Reference no: EM133682335

Homework: Project Guidelines

Overview

In an increasingly global world, it is paramount for organizational and HR professionals to maintain cultural competencies when conducting business. Unfortunately, while many organizations are global, they do not always conduct business in the most globally appropriate ways. Employees may not understand there are different social, cultural, legal, and moral norms between countries. Equally important is to understand how these differences, if not managed well, can negatively impact organizational effectiveness and performance.

The project for this course is the creation of a business practice analysis with recommendations. The product represents an authentic demonstration of competency because it will ask you to situate strategic human resource management in the global stage, focusing on a wide range of issues related to global markets, global security, managing an international workforce, effective cross-cultural management and communication, and diversity in the workplace. The emphasis is placed on how businesses can become more competitive by leveraging an effective HR plan for diversity and international business.

The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules. The product will be submitted in Module.

In this homework, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

1) Determine gaps in the alignment of organizational business practices relevant to human resources management with geocentric perspectives

2) Illustrate the benefits of incorporating geocentric human resources management strategies into organizational practices

3) Recommend organizational technological improvements for human resources processes that reduce global barriers

4) Recommend strategies for anticipating and mitigating potential risk events regarding human resources management through analyses of political trends

5) Make recommendations for fostering organizational cultural competence and the development of interpersonal relationships over global boundaries

Prompt

For the summative assessment, you will imagine you are a human resources professional working at a prominent global company. There have been recent concerns regarding how the organization has been conducting business in the global market, and it has tasked you with identifying problems and recommending solutions. You will analyze information from the case study Nimble Storage: Scaling Talent Strategy Amidst Hyper-Growth for how the organization's business practices have aligned with more geocentric perspectives, identifying potential gaps in its current practices. You will then make a series of recommendations directed to leadership for addressing identified gaps and ensuring a successful transition regarding your proposed changes.

As a start to your analysis of Nimble's Storage, you may need to research beyond the case study to get a full understanding of Nimble's mission, vision, and culture. Visit the Nimble Storage website to further explore the company.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

A. Business Practice Analysis: In this part of the assessment, you will analyze the current business practices of the organization for how it operates globally. Then you will illustrate the potential benefits and challenges to the organization regarding its adoption of a more geocentric focus.

1) Determine gaps in the organization's current practices within the global market that are relevant to the human resources team of the organization.

2) Determine gaps in the organization's current practices within the organization that are relevant to the human resources team of the organization from a geocentric perspective. What issues or problems are present regarding the organization's accommodations for global employees?

3) Determine gaps in the technological tools and structure of the organization that should be considered when working within a global structure.

4) Analyze the mission statement of the organization against the needs of a global organization. Are the annual goals and objectives appropriate for a global company? Does the organization appropriately present itself as a global company?

5) Illustrate the potential gains for the organization regarding its business practices if it adopts a more geocentric focus. Be sure to support your response with examples. What will be the benefit for the business of the organization should it adopt a more global approach?

6) Illustrate the potential gains for the organization regarding its employee collaboration if it adopts a more geocentric focus. Be sure to support your response with examples.

7) Determine critical success factors for the organization for transitioning from an ethnocentric approach to a geocentric focus and achieving potential gains. What critical success factors must be considered when making such a transition? How do those critical success factors help achieve those potential gains?

8) Analyze global political trends for potential risk events regarding human resource management that the organization might have to consider in the future.

B. Recommendations: In this part of the assessment, you will compile a series of recommendations for the leadership of the organization regarding how they can adopt a more geocentric focus with their business practices.

1) Recommend strategies for accommodating current and future global political changes that will be managed in the organization. Be sure that your response addresses previous analysis regarding risk events. For instance, you could consider how the organization should go about operating in an ever-changing political atmosphere.

2) Recommend strategies for accommodating current and future technological developments. How should the organization establish and maintain technology?

3) Recommend strategies or activities that the organization could implement to improve interpersonal relationships between employees and across global boundaries. Be sure to support your response with a brief cost-benefit analysis to demonstrate the value of such activities to the organization.

4) Recommend technological tools and improvements that could reduce global barriers between employees and other stakeholders. Be sure to justify your response.

5) Make revisions to the mission statement of the organization that will standardize organizational values across cultural lines. Be sure to justify your response.

6) Explain how these recommendations should be implemented as to avoid risk events, and justify your response. For instance, you could consider how you would go about implementing these recommendations to avoid any potential issues.

7) Make recommendations as to how you would advise the organization regarding how to make the organization more global while maintaining its unique identity. Be sure to justify your response.

Milestones

Milestone I: Analysis and Recommendations Part I: Technological Gaps

In Module, you will submit Milestone I. In this homework, you will compose an analysis of the mission statement of Nimble Storage, the storage company that is the focus of your case study: Nimble Storage: Scaling Talent Strategy Amidst Hyper-Growth. In your analysis, you will be asked to determine if the annual goals and objectives set by the company constitute an appropriate business practice for a company wishing to go global. You will also be asked to assess the technological gaps in the company.

In addition to composing this analysis, this milestone also requires you to begin populating an Excel spreadsheet: PESTEL Analysis Worksheet. For this portion of the PESTEL Analysis Worksheet, you will populate the first two rows: United States and Brazil. Although this is separate from your milestone composition, you must upload the worksheet for review and instructor feedback. The purpose of completing the PESTEL analysis is to give you a global perspective as you work through the project. This worksheet will be used as a visual aid to help you understand the data necessary to determine the steps Nimble Storage will need to take in order to go global.

Milestone II: Analysis and Recommendations Part II: Cultural Gaps

In Module, you will submit Milestone II. For this milestone, you will compose an analysis of the cultural gaps that Nimble Storage may need to fill in order to enhance its business practices. Additionally, you will be asked to illustrate the potential gains for the organization regarding its employee collaboration if it adopts a more geocentric focus.

In addition to composing this analysis, this milestone also requires you to continue populating the necessary rows of the PESTEL Analysis Worksheet. Each time you populate this worksheet (this is the second time), you will work through the characteristics of different countries/regions. For this portion of the PESTEL Analysis Worksheet, you will populate the rows: China, Japan, and Europe.

Milestone III: Analysis and Recommendations Part III: Global Political Trends

In Module, you will submit Milestone III. In this milestone, you will make your recommendations necessary for Nimble during its global expansion and compose a short paper of your findings. You will also be asked to consider the critical success factors necessary and to determine how those critical success factors help achieve those potential gains.