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Date Submitted: 02/04/2013 12:13 AM
Expatriate Performance Management
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EXPATRIATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF NOKIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Marja Tahvanainen
Today’s world-class companies such as Nokia employ effective employee performance management (PM) practices. They have realized that seeking sustaining competitive advantage from the effective management of human resources is of utmost importance. Until today, however, there has existed little understanding about how these companies manage the performance of their critical personnel group, the expatriate employees. A key finding of the case study of Nokia Telecommunications is that the performance of different types of expatriates in varying situations is, and should be, managed dissimilarly. Reflecting this finding, it is suggested that companies should develop alternative PM tools. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Introduction Today’s companies no longer succeed by frequent introduction of new products or use of first-class technology alone. Companies have realized that they must also seek sustaining competitive advantage from the effective management of human resources. Unlike new production technology, for example, the success that comes from managing people effectively is often transparent with regard to its source (Pucik, 1992; Gratton, 1997; Beer, 1997). Traditionally, performance appraisal has been used as a guide for employee performance. Lately, it has been supplanted in more and more companies with performance management (PM), a more comprehensive human resource management process. Through goal setting, performance appraisal and feedback, continuous training and development efforts, and performance-related pay, PM can help
companies incorporate strategy into individual employee efforts and turn employees’ potential into the desired results (Delery & Doty, 1996; Sparrow & Hiltrop 1994). Other benefits of PM are that it can assist in motivating employees for good performance and can strengthen their commitment...