Trade Union and International Labor

Relations
³Do It the Wal-Mart Way´

{



 










 





c
½ enda

u US Country Profile
u Germany Country ½nalysis
Social
Political
Cultural
Economic
Labor re ulations
Expatriation
u Wal-Mart Case
u Recommendations

G
The US Industrial Relations

u Not as politically entrenched as in Germany

u 15.5 million labor members

u Men more likely to join than women

u The public sector has higher members than the

private sector

ÿ
 The US Labor Union Membership
 
 

›


 


 


 
  









   

 
  


 
 
  
  
 
  
 

›



 
a ½dapted from data obtained from the Bureau of labor and Statistics; www.bls. ov

 
 The US Labor Union Demo raphic
The Demographics of the U.S. Union Members

 
   
  ! 

 


   "
 

  
A
 
 
 

 
a ½dapted from data obtained from the Bureau of labor and Statistic; www.bls. ov

×
Germany Country ½nalysis

]
Social Structure
u Population peak at 82 million

u Various cultures

u Diverse reli ions


Social Structure (Cont¶d)
u The Elite

u The Self-employed

u Salaried employee

u The Workers

m
Political Sta es
ë ederal Republic

ë Parliamentary system based on constitution

ë Three bodies to check and balance

ü
Culture
u Ñntrepreneurship and open
competition is not encouraged

u Labor unions are extremely powerful

u Capitalism is not favored

c
Culture (Cont¶d)
u §pen competition is crucial for economic
growth

u Cooperative economy

u Use of consensual business model

cc
Culture (Cont¶d)
u No capitalism ± social market economy
instead

u No strong Cѧ

u ob security and stability for years

u Protection Against Dismissal Act

cG
Economy

u §ne of world¶s most important economic

powers

u luctuation in GNP

u Heavily export oriented

cÿ
Industrial Relations
u §rganized at the industry-level

u orbid ³employment at will´

u Require at least 1 labor representative or

work council per company

u German culture more rigid than the

American culture

c 
Trade Unions
u Constitute a political force

u Union density: 42%

u Most unionized: employees in the public sector

manual workers
white-collar workers
u Largest unions: ver.di (3 million members)
IG Metall (2.4 million members)

c×
Expatriate Profile

u American PCN

u Working within the company in Germany

u Staying in the host country for 2 years

c]
Becomin an Expatriate

u Apply for Visa

Residence visa

u §btain a Work Permit

Self-Ñmployed
Ñmployee of a Company

u Apply for Insurance

c
½djustin in Germany
u Applying for housing

u §btaining a driver¶s license

u Understanding the language

u Creating social networks

cm
 ½merican vs. Germana
Work Ethics
½mericans Germans

u Stron work ethics u Stron work ethics

u Impersonal employer- u Good employer-

employee relationship employee relationship

u Informal communication u Formal communication

u Work importance u Family importance

cü
US Responsibilities for Expatriates
u US Taxes

u Voter Rights

u Social Security

G
Repatriate Issues

u Ñmotional

u Social

u §ccupational

Gc
Wal-Mart

GG
Wal-Mart Enters Germany

u 1997: acquisition of `


u 1998: take over of › 


u Appointment of US citizen, Rob Tiarks, as Cѧ

Ñthnocentric approach unsuccessful

u Turnover rate of $ 2.3 billion

Gÿ
³Do It the Wal-Mart Way´

u ailure in the expatriation process

No adaptation to the German culture
No pre-departure training

u Denial of differences between Germany

and the United States

G 
 Why Wal-Mart failed

u Low price strategies did

not work
u Poor product qualities

u Dirty stores

u Disrespecting employees
u Weak service
Wal-Mart in Berlin

G×
Wal-Mart and Labor Unions
u Refuses to have labor unions

u Does not comply with local labor laws

u aces huge strikes

u Ver.di forced Wal-Mart to respect the collective

agreements for commerce

G]
Can Wal-Mart Recover?
u 2001: appointment of German Cѧ Kai Hafner
u Management tries to make efforts to satisfy
employees
u New ethics code
Ban on sexual relationships between staff
Creation of an informer hotline

G
Recommendations
u Recognize the cross-cultural ability of the
expatriate
u Learn the host-country language
u Common assumption:

µ"Don't worry," the departing employee is told,

"they all speak Ñnglish over there!³¶
(Schmidt, 2004, p.3)

Gm
Recommendations (Cont¶d)
u Provide pre-departure trainin

(Dowling & Welch, G ×, p. cGG
Gü

Concludin Comments
u Wal-Mart¶s ethnocentric approach was a failure

u Human resources failed to recognize cultural

differences

u Wal-Mart survival only possible if labor is

allowed to organized in Germany

u Good employee-employer relationship is the key

to success

ÿ
 References
www.bls.gov
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/international/
http://www.overseasdigest.com/country/germany.htm
www.eurofund.gov.int
www.expatexchange.com
Dowling, P. J.& Welch, D. E. (G ×
. ›
 
 
 
  
( th ed.
. Mason, OH: Thomson/
South Western.
htt://www.ebusinessforum.com/index.asp?doc_id= ü]m&layout=rich_story
http://www.commondreams.org/views  / ]c×-c .htm
http://geogate.geographie.unimarburg.de/vgt/english/brd/module/mc/uc .htm
http://www.sietareuropa.org/about_us/Newsletter/Jun  /BridgingtheInterculturalGap.html
http://www.usembassy.de/germany/working_in_germany.html
http://www.germany-info.org/relaunch/business/trends/basics_system.html

ÿc
Thank You or Your
Attention

Questions?

ÿG