High Value Boundary Spanners - An overlooked Asset

Social Capital

Social capital is the sum of the potential and actual resources that can be leveraged by an individual through his various human connections.

Human resources management of the potential those individuals who are most likely to possess an abundance of social capital naming the high value boundary spanners (HVBS) is imperative for the success of the MNC.

HVBS are those individuals who infiltrate geographic and cultural boundaries regularly throughout their employment; they are located in any unit of the organisation but are in contact with others from different units

This infiltration of different organisational units allows HVBS to gain insight into different organisational behaviour, culture, norms and indeed dissipate knowledge and information and hence arguably can draw attention and curiosity from other employees.

Transferring knowledge throughout a firm’s global network is what gives  it a competitive advantage over local firms, therefore In order for the international human resources manager to be effective in implementing and achieving strategic corporate objectives they simply must master the ability to navigate individuals who essentially can reach formally and informally more employees at a closer distance than the International Human Resources personnel can, in essence HVBS can act as internal ambassadors of the directives of the HR department and if managed incorrectly can sabotage the HR initiatives. 

Managing culturally diverse social capital

Social capital has attributes that can be clustered into three dimensions naming, structural, relational and cognitive (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998 p.243), considering these dimensions when managing culturally diverse social capital is essential and although these attributes maybe recognised individually they are in fact interrelated (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998 p.243).

IHRM needs to consider the mental map of each individual they are placing in positions where information flow is essential.  This mental mapping is highly influenced by the individual’s ethnocentrism, the way they see things due to cultural influences and upbringing (Shenkar & Luo 2007, p.177).

Some may argue that globalisation can mitigate differences between cultures and that IHRM can afford to implement strategies that would suite all individuals however the cultural differences are apparent and hard to ignore, hence tailor made strategies should take place.

The IHRM should essentially be able to portray its message in a variety of ways in order to reach the maximum number of employees, some dimensions can be globalised such as health and safety regulations, anti-corruption disciplinary actions but others must be localised such as the respect of hierarchies in high power distance cultures and hence their directives must be glocalized. Glocal is the new buzz word and holds little evidence of being implemented to progress the organisational objectives. Many organisation personnel get overwhelmed with trying to follow the head office expectations and therefore never actually re-write the manual in the local language per se.  

When considering all three dimensions of social capital IHRM must be aware of the individuals individualism traits versus collectivism, this can influence their capability to interact positively with other units and different people. Individuals who lack the ability to build relationships may draw negative connotations to the information being dispersed if dealing with individuals from a collective culture, conversely those who suppress information whilst dealing with individualistic cultures (until they feel a relationship is built sufficiently) can hinder the progress of the organisation’s strategic goals. It is the IHRM’s role to train and develop those individuals on how to deal with those from other cultures dissimilar to theirs to realise maximum output.

It is important that IHRM does not take an ethnocentric approach on the power distance and its relevance in the organisation in different international subsidiaries. There are norms and protocols found in some cultures that simply must be abided by in order for HVBS to be able to co-ordinate tasks and knowledge. IHRM personnel from a western country or one with low power distance should be able to comprehend the strength of power distance and the barriers it may impose on offending parties and therefore must dissipate this knowledge to its employees from a low power distance country. It must not take a stance on free flow of information regardless of hierarchy attitude; some simply must follow the hierarchy protocols to reap the benefits of an ‘open door’ policy to different people in the organisation.

The relational dimension of social capital appeals to basic human instinct, those who come across as trust worthy are more likely to be able to extract information and dissipate it uncontested. Although IHRM cannot control a person’s demeanour, they can place those who have compelling trustworthiness attitude in positions, key to the flow of knowledge and hence key to the success of the organisation.

Conclusion

Whilst realising the power of leveraging knowledge and sharing information in an MNC, IHRM must recruit individuals that possess the capabilities to infiltrate numerous units of the organisation in a positive manner. Strategic HRM takes a long term view of the organisation’s staffing needs, opportunities and threats (Mead & Andrews, 2009, p327) hence must be proactive in identifying the correct individuals and not only start searching as and when a vacancy arises, keeping tabs on talent employed by competitors should be part of the HRM initiatives.

The recruitment of those with specialised skills and possibility the ability to develop a new language is beneficial to the role of HVBS, furthermore, individuals must be capable to effectively negotiate, mediate, coach and be assimilative, Individuals who possess these personal qualities of imagination, empathy, optimism and modesty are more likely to be successful at acquiring these skills (Tennyson 2003 p.19). Targeted recruitment and retention is key to IHRM when it comes to HVBS.

References: 

Booz R. (2000), 'Boundary spanners' perceptions of the nature of role and role performance: A study of socialization and communication strategies', Dissertation Abstracts International Section A, 60(8-A) pp. iii-194. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost, viewed 11 October 2013.

Mead, R. & Andrews, T. G. (2009) International management. 4th ed. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons

Nahapiet, J. & Ghoshal, S. (1998), 'SOCIAL CAPITAL, INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL, AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL ADVANTAGE', Academy Of Management Review, 23(2) pp. 242-266. Business Source Alumni Edition, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 October 2013.

Shenkar, O. & Luo, Y. (2007) International business. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Taylor, S. (2007) 'Creating social capital in MNCs: the international human resource management challenge', Human Resource Management Journal, 17 (4), pp.336–354, Wiley InterScience [Online]. DOI:10.1111/j.1748-8583.2007.00049.x
http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2007.00049 (Accessed: 10th Oct 2013).

Tennyson R.  (2003)‘The partnering toolbook’ [online] http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC4QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.energizeinc.com%2Fart%2Fsubj%2Fdocuments%2FThePartneringToolbookMarch2004.pdf&ei=vvxXUpK9MMu-rgfj-ID4Cg&usg=AFQjCNFgrJoQM7tWMWqV_3SVY80KQlaMmQ&bvm=bv.53899372,d.bmk (Accessed 10th October 2013)