External and Internal Factors
International teams can be difficult to coordinate. In order to successfully utilize international teams of employees, managers must consider variables that include everything from technical challenges, such as communication methods and time differences to complex issues such as communication style, language barriers, and cultural differences.
Imagine you work for a US-based firm and are partnering with a team of workers stationed in a progressive Middle Eastern country. The team's purpose is to develop a modern marketing campaign for a financial services customer. Their goals include completing the campaign design on time, satisfying the customer, and integrating the expertise represented by employees in each country to deliver a quality product to the client. The team is on a strict deadline and reputations and bonuses are at stake.
In this country, there is very little separation between a workers religious beliefs, family, and work. Your team is on a strict deadline, and bonuses are at stake. The local employees take a midday break for two hours for prayers every day. Friday is a religious holiday, which begins at sundown on Thursday and continues through Friday. Saturday is considered a regular day off and they do work on Sunday. The project is due on Monday morning, and the other employees are resentful for having to work overtime.
Using your textbook and the Argosy University online library resources, examine the key mechanisms of global integration and their implications for an organization and its HRM practices. Do the following:
- List the company's precise goals and objectives in relation to this project. (You may make assumptions based on the general goals stated for the team.)
- Identify internal (organizational) and external factors impacting each goal or objective.