Analysis of Lenovo Work
What is the staffing policy that Lenovo is pursuing? Staffing policy is concerned with the selection of employees for particular jobs. At one level, this involves selecting individual who have the skill required to do particular jobs. At another level, staffing policy can be a tool for developing and promoting the desired corporate culture of the firm. The goal was to transform Lenovo into a truly global corporation with a global workforce.
Lenovo made an effort to create a firm that was neither Chinese, nor American, but instead global in its orientation, a firm that is positioned to compete head-to-head with other players in the global PC market. What strategy do you think the company is pursuing? Does its staffing policy match its strategy? The Company is pursuing a transnational strategy. The staffing policy matches its strategy. For example, when Lenovo is deciding who should hold management positions, the national origin of the candidate is not an issue.
Rather, the decision focuses on whether the person has the skills and capabilities required for working in a global enterprise. Lenovo is committed to hiring the very best people, wherever they might come from. Lenovo seeks the best people for key jobs throughout the organization regardless of nationality; this enables the firm to make the best use of its human resources. What are the strengths of Lenovo’s staffing policy? Can you see any potential weaknesses or problems that the company might encounter as a result of this policy?
Lenovo uses the same set of principles to guide workforce management in all locations, this maintains a unified corporate culture. If Lenovo’s employees are predisposed toward the organization’s corporate norms and value system, the firm will be able to attain higher performance. Lenovo’s staffing policy is complicated by the profound differences between countries in labor markets, culture, legal systems, economic systems, and the like. The company must also deal with a host of issues related to expatriate managers (citizens of one country working abroad).
A prominent issue in Lenovo’s staffing policy is expatriate failure (the premature return of an expatriate manager to his or her home country). Furthermore, the immigration policies of national governments may limit the ability of the company to pursue this policy. Moreover, since Lenovo’s staffing is global, it will need a compensation structure with a standard international base pay level, higher than national levels. What should the HRM function do to enable Lenovo to become a truly global enterprise?
Human Resources will have to be very astute about how its principles are applied in every local market so that it remains responsive to the needs of people in different environments. Lenovo is following a geocentric approach to human resources, one in which the best people are sought for key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of nationality. For example, the company appointed an American to the position of CEO because it felt that none of the firm’s existing Chinese executives had the capabilities to manage a truly global enterprise.
