International Business : An Analysis of the Case Study of Sodexo 2022

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CASE STUDY OF SODEXO
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Introduction
As stated by Hillman (2015), the extensive usage of the process of internationalization or
globalization by the different business corporations had significantly enhanced the scope of their
business on the one hand and on the other hand, substantially enhanced the diversity of their
workforce as well. Rees and Smith (2017) are of the viewpoint that the effective usage of the
construct of diversity renders different benefits to the business corporations while offering them
the opportunity to substantially enhance their workforce productivity or for that matter their
workforce performance as well. However, at the same time it needs to be said that in order to
reap the desired benefits from the usage of the construct of diversity, the business corporations
are required to take the help of diversity management policies and also implement it adequately
as well (Reiche et al., 2016).
In this particular context mention needs to be made of Sodexo which stands at the 6th
position as per the DiversityInc’s 2017 among the top 50 business corporations of the world with
the best diversity management practices. More importantly, the concerned corporation ardently
believes in the idea that the entities of diversity management and performance management are
closely linked with each other and it is because of this particular aspect that the corporation
ardently focuses on the aspect of diversity. Furthermore, an important issue that the concerned
corporation is presently facing can be attributed to the fact that although the corporation had
been able to adequately foster within its workplace in the nation of USA yet it had not been
overly successful in doing in the same in the other nations of the world. Thus, the objective of
this paper is to undertake a critical evaluation of the diversity management practices used by
Sodexo and also to show the manner in which it had helped the concerned corporation to
enhance its performance in its global operations.

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Diverse Workforce and Performance
Brannen, Piekkari and Tietze (2017) are of the viewpoint that an important benefit
offered by the construct of diversity management can be attributed to the fact that it helps the
business corporations to substantially enhance their performance. Adding to this, Noe et al.
(2017) have noted that most of the business corporations are presently operational on a global
basis and thus it is seen that they often deal with a diverse group of clients or customers. This
aspect of global business operations of the different international business corporations had made
it important for them to have a diverse workforce which in turn would enable them to effectively
deal with the diverse clients or the customers that they serve (Vassilopoulou, 2017). More
importantly, a diverse workforce also offers the required opportunity to the individual workers to
learn important job skills from the colleagues like cultural competency, social intelligence,
emotional intelligence and others and thereby helps them to perform a plethora of job roles
within the business corporations (Tamzid & Parves, 2017). This in turn not only helps them to
substantially enhance their individual productivity or job performance but also offers the
required opportunity to the business corporations to substantially enhance their performance as
well (Eginli & Narin, 2017).
In the particular context of the corporation Sodexo, it is seen that the concerned
corporation realizes the fact that the performance of the concerned corporation is directly tied up
with the effective management of workplace diversity within the corporation. It is with this
particular objective that the concerned corporation presently is trying to harvest six different
types of diversity within its workplace, namely, “generations, sexual orientation, disabilities,
culture, and origins, and gender”. The success of these initiatives undertaken by the concerned
corporation becomes apparent from the fact that around 50% of the Board of Directors of the

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corporation comprises of women whereas 31% of the global executives of the corporation are
also women. In addition to these, it had been seen that more than 60% of the workers of the
corporation are color people and these in turn have contributed significantly towards the
enhancement of the performance of the concerned corporation.
Sodexo is presently operational in more than 80 different nations of the world and it is
seen that the concerned corporation serves more than “75 million customers every day”. More
importantly, the concerned corporation offers employment to more than “425,000 employees in
80 countries” and the clients whom these workers serve are from different cultural or social
backgrounds. This in turn had made the effective usage of diverse management practices
imperative one from the perspective of the concerned corporation and also the nature of the
services which are being offered by it to its clients. Moreover, the effective usage of the
workplace diversity management practices used by the concerned corporation also becomes
apparent from the fact that the corporation under discussion here had been successful in
generating more than “€20 billion euros in revenues annually”. For instance, by tying up the
diversity management practices with the financial performance of the concerned corporation, the
corporation had been successful in creating the kind of workplace culture wherein it is seen that
the diversity of the workers is not only respected or acknowledged but at the same time
celebrated as well. As a matter of fact, the workers from different backgrounds by interacting or
engaging with each other have been able to learn different kinds of skills or competencies which
in turn had substantially contributed towards the improvement of their performance and also that
of the concerned corporation as well.

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Barriers to enhancing Workforce Diversity in Global Operations
Gajjar and Okumus (2018) are of the viewpoint that despite the different benefits or for
that matter advantages offered by the effective usage of workforce diversity management
practices in global operations it had been seen that the business corporations face various barriers
or challenges related to the enhancement of the same as well. Adding to this, Mehng, Sung and
Leslie (2019) have noted that an important barrier or for that matter challenge that the different
business corporations commonly face related to the enhancement of workforce diversity in their
global business operations can be attributed to the communication issues that they face. This can
be explained on the basis of the fact that each of the members of the diverse workforce of the
business corporations follow the kind of communication norms or the methods which is being
dictated by the cultural or the social traditions followed by them (Scheiblea, 2015). For instance,
in the particular context of the corporation Sodexo it is seen that the concerned corporation has
more than “425,000 employees in 80 countries” and although it had been successful in enhancing
its workforce diversity in some nations like USA and others yet it had not been able to attain the
same success in the other nations of the world. More importantly, the success related to
workplace diversity in USA can be attributed to the fact that the majority of the workers of the
concerned corporation are English speaking people and thus the communication issues by the
workers in nominal. However, this is not the case in the other nations of the world wherein the
concerned corporation is presently operational since the people usually follow different
communication methods. This in turn had emerged as one of the most important barriers that the
corporation under discussion here is presently facing related to the enhancement of workforce
diversity.

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As discussed by Benschop (2016), the factor of resistance to change by the workers is an
important barrier or challenge that the different business corporations are presently facing for the
enhancement of workforce diversity in their global business operations. Adding to this, Mehng,
Sung and Leslie (2019) have noted that the enhancement of workforce diversity requires the
business corporations to implement various kinds of diversity management related policies
which the workers often resist since it would require them to make significant changes in the
manner in which they complete their work. This even becomes apparent in the particular context
of the case study under discussion here wherein it is seen that an important barrier that Sodexo is
presently facing for the enhancement of its workforce diversity in its global business operations
is related to the aspect of resistance to change. For instance, the case study clearly indicates the
fact that the corporation under discussion here for the enhancement of its workforce diversity in
its global business operations would have to implement different kinds of workforce diversity
practices or policies however at the same time it is likely that the workers of the concerned
corporation are likely to resist these practices or policies. As a matter of fact, the implementation
as well as the effective usage of these policies or practices by the workers would require them to
make significant changes within the workplace practices which are being presently followed by
them and it is on the score of this particular aspect that they are likely to resist the
implementation of these policies or practices. These in short are the two major barriers that
Sordexo is presently facing related to the enhancement of workforce diversity in its global
business operations.
Policy Implementation for the enhancement of Workforce Diversity in Global Operations
Bieling, Stock and Dorozalla (2015) are of the viewpoint that merely the formulation of
workforce diversity practices or policies is not adequate rather the business corporations also

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need to take the help of adequate implementation plans or strategies to ensure the success of the
same. Adding to this, Knights and Omanović (2016) have noted that the usage of adequate
implementation plans or for that matter the implementation strategies substantially reduces the
resistance from the workers related to the acceptance of the concerned policies or practices. This
is important since it greatly ensures the success of the policies or the practices and thereby
facilitates the achievement of the objectives or the goals with which the concerned practices or
the policies were implemented in the first place (Deresky & Christopher, 2015). However, at the
same time it needs to be said that the effective attainment of this particular goal or objective the
business corporations are required to ensure the fact that the policies or the practices which they
are trying to implement is not only in synchronicity with the requirements of the business
environment in which they operate and also in conjunction with the employee needs as well
(Kemper, Bader & Froese, 2016). In the particular context of the corporation Sodexo it needs to
be said that this aspect is being ardently followed by the concerned corporation for the
implementation of the different workforce diversity practices and this in turn had greatly
contributed towards the success attained by the corporation as well.
The workforce diversity practices or the policies which are being used by Sodexo are in
alignment with the needs of the diverse clients or for that matter the customers that the concerned
corporation serves. In this connection, it needs to be said that in order to serve effectively this
diverse client base, the workforce of the concerned corporation not only needs to be diversified
but at the same time the workers need to have the skills of cultural competency, social
intelligence, emotional intelligence and others. More importantly, it had been seen that because
of the diversity of the workforce, the workers had been able to learn these skill sets from their
colleagues and thereby offer the best quality services to their clients, which in turn had

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contributed towards the high financial performance of the concerned corporation. Furthermore, it
had been seen that these workforce diversity policies or practices are being formulated or
designed and also implemented by the corporation under discussion here by involving the
workers in the decision making process. As a matter of fact, the policy of decentralized authority
followed by the concerned corporation ensures the fact that the workers are being able to
articulate their voice in the decision making process used by the corporation and this in turn
substantially reduces the resistance from the workers as well. Thus, it can be said that the
adequate implementation strategy used by the corporation Sodexo had greatly contributed
towards the enhancement of the workforce diversity of its global business operations in the
recent years.
Evaluation of Sodexo’s Workforce Diversity Policy
Wieczorek-Szymańska (2017) is of the viewpoint that the business corporations need to
frequently or regularly evaluate the policies or the practices which they are using so as to identify
the required changes that they need to make in them which in turn would help them to attain their
strategic or business objectives. Adding to this, Rees and Smith (2017) had noted that this is
important since the dynamicity of the business world along with the frequent changes in the
dominant business trends had made it important for the corporation to constantly amend or for
that matter upgrade the policies or the strategies that they are following so as to attain their
business or strategic objectives. An analysis of the diversity policy followed by the corporation
Sodexo clearly reveals the fact that the policy is highly effective in nature and had also helped
the concerned corporation to improve its performance in the recent years as well. In this
connection, it needs to be said that an important aspect of the diversity policy followed by the
concerned corporation can be attributed to the fact that by linking the diversity policy followed

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by it with the performance management practices of the corporation it had been able to make it
an integral part of the corporation. This in turn ensures the fact that the diversity policy followed
by the concerned corporation are being ardently followed by the workers and not discarded like
the diversity management policy in the other business corporations.
The best aspect of the diversity management policy followed by the corporation Sodexo
can be ascribed to the fact that rather than merely focusing on the aspect of male and female
diversity within the corporation, it focuses on six different types of diversity, namely,
“generations, sexual orientation, disabilities, culture, and origins, and gender”. This in turn had
helped the concerned corporation to ensure the fact that adequate diversity is being maintained
within the corporation in all forms rather than just one. More importantly, it had also been seen
that adequate diversity management training programs as well as workshops are also being
frequently organized by the corporation under discussion here to facilitate its effective
management within the corporation. In addition to these, the diversity management policy
followed by the corporation is not highly stringent in nature and thereby differs from nation to
nation which in turn ensures the fact that the diversity needs of the different workplaces related
to the corporation in various nations are being fulfilled. These aspects have rendered the required
amount of effectiveness to the diversity management policy followed by the corporation under
discussion here. However, at the same time it needs to be said that the concerned corporation has
the opportunity to further enhance the effectiveness of the diversity management policy used by
it by allocating adequate resources to the effective implementation of its diversity management
policy in all the nations of its operation rather than merely in USA and France only since the
diversity score of the corporation is substantially low in UK and other nations.

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Decentralized Authority and its evaluation
As discussed by Hillman (2015), an important management trend seen within the
landscape of the contemporary business world can be attributed to the fact that they are using the
framework of decentralize authority wherein it is seen that the managers are being given
adequate amount of power to develop policies as per the needs of the concerned business center.
Adding to this, Kemper, Bader and Froese (2016) have noted that this is an important
management approach used by the business corporations since the managers related to the
concerned corporation have the option to formulate adequate policies assessing the needs of the
business centers rather than merely following the corporate governance policies of the
corporation. More importantly, this ensures the fact that the needs or for that matter the
requirements of the different workers are being adequately represented or fulfilled which in turn
motivates them to perform adequately and thereby help in the attainment of the overall business
objectives or the goals of the corporation (Vassilopoulou, 2017). However, at the same time it
needs to be said that the managers are required to ensure the fact that policies developed by them
are in aligned with the corporate governance framework used by the corporation and also does
not adversely affect the growth prospects of the corporation (Tamzid & Parves, 2017).
In the particular context of the corporation Sodexo it is seen that the concerned
corporation follows the decentralized authority management approach wherein the managers in
the different business centers of the corporation are being given adequate amount of power to
formulate the relevant policies for the management of diversity. For instance, it had been seen
that through this management approach the managers in the different business centers of the
corporation had been formulate the kind of diversity policies assessing the needs of the
concerned center which in turn had facilitated the effective management of diversity. As a matter

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of fact, the usage of this particular approach had helped the corporation to create a highly diverse
workforce in the nation of USA. However, at the same time it is seen that the concerned
corporation had not been able to attain the same level of success in all its business centers and
this in turn had created diversity related issues in its different business centers. As a matter of
fact, it is seen that the managers in some of the centers have failed to effectively analyze the
diversity needs and thereby formulate adequate diversity management policies which in turn had
resulted in the low levels of diversity in some of the business centers of the concerned
corporation. This in turn is the most important drawback of the decentralized authority approach
used by the corporation under discussion here.
Conclusion
To conclude, the business corporations are required to take the help of adequate diversity
management policies not only to reap the desired benefits from the usage of the same but also to
enhance their performance as well. More importantly, the corporations are also required to foster
all forms of diversity within their corporation and also constantly upgrade or modify the same so
as to get the desired benefits from the same. In addition to these, they are also required to take
the help of adequate implementation plans and also management approaches to attain the right
level of diversity within their workplaces and thereby to achieve their business or strategic
objectives or goals.

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