How should the team best use Anna’s cognate experience with SBUs?

A hybrid multinational consumer goods corporation operates 8 strategic business units which are fully-functional units with their own vision, direction, product/service, location, and target market under the umbrella of the larger business entity. The corporation has a corporate HR department while the SBUs each have autonomous HR departments that are largely independent from corporate HR. The Head of HR of each SBUs has significant authority to operate in a polycentric fashion and only interact with the Head of Corporate HR on a quarterly basis.

Due to a significant reduction in revenue during the pandemic, the organization has made a decision to streamline its HR structure by adopting a more centralized HR structure that can provide HR services to corporate and the SBUs. The proposed centralization of the HR function is expected to result in cost reduction, consistency in HR operations, and increased HR proficiency.

Corporate HR has created a team comprising of HR managers, HR business partners and HR admin personnel to originate and implement the new HR services model. Anna is a HR manager from a strategic business unit in California that has been drafted to join the team. Anna has 8 years of cognate HR experience working with various SBUs in the organization. Anna is the only team member who has worked with an SBU, the rest of the team have only corporate HR experience. The team has been working for over 3 weeks reviewing the feasibility, advantages and disadvantages of several HR structures, with most team members favoring a shared services and center of excellence model.

How should the team best use Anna’s cognate experience with SBUs?
A . Anna’s experience can be used to identify the best HR service model that will be ideal for SBU business operations.
B . Anna’s experience will be ideal in determining the risk matrix of the likelihood of corporate risks against the severity of SBU risks.
C . Anna’s experience can be used to determine the business model to adopt between global standardization and local responsiveness.
D . Anna’s experience can be used to provide a balanced perspective in determining which HR service
model is most suitable for the organization.

View Answer

Answer: D

Explanation:

Anna’s experience is best used to provide a balanced perspective in deciding what HR service model to adopt. Remember Anna is the only team member with SBU experience therefore including her input in the team’s decision will ensure a well-rounded HR structure that takes into consideration corporate and SBU viewpoints. Note that the correct option ties to the 4 Ts (travel, teams, training, and transfers), which help an organization become more successful by increasing global mindsets.