Diversity Issues at KASR Airlines

Discuss about the KASR Airlines for Business Process and Information Technology.

With the increase in globalization, the role of human resource management has increased considerably and it has become increasingly important to inculcate different aspects like performance management, training and development, diversity management and cultural openness into the realm of the firm in order to ensure that the employees and firms who are connected internationally will be easily able to adhere to the needs and the requirements of the organization (Alfes et al., 2013). As the organizations have spread out internationally, it has become increasingly important for such firms to manage their employee base well.

The field of International Human Resource Management focuses on the management of the Human Resource Management at various international as well as internal levels, in order to enable the companies to achieve their vision and goals. A good workforce shall also contribute towards successful accomplishment of achieving the competitive advantage in the long run. The field of IHRM is diverse and focus on ensuring legal compliance, professional development and compensation (Brewster, Chung & Sparrow, 2016).  The diversity management plays a key role in the field of IHRM as it is crucial to manage expatriate employees. The given report will be discussing the problems relating to diversity management and performance management of the chosen Airlines Company KASR Airlines. The report will follow a systematized format whereby the different issues being faced by the organization will be discussed followed by the strategic solutions to the problems. The latter half of the report will present a plan which will ensure that the problem has proper success indicators and a stipulated time frames.

The KASR Airlines have been facing a wide variety of problems which range from diversity problems to training and development of the employees and the management of the culturally diverse performance (Harzing & Pinnington, 2014).  The primary issue at KASR Airlines is that there exists diversity issues in the organization and that there exists a sense of intolerance towards the different workers which tend to belong from different generations. The main logic behind is that the seniors do not prefer to work with the apprentices.

Another problem being faced by the company relates to the problem of the cultural diversity which is existing in the given organization. As the organization is widespread, there is a lack of collaboration between the managers and the other related employees. The primary reason behind this is the staff which belongs to various diverse cultures and this is the reason for the blend in the diverse culture of the employees.  

Cultural Diversity at KASR Airlines

In the present year, the global workforce diversity is described as the pattern settings that is having an influence on the different organizations in the year (Tarique, Briscoe & Schuler, 2015). As the workforce composition comprises of different cultural groups, the cultural diversity can be described as the key problem which needs amendments.

One of the solutions for the given problem can be proper training needs to be imparted to the different employees and they are required to be more aware of the different problems which exist and the reason why diversity is important and why it needs to be fostered in the organization (Kshetri, 2007). The employees who belong to different countries are provided training in Australia for less than held a day leading to which they are unable to adjust with the different requirements and the different needs of the organization in the long run.

The employees are provided with different online resources. The progress of these diverse employees are not considered appropriately. This leads to further problems which disable these expats from adjusting to the organizational cultures and norms.

According to Pudelko, Reiche and Carr (2015), the diversity management is considered to be an essential part of the organization as it tends to help the different employees to feel respected in the organization. With the organizations comprising of different employees from varied culture, it is important to foster an environment which respects all the cultures and backgrounds (Harris, 2012). This is because an appreciated employee will contribute better towards the development of the organization and larger productivity.

Performance management relates to the performance of the employees in a given organization and the manner in which the employees are able to look after the wellbeing of the organization. When the performance of the different employees are not managed well. Their progress is not being tracked easily in the chosen organization and their performances are not being monitored well.

There is problem related to the Training and development of the different employees as well. The expats which arrive from the different countries are not provided with adequate training and this causes an environment of misconnect with them. The performance of the expats are not tracked well and their needs are not considered well.

The socio economic influences which are required to be well considered are the different influences such as the labor conditions. The labor in the countries of Singapore and Vietnam are belonging to different economic backgrounds and are not accustomed to the different norms and other related cultures of Australia.

Training and Development Issues at KASR Airlines

They are paid differently and along with it they are not provided with acute means of livelihood. As the economic background of the different workers are poor, they have no option except to accept the job offers. However, it is the duty of the KASR airlines to ensure that the employees are well versed with the different standards of living in the host country and a training as to how they are supposed to survive in the given organization.

The different institutional factors that tend to play a huge role in the give domain is the role of the Institutional factors. The institutional factors are the legal rules under which the organization is supposed to function in the long run (Haak-Saheem, Festing  & Darwish, 2017). They also include the involvement of the different formal as well as informal rules that have been set by the unions and the employees. These tend to function in the favor of the employees and conduct activities in their support. The institution needs to consider the plight of these rules and regulations as well in order to see to it that they do not face any legal issues in future.

The socio cultural influences refer to the influences of the varied cultures of the different employees. With respect to the employment, the terms and the conditions of these different cultures also need to be well considered in order to ensure that there exists no social or cultural outrage and all the employees are well suited.

Performance management can be described as an essential tool which helps the organization to ensure that it achieves success in the long run (Kang & Shen, 2014). The performance management is used to get better results for the organization with a set defined planned goals, objectives and standards. The primary purpose of performance management is to ensure that the different employees are provided with competence and commitment which works towards the achievement of the different objectives of the organization.

The main zest behind performance management is to ensure that the talent and achievement in an organization is evaluated with consistency and accuracy (Dickmann, Brewster & Sparrow, 2016). This also goes a long way in distinguishing the basic barriers that lie in the process of achieving the top performance. It is extremely important to appraise performance as though a proper performance management and appraisal procedure in order to understand the different employee’s skills, goals and facilitate effective training in order to build up the power of the different employees (McGraw, 2004). An effective feedback system is developed for this purpose in order to ensure that the employees are well treated and that they are able to achieve their goals as well as objectives.

Socio-economic Influences

However, for an organization like the KASR Airlines, the procedure needs to be designed differently in order to ensure the performance of the expatriates (Furusawa & Brewster, 2016). The first step in the given procedure is to set the goals for the different employees and conduct a performance appraisal procedure for them.

The factors that need to be considered for the individual performance appraisal are the given:

1. Expatriate Performance Management System
2. The compensation package of the employees which will be offered to them.
3. The support of the headquarters
4. The cultural adjustment aspect (Fenton-O’Creevy,  Gooderham & Nordhaug, 2008).
5. Hence, if the following is followed, a solution can be arrived at :
6. The evaluation criteria needs to be fit into the strategy
7. The fine tuning of the evaluation strategies need to be done
8. The company needs to make use of evaluation with the different periods of evaluation.

 In order to ensure that any issue related to performance management does not occur in the organization, the company has to conduct more opportunities for on the site appraisal (Lazarova, Morley & Tyson,  2014).  Furthermore, an expat who is employed in the organization for a long period can be involved in the procedure to understand the different outcomes successfully.

Lastly, in situations where the foreign onsite managers tend to lay down the performance evaluations then the home office managers should be consulted with before the different onsite managers completes the complete evaluation to ensure effectiveness (Collings, Wood & Caligiuri, 2014). They can follow the balance sheet approach to achieve success in the given domain.

The next step which needs to be adopted by the Human resource management is to ensure that the problem with the KASR airlines is solved and that they provided with acute training and development to assure that the organization does not have any problems in the latter. There needs to be development of training and management policies along with practices for the expatriates as well as the host country nationals.

The present training being provided is inadequate and that there should be adequate training so that the expats can easily adjust to the norms and regulations of the expat organizations. They need to be provided with adequate training in several departments like that of cross cultural training and leadership (Briscoe, Tarique & Schuler, 2012). The duration of these programs need to be for a longer period of time and tests need to be conducted to figure out the success of the given programs.

The employees need to be provided with on the job training to the workers and this can contribute to career development but not for a good performance (Harvey & Moeller,  2009). This tends to have a negative impact on the employees and thus it is suggested that if there is a case in the future such that no issues occur then a comprehensive training program needs to be followed and effective feedback is required to be collected to measure the effectiveness of the program.

Institutional Influences

Lastly, there diversity management also needs to be taken to be as an effective issue and the following steps need to be conducted to ensure no issues take place:

There needs to be a formation of strict legislatives in the organization for these employees and any organization which observes that diversity is being corrupted or the different cultured people are being mishandled can easily be attended to.

The organization needs to ensure that there exists effective training in place for both expats and the host country employees with respect to the diversity management part and both are given adequate opportunities to understand one another (Brewster, 2017). Lastly, an induction program plays a major role in achieving success in the given aspect.

Conclusion

Therefore, from the given analysis it can be stated that the field of International Human Resource Management is very diverse and that there are several spheres which need to be attended to. The given case study based on KASR airlines showed that there were various issues which were present in the domain with respect to IHRM. These issues related to the issues of a lack of proper performance management program, lack of adequate training and development program for the different expats who tend to function in the given organization and lastly the diversity management which is present in the organization is not adequate as the members of the different companies do not understand the concepts of one another and different cultured employees are disrespected and not treated well throughout. Hence, for this purpose, it becomes extremely important to provide solutions.

The report provided solutions for the same and suggested the procedures and the approach which needs to be followed for the given organization in the given domain of IHRM (Cascio,  2018). The next section will provide a plan which shall go a long way in helping the organization to deal with the given problems and approach them in a positive manner which shall contribute towards improving the scenario for the same.

As performance management is considered to be an effective art of any organization, it is important that KASR Airlines to ensure that it has a proper performance management and appraisal program in place for the expats and intercompany relationships.

The program outline is as follows:

Evaluation Sources	Criteria	Periods
Self-evaluation	Meeting of the objectives Management skills Project successes	Six months
Subordinates	Leadership skills Communication skills Development of the subordinates	After the completion of a project
Peer expat Host country management	Team building Interpersonal skills Cross cultural interaction skills	Six months
On sit supervision	Management skills Leadership skills Meeting objectives	At the completion of significant projects
Customers and clients	Service quality and timeliness’s Negotiation skills Cross cultural interaction skills	Yearly

Hence, if the organization follows the given approach it will be successfully able to ensure that in the long run, the performance management and appraisal outcomes are successful and that the organization is able to retain the best employees. The proper way of appraising and managing the performance of the employees has been suggested as a consultant along with appropriate time frame for the same.

Socio-cultural Influences

The different expats who enter the organization need to be trained well with respect to the norms and culture of the organization (Bratton & Gold, 2017). A training and development program for the expats is being recommended in the given section.

Sr. No	Purpose of the program	Activities	Key responsible Person	Time frame	Success Indicators
1	To ensure that the language barriers are removed	Introductory Language class Test Revisions Lectures	Manager Trainer	1 week	The employees will be able to understand the accent well
2	To ensure the employees are well accustomed with the norms of the organization	Meetings with the  management Handout distribution	Manager Supervisor	3 days	Accustomed with the organization
3	To ensure they are trained well with respect to the job	On the job training Off the job training	Supervisor	3 weeks	Successful performance of the employees with respect to dealing with customers
4	To ensure that the employees have adequate knowledge of the general polices	One to one sessions	Manager	1 week	Better performance

Lastly, it is also being suggested that the management held a proper orientation and induction program which shall contribute towards understanding of the organizational perspective and the employee perspective a well. A good induction program goes a long way in making the welcome process suitable for both the parties and helps the employees to feel a part of the firm.

References

Alfes, K., Truss, C., Soane, E. C., Rees, C., & Gatenby, M. (2013). The relationship between line manager behavior, perceived HRM practices, and individual performance: Examining the mediating role of engagement. Human resource management, 52(6), 839-859.

Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.

Brewster, C. (2017). The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy. In Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.

Brewster, C., Chung, C., & Sparrow, P. (2016). Globalizing human resource management. Routledge.

Briscoe, D., Tarique, I., & Schuler, R. (2012). International human resource management: Policies and practices for multinational enterprises. Routledge.

Cascio, W. (2018). Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.

Collings D., Wood, G., & Caligiuri, P. (2014). The Routledge Companion to International Human Resource Management. Routledge.

Dickmann, M., Brewster, C., & Sparrow, P. (2016). International Human Resource Management: Contemporary HR Issues in Europe. Routledge.

Fenton-O’Creevy, M., Gooderham, P., & Nordhaug, O. (2008). Human resource management in US subsidiaries in Europe and Australia: centralisation or autonomy?. Journal of International Business Studies, 39(1), 151-166.

Furusawa, M., & Brewster, C. (2016). IHRM and expatriation in Japanese MNCs: HRM practices and their impact on adjustment and job performance. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 54(4), 396-420.

Haak-Saheem, W., Festing, M., & Darwish, T. K. (2017). International human resource management in the Arab Gulf States–an institutional perspective. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(18), 2684-2712.

Harris, M. (2012). Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. Psychology Press.

Harvey, M., & Moeller, M. (2009). Expatriate managers: A historical review. International Journal of management reviews, 11(3), 275-296.

Harzing, A & Pinnington, A. (2014). International Human Resource Management. SAGE.

Kang, H., & Shen, J. (2014). International human resource management policies and practices of South Korean MNEs: A review of the literature. Asia Pacific Business Review, 20(1), 42-58.

Kshetri, N. (2007). Institutional factors affecting offshore business process and information technology outsourcing. Journal of International Management, 13(1), 38-56.

Lazarova, M. B., Morley, M. J., & Tyson, S. (Eds.). (2014). International Human Resource Management: Policy and Practice. Routledge.

McGraw, P. (2004). Influences on HRM practices in MNCs: a qualitative study in the Australian context. International Journal of Manpower, 25(6), 535-546.

Pudelko, M., Reiche, B. S., & Carr, C. (2015). Recent developments and emerging challenges in international human resource management.

Tarique, I., Briscoe, D. R., & Schuler, R. S. (2015). International human resource management: Policies and practices for multinational enterprises. Routledge.