TM - August 2007 - (Page 31) Managing cultural differences is another issue for global organizations. For example, unlike the United States, many other cultures put greater emphasis on titles and surnames — in many cultures, honorifics indicate either social status or noteworthy achievements. In Japan, the “san” suffix is a sign of respect bestowed on someone with higher social standing, such as the boss. In China, employees expect their total reward statements to address them appropriately — no matter whether they are earned, ignoring someone’s honorific can be insulting. Also, some titles are not gender-neutral and can lead organizations to a communication faux pas. A proper understanding and use of sociocultural titles can play an important role in communicating with a global workforce and boosting morale. Setting and paying compensation in local currencies is another element global organizations need to manage. Although an engineer working in the United States might command an $80,000 salary, that same position in India might warrant only the equivalent of $11,000. Managers planning salary and rewards need to be able to toggle the view between compensation in the employees’ currency (even when members of the manager’s team reside in different countries), as well as in the manager’s currency to the headquarters’ currency. Regardless of the currency displayed on the screen, all the roll-ups should be handled in the headquarters’ currency. Plan Ahead and Be Prepared Organizations in the new global economy need to prepare for these additional levels of complexity when running their business. To succeed, multiple divisions must effectively manage processes that span different operating units or global regions and address multiple local demographic challenges. When it comes to global compensation systems, be sure to not only look for one that can handle the volume of users you have, but also accommodate the requirements for multiple languages, currencies and local cultures. And even after making this wise investment, be prepared to proactively manage the ever-changing ancillary issues surrounding data privacy and other geographical nuances by having strategies in place to position your organization for success anywhere in the world. Robert Mattson is the senior manager of product marketing for Workscape Inc. He can be reached at editor@TalentMgt.com. http://www.learnkey.com/tmmag http://www.learnkey.com/tmmag
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