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Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you maybe the subject of copyright protection under the Act.Do not remove this noticeBook extractBook title International human resource management: a multinationalcompany perspective.Book author Tayeb, Monir H.Citation details Part 2, Chapter 7, pages 148-150Extract title Transfer of knowledge in OKi – training and development.Extract author Tayeb, Monir H.Publication details Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005.EditionISBN 0199258090 Total pgs in book xv, 242 pages ;and cross-country transfer of knowledge. The discussion was then focused on the transfer of HRMpolicies and practices within multinational companies. It was argued that the success or failure of suchtransfers to a large extent depends on the socio-cultural make-up of the recipients on the one hand, andthe cultural embeddedness of the transferred practices on the other. The farther apart the ‘exporter’ and‘importer’ of HRM practices are from one another (large psychic distance) the more difficult it would beto transfer such practices from one to the other. It was however argued that employee training couldfacilitate such transfers, once the usefulness of certain foreign practices are established.!II REVISION QUESTIONS1. What is organisation knowledge and where does it come from?2. Why should companies be concerned about their knowledge base and how can they create it andimprove its quality?3. What are the major impediments to transfer of management know-how across nations?4. How would you go about importing and implementing foreign best practices to your company if youwere in charge of such matters?Case study: Transfer of knowledge in OKi-trainingand developmentOki was founded in 1881, and was established as a company in 1949. It has 24,000 employeesworldwide, with sites in Japan, Thailand, US and Europe.Oki (UK) Ltd at Cumbernauld, Scotland, manufactures and supplies all the Oki dot matrixprinters for the European markets and some of the corporation’s page printers and faxmachines. It is recognised as one of the most cost-effective manufacturing plants of its kind,achieving some of the highest quality levels within the international electronics industry.The Scottish subsidiary which employs 3,000 people opened in 1987 and is the oldest Okiprinter factory in the UK. Since then it has won a number of UK and Scotland nationalawards, including ‘sharing good practice in management’ in 1994 and ‘Scottish nationaltraining award’ in 1995.Training strategies and policiesEmployee training is very much a part of the overall company strategy and various approachesand methods are used to implement a comprehensive training programme.‘We start from a very high level strategy: where are the visions, the thrusts and what are the deliverables.We filter that down into what we should be doing. That’s typically how you develop a training plan.’Training and development policies are driven by the Scottish site. In the early days theywere driven by Japan but this has changed completely. The site’s annual training budget is£280,000 (excluding trainer salaries).KNOWl.El)GE TRANSFER WITHIN A Ml.ll.TINATIONAI. COMPANY 149Training new recruitsOff-line training is booked for all new employees for 5 days (induction). No matter whatposition they are recruited for, all the new recruits go through the same induction course.The first objective is to put them at ease by using icebreakers, such as company presentation,including cultural aspects and activities of the site; they watch a video on the company andthe Scottish site made by-the BBC. Quality issues are then introduced. The induction courseis very similar to that of the parent company in Japan. The process of induction is based onteamwork. They have changed and modified the induction as a result of invited feedbackfrom new employees who have been through the course.Following the induction course, the next few days are spent on on-the-job training. Newassembly employees are asked to strip down a product and reconstruct it from scratch. Thetrainer would explain all the components. In the configuration section of the shop-floor,they are given a ready made product and are asked to configure it for a specific country.Training programmesIn 1994, 4,500 man-days were spent in ‘off the job’ training. Up to 30 per cent of staff are currentlyengaged in higher education, in most cases helped and supported by the company.There are a lot of training and development opportunities. Technical training includesapprentices, in line with the Government’s Modern Apprenticeship scheme (7 apprentices intotal). They have put 10 technicians through ‘Train the Trainer’ courses to pass on their skillseffectively to the apprentices. They will then train up these technicians to achieve D32 andD33 (higher level qualifications). Other managers have these qualifications too. The site isconsidering developing Scottish Vocational Qualification frameworks for operators as well.Someone from the manufacturing department is studying Information Systems because theyhave skills in this area and a post may arise in the future, others are doing courses to get HigherNational Certificate in Electronics. The company pays for it all. ‘You pay it back if you fail thecourse’-which serves as a good incentive. one technician interviewed has been doing collegecourses with Oki for the past 6 years.A lot of operators have on-the-job training. The site has developed competencies for jobsand have a training matrix e.g. for technicians there are 3 posts: technical operator, technician,training technician-each is graded on a scale of 0-3. 3 is fully competent and can trainothers. They then developed a two-week training course, at the cost of £30,000, so that everyonehas the same skill level. The next stage is to individualise the training programme.The company has experienced no problems in imparting knowledge to subordinates.There are career development opportunities, and the culture and philosophy promoteshared learning.Team leaders can go on personal development training programmes-the Leading Edgeproject. This involves team leaders and managers (middle to senior management staff) goingon an ‘outward bound’ course-identifying their strengths and weaknesses. They have tomake all their own meals etc. This is a 4-5 day programme and the outcome is a developmentplan. Individuals also have to manage a project in the community, e.g. building a garden fora school, developing disabled facilities for charities. In year 2000 they developed and implementeda school millennium project for 10 year olds. It created a huge amount of pride.The project lasted for about six months. About 30 people have been through the Leading Edgeprogramme over the last 3-4 years.The company has strong links with a local college-Coatbridge College. They have lecturerswho come on site to run the courses in the evenings from 5.30pm to about 7.30pm. It costsa little more but it means that employees can finish the course a little earlier than if theyended their shift, drove to the college then travelled back home afterwards. The courses canalso be more tailored to Oki. There is a good take-up of courses every year. Generally the localexternal environment has been very supportive towards Oki’s training and developmentasillustrated by the adaptation of some of their specialist courses to Oki’s needs.A training needs audit is conducted through appraisals and discussions with departmentmanagers every 6-12 months. In addition, when individuals apply to go on training objectivesare formulated and then improvements are identified against targets after training iscompleted. This is then followed up with a training evaluation form which asks how far theobjectives have been met and what they are actually doing that is different now. This informationis then compiled into reports on general improvements for each individual, and fedback to the managers.Training for job flexibilityThe company has a flexibility programme in place in many areas; it identifies what trainingemployees require. They spend a lot of money on training but do not take more than25 per cent of employees off-line training at any one time. The ultimate objective is to getall operators on each shop-floor station trained in every job, every skill and every department;they are also sent over to Japan if necessary.Employees on their part want their job to be varied and flexible–‘-‘it’s boring to do thesame job every day’. They want the flexibility as much as the organisation does. If anemployee wishes to develop their skills for their present or future role the opportunities areavailable.Managers sometimes face resistance when someone is moved to a new position:‘They will have made friends on the old line, and it’s nerve racking learning a new job. But employeesrealise in some cases they have to move because there is no longer a job for them in their current role.’Company knowledge baseThe knowledge base of Japanese managers is much wider compared to the Scots. In Japan(HQ) every January the company announces employees’ career promotions or moves. It iscommon for one manager to go from one department to a completely different function. Overtime this creates an incredible knowledge of customers, products, processes from a wide perspective;they quite easily cross the boundaries between suppliers and customers. In Scotlandthis is not the case. Here they allocate the right number of people to each department andthere are no buffers. Promotions are functionally driven, university courses and schools tooare geared towards functional specialisation.‘If you ask employees in Japan [HQ] what they do, they say “I work for Oki”; in the Scottish site theywould say “I am an engineer”.’