Workplace Ethics: Solvay Group – International Mobility and Managing Expatriates Term Paper

Introduction

Solvay group is a company located in Brussels. It deals with worldwide chemical and pharmaceutical products and distributes these products internationally in various regions such as Europe, NAFTA, Mercosur and Asia Pacific. By 2007, the group had 28,000 employees and the groups net sales from its three divisions were well over € 28,000 millions (Brussels, 2007).

In May 2008, the company human resource manager, Marcel Lorent was at a crossroad on who to pick for the best candidate position for an expatriate job. Before him, there were four folders each containing the details of each candidate (Groysberg et al, 2009 p. 2).

The organizations goal is to assist the expats on everyway via all matters concerning the expat procedure. An expats progress and transition would be tricky and complicated and until lately, the system in this organization had not at all times concentrated on how to make simpler the experience of each expert.

Lorents group had executed several modifications whose goal was to make all phases of the expat procedure in this organization easier to comprehend though there was a room for perfection. Four candidates who had made exceptional requests, which were not extraordinary for an expat procedure, were used (Groysberg et al, 2009 p. 9).

The first folder comprised of paperwork for a youthful manager by the name Ponte who was supposed to shift from Italy to the organizations China undertakings. He had shown some reluctance to shift since he looked after his mother who resided single handedly in Italy. Solvay expat policy, however, had made it clear that only pressing families were appropriate to be shifted.

Lorent in this case was frightened by the fact that Solvay would lose Ponte if they were not capable of assisting him to find a solution to this problem. Lorent wondered whether he should make an exemption and get a way to allow Ponte shift with his mother. The second central issue involved Joel Marion who was a manager from a previous Solvay sector that had its headquarters in Detroit (Groysberg et al, 2009 p. 18).

He was seeking to go back to Brussels following 13 years in Mexico and America. Lorent, however, was not aware of apt positions that would utilize Marion’s extensive know how and offer him the opportunity to continually improve and advance his career prospects at the company. Lorent had access to the organization’s open positions though he still had his doubts about the efficiency of the HR systems.

He was not confident if the system could offer him the possible openings concerning the matter. In the Interim, he had an impermanent position for exclusive projects in his group, which was not a straight fit for Marion. Lorent marveled if this might have worked as a temporary position to take him back to Brussels. The third central issue dealt with an engineer by the name Pedro who had shifted to Brazil together with his family.

He had been employed in Solvay plastics industry all through South America (Groysberg et al, 2009). His wife who was a therapist was unable to undertake her job in Belgium and Lorent now wondered whether Pedro’s family would go back to Brazil, which would negatively affect the development procedures of the company (Baumann, 2010).

The last issue comprised of a paper work for a director shifting from Belgium to a plant in Asia. Lorent at this time knew that some persons were not able to acclimatize to new company and wondered whether this candidate would be given a new position in the organization.

In this case, Lorent who is the head of Solvay faces verdicts on the banishment position of four of his organizations talented administrators (Groysberg et al, 2009 p. 35). Each verdict in this case has an effect on the candidate’s specialized and personal life and is likely to have inferences for effective execution and expansion in Solvay’s worldwide markets.

The case investigates these issues by looking at Solvay’s attempts to come up with an aptitude execution and mobility procedures that permit the firm to ally its tactical wants (Baumann, 2010).

Discussion

Marcel Lorent, the manager of human resources (HR) for worldwide mobility at Solvay group, faced the following challenges. The decision-making process had petite or no transparency and was not properly recognised by those outside the human resource department.

As explained by Lorent, their consensus civilisation, and decision-making process signified that it was not constantly clear to a youthful manager how things in this organisation really worked. According to him, his employer might have had an opinion to sustain him while the manager in his home country would have had the opinion concerning what would be good for Solvay.

Discussions concerning the four folders took a very long period and he did not understand the decision-making procedure fully. Marcel Lorent would also have to come to a decision on four expat procedures and since this four expats were not extraordinary instances he was on a dilemma (Groysberg et al, 2009 p. 24).

When making decisions concerning an organisation, it is always important to involve and consult other members of the organisation. This is very meaningful because every decision made in an organisation affects the planning, performance management and other aspects of the organisation that if care is not taken can lead to the fall of the company.

This leads us to the question of how we can make a good and rational decision in an organisation (Baumann, 2010 p. 59).

One way of doing this is to use rationale choice of paradigm, which is the conscious procedure of choosing among alternatives. The principle behind rationale choice paradigm choice is to take up the alternative that has the highest subjective expected utility. This can be used in a six-step process to arrive at a decision. The first step involves identification of the problem or an opportunity.

The second step involves the actual process of making a decision. After the decision has been reached then identification and development of a possible solution is formulated. This is closely followed by choosing the alternative that has the highest subjected expected utility.

The next step, which is the fifth entails actual implementation of the selected alternative. The final and sixth step involves evaluation of the implemented decision to see if it conforms to the organisation’s model (Groysberg et al, 2009 p. 37).

Managers should be capable of identifying and comprehending major obstructions that may hinder the set and planned objectives to conquer the obstacles. Concentration and precedence to decision making is essential by all team members. A company that integrates planning and verdict making will be more beneficial since both help in company development.

In order for companies to sufficiently develop plans, it is important that the managers have a clear comprehension of the business surrounding. Having a plain understanding of the business surrounding helps the managers to develop programmes and goals. Goals are vital to team’s efficiency and serve momentous purposes.

They offer guidance, bearing, and assist the workforce in the company to identify where the company is heading. These goals must be practical and attainable. Work place ethics should pay particular accent on the role played by professionals on human resources in supporting and easing an ethical work surrounding within companies.

The best alternative in this case study would thus involve choosing the alternative with the uppermost subjective expected efficacy. This would involve good planning, managing performances, and taking good care of the work force (Rask, 2008 p. 47).

The human resource department should come up with reliable strategies for the IM plan and be more apparent about the expulsion procedure. It is, therefore, significant to lessen the exceptions since this require a divergence from paradigm protocol. The human resource department must also remain elastic to satisfy the strategic wants of the organization (Howells, 2005 p. 59).

As shown in the above case, exclusive appeals are not extraordinary for the expat procedure. Standard set of rules are important when managing employees who operate in similar surroundings and have identical tasks (Solvay, 2007).

It is, however, significant to make exclusions when requesting employees to shift to a new country to achieve experience of importance to Solvay, and predominantly when these persons are future leaders whose proficiency can help the company with augmentation in particular markets. As such, we advocate a full exemption for Fabrizio only.

Fabrizio has been requested to shift from Italy to China due to the fact that he can really help the organisation with development efforts in China. China is a big upcoming market with large and increasing household consumption. Shifting into such a market is a top tactical objective for Solvay.

Since Fabrizio has an aged mother who resides with him, he should be allowed to have her repositioned to China with him. This would make it simpler for Fabrizio to resolve into his familiarity in China and his kids would likely be relaxed in their new residence (Baumann, 2010 p. 24).

In the case of Joel Marion, we would request him to obtain the provisional special projects task until he gets a more fitting role. In the case of Pedro, who had shifted to Brazil together with his family, it should be ensured that he does not go back to Brazil since this would negatively affect the development procedures of the company.

The company was required to integrate planning and verdict making since they are both advantageous procedures in company development. The last issue, which comprised a paper work for a director shifting from Belgium to a plant in Asia, was supposed to be sorted by assigning him a new position in the organization. To solve this issue, the managers would be required to have a clear comprehension of the business surrounding.

Having a plain understanding of the business surrounding helps the managers to develop programmes and goals. Goals are vital to team’s efficiency and serve momentous purposes. They offer guidance, bearing, and assist the workforce in the company to identify where the company is heading. These goals must be practical and attainable (Howells, 2005 p.89).

Ethical making of decisions in the modern business world is an everyday encounter. Many of the effects of these decisions in Solvay Group Company depend on the established company strategies. For Solvay to achieve ethical congruence on the view of human resources, it must clearly declare what it really values and what it expects from its employees.

Clients, employees and the co-workers in this company should seek conventional behavior that is allied with stated individual, workplace and self ruled values. Workplace diversity has been noted to be a central ethical issue which Lorent, the HR of Solvay faced.

Based on human resources, it is recommended that the elements of workplace diversity should not be restrained to age, customs, lineage, sex, physical capacity, education, geographical location, proceeds, marriage status, religion and work experience.

This is due to the fact that the potential success of an organisation depends on its capacity to manage a varied body of endowment that can lead to inventive ideas, opinions and perceptions to their work (Howells, 2005 p.112).

The challenge and difficulties encountered due to workplace diversity can be changed into a strategic company asset if a corporation is capable of capitalising on diverse talents which is a melting pot in many companies. With the combination of talents of varying cultures, sexes, ages and ways of living, Solvay Group Company can respond to prospects more rapidly and resourcefully, especially in the international arena.

More decisively, if the Solvay company environment does not sustain diversity widely, it might lose talent to opponent (Baumann, 2010 p. 24). In the above case, Solvay should encourage work place diversity.

Conclusion

The HR manager in Solvay, Lorent, must match the wants of the changing organisation, since for it to be victorious; it should become more flexible, resilient, and fast in changing directions and client centred. It is in this environment that the HR learns how to sufficiently manage his workforce through being knowledgeable of developing trends in workforce development and training.

References

Baumann, C. (2010). Workforce mobility using the example of the Solvay group: Human resource management. Munchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH.

Groysberg, B., et al., (2009). Solvay Group: International Mobility and Managing Expatriates. Boston: Harvard Business School

Howells, J. (2005). The management of innovation and technology: The shaping of technology and institutions of the market economy. London: Sage Publications.

Rask, R. (2008). Which ethical track are you on? Bloomington: Author House.

Solvay S.A. (2007). Annual Report. Brussels: Solvay Group Corporate.