Strategic Human Resource Development - Woolworths Limited - Case Study Example

Strategic Human Resource Development Name Institution Course Date Strategic Human Resource Development Executive Summary Training programs are important in any company due to their ability to solve challenges and enhance performance. Having an effective employee training program is able to strengthen skills of the workforce and add to the knowledge where it is lacking. Woolworth is a successful retail store with operations across the world. However, over the years the company has been faced with diversity issues that have threatened its performance. Diversity challenges in the company come in form of gender discrimination and cultural challenges. In order to solve these challenges, the company needs to establish a diversity training program for all employees and the management. In different outlets of Woolworths across the world, the employees and managers have different national and cultural backgrounds. Due to this, the company has come up with a training program that would enhance fairness, boost cultural awareness and improve working relation in the diverse workforce. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Woolworths Limited 4 The Need for a Training Program 5 The Key Contents of the Training Program 6 Expatriates Training 6 Language Training 7 Cultural Sensitivity Package 7 Delivery Methods of the Training Program 8 Potential Learning Outcomes 9 How the Training Program will Enhance Organisational Performance 10 Recommendations 11 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction Training programs in organisations are used to solve specific challenge. In today’s competitive business environment, employee training is considered an important part of an organisation. It is a way of keeping the firm competitive (Rothwell and Kazanas, 2004). Typically, employees often have weaknesses or gaps in their skills and knowledge. Having an effective employee training program is able to strengthen skills of the workforce and add to the knowledge where it is lacking. Training programs tend to repair weak links and establish a basis for boosting competitive advantage (Moore, 2003). Training programs should never be estimated; they should act as the best insurance policy against unforeseeable changes ad needs that may come up in a firm. One important training program utilized by many multinational companies is diversity training (Bennett, Bennett and Landis, 2004). Diversity training involves the practice of instilling awareness, respect and acceptance of different individuals from different race, culture, gender etc. (Bennett and Bennett, 2004). Being a multinational corporation, Woolworth has been faced with diversity challenges and in order to close this gap, the company needs a diversity training in all levels of the organisation especially the management. This paper will describe the need for a training program in Woolworth to solve its diversity challenge. It will highlight the content of the training program, the delivery methods and the potential learning outcomes. In addition, it will explain how the training program will enhance the company’s performance. Woolworths Limited Woolworths Limited is an Australian retail store with its operation in Australia and New Zealand. It is considered one of the largest companies in the country by revenue (Woolworths Supermarkets, 2016). In addition, Woolworth’s main operations include supermarkets, liquor retailing, hotels and pubs and discount department stores. The company recorded a loss of about $1.235 billion for the 2016 financial year. Woolworths opened its first store in 1924 under the name “Wallworths Bazaar Ltd”. And from this, it has grown to be one of the largest retail stores in the world (Woolworths Supermarkets, 2016). The company has established its operations in foreign countries such as China, India, Africa, United States and Europe among others. The internationalization process and expansion into foreign markets has boosted Woolworths’ competitive advantage. Currently, Woolworth has about 980 outlets in Australia and is situated in 961 locations across the world (Woolworths Supermarkets, 2016). The Need for a Training Program The resource-based view focuses on the importance of human resources in enhancing sustainable competitive advantage (Wright, Dunford and Snell, 2001). There are four criteria that resources should meet in order to create sustainable competitive advantage; value, rarity, inimitability ad substitutability. A resource must be rare, valuable, inimitable and non-substitutable in order to boost an organisation competitive advantage. Based on the resource-based view, one important strategy of boosting sustainable competitive advantage is to enhance human resources through training and development (Wright, Dunford and Snell, 2001). The current problem facing Woolworth is diversity challenge. Diversity challenge comes in form of gender discrimination and cultural challenges. Woolworth is a multinational corporation that has its operation in many countries across the globe (Robinson, 2008). One challenge or risk that Woolworth faces in different countries is cultural nuance. Different countries have different cultural beliefs, values and customs. Cultural differences may affect management activities, employee-management relationship, marketing messages and ability to satisfy the needs of the market (Robinson, 2008). In addition, one culture can be thought as insulting in another. Expatriates send from the main Woolworth’s branch in Australia often faces cultural shock in the new market and this always affects the operations of the company. In addition, key executives face communication challenges due to language barrier brought about by differences in culture (Bernard et al., 2007). In order to mitigate this challenge, there is a need for deep understanding of the cultures in the new markets. The company should ensure that its key executives undergo cross-cultural training before embarking on a project in foreign markets (Lim and Noriega, 2007). In addition, the diversity training should entail a language training program administered to individuals who have a higher chance of approaching individuals from other languages. This will enhance effective cross-cultural communication. In addition, by 2004, Woolworth was considered one of the countries that had fewer women in the management position (Lim and Noriega, 2007). Women made up about 16 per cent of the entire workforce and this was a challenge that needed to be solved. The small number of women in the management has had an effect in the company’s reputation and in order to gain the confident of the public and ensure acceptance of diversity, there is need for diversity training (Robinson, 2008). The Key Contents of the Training Program The training program should cover a number of avenues including: Expatriates Training In order for Woolworth to carry out its operations successfully in international countries, it requires the help of expatriates. Expatriates are expected to incorporate culture of the company with the culture of the international market (Usunier and Lee, 2005). In order for expatriates to succeed internationally, they should undergo diversity training. Expatiates may undergo cross-cultural training. Without cross-cultural training, expatriates will pass judgement on other cultures outside their own (Shore and Cross, 2005). They will not be able to understand why host culture people behave the way they do. This training assist expatriates cope with uncertainties and risks associated with the new culture (Shore and Cross, 2005). Language Training One cultural issue facing Woolworth expatriates and overall employees is the issue of language barrier (Mendenhall et al., 2004). Different countries have different languages that people use and employees from Australia will face a hard time in foreign countries due to language differences. In addition, Woolworth Australia is considered to have a diverse workforce. With the increasing number of immigrant workers in Australia, managing cultural diversity issue in the company is paramount (Brown, 2004). As a result of cultural diverse workforce, Woolworth Company will be required to become more refined in solving cultural differences by providing language training for the purpose of overcoming language barriers (Mendenhall et al., 2004). The training program should incorporate language training to all employees in Australia and in other countries. Cultural Sensitivity Package A good diversity training program should be able to address the invisible and refined differences between people from different backgrounds (Miroshnik, 2002). There are so many elements that differ from one culture to another. According to Hall’s Low and High Context, there are different behaviours that are witnessed in high context and low context cultures. High context cultures value relationships based on trust and unity. In their interactions, they use non-verbal communication style more often and are sensitive to conflict (Richardson and Smith, 2007). People in these cultures are close to each other and things are based in the past as change process is slow. They learn by observing others before practicing. On the other hand, in the low context culture, relationships are not valued as they believe in one’s accomplishment. In their interactions, there is more use of verbal communication and people are free to express their options (Richardson and Smith, 2007). In low context cultures, change take place fast and they learn by following directions and explanations. Therefore, when an individual from low context culture moves to a high context culture, he or she is likely to be faced with huge challenges (Richardson and Smith, 2007). Woolworth’s operations are based in different countries with different culture context. In order to minimize discrimination and enhance team work between people from different cultures, the company should incorporate cultural sensitivity package in its training program (Vashishta and Balaji, 2013). This should include assisting employees know how to address and react around a diverse workforce. How is trust built between people from different culture? How can an individual offer constructive criticism? What communication style suit specific culture? Delivery Methods of the Training Program The delivery mode to be used for the training program must consider budget constraints and audience. The best delivery method for diversity training in Woolworth is discussion method. In the discussion method, employees and the trainers take part in two way communications that enhance the training process (Fowler and Blohm, 2004). Unlike other training delivery methods such as lecture method that depends on the trainer, discussion technique is time effective since it requires short period for employees to be provided with basic knowledge for discussion. It entails a short lecture class followed by open discussion process. The discussion method should be between the employees themselves with the help of the trainer as mediator (Fowler and Blohm, 2004). The discussion delivery method is essential as it will give an opportunity for every employee to voice their opinions, ideas and questions about diversity issue in the company. The discussion method is very important in solving diversity issues since it encourages interaction between different employees from different background and free expression (Fowler and Blohm, 2004). Another delivery method to be used by Woolworth in its diversity training program is lecture method. It is designed to help employees develop knowledge and understanding of diversity issue. Woolworth should hire a trainer who is experienced in diversity issues who can pass the same knowledge to the employees in different branches (House et al., 2004). The trainers can teach the employees about the importance of diversity workforce and the role they should play in ensuring they respect the values and opinions of people from different backgrounds and cultures. Potential Learning Outcomes The benefits of diversity in the workforce include enhancement of teamwork, increment of competitiveness and knowledge sharing, increase in retention rate, better workforce recruitment and labour cost reduction (Day, 2007). Diversity training ensures that employees understand these benefits and can be able to appreciate working with individuals coming from different cultures, backgrounds or race. Effective diversity training will enhance cross-cultural communication which entails overcoming cultural differences when interacting with people who have different beliefs, values or ideologies. Employees will learn how to communicate and interact with people from different cultures (Poon, Evangelista and Albaum, 2005). They will learn foreign languages that they may use when communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds. In addition, the management will be able to establish fairness of allocation of responsibility irrespective of gender or culture. Women and men alike will be treated equally and top management positions will be distributed equally regardless of gender and background. Furthermore, the diversity training program will bring about an increased awareness of individual cultures (Ambos and Sclegelmilch, 2008). Basic learning of different cultures is very significant since it applies when taking part in appropriate greetings as well as physical contact. For instance, a strong hand shake in Australia is considered widely accepted whereas it is not recognized in other cultures (Shore and Cross, 2005). Therefore, with effective diversity training, employees will be able to have a sense of awareness towards individuals from different backgrounds. How the Training Program will Enhance Organisational Performance One of the main purposes of diversity training program is to enhance performance through building strong and competent workforce in the organisation. Human capital is an integral part of any company and building on the strengths and overcoming weaknesses of the employees is reflected on the organisational performance (Sahindis and Bouris, 2008). In a business context, communication is considered one of the most important elements of enhanced performance. People who work internationally in Woolworth are faced with cross-cultural communication issues. Cross-cultural communication needs an individual to be aware of cultural differences since what may be natural in one nation may be confusing to another (Sahindis and Bouris, 2008). Communication among people is influenced by cultural dimensions such as verbal, non-verbal, and etiquette. This is why diversity training is required in Woolworth since it has the ability to improve communication between employees which may enhance organisational performance (Sahindis and Bouris, 2008). Misunderstanding is considered to be one of the chief barriers to communication especially in an environment that is multicultural such as in Woolworth. It takes place among individuals who come from various backgrounds with varying values as well as beliefs (Gilley and Maycunich, 2000). These variations lead to high degrees of unease as well as doubt leading to misunderstanding which extends through their entire tenure. With diversity and cultural training, employees are able to communicate clearly and effectively which will improve teamwork and enhance performance. Diversity training will help eradicate discrimination and stereotyping (Holton, 2002). Cases of discrimination and stereotyping are seen in Woolworth across its different outlets across the globe. For instance, immigrants from Asia to Australia maybe perceived to be good learners and sharp, while immigrants from Middle East may be perceived to be terrorists due to cultural stereotyping. Improving fairness in employment positions is essential which is possible through diversity training (Owens, 2006). Through diversity training, managers are able to acknowledge the talent of the minority and can provide them with other employment position other than in the low-level. This boosts proper utilization of human resources which can enhance performance. Recommendations Diversity can be defined as the differences that exist among people. It takes different dimensions such as gender, race, age etc. Diversity problems in Woolworths revolve around these core issues and can also exist in terms of communication style, relationship status, physical appearance, culture to name a few (Sahinidis and Bouris, 2008). These dimensions of diversity can generally be termed as cultural diversity. Due to these problems, the company has been faced with communication challenges, poor team-work and poor employee-manager relationship. As such these issues have affected the performance of the company. As seen earlier, in different outlets of Woolworths across the world, the employees and managers have different national and cultural backgrounds (Bernard et al., 2007). Due to this, the company has come across a number of serious questions of how to enhance fairness of the employees regardless of their cultural backgrounds; how to motivate contribution of the employees in a diverse team; and how to improve the working relationship between the diverse workforces. The answers to these questions lie on the company making efforts to addressing the existing cultural diversity issue in order to enhance performance (Lim and Noriega, 2007). Therefore, managers have the responsible of managing cultural diversity by minimizing the drawbacks and maximizing the benefits of cultural diversity in the workplace in order to enhance social cohesion and organisational effectiveness (Lim and Noriega, 2007). This is possible through their support and commitment to diversity training program. A diversity training program implementation is effective only when the management is committed beyond mere declarations. The success of the implementation requires devotion and articulate and resilient individuals (Lim and Noriega, 2007). Top management are therefore required to embrace the diversity training initiative regardless of the monetary requirements and time constraints. In order to address management commitment issue, top managers should also undergo training and education on diversity issues. This would enhance their attitudes and would encourage their engagement in the training program (Lim and Noriega, 2007). Conclusion Woolworths is faced with diversity challenges that have affected the performance of the company. The company is a multinational corporation with its operations in different countries. And as such, the employees are faced with the challenge of working in a diverse workforce. In addition, women in the top management position are fewer compared to men. In order to solve this problem, it is important for Woolworths to develop a diversity program that would foster effective cross-cultural training and teamwork. The diversity training should include expatriates training, cultural sensitivity package and language training. With such a program in place, it is possible to improve communication between employees and reduce misunderstanding across cultures which may enhance organisational performance. Diversity training program will also boost proper utilization of human resources and enhance fairness in employment. 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