8.6. GUIDELINES FOR A GLOBAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (GPMS)

A global performance management system must be grounded in standards of inclusiveness. It is neither a product of the country of origin nor the product of the country of operation. It does not solely focus on a national preferred orientation of its global or regional headquarters. It is much broader. A global performance management system is a distinct third entity designed to meet the needs of a global company. Its design demonstrates a tolerance for difference.

8.6.1. Data Collection and Analysis

Organizations cannot empower their employees if they do not know their capability. Comprehensive communication of employee data enhances diversity. The key is to reconcile the different styles that support the corporate vision.

8.6.2. Communication Style

Asian and Southern European employees prefer indirect communication in a performance management session. This style protects ambiguity while maintaining interpersonal face with one's manager. Their written responses will follow the cultural patterns of diffuse communication. Managers and those who review performance management documents should be trained in identifying the cultural context that is encoded in the employee's indirect written and oral communication. The fact that we speak English or German is not enough.

High-context and low-context communication patterns influence the design of data-recording devices. Employees from Japan, China, and Southeast Asia are frequently unable to comment in the "allowed" spaces or in forced-choice rating scales that are created by low-context North American or European designers. High-context communicators require additional space to include descriptive data that contextualizes their comments. Due to the manager-subordinate relationship in high-context cultures, there is a reluctance to be critical of one's superior, peers, or the organization in any written format—even when information is requested. Open-ended questions such as, "Is there anything else you would like to say" do not generate comments. "Check off" boxes or "yes—no" forced-choice ratings tend to decontextualize information. High-context communicators want to answer questions "yes" under "abc" conditions and "no" under "xyz" conditions. There is never a clear "yes" or "no" answer—always a qualification. High-context respondents do not structure thought in absolute categories, as Westerners prefer. A check box or yes—no forced-choice rating appears to their orientation as too abstract in content. Skillful managers in high-context cultures provide questions that have implied options within the question, such as, "Do you think that 'X,' 'Y,' or 'Z' best describes your attitude toward work?" By providing a series of options within the question, you can identify the truer intent of an employee.

Most Anglo-Saxon heritage European nations, the United States, Canada, and Australia, value directness. They want to get things out in the open or speak one's mind. They write their opinions so they are "on the record." Low-context people utilize small recording spaces—like Americans who excel in "bulleting" their thoughts in short, clear phrases. After all, short answers save time in writing and, as the saying goes, "Time is money!"

Rating scales contain cultural bias. In individualistic societies, employees rate everything from products to corporate morale. Pulse surveys are taken in teams and business units. These societies have a bias toward expressing personal opinion and therefore a scale, such as a Likert scale, becomes a tool for self-expression. Risk-adverse and collective societies respond differently to rating scales. They rate themselves lower, reflecting a cultural orientation to humility. They are likely to rate managers higher, following the Confucian or Latin orientation of respecting hierarchy. Cultural communication variables influence rater reliability and consequently skew worldwide tabulations favoring Western cultural bias. These scales can also be confusing to managers on a personal level. A bewildered manager once said, "Why did they love me more in Shanghai and not so much in London!"

When scales are used, it is advisable to have broader numerical ranges, like an eight-point scale, with clear behavioral descriptors for each point supporting the contextualization of each rating increment. When evaluating training programs that are "suitcased" abroad, be cautious using Likert scales. A high trainer rating in Germany may mean that the trainer demonstrated professional standards and knowledge of the subject. A high rating from Japanese participants may indicate the trainer was interpersonal and paternalistically responsive to their needs, thus fulfilling the Confucian role of teacher and student. The training may not have been helpful, but the high rating illustrates respect for the trainer as teacher. In low-context cultures, the rating will skew lower, since a person will never be seen as that first-rate.

Data-collection tools need to correct for multiple languages and dialects that exist within companies. Regardless of the level of language acquisition, employees who work in a second language require more time to prepare their thoughts. This is true in face-to-face sessions as well as in completing any written prework. Failure to respond rapidly does not mean a lack of professional or cognitive ability. Not all languages have the same cultural context for a word, although employees understand the meaning of the word. Race connotes skin color in the United States and contextualizes images of slavery. In Germany, the same word brings images of the Holocaust. Workers' rights mean different things in Europe, the United States, and Asia, although we can easily translate the words. However, not all words are translatable. Many concepts from American management parlance cannot be translated, such as empowerment, or even diversity.

Predistributed forms allow employees who must use a language that is their second or third language enough time to reflect on appropriate word usage or consult with others as how best to answer the questions. Responses will always be more thoughtful when the format provides space and time to respond. Before any multinational meeting, plan a session to discuss terms and questions.

How do we reconcile differences in data-collection methods and communication styles? Instrument designers should allow for variable formats as well as variable language systems to capture diversity of thought. Allow candidates to choose the language that allows the fullest expression of thought and encourage rater and ratee to struggle through the exchange. Both managers and subordinates need to adapt their oral and written styles. When managers do not acknowledge a subordinate's preferred style, they will make inaccurate judgments. When style switching is used, a manager will see that a subordinate is not withholding information but rather is being respectful.

Subordinates can also make inaccurate assumptions when they do not recognize a manager's preferred written and oral style. The employee may not understand that a manager is not expressing anger in written comments but rather is being direct and specific. Raters and ratees should consider all negative comments and search for alternative meaning and interpretation. The perceived pattern may not be negative in a ratee's cultural context and a rater can quickly address the misperceptions.

8.6.3. Analysis, Sorting, and Storage of Information

A performance management system supports management decisions. Comparisons are made, judgments formed, and actions taken. Bias-free information gathering and recording is essential, although it may be impossible. The French think their professionals are best since they have academic rigor. The Germans believe their certificated professionals are more technically and theoretically sound. The Americans believe their out-of-the-box or creative thinkers bring a competitive edge. Last, the Japanese believe their systems organizers provide efficiency and profit to any operation. How do we choose a standard? Is it France, Germany, the United States, or Japan? Should it be the standard of headquarters, the local region, or a third country's system? A truly global performance system brings these diverse perspectives together.

The sheer magnitude of performance-related information available from the consolidation of worldwide information is bothersome. A global standard of interpretation must include technical, interpersonal, and transcultural criteria and a system to effectively store and sort the information. Without such a standard, it is difficult to make cross-national comparisons that support the movement of staff and the development of global products. It also limits diverse contributors who can influence the growth and development of a corporation's programs, products, and policies.

Compounding this challenge are the limited number of user-friendly and multilingual technologies necessary to collect and sort this data—even if a company were able to be consistent. Do reasonable translation capabilities exist for worldwide sharing of information? Without such a system the speakers of the corporate language, be they English, German, or Japanese, become the favored candidates—a true linguistic bias. At what level and with whom is information from a performance review shared? What is the impact of excluding other levels? Answers to these questions need to be through before redesigning the infrastructure of global diversity.

Privacy issues and laws are important. National codes of privacy determine what is appropriate to share within and between national contexts, whether a paper, electronic, or verbal format. Consult with your legal department to stay current with changing rules of privacy.

8.6.4. Global Diversity Issues and Staffing

A company's performance management system should maintain a qualified global workforce. A question such as, "Would you like to have an international assignment?" does not have the strength of "When would you like to have your international assignment?" A global diversity-oriented performance management system requires a more comprehensive orientation to global assignments. Without a specific commitment to the deployment of nationally diverse employees in all functions of the business, a corporation institutionalizes the HQ cultural orientation or the core national cultures of the majority of the workforce in any given location. This is counterproductive to diversity. Having a nationally diverse board of directors does not make a company globally diverse; it broadens the managerial perspective of the governance group. Having expatriates managing abroad does not establish workforce diversity; it supports a diversity of perspective in the pool of potential leaders who may or may not stay in the company. Managers who integrate their experiences from another nation bring a diversity perspective to future decisions. This, however, is not the experience of most returning employees, who consistently feel their newly acquired knowledge was not valued or used. Increased opportunities for cross-national teams, multi-regional projects, and short-term assignments will experientially heighten the exchange of diverse thought and styles.

8.6.5. Global Ethics and Performance Review

The ethics of global diversity go beyond fulfilling the legal or social requirements associated with the multiple jurisdictions in which a company operates. For collectivistic countries, ethics reflect the fulfillment of the social and reciprocal accountability between workers and the organization, managers and subordinates. The United States and continental European social democratic contracts are very different. In the U.S. model, workers value individualism and expect to have their "worker rights." In Europe, workers form work councils and sit on the board of directors to participate in mutual responsibility and collective accountability. Together, as management and labor, they resolve issues related to employment. In family-held businesses in Asia and Latin America, employees expect the senior members of the family to represent their best interests and support the workers. Ethics in such work environments reflect collective and collegial rights.

Examine the range of social contracts that exist within your firm to understand potential ethical conflicts that will arise simply because of operating in different national environments. These ethical issues surface and require resolution during many performance management sessions. How can we intentionally advocate workplace strategies in the United States to advance women to higher levels of management, yet also hire women in developing countries to function only at the lowest production levels? Lower pay or lower status in the managerial hierarchy cannot be justified by the rationale that it is not "culturally" acceptable to do otherwise. Not reconciling this issue makes performance management sessions suspect for a woman. How can we tell the Jewish man who is on assignment in Saudi Arabia to use a second passport that labels him as a non-Jewish congregant and yet, as a worldwide policy, declare that the company respects religious diversity? If this dilemma is not reconciled, any person of religious conviction and spiritual belief will suspect that the corporation does not respect religious diversity, even though it establishes prayer rooms, has religious chaplains on staff, and provides flexible time to facilitate religious observances. These fundamental ethical issues impact performance and must be reconciled.

This is never easy, nor are there facile answers. First, communicate the issues without any rush to judgment or criticism. Second, accept that ethics can be contextual or influenced by civilizational and national traditions. Try to understand why and by whom these specific behaviors are valued. Last, align these positions with the ethical system within the corporate culture. Resolution will differ across cultures. Sometimes it is just a question of additional information; other times a decision will be made to support one perspective. The "Performance Management and Ethics" sheet can be used to study some examples of corporate and local perspectives and how they can be reconciled.

8.6.6. Suggestions for Using "Performance Management and Ethics"

Objectives

• To increase awareness of the ethical issues consistent with global diversity performance management

• To identify major diversity disconnects that will impact a corporation's commitment to ethics and global inclusiveness

• To identify action steps to bring local and regional diversity ethical conflicts in line with the corporation's commitment to diversity

Intended Audience

• Corporate supervisors, managers, and executives who conduct performance reviews

• Any manager, facilitator, internal/external consultant, HR professional, or trainer charged with the task of creating a global diversity initiative

Time

• 60 minutes

Materials

• An overhead transparency and copies of "Performance Management and Ethics" and the SSI Model

• Chart paper and markers

Directions

• Review the SSI Model and use the worksheet to study examples of differences and some suggested strategies for resolving them.

• Identify areas where you suspect ethical disconnects exist in your corporation.

• Identify the headquarters' perspective related to these issues.

• Identify the regional or local perspective related to these ethical issues.

• Articulate the specific nature of the ethical conflict. State the issue's impact on the individuals involved, the local organization, and the company in general.

• Identify action steps that will enable the corporation to resolve the issue.

• Form into small groups and discuss the most impactful ethical issue. Have groups report out their solutions to the larger group.

Questions for Discussion/Consideration

• What are the diversity ethical dilemmas in your company?

• Please share how your company resolved one of these dilemmas. What has worked best to solve the issue? What can we learn from failed attempts at solving this issue?

• At what corporate levels does change need to occur to resolve ethical issues?

• What policies and practices need to be modified to address these ethical dilemmas?

Cultural Considerations

• Prepare a range of examples of how similar behaviors may be perceived in diverse national environments.

Caveats, Considerations, and Variations

• This exercise can be used for one-on-one coaching of managers on corporate ethics.

• This exercise can be included in the corporation's ethics training program.

8.6.7. Performance Accountability

Getting the best out of worldwide employees no matter where and who they are is a challenge. Sometimes there are performance failures. How does diversity affect this process? Where does responsibility lie? Is performance failure due to the limitations of the employee to thrive after having been trained and prepared for a specific position? Is performance failure due the limitations of a manager to prepare and consequently direct an employee to the standards of the organization? Is it a combination of both? In highly individualistic societies, such as the United States, both employees and managers are open for critical evaluation. Did the manager and subordinate each exercise skills and competencies to the best interest of the company? A different perspective exists in collective societies. When a Japanese flight^[] crashed, from a Western perspective the pilot failed, but the airline's CEO visited the home of each deceased passenger and apologized for his personal failure. The pilot's failure was the CEO's failure. Managers need to reflect on where their specific responsibility lies for the development of the employee before entering a review, constructing a warning, or beginning a termination process.

8.6.8. Warnings and Probation

When issuing a warning or probation, a manager should seek counsel from home and host county human resource specialists or corporate legal resources. Identify all the people who need to be involved in the process, the evidence that must be presented, and the preliminary processes required by the national and corporate culture contexts. They generally will be different from back-home requirements. Warnings related to inappropriate behaviors related to core dimensions of the SSI Model—such as gender, race, and sexual orientation—differ widely across nations. Take care to verify that behaviors deemed inappropriate in one context are actually inappropriate. Do not assume that an at-home process operates in another jurisdiction. For example, sexual harassment laws vary around the world. It is not always clear specifically what sexual harassment is in different national jurisdictions. While corporate culture may espouse a particular in-office behavior, it may not be enforceable within a national jurisdiction.

8.6.9. Dismissal

A performance review can result in a recommendation for dismissal. When managers and employees come from dissimilar national contexts with their assorted manager/worker contracts and protections, the process is difficult. This is because they may not know the legal and corporate consequences. Managers have the responsibility to understand the context of dismissal in light of the home and host countries, since it structures how to analyze behaviors, give feedback, communicate a warning, monitor the situation, and construct a dismissal strategy.

What is the cost of the dismissal of an employee? National legislation may make the compensation significant, as in most European nations, where social democratic systems protect the employee. The loss to reputation capital may be even greater. Globalization has created cross-border alliances and strategies that, by their very nature, provide new rules for employers. Workforce reductions, planned at campus headquarters in the suburban United States or London's suburbs of Kent, have far-reaching impact. Long-accepted practices such as "lifetime employment," once thought to be a standard in the Japanese economy, have changed—especially when a Japanese firm is bought by an American entity. Communist and state-run corporations, such as those in China and Vietnam, have also failed to provide workers with lifelong security, what with their policy of privatization. Carefully consider the parameters of redundancy in the employees' national context. Slicing off the "underperforming" 10 percent of a workforce, which may make good sense in North America and England, may have major ramifications in Argentina. For example, an American manager's dismissal of an Indonesian worker due to poor performance resulted in the walkout of his first, second, and third cousins from the local factory, bringing production to a halt. Know what your corporation's liabilities are before you begin an action.