KM *891*Nipawan Mantalay

512152002

Work-Life Balance in the Multinational Company: A case study at Chiang Mai Lanna

Business Services (CLBS)December 14, 2008

Definition of Work-Life Balance

Frame and Hartog (cited in Moore, 2007) – employees feel they are freely able to use flexible working hours programs to balance their work and other commitments (family, hobbies, art, traveling, studies)

Hobson (cited in Moore, 2007) – employees having the ability to fulfill both work and other responsibility

Moore (2007) – a situation in which workers feel that they are capable of balancing their work and non-work commitment

Hyman, and Summers (2004) – work including contractual hours of employment and unpaid activity e.g. extended and unpredictable times- Life initially referring to family-life

Rodgers and Rodgers (cited in Burke 2000) – the term of “family-friendly” coinedto describe firms attempting to support work-personal life balance

Two mains issues of Work-life Balance Studies

I Family- life

Hyman and Summers (2007) – employees can influence work-life balanceIn the financial service sectors, Scotland

Human Resource management (2004) – demonstrate “Leeds City Council”, UK awarded for its good role model of well- work life balance for employees focusing on nine policies – annualized hours, compressed hours, employment break, flexible working time, home working, job share, self-rostering, term-time only working and variation in hours which result in a more satisfied and more productive workforce and a knock – on effect ofImproved recruitment and retention

Kay (2003) – study of how European families reconcile paid work commitments with the responsibilities of parenting and childrearing

II Gender

Burke (2000) –MBA graduated people, Canada - examine the relationship of managerial and professional men ’s perception of organizational values andwork-personal life balance in their workplace, work experiences, and indicators of work life satisfaction and psychological wellbeing

Burke (2004) – male psychologists working fulltime, Australiaorganizational values supporting balance had no relationship with hours worked on job involvement

Hughes and Bozionelos (2007) - 20 bus drivers, UK – work-like imbalance was the source of concern for bus drivers and there is the sign of dissatisfaction of the job because of inability to dedicate proper attention and time to their non-work activities

II Gender

Toth (2005) – examines the gendered nature of work-life policies in and the work-life conflicts of managers in a multinational cooperation in Hungary

-Attempts to introduce family-friendly policies still create gendered effects and gendered dilemmas for individual managers

-Men and women have different perceptions of work-life balance and adoptdifferent coping strategies to manage work and family commitments.

-work-life balance is constructed as individual, rather than a corporate responsibilityWhich create gendered inequalities

II Gender

Drew (2005) – examines the experience of and attitudes towards work- life balanceof female and male managers in a major Irish organization for which WLB is nowStrategic corporate objective

-Many of the senior men have followed the breadwinner model by being able to delegate family and caring activities to their wives whereas this option is impossiblefor the majority of women in senior posts. So men seek WLB to resolve commuting/working time issues while women want to avail themselves of more flexible Arrangements for family/quality of life reasons

-Men and women have different perceptions of work-life balance and adoptdifferent coping strategies to manage work and family commitments.

-Both men and women in senior management realized that their careers would be seriously jeopardized by taking up work life balance

II Gender

Walker, Wang and Redmond (2008) –discover that home-based business ownership in Australia can facilitate flexibility to afford lifestyle and the ability to balance work and family.

-However, gender was not a determining factor why operators starts home-businesseven though advantages were more salient to women than men. The more important determining factor was the issue of dependants

Motivation to the Further Research

*It is remarkable that in the previous studies, data were collected from variety of jobs,

business organizations and genders, for instances, male and female senior managers, male psychologists, bus drivers, financial sectors, home-based business ownership.

*Nevertheless, the key informants in the researches found were Europeans e.g.

Scottish, British, Irish, Australian, Canadian. And in the multinational company, the participants were Europeanswho are working within European settings, for example, Europeans workerswho are working in Hungarian organizational context.

*Therefore, it opens up an opportunity to conduct a further study on the topic of

Work –life balance using different target groups, environment and business organization in order to gain a new insight from Thai perspective

Purpose of Study

= This study aims to investigate the problem about Work- life imbalance that cause poor turnover and work performance using the multinational company in Chiang Mai Thailand, Chiang Mai Lanna Businesses Services as a case study

= The target groups will be focused on German top directors and German Local manager as well as representatives of German, and Thai Staffs who are working in the Thai context

Research Methodology

Theory in Use: Experiential Learning Theory by observing, interviewing,and handing out questionnaires to gather the information

Kolb (cited in Floren, 2003) – “learning is the process whereby Knowledge is created through the transformation of experience”Learning from experience defined in four phases

1. Concrete experience2. Reflective observation3. Abstract conceptualization4. Active experimentation

In the first phase of problem investigation, the researcher will adopt the first two phases to find out the result of the study

Research Methodology

Theory in Use: Experiential Learning Theory by observing, interviewing,and handing out questionnaires to gather the information from participants

Likewise, Nonaka (2000) – experiences as one example of tacit knowledgeto drive the process of knowledge creation

Nonaka SECI model of knowledge creation and utilization1. Socialization2. Externalization3. Combination4. Internalization

Similarly in applying the first two processes of Kolb’s model, the researcher will mainly focus on socialization process of Nonaka to investigate the problem of work- life balance from the experience of key informants

The Design of Interviewing Questions and Questionnaires

Data-based approach to the Work-Life Balance introduced byProf. Dr. Daniel Vloeberghs, Academic coordinator HR and Organizational Behavior, University of Antwerpen Management School

The situation within the company with regard to the combination family and business life are included in the instrument of the diagnosis e.g.

-Daily life within the family and the company-Division of tasks, means and company arrangement-Common policy space: obstacles and incentives

The Design of Interviewing Questions and Questionnaires

The researcher will also adopt some interview question used in Hughes (2007) including

1. Whether issues related to work life balance were of concern toInterviewees?

2. What are the relative importance of work life balance concerns over other sources of concern and dissatisfaction for these workers/

3. What are the perceived link between concerns that were related toWork life balance and withdrawal attitudes ad behaviors?

The Design of Interviewing Questions and Questionnaires

Based on Data-based approach to the Work-Life Balancethe researcher will additionally create questions according to the findings of Other researchersHyman and Summers (2004) seven major problems of work imbalancewere found1. unevenness of adoption across different sectors and organizations2. A lack of formalizations of policies at organization level3. A restriction of employee’s voice over the introduction and implementation ofPolicies4. Policies are introduced primarily to meet business needs rather than those of employees5. No evidence of reductions in working hours6. The identification of tangible and intangible work intrusions into domestic life7. Domestic responsibilities are still conducted primarily by women irrespective of their employment status

Duration: three months

Months Plans

November

January

December

February

- Literature Review

- Find Research Methodology- Design Interview questions and questionnaires

- Analyze data

- Write the research paper- Turn in the paper

Work-life Balance in Multinational Company:A case study at CLBS, Chiang Mai, Thailand

January 11, 2009

Nipawan Mantalay512152002

Purpose of Study

= This study aims to investigate the problem about Work- life imbalance that cause poor turnover and work performance using the multinational company in Chiang Mai Thailand, Chiang Mai Lanna Businesses Services as a case study

= The target groups will be focused on German top directors and German Local manager as well as representatives of German, and Thai Staffs who are working in the Thai context

= Sampled groups includes 1 German top director, 1 German localManager, 1 German staff and 1 Thai staff

Methodology

Action research1. Identify problem2. Collect data3.4.5.

Methods TheoreticalFramework

1. observe2. Interview3. questionnaires

1. Critical theory2. System thinking

Critical Theory (Carr, 2000)

= refers to “a school of thought” associated with “the Frankfurt school” which is the title of the Institute for Social Research

Two meanings= a self-conscious critique aiming at change and emancipation Of human beings from the situations that enslave them

= critical theory aiming at producing a particular form of knowledge thatseeks to realize an emancipatory interest, especially through a critique of consciousness and ideology

= the theory is conformed to ideas in the mind of the researcher rather thanthe experience itself

= critical theory attempts to place itself outside of philosophical structures and the confines of existing structures

= Due to a way of thinking and recovering humanity’s self knowledge,Critical theory is based on Marxism for its methods and tools

Critical Theory (Carr, 2000)

= the theory is critical only if is explainable, practical, and normative

= it must explains what is wrong with current social reality, identify actorsto change it and provide clear norms for criticism and practical goals for the future

= critical theory is not to mirror “reality” but to change it.

Critical Thinking in Organization (Natale, and Ricci 2006)

= critical thinking was firstly encouraged by philosophers in about 350 BCFor example, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle

= Dewey defined critical thinking as the suspension of judgment and a healthy skepticism

= critical thinking is an ability to explore a problem, question, or situationto integrate all of the available information about the issue under review and arrive at a solution or hypothesis to justify one’s position.

= The direction of the investigation through critical thinking is to evaluateand analyze the contents of an issue under review in order to understandits content from a rigorous and robust review process

= Conversations in critical thinking are objective, thorough and incisivebecause the process is reflective in pointing out benefits and weaknesses in the propositions, arguments and results of the issue under review.

Critical Thinking in Organization (Natale, and Ricci, 2000)

= the condition of critical thinking encourages the individual to explore And investigate the consumptions, biases, and end-results of the decisions of another, regardless of the position or veracity of the individual within The society

= the application of the checklist on a routine basis can aid the organization in its training and development exercises, team selection processes, and overall reward structures to ensure that the best critical thinking concepts are embedded into the organizational culture to enhance individual and organizational performance

Characteristics of Critical Thinking in decision making process

(Natale and Ricci, 2006)

Information and the use of information can be critically evaluated by this following conditions (Petress cited in Natale and Ricci, 2006)

1. Sufficiency2. Relevance3. Reliability4. Consistency5. Recency6. Access7. Objectivity

Work-Life Balance Matrix

WLB factorsGerman staffs

IndividualLevel/

Demographiceffects

Solutions:WLB

Organiza-tional level/ norms,cultures

Nationality

education

gender

age

Germany GermanyThailand Thailand

System- thinking

Working positions

Working hoursJob

responsibilities

Marital-status

Thai staffs

Workingenvironmentcolleagues

Questionnaires & Interview questions