Organizations often use various forms motivational methods. Motivation is known to be a type of force which effects on direction, level, and persistence of employees’ effort on performance. The direction, individual’s decision when presented with choices, level, the amount of effort, and persistence, the length of time one puts in, are crucial factors that decide the performance of the organization as a whole. There are various methods in how to improve the motivations: pay for performance, merit pay, skill based pay, gain sharing, and many more. Job designs and alternative work arrangements are also very important in increasing or decreasing employees’ motivation. Our group decided to focus on the motivational factors and the reality of it in a real business organization. We came across an acquaintance who currently works as Hyundai Heavy Industry (HHI). He told us about the unique culture of foreign dispatch system, common in industrial companies. According to our interviewee, foreign dispatch systems have clear pros and cons and that organizations use various methods in order to satisfy the ones who work abroad.
Hyundai Heavy Industry is the world's largest shipbuilding company, headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea. It has seven business divisions: Shipbuilding, Offshore & Engineering, Industrial Plant & Engineering, Engine & Machinery, Electro & Electric Systems, Construction Equipment, and Green Energy. HHI was awarded a trophy to celebrate an achievement of exporting one hundred million dollars in 1974. Continuously, HHI was awarded one billion dollars trophy, five billion dollars trophy, ten billion dollars trophy, and fifteen billion dollars trophy before 2009, in the same field. HHI is one of the major companies which have more than twenty-five-thousand employees. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd established a manufacturing plant of wind power generator in February 2009. Our interviewee currently works in the wind power generator department and is frequently sent out abroad from the organization.
We have found out that there are few areas of motivation, which were affected by the foreign dispatch. They are intrinsic reward, extrinsic reward, and person-job fit, which leads to job satisfaction. These are inseparable from any form of organization, which hopes to give motivating factors to the employees.
The basic reason for foreign dispatch is the communication between international business environments. When doing business with a different country, it is quite difficult to understand exact problem or agenda over the phone. So the communication is very important. In order to communicate and correctly identify the needs, it is much easier to do so at the site. This is why foreign dispatches are quite frequent in industrial corporations, like HHI.
Before sending out anyone to foreign countries, the employees are filtered according to few qualifications required for the mission. Once the employees are filtered, they receive applications from the employees, who would volunteer for the job. Then they compare the two lists and see who fit in both of them. If there is anyone who has applied for the spot and fit the qualifications, he or she is selected for the job. However, if no one, who qualifies for it, has applied for the job, the company freely chooses the employees to be sent abroad.
Before working in foreign countries, your rank in the hierarchical system has to be at least the assistant manager. Assistant managers usually have few years of experience in the organization. So the person, himself, knows enough information and has enough experience about the work in order to accomplish any agendas in other countries. Also, looking over for several years, the superior managers can be well aware of the capability of those employees. As an assistant manager, he or she is usually eager to be promoted and gain more experience in the field. This is how the intrinsic reward plays a role. There cannot be a better way than foreign dispatch to prove one’s ability and to learn so much at once. Distant from the materialistic parts of the foreign dispatch, it is a great way to really improve oneself on his career, and this will increase the motivation to go work abroad.
One of the most important parts of foreign dispatch is the payment. Payment is quite different when you are working abroad. At Hyundai industry, there are additional payments than the regular paycheck you receive in Korea. The interviewee was hesitant to state the exact number of payment he receives; however, he acknowledged us the fees he received, while staying abroad. $200 is given per night for accommodation, $50 for the meals, and $50 for transportation. All combined, the employees receive about additional $300 each night, addition to the regular paycheck they have been receiving. While working abroad, there is not much entertainment or hobbies to enjoy, so most of the payment is saved.
Payment, as it is well known by everyone, is an extrinsic reward of motivation. Payment is one of the most important key factors for choosing and keeping the job. If the payment is too low or insufficient, compared to the amount of work an employee does, his motivation, along with job satisfaction and organization satisfaction, significantly decreases. For this reason, most organizations set the standards of payment, for those who are sent to foreign countries, to be quite high. With the extra fee, which employees receive for working abroad, they can save up as much as double the amount they have been saving up. Whatever the task might be in the foreign countries, the increased payment is very tempting for many people, which may increase the motivation for those who have positive view on the work abroad. The notice of foreign dispatch is also an order from the boss. As a subordinate of an organization, this is also an opportunity to show one’s ability to take the task and to solve it well. Foreign dispatch can be considered to be a great experience, but depending on one’s personality, it can also be a big challenge for him. For the interviewee, he perceives these foreign tasks to be opportunities for him to express one’s ability and loyalty for the organization. Recognition from the bosses, on one’s ability and performance is also a big extrinsic reward. It may not seem relevant, but these recognitions are directly connected to promotions and stability of one’s job. Whether married or single, the importance of family is quite significant for many people. Therefore the comfort and stability of the employee partially relies on the relationship with the family. When the foreign stay is within six months period, employees are not allowed to bring any family member with you. Since many missions, abroad, are not very long, the longing for the family is the most difficult factor to endure. Most people are not so sensitive on which country they may be sent to, but some employees avoid particular countries, if they are planning on to bring the family with them. They would prefer safer, stable areas of the world. So the longing for the family members can demotivate the employee significantly, or the unconvinced safety of one’s family in foreign countries cannot be very motivating for the employee. Obviously, the company would not prefer to spend unnecessary costs of foreign dispatches, if they are unnecessary. So when there is a task to be done in other countries, it usually becomes a chance for an employee to show his ability. However, it can work in the opposite way. Since the company is relying on you to take care of the business abroad, if it goes wrong, your career may be damaged. Also cultural differences cannot be avoided. The interviewee has been to Muslim countries, where he struggled because of the different religious beliefs and the culture built around it. When he visited Russia, he struggled with the difference in weather. Among several countries the interviewee visited, his most memorable foreign dispatch was Norway. He was sent to resolve few conflicts on the international certification for the windmill. He had to sort out the last few details in order to get it. So he worked with the researching team in Norway to finally get the certification. He also experienced a mild discrimination, one might say, in few countries. When he visited the countries, where they are economically more stable, people looked at him in uncomfortable manners. However, he felt that this way of perceiving him was similar to how Koreans generally view people from third world countries. A unique organizational setting exists, when you are dispatched abroad. As you know, in Korea, the organization is formed like a pyramid. You obey the superior hierarchical employees and give orders to the subordinates. However, when you are working abroad, the rank usually does not matter. You become an independent freelancer, so when working with co-workers, you are more free to talk about your own opinions and do not worry about the consequences.
In countries where the sexual discrimination is prominent like Muslim countries or where the war occurs, it is difficult for woman to be dispatched and work. So, the company is not willing to send female employees to those countries. Except for these reasons, there is no sexual discrimination happening in our HHI. We can consider that male employees want to challenge and show off their abilities.
We have continuously looked for differences between the work in Korea, and in foreign countries; however, the interviewee emphasized the fact that the work done in foreign countries are usually the extended or related work that is being done back in Korea. One unique work environment is the work done on ships. The interviewee is often sent to work on board. When an employee works on ships, it is considered to be a form of foreign dispatch, because the ship is constantly moving on sea. He mentioned that when working on a ship, the employees work under double shift system, so they have to work twelve hours a day. The environment and condition of work themselves are challenging for many employees.
The interviewee emphasized the fact that the work is not much different in foreign countries. When reporting on the work, the employees do so by reporting to the boss back in Korea. Working hours are the same, the only difference, the interviewee recognized, was the time difference. It is hard to expect any additional leisure time in Korea, or any other countries employees visit. If the employee specializes in mechanics, the work is usually to acquire patents of some sort. If the employee is sent out for business missions, one is there to either learn more about the business or to attain some sort of business contract.
If there are any absolutes in this world, it would be that nothing is perfect. Hyundai Heavy Industry’s foreign dispatch system also consists of several weaknesses or misconceptions, given to the employees, despite the purpose of them. So we, as a group, have come up with several solutions or suggestions on improving motivation of the employees, whom are or will be sent out to foreign countries.
First of all, the organization has to relieve the employees’ longing for their families. This may defer from one another, but family is usually one of the biggest parts of people’s lives. Especially for the people with their own partners and kids, even few months, being apart, may be a big problem. Originally, organization only supports bringing family with the employee, if the stay is longer than six months. However, we suggest that the term should be shortened to three months and should support families financially for the additional fees, generated by the families going with the employee.
Secondly, the perception on foreign dispatch is generally negative. Therefore, organization has to do a better job of changing hesitant views of employees toward the foreign dispatch. Employees especially avoid going to those countries with political issues at stake. The organization needs to inform the employees of the situation better and to assure them of safety, when they are aborad.
It is also important to relieve the pressure, on the employees, about the absolute performance. Many employees are pressured under the connotation that if they do not succeed the mission perfectly, then there may be problems with their careers. So some may refuse to go on a foreign dispatch, I order to lower the possibilities of making any error. The organization needs to emphasize that foreign dispatches are great opportunities to experience and learn more on the business itself, rather than tests to pass.
With limited time and information, most employees are not well educated on the culture and environment of the countries they are about to go to. It is common for most of the employees to have no experience of foreign travel at the age of late 20’s to 30’s. it is the organization’s duty to properly educate the employees, whom may be sent out on a foreign dispatch, in order to decrease any possibility of culture shock and unexpected events during the foreign stay.
The education can be segmented in few parts. First, it is the environment. Geography, weather, life-style, business culture, economy status, market environment, and many more aspects may vary significantly from Korea. It is important to acknowledge them for the best performance possible. Secondly, the organization should educate the employees on the culture. By understanding the particular country’s custom, unique national character, norms, and value system, employees can create and maintain ideal relationships with the foreign employees. Third, the language is crucial. Language is one of the most effective ways of learning about a country and its culture. The communication also becomes much easier, so the basic education on foreign languages may help. Next, increased sensibility may help to understand and accept the differences between cultures in order to improve performance. Fifth segment is culture assimilation training. Before being sent out to foreign countries, by listening to the co-workers of their experiences in similar culture, employees may feel much friendlier and less worried, when they are actually sent out. Lastly, organizations can send out the employee on a short visit to the country one will be working in. by going on a short trip before actually working, the employee will be able to adjust better to the environment, consequently increasing one’s performance.
The organization can also select the employees with higher tendency to adjust better in foreign environments; simply put, it is important to find the right fit for the foreign dispatch system. For such ability, the organization can look for knowledge of sales, management, administration, production, about the organization itself, foreign language skills, and social environments, in order to evaluate if the employee may perform well in foreign countries. For personal characteristics, the organization may look for goal oriented motivation, physical wellbeing, psychological state, loyalty, tolerance and flexibility, communication skills, age, and family structure, to determine the employee’s capability.
When the employee is sent to a different country, one has to adjust in different culture with usually different job task. These changes may stimulate much stress on the employee. Stress is also developed by forced separation from family and friends. Moreover, once arriving in a foreign country, the culture shock, the employee faces, may be too much for one to take in.
In this case, it is important to maintain and relieve the stress from the culture shock, rather than dealing with the culture shock itself. The organization can do so by controlling the amount of work the employee must complete. It may also create physical training systems to let employees learn the ways of controlling the stress. Moreover, you can build a ‘stability zone’ in which employees will be relieved from the culture shock.
The stability zone is a place where the employees can feel comfortable and rest, away from foreign environments, where they have to try to fit into the new world. By creating the stability zone, one can relieve the culture shock and stress. For example, a small hotel near by a ‘little Korea’ or ‘K-town’ is a good stability zone. By staying close to the people from the motherland, the employee can eat Korean meals, have talk over in a comfortable environment, and enjoy one’s leisure time with them.
Family can be an effective solution to relieving stress. Family can give the employee positive energy and to not give up. Family is usually a motivational factor for people and a big smile of your wife, husband, or kids can never hurt you.
Feedbacks or reporting on the foreign stay is crucial after coming back to Korea. Systematic procedure should be set, in order to effectively receive the feedbacks and to see any improvements the organization should work on. To specify the procedure, once the employee returns to Korea, one should turn in the feedback on the foreign dispatch within 30days. After the submitting the feedback, the employee should give a full report on the experience. The organization should do a thorough evaluation on the basis of personal and professional sides of work the employee had done during the foreign dispatch. According to the evaluation, the organization should properly adjust the foreign dispatch system.
Readjustment phase is mostly challenging for the employee, especially after a long period of foreign stay. It is the organization’s job to help the employee get through the ambiguous phase. When an employee is first assigned on a foreign dispatch, one may be interested in the mysterious, unknown world in foreign countries. However, one does not feel the same on the way back home. One also does not expect any surprises or shock, when they come back. For most employees, they wish to return to the familiar settings in and out of the work and prefer to have a mediocre life-style, which they had before the foreign dispatch. However, most organization changes over time. Because of these changes, many employees struggle to adjust when they face something different from when they left.
Moreover, when people are trying to adjust to a new environment, during the foreign dispatch, they only reminisce about the good parts of the memories back at home. Therefore, it is challenging to take in the difference of reality, once they come back. The readjustment stage is usually much more challenging for the employees than when they were in the foreign countries.