The document discusses leadership considerations for manufacturing plants in multinational environments. It addresses offshoring strategies that companies use to reduce costs by moving operations overseas, with China being a dominant location. When operating in multiple countries, leaders must consider cultural differences, diversity, communication challenges from distance, and changing leadership styles. They must also manage public relations issues with employees, customers, and suppliers. The document provides recommendations for leaders to fulfill social responsibilities around environmental sustainability, employee safety, community welfare, and customer values.
2. Introduction
Offshoring is a type of outsourcing that means outsourced business functions in
another country
Helps to reduce labor expenses and get raw materials
China is dominant location in the form of offshoring for manufacturing operations
IBM, EDS, CSC, HP, ACS, Accenture and Keane are example of companies that
use offshoring
Leadership in Multinational Environment 2
Strategic and Tactical Decisions
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3. Leadership Considerations to Manufacturing Plant
Supportive context of leadership consideration
Ethical consideration
Resources
Cultural consideration
Diversity
Leadership in Multinational Environment 3
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4. Leadership in Multinational Environment 4
Different social and cultural factors
Authenticity
Bridging
Communication
Distance
Emotional engagement
Need of Changing Leadership Styles to Manage Multinational Locations
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5. Public relation issues
In offshoring, organization may face various public relations issues with:
Employees
Customers
Suppliers
Leadership in Multinational Environment 5
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6. Recommendations
Recommendations for fulfilling social responsibility:
Environmental sustainability
Employee safety
Leadership in Multinational Environment 6
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7. Cont…
Community welfare
Employment opportunity
Values of customers
Leadership in Multinational Environment 7
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8. References
Bass, B.M. & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial
Applications. (4th
ed.). USA: Simon and Schuster.
Cameron, E.C. & Green, M. (2004). Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the
Models, Tools & Techniques of Organizational Change. Great Britain: Kogan Page Publishers.
Ching, S. C. & Wad, P. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and Offshore Outsourcing: Electrical and
Electronics Firms in Malaysia. International Journal of Institutions and Economies, 1(2), 253- 282.
Durvasula, S. & Lysonski, S. (2009). How Offshore Outsourcing is Perceived: Why Do Some Consumers
Feel More Threatened? Retrieved from: http://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1033&context=market_fac
Gómez, A. M. & Crowther, D. (2007). Corporate Social Responsibility Series. USA: Ashgate Publishing,
Ltd.
Heijden, B.D., Bono, B.D., Remmé, J. & Jones, S. (2008). Leadership, Change and Responsibility.
Netherlands: Meyer & Meyer Verlag.
Hopkins, M. (2012). Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Is Business the
Solution?. USA: Routledge.
Horton, J. L. (2007). What is PR today? Retrieved from: www.online-
pr.com/Holding/What_is_PR_Today.pdf
Mullerat, R. & Brennan, D. (2010). Corporate Social Responsibility: The Corporate Governance of the 21st
Century. UK: Kluwer Law International.
Spiegelman, P. (2009). Is offershoring really the best option. Retrieved from:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/204098
Yahoo! Contributor Network. (2007). Ethical Considerations in Leadership Positions. Retrieved from:
http://voices.yahoo.com/ethical-considerations-leadership-positions-420007.html?cat=9
Leadership in Multinational Environment 8
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Editor's Notes
In present environment, various multinational companies want to move in offshoring their business operations. Offshoring is a type of outsourcing that means outsourced business functions in another country. Mainly, it is used to reduce labor expenses and get raw materials in easy manner (Spiegelman, 2009). Along with this, it is used as strategy to enter in new market, to capture brilliant skills and talents and to overcome regulations that prevent specific activities domestically. India, China, Russia, Poland and Ireland are emerging country in offshoring. India and China are most attracting country for outsourcing, because of low labor cost and high consumption rate.
For manufacturing, China is dominant location in the form of offshoring that becomes a provider of services. The Chinese central government has made services as third industry for its national development plans in coming decades. Along with this, USA has faced economic downturn in 2000 and 2001 that resulted in job losses and insecurities (Durvasula & Lysonski, 2009). It increased the interest of offshoring for technical works. MNC’s are service providers in many countries through their offices that enable them to a global market of clients and capture low cost labor by offshoring of some part of work. For example, IBM, EDS, CSC, HP, ACS, Accenture and Keane are MNC’s that use offshoring for certain type of work.
An organization must weigh several leadership considerations to open a new manufacturing plant in another country. These leadership considerations are important to weigh for launching it on time. Leadership strategy is the first consideration that must be considered for opening manufacturing plant, because they are essential to operate it in different country. Supportive context is another leadership consideration that includes community interest, district approval and collaborative processes. Ethical consideration must be also included, if the organization wants to implement a new manufacturing plant in another country (Yahoo! Contributor Network, 2007). Ethical consideration helps to estimate the globalizing economy and to set the ethical standards by the leaders and executives.
At the same time, resources are another leadership consideration that is essential to start the plant. For example, leaders must determine the cost of workers in different country that would help to reduce the financial risks of the organization. Building a passionate team for manufacturing plant is also important to capture intelligence and experienced employees for the plant (Bass & Bass, 2008). Cultural considerations are also important to weigh by the organization, because each country has different culture and societies. Diversity is another important leadership consideration that must be weighed to conduct the business in the international market.
It is very difficult for a leader to change his/her leadership style to manage the location in multi-nations. It is because multinational locations matters social and cultural factors that create problems to manage these changes, but it is very important for a leader that he/she can change leadership style. There are several needs to change leadership style such as making personal relationships and fairness, facing exciting or a threat and to be flat or with clear differentials. The need of change in leadership style is essential to be aware about the cultural differences in the global market (Cameron & Green, 2004). It is also important, because leader will face different people of different kind of cultures across the country. For example, in sports, the coach changes their leadership style to train their players in different nations.
At the same time, effective leadership can be obtained by the ability to change leadership style. Effective leadership changes the behaviors of the employees and fit them in the particular situation. The leaders cannot change their leadership style immediately, because it may be risky. There are five key areas that require change in leadership style that are Authenticity, Bridging, Communication, Distance and Emotional engagement (Heijden, Bono, Remmé & Jones, 2008). These areas are important to cover by the leader to implement a manufacturing plant in the multinational location. If, a leader is able to change his leadership style, he can easily control and command over the employees.
Public relation helps in complex society to reach decisions and function more effectively by contributing to mutual understanding among groups and institutions. In order to achieve goals and objectives of businesses, it is important to develop effective relationship with public including employees, members, customers, local communities, shareholders, and other institutions (Horton, 2007). When a multinational organization takes a decision of movement in another country to open a manufacturing plant, it may arise various public relation issues. It might have larger negative impact on jobs. These perceived job losses have enraged trade unions and generated public controversy in the media that create negative publicity of the company.
At the same time, it provides jobs in another country. Along with this, lower skills jobs may be lost and new jobs take their place that are superior in economic value due to their higher pay and skill levels. In addition of this, some employees may have been negatively affected by off-shoring (Durvasula & Lysonski, 2009). Apart from this, organizations may face issues with customers and suppliers also. Customers are not ready to purchase foreign made products, because of threat to the domestic industries of their countries. Negative image of the company may also distract them. Further, selection of good suppliers and relationship with them are important in offshore operations.
This organization operates in multinational environment and wants to move offshore a manufacturing plant in another country. For operating business in another country, company should follow social responsibility towards its home country and offshore locations. There are some recommendations that should be followed by the company to fulfill its social responsibility. These are as follow:
Environmental sustainability: The Company is responsible for environmental safety and sustainability of offshore location. There are various environmental damage lawsuits, regulatory enforcement actions and international, national and local legislative efforts to promote clean water, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental safeguards. So, company should fulfill these regulations and acts to promote environmental sustainability and fulfill environmental responsibility (Mullerat & Brennan, 2010). Company should implement new technologies and systems that reduce water pollution, air pollution, carbon emissions and optimal utilization of scare resources such as renewable energy and minerals.
Employee safety: It is the responsibility of organizations to provide safe and healthy working environment to their employees. In this manufacturing plant, company should follow rules and regulations such as Occupational Health and Safety Act and other national and local laws to provide safety to their employees (Ching & Wad, 2009). If employees are injured in their plants, company should give them better medical treatment and financial support for their welfare.
Community welfare: It is the responsibility of organizations to care about communities in which they operate their business. So, company should commit towards community welfare. Company should take necessary steps or actions to implement appropriate working conditions, reasonable wages, health and welfare benefits and prevention of abusive practices such as child labor that may affect the new community in negative manner (Mullerat & Brennan, 2010).
Employment opportunity: Through outsourcing, company provides various jobs in offshore locations for low and high skills person that may improve their country’s economy by increasing employment of local workers. At the same time, it can reduce number of jobs in headquarter country (Hopkins, 2012). So, company should give jobs to high skilled and experienced employees in offshore manufacturing plant and lower skills employees in other plants or other jobs.
Values of customers: For customers, organizations are responsible to provide quality products at low prices in easy convenience. Company should provide products and services according to demands and needs of customers and culture of domestic country. When a company is responsible towards society and community and committed for its employees, customers have positive brand image of the company and they are loyal towards the company (Gómez & Crowther, 2007). Company should provide quality products including values and cultures of customers. For the customers of home country, company should produce products according to their values, culture and demands.