Introduction
Globalization has facilitated free trade, international capital flows and availability of cheap resources in the region of least developed areas. The late 20th century witnessed the gradual integration of global economy and human societies (Browne, 2017). With the increasing pace of globalization in the 21st century, there has been a significant change in the working activities of organizations (Browne, 2017). Job dislocations, job retraining, increased job specialization and cultural diversity are the major changes that the organizations and employees have experienced. Though, the impact of globalization has not yet been fully realized, yet more and more companies are embracing the trend to become diverse. The organizations are embracing globalization to maintain the sustainability of their businesses.
The report would make an attempt to look deep into the matter as discussed above to analyze the impact of globalization in the Australian workplace by applying the theories and framework of human resources.
Impact of Globalization
With the increasing pace of globalization, the organizations have become more adaptive to maintain their sustainability. The KASVAL model claims that change is a constant dynamic and focuses on knowledge, attitude, skills and values of the employees (Whiteley and Whiteley, 2006). Thus, the companies have been thriving hard to adjust themselves with the market conditions that require employee coaching and training to enhance the skills of employees and equip them with the latest tools and trends. Further, the companies have also updated their information technology system to communicate across the organizations. The teams have also restructured their processes to address cultural and regulatory differences.
The impact of globalization on workplaces in Australia is discussed below:
Standardization and Adaptation
Mergers and acquisitions is one of the most prominent methods through which companies globalize (Kraft, 2017). When one company acquires another company, then the employees of the two organizations go through obstacles and challenges because of cultural gaps and different sets of processes and methods. Cultural gap influences the proper communication in an organization as the employees do not understand and respect each other’s culture and values (Colquitt, Lepine and Wesson, 2011). The differences in technology create hindrance in sharing critical data between the two organizations and thus, ultimately affect the work productivity. Further, conflicts also arise regarding the forms and methods. Thus, it becomes necessary to standardize the policies and procedures of both the companies, though there is a great likelihood of employees resisting this change as they are accustomed to the previous work style. The KASVAL model also focuses around change management and suggested enhancing the knowledge and attitude of the employees. If the theory is appropriately implemented then the employees would not resist to change.
Changes in Roles and Responsibilities
The roles and responsibilities of the employees are also shifted as a result of globalization and they may have to take up new roles and acquire new skills (Friedman, 2007). The KASVAL model strongly emphasize on enhancing the skills of employees as it is one of the main component to deal with change management. The globalization requires employees to handle new responsibilities for which they have to develop their skills.
Virtual Teams
With the globalization, the world has become integrated and the companies have started to set up virtual teams across the world. The employees could be located in any part of the world and they communicate with each other in spite of geographical differences (Kraft, 2017). They communicate through laptops, smart phones, computer tablets and other electronic gadgets. The employees could belong to different nations and have different language and culture and thus, in order to have effective communication among the team members, the members must respect each other’s integrity and dignity. The managers have to effectively deal with their subordinates to fulfill their expectations in terms of leadership (Kraft, 2017).
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility drives an organization to contribute towards the welfare of the community it has established its presence (Kraft, 2017). When a company becomes global and expands its business into a different nation, then it becomes its responsibility to address the needs of the society through social activities. The CSR policies are reflected across the organization and influence the day to day operations of a company. On the other hand CSR activities support the organizations to establish strong relationship with their overseas partners.
Cultural Diversity
Cultural diversity is one of the major consequences of globalization. The people from less developed countries travel to developed countries such as Australia easily because of low airplane fares and increased global connectivity. These people travel with the intention to earn more income and improve existing lifestyle. Thus, Australia has a large workforce that has immigrated from less developed countries due to which workplace are now accommodated with people from all walks of life regardless of their country, nation, origin, caste, religion, color and creed (Colquitt, Lepine and Wesson, 2011). Therefore, cultural diversity has become a major issue in the organizations.
The organizations need to address this issue very strategically to maintain a friendly and healthy environment at workplace. The conflicts arise because the employees from different backgrounds follow different work ethics. Thus, the organizations have adopted various strategies to deal with the matter. On the other hand, the cultural diversity has also supported the organizations by giving them an opportunity to acquire knowledge of different cultures.
Employee Training
The globalization has resulted in cultural diversity, virtual teams, mergers and acquisition, changes in technology and business processes. The employees are not ready to deal with so many changes and thus, resist the changes as fostered by the management. The reason for change resistance is the fear in the minds of employees regarding their new job responsibilities, new technology and other changes being reinforced within the organization. In order to equip the employees to handle these changes, employee training has been adopted by several organizations (Gordon, 2017). The employees must be trained to deal the issue of cultural diversity more efficiently by becoming more flexible and open to the people of other cultures. In case of acquisition, the employees must be able to accept each other. The training has proved to be an effective activity and in many companies the employees have begun to appreciate each other’s culture.
Increased Job Specialization
The organizations have started to look for those people who are equipped with the usage of the latest technology and tools that are provided by modern technology (Gordon, 2017). This phenomenon is a result of globalization. The employers thus, look for employees who have the right knowledge, skills, attitude and experience in the given field.
Changes in Earnings
With the advent of globalization, more and more companies have gained access to lower waged workers through outsourcing (Gordon, 2017). The least developed countries are easily able to offer their services at extraordinarily low prices. This in turn, facilitates the developed countries to avail services at very low prices. More and more companies are profiting from this process and others are also taking initiatives to take advantage of this process.
Conclusion
The report has thus, successfully analyzed the impact of globalization on the workplaces in Australia. Globalization has influenced the entire world by minimizing the trade barriers and opening gateways of opportunities. The organizations in Australia have also benefitted to some extent from this activity in terms of revenue and profits. Standardization and adaptation was one of the major changes that has been reinforced within the organization to assure smooth operational activities. Employee training has also been incorporated to equip employees with the latest technology and tool. Further, it also trains them in terms of acceptability and openness. Business outsourcing was another activity that is being largely carried out by Australian organizations. The organizations have gained access to low waged workers from the least developed countries. Thus, it can be construed that globalization changes workplaces in Australia.
References
Browne, C. (2017). The Effects of Globalization in the Workplace. Our Everyday Life. Available at: https://oureverydaylife.com/effects-globalization-workplace-2787.html [Accessed Online 23 May 2017].Colquitt, J., Lepine, J.A. and Wesson, M.J. (2011).
Organizational behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace. McGraw-Hill Irwin.Friedman, B.A. (2007). Globalization implications for human resource management roles. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 19(3), pp.157-171.
Gordon, J. (2017). How Does Globalization Affect an Organization's Business Approach?.
AZ Central. Available at: https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/globalization-affect-organizations-business-approach-28663.html [Accessed Online 23 May 2017].Kraft, D. (2017).
The Effects of Globalization in the Workplace. The Nest. Available at: https://woman.thenest.com/effects-globalization-workplace-8765.html [Accessed online 23 May 2017].Whiteley, A., and Whiteley, J. (2006). Core Values and Organizational Change: Theory and Practice. New Jersey: World Scientific Publishing Co Inc.
