Retrieved from https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp? country1=France&country2=Australia Patrick,H.A.,&Kumar,V.R.(2012).Managingworkplacediversity:Issuesand challenges.Sage Open,2(2), 215. Taras, V., Steel, P., & Kirkman, B. L. (2012). Improving national cultural indices using a longitudinalmeta-analysisofHofstede'sdimensions.JournalofWorld Business,47(3), 329-341. Yagmur, K., & Van de Vijver, F. J. (2012). Acculturation and language orientations of Turkish immigrants in Australia, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology,43(7), 1110-1130.