Edson Keyso de Miranda Kubo

Ajustamento intercultural de executivos japoneses expatriados no Brasil: um estudo empírico

Intercultural adjustment has been considered a determinant factor of success in international assignments and the key concept of the model of international adjustment from Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991a). The objective of this article is to analyze how intercultural adjustment occurs among Japanese expatriate executives. A qualitative research was conducted with 37 Japanese expatriate executives in Brazil from 21 different subsidiaries in various sectors. Although the literature considers Japanese expatriates as examples of success due to their low failure rates in international assignments, the results shows that they do not adjust, because they receive little or neither intercultural training, keep distance from locals, and feel a lot of stress on work and cannot fail. This article contributes to a better understanding of the construct of intercultural adjustment and emphasizes the need to revise the model of Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991a) for other nationalities.El ajuste intercultural ha sido considerado un factor determinante del exito en misiones internacionales y el concepto clave del modelo de ajuste internacional de Black, Mendenhall y Oddou (1991a). El objetivo de este articulo es analizar el ajuste intercultural de ejecutivos japoneses expatriados. Se realizo una investigacion cualitativa con 37 ejecutivos japoneses expatriados, en 21 empresas de diversos sectores en Brasil. A pesar de que la literatura considera a los expatriados japoneses como ejemplos de exito, debido a las bajas tasas de fallas en misiones internacionales, los resultados muestran que ellos no se ajustan, pues reciben poco o ningun entrenamiento intercultural, permanecen distantes de los lugares, ademas de acumular estres en el trabajo sin poder fallar. Este articulo contribuye a una mejor comprension del constructo del ajuste intercultural y refuerza la necesidad de rever el modelo de Black, Mendenhall y Oddou (1991a) para las otras nacionalidades.

The quality movement in Brazil

The main objective of this article is to provide a critical review of the quality movement in Brazil. The Japanese quality movement has been considered a model for developing countries such as Brazil, and several Japanese tools and methodologies for quality have been imported by companies. Quality discourse emerged in Brazil at the end of the 1970s in a peculiar context. It was initialised by the implementation of quality control measures. After this, total quality control and total quality management (TQM) were implemented in a specific way, which is detached from teamwork. A critical review has shown that quality programmes in contemporary Brazilian companies seem to lead them to a strategic means of management that emphasises more contact and interaction between top managers and the shop floor. Nevertheless, companies seem to be more preoccupied with obtaining ISO certification than with implementing holistic approaches to quality such as TQM.

Ajuste intercultural de ejecutivos japoneses expatriados en Brasil: un estudio empírico

Intercultural adjustment has been considered a determinant factor of success in international assignments and the key concept of the model of international adjustment from Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991a). The objective of this article is to analyze how intercultural adjustment occurs among Japanese expatriate executives. A qualitative research was conducted with 37 Japanese expatriate executives in Brazil from 21 different subsidiaries in various sectors. Although the literature considers Japanese expatriates as examples of success due to their low failure rates in international assignments, the results shows that they do not adjust, because they receive little or neither intercultural training, keep distance from locals, and feel a lot of stress on work and cannot fail. This article contributes to a better understanding of the construct of intercultural adjustment and emphasizes the need to revise the model of Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991a) for other nationalities.El ajuste intercultural ha sido considerado un factor determinante del exito en misiones internacionales y el concepto clave del modelo de ajuste internacional de Black, Mendenhall y Oddou (1991a). El objetivo de este articulo es analizar el ajuste intercultural de ejecutivos japoneses expatriados. Se realizo una investigacion cualitativa con 37 ejecutivos japoneses expatriados, en 21 empresas de diversos sectores en Brasil. A pesar de que la literatura considera a los expatriados japoneses como ejemplos de exito, debido a las bajas tasas de fallas en misiones internacionales, los resultados muestran que ellos no se ajustan, pues reciben poco o ningun entrenamiento intercultural, permanecen distantes de los lugares, ademas de acumular estres en el trabajo sin poder fallar. Este articulo contribuye a una mejor comprension del constructo del ajuste intercultural y refuerza la necesidad de rever el modelo de Black, Mendenhall y Oddou (1991a) para las otras nacionalidades.

The Attractiveness of Retail Clusters

The objective was to evaluate the perception of consumers in the purchase process on the attributes considered responsible for the attractiveness of retail cluster. In this sense, a quantitative research was done in which 240 consumers were surveyed in two different retail clusters. The proposed model used the modeling of structural equations based on the partial least squares and the results indicate that the customer service was the most important variable. On the other hand, there was low value for the location, which is usually considered one of the most important factors of the retail mix. Thus, it can be concluded that if there is a retail cluster in which we have good service, prices, conditions of purchase and reliable stores, its location can be made in any region that will result in a strong attractiveness for consumers.

A atuação de administradores de empresas em órgãos públicos: a identificação organizacional diante de uma formação voltada a negócios

Organizational identification is a recurring theme in the study of behavioral aspects in different organizations. This research aims to analyze the identification of civil servants of a federal University, who are managers graduated in business administration. Through the observation of official documents, and semi-structured interviews analyzed with the software Atlas TI 7.0, and participant observation, a case study was carried out in a Brazilian Higher Education Institution of the Federal Government. The study counted on the support of the Rector and the approval of the institution’s Ethics Committee. The analysis for organizational identification was carried out using the proposed model based on a map of identification and a map of frustration (KREINER and ASHORTH, 2004; ROCHA and SILVA, 2007). Stability, quality of life, training opportunities, the flexibility to propose new workflows and living together with resourceful persons contribute to organizational identification. On the other hand, political decisions, lack of work continuity, absence of defined procedures, career plan, lack of planning of actions, communication problems, bureaucracy, uneven workload and knowledge of specific legislation leads to frustration, under the context of the managerial rationality. Therefore, the identification process of these civil servants was ambivalent and their educational background in business administration was one of the factors that contributed most to this identification.

Dilemas éticos enfrentados por profissionais de recursos humanos: explorando cursos de ação

Although the topic concerning the role that the HR area and professionals have to play in ethical issues is gaining prominence in the international literature, there are still few studies on this topic in Brazil (Santos, Mendonca, & Demo, 2015). From a qualitative research conducted with 23 HR managers of national and international companies, this study investigated HR professionals’ perceptions about their role in the ethical issues concerning people management, the dilemmas they deal with and their conduct when confronted with these dilemmas. As for findings, most respondents understand their role to be business partners, and that people have value mainly because they contribute to organizational performance. Furthermore, HR professionals believe that they play an important role in reconciling the often conflicting goals of organizations and employees. They reported that they feel pressured by ethical dilemmas that relate to the information to which they have access, to the performance of their HR functions and to their specialist/consultant role. In addition, they feel they are the guardians of ethics in organizations and, because of this, they must set the example for the other areas. Results show the specific aspects related to HR professionals’ decision making, in that different factors determine their courses of action.

Repatriação de profissionais brasileiros: uma análise das políticas praticadas pelas empresas brasileiras

With the objective of analyzing the policies in the repatriation programs practiced in Brazilian transnational companies, this research focused on studying the international management of Human Resources, as well as on deepening the policies and practices of Brazilian companies that have repatriation programs. For this, a descriptive research was carried out with a population limited to the Brazilian Transnational Rankings (2011 and 2012) conducted by Fundacao Dom Cabral. Of the 52 companies listed, 25 participated in the survey, which took the form of an on-site interview. The information obtained was analyzed with the aid of the qualitative analysis software Atlas TI, showing that there is some kind of care by companies in reducing the uncertainties of the returnee, either through efficient communication and clarity about the possibilities of growth; attractive salaries and benefits; of support; or a specific contract guaranteeing return for both parties.

Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Human Resource Professionals: Exploring Courses of Action

Although the topic concerning the role that the HR area and professionals have to play in ethical issues is gaining prominence in the international literature, there are still few studies on this topic in Brazil (Santos, Mendonca, & Demo, 2015). From a qualitative research conducted with 23 HR managers of national and international companies, this study investigated HR professionals’ perceptions about their role in the ethical issues concerning people management, the dilemmas they deal with and their conduct when confronted with these dilemmas. As for findings, most respondents understand their role to be business partners, and that people have value mainly because they contribute to organizational performance. Furthermore, HR professionals believe that they play an important role in reconciling the often conflicting goals of organizations and employees. They reported that they feel pressured by ethical dilemmas that relate to the information to which they have access, to the performance of their HR functions and to their specialist/consultant role. In addition, they feel they are the guardians of ethics in organizations and, because of this, they must set the example for the other areas. Results show the specific aspects related to HR professionals’ decision making, in that different factors determine their courses of action.

Dilemas Éticos Enfrentados por Profissionais de Recursos Humanos: Explorando Cursos de Ação

Although the topic concerning the role that the HR area and professionals have to play in ethical issues is gaining prominence in the international literature, there are still few studies on this topic in Brazil (Santos, Mendonca, & Demo, 2015). From a qualitative research conducted with 23 HR managers of national and international companies, this study investigated HR professionals’ perceptions about their role in the ethical issues concerning people management, the dilemmas they deal with and their conduct when confronted with these dilemmas. As for findings, most respondents understand their role to be business partners, and that people have value mainly because they contribute to organizational performance. Furthermore, HR professionals believe that they play an important role in reconciling the often conflicting goals of organizations and employees. They reported that they feel pressured by ethical dilemmas that relate to the information to which they have access, to the performance of their HR functions and to their specialist/consultant role. In addition, they feel they are the guardians of ethics in organizations and, because of this, they must set the example for the other areas. Results show the specific aspects related to HR professionals’ decision making, in that different factors determine their courses of action.

Políticas de Recrutamento e Seleção nos Programas de Expatriação. Uma Comparação entre as Transnacionais Brasileiras

Com o objetivo decomparar as politicas de recrutamento e selecao nos programas de expatriacaodas empresas brasileiras, considerando o numero de profissionais expatriados,esta pesquisa se concentrou em estudar as teorias relacionadas ao tema, gestaointernacional de recursos humanos, bem como, se aprofundar nas politicas epraticas das empresas brasileiras que possuem programas de expatriacao. Paraisso, foi feita uma pesquisa descritiva, a partir de um estudo transversal comas caracteristicas da populacao. Sendo assim, a populacao dessa pesquisa, foilimitada aos Rankings das Transnacionais Brasileiras – 2011 e 2012 – levantadopela Fundacao Dom Cabral – FDC. Das 52 empresas que compoe o Ranking emquestao, 25 empresas participaram da pesquisa que se deu em formato deentrevista in loco. As informacoes levantadas foram trabalhadas com auxilio dosoftware de analise qualitativa – Atlas TI – e as consideracoes sobre osresultados mostram que as empresas brasileiras alem de possuirem politicas derecrutamento e selecao em seus programas de expatriacao, tambem estao emmomentos diferentes de aplicacao dessas politicas.