Analysis of Google Pixel's Shift in Production Base and HRM Challenges

This report examines Google Pixel's strategic decision to shift its production base from China to Vietnam, focusing on the implications for Human Resource Management (HRM). It explores how globalization and political environments impact HRM practices, particularly in staffing, training, and the design of rewards and incentives. The report highlights the paradoxes Google faces, such as knowledge transfer challenges and language barriers, along with the need to build staff capacity in a new manufacturing environment. It also analyzes the impact of this shift on knowledge management, motivation, and the creation of a reporting culture. The report emphasizes the importance of time management, especially given the rapid product life cycles in the smartphone market, and the need for Google to quickly adapt to maintain its competitive advantage. It also looks at the paradoxes of globalization and the instability caused by changes in the political environment.

A report on Google Pixel shifting its production base from China to Vietnam

Product Introduction
Google Pixel is an android phone developed by Google Inc. with an intention to capture the
market of smartphones. Previously Google was manufacturing this product in China under an
off-shore manufacturing contract, however, recently they shifted their manufacturing base to
Vietnam because of a change in the political environment. While addressing a question related to
the development of a new HRM pattern, this shift of the base can give us some vital clues about
the changing trends in the market of HRM and paradoxes related to it (Garttenberg, 2019).
Google Pixel is the next level of technology; it is a way by which a user can connect multiple
services offered by Google. This product is important for Google because it minimizes the
chance of the market competition caused by device neutrality. Pixel allows Google to bundle all
its software-related services into a phone and sell it on a relatively low price. Here it is very
important to understand that the market smartphone has reached on the levels of volatility.
Players like Google are software suppliers; however, new high-end devices are posing a huge
challenge for them these neutral devices are allowing other players to make an entry in the
mainframe and challenging Google (Fang, 2019).
Since it is a new technology and Google want to launch it on a big scale, China is an apt offshore
manufacturing hub for them because of the presence of trained work power and adequate
working culture supporting crucial deadlines. This example also defines the role of the HRM in
present-day markets where the stakes are big and time is money in its real sense (Gupta, 2019).
Concepts like time-bound creativity and time-bound large production of the goods are working
as a crucial factor. The case of Google Pixel indicates the market penetration policy of the
company. Think about a company seeking to skim the market, the role of HRM can become even
more crucial in this case (Garttenberg, 2019).
The impact of Globalization over the HRM practices
Globalization of the products and services has enabled the multinational giants to cater to a
bigger share of the world market (Gareffa, 2019). The next step in the direction of the
globalization will make an entry when more than 200 countries will open their skies for free

trade. It also means that the size of the assembly lines will increase drastically. According to an
estimate, Amazon.com is delivering one billion orders in a year. Imagine about a hypothetical
situation, in the coming future when Google will sell Pixel on Amazon, it might need millions of
Pixel phone to be delivered in a week time (Garttenberg, 2019).
Think about a repeat demand, Google might need half a million phones more. Now, this is where
globalization is changing the business models. Most of the companies want to skim the markets
and the stakes are very high (Stevan, 2018). Efficient HRM machinery working with an intention
to support mass-scale time-bound production of the goods can make a big difference in the
fortunes of a company. The buzz of the products or their product life cycle is shrinking
drastically. This is why most of the companies want to make maximum profits during the first
launch of the product (Bradley, 2019).
These trends are adding pressure on the HR machinery to procure human resource at a high
speed. They can’t afford to have lengthy training schedules. They always seek for job-ready
employees. Most of the smartphone manufacturers want to work under a “just in time” scenario
to keep a tab on their production cost (Ann, 2009). This just in time scenario is adding pressure
on HR machinery because most of the employees seek for stable jobs. Another impact of
globalization can be seen in the formation of manufacturing hubs. China is a big manufacturing
hub, it can ensure fast-paced deliveries because of readiness and sense of urgency which is
prevailing in the manufacturing units. Most of the other manufacturing hubs of the world are
still not ready for this quick dispensing of the goods in the market (Bradley, 2019).
Paradoxes and HR response
The case of Google Pixel can give us a fair idea about the paradoxes that HR’s are facing. Areas
of staffing and training of the employees are the biggest challenge that they are facing right now.
Staffing of the employees
When Google will shift its manufacturing base from China to Vietnam, they will have two
options to start the work at the footing of war. They can hire a change management agency or
they can rely on their core employees (Terry, 2011). Change Management Company may take

some time in the process of the gestation. This is why the core employees of the company can
handle this task better (Natter, 2019).
Staffing of a core team in a globalized world is always a difficult task. It is becoming more and
more difficult for the HR machinery to create permanent staff because a talented employee seeks
for better venues and personal growth all the time. The psychological analysis confirms the woes
of HR machinery when they say that most of the extraordinary or talented employees often want
challenging situations, most of them are growth-oriented (Taskin, 2015). Google’s
manufacturing model in China demands less intervention of the core team in a manufacturing
hub like China because they have a distinctive culture of their own. This is why staffing and
retention of a talent pool have emerged as a huge challenge for HR machinery in a globalized
world (Fang T, 2015).
Staff capacity building
Most of the companies in the field of smartphones are releasing the Beta-versions of their final
product. This release of Beta version allows them to access the demand patterns of the market. It
allows them to capture the feedback of the market. Based on this feedback HR machinery can
anticipate future demands and go for a set of Staff capacity building exercise. In the case of
Google, we can see that they have only two options ready with them. They can wait for the time
when their units in Vietnam will be well settled to handle the pressure of the sales or they can
launch it on a smaller scale and follow the tradition of Beta testing (Fang C, 2019).
Globalization and political climate between the two countries can play a major role in the staff
capacity building exercise. It cannot be done overnight. HR machinery needs their time to
handle the issue and time is a luxury in the present case.
Let’s assume a hypothetical condition in the case of Google Pixel. Right now Google Pixel is
planning to sell 70 percent of its first lot in the US market. Let’s hypothetically assume that the
latest version of Pixel works well in the USA then, in this case, their HR machinery will fail in
the management of staff capacity building exercise because they are in Vietnam and the culture
of manufacturing units is very different here. It is likely that they will not be able to handle the
pressure of demand even after aggressively hiring employees. In the absence of the desired
gestation period, the HR efforts may go in vain (Gupta, 2019).

Designing rewards and incentives
The onset of globalization has changed the methods associated with the rewards and incentives.
Now HR machinery is seeking for optimum goals of production and putting down attractive
rewards for the performers. It is allowing them to identify star performers in quick time. They are
further promoting these star performers on the leadership posts. Instead of searching for
academic excellence or degrees, HR machinery trusts their loyal employees more on the post of
leadership (Natter, 2019).
Pixel’s migration has been shifted to Vietnam. This fact created a huge paradox for the HRM
machinery. The first paradox is related to knowledge management. China as a hub for
manufacturing has a great knowledge of the manufacturing process, its facilities are well versed
in the art of maintaining quality while increasing the quantum of the production (Ann, 2009).
Although in order to employee a smooth execution of the changeover and reduction of the
paradoxes, Google opted a facility in Vietnam where they were producing the phones of Nokia
which was the most trusted brand in the field of mobiles phones followed by smartphones.
This move made by the company will reduce the paradoxes because the present facility has
experience and tacit knowledge in the field. In order to get the best solution and the restoration of
the manufacturing HRM of Google has to come up with two important steps to remove the
paradoxes (Natter, 2019).
1. Creation of a bridge for efficient knowledge transfer
In order to remove the paradox of “organizational knowledge deficit” the HR machinery can take
the support of the core employees’ team and organize knowledge transfer seminars to create
local resources that can act as a leader. In the case of China, the command line for the assembly
line was well in place. The mechanism was simple; a team of representatives was collecting a
low down from the technical team of Google and implementing it in the assembly line. All the
fractions of the team were well trained. Globalization has created a paradox by creating a
language barrier. Under this model, this language barrier was not present. However, in the
present condition, experts from Google will first go for a training schedule to remove this
language barrier (Muja, 2012).

The second biggest paradox is associated with the creation of a motivation level among the
employees. HR machinery of Google is required to hire the professionals at a higher rate. It is a
paradox because they moved their production facility into an emerging world country because of
cost-cutting issues or the fact that labor forces are relatively cheap in these countries. However,
they are now paying almost the same amount as wages (Schwartz, 2012).
The future course of action for Google Pixel caused by the Paradoxes
When a company produces a product in its native land, the regulatory authorities of the trade
gives them some assurances about the security of their trade interests against any upheaval in the
political environment. However, in the present case, Google lost its initial investments of hiring a
company in China because of a change in the political environment between the USA and China.
Globalization has added the advantage of choosing the right workforce in accordance with the
economic options. However, in the present case, Google lost its initial advantage in the deal and
this is why they are facing other paradoxes of language and cultural barriers before restoring
their manufacturing facility in Vietnam (Fang C2019).
Although they are trying hard to start the production as early as possible, still it is not a
commercially vibrant option for them because the creation of a working environment and
settlement of the team in a huge assembly line is a time-consuming task. Another issue is related
to the formation of a reporting culture. The stint of the Google with the Chinese manufacturers
was more of an outsourcing exercise; here they were only sharing their wish lists about the
product and checking the final products on the merits of quality. However, the inception of a new
production unit in Vietnam is a different exercise; here the core team of Google has to define the
manufacturing processes all over again (Muja, 2012).
We have already established the fact that time has become an important commodity in the
present-day business models, Google is running out of the time, their rivals are working on the
parallel technologies and a slight delay in the delivery can rob all the competitive advantage for
the Google Pixel and convert it into a null and void exercise with no direct and indirect fruits
from it (Ann, 2009).

Instability caused by turmoil in the political environment is the biggest paradox of globalization
which most of the HR Machinery are facing. Quick training tools and other measures of
knowledge transfer are their primary tools to salvage this condition. In the coming future, huge
investors can demand more stable political environments on a global level before making a move
in the direction of offshore production of the goods.

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