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Introduction Microsoft Corporation

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Added on  2021-04-24

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As the HR Consultant of Microsoft Corporation, the following report has been prepared which focuses on the complexities in entering a global market, international development strategy for global expansion, evaluation of a country for future expatriates and ways of preparing and motivating the expatriate employees for overseas assignment. In case, where there are several options available, proper analyses needs to be conducted regarding the relative advantages and limitations of each country for the purpose of determining the markets which are most ideal for globalization. If decision regarding sending the existing team

Introduction Microsoft Corporation

   Added on 2021-04-24

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IntroductionMicrosoft Corporation is a multi-national technology company of America founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen having its headquarters situated in Redmond, Washington. It is engaged in the development, licensing, supporting and selling of consumer electronics, personal computers, computer software and services. Slowly and gradually, Microsoft has extended its operations all across the globe and has become one of the most valuable companies in the world. In the year 2016, Microsoft attained the position of world’s largest software maker in terms of revenue. The ways adopted by Microsoft for extending its operations across the globe include mergers and acquisitions for increasing product range, capabilities and value offering. It also includes the achievement of closer alignment with the local markets by global diversity and inclusion for the purpose of improving market penetration speed (Gleeson, 2017).Several strategies are adopted by MNCs in today’s competitive world for the purpose of entering into the global market. As the HR Consultant of Microsoft Corporation, the following report has been prepared which focuses on the complexities in entering a global market, international development strategy for global expansion, evaluation of a country for future expatriates and ways of preparing and motivating the expatriate employees for overseas assignment. Complexities in Entering a Global MarketFollowing complexities are involved in entering a global market.Legal Issues- while expanding the business in another country, complexities are faced due to unfamiliarity with that country’s laws. It may also lead to the payment of additional taxes and import duties in some countries. Challenges may be faced as a result of the legal complexities of international business and may be subject to penalties and fines in case proper legal advice is not obtained (Thompson, 2018).Selecting right countries- enough research needs to be conducted for understanding and selecting the best place for the expansion of company. In case, where there are several options available, proper analyses needs to be conducted regarding the relative advantages and limitations of each country for the purpose of determining the markets which are most ideal for globalization.Human resources- while expanding the business in the global market, it is important to meet the manpower requirement for the purpose of operating in a foreign country. New team members are required to be hired which subsequently requires additional investment. If decision regarding sending the existing team members to the new global markets is taken then it leads to vacancy in their roles in the organization (Brewster, Houldsworth, Sparrow & Vernon, 2016).Adapting Documents and content to the culture- a variety of ways needs to be developed in order to enable the prospective customers to read and understand the sales materials, documentations and instructions as it plays an important role in the business. It does not only require translating them but
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also adapting to the culture with the view to enable the locals to understand and relate with it (Harzing & Pinnington, 2010). Political problems- there are many people who oppose globalization, outsourcing and various other international business practices. When an organization enters the global market and starts trading in other countries, some of the customer base is lost due to opposition. Moreover, the involvement of the company in human right abuses in other countries may result in bad publicity and lost business.Organizational communication- the expansion of the business in the global market is successful only when the team members handing the globalization are making constant efforts for the purpose of communicating, reporting and tracking their efforts. This necessitates the establishment of an effective system along with a set of protocols in place such that the higher authorities of the company can keep a watch on the happenings in the company regarding the global expansion due to their non- presence for managing the company in person.The proper addressing of these issues will assist in meeting the challenges that are presented in the way while expanding the business globally and assists the company in reaching new heights. International Developmental StrategyMicrosoft is suggested to adopt an international developmental strategy which includes acquisition of new companies outright i.e. creating wholly owned subsidiaries in Singapore and Sydney. The creation of a wholly owned subsidiary will allow Microsoft to maintain significant control over the strategic direction of the subsidiary. The wholly owned subsidiary will have its own senior management structure,clients and products and will operate in an independent manner. The strategy will result in various advantages for Microsoft. Due to the familiar presence of the target company in the marketplace, no extra efforts would be required with respect to the evaluation of the needs and wants of the customers. Moreover, it is advantageous as the infrastructure and existing management is kept intact which prevents excessive delays in initiating the operations in the new marketplace. . In this way, Microsoft willbe able to gain full ownership of an enterprise along with alleviating the risk associated with the introduction of foreign brands to diverse cultures. In other words, the strategy will enable Microsoft to capture greater market power which in turn allows exercising core competency and gaining competitive advantage in the market. However, the strategy also has some limitations. The adoption of this strategy is riskier than international partnership but is capable of providing greater potential reward International acquisitions are challenging due to the fluctuations in currency- exchange rates and different valuations and financialreporting methods. However, the finding of correct acquisition target can result in rewards which can begreat for the expansion of Microsoft. Also, the cultural differences may lead to complexities in integrating the people and processes of a wholly owned subsidiary into the system of Microsoft. The implementation of the strategy will significantly affect the HR functions as the structure and management of the acquired company will be kept intact. There will be no requirement of recruiting new employees as the workforce of the company will continue. Moreover, the most important HR
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function i.e. the compliance with labor law will also be followed without any extra efforts being made byMicrosoft as they are conversant with their law requirement. Moreover, there will be no requirement for the training and development of the employees as the employees will not be newly hired and they will be ones already working in the same sector. The record keeping of the business will be done by the HR department of the wholly owned subsidiary and the final records will be send to Microsoft and will not require the extra efforts of the HR department of Microsoft. Therefore, the HR functions will be affected by the implementation of the strategy.Evaluation of Singapore as a Country for Future Expatriates Singapore is considered among the most prosperous countries of the world having strong international trading links. Singapore is regarded as the multicultural country due to the existence of various nationalities such as Malays, Chinese, Cambodians, Indians, Indonesians, Vietnamese, etc. A framework was developed by Hofstede for understanding the characteristic patterns of behavior in the workplace. According to Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions, the dimensions of culture include power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation (Bird & Mendenhall, 2016). The application of Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions in case of Singapore provides the following results the knowledge of which can be helpful for future expatiates.Figure 1 Hofstede's model of Cultural Dimensions - Singapore(Source: Hofstede Insights, 2018)Power Distance- power distance (PDI) defines the degree to which less dominant members of organizations and institutions within a country expect and accept the unequal distribution of power. Singapore scores 74 in this dimension. Syncretic approach to religion is followed due to Confucian background in Singapore. Stability of society is one of the important principles of Confucian teaching. There is centralization of power and the managers depend on their bosses and rules. Also, there is
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