With increasing globalization, organizations today faces the challenges of complex, dynamic, highly competitive and extremely volatile environment. In order to compete successfully in a global marketplace, many businesses have turned their heads on to alternative international labour concepts such as global talent flows and boundaryless career. This essay will focus on the effect of implementing global talent flows and boundaryless careers on how people would no longer feel tied to their country of birth.
In order to analyse this, the definitions of all the key terms above will be clearly define with the use of academic journals. The data will then provide answer, whether people still feel tied to their country of birth in a globalized world. Globalization is a process where integration in areas such as economies, cultures, and societies. In a globalized world, the global economy is much more complex and dynamics, which means that it is harder for firms to earn a sustainable growth (Tarique and Schuler, 2010).
Globalized world is characterized by its larger workforce, diverse workplace and much more educated. Globalization also means the internationalization of labour market which causes by air travel becoming increasingly accessible, and the increase in boundaryless careers, both between organisations and more recently between geographical locations (Jackson, Carr, Edwards, Thorn, Allfree, Hooks, Nicola and Inkson, 2005). The advantages of globalization in many businesses is using globalization to tap new resources, so it allows a higher level of production.
However globalization cost countries to lose its culture and sovereignity, globalization leads to many underdeveloped countries exploited by the stronger countries, especially in terms of human resources (Tarique and Schuler, 2010). Every country should be ready to challenge globalization, as globalization is inevitable. The movement of labour into international businesses means that management of global workforce is becoming more and more critical for firms (Sheehan, Costa, Fenwick and De Cieri, 2006).
This will affect how the business is conducted and also the need of effective global workforce management as a way of gaining and sustaining global competitive advantage (Tarique and Schuler, 2010). Therefore, international labour becomes important to strategic human resource planning, recruitment and selection. As stated above the emerging tends of global talent flows and boundaryless career is becoming more and more popular choice of international labour, as many organizations pay their ttention toward employees who are capable and willing to grow and manage an expanding business in overseas. Global talent flows refer to migration of talent/skilled people from one country to another or in other words the decision of talented people who are educated/trained in one country to choose to develop their career elsewhere (Sheehan et al, 2006). Talent flow is supported by the terms boundaryless career, which will be described later in the essay. For example, De Cieri, Sheehan, Costa, Fenwick and Cooper (2009) illustrated talent flow that happens in Australia.
Australia is considered to be a well-educated country, with 33 % of its population managed to reach tertiary education. However, despite of high education, Australia struggle to retained their skilled worker. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1 million Australian workers out of total 11 million in Australia decides to go overseas to take mostly managerial positions (De Cieri et al, 2009). These numbers of amount of professionals could easily be the solutions of the current skill shortages that Australia face.
Furthermore, global talent flows could mean robbing the poorer countries of their investment in education and robbing their skilled employees. The ability to do this will always haunt the weaker economies. (Jackson et al, 2005) For example, in New Zealand there are more skilled employees who leave the country than return to the country. However, on the other side of the perspectives, global talent flows means there is also an opportunity to attract expatriate from other countries to home countries.
For example, New Zealand could promote their nature and environmental friendly society to those who seek cultural exploration and adventurous. This would benefit companies in New Zealand to become globally competitive, as experienced expatriates will assimilate their knowledge about global market (Inkson, Carr, Edwards, Hooks, Johnson, Thorn & Allfree, 2004). Another form of internationalization in labour is the boundaryless careers, which really suits expatriate manager.
Baker & Aldrich (1996) supported by Marler, Milkovich and Barringer (1998) provide 3 definitions of boundaryless careers; boundaryless careers wont be limited by just one employer, instead boundaryless career want to have multiple employer, because they view multiple employer opportunities as a positive light as it provides skill development, personal satisfaction and control of their own career. Second definition is the extent of knowledge accumulation, which means the degree of market valued skills and knowledge that employee gain through multiple work experience.
Which will enhance employee’s marketability and earnings. The last dimension is the personal identity, where multiple job experience will enhance employee’s identity especially in a challenging job experience. Banai and Harry (2004) added that global boundaryless careers is motivated by intrinsic need satisfaction and a strong desire to manage their own careers. Thus boundaryless careers do have benefits to offer employees. Companies can also gain benefits from the current labour situation; companies are operating in a more complex environment, which is constantly changing.
Companies need to be flexible in order to survive, and therefore have given up on the ideas of employees for a lifetime (Banai and Harry, 2004). Which can be solved by the existence of boundaryless career, as they provide multiple skills, experiences and enhance personal identity, which makes them attractive to hire temporarily. However, this theory does not have warm receptions, as it really contradictory to employer – employee’s contract, where employee is expected to be loyal single-firm careerists.
And according to Marler, Milkovich and Barringer (1998) boundaryless career is contrary to the expectations upon which mutual investment employee – organizational relationship is based on. Opportunities of the growing trend of boundaryless career and global talent flow should be capitalize by employees, as it can really give skill development, personal satisfaction, enhancing their market valued, increasing knowledge, increase in earnings, and also enhance personal identity.
These opportunities will make jobs in their country of birth no longer attractive, and makes them no longer tied to stay and work in their own country. Australia has one of the largest Diasporas (population scattered around the world) in the world, with 5% of the current population (1 Million) living scattered in the world. The question is why do they choose to live overseas? This opportunity of finding a job elsewhere in the world is far more attractive than trying to find a job in your country of birth.
One motivational factor is money-based factor, which is really why all the employees in developing countries will try to find job overseas, because simply other countries offer a higher salary base in their country. While employees from developed countries, for example Australia, have different reasons why they don’t feel that they should have stay and work in their homeland. Some of the reasons are; cross-cultural experiences, personal growth (including skill development), career prospects, excitement of meeting new and different people (Sheehan et al, 2006). Of course financial factor are also in their consideration.
Out of those factors above, Sheehan et al (2006) identified that career opportunities, higher salaries, new challenges and tax system as the main factors of pushing them out of Australian shores. The Australian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (2003) supports the statement before by saying career opportunities and income differentials appear to be the major driver of the emigration of skilled people in Australia. On the other hand, factors such as family, lifestyle and retirement are some of the major reasons why most employees return to their country (ACCI, 2003).
After identifying why skilled employees decided to go overseas, it is also important to identify why companies choose to hire expatriates, and how they benefited from the growing trend of international labour, in particular global talent flows and boundaryless career. The use of expatriates in business is already wide and is increasing, it has been estimated that 80% of large companies will have some expatriate workers. Companies have realized that in a global market, there is the need to be able to deal with dynamic environment and a multicultural approach (Mintzberg et al, 2003).
Antal (2000) added that in order to develop skills and respond to these challenges companies need 3 key requirements; a powerful strategic vision, a responsive structure, and internationally skilled employees. The people aspect is the most important, as it is the people who creates the vision and the structure. Expatriates also related organizational learning, as with diversity companies can learn of how responding to a different challenges in international market (Barkema & Vermeulen, 1998).
The key element is the experience and benefit of expatriate workers, where there is a basis of employees who have experience working in different countries, in different cultures and with divergent factor conditions these individuals will have a pull the level of experience upon which they, and their organization, can draw. The theoretical basis of the value that can be added by expatriate workers and their experiences is based on the ability of the organization to transform personal knowledge into organizational knowledge putting it into the knowledge of the organization (Barkema & Vermeulen, 1998).
However, these advantages have to be balanced with the potential difficulties and disadvantages, this includes the high relative cost of expatriate work as compared to national workers and the difficulties associated with sending employees a broad and then bringing them home. These outward movements have led many countries to state of ‘brain drain’ which means countries are losing it best and brightest workforce to foreign countries (Jackson et al, 2005).
However this may not be true, Australian chambers of commerce and industry (2003) stated that although skilled people are migrating overseas, Australia still managed to find 32,000 surplus of skilled people entering Australia as permanent settlers. Looking at the perspective of third world countries and developing countries, global talent flow really hurts them, for example Africa lost 20,000 professionals annually since 1990 (Nyampong,?? ), it is also reported that there are more Ethiopian doctors in Chicago than in Ethiopia and there are more African scientist in US than in Africa (Nyampong, ?? . This is due to economic/political instability, poor working condition, and limited opportunities provided. Therefore, the conditions of globalized world could gain advantages for developed countries and throw disadvantages to poorer countries. To decrease the number of skilled people leaving, countries should really identify those push factors that motivate them to go overseas. Take example of Australia again, as they have one of the largest amount of expatriates, the Australian government should really pay attention of reasons why they decided to leave and remain there.
Most of the research conducted stated that the Australian tax, promotion opportunities and lack of fund in research is the main reason why they remain overseas (ACCI, 2003). Most of expatriates complained that The Australian taxation system acted as prevention against high achievement. For example one expatriate in US said ‘ The onerous, complex and burdensome taxation system in Australia, which still punishes the fruits of hard work, means it is simply financially much smarter not to work in Australia.
The term ‘economic refugee’ is often applied and is used by many professional Australians working overseas’ (ACCI, 2003). In terms of career opportunities, many complains are about government should increase in business opportunities and also provides more ‘world class companies’. Therefore, if government feels that they are threatened by the terms ‘brain drain’, they should really try hard to provide much more career opportunities, by encouraging big businesses to come to Australia.
It might be hard, but government should also consider to revise their taxation law. In conclusion, the issue of employees no longer tied to their country of birth is inevitable. Globalized world have created opportunities for people to grow their personal identity, search for better career opportunities, better economic/political conditions and of course to better their earnings. This have causes some brain drain especially in third world and developing countries, which have created disadvantages against them.
In contrast, the growing trend of global talent flow and boundaryless career provide opportunities for developed countries to hire international skilled labour to strengthen companies position in global market. The opportunities of working overseas have strengthen because of the needs of multinational companies of international skilled people. As they will help organization to learn the international market, through the experience of the employees in other market and also provide cultural information for company.
Organizations will benefits as they are prepared to tackle the challenges of globalized world. In order to overcome the issue of brain drain, developed countries should revise their taxation system, which would not be easy, and also provide more room for opportunities by arriving international ‘world class companies’. While on the other hand, developing countries like Ghana, should appreciate more to their professionals, much of them demand an increase in salary base that would place the equivalent with the foreigners.
For countries like Ghana, it is impossible to have a better working conditions, which is similar to developed countries. Therefore it is all now drops to patriotism and nationalism of professionals to help their country overcome the ‘brain drain’ Therefore, with globalized world in hands, it is inevitable to expect people will stay and work in their country of birth. The global world offers a much more interesting, financially stimulating and challenging jobs to take.
