Student Feedback

Reported on 1/12/2017 09:35:19

Student Name: Theresia Van Houten

Student ID: A001638994
Subject: Project
Assessment Task: MBA Project Proposal
Code: 729PROJ

Comments
BACKGROUND INFORMATION PROVIDED:
Appropriate organisational background information has been
provided.

ISSUE OR PROBLEM IDENTIFIED:

Introduction
● Background information provided
● Research problem clearly articulated / defined
The research problem has been somewhat indicated but it needs
to be more clearly articulated, and in a focus manner. You need
to use to this section to explicitly discuss about the problem with
the current PM practices highlighting the mismatch with
expatriate expectations and the negative consequences. As the
heading of this section states, focus more on the problem rather
than discussing too much contextual issues.

Note: Keep in mind that you not just discussing performance

Focus for the study
● Research purpose stated
● Appropriate research questions identified
● Significance of project identified
● Project is feasible
Project related literature summary
● Connection to an aspect of MBA studies
● Alignment with MBA specialisation (not required for MBA
generic)
● Literature cited
● Literature aligned with project title and with problem
statement
Research methodology
● Research method explained and justified
● Data collection methods explained and justified
● Collection of primary data included
management, in general, but performance management
designed specifically for expatriates. This needs to be highlighted
consistently in your proposal. I would strongly recommend that
instead of using the terms performance management, you use
the term "expatriate performance management".
RESEARCH PURPOSE STATED:
Needs more consistency in aligning with the research problem.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS IDENTIFIED:
Look fine and aligned to the topic area.
SIGNIFICANCE IDENTIFIED:
Looks fine but can be more focused.
CONNECTION TO AN ASPECT OF MBA STUDIES/
ALIGNMENT WITH MBA SPECIALISATION:
You have articulated which discipline area you are aligning with
MBA specialization.
LITERATURE CITED:
You need to discuss the literature that relates explicitly to
expatriate performance management. Please make sure you do
this in your draft and final project.
RESEARCH METHOD EXPLAINED AND JUSTIFIED:
You have discussed and justified the use of single case study
and mixed-method although there is room for improvement as
they need better explanation and justification. Also, please note
that because your project adopt mixed-methodology, your study
is both, inductive and deductive.
 Note - You have not provided a list or survey questions, given
that you are using a mixed-method? Please be more clear
whether your project is just qualitative or just quantitative or is it
truly a mixed-method? Mixed-method means that you are using
both interviews and surveys, but you have only provided a list of
interview questions. Please correct your methodology.

PRIMARY DATA AND DATA COLLECTION METHODS

● Questions to be asked from participants stated
● Research approvals obtained
EXPLAINED:
You have explained about the data collection of interviews but
you also need to explain who are interviewing (e.g. expatriates
working for AME), what are their roles? how long your interviews
will be? why you have selected them? How will you analyse your
interview data? (e.g. thematic coding).

The same should be explained with regards to surveys (IF A

MIXED-METHOD IS BEING USED FOR THIS STUDY)

You can be more explicit in explaining what secondary data you

will be collecting.
Ethical considerations
Addressed
● Ethics issues identified Organisational consent completed.
Ethics sheet completed
● Use of consent forms explained
A list of interview questions was provided.
●Research Ethics Sheet completed
Schedule for completion

● Research schedule or Gantt chart included Provided

● Schedule is feasible

Style Guide

● Margins, line spacing and fonts

● Dates and numbers
● Author date style referencing Style guide is followed generally.

● Sourcing and quotations

● Labelling of figures, diagrams, tables
● List of references

English
Grammatical errors were found. Please edit the paper prior to
● Spelling submission.
● Grammar
Structure and flow

● Title is on the first page

● Table of Contents The logical structure and connections between sections need to
be improved.
● Logical structure
● Connections between sections
● Easy to read

Outcome: Approved

Reasearch Ethics Assessment Outcome: Approved

Overall Comment
There are important recommendations that you need to work on moving forward -
1) Please incorporate the above feedback regarding the focus of your topic area, which is expatriate performance management
and not simply performance management. This means that the research problem, purpose, significance etc must be refined to
make the discussion more focused.
2) As you have only provided a list of interview questions, it is recommended that you re-frame your methodology to make your
project more qualitative and only conduct interviews. Please remove any mention of mixed method or surveys.

Please make sure you incorporate all the above feedback into your draft and final report.
 MBA Project Proposal

A Critical Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Expatriate Performance

Management in AIC Middle East LLC, Oman

Word Count: 1648

Theresia “Tes” van Houten

Student ID A001638994

729PROJ_2

AQF Level 9
Table of Contents

1. Introduction .............................................................................................................3
1.1 Background Information..........................................................................................3
1.2 Project Research Problem......................................................................................3
2. Focus for the Study.................................................................................................5
2.1 Purpose of the Research ........................................................................................5
2.2 Research Questions ...............................................................................................5
2.3 Significance of the Project ......................................................................................6
3. Proposed Literature Summary................................................................................6
3.1 MBA Discipline of the Project .................................................................................6
3.2 Review of Some Literature Related to this Topic Area ...........................................6
4. Planned Research Methodology.............................................................................7
4.1 Method....................................................................................................................7
4.2 Data Collection .......................................................................................................8
5. Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................8
6. Schedule for Completion ........................................................................................9
7. References ...........................................................................................................10
8. Appendix...............................................................................................................11
8.1 Ethics Sheet..........................................................................................................11
8.2 Organizational Consent ........................................................................................12
8.3 List of Interview Questions....................................................................................13

Page 2 of 14
1. Introduction

1.1 Background Information

AIC Middle East LLC is a subsidiary of Ras Al Hamra and was founded in the fall of 2017
in Muscat, Oman. Ras Al Hamra Group of Companies is a leading provider of specialized
manpower to oil & gas companies within Oman and throughout the Middle East and South
East Asia, (http://www.rasalhamra.com/). The group brings over $100US million in annual
revenues and employs over 1050. The objective of Ras Al Hamra (RAH) is to provide
excellent service with quality beyond their customer’s expectations in the most
professional manner. This service would present advanced technology and equipment, a
high standard of HSE (health, safety, and environment) programs, and adherence to the
countries regulations. In pursuit of this objective, RAH decisively brings new service and
innovation to the sector, thus, has sought out the most advanced technology to enhance
its reputation as the center of oil and gas excellence. As a result, RAH has formed AIC
Middle East, utilizing the inventor’s technology to fulfill their goal/objective.

AIC Middle East (AME) has the specialized proprietary patented technology that serves
the oil and gas industry by providing equipment that reduces the environmental footprint
with a fluid management system. The new technology supersedes all outdated
technology currently used in the Middle East by providing the means to eliminate the use
of waste pits at location. The technology is one of its kind.

Key employees within AME has approximately eight (8) personnel consisting of
management and field technicians. With a projection of twenty percent (20%) growth
annually, the organization anticipates becoming one of the strongest service providers in
this sector with a projection of one hundred (100) million US dollars within the next seven
(7) years.

1.2 Project Research Problem

Expatriate performance management (EPM) in this research paper is focused on one

organization in one culture, the Middle East. In Oman, the goal for their economy is to
develop the HRM functions in the country with an initiative called ‘vision 2020.’

Page 3 of 14
Nationally, the importance of developing HR is one of the main focus of the plan.
(Budhwar, et.al, 2006, pp.42-44).

New technology in AME to support drilling solutions for the oil and gas industry is an area
to help the Omani economy to be competitive. The problem for AME is to adapt and
provide PM policies in line with its goals/objectives to develop the industry and stabilize
the economy. The policies would need to meet the management expectations as well as
the expatriate’s expectations by providing a system that is relevant through training and
development of skills, abilities, and technological awareness.

A response to the changing world of Oman, Budhwar (2006) points out that the
government has initiated measures for omanization (jobs for Omani’s) in professional
occupations in private sectors (small companies). Some of these measures include:

• Control procedures on expatriate labor coming in to the country

• Prepare suitable man-power planning that meets the needs of the private sector
• Improve working conditions and educational training

The key expatriates coming to work in AME need suitable pre-departure training to
prepare them for what to expect in Oman, as well as processes and policies to manage
their expectations and the organization’s.

The problem is no formal policy for EPM training for:

• Management expectations (comprised of 2-3 new expatriates)

• Employee expectations (comprised of 4-6 potential expatriates)
• Training program to ensure job satisfaction

As stated in the Ministry of national Economy, developing PM is ‘managing and

developing human resources in order to qualify competent personnel capable of

facing present and future challenges’.

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This might be the case for AME because the lack of formalized training effects the
organization with un-prepared expatriates. By utilizing formal training of expatriates,
this will prepare the organization to learn from the process and fulfill the omanization
initiative in the near future.

The training aspect of PM is considered a soft component rather than a hard component
of EPM (goal-setting and performance evaluation), (Hsi-An, et. al., 2005). It will provide
the organization with better controls over its operation, although, structured training
involves high costs.

2. Focus for the Study

2.1 Purpose of the Research

The purpose of this project is to critically evaluate the PM system as it exists now. The
reason for evaluating this area is to show the importance of expat training program by
comparing what has been utilized, what can be improved, and how the improved system
could help the effectiveness of PM. By evaluating these issues, the organization will be
able to improve the following areas:

• Management/Employee’s expectations
• Key areas in IHRM to address needs of the employees
• Improve the effectiveness of performance management
• Provide a strategy for retaining employee loyalty

2.2 Research Questions

The following research questions will be answered in this project:

1. What are the current performance management practices adopted for expatriates
by AME?

2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current performance management
practices adopted for expatriates by AME?

Page 5 of 14
 3. How effective are the current performance management practices adopted for
expatriates by AME?

4. How can AME improve the effectiveness of their expatriate performance

management?

2.3 Significance of the Project

PM is important to all organizations. This project is important for AME because part of
International Human Resource Management (IHRM) is to train expatriates to understand
the terms of the job qualifications and training, specific duties, cultural environmental
conditions, and compensation. It would be beneficial for the managers to fulfill employee
expectations by reviewing the system currently in use, how to improve the current system,
and enhance the retention of qualified employees. As part of PM, reading materials and
training programs will give a clearer understanding for performance evaluation of expats.
This project will identify to management the key issues of improvement and to understand
whether the potential expat will be well suited for the job.

3. Proposed Literature Summary

3.1 MBA Discipline of the Project

The focus of this project is on the topic of expatriation and performance management, as
part of the IHRM development in AME. IHRM relates to the HRM discipline area of the
AIB MBA program. The literature summary will show that current policies need to be
identified and evaluated, facilitate improvement of management performance
expectations for expatriates, and improve job satisfaction.

3.2 Review of Some Literature Related to this Topic Area

Page 6 of 14
The association of performance management (PM) and job satisfaction has been
explored as well as the essential development of the organization and employees.
According to Panda (2016) analysis, the system of PM is attributed to many factors that
enhance employee performance evaluation. These factors are:

• The organization’s values, strategies, goals and objectives

• Successful policies measures and implementation
• Clearer communication and incentives

Through different studies on the relevance of PM in an organization, it is revealed that the

policies should be communicated with all employees. Job satisfaction is the employee’s
attitude and satisfaction with work, co-workers, supervisors, pay, and promotion. (Panda,
et. al, 2016, p. 73). The study revealed a significant association between PM and job
satisfaction.

How does job satisfaction impact employee turnover? Without the proper knowledge of
the organization’s expectations, efforts towards job satisfaction will be lost (Panda, et. al.,
2016, p. 78), and as a result, can directly contribute to turnover.

Turnover in the oil and gas industry happens due to old technology that does not meet
the job requirement. Also, lack of information on PM policies, lack of skills training, poor
employee evaluations, compensation, internal promotion and lack of customer
satisfaction leads to poor retention of employees.

4. Planned Research Methodology

4.1 Method

This project is a single case study focusing on the oil and gas industry examining the
current policies in general for AME in the Middle East. There will be a mixed-method
research combining both the quantitative and qualitative data collected for an analytical
review of expats. A deductive approach in this research project will develop and test the
theory that improved PM policies can result in job satisfaction, employee expectations
and retention. (Saunders et. al., 2016, pp.166-171).

Page 7 of 14
This report will adopt the single case study focusing on the same organization because
the tasks to be carried out within this organization are similar across the continents and
takes into account transitions that the expatriate experiences for effective performance
expectations. (Varalakshmi, et. al., 2015, pp.1-2).

4.2 Data Collection

The data collection will primarily be by interviews of approximately 5-6 people within the
organization. The challenges to the interviews are the location of four of the interviewees
are located in different locations. Timing and schedule coordination will prove challenging
when communicating between several different countries. An analysis will be conducted
using a chart to show results.

Secondary data will be collected from the organization’s HRM, examining their current
policies. Current policies will be reviewed to address how improvement can may be
beneficial for the organization.

5. Ethical Considerations

All requirements in this project will be adhered to as outlined in AIB’s learning materials.
Of the risk categories outlined for Australian standards, ‘no risk’, ‘negligible risk’, ‘low risk’,
‘high risk’, this project is a negligible risk due to some unforeseeable discomfort to the
participants during an interview. The discomfort may be in the form of time, location, and
simply inconvenience. For this project, consent will be obtained from the individuals with
the assurance that all data collection will be confidential and stored securely, and use
only for the purposes of this research. There will be the choice to opt out of any part of
the questions asked, and made to feel at ease during the interview process. Care to keep
interviewees anonymous and the chance to review the questions in advance. A copy of
the proposed ethics sheet (AIB’s form) and a signed organizational research consent form
is attached in Appendix 8.2.

Page 8 of 14
6. Schedule for Completion

The Gantt chart indicates the timeline from the commencement of the project topic
research of ideas to the submission on December 31, 2017.

Description Start Date End Date Duration

Project commencement 09/27/17 10/05/17 9
Project proposal preparation 10/06/17 10/16/17 10
Submit project for approval 10/16/17 10/26/17 10
Research interviews 10/27/17 11/10/17 14
Analysis 11/11/17 11/18/17 7
Prepare draft report 11/19/17 11/30/17 11
Submit draft report 12/01/17 12/10/17 9
Final project report preparation 12/11/17 12/31/17 20
Submit report 12/31/17 12/31/17 0

Project Timeline
9/20/2017 11/9/2017 12/29/2017
Project
commencment
Project proposal
preparation
Submit project for
approval
Research
interviews
Analysis
Prepare draft
report
Submit draft report
Final Project rept
preparation
Submit report

Page 9 of 14
7. References

Budhwar, P, Mellahi, K 2006, Managing Human Resources in the Middle East,

Routledge Publishing, Oxon.

Panda, S, & Pradhan, PK 2016, ‘Sense, Essence and Essentiality of Performance

Management System - An Analysis’, Journal of Contemporary Research in
Management, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 71-81.

Saunders, S, Lewis, P, Thornhill, A 2016, Research Methods for Business Students, 7th
edn, Pearson Education Limited, England.

Shih, Hsi-An & Chiang, Yun-Hwa & Kim, In-Sook March, 2005, ‘Expatriate performance
management from MNEs of different national origins’, International Journal of
Manpower, pp.157-176.
https://unstats.un.org/unsd/China_UNSD_Project/International%20Forum/PPP/10.6.Om
an-Training.pdf
http://www.rasalhamra.com/

Varalakshmi, KP, & Jawahar Rani, K 2015, ‘Cross Cultural Training for Expatriates and
Building Inter Cultural Competencies among them to make their Overseas Assignment
a Successful One’, International Journal of Exclusive Management Research, vol. 5, no.
3, pp. 1-5.

Page 10 of 14
8. Appendix

8.1 Ethics Sheet

PROJECT PROPOSAL RESEARCH ETHICS SHEET

A001638994
AIB student ID number:

Theresia Esther van Houten

Student name:

Course/specialisation: Master of Business Administration: Human Resource Management

729_Proj
Project title:

RISK FACTORS YES NO

o Does the project involve experiments or intrusive procedures on human subjects? X

o Does the project involve children or young people? X

o Can the project cause physical or mental harm to the participants? X

o Can the project cause any conflict of interest, say, where there is a dependent or unequal relationship X
(e.g. employer/employee or landlord/tenant) which may advantage or disadvantage an individual?

o Does the project involve participants with a disability? X

o Does the project involve people who may be involved in illegal activities? X

o Does the project involve the participation of Indigenous, Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander X
people?

o Is there a risk of litigation for the participants or their organisation? X

o Does the project involve people who are superiors or subordinates of the researcher? X

ETHICAL RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS

o Does the project have procedures for informed consent by the participants? X

o Does the project have procedures for maintaining confidentiality of the participants and information X
gathered?

o Does the project proposal include an effective written section about ethics relating to this project? X

ETHICS DECLARATION

By submitting this form with the project proposal, I acknowledge that I have read the ethics section in the Learning
Materials, am aware of the general ethics requirements relating to research, have designed this project to meet the
ethics guidelines and will conduct the project in an ethical manner.

Research ethics assessment outcome: Approved Not Approved

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8.2 Organizational Consent

Page 12 of 14
8.3 List of Interview Questions

Performance management systems

1. Are you aware of a performance management system in the organization?

2. Are you familiar with any policies within the PM of the organization?
3. What do you expect the PM system would involve?
4. How effective would different types of performance evaluation be for each job type,
instead of using a stardardized system?

Goal setting

1. What kind of performance goals do you expect from your

organization?
2. Where should the performance goals be set (i.e. in the host
country or home country)?
3. Who typically sets the goals for your job (e.g. top manager,
immediate supervisor)?
4. What kind of goals do you set for yourself while performing your
job?

Evaluation

1. Who’s influence would you expect to influence the evaluation process (i.e.
supervisor, peers, subordinates, self-appraisal and customers)?
2. How often should a performance evaluation occur?
3. Do you think a feedback interview after finishing the performance evaluation
is valuable to you?

Training and development

1. What kinds of training and development programs have been provided from
the organization?
2. Name certain on the job training that would best benefit your level of skill?

Page 13 of 14
Performance-related pay

1. What kind of correlation of expatriates’ performance and their pay would bring
the greatest job satisfaction?
2. Should there be performance-related pay, what kind of performance would
you most likely expect (i.e. stock options, bonus)?

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