The next section gives a brief overview of the local talent development in multinational sectors, i.e. their importance and strategies used. This is a prerequisite for the challenges presented by technology that is advancing at a very rapid pace in all corners of the global economy.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
This problem indicates a serious lack of formal institutional intervention to ensure that the knowledge, skills and experiences possessed by the few experts within Zimbabwean multinationals are shared with the entry-level workforce. There is a dire need for the multinationals in Zimbabwe to adopt strategies that will ensure that the few skilled and experienced staff facilitate the development of other team members to improve their performance.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The most appropriate and effective way could be to establish formal mentoring programs as a strategy to ensure that staff share and build knowledge banks in their organizations. This helps organizations to continuously improve in order to compete effectively in the global market (Kobayashi, 1995; Mann, 2000).
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The other challenge faced by MNCs operating in Zimbabwe is that due to the current economic meltdown and over a period since it began, the head offices of those MNCs "bound" Zimbabwean operations and these strategies resulted in most cases in a negative effect on local staff development, as local people were also 'bounded' in terms of their personal development. 4.What can be the supportive culture for the growth of proper mentoring processes in multinational organizations operating in Zimbabwe.
RESEARCH PROPOSITION
JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
It is against this background that this research was undertaken with the aim of determining whether formal mentoring and coaching is being used as a tool to facilitate workplace learning in multinational organisations. This information can be used in the development of multinational training practices that will facilitate the development of personnel in the sector and in the country as a whole.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Furthermore, the subject of the study, that is the employees of the MNCs as well as those of local companies, as a result of this study can get opportunities to be exposed to international markets and best practices thus improve their skills. Chapter one presents the introduction of the study through the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study and the justification of the study.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
This knowledge sharing has many benefits, not least the open access the company gains to the knowledge base of customers, suppliers and distributors in such mutual arrangements. Creating knowledge repositories is important for all organizations because measuring something is just one step toward managing it.
THE ROLE OF THE PERSONNEL/HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTION IN MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES
- What the corporate personnel function does
- Changing management style and the significance of project teams
- National differences and the transfer of best practice
- Expatriate Manager Development
- Sustaining Motivation and Productivity during Significant Organizational Change
- Transferring the Soft-Skills Technology of Workplace Learning and Performance
- Start at the Very Beginning: Performance-Centered Portals
- Interpersonal Skills Training: Online Versus Instructor-Led Courses
- Outline of the Talent Management Process
- GTM Responsibilities and Structure
- International management development
- The use of Human Capital by Multinationals
Developing high-potential managers who are currently a level one or two promotions away from the top tier of the company – defined in the IRC research as Level II. According to Mendenhall et al. 1987), in 80 percent of cases where training is provided, partners are not included in the training programs.
CHALLENGES OF MULTINATIONAL IN IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES .1 Limitation from the Host Location
- Culture barriers
- Cross-Cultural Understanding
- Dissatisfaction with the Traditional Management Paradigm
Culture shock, on the other hand, can be explained without reference to a specific culture—it is the perceived differences between what is accepted as logical behavior in one's culture and that of the host country. Being able to recognize the different manifestations of stress and culture shock in each other is the first step in maintaining the effectiveness of the expatriate team. The concept of learning and knowledge transfer is attracting greater acceptance because it aims to overcome many of the concerns that have led to the discrediting of the traditional paradigm.
THE EXECUTIVE CHALLENGE OF MULTINATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS Lifelong learning is now accepted as a sine qua non for business success and thus is an
A shared vision is needed to overcome the powerful forces that support the maintenance of the status quo. The strategic imperative of executive management is effective performance and coordination of the organization's resources. Learning organizations are aware of the delicate balance between the needs of the individual and the demands of the organization.
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Epistemology on the other hand examines the relationship between the inquirer and the known (Saunders et al, 2003). Phenomenology is characterized by an attempt by the researcher to understand what is happening and why it is happening. It is often criticized because it is not repeatable, not generalizable and not quantifiable, unlike the positivist's research results.
RESEARCH DESIGN
The overall strategy was positivist because it was considered simple and could be used without the need for experience and expertise in philosophy and psychology, which are important requirements for the phenomenological approach. Moreover, although phenomenological results are difficult to quantify, generalize, replicate, and uneconomic, incorporating the positivist approach would fill the gap to make the results more generalizable, quantifiable, and replicable.
POPULATION
SAMPLING AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS AND PROCESS
To ensure clarity and validity, the researcher pre-tested the instruments before administering them. In developing research instruments, the researcher has considered the validity, reliability and objectivity of the information obtained from the instruments. Therefore, they argue that the validity of instruments must always be considered within the context inferences that the researcher makes regarding specific areas or topics.
Although there were advantages to pretesting research instruments, the exercise was quite demanding because the researcher had to perform the research exercise twice. Each questionnaire was accompanied by an introductory letter explaining the purpose of the study and assuring respondents that their responses will be treated with the strictest confidentiality. The advantage of using a questionnaire was that it was a much cheaper method of data collection.
CHAPTER CONCLUSION
This was to bring to light the ambiguities, poorly worded questions that were too long, unclear choices and also to indicate whether the instructions were clear to the respondents (Fowler, 1984). However, a poorly designed questionnaire can cause incorrect conclusions to be drawn from statistical analysis of the results.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
INTRODUCTION
RESPONSE RATE
The response rate shows that 72.3%o of respondents were able to respond and 27.3% did not respond. Most respondents were managers with the highest percentage of 66. Directors and area heads each contribute 17%). According to the survey findings, most respondents from the manufacturing sector were from the oil industry and 14 percent were from the.
NATURE OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Results show that 29% of the respondents' organizations are active in food manufacturing and also 29% in the marketing of petroleum and gas, while cigarette manufacturing, banking and accounting each contribute 14%.
NUMBER OF COUNTRIES THE COMPANIES OPERATES IN
IDENTIFICATION OF LOCAL TALENT
- Understanding of Local Talent
- Talent Development Process
Analysis from 4.6 above revealed that 82% of respondents understood the term local talent development as performance management, 72% said it was the management of trainees, and 31% said it included the development of non-management programs. Overall, these results imply that local talent development involves training programs undertaken by organizations to equip staff (both old and new) with job skills. This statement is consistent with Drucker (1992) who asserts that leadership rather than management initiatives, cultural imperatives rather than policies and lifelong development rather than training programs are used. In other words, local talent should include training programs that recognize potential personnel and their flexibility to adapt to continuous learning and improvement.
Key Talent Development Process
An analysis was conducted to find the key drivers of talent development in multinational organizations. The analysis concluded that company values or policies are the highest driver of the talent development process followed by organizational business effectiveness. This analysis implies that company values are the main factor driving the talent development process.
Cost on Talent Development Process
It is also refreshing to note that multinationals view talent development as crucial to business success and therefore a competitive advantage. The analysis found that most (57%) of respondents' total costs for developing local talent are between zero and ten percent, while 43% said it takes up between ten and twenty-five percent of annual payroll takes. Handy, 1989 reiterated that it is fashionable to talk about the human assets of organizations; Even though people don't appear on the balance sheet, they are assets in the sense that they are or should be a productive resource.
PROMOTIONS
The analysis concluded that 71% of respondents indicated that there is none, while 29% said that they are there. This therefore means that very few multinational companies employ expatriates in Zimbabwe or that there are few expatriates in Zimbabwean operations. In the current environment local managers have a better appreciation of an understanding of the issues than expatriate managers.
AVAILABILITY OF MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS
An analysis to reveal the preferences of local people in the mentoring programs was carried out in Figure 4.11 below. The analysis showed that 86% of respondents prefer to be trained in local leadership in their organization, 29% indicated that they prefer local external leadership training, 14% prefer to be trained by expatriates, and another 14% are not particularly particular. Twenty-one percent of respondents highlighted that they prepare by simply looking and seeing before moving approach, 20% said that they are prepared by first being exposed abroad, and 13% said that they are prepared by get information from the host countries.
BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPING LOCAL TALENT
- Challenges of developing local talent Table 4.5: Challenges of developing local talent
- Benefits of developing local talent Table 4.7: Benefits of developing local talent
The results show that 51% of respondents said they tackle their challenges by first developing their leadership skills, 42% said they scout talent internationally and 43% said they get help from sister companies. The analysis revealed that 86% of respondents said their organizations have these local development programs and 14% said they did not. It was discovered that 47% of the respondents indicated that they engage in sports activities, 43% said that they also do leadership development programs and 34% said that they have cultural and arts activities.
TALENT RETENTION
- Management training
- Retention strategies
- Loss of talented staff
- Rate of losing talented staff
- Reasons for staff leaving their organisation
The study from Figure 4.15 shows that the majority of skilled employees are lost to the regional labor market and the international market with 86% each. Other talented employees are lost to local industry of the same nature with 43% and 29% are lost to other industries. The analysis highlighted that talented employees are more attracted to the regional and international market than the local market. Respondents rated the top reasons for staff leaving their organizations to be due to reward issues at 50%, career progression at 20%, new opportunities at 20% and running away from tough finances at 10%.
WAYS OF ORGANISATION IN ORDER TO PERFFORM BETTER
- Targets on localization
- Formal talent development formal follow up
- Performance targets on local talent development
Half of the respondents agreed that their organizations had set goals for localization, while another half of the respondents said that their organizations do not set goals for localization. The results from Table 4.11 above show that 29% of each of the responses gave the impact of new technology for talent development as , improved rapid communication, identification of equally dynamic talent, adds value to services, increases productivity. In Figure 4.20 above, responses said local talent development targets were 10% of staff annually (14%), local coverage across all management positions (14%), and some responses said there is performance on local talent development targets in their organization (14%). This improves that organizations use different performance measures that suit their operations.
RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL TALENT BY MULTINATIONALS
SUMMRY OF THE CHAPTER
- INTRODUCTION
- CONCLUSIONS
- RECOMMENDATIONS The study recommends that;
- Corporate Strategies in Developing Local Talent
- Benefits of Developing Local Talent
- Challenges Encountered by Multinationals in Developing Local Talent
- Supportive Culture for the Growth of Local Talent in Multinationals
- AREA OF FURTHER STUDY
It is recommended that multinationals in Zimbabwe understand that knowledge is a valuable resource, then the need to share it, to intentionally communicate it to the entire workforce, becomes apparent. For Zimbabwean talent that is in the diaspora and has been transferred to other affiliates, it would be necessary to reorient them to the local environment so that they are not out of the local talent can also be developed and utilized without having to t they move them to other places. countries as is the case with Indian professionals. There is a need for MNCs to assist local service providers to become MNC skilled.
- Permission to use my responses for academic research
- YOUR GENERAL ORGANISATIONAL PARTICULARS
- IDENTIFYING LOCAL TALENT?
- TRANSFER OF SKILLS
- WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND CHALLENGIES OF DEVELOPING LOCAL TALENT?
- TALENT RETENTION
- WHAT CAN YOUR ORGANISATION DO BETTER
We need your help to understand how your organization develops local talent in Zimbabwe, the challenges and benefits of developing local talent. How much does your organization spend on developing local talent expressed as a percentage of the annual salary bill. Briefly describe what your organization can do better to identify and develop local talent within the organization.
UNIVERSITY OF
KWAZULU-NATAL
