Question
Question 1
Explain what you think is the most significant way in which globalisation has affected the worlds of work and employment over the past twenty years. To what extent will this continue to be the case in the next twenty years?
Question 8
Explain how the management of people tends to vary depending on whether a labour market is tight or loose. Illustrate your answer with examples from your own observations and your reading.
Question 10
Critically evaluate a common intervention used by people management professionals to enable all voices in an organisation to be heard. Justify your answer.
Question 14
The CIPD’s Health and Wellbeing at Work Survey (2020) found that some organisations which reported rising levels of stress-related absence are not taking specific steps to address this type of absence. How would you advise these organisations to effectively respond to rising levels of stress-related absence? Illustrate your answer with examples from your reading.
Solution
LO1 Understand ways in which major, long-term environmental developments affect employment, work and people management in organisations.
1.1 – Assess globalisation and its long-term significance for work and employment.
Question 1
Explain what you think is the most significant way in which globalisation has affected the worlds of work and employment over the past twenty years. To what extent will this continue to be the case in the next twenty years?
___________________________________________________________________
The impact of globalisation is identified in CIPD (2021) as inclusive of movement of labour, products, services and knowledge across international boundaries. The core drivers of successful globalisation include the offshoring popularity, supply chains expansion and an intense demand for low-skilled migrant workforce professionals. This definition is affirmed by Oyekola (2018) which identify globalisation as an expansion of worldwide flows of material objects and symbols and entities proliferating with institutions achieving a global presence. For instance, Almarai which is my current organisation, through globalisation, it is identified as controlling 45% of the food and dairy market in entire GCC and ranked as the largest vertically integrated farms globally (Bahlas, 2020). The vertical integration is evidenced by extension past their national borders of similar market forces which have actively operated in many centuries in various levels of human economic activity. In line with this definition, globalisation is not a static concept but going through a consistent changes in terms of their manifestation and growth. Its manifestation and the factors explaining its growth include;
International economic exchange
According to Olivié and Gracia (2020), for the success of globalisation, international economic exchange is essential. This is a practice in which organisations operating in various markets achieve a mutual understanding and consensus. In the context of labour market, CIPD (2021a) identify the relevance of the international economic exchange as influencing how the global workforce are appropriately equipped in seizing the opportunities from future waves of technological change. For instance, for Almarai, they ensure that they leverage on technology and globalisation impacting on the nature of their job function. For instance, in their latest Dubai subsidiary, Mubasher (2020) identify technology as having established new channels of communication with business models transformed, new services creates and job opportunities. This evidence that globalisation has positively grown with a significant disruption of how organisation pursue their business in international markets.
Foreign Direct Investment
As earlier noted in definition of globalisation, it is manifested in distinct dimensions impacting on a country economic development. According to Pekarskiene and Susniene (2014), through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), globalization is manifested through harnessing global interconnectedness of the economic activities. This is in terms of information and communication technologies and practices of the multiple national enterprises which drive economic globalization and various development levels. The outcome of this is identified by Michie (2001) as an increased investment in the human capital which ensures that the employees are appropriately facilitated in delivering a high productivity and willingness, commitment and motivation of executing their roles. Hence, in terms of FDI and how globalization is manifested in organization, the theory of human capital can be relevant. For instance, in Almarai, their venture in FDI follows CIPD (2021a) explanation of the human capital theory as promoting the scope of investment on the learning and training increasing overall skills scope with productivity increasing contrary to the organisations investing in human capital development. This is also supported by international body UNCTAD where Michie (2001) identify the need for organisations paying enormous attention on developing infrastructure, human resources and entrepreneurship significantly bearing on locational choice of transnational organisations.
Offshoring
In George (2021) factsheet, offshoring is a strategy followed to outsource business activities/services to third party overseas and moving business activities/services being a direct or indirect employers. Globalisation is identified in Rommel and Walter (2018) as being inherently implemented through engaging an external organisation for performing a set of business functions in a country other than the one where the products/services are developed/manufactured. This harness the scope of people practice professionals in ensuring that cost reduction with emphasis put on benefits including flexibility and scope of delivery of business solutions, accessing new technologies and skills, improving productivity scope and enhancing capacity development for all engaged employees. For instance, owing to the disruptions of the global supply chains due to prevalence of COVID-19 pandemic, Almarai has invested on what MSG (2021) identify as offshoring of their manufacturing to meet the demand for their products which has significantly surged.
International Migration
In line with Brian (2009) statistics, only less than 3% of the global populations or approximately 190 million people are found living outside their country of birth. The study evidenced the globalisation as driving international migration inclusive of disparities in development, democracies, global job crisis, global labour markets segmentation and transnational social networks. As evidenced in Koser (2018)
, the international migration represent a core indicator of future of globalisation. There are expectations of global forces driving migration with immense efforts harnessing patterns and outcomes.
In contemporary business environment, CIPD (2021a) globalisation as a megatrend impacts the working life and employment practices. The major ways include;
Opportunities for overseas work assignments– As evidenced in Gaikwad et al. (2022) globalisation creates opportunities for overseas work assignments. The changes to working life is evidenced by the need for changes in working programs, preparing for expatriation, performance measurement and repatriating of such an individual. For instance, in Almarai organisation, they ensure HR identify entire objectives and assessing returns for guiding emoloyees and decision making for a best practice in their operations.
Working with multi-cultural teams– As evidenced in Steenhuis (2019), owing to globalisation, organisations are prompted to ensure that they work with multi-cultural teams. For instance, in Almarai organisation, in their globalisation in GCC region, they adopt the CIPD (2021b) recommendation of people practice professionals managing the culturally diverse teams. As a best employment practices, organisations are embracing varying values, thinking approaches and behavioural patterns.
Competitive intensity– Through globalisation, the competitiveness of labour market has surged. This is since Durand and Gueuder (2018) contribute to an increase in integration of labor markets and closure of the wage gap between the employees in advanced and developing economies. In the local working lives, competition is intense in the domestic markets.
Volatility– ………
Please click the icon below to receive this assessment in full