1. Read the following case and answer the questions given below.

Mun-Bun PLC in Sri Lanka

Mun-Ban PLC owns more than 20 hotels throughout the Sri Lanka. They recently acquired a
small hotel chain headquartered in Japan. Mun-Ban’s CEO decided that four of the new hotels in
Japan would be retained and rebranded as part of the Mun-Ban Hotels Group; the other half will
be sold. This will support Mun-Ban’s strategic objective of growing the organization slowly to
make sure that new ventures are well supported and opened on time and on budget.

Mun-Ban’s hotels are considered budget accommodations; they are functional, clean and
reasonably priced. Most guests stay for one to three nights and are a combination of business and
leisure travelers. The hotels are typically situated in downtown area especially in Shinjuku,
Shibuya and other cities that are easily accessible by mass transit. Tourists are attracted to these
hotels in popular visit or destinations where the many local attractions mean that they will not be
spending much time in their hotel rooms. One of the tourists who used the hotel of this chain
comments as follows (Source: Trip Advisor).

“The rooms are small and plain. Basically, the only storage space is the closet (with six
hangers), so we kept our suitcases partly packed and used one as a night stand. Rooms have two
double beds and a sofa crammed together. A small desk lacks drawers and shares space with the
TV. Each room has a humidifier, and the thermostat was effective. And something my wife and I
really appreciated was that the rooms were silent at night! The bathroom, in contrast to the
room, was roomy and bright. It featured a huge tub with plenty of hot water and pressure. Like
many Tokyo hotels, there was a handy bowl of complimentary toiletries, such as toothpaste,
toothbrushes, and razor. But we weren't there to hang out in the room. We loved the
complimentary breakfast buffet, which featured a variety to suit all nationalities: American-style
eggs and meat, soups, and a salad bar as well as the usual coffee, tea, and juice.”

Mun-Ban PLC has decided to use an ethnocentric approach and send some of their existing Sri
Lankan based managers to Japan to lead the changeover of the new hotels and then manage them
after they re-open. If this new overseas venture is successful, Mun-Ban may decide to acquire
other small hotel groups in other Asian countries. The organization would like to own 50 hotels
in the next five years. Their 10-year plan is to own 150 hotels across Asia-Pacific region. This is
an ambitious target, so it is important that the organization finds an effective formula to operate
successfully in other countries.

Recruitment

Interested internal candidates are asked to write a letter to the CEO to explain why they think
they are the best person for the job. There must be a strong sense of fairness in the selection
process because they do not want to de-motivate any of these existing employees. 20 managers
apply for the open new positions (there are 04 positions available), which means there will be 16
unsuccessful candidates still working for the organization. They want to select the right
candidates because it is essential that the new hotels are successful and up and running quickly
and efficiently. The senior managers know all of the candidates quite well (personally and
professionally).

The management hires four candidates to work overseas because they did not feel that the other
candidates were qualified. They feel confident that these four can successfully open the new
hotels. The success of these managers is vital to the success of setting up the new business, so
management wants to ensure they provide effective support for them in terms of training and
development. They believe that the best option is to divide training into two parts: pre-departure
training and on-the-job training in the new country. Since the organization has never sent
employees abroad before, they are not sure about what should be included in these training
programs.

Compensation Policy

Since the organization has never hired managers to work outside the Sri Lanka before, they do
not know how to start determining the compensation. They provide you with the following
information that they found on the Internet:

Existing salary for managers is Rs.200, 000 (Japanese Yen 133,000) plus bonuses. Surveys show
that the average salary for hotel managers in Japan is Rs. 400,000 with an opportunity to earn
bonuses. The directors want to have a consistent approach as to how they compensate expatriates
because they expect their overseas business to expand in the future. They also want existing
employees to be induced into working abroad and want to have a good range of incentives.

Training Policy

The organization knows that training is important; but despite looking at what other companies
offer, they cannot decide what the key training areas should be. They would like to consult you
to design the content and structure of these training programs and allocate two managers to each
of the groups (as indicated below). Because of the large investment they are making in the
managers, they provide you with some details on each of them so that the training can be tailored
to their needs.

The only mandatory area that must be included is an introductory language section (including
basic business Japanese) so that the managers have a basic grasp of the Japanese language by the
time they open the new hotels. However, they hope that the managers will enjoy their
introductory language course and will continue to attend more advanced language classes when
the new hotels are open.
Overview of Work History and characteristics of each selected managers as follows;

Manager A (Male) Manager B (Female)

 Now age 30, joined the organization at  Age 55.

18 years of age.
 Has worked for Mun-Ban Hotels for 10
years.
 Previously worked for a small, family-
run hotel.
 Regularly visits South Asia for
extended vacations but has never
travelled in Japan.
 Is concerned that he is used to having a
close support network in the Sri Lanka
and that this might not be possible due
to the various locations of the Japanese
hotels.
 Has worked for Mun-Ban Hotels for
22 years.
 Joined the organization as a hotel
cleaner and worked through the ranks
to management.
 Is concerned about not knowing very
much about Japanese culture and the
way hotels are managed in Japan.
 Is concerned that his or her family may
find it difficult to settle in Japan.


Manager C (Male) Manager D (Male)
 Age 49.  Age 38.
 Has worked for Mun-Ban Hotels for  Joined Mon-Ban Hotels six months
nine years. ago.
 Joined the organization in a  Is very interested in learning about
management role. languages and new cultures.
 Five of these years were in a  Has six years’ previous experience of
management position working in a restaurant.
 Has visited Japan four times on family  Has never travelled abroad for
holidays. business or holidays/vacations.
 Is concerned that he or she has little HR  Is concerned that he has not had much
knowledge and is worried about the management experience in this
implications when getting the new hotel organization, but has previous
ready. management experience in another
large hotel group in Bangladesh.

(Developed by using International HRM case study of SHRM)

i. . What are the advantages and disadvantages an ethnocentric approach to international

staffing?

(05 Marks)
ii. How effective are expatriates in transferring knowledge fron the host country employees?

( 05 Marks)

iii. Management of the Mun-Ban PLC asked you as independent consultants, to design an
appropriate selection procedure. However the management team advises you that they do
not want to take into account the marital or family situation of the expatriate candidates.
Because management concerned only performance of the employee.

(10 Marks)

iv. Provide an outline of a cross-cultural training program for new expatriate staff.

(08 Marks)

iv. Design a compensation package for the hotel management position in Japan. Explain the
rationale for your design. You may also include non-financial benefits other than financial
benefits.

(10 Marks)

iv. The organization knows that training is important; but despite looking at what other
companies offer, they cannot decide what the key training areas should be. They would like to
ask you to design the content and structure of the training programs and allocate two
managers to each of the groups as A and D managers and B and C managers. Details of your
training program need to be included both the Pre-departure Training and On-the-Job Training
in the New Country by including followings.

a) How long the training will take (bearing in mind that the hotels must be opened in one
month),

b) Who should deliver it?

c) Where it should take place?

d) How it should be structured?

e) What are the topics that should be covered?

f) What are the training methods that should be used?

(12 Marks)

(Total 50 marks)
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 Due date of the assignment: Octo. 29th (Friday) 2021

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