Distributive justice is the main concern here. If Lenovo gives these foreign employees special treatment, the Chinese employees are likely to demand the same treatment, as they too, have privacy needs. If these demands are met, it will lead to a huge increase in cost for Lenovo. If these demands are not met, it will most probably lead to resentment and a sense of unfairness amongst the Chinese employees due to differential treatment. Here it is clear that equal treatment of all employees fails to meet individual needs, but an individual-oriented policy is not a viable solution.

Managing foreign employees and overseas graduate returnees are diversity issues related to individual differences and cross-cultural management, whereas gender equality issues have more of a collective nature with potential legal implications. However, the solution of the former also has collective implication.

Not all haiguis are spoilt and ‘rotten apples’. Equally, not all home-grown graduate employees are ‘good apples’. You need to focus on those individuals who are causing the problem and deal with them directly. No preferential treatment should be given to those ‘who shout loud’. Team-working spirit ought to be emphasised and cultivated. Rewards (e.g. bonus, development opportunities and promotion) should be given based on merits and performance outcomes.

No, it is not. It is a well-known fact that women in different countries around the world commonly face a glass ceiling in corporate life. Women are more likely than men to be the casualties of organisational politics. Women are also likely to face a glass cliff, i.e. be put in leadership positions that can be described as precarious and thus have a higher risk of failure, either because they are in organisational units that are in crisis or because they are not given the resources and support needed for success.

Ask the HR team that is in charge of the development of the global DM programme to visit as many operations as possible in different countries to gain first-hand experience and understanding of a variety of local contexts. Launch a global forum for DM that consists of HR managers, line manager representatives and employee representatives. Make sure the forum is championed by one of the Corporate vice presidents. Allow individual countries to develop their own DM initiatives based on broad guidelines developed by the forum. Share good practices and lessons learned among members in the forum and encourage them to take them back to their home country for wider dissemination. Deepen the implementation of the ‘Mobility Plan’ to create Global Talent Management that is multi-directional and multi-destination. Ensure that the DM agenda is part of the ‘Mobility Plan’ of management development. Monitor and measure DM activities and outcomes at corporate and operational levels. But be aware that such DM activities systems are all much easier said than done!