International HRM

This portfolio assignment provides guidelines on different aspects of a business to help Horizon Education, Inc. effectively operate in Japan.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL HRM
International Human Resource Management
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Executive summary
This is a portfolio assignment that answers a few questions asked in relation to Horizon
Education, Inc. and its entry to Japan. The paper provides supportive guidelines on the different
aspects of a business to help the company effectively operate in Japan. The paper concludes that
Horizon Education, Inc. needs to adopt the Japanese culture and structure in order to become
successful in the long-term. Moreover, it needs to follow different guidelines related to human
resource management related activities.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Body.............................................................................................................................................3
2.1 The selection of a plant manager...........................................................................................3
2.2 The proposed organisational structure...................................................................................5
2.3 The proposed cross-cultural management approach..............................................................6
2.4 The proposed compensation package and system.................................................................8
2.5 The types of training, development and performance management and measures.............10
3. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................12

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1. Introduction
This is a portfolio report in response to the needs highlighted in the given case study on
Horizon Education, Inc. The case study company seeks to grow its business that it has been
doing successfully till now in the United States of America. The company has already bought a
manufacturing factory in Japan to manufacture and supply tools, materials and many other things
to the educational centers in the country. This report resolves may expected challenges for the
company for being able to operate in Japan for a long-term. These challenges are selecting a
plant manager, identifying the most suitable organisational structure, cross-cultural management
approach, compensation package system, and the types of training, development and
performance management and also measures.
2. Body
2.1 The selection of a plant manager
Favourable Factors Unfavourable Factors
Carina Johansson  Huge experience in the
high-tech industry
 Worked for several years
in different Asian
countries like South
Korea, China and
Malaysia
 Hugh motivation and
passion to take up the
 Never worked before in
Japan
 The maturity level is low
considering the age
 May not feel comfortable
working with the Japanese
workers
 Organisational culture

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challenge by working
with Horizon Education,
Inc.
 No family burden as still
single
Sakari Mattila  Huge experience of
working in Japan
 In fact, never worked
anywhere else other than
Japan
 Already served a
managerial position in
the Japanese high-tech
company Horizon
Education, Inc., just
bought
 Knows the employees
quite well
 Does not have a good
thought for this company
 Has a family burden
Fredrick Rogers  Worked with Horizon
Education, Inc. for five
years as a manager for
this company
 Possess a real aptitude
 Never worked outside
America but ready to take up
the challenge
 Not willing to work abroad
for a longer period of time

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for guiding the process
to high-quality
production operations
 Considered as a rising
star for the same
company
 Has a family behind
Table 1: Top Contenders for a Plant Manager Post
(Source: As taken from the Case Study)
Fredrick should be selected as the plant manager for Horizon Education, Inc. Despite a
fact that Fredrick has no experience of working outside America, does not want to stay longer in
abroad and has a family as well, deserves this position. It is because Fredrick has already worked
before as the manager of the same company in America for five years. He is also considered as a
rising star and possess a true aptitude to guide the organisational processes to high-quality
operations (Rayner and Papakonstantinou 2015). Nevertheless, Horizon Education, Inc. with its
plant in Japan is passionate for quality enhancement as their main strategy. Sakari does not carry
a positive thought for Horizon Education, Inc. He also has a family burden that might add up
more to his disinterest level for the company. Carina has no working experience in Japan that
means Japanese culture could trouble her. She is also of a very younger age, which means less
adaptability to the organisational culture and nature of work (Osmani et al. 2015).
2.2 The proposed organisational structure
Japanese organisations like Japanese society, follow a hierarchical organisational
structure. This means the individuals sitting at the bottom-most position reports to their
supervisors, the supervisors report to middle-managers and so on. Team working and group

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orientation are an essential part of the structure (Galbraith 2016). Considering this being the fact
the proposed organisational structure for Horizon Education, Inc. is “Hierarchical”. This
structure is being recommended for its feasibility with the Japanese workers. The feasibility level
of the Japanese workers with the organisational structure cannot be changed by just training them
on a different structure or by implementing “Autocratic Leadership” in the company. The
“Autocratic Leadership” shows that the leaders have the absolute power and that they are the
only decision-makers (De Hoogh et al. 2015). Forcing workers to work cannot be a productive
approach in the long-term. It may produce results for the company in short-term; however, the
negative reviews for its work environment and the leadership can create troubles for Horizon
Education, Inc. in Japan (Asrar-ul-Haq and Kuchinke 2016).
2.3 The proposed cross-cultural management approach
There is a growing integration of multi-culture in the global workplace. This integration
can retard or affect the progress of the operations if are not managed well. First of all,
communication styles vary from one to another culture. In addition, people from diverse culture
also differ in regards to the extent they socialise and in adjusting to the work environment
(Pardoe, Vincent and Conway 2018). It is, therefore, important for the leaders to be able to
identify and use the most appropriate cross-cultural management approach. Horizon Education,
Inc. is one the verge of similar complexity as there are huge cultural differences between
America and Japan. According to Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Theory, there are huge cultural
differences between Japan and the United States of America. Cross-cultural teams cannot be
changed to another culture but managed (Tjosvold 2017). The figure as covered below shows the
cultural difference between America and Japan based on Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Theory.

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Figure 1: Country Comparison
(Source: Hofstede Insights 2019)
The above-mentioned country comparison between America and Japan shows that cross-
cultural management approaches should be the best way to control cultural diversity for Horizon
Education, Inc.
The proposed cross-cultural management approach should be to understand the cross-
cultural makeup for the company. The manager should be able to understand the different
cultures, fault lines and language differences within the newly formed teams (Stahl et al. 2017).
There could be different reactions to feedback given to an employee from America and Japan.
Many Americans are comfortable with direct feedback given to them. On the contrary, Japanese
workers may not be comfortable with it until and unless the dialogue is between the senior
managers and workers. Making note of these minute but very impactful cases could be helpful
while dealing with diverse teams.

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2.4 The proposed compensation package and system
The compensation package and system is a major deal while operating in Japan as
Japanese professionals are very selective when it is about selecting a company to work for.
Hence, the compensation package and system that Horizon Education, Inc. should adopt are
(Debroux 2017);
Paid Leave:
Permanent and contract employees will be entitled to a minimum of 10 days as paid leave
until they are under six months of their association with the company, post which they will be
entitled to 20 days.
Sick Leave:
Generally, no sick leave is given to employees. While there are few foreign companies in
Japan that also provide sick leaves as a special benefit to their employees.
Social Security:
 Citizens’ Health Insurance: Those who are self-employed or are temporary and part-time
workers in long-term are provided with this benefit. To be able to avail this benefit they
will be required to pay a monthly insurance premium. The coverage of any health
treatment will be equal to 70% whereas 30% to cover major illness or injury. Social Security: This is a kind of contributory system where 50% of the monthly
premium is paid by the individual whereas the employer pays the rest 50% of the
premium on behalf of the individual.
Commutation Expense:

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Commutation expenses include monthly train fare. It is subject to Social Insurance and
Labour Insurance.
Business Expenses:
Business-related expenses will be reimbursed completely to employees. This includes
meals, travels and lodging, etc.
Overtime Pay:
If an employee works for more than 40 hours a week, he or she will be entitled to
overtime pay. However, managers are not applicable for these benefits.
Short-term and Long-term Leave:
This is not managed by labour law. This will depend completely on the agreement
between the employer and employee.
Maternity Leave:
This is for six months prior to the birth of the baby and post-birth will be for 8 weeks.
Child Care Leave:
This starts from the day the post-birth maternal leave ends and will last till one year of
the age of the baby.
Compensation during Maternity Leave:
The compensation paid during this period will be 2/3rd of the base salary and will be paid
from the social insurance.
Compensation during Child Care Leave:

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This will be covered by labour insurance. However, this will also not exceed 2/3rd of the
base salary.
Leave due to death in the family:
Five days for the death of employee's father, mother, child or spouse. Leave for three
days for the death of other members of the family.
Leave for marriage:
Five days for an employee.
2.5 The types of training, development and performance management and measures
Training and Development:
Horizon Education, Inc. should follow the mentioned guidelines as under (Miyamoto 2016);
 Traditional Japanese training styles
 On-the-job training
 Off-the-job training
 Multitasking and job rotation
 Occupational skills are preferred over firm-specific skills
 Adequate support to employees to develop technical skills
 They believe in creating generalists than specialists
Performance Management and Measures:
Horizon Education, Inc. should follow the below-mentioned points (Jyoti and Sarthak 2019);
 There are policies for appraisal and evaluation of performance

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 Management by Objectives (MBO)
 Team assessment is done based on the projects
3. Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that Horizon Education, Inc. should enter Japan as there are
growing business opportunities for the company. However, it needs to be able to understand the
organisational culture and structure in Japan. Moreover, the company should follow the
suggested compensation package and system in this study. In addition, guidelines given for
training, development and performance management should also be followed to develop
graduate skills in employees.

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References
Asrar-ul-Haq, M. and Kuchinke, K.P., 2016. Impact of leadership styles on employees’ attitude
towards their leader and performance: Empirical evidence from Pakistani banks. Future Business
Journal, 2(1), pp.54-64.
De Hoogh, A.H., Greer, L.L. and Den Hartog, D.N., 2015. Diabolical dictators or capable
commanders? An investigation of the differential effects of autocratic leadership on team
performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(5), pp.687-701.
Debroux, P., 2017. Human Resource Management in Japan: Changes and Uncertainties-A New
Human Resource Management System Fitting to the Global Economy: Changes and
Uncertainties-A New Human Resource Management System Fitting to the Global Economy.
Routledge.
Galbraith, P.W., 2016. The Labor of Love: On the Convergence of Fan and Corporate Interests
in Contemporary Idol Culture in Japan. Media Convergence In Japan. Patrick W Galbraith and
Jason G Karlin. 1st ed. Tokyo: Kinema Club, pp.232-264.
Hofstede Insights. 2019. Country Comparison - Hofstede Insights. Retrieved from
https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/japan,the-usa/
Jyoti, S. and Sarthak, S., 2019. Human Resource Management in Japan. Advances in
Management, 12(1), pp.48-53.
Miyamoto, M., 2016. Information Technology and Business Alignments among Different
Divisions: A Comparative Analysis of Japan and South Korea. International Scholarly and
Scientific Research & Innovation, 10(10), pp.1779-1784.

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Osmani, M., Weerakkody, V., Hindi, N.M., Al‐Esmail, R., Eldabi, T., Kapoor, K. and Irani, Z.,
2015. Identifying the trends and impact of graduate attributes on employability: a literature
review. Tertiary Education and Management, 21(4), pp.367-379.
Pardoe, J., Vincent, K. and Conway, D., 2018. How do staff motivation and workplace
environment affect capacity of governments to adapt to climate change in developing countries?.
Environmental Science & Policy, 90, pp.46-53.
Rayner, G. and Papakonstantinou, T., 2015. Employer perspectives of the current and future
value of STEM graduate skills and attributes: An Australian study. Journal of Teaching and
Learning for Graduate Employability, 6(1), pp.100-115.
Stahl, G.K., Miska, C., Lee, H.J. and De Luque, M.S., 2017. The upside of cultural differences:
Towards a more balanced treatment of culture in cross-cultural management research. Cross
Cultural & Strategic Management, 24(1), pp.2-12.
Tjosvold, D., 2017. Cross-cultural management: foundations and future. Routledge.