University Report: MGNT 341 - Kone Inc. Expatriate Manager in Shanghai

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the support mechanisms for a Finnish expatriate manager assigned by Kone Inc. to Shanghai. It delves into the complexities of international human resource management, covering critical stages such as pre-departure training, ongoing support during the assignment, and the repatriation process. The analysis examines key components of effective pre-departure training, including cross-cultural insight, preliminary visits, language instruction, and day-to-day assistance. It further explores the benefits of international assignments for staff development, the trends in international training and development (such as personalization, gamification, and virtual reality), and the challenges related to re-entry and career issues. The report also examines the repatriation process, individual reactions to re-entry, and the responses of the multinational enterprise (MNE). Finally, it discusses the design of a repatriation program to ensure a smooth transition for the expatriate manager. The report provides recommendations for Kone Inc. to ensure the success of the expatriate assignment and to maximize the benefits for both the employee and the company. The assignment is a detailed report that provides insights into the practical challenges and solutions in international HRM.

International and comparative HR

International and comparative HR 1
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................3
ANALYSIS...........................................................................................................................................3
RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................10

International and comparative HR 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report comprises the support mechanisms to be put by Kone to assist the Finnish
expatriate. Kone offers elevators, escalators and automatic building doors along with the
unique maintenance and transformation solutions. The company adds value to the life cycle
of any building. Kone is enabled with the thorough understanding of equipment and customer
requirements making sure that the existing equipment are running smoothly throughout the
process. The MNCs send managers from the home nation to foreign nations. Sometimes it is
done for the development of the managers so that they can attain experience in the
international operations of the organization. The managers are also sent to the host nation so
that a company can exert more control over the subsidiary. Kone Inc. is interested in referring
to a manager from the Helsinki office to handle one of the subsidiaries in Shanghai on a 3-
year assignment. The report has covered the issues faced in pre-departure, on-going
sustenance and repatriation. Pre-departure and during stay at Shanghai includes components
and effects of the pre-departure training along with the advancement of the staff by the
international assignments and trends in the international training and development. the
components of effective pre-departure includes cross-cultural insight, preliminary visits,
language instruction, and day-to-day assistance. The post-assignment embraces re-entry and
career issues, repatriation process, individual reactions to re-entry, responses by the MNE and
planning of the repatriation program.

International and comparative HR 3
INTRODUCTION
Kone is a leading player in the elevator and escalator industry. The company is specialized in
automatic doors, elevators, escalators, elevator transformation, and escalator upkeep. The
mission of Kone is to enhance the flow of urban life. The company makes the journey of the
people safe, appropriate and reliable between the buildings. Kone operates in over 60 nations
worldwide and serves more than 450,000 customers. Kone is headquartered in Helsinki,
Finland. The company is having a global network of approved distributors. Kone is listed on
the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd (Kone Corporation, 2019). Finland. Earlier MNCs (Multi-National
Corporations) have been overwhelmed by the difficulty of the premature arrival of expatriate
managers because of the incapability of adapting to the culture of the host nation. It resulted
in the wastage of time, slowing down projects and work, loss of productivity and financial
loss. This report is all about the pre-departure, on-going sustenance and repatriation of the
manager of Kone.
ANALYSIS
The national culture is the framework of norms, beleifs, behaviour, customs and the values to
be shared by the people of a nation. The national culture even signifies to the religion, ethnic,
language and racial identity. Shanghai is greatly appealing for the expats. The business
culture of Shanghai is quiet beneficial for the expats interested in working. The fundamental
values high in the culture of Shanghai are punctuality, formality, hierarchy, seniority and
indirectness.
Components of effective pre-departure training
The four components of effective pre-departure training for the manager are cross-cultural
insight, preliminary visits, language instruction, and day-to-day assistance. An employee is
required to have cross-cultural insight, especially when entering into an overseas location
with no awareness (Tenzer and Schuster, 2017). As a person without environmental
knowledge can experience austere culture shock. The culture is all about the characteristics of
a group of people who are alike. As a measure of pre-departure training, cross-cultural insight
should induce insight into foreign policies and practices. The cross-cultural awareness can
help to Kone in reducing anxiety of vague situations (Rabin, et al. 2017).

International and comparative HR 4
The preliminary visits help an expatriate in the awareness of the host nation in the stage of
pre-departure. In the preliminary visits, an expatriate physically visits the host nation and
genuinely gains first-hand experience. It evaluates the assignment compatibility in a more
accurate manner. The culture of the host nation can be experienced in the context of business
through preliminary visits. It leads to the awareness of the culture. For the purpose of
awareness, the preliminary visits are required to be specific and well-organized (Fee and
McGrath-Champ, 2017). It should be different than the tourist experience and cost should be
analyzed versus the benefit.
English is a more prevalent language when it comes to business transactions. The non-
English nations also prefer to acquire English as a second language to make sure they can
connect with other nations (Andresen, Goldmann and Volodina, 2018). Kone should prefer to
use English is Shanghai to ignore translation issues. On the other side, the manager of Kone
should be aware of the words in Helsinki have a different word used in Shanghai. It relates to
the culture of a totally two different nations. This can be helpful in adjusting the local
environment of Shanghai.
As a part of Day-to-day aid, intercultural communication training is critical for Kone. The
intercultural communication skills are the skills needed to communicate, share information
with individuals of other nations. The distinct skills and non-work influences are required to
be undertaken by the expatriate manager of Kone before arriving in the host nation. It assists
before and during the assignment to be conducted in the host nation. Kone is even required to
have great involvement in making sure that the manager is secure and healthy after relocation
(Yu and Chang, 2017). It results in a positive return for the company.
The efficiency of pre-departure training
The pre-departure training briefs what to expect while living and working abroad. Pre-
departure training is effective in comprehending the clear role of the expatriates. The training
places out the main goals of the assignment which helps employees in meeting expectations.
The pre-departure training can be used by Kone in improving language skills and along with
the better integration (Abdullah and Jin, 2015). A detailed overview of the cultural
differences can be known between the home and the host nations. The training has a great
role in developing emotional flexibility to admit unused behavior and values in an efficient
way. The language accesses to the information. The pre-departure training to be enabled by

International and comparative HR 5
Kone can outline the in-country poaching to be expected by an expatriate. It can considerably
enhance the overall success of working in a foreign nation (Kang and Shen, 2017).
Developing staff through international assignments
The staff can be developed through management development and organizational
development. The management development can assist Kone as managers can attain global
experience which backs to career advancement. Kone can advance through a pool of skilled
workers on which to draw. On the other side, organizational development can develop to the
manager through the stock of exchange, skills, and capabilities. It leads to global mindsets
and the expatriates can have direct control. The staff can be developed through knowledge
transfer (Collings and Isichei, 2018). It has been perceived that international organizations
suffer due to lack of talent. It is one of the largest risks faced by MNCs. The manager of
Kone can develop skills through attaining knowledge in the given period of time. Attaining
knowledge in advance can contribute to operative pre-departure training. The staff can also
be developed by maintaining relationships at the international level. Kone can do anything \
when it comes to maintaining relationships. It is also helpful in developing new clients,
functioning with the local government and constructing trust with the colleagues (Morley and
Parkinson, 2015).
Trends in international training & development
The training represents activities which have a role in teaching the employees in order to
perform better the present job. The training and development can assist the manager of Kone
to adjust as per the demands and working in Shanghai. The expatriate manager of Kone will
be offered organizational social support incorporating the support of supervisors, co-workers,
and the organization. The trends in the international training and development deliberated are
personalization, gamification, bite-sized support resources, robust reports, and analytics, self-
paced online training, virtual and augmented reality (Hofacker, et al. 2016). Kone focuses on
the improvement areas through individualizing online training contracts. It enables the pre-
assessment which h role in bridging the gap. The bit size support resources can elucidate the
difficulty and construct skills on the spot. The robust reports and analytics can be used by
Kone to track the performance of the staff to continuously improve. The self-paced online
training is one of the topmost trends in international training and development. As per this
training every employee requires different types of training resources (Noe, et al. 2017). It
comprises fixing schedule, advancing target goals and pursuing out online training resources

International and comparative HR 6
autonomously. The gamification is used when a manager is not able to earn a badge or
develop to the next level. Finally the virtual and augmented reality has role in transmuting the
online training experiences by placing manager into the middle of the action. This way
manager can attain more real-world experience in the risk-free environment of Shanghai
(Cascio and Boudreau, 2016).
Re-entry and career issues
The repatriates can experience re-entry shock and some are even likely to exit the company.
When it comes to the job-related factors, the manager can suffer from career anxiety in the
form of no-post assignment guarantee, workplace changes, and isolation. The manager can
make adjustments for the work like re-entry position, employment relationship and lessening
experience (Schmid and Wurster, 2017). The manager might have to cope up with the new
role demands. It can even result in loss of status along with the pay. In terms of the social
factors, the manager has to make adjustment in the family and have to maintain social
networks (Bucker, Poutsma, and Monster, 2016). The social factors are considered to be
putting effect on the career of the manager. Both job-related factors and social factors impact
repatriate adjustment.
Repatriation process
The repatriation process comprises training, physical transfer, transition, and readjustment.
The preparation in the repatriation process of Kone encompasses advancing plans for the
forthcoming and gathering information about the new position. The physical relocation is all
about eradicating the personal effect and breaching links with friends and colleagues. It also
comprises traveling to the upcoming position. The transition settles the temporary
accommodation where required arrangements are done to conduct the administrative tasks of
the organization (Baruch, Altmanand Tung, 2016). The readjustment to be enabled by Kone
cop up with the changes.
Individual reactions to re-entry
The individual reactions to re-entry are realized in the form of work modification, coping
with innovative role demands, career anxiety and loss of status and pay. As per the work
adjustment, a manager will be in the re-entry position. The international experience can be
devalued and there will be more career expectations by the managers. In coping up with the
new role demands, there can be individual reactions in the form of role behavior, clarity,

International and comparative HR 7
discretion, and conflict (Van Gorp, et al. 2017). Finally, loss of status and pay can be realized
in the form of independence, accountability, and drop in the housing circumstances and less
pay in the entire terms.
Responses by the MNE
Kone can response in the form of staff availability, return on investment and acquaintance
transfer. The staff availability is about how the manager will be handled is acute. The return
on the investment is defined in the terms of the expatriation for the manager. The gains are
accrued through the manager. Kone can identify and transfer knowledge in the form of one-
way activity or person bound. The company makes sure that the expatriate remembers the
important decisions to be made at repositions and promotions. Kone is likely to maintain
contact with the expatriates through the assignment for three years (Tao, et al. 2018).
Designing a repatriation programme
The repatriation programme comprises the stages such as pre expatriation, during assignment,
preceding repatriation and post repatriation.
 The pre-expatriation includes the strategies like agreement delineating the type of
position expatriates are to be placed upon the repatriation, contract concerning the
extent of the stay in the host country and keeping the post vacant back at home till the
expatriate come back.
 The stage of during assignment includes strategies like constant communication with
expatriate, and visiting headquarter when on vacation in order to sustain visibility.
 Preceding repatriation comprises the strategies such as career guidance within the 6-
12 months before the assignment ends. It is to make sure that all the factors of the
repatriation process are apparent. Such factors are to be comprised of the Kone’s
policies in concern to the shipping of the household goods; travel reimbursement
leaves period and contact information of advisor.
 The post--repatriation includes conducting training seminars after repatriation to assist
returnees with the culture shock and financial counselling along with the tax help.
Reassurance to ensure that the organization values the global experience and
reorientation program concerning the changes in the policies, strategies, personnel,
and practices of the Kones are also the strategies to be taken under the post-
repatriation.

International and comparative HR 8
RECOMMENDATIONS
Kone is required to have a compelling purpose and appropriate person. The company should
have a clear organizatioanl requirement along with the compelling reason which cannot be
met by local hires in Shanghai. Kone is recommended to offer culture training to the manager
so that he can understand the norms, beliefs, cultural values and behavioral patterns of the
host nation in advance. The company can brief on the geography, history, and economy of the
host nation along with the mechanism behind the culture. Kone can even organize training,
language courses and workshops during the assignment. The training is enabled for the short
period of time. It can result in forming better understanding of the host culture. It will equally
add to the accomplishment of the assignment (Sanchez-Vidal, Sanz-Valle, and Barba-
Aragon, 2018).
Kone is recommended to appoint supporting staff in Shanghai as a helper to the manager.
This buddy program will offer more awareness in the organizational and local culture to the
manager. It will result in enhancing the integration of the manager as expatriate and harmony.
this way managers can know the negotiation tactics along with the marketing staretgies which
vary from culture to culture. Add on, the Kone can offer rewards in the terms of the financial
benefits and home leave. This way manager will be able to maintain contact with the family
and known in Helsinki. It will also sort out the career planning purpose of the manager. The
rewards can have an influential role in better job performance and motivation when coming
back to the host nation.
The life of the expats is seen with little accountability and several perks. Kone is
recommended to assist family members of the manager during the whole expatriation
process. For instance, the company can go for a spouse support network or cultural training
can be organized for the complete family. The family memebers of the expatriates hould be
supported during the expatriation procedure. On the other side, Kone is recommended to pay
attention to the manager when he will come back to Helsinki. The manger should be offered
better job opportunities to use the skills and knowledge to be attained in Shanghai. So that the
manager does not feel culture shock in doing adjustment.

International and comparative HR 9
CONCLUSION
The manager to be send by Kone in Shanghai can adjust properly if he will be enabled with
the effective pre-departure training. The training comprises cross-cultural insight,
preliminary visits, language instruction, and day-to-day assistance. The Pre-departure training
is effective in understanding the clear role of the expatriate. The management development
and organizational development is effective in development of manager. it is helpful in
attaining experience for the career advancement. The trends of the international training &
development can help in focusing on the improvement areas. At the time of re-entry, manager
can face issues in the home country but assistance to be provided by Kone can help in
repositioning and promotions. The company should maintain contact with the manager
through the assignment for three years.

International and comparative HR 10
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