Do people learn differently around the world? Does culture affect learning style?
The answer to both questions is “yes.”
If so, how do global companies deliver the same training program and consistent message on a worldwide basis while taking into account these differences?
Here are some tips to keep in mind: Read more…
There has been a lot written recently on Generation Y (or Millkennials) in the U.S, but today I’m focusing on Gen Y globally.
You may not realize it, but Gen Y actually exists in other countries. It is not unique to the U.S.
They may not be called Gen Y or Millennials in other places. They may not have the exact same birth year range. But they do exist.
You may think that the concept of Gen Y is all a bunch of “hooey,” but there are differences in how young people act, think and what they believe around the world. Read more…
By Roland De Monte
With the Catholic College of Cardinals’ election of their fellow Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to Pope Francis I, a spotlight has been cast recently upon his native Argentina.
The white smoke announcing the Cardinals’ decision had barely begun to dissipate, when news media outlets began publishing stories and articles not only lauding the “revolutionary” selection of the first Latin American and Jesuit Pope, but also profiling the new Pope’s relationship to his homeland, including its citizens and political leaders. Read more…
Stiff new immigration laws introduced by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley could stop staffing companies from bringing in H-1B visa holders.
Declaring that “Somewhere along the line, the H-1B program got side-tracked,” Grassley re-introduced legislation this week tightening up the entire H-1B program. Similar efforts by Sen. Grassley last year went nowhere, but with the renewed effort in Congress to enact some form of immigration reform, some of his proposals could get make it into law.
A group of four Democrats and four Republicans — the so-called Gang of Eight — have been working for weeks to come up with a bi-partisan immigration reform bill. Among the thornier problems has been the issue of guest worker visas, especially in regard to the flow of low-skilled workers for jobs in construction. Read more…
Recently, Jennifer Vecchi wrote an article here at TLNT on employee happiness/engagement. In it she wrote, “… employers believe that a happy workforce is a more productive workforce …”
I want to take that up a notch and talk about “happiness” at the country level —- notably one country wanting to create happiness for its citizens.
Bhutan is a country nestled high in the Himalayas between India and China. It generally prefers to cut itself off from the outside world, and visas for foreign tourists are strictly rationed. Read more…
So, your company is hiring overseas — who, where, why, and so what?
Let’s look at each of these and see if we can’t come up with answers.
There is a major reason companies needs to hire overseas. I’m not talking about “offshoring” because of cost or availability of key skills, “outsourcing” or any other kind of “shoring/sourcing.” Read more…
Global leadership is about managing a business across borders where there are different cultural, legal, and economic systems. It’s about knowing how to operate in multiple environments trying to achieve a common corporate objective.
Unlike many other articles on this subject, I don’t want to focus solely on cultural differences. Yes they are important, but there are other “must haves” that are important as well. And as you will see, the tie-in to cultural differences is part of each “must have.”
Also, I do not include global competencies here. This may create a stir. In my opinion, the standard global competencies that have been developed and published are generic and are necessary for every leader anywhere in the world. Read more…
More than half the employers in three of the four of the world’s biggest developing nation economies say they’ll be adding staff in 2013, a marked contrast to Europe and the U.S. where the majority of firms expect no change.
Hiring will be most aggressive in Brazil, India, and China where more than half the employers — almost three-quarters in Brazil — say they’ll be adding workers this year. Russia, where mining and energy exports are fueling growth, is more conservative in its hiring; just under half of employers expect to be doing any hires.
Elsewhere among the world’s 10 largest economies, far fewer employers expect to add workers. According to a CareerBuilder survey, in the U.S., Japan, and four European countries, the largest share of employers either expect to cut staff or make no change during the year. Even in the UK and the U.S., where more than half the employers surveyed report being better off financially than a year ago, not many of them plan to hire. Read more…
Forget about expatriates!
OK, now that I have your attention, let me give you a few reasons why I say this.
The use of expats on traditional assignments of 3-5 years started becoming popular in the 1940’s and ‘50s. They were used as top managers of manufacturing plants overseas for U.S. multinationals.
Although one of the stated objectives of assignments was for expat managers to find a local replacement, this in fact didn’t usually happen. More often than not, there was a steady rotation of expat managers in and out of these plants. Read more…
One of my go-to UK bloggers on all thing related to Human Capital Management is Jon Ingham and his Strategic HCM blog. In particular, I enjoy posts in which he acts as a reporter for sessions and conferences he attends (and he attends a good many around the world).
While I’m a bit jealous at times of Jon for the sessions he’s been a part of, I am grateful to him for his concise, thoughtful posts about the content and outcomes. One example is this recent post titled Why would employees want to be engaged? on an Engage for Success conference. (Engage for Success is the outcome of several years of concerted effort in the United Kingdom to research, assess and drive employee engagement.)
Jon points out in the post: Read more…
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