Samsung Management in Mexico Essay.
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INSTRUCTIONS
This is a take-home case analysis, comprising reading materials and essay questions. You will be required to analyse the pertinent issues and apply concepts and theories learnt in this unit to the situation.
Your type-written answers should be APA style in 12 font size, 1.5 spacing, with clear and short paragraphs and headings. The length of the whole assignment should be approximately 1,200 words (excluding the reference list). The completed answers will be submitted through Turnitin for similarity check. Please include the correct SID number in the file name and header. You should not disclose any other information such as your name that could be used to identify the individual, because anonymous grading will be used for this assignment.
Your responses to the questions must be of high quality, displaying both conceptual depths as well as university-level composition. Please proofread your work carefully and do not be dependent on ‘spell-check’ and/or ‘grammar check’ as these tools can miss errors and inconsistencies. Please ensure that references are in APA 7th style.
the case and questions, marking rubric are uploaded.
MARKING CRITERIA AND RUBRIC
Q1 (2 points)
- Clear understanding of the facts and identification of key management issues (2 points)
Q2 (8 points)
- Appropriate application of relevant cross-cultural management theoretical concepts (2 points)
- Correct identification and well-developed explanation of factors in industrial, organizational, situational and/or personal domains (2 points)
- Critical thinking and creativity in analysis and development of arguments (2 points)
- Use of relevant data from further research (2 points)
Q3 (8 points)
- Well justified action plans (2 points)
- Concrete and practical action plans (2 points)
- Critical thinking in development of arguments (2 points)
- A clear link between action plans and problems identified (2 points)
Overall and Referencing (2 points)
- Quality of writing, flow and organization (1 point)
- Accurate referencing following APA 7th style (1 point)
Requirements: 1200 words
Samsung Management Challenges in Mexico
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Samsung Management Challenges in Mexico
Business management is the coordination and organization of business operations to achieve maximum productivity. When it comes to management in a multi-cultural environment, this responsibility is all the more heightened. This paper analyzes some key challenges that faced Samsung Tijuana Park’s management in Mexico and offers suggestions that would have helped address them.
Key Managerial Challenges
South Koreans filled the managerial and supervisory positions at the Mexican Samsung facility while the junior employees were locals. The interaction between these two human resource levels mostly created an inhibitive business culture since the top management exclusively made decisions with no contribution from junior employees. The downside to this model is that the employees who were supposed to act on the management’s decisions did not feel part of the big picture that was being pursued, leading to low morale.
There was also a breakdown of communication and a conflict of values between the management and the employees. This is seen in the contradicting assumptions and expectations that each group held towards the other regarding work ethics and commitment. While the management wanted the employees to view their work as sacred and show more dedication, they felt that Korean values and expectations were being unfairly imposed upon them.
The management’s dilemma on how to improve productivity to meet the demand was associated with the employees’ low morale and the breakdown of communication between the two levels of human resources. In addition, the management also faced issues related to the external business environment. These included securing the containers that carried products across the border between Mexico and the United States and, later, how to respond to new labor laws imposed by the Mexican government on foreign companies.
The net effect of these managerial challenges was that the employees were not motivated or persuaded to work hard towards the company’s goals. Although the market for the facility’s products was expanding, the internal structure and culture of the company were limiting employees’ productivity.
Factors that Contributed to the Challenges
The tension between the Korean management and the Mexican workers was fueled by a poor management model in a multi-cultural context. The classification of human resources along nationality lines inspired antagonism between the two groups (Kim, 2017, p. 204). Instead of creating one synergistic workforce out of the two teams, the managerial model employed by Samsung in Mexico encouraged bias and suspicion since it lacked a framework for negotiations between the management and the employees. There was no collaboration between the management and the employees through which the latter could have the requisite autonomy and voice to participate in decision making (“Collaborative leadership: Managing negotiators,” 2019). As a result, expectations could not be communicated well, responsibilities delegated, or challenges addressed amicably.
A lack of adequate cross-culture understanding and communication between the management and the employees played a significant part in the tense work environment. Consequently, each side of the workforce failed to understand the values upon which the norms, attitudes, and behaviors of the other were built (“Overcoming cultural barriers in negotiations and the importance of communication in international business deals,” 2021). For instance, the management did not understand or appreciate the high relational aspect of the Mexican people and their value for personal respect and understanding. It, therefore, thought that monetary compensation was the ruling motivation behind the Mexicans’ work ethic. The workers also failed to appreciate the value the Koreans attached to a strict performance-oriented work ethic.
The work environment at Samsung’s Mexican Maquiladora could not inspire productivity, and it did not create a suitable psychological contract between the management and the employees. The result was that people did not feel that their expectations could be met mutually and reciprocally (Savarimuthu & Rachael, 2017, p. 102). Whereas the company’s stated vision was to rise together with the employees, they psychologically interpreted their day-to-day working environment as harsh and punitive (Kim, 2017, p. 204). To turn the facility’s productivity around, the employees needed to feel that the management would reward their input in ways that matched their values and motivation.
The expanding electronics market heightened the managerial challenges in both Latin and Northern America. The increased demand meant that the facility had to raise its levels of productivity. It was a market advantage that had to be exploited owing to the opportunities created by the free trade zone and the trade deal that existed between Mexico and the United States of America.
Proposed actions for the Korean Management
The business opportunities surrounding Samsung’s Mexican maquiladora meant that the managerial challenges had to be urgently addressed. The Korean management could put several measures in place to improve working conditions for the employees and consequently increase the facility’s productivity. The first thing that it could have embraced is collaborative leadership. This would entail empowering some of the Mexican employees through internal leadership training tracks that would prepare them for managerial positions alongside their Korean counterparts. Embracing collaborative leadership would paint a different picture in the mind of the locals and also give them a sense of representation in decision making. It would also establish the lacking framework for proper negotiations and problem-solving.
The Korean management could embrace a culturally diverse approach to forge a shared institutional culture. The management needed to take the initiative to learn and adapt to the locals’ culture, values, norms, and behavior. With the cultural antagonism dealt with, the employees could be encouraged to learn more about Korean culture. An annual culture day could be set aside where both cultures would be showcased. In doing this, the Korean management would be taking advantage of the Mexican cultural expectation of employers to be caring people.
The company’s vision needed to be communicated in ways that could resonate with the employees’ motivations. The management could therefore seek creative ways to recast it by incorporating culturally sensitive values. Since such values for the Mexicans include personal recognition and social cohesion, the new vision could incorporate ways in which the company’s presence in the community could bring a shared benefit for all. In addition, the employees’ morale could be lifted by a renewed commitment by the management to reward their input and productivity in ways that corresponded to their expectations.
To match the facility’s productivity with the above internal changes, the management could train the employees on the market dynamics for the products they helped to manufacture. Through this training, the employees would draw the connection between the shared company vision and their productivity levels. The management would then be better positioned to incorporate a more performance-oriented work ethic in the context of the locals’ values and aspirations.
Conclusion
Leading and managing in a global way is a culturally intensive responsibility. The management team must take the initiative to create an enabling environment for all employees to maximize their potential. For this to happen, each present culture’s unique values, norms, behaviors must be duly appreciated. The employees must also feel that nothing stands in the way of their career progress except their own levels of productivity. When managerial positions are open to all who qualify despite their cultural backgrounds, a genuinely collaborative business management culture is created. To such a culture belongs the opportunities of an increasingly global economy.
References
Collaborative leadership: Managing negotiators. (2019, December 19). PON – Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/leadership-skills-daily/collaborative-leadership-managing-negotiators/
Kim, J. O. (2017). “Training Guatemalan campesinos to work like Korean peasants”: Taxonomies and temporalities of east Asian labor management in Latin America. Verge: Studies in Global Asias, 3(2), 195. https://doi.org/10.5749/vergstudglobasia.3.2.0195
Overcoming cultural barriers in negotiations and the importance of communication in international business deals. (2021, April 23). PON – Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/international-negotiation-daily/bridging-the-cultural-divide-in-international-business-negotiations/
Savarimuthu, A., & Rachael, A. J. (2017). Psychological contract-A conceptual framework. International Journal of Management (IJM), 8(5), 101-110. http://www.iaeme.com/ijm/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=8&IType=5