“Hire and fire” across borders: A personal take
The hire and fire mentality is permeating a number of markets, bringing upon significant changes in the nature of labor across the globe.
The gimmick behind “hire and fire” stems from a free market culture in which an employee is hired short notice, has to go through long trial periods and can be just as easily be let go. The trend emerged initially from the US and comes from a tradition of human resource management which is profit driven. In the past years the trend started changing and shaping international markets, with multi-national companies more than gladly trying to lobby their way into labour law. But the mentality, or better yet philosophy around hire and fire is not universally applicable and has limitations when it comes to foreign markets. The best and probably most notable example is the Germanic “Rhineland” system, which presents itself as a managed and moderated capitalism, with longterm commitments from both employer and labour.
“Miete und Feuer”
Now, this might not be a direct take on Beluga’s main business, but rather more a rant on the sidelines to highlight human resource management in a globalized world. Currently, I live and work in Germany and also invest time in my passion freelance project, Beluga from home. My personal tale is that I’ve decided to take freelancing more seriously and have quit my job accordingly. In US this would automatically translate into: “Hey, it is good to have had you here, take care and good luck.” In Germany, the same action sounds like this: “ Hey, thank you for your hard work, we’ll be needing you to perform X tasks until your leaving date.” Basically, you cannot just up and go in Germany, nor can you just help out a couple of more months in US.
Under German labour law, it is difficult to fire people and even if quitting, the system provides security in exchange for loyalty.
In fact when researching keywords and expressions similar to “Hire and Fire” on Google Deutschland, I’ve discovered something quite entertaining.
Not only is the concept foreign in Germany, it also seems virtually untranslatable in a realistic term. Google spewed out “Rent and fire(blaze)” which gives a better understanding, that not only are Germans not concerned about this, it is a topic with no localized term.
India’s special case
So, I took my experiment a little further and wanted to see which countries make use of the term. To my surprise, one of the top keyword results was “hire and fire india”.
In India the concept is severly frowned upon and in similar fashion to Germany, goes against, the labour act. Without going into details about the specific devisions of the labour force, I’ve noticed a loophole, which allows corporations to apply the principle there. Exempt from the rule are thus officers from the private sectors, which as shown in practice, can be fired and hired at any given time with no reprimands. So distressing is the case within the private sector, that employees can be let go without former notice. Here an exercept I found originally posted in the Hindustan times:
“In another incident a very senior officer of the company arriving at work was stopped at the gate . His car keys were taken by the security guards and he was not allowed to enter the premises . Later on , he was informed by the management that his services were no longer required . No notice was given and no legal dues were ever paid to him .”
The global context
You might ask yourself how my personal account or any HR related subjects are relevant for Beluga Linguistics?
Well, the answers are quite simple. Beluga Linguistics, for one claims not only proficiency in offering the best translation services, but likes as a company to stay in touch with emerging trends which impact culture on a global scale. From the viewpoint of localization, it is precisely practices like this, which trickle into the bigger scheme of culturalization and offer a deeper knowledge of our clients and their needs as well as work ethics.
On the other hand, at Beluga we see how certain concepts cannot become universal and prove that in order to succeed in any business a “global” may not be the answer. Different cultures require different approaches, even with companies expanding across borders. Local might just be the solution for a lot of companies and the success of their campaigns.
About Beluga
Beluga helps fast-moving companies to translate their digital contents. With more than a decade of experience, professional linguists in all major markets and the latest translation technology at use, Beluga is a stable partner of many of the most thriving enterprises in the technology sector. The business goal: To help fast-growing companies offer their international audiences an excellent and engaging user experience.
