INTERNATIONAL HRM Chapter 10 Contemporary issues in IHRM

INTERNATIONAL HRM Chapter 10 Contemporary issues in IHRM

Multinationals and Electronic Human Resource Management n Electronic human resources (e. HR): automation of various aspects of the human resources system of a company

Strategic Benefits of e. HR Systems n Reduce HR and administrative system cost n Boosts productivity n Improve HR services to employees n Employees take control of their own data n Repository of the wealth of knowledge and skills of expatriates n Employee tracking for career management and other HR purposes n Repository of information for outside stakeholders

Proper Steps to e. HR Implementation n Develop business case to justify using e. HR or upgrade to e. HR n Make the system customer-focused n Be proactive n Organize collected data in ways that is useful to the organization

Strategic HR Issues in International Assignments n Approaches to sending employees abroad: n Administrative approach involves merely assisting the employee destined for an international assignment with paperwork and minor logistics n Tactical approach involves managing the “risk or failure” factor of overseas assignment by providing paperwork assistance and a modest amount of training. n Strategic approach involves extensive support and coordination of the international assignment and a strategized repatriation Copyright © 2002 South. Western. All rights reserved. 14– 5

Copyright © 2002 South. Western. All rights reserved. 14– 6

Strategic HR Issues in International Assignments (cont’d) Copyright © 2002 South. Western. All rights reserved. 14– 7

Setting Strategic HR Standards Copyright © 2002 South. Western. All rights reserved. 14– 8

Reading 14. 1: Managing a Global Workforce: Challenges and Strategies n Challenges: n Deployment in getting the right skills to the right place in the organization regardless of geographic location. n Knowledge and innovation dissemination and transfer where all business units concurrently receive and provide information. n Talent identification and development of those employees with the abilities and skills to function effectively in a global organization. Copyright © 2002 South. Western. All rights reserved. 14– 9

Reading 14. 1: Managing a Global Workforce: Challenges and Strategies n Strategies for managing the global workforce: n Develop aspatial careers for employees that provide rich contextual knowledge of the environments and cultures in which organization operates. n Provide specific awareness building assignments that develop cross-sensitivity to cultural intricacies of a global enterprise in high potential employees in a short time. n Utilize SWAT teams of experts deployed on a short-term basis to solve operational problems and complete technical projects. Copyright © 2002 South. Western. All rights reserved. 14– 10

International Labor Relations n Key issue: degree to which organized labor can limit the choices of an international business. n Labor concerns: Counter bargaining power with threat to move jobs off-shore. n Keep high-skill work at home and ship low-skill work to foreign plants. n Importing employment practices and contractual agreements from the home-country. n © Mc. Graw Hill Companies, Inc. , 2000 18 -14

Strategy of International Labor n Try to establish international labor organizations. n Lobby legislatures to restrict multinationals. n Use United Nations to regulate multinationals. Efforts have not been successful. © Mc. Graw Hill Companies, Inc. , 2000 18 -15

Multinationals’ Approach to Labor Relations n Decentralize: labor laws, union power and nature of collective bargaining varies from country to country. n Centralize: Want to rationalize global operations. n Need to control labor costs and maximize threat of move to lower cost country. n Before move, get new union approval for work practices. n © Mc. Graw Hill Companies, Inc. , 2000 18 -16

Strategic IHRM • HRM has become more strategy-oriented than traditional personnel management. Ø Corporate strategy may emanate from the centre, but the roles of national environments and diverse stakeholders now impact on HRM. • IHRM has evolved as the management of people in diverse locations has grown in importance for MNEs. • IHRM takes in three elements: Øcorporate strategy, Øenvironmental factors and Øpolicies & practices.

The transnational manager • The transnational manager understands and adapts to differing cultures, often moving among several of the firm’s foreign locations. • The requirements – a blend of knowledge, skills and abilities: • Knowledge of relevant foreign language • Understanding of foreign business practices • Ability to adapt to differing cultural environments • Inter-personal skills • Training and cultural acclimatization improve the likelihood of success in the international assignment.

Figure 9. 6: The transnational manager

Cross-cultural teams • Teamworking may be internal to the company or involve partner firms. • The benefits of cross-cultural teams: • Participants gain understanding of different perspectives and ways of doing things, building cross-cultural competencies. • Diversity is a creative spur, generating more ideas. • Cross-cultural teams reflect the firm’s differing locations. • Teamworking among culturally diverse people involves reaching a consensus on purpose, roles and methods of decision-making.

Acquisitions and IHRM • Cross-border mergers and acquisitions now encompass companies from both developed and developing countries • Can involve privatization of a state-owned organization, or a state-controlled company taking over a privately-owned firm • Issues which arise: • Whether the targeted firm will have to slim down operations, and how • How to reconcile differing corporate cultures and HR policies • Degrees of integration are possible from independence to full integration.

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