Going global, as presented in the foreign staffing lecture, can be challenging,and as such, one needs to have a global perspective and mindset as well as awareness for cultural difference. As the speaker, Jacque Vilet puts it, there are many countries in the world, and each one has its own set of laws regarding labor and employment. The speaker presents a great insight into the issue of foreign staffing by presenting some of the things that need to be done and how to evade some of the challenges that may arise in the process. Some of the main factors that can be derived from the foreign staffing lecture are some of the obstacles and realities that may arise when a company decides to go global. These include the labor laws, competitors already present, how to carry out operations,and how to deal with the issue of job levels.
Labor Laws
The speaker mentions that there are over two hundred and fifty countries in the world. Each country has its own set of laws regarding employment and labor. There are laws regarding vacations, employee benefits, and bonuses, termination of contracts, holidays, and maternity leave. A company opting to venture into a foreign country must carry out extensive research on the local laws regarding labor and employment as well as the local cultural practices ( Kang & Shen, 2016) .
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Job Levels
Foreign staffing, as brought out by the speaker in the presentation, mainly focuses on foreign employees and how a company can best employ and sustain foreign employees without having to interfere with its overall operations. Job levels differ in various countries ( Rickley& Karim, 2018) . For instance, the speaker says that there are six levels for engineers in the US while in other countries, there are only four. A company would have to choose between using the corporate job levels or the local job levels in this situation. The speaker recommends that it is the local market job levels and grades that should always be preferred. This is agreeable as it is the interest of the local employees that the company needs to safeguard at the moment.
Competitors
In every country, there are existing big companies, some of which offer similar services as one’s corporation. In addition, there must always exist giant multinationals in any such country. Companies such as Coca-Cola, for instance, are well-known all over the world. A company looking to venture into a foreign market must get to know its major competitors as well as the well-known multinational corporations that operate in that marketplace.
Venturing Method (Match or Differentiate)
Venturing into a new market alone is a challenge. A company has to decide whether to match the operations of the existing competitors or to go with a different approach. Matching the competitors may result in the company lagging behind as it may be viewed as a ‘copy-cat’ or its products as counterfeit. Going with a different approach may also slow the operations as it may take time to convince the consumers.
Conclusion
The speaker, Jacque Vilet’s presentation, is comprehensive in the sense that it provides much detail regarding foreign staffing. The speaker recognizes that not many people have had to go global and that as first-timers, the process may be very challenging. The speaker presents some of the obstacles that may arise and how to navigate them. Labor laws, job levels, competitors, and the method of venturing into a foreign market are all critical issues in foreign staffing. A proper survey and research,as the speaker explains, must be conducted for the process to be a success.
References
Kang, H., & Shen, J. (2016). Global Talent Management: International Staffing Policies and Practices of South Korean Multinationals in China', Global Talent Management, and Staffing in MNEs (International Business and Management, Volume 32).
Rickley, M., & Karim, S. (2018). Managing institutional distance: Examining how firm-specific advantages impact foreign subsidiary CEO staffing. Journal of World Business , 53 (5), 740-751.
