Discuss the challenges involved in staffing operations in emerging markets.

Discuss the challenges involved in staffing operations in emerging markets.

Businesses have increasingly looked to emerging markets for new opportunities and continuous growth. However, Expanding into these markets present various significant challenges, especially at the management levels. One of the problems that HR faces in the emerging markets is complying with international laws. As businesses expand to new global markets, their workforce also extends to include employees from different countries.  Labor laws vary from state to region, and in some countries such as Brazil, the laws are complex. Business owners and HR managers find it challenging to understand the employment and other related laws of different countries, and complying with these laws is problematic.

Another challenge in staffing operations in emerging markets is cultural diversity. As the workforce grows to include people from different countries and cultural backgrounds, the HR management needs to adapt to these changes. HR managers need to adapt to new ways of communication, fresh ideas, as well as unfamiliar social practices. Sometimes, the cultures are far apart that adapting to some of the practices takes time. It takes time to understand, maintain, and leverage diversity within the workforce.

Training and development also are one of the challenges to staffing in emerging markets.  Although training and development are necessary to improve performance, it presents a significant challenge to the HR managers when operating in emerging markets. For instance, training can be problematic, especially where there is a language barrier. Besides, communication ways vary among world cultures, and this may hinder the development of training programs as well as its delivery.

Chapter 10

What are the reasons for the small numbers of female expatriates? What more can companies do to use women as a resource for international management?

Few female employees have managed to ascend the managerial ladder in various organizations.women are among the underutilized resources, especially in international management.  One of the reasons that there are a small number of women expatriates is cultural based biases, which is assumed to limit the success and opportunities of women. There are different expectations in society regarding the role of women, which have contributed to unconscious bias in various organizations during the selection process. Traditionally men are considered to be leaders. Also, the small number of women expatriates has been associated with a lack of practical support in regards to career management and family or other factors that might hinder the ability of women to complete and assignment. Also, the fact men have always dominated the top management level has led to a lack of women qualified in many organization’s succession pipelines and a lack of women role models for other women. This has seen a few women volunteer for expat positions.

To reduce the gender disparity in the global workforce, especially in expatriate positions, organizations must address the issues that bring about the disparity. One way to address such problems is to put in place proper global mobility programs that consider the needs of expat families. The expatriate bonuses and incentives must be addressed appropriately to encourage women to participate and volunteer in expat positions. Also, the management should develop an all-inclusive and supportive company culture to allow diverse pooling of talent for the future such that women will be qualified and ready in the company’s succession pipeline.