REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
DATE STAMP 
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, LAW & GOVERNANCE
INDIVIDUAL TASK COVER SHEET
Student
Please sign, date and attach cover sheet to front of written assessment task OR submit as a
separate document for non-written assessment task.
A cover sheet is to be completed for each assessment task.
SUBJECT CODE
SUBJECT TITLE
BX 3152
STUDENT FAMILY
NAME
.
Managing a Global
Workforce
Student Given
Name
Thone Dree Sann
ASSESSMENT TITLE
Assessment 2 Reflection Essay
DUE DATE
28.4.2022
LECTURER NAME
Dr Lisa Tombalakian
TUTOR NAME
Dr Lisa Tombalakian
JCU Student Number
1
4
2
3
2
6
5
6
Student Declaration
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
This assignment is my original work and no part has been copied/ reproduced from any other
person’s work or from any other source, except where acknowledgement has been made (see
Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy
5.1).
This work has not been submitted for any other course/subject (see Learning, Teaching and
Assessment Policy 5.9).
This assignment has not been written for me.
I hold a copy of this assignment and can produce a copy if requested.
This work may be used for the purposes of moderation and identifying plagiarism.
I give permission for a copy of this marked assignment to be retained by the College for
benchmarking and course review and accreditation purposes.
Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy 5.1. A student who submits work containing
plagiarised material for assessment will be subject to the provisions of the Student Academic
Misconduct Requirements.
Note definition of plagiarism and self plagiarism in Learning, Teaching and Assessment
Policy:
1
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Plagiarism: reproduction without acknowledgement of another person’s words, work or
expressed thoughts from any source. The definition of words, works and thoughts includes
such representations as diagrams, drawings, sketches, pictures, objects, text, lecture handouts, artistic works and other such expressions of ideas, but hereafter the term ‘work’ is used
to embrace all of these. Plagiarism comprises not only direct copying of aspects of another
person’s work but also the reproduction, even if slightly rewritten or adapted, of someone
else’s ideas. In both cases, someone else’s work is presented as the student’s own. Under the
Australian Copyright Act 1968 a copyright owner can take legal action in the courts against
a party who has infringed their copyright.
Self Plagiarism: the use of one’s own previously assessed material being resubmitted without
acknowledgement or citing of the original.
Student Signature
…Thone Dree Sann………………… Submission date …28…../…4…../....2022....
2
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
BX 3152: Managing a Global Workforce
ASSESSMENT 2: REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT
Name: Thone Dree Sann
Jcu Id: 14232656
Tutorial B
Lecturer name: Dr Lisa Tombalakian
Tutor name: Dr Lisa Tombalakian
3
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
No.
Table of Content
Page
1.
Introduction
5
2.
Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the working environment
5
3.
Challenges on Human Resource (HR) at MNCs caused by Covid-19
pandemic
6
4.1
How IHRM of Starbucks’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic period
6
4.2
Starbuck’s Staffing Approach
7
5.
Recommendation
8
Reference List
9
4
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
1. Introduction
As the Covid-19 epidemic has spread over the globe, it has disrupted the several parts of society.
The pandemic's enormous changes in economics, politics, and lifestyles have had a tremendous
influence on businesses all around the world, particularly multinational corporations (MNCs) and
changes are being presented more as a need than a luxury or an option in the light of the ongoing
Covid-19 pandemic changes of environment both within and outside. As Covid-19 pandemic
caused the disputes in the organization’s IHRM approaches that have been run perfectly for years,
MNCs need to find the new appropriate structure to run their business efficiently in changing
global economy. “One of the human resource management functions is to engage crisis
management and coordination where and when needed”. (Dowling, Festing, & Engle, 2017) This
reflective essay will look at how Starbucks, one of the world's largest multinational coffeehouses
and roastery chains, works to adapt to economic shifts in both home and host countries.
2. Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the working environment
The COVID-19 epidemic has wreaked havoc on international corporations (MNCs). Disruptions
in input supply, sluggish demand, shifting client tastes, and increased uncertainty were all factors
in the shock. Foreign investors in developing nations, in particular, are confronted with a more
difficult environment, marked by regulatory constraints and policy unpredictability. The same can
be said for Starbucks Corporation which, is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and
roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington: Covid-19 is an asymmetric occurrence
that is difficult for them to respond to in a discriminatory and balanced manner. Many changes in
external factors such as political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors
(PESTEL) due to the Covid-19 have effects on their businesses.
Since Starbucks is the restaurant chain, political factors such as the social distancing rules and
lockdowns that are lay down by the host country government has been one of the main challenges
that they need tackle. For example: China is one of Starbucks (SBUX)' leading growth markets
and in 2020, they are forced to shutters half of its stores from China ( host country) in areas that
were hit hardest by the pandemic due to regulations set by the host country (PESTEL factor). The
city-wide lockdown in Shanghai, China, where approximately 25 million people have been living
under severe lockdown since the beginning of April 2022 due to an increase in Omicron cases, has
undoubtedly expected in a huge drop in Starbucks profits and several concerns for the HRM
department especially since they established 264 locations there.
5
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
3. Challenges on human resource (HR) at MNCs cause by Covid-19 pandemic
As external environment witnessed changes across numerous fronts, IHRM need to set their
primary objective to employee’s wellbeing and safety when they previously concern with
assignments, creating opportunities, competencies, behaviors and motivations. (Irshad, , et al.,
2021) The changes in the environmental external factors s have the significant impact on internal
factors which hold implications not only for the areas such as HRM, but also for overall MNE
performance. Social distancing, closed borders, trave bans and halted immigration policies from
governments in host countries during Covid-19 pandemic have challenges the implementation of
IHR practices in the subsidiaries. For example: Before pandemic, Starbucks did interviews,
training, support and internal events to engage employees can be conducted face-to-face but now
forced to do online.
COVID-19 pandemic threw employers and employees into chaos and uncertainty, with no clear
end in sight, causing HR department to concern about a variety of factors, including employee
layoffs, reduced productivity due to a lack of remote work capability, workplace safety
requirements and measures, and restrictions imposed by the host countries government. IHRM’s
responsibilities are crucial, especially during this epidemic era, as they must keep staff well, maintain
morale, manage a massive remote-working experiment, and evaluate if, when, and how to lay off
workers as companies retrench. (The Economist, 2020)
One of the most significant problems that Starbucks must overcome in order to effectively manage
its worldwide branches are to use a strategic approach to international human resource
management while simultaneously protecting the health and safety of their employees. As
employees’ mental health has also been top of mind for the company, they started to pay attention
to employees’ lives outside of the work as well as need to understand the life events that employees
are having, in order to help them not just in their job but also in their personal lives especially in
pandemic period.
4.1 How IHRM of Starbucks responds to the Covid-19 pandemic period
As Starbucks operates in 80 countries with more than 32,000 stores, they have to deals with
different cultures, traditions, rules and regulations during the pandemic. Employees can be
influenced to varying degrees depending on their host country's culture's Uncertainty Avoidance
Dimension, but many of them will still struggle to work effectively with individuals from other
cultures, especially in situations where there is a lot of unfamiliarity. (Caligiuri, Minbaeva, & Cieri,
2020)
6
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Starbucks remains dedicated to containing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the well-being
of its customers and partners (workers) in every community they serve as the worldwide epidemic
enters its third year. (Starbucks , 2022) As employees are company's most important asset, how
human resource management responds to the situation in the Covid-19 epidemic has become a
critical aspect in ensuring staff stability and successful performance. Starbucks, on the other hand,
explored flexible working methods like teleworking, employee incentives, and flexible hours to meet
employee expectations while advancing people as a strategic HRM weapon. They change most of
their stores to only grab-and go stores, drive-thru, mobile order and curbside pick at the beginning
of the pandemic to prevent health and safety of both their employees and customers by reducing the
movements.
Nowadays as they reopened most of their stores from the host countries which decrease some
restrictions, Starbucks is taking a number of steps to protect the health and well-being of our
customers and partners (workers) and to restrict the spread of COVID-19, in line with the
professional recommendations of the CDC and local public health authorities. For example: In
addition to existing benefits such as sick pay and personal time off, they are providing catastrophe
pay to employees who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and by partnering with Lyra Health,
they provide 20 free sessions per year with a licensed counselor or coach to ensure employee’s
emotional well-being during the epidemic. (Peiper, 2022)
Starbucks’ HR have been applying several practices to make sure their employees remain positive
and optimistic and keep themselves physical and mentally healthy during the pandemic as well
and working together with different MNC team members from different countries to fight against
the Covid-19 pandemic.
4.2 Starbucks’ Staffing Approach
Three types of strategies that MNCs can apply for their HR practices across borders, including
Ethnocentric strategy, Polycentric strategy, and Geocentric strategy. Starbucks use mostly
polycentric approach for the international staffing as they mostly hire most of their employees
from the host country nationals which allows continuity of management inside the host nation; it
is often less expensive to hire natives of the host country, and language obstacles and adjustment
concerns are addressed. But as their management decisions and strategy planning are carried out by
their home country headquarter, they had to use telecommunication methods in their operations to
adapt to the restrictions on mobility during lockdowns and quarantines and close down of the border
lines during pandemic period.
7
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
5. Recommendation
According to Dunn and Hoegg “"Fear leads to the need to join or connect with others”. (Dunn &
Hoegg, 2014) Based on this idea, I would like to recommend Starbucks to implement more training
courses for MNC team members to be more readily accepted in the context of the Covid-19
outbreak, as individuals from all over the world are facing the same dread known as Coronavirus.
The training will be able aid in increasing cohesion and relationships among MNC team members
in the future. This is especially important for newcomers who haven't had any cross-cultural
training. In addition, professional training courses motivate employees by satisfying their need to
learn, grow, and display expertise.
IHRM also need to consider the employees’ productivity during the certain period can be
difference by depending on the host country’s cultures. For example: Although the employees
from the Starbucks Singapore can be productive and motivated even in pandemic time due to their
low uncertainty avoidance level of their country, the productivity level from Japanese employees
can be decreased as their high level of uncertainty avoidance. So that Starbucks IHRM need to lay
down the suitable approach by depending on their host country’ culture.
Word Count-1207
8
REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT: THE CURRENT CRISIS FACE BY MNCS DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Works Cited
Dowling, P. J., Festing, M., & Engle, A. D. (2017). International Human Resource Management
7th edition. Andover, Hampshire, United Kingdom: Cengage Learning.
The World Bank. (2021, April 14). Webinar: Impact of COVID-19 on MNEs. Retrieved from
The World Bank Website: https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2021/04/14/webinarimpact-of-covid-19-on-mnes#1
Wiener-Bronner, D. (2020, January 28). Starbucks has closed more than half of its Chinese
stores because of coronavirus. Retrieved from CNN Business Website:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/28/business/starbucks-earnings-chinaclosures/index.html
Scullion, H. (1994). Staffing Policies and Strategic Control in British Multinationals. Third
Conference on International Personnel and Human Resource Management,, (pp. 86114). Gold Coast, Australia.
Starbucks . (2022). Starbucks' Stories and News. Retrieved from Starbucks Web Site:
https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/response-to-covid/
The Economist. (2020, March 24). The coronavirus crissi thrust corporate HR cheifs into the
spolight. . Retrieved from The Economist Website:
https://www.economist.com/business/2020/03/26/the-coronavirus-crisis-thrustscorporate-hr-chiefs-into-the-spotlight
Caligiuri, P., Minbaeva, D., & Cieri, D. (2020). International HRM insights for navigating the
COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for future research and practice. Journal of
International Business Studies,, 51, 697–713.
Peiper, H. (2022, January 18). At a glance: What you need to know about Starbucks response to
COVID-19. Retrieved from Starbucks Website:
https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2022/what-customers-need-to-know-about-starbucksresponse-to-covid-19/
Dunn, L., & Hoegg, J. (2014). The Impact of Fear on Emotional Brand Attachment. Journal of
Consumer Research,, 41(1), 152-168.
Irshad, , H., Umar,, K., Rehmani,, M., Khokhar,, M., Anwar, , N., Qaiser, , A., & Naveed, , R.
(2021). Impact of Work-From-Home Human Resource Practices on the Performance of
Online Teaching Faculty During Coronavirus Disease 2019. Retrieved from Frontiers in
psychology: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.740644
9