Overview
What type of company is 'Healthcare' ?
Pharmaceutical Company
What is Standardisation?
Creating uniform procedures, policies, and practices in an organisation
Folder 1: The Healthcare Group
What was this folder focused on?
A: The company's marketing strategies for promoting its healthcare products and services.
B: The Personnel Strcuture
C: Reaching targets of financial ratios
C: Reaching targets of financial ratios
What strategic HR approach did we find challenges for?
A: Localisation
B: Standardisation
C: Hybridisation
B: Standardization
How many key players (also known as 'Stakeholders') did we find in the case study?
A. 0
B. 1
C: 2
D:3
We found 3!
1. Wolfgang Hansen (HR manager at 'Healthcare')
2. Thomas Miller (American head of HR at 'Healthcare')
3. Mr Okubayashi (Japanese head of 'Healthcare')
What are the 4 main reigons in which 'Healthcare' operates in?
Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America
What is the purpose of using a standardization approach in an International Human Resource Management (IHRM) scope?
A. Greater efficiency, consistency, and effectiveness in employee management
B. To allow complete flexibility for local managers to create their own policies
C. To minimize the use of technology and modern HR practices in global operations
A: Greater efficiency, consistency, and effectiveness for employee management
TRUE or FALSE:
The total number of employees at "Healthcare" in 2016 was above or below 25,000 employees.
False. In December 2016, The "Healthcare" group employed 32,185 people
TRUE or FALSE
The plan to use a standardization approach as an IHRM strategy worked for all organisational cultures.
FALSE. The plan did NOT work for all different cultures in all different countries.
Objective #1 : Balance Global Standardisation With Local Conditions
What was Wolfgang trying to develop in order to maintain global consistency?
A. A model to allow for cultural and legal differences
B. A one-size-fits-all policy with no local adjustments
C. A centralized decision-making process with no input from local managers
A: A Model to allow for cultural and legal differences
This can be seen as taking a hybridization approach to accommodate all different countries and their culture and legal policies and procedures.
Who did "Healthcare" hire to be the new Human Resources Director?
Mr. Wolfgang Hansen
What was 1 point mentioned on why we should implement standardisation?
1. Become world leaders in these specialised markets
2. Build on oncology & dermatology business units internationally
3. Increasing research costs & competition
4. Reward the most profitable business units and regions
Folder 3: The Leadership Competency Set of the Healthcare Group
What are the 2 main leadership personal competencies the case study focuses on?
A: Analytical Thinking & Self Development
B: Communication Skills & Attention To Detail
C: Organisational Skills & Analytical Thinking
A: Analytical Thinking & Self Development
What did the "Healthcare" employees feel when the new standardization strategy came into place?
A: Happy
B: Unhappy
C: Frustrated
D: Sad
B: Unhappy with their current work situation under the new standardization strategy. This may be because it did not align with their home country's rules, culture or "way of life"
Which country scored the highest in Long Term Orientation in the Hofstedes cultural dimensions model?
A: France
B: Germany
C: Japan
D: USA (United States)
It was Japan! with a score of 100%
What level was "Healthcare" quickly expanding to?
A: Locally
B: Globally
C: Regionally
B: Globally
This is why they have encountered so many issues with trying to implement a standardisation approach
YES or NO
Does using standardisation help increase research costs and competition?
The answer is: YES!
Folder 4: Corporate HR Policies
TRUE or FALSE
The policies have triggered changes in the structure & processes of HR across firms of "Healthcare"
TRUE
Which of the following aspects of different country laws can prevent the achievement of standardization in international HR practices?
A. Minimum wage requirements
B. Language differences
C. Corporate branding policies
D. Global recruitment strategies
A: Minimum wage requirements.
Every country does NOT have the same Fair Work Act wage requirements
Hybridisation Gone Wrong...
What happened to the employees of Japan working in "Healthcare" when hybridisation was implemented?
Japan claimed that "Healthcare" is unaware of their traditions and culture.
How many subsidiaries does "Healthcare" have outside of Hamburg, Germany?
(Within the nearest 10th)
"Healthcare" has over 200 Subsidiaries
If McDonald's were to use a standardisation approach with its menu:
Would it work in all different countries? Or would it not? And Why?
No it would NOT.
A McDonald's menu standardisation strategy probably wouldn't work in every country because every culture has different nutritional requirements and food interests. To accommodate these differences, local adjustments are frequently required.
Folder 5: The Global Performance System
How many components did the bonus system focus on?
3!
YES or NO
As there were too many changes in the compensation structure, did this fit into the views of different countries?
NO. Each country had their own opinions and views on the compensation structure that "Healthcare" has implicated.
Folder 6: An overview of the corporate and HRM strategy
What was the colour of folder 6?
YELLOW!!!!