Question 1:
In large companies like Ford, HRM tends to develop strategically because the IHRM managers are a leading factor towards the contribution in the management of these firms. By having a global view of the marketplace, the managers can conduct their business taking advantage of resources available thus taking advantage of the markets.
Moreover, HRM tends to develop in firms like Ford since they employ an MNE business strategy that provides different varieties of competitive advantage. The approach ensures improved standards and quality of services thus enforcing Human Resource Managerial skills. By this, the companies can modify products to meet customer requirements and wants.
Furthermore, the MNE strategy tends to intertwine with high demand needs. This enhances how firms like Ford can supply large quantities of their products to the local market.
Regardless of any national or cultural differences, the MNE Strategy tends to unify how these companies conduct business. This makes it easy for the Human Resource Management to manage resources at the local level without many barriers being involved (The Internationalization of Human Management).
Lastly, the employment of receptive MNE strategies makes it easy for global integration. This lowers the degree of responsiveness at the local level. For this reason, the firm is tightly coupled regarding management of its branches thus cooperation becomes easy.
Question 2:
Alternatives in the management of human resources exist in various forms:
Branching of departments can be one step towards diversifying their global market. To reduce the tightly coupled Human Resource Management at the local level, these firms can opt to split the resource management to varying geographical areas to enforce good coverage in larger markets (The Internationalization of Human Management).
Furthermore, drafting the IHRM policies and practices by these firms can lead to the realization on proper guidelines on how individuals can be managed. These policies can be meant to manage how employees behave on a daily basis.
Moreover, the cohesiveness in the MNE strategy can be enhanced by ensuring that local and regional offices behave as independent companies. Through this Strategy, Human Resource Management becomes easier at the local level. This makes it easy for management at the global level (The Internationalization of Human Management).
Question 3:
HRM Issues that may arise to a firm that is looking to go multinational or transnational
The major international human resource management setbacks that can affect a company that is set to grow from a regional company to an international or transnational firm are issues mostly to do with staffing and adaptation of policies and practices of the foreign market that the firm is looking to venture in. For instance, a company such as Ford Motors which looks to venture from the local United States market to a market in Asia, in a country such as Japan, is the fact that it will require to engage the locals in employment opportunities at the firm, hence finding the skilled labor that may be in plenty from the local market may be a tough task. Another issue that such a company may encounter is language barrier between the staff that the firm has brought from its headquarters and the local staff that the firm has employed. This might bring about lagging of the firms activities in its production of either goods or services (Strategic International Human Resource Management).
Practices and policies are deemed to affect almost all, if not all companies that are expanding to a multinational or transnational status. This is in the sense that most of these companies expand in foreign countries that have different cultures from their home country making it difficult for them to adapt to some of the policies and integrate these policies in the firm. Human resource specialists say that incorporating these foreign practices and policies into the firm plays a very vital role in determining the failure or success of a firm in the new market (Strategic International Human Resource Management).
References:
Strategic International Human Resource Management. (n.d.). Chapter 2.
The Internationalization of Human Management. (n.d.). Chapter 1.
