Human Resources Management (HRM)

You are currently the head trainer of a global U.S. automobile manufacturer. The organization has decided to expand its operations into the Eastern market such as China, Japan, and Singapore. The vice president of human resources has asked that you create a proposal outlining your plans for a new hire orientation program for the Eastern market. In your proposal, include the elements listed below.
Discuss how the Eastern market will potentially view new hire orientation, and then discuss two to three ways to tailor the new hire orientation to this market.
Discuss how the Eastern market perceives the relationship between the learner and trainer.
Discuss who will be responsible for giving the new hire orientation to the Eastern employees and how the orientation will be delivered. For example, will a local who is familiar with the language deliver a live orientation training session, or will it be a remote training session with a translator? Will it be some other delivery method? Once the method is chosen, discuss why this method is appropriate for the given market.

ANSWER

Orientation Program for the Eastern Market

Orientation Program for the Eastern Market

Entry into the Eastern market for an automaker is bound to face a lot of competition due to the many large companies that have existed in the region for decades, including the Toyota Company (Smitka & Warrian, 2016). Therefore, the company has to ensure the provision of quality and exceptional products and services and the recruitment of top talent to compete with large companies in the region effectively. As a result of the cultural differences between the Eastern and Western markets, new hiring and orientation programs need to be developed and implemented for organizational success. This paper presents recommendations for a new hire orientation program for implementation in the Eastern market.

How the Eastern market will potentially view new hire orientation and ways to tailor the new hire orientation to this market

The Eastern market is highly competitive due to the presence of a predominant automaker and other competitive automakers (Smitka & Warrian, 2016). The new hire orientation program needs to be unique and ensure that new hires are comfortable to work for the company. The company needs to “get it right” in the first week of operation in the Eastern market to ensure that employees understand the company’s mission, vision, and goals. In the Eastern market, employees believe that there is a lot of information that a company needs to share with them to ensure that they feel comfortable and willing to undertake work. Depending on the job level, the information that needs to be shared about the company varies.

To tailor the new hire orientation program for the Eastern market, four key things need to be done: developing targeted goals, not rushing the hiring program, making the first day a celebration, and using new employee feedback (Srimannarayana, 2016). The orientation program should be designed with goals that the company plans to implement to ensure new employees’ successful orientation. The new hire program should take about fifty days to avoid rushing it and having a boring program that takes new employees through all expectations in a single day or week. For all new employees, the first day at the company should be a celebration organized to ensure that they feel free with all other employees and feel welcome at the company. Lastly, the company should ensure continuous improvement by using new employee feedback as a source of information on improvement.

How the Eastern market perceives the relationship between the learner and trainer

The Eastern market highly values the relationship between the trainer and learner since it determines a new employee orientation program’s success and effectiveness. The learner and trainer are equal and should interact as peers (Rinehart et al., 2018). The only difference between them is that the trainer is more conversant with how an organization operates than the learner. The trainer should be a source of information for the learner, rather than an instructor.

Responsibility for giving the new hire orientation to the Eastern employees, how the orientation will be delivered, and why the selected method is appropriate for the given market

The orientation and training program will be conducted by a local individual who is well-versed in the local language, the English language, and its operations. He or she will have to be an employee of the company who has worked in the Eastern market before. This will ensure that the new hires can understand and relate with the trainer (Srimannarayana, 2016). Using this orientation method will ensure that the new hires orientation program achieves its intended goals and equips the company with a qualified and motivated workforce.

References

Rinehart, J., Huxley, C., & Robertson, D. (2018). Just another car factory?: Lean production and its discontents. Cornell University Press.

Smitka, M., & Warrian, P. (2016). A Profile of the Global Auto Industry: Innovation and Dynamics. Business Expert Press.

Srimannarayana, M. (2016). Designing new employee orientation programs: an empirical study. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 620-632.