REFLECTION

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 Table of Contents
Professional statement................................................................................................................3

Gibbs reflection model...............................................................................................................4

Description.............................................................................................................................4

Feelings...................................................................................................................................4

Evaluation...............................................................................................................................5

Analysis..................................................................................................................................5

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................6

Action plan.............................................................................................................................6

Reference list..............................................................................................................................7

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Professional statement

The main focus of the research is to examine the challenges related to cross-cultural
employee management and also to analyse how those challenges impact the employee
production ratio in a multinational organization operating in the retail industry. Globalization
is a key concept for retail firms to enhance earning profit as well as the brand perception
among the target group of consumers. But due to the global operations of those business
firms, a mix of cross-cultural employees has always been obtained within the workforce. This
integration of employees from different regions often creates both opportunities and
challenges. In terms of opportunities, creative ideas are being generated in the workforce. On
the other hand, in terms of difficulties, HR departments face challenges to maintain unilateral
work policies for each of the employees. Therefore the research paper has focused on
different perceptions of cross-cultural management and identified its impact of it on
employee productivity (Gupta and Bhaskar, 2016).
Concerning this purpose, the research paper has identified the need for cross-cultural
management in global retail firms, further it has analysed employee perspectives on cross-
cultural management concerning employee productivity. In later circumstances, the paper
also examines the HRM practices in cross-cultural management and has also identified the
key challenges faced by HR managers in cross-cultural management.
In a multinational organization, employees are one of those key resources who mainly
contribute to the growth ratio of the business units. Without the presence of efficient
employees, no such organization would be able to grab a positive market share in the retail
industry from a global perspective. Thus HR managers had to manage those diverse groups of
employees in a proper format so that their productivity should not decline. But in a cross-
cultural management process, HR authorities often face some key difficulties to maintain a
unilateral work policy. Concerning these difficulties, the research paper has critically
examined those challenges faced by HR authorities in cross-cultural management and has
also suggested an in-depth strategic approach for eliminating the issues (Farndale et al.,
2017).
In order to complete this research paper without hampering the novel's purpose & sole
objectives, I utilized some key skills, like a top-down research approach, attention to detail,
appropriate writing skill, strategic thinking skill, etc. It has been predicted that those key
skills have mainly assisted in completing the research in an appropriate format.

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Currently, I am going through the master's degree coursework in international human
resource management. The purpose of the coursework is to gather detailed knowledge about
the theories and practices of international human resources management, which directly links
to the chosen titles of the research. Here also I have to explore the cross-cultural management
issues in multinational business firms. Therefore, through an in-depth research process on the
topic, I will be able to enhance my skills & knowledge of international human resources
management procedures.

Gibbs reflection model

Description

In this research paper, I have chosen the topic of cross-cultural management issues faced by
HR authorities in multinational business firms operating in the retail industry. The topic has a
clear linkage with my university coursework, for this specific reason, the topic has been
selected to complete in-depth research. As mentioned by Latham (2012), In order to select an
effective research area, there is a requirement of some novel motivations, which will not only
align with the background knowledge area but also have to solve a bigger issue out in the
global region. In order to select the research topic, here also I have first completed adaptive
internet research to understand the bigger issues faced by HR authorities in relation to
international human resource management. As a result of this, I have identified that cross-
cultural employee management had remained a key challenge for HR authorities. They often
get difficulties influencing the diver employee group for teamwork facilities, formulation of
unilateral work policies, and many others. Therefore I immediately decided to complete in-
depth research on that issue and suggest some key strategies for overcoming the challenges.

Feelings

During the process of selecting the topic & initiative for the research, I had the feeling that I
am solving a bigger issue for the HR authorities. As mentioned by Wen, Muthuveloo and
Ping (2018), many MNCs today are facing issues to maintain the employee satisfaction rate.
As of my knowledge, a high employee satisfaction rate is an important characteristic for
MNCs to continue the growth process. So by getting difficulties in that, the growth rate of
MNCs out in the global region can be prevented hugely and their entire productivity & all

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will be impacted very badly. That's why when I have chosen this topic to research properly, I
have the feeling of contributing to a bigger problem. Further, I have identified that the issue
of cross-cultural management is mostly being faced by the retail sector. Now the retail
industry & its operating firm are one of those segments in the business industry that mostly
operates throughout the global region. So by identifying the key characteristics of the retail
industry, I have immediately decided to complete the rest of the research by focusing on this
industry only, otherwise, the word-count management issue will arise in the entire research
process. In total, I have a positive feeling about being able to solve a bigger problem.

Evaluation

At the time of initiating the research, there were no such bad or negative feelings I have
gathered, but I have the fear of not finding the appropriate datasets for analysis. Additionally,
I also have the fear of not finding enough datasets at the time of doing the research.
Following this, when I arrived at the second chapter of the dissertation, I faced some key
issues related to appropriate datasets. Here I first used the top-down research skill over the
internet to find some shorts of relevant dates, but I ended up finding only 4-5 pieces of dates.
Therefore, I have contacted & communicated in a clear format with my project supervisors
about how I can find some quality datasets related to the topic. There my professor has
suggested that I go for a google scholar scrambling method for gathering dates (Kouicem,
Bouabdallah and Lakhlef, 2018). Through using this technique I eventually find a large
number of quality dates. This is one of my greatest feelings throughout the entire research
process.

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 Figure 1: Gibbs reflective cycle
(Source: https://www.crowe-associates.co.uk/coaching-tools/gibbs-reflective-cycle/)

Analysis

As mentioned above, I have faced issues with the time of gathering appropriate datasets for
the research paper. Later, my project supervisor's guidance assisted me to overcome the
challenges and complete the research paper in a proper format. In order to tackle this
situation, I could have also used some other methods apart from the google scholar scumbling
techniques suggested by the project supervisor. Though those ideas have been generated in
later stages of the project where I have already collected some quality datasets. The other
approaches are the university library scrambling method and organizational reports which are
available over the internet (Kouicem, Bouabdallah and Lakhlef, 2018). In order to gather the
organizational reports I have to use the sampling method for collecting only the reports
related to the retail firms. Further, I think that the suggested strategic approach could have
been more specific, but due to lack of time, I ended up with the stated strategic approaches.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be stated that the entire experience of the research process was fantastic.
At the time of writing the paper and doing research, I have always maintained the positivist
philosophical perspective which has continuously motivated me to do the research in an in-

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depth format. Further, throughout the process, I always have the feeling that I am solving a
bigger problem for which I need to be more specific and more analytical throughout the
entire paper. Though I believe that the analytical perspective needs to be improved in a more
quality-centric manner in the written process of the paper.

Action plan

In order to complete another dissertation or research paper, I have formulated some key
action plans, which are like,
● First, find the novel purpose of the research by understanding the bigger challenges
faced by HR practitioners
● Then identify a different sector apart from retail which facing the identified issues
more than anyone else
● Further, determine the methodological approach which is suitable for the research
purpose (Booth et al., 2018).
● Later determine the analytical specification for the gathered data sets in a quality-
centric manner
● Finally suggest the strategies for overcoming the issue more adequately so that it can
be realistic & achievable in a real-life business case.

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Reference list

Booth, A., Noyes, J., Flemming, K., Gerhardus, A., Wahlster, P., van der Wilt, G.J.,
Mozygemba, K., Refolo, P., Sacchini, D., Tummers, M. and Rehfuess, E., 2018. Structured
methodology review identified seven (RETREAT) criteria for selecting qualitative evidence
synthesis approaches. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 99, pp.41-52.
Farndale, E., Raghuram, S., Gully, S., Liu, X., Phillips, J.M. and Vidović, M., 2017. A vision
of international HRM research. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 28(12), pp.1625-1639.
Gupta, S. and Bhaskar, A.U., 2016. Doing business in India: cross-cultural issues in
managing human resources. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management.
Kouicem, D.E., Bouabdallah, A. and Lakhlef, H., 2018. Internet of things security: A top-
down survey. Computer Networks, 141, pp.199-221.
Latham, G.P., 2012. Work motivation: History, theory, research, and practice. Sage.
Wen, C.T.Y., Muthuveloo, R. and Ping, T.A., 2018. Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction: A
Perspective of Millennials in Malaysia Multinational (MNC) Companies. Global Business &
Management Research, 10(1).