Question 1
Should
gender be a consideration when staffing local management position?
Response
Over the period, the management
pattern of various organizations has significantly changed to include women in
the managerial position. Many people in the managerial capacities have adopted
the positive consideration asserting that gender should not be a consideration
when staffing local management position. The period of the past was
characterized with increased discrimination against the women. However, the
recent past has seen the rise of a new era where women are allowed to actively
take part in the management of an organization. The need to include the women
in the staffing of managerial position has led to the establishment of gender
ministries and discrimination committees to highlight the rising cases of
discrimination in the work place. However, it has been observed that women are
actively taking the managerial positions in all the countries of the world. The
analysis of the global statistics shows that the women in managerial position
account for 22% of the total managerial positions globally (Chakravarthy, 1985). Even though this rate s
alarming, there are institutions that have been put in place to ensure that
women managers excel in there managerial positions like the male counterparts.
The global statistics of business with no
women in the senior management has remained to be 38% for a period of more than
4 years. This stagnation in women management is supported by some countries
which hold that women are not good managers and they lead to a decline in the
performance of the business venture. These countries include Russia with 15%
drop in performance of business, Italy with 6% drop in business earnings,
Poland and New Zealand both registering a drop of 9% in the performance of the
business earnings. On a different note, the global statistics has also proved
that the percentage of women in the local management teams has slightly
increased from 19% to 22% based on the recent survey of gender and
discrimination (Jeniffer, 1996). One
country that has adopted strict discrimination laws is the country of
Philippines where women occupy 50% of managerial positions in local government
and the business sector. This country has well established laws that ensure both
women and men have equal chances at the work place.
Gender
should not be a consideration during the consideration of staffing local
managerial positions because both sexes have the capacity to perform and
complete the duties. The establishment of superiority notion by the men is a
dogmatic belief that should be abolished. The argument that women cannot stay
in office for long hours has been proven wrong by the women managers in Korea
when the women championed the introduction of new marketing techniques. The
women had to stay longer than usual in the offices to enhance the success of
the projects. In addition, the woman, Kim working with Samsung has been on the
forefront on the fight to enhance the change in marketing technique (Peter Dowling, 1994). She finally succeeded
and improved the sales figure of the company. Women are hard working
individuals and should be included in the consideration of the managerial
position in both local government and the senior positions in the global
business perspective.
Forms
of discrimination against the women
The
rise of women to the managerial positions has been faced with significant
fights and endurance because of the established forms of discrimination in the
work place. The growing concerns for the discrimination of women in the work
places are based on the inbuilt cultural beliefs that identify women as the
weak sexes with few roles in the society. In this regard, some women are denied
career opportunities despite their excellent qualifications. In addition, the
perception of women being weak has enabled many employers to divert attention
to the male fraternity who are believed to be strong ad muscular to handle the
challenges. In reality, the women are not actually weak as depicted by the
construction workers. The analysis of this industry reveals that women
constitute 13% of the workers which is alarming
(Chakravarthy, 1985).
Discrimination
against women because of pregnancies is a criminal offence in most global
countries. The women in the managerial staff often receive discrimination owing
to promotion and pregnancies. In a bid to fight gender discrimination, all
these forms of discrimination against the women are considered offensive and
are chargeable in court of law. Apart from victimization in the work place,
some men receive much higher pay than women for performing the same task.
However, the newly enacted global strategy will seek to ensure that gender
discrimination in the work place is significantly reduced. This will ensure
that both men and women have equal chances and opportunities in the work place
like the situation in Philippines where equality prevails in the work place.
Question
2
Should
gender be a consideration for selecting an expatriate for an overseas
assignment?
Response
In
reality, the issue of gender should not be a consideration when selecting the
expatriate for overseas assignment. The enactment of global gender rules
requires that the overseas assignment be faced with equal chances for the male
and female. Despite the above assertions by national governments, the selection
of overseas expatriates is faced with significant challenges because of the
prevailing notion that women are the weaker sex and cannot deliver the desired
results as their male counterparts (Peter
Dowling, 1994). Therefore, the analysis of the number of global
expatriates reveals the number of women has increased but further efforts are
still necessary prompting the need for campaigning to be conducted to enlighten
the women fraternity.
Over the period, the expatriate
selection board has organized the criteria to be used in the selection of
overseas representatives. One significant factor to consider is the use of
academic qualifications. The position of overseas expatriates attracts
interests from both male and female members of the state. However, it has been
established the selection for the overseas expatriate’s selection is largely
based on sex rather than academic qualification. The women applicants have been
sidelined during the selection process and the matter is getting worse when the
selected female representatives undergo discriminatory experiences at the
posted stations (Tung, 1988). The
acceptance of overseas assignment has for a period been viewed as the most
fulfilling aspect of the career establishment and the studies have shown that
both men and women have the same interest and the quest to establish their
career by accepting overseas assignment. However, there is a predominance of
the male fraternity in the selection of the overseas representatives that it is
generally assumed that women are not interested in the overseas positions. The
study conducted on 1000 masters’ graduates revealed that both women and men
equally have the interest of joining overseas for the position of expatriates.
Even though gender should not be a
consideration in selecting an expatriate for an overseas assignment, the women
have continued to show laxity in the commitment towards attaining managerial
position. In addition, majority of the women in the managerial positions have
instituted lack of interested in learning about the repercussions and the
adversities that comes with the position. Therefore, as much as women may
aspire to be engaged in the position of an expatriate in overseas countries,
only few women shows concern and move ahead to grasp the opportunity. This is
in contrast with the male fraternities who are aggressive and consider the
position as a challenge to their careers
(Chakravarthy, 1985). In the wake of this realization, it is evident
that majority of the women are not sidelined because most of the qualified
women do not consider applying for the positions listed by the overseas
expatriates.
The issue of gender consideration in
the selection of international expatriate is sometimes a stumbling block that
requires the selection of male and sidelining the women applicants. It is
extremely critical to consider that the performance of an expatriate largely
depends on lack of emotional stress. In this regard, research findings have
established that women are not willing to live their families behind when
accepting international jobs. Instead, they want to uproot the whole family to
their new location abroad. This aspect can be a daunting task because it has
significant budget constraint elements. And for this aspect, the selecting
board always considers selecting single career women for the task.
Gender is also important during the
selection of an expatriate because spouses of qualified women may present
problematic situations during the admission of duties. Dual career spouse can
be a daunting task leading to lack of spousal support in the establishment of
overseas career. The analysis of the global work force has revealed the spouses
of successful career women are often established career men who do want to
consider quitting their careers to accompany the spouses on the international
assignment. In this regard, it is extremely critical that the aspect of gender
be considered when making selection for the international expatriate
assignment. The conduction of gender
analysis will help in the establishment of successful performance of the duty (Peter Dowling, 1994). Therefore, male
fraternity have continued to dominate the field of expatriate overseas
assignment because they are more suited to work in more adverse environments
without affecting the lives of their families. Hence, the analysis of gender is
extremely critical for these appointments.
Question
3
Discuss
what factors must be considered if a US Multinational corporation decides to staff
a leadership position in south Korea with a woman.
Response
The analytical results have stated
that women in South Korea are on the verge of experiencing economic downturn
because they have continued to be disregarded in the society. The involvement
of women in any activity has been prohibited and the women continue to suffer
because of the continuing discriminatory laws. Over the period, the Korean
women have continued to participate in only education career. However, this
situation slightly changed with the occurrence of the world crisis that led to
the massive loss of jobs for the male fraternity prompting the women to engage
in business activities. Despite the above considerations, cultural and social
beliefs in the state of South Korea continue to derail the development and
involvement of the women in any political, social or economic activities
because of the view that women are weaker sex and the men do not pay attention
to them (Chakravarthy, 1985). This is
evidenced by the fact that there are only two women ministers in the House of
Representatives. In the wake of realities, the people of South Korea have
realized that women discrimination is adversely affecting the performance of
the economy and the establishment of the gender and discrimination ministry has
sleeked to provide a lasting solution by offering guidelines.
The Korean culture believes that
women leaders must work to earn the position by offering sexual favors. In
turn, the women are paid 68% of what their male counterparts earn. The
employers simply undervalue the services of the women and are quick to offer
them resignation letters for the offenses committed.
In a market full of adversities and
atrocities against the women, the US multinational corporation must consider
the market aspect of employing a woman leader in the South Korean firm. In the
wake of the realities, the market in the South Korea has awakened to the crisis
of the global financial crisis and has had a significant change of opinion in
regard to the women in the society. Facts about Korea have stated that the
women excel in education more than the male but are less likely to be employed (Jeniffer, 1996). Therefore, by appointing the
women in the leadership position of the multinational corporation, the citizens
of South Korea will have a significant change of perspective and will
experience an extreme challenging environment where a woman is the head.
It is important for the
multinational corporate executives to consider the cultures prevailing in the
South Korea before making the appointment. One aspect that is likely to occur
is that the male fraternity may not take orders for the female boss because of
their culture and their regard for the women. This may have significant effects
on the establishment of the duties of the organization. The male fraternity in
South Korea have pronounced discriminatory aspects for the women the in the
society that they disregard the contribution of the women in the building of
the economy.
The presence of a women leader in
the midst of discriminatory culture may help regulate the position of women in
the society. The executives may consider employing a woman in the leadership
position to inspire the South Korean women to rise and take up leadership
positions. Analysis of research findings has suggested that the women in South
Korea are extremely educated but only 60% of them are employed (Tung, 1988). Therefore, employing a woman in
the leadership position may help in changing the cultural prevalence in South
Korea and establish a stable platform where the women and men compete equally
in the job market. Assigning the position of corporate leadership to a woman
would significantly influence the perception and discrimination in South Korea
because the women would be empowered to participate in economic activities.
Finally, the decision to appoint a
woman leader in the US multinational corporation may be aimed at increasing the
output of the corporation. In the state of South Korea, the women are more
productive than the male counterparts but are less likely to get employment
opportunities. The productivity of the Korean Women is due to the fact that
majority of the women performing well academically than the male counterparts (Tung, 1988). Therefore, by employing a woman
in the leadership position, the South Korean women will be encouraged to take
up job opportunities and help in the betterment of the Multinational
Corporation. With the increase in the campaign about social rights, the women
in South Korea have experienced increased participation in education and
developmental aspects.
References
Chakravarthy, B. S.
(1985). Columbia Journal of World business. "Strategic Planning for
Global Business" , 1-10.
Jeniffer, L. (1996). Personell
journal. "HR Pioneers Explore the Road Less Traveled" , 70-78.
Peter Dowling, R. S.
(1994). International dimensions of human resource management. Belmont:
Wadsworth Pub. Co.
Tung, R. L. (1988). The
new expatriates: managing human resources abroad. Cambridge: Ballinger
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