1.

Lenovo’s Orientation According To The Four States Of Mind Of International

Managers Proposed By Howard Perlmutter :
It was stated on the given case, that the IBM workers in the PC Division of
IBM were promised to receive the same or equivalent salaries and benefits they
enjoyed under IBM when Lenovo purchased IBM in 2004. Either they embrace
becoming employees of Lenovo or leave from IBM without termination
compensation. And this is an indication that Lenovo is pursuing geocentric
policy wherein it focuses on hiring and retaining employees based on their
skills and capabilities. They are not focusing on factors such as gender, race,
age, or on whether the employee came from the parent or the host country of
the organization. In other words, Lenovo seeks the best people for key jobs
throughout the company regardless of nationality.
Staffing policy is concerned with the selection of employees for specific
occupations. At one level, this involves selecting a person who have the ability
required to do a particular job. At another level, staffing policy can be a tool for
developing and promoting the desired corporate culture of the firm. Lenovo
pursuing a geocentric approach wherein it seeks the best people for key jobs
throughout the company, regardless of nationality. The goal was to transform
Lenovo into a truly global corporation with a worldwide workforce. Lenovo
attempted to make a firm that was neither Chinese, nor American, but instead
global in its orientation, a firm that is positioned to compete head-to-head with
other players in the global PC market.
I think the strategy that the company is pursuing is the transnational
strategy and it matches with its geocentric staffing policy. Because Lenovo
is looking for the best workers for essential positions in every region and
allowing the company to align its strategies with the most efficient use of
human The Company is pursuing a transnational strategy. The staffing policy
matches in the idea to account for local differences and cultivating
multidirectional flows of skills between different subsidiaries in the firm's
global network of operations. For example, when Lenovo is deciding who
should hold management positions, the national origin of the candidate is not
an issue. Rather, the decision focuses on whether the person has the skills and
capabilities required for working in a global enterprise. Lenovo is committed to
hiring the very best people, wherever they might come from. Lenovo looks for
the most excellent individuals for key employments throughout the
organization regardless of nationality; this enables the firm to make the best use
of its human resources.
One of the strengths of Lenovo’s Geocentric staffing policy is that employs
the same set of standards in all fields to direct the management of the
workforce and helps to maintain a unified corporate culture. It enables the
company to increase the firm’s cultural knowledge about the different markets
and countries. Also, If the workers of Lenovo are conditioned to the corporate
values and value system of the company, it will achieve higher productivity.
However, a disadvantage of this staffing policy is that it could be difficult to
apply. Because immigration policies may limit implementation also the costs of
worker relocation and diversity management creates pressure on HR
 management. Lenovo uses the same set of standards to guide workforce
management in all locations, this maintains a unified corporate culture. If
Lenovo’s employees are inclined toward the organization's corporate standards
and value system, the firm will be able to achieve higher performance.
Lenovo’s staffing policy is complicated by the significant contrasts between
countries in labor markets, culture, legal systems, and economic systems. The
company must also deal with a host of issues related to expatriate managers. A
prominent issue in Lenovo’s staffing policy is expatriate failure. Moreover, the
immigration policies of national governments may limit the ability of the
company to pursue this policy. Besides, since Lenovo’s staffing is global, it
will need a compensation structure with a standard international base pay level
higher than national level.

2. Posibility Of Changing Geocentric Strategy

I think the Human resource management (HRM) of Lenovo must be very
wise on how their values are enforced in the local sector to keep people in
diverse environments responsive. Also, they must have a proper training and
development for all employees. Lenovo takes a geocentric approach to
human capital, where the best workers are looked after, regardless of race,
for important positions in the organization. Let’s take for example the
business hired an American CEO, because it considered that none of its
current Chinese management could run a genuinely multinational
company. Have a culture that accepts diversity and builds upon those
differences. Also have proper training and development for all employees so
that they may gain a sense of accomplishment. Having an appropriate
performance appraisal system and compensation policy.
Human Resources will have to be very shrewd about how its principles are
applied in every local market so that it remains responsive to the needs of
people in different situation. Lenovo is following a geocentric approach to
human resources, one in which the best individuals are looked for key jobs
throughout the organization, regardless of nationality. For example, the
company named an American to the position of CEO since it felt that none of
the firm’s existing Chinese administrators had the capabilities to oversee a truly
global enterprise.