International Human Resource Management
Question one
International Human Resource Management is the interplay among three dimensions: HR Activities, Types of employees and Types of Countries (Morgan, 1986).
Introduction
The world around us has been transferred and transformed by the era of liberalization and globalization as facilitated by advancements on information technology. Basically, the main aim of human resource management (HRM) is enabling the appropriate development of the human resources to ensure that quality culture is maintained and customer’s satisfaction is achieved both on the national level and the global level. (Peters & Waterman, 1992).
Analysis
The proffered analysis depicts a clear insight on the forces and the trend behind International Human Resource Management. Based on the availed definition which depicts that the concept embraces global management of human resources in relation the process of sourcing, allocating and effectively utilizing their skills, knowledge, idea, plan and the perspective in relation to Total Quality Management, International Human Resources Management therefore embraces 3 essential dimensions as availed by (Morgan, 1986). These dimensions are:
- HR activities
- Types of employees
- Types of Countries
These dimensions are interlinked to each other based on the respective aspects that are integrated towards availing a clear insight on the concept. The dimensional classification of HR activities examines the correlation between people and the environment, (Mockler, 2001). The increase in competition has positioned human resource as the core factor with every organization mandated on identifying, recruiting and channeling competent human resources into their business operations towards improving the productivity and the functional effectiveness and efficiency. Defined as the process of procuring, allocating and effectively utilizing the human resources within an international business, International Human Resource Management (IHRM) is a strategic concept that every organization must embrace to achieving a competitive advantage. This hence generate a comparative process that associate factors that in conflict.
Under this entity, broad activities of International Human Resource Management (IHRM) are encompassed. They are; procurement, allocation and the utilization of the human resources that cover all the respective six activities under the domestic human resource management. That is planning, Employees Hiring, Training and Development, Remuneration, Performance Management and Industrial Ructions (Morrison, 1992). These activities are integrated under the International Human Resource Management hence ensuring effectiveness and the efficiency of the human resources on the organizations operations towards achieving the set organizational objectives.
Types of employees
Under this entity, a clear insight is drawn on the three types of employees of an international business. These employees are; Parent Country Nations (PCNs), Host Country Nationals (HCNs) and Third Country Nationals (TCNs) (Mockler, 2001). A clear example on the respective notion presented under the types of employees can be drawn on IBM which hires employees from Australia in its Australian operations, later sends US citizens to Asia Pacific countries on assignment duties and also sends some of its Singaporean employees to its Japanese operations (Lynch, 2002). This offers a clear example the concept availed above.
Types of Countries
Apart from the three employees approach, three national or country approaches are embraced under International Human Resource Management activities. These are; the host nation where the subsidiary company may be located, the home country where the company head quarters are located, and other countries that may be sources of labor or finance for the company (Lynch, 2002).
Conclusion
There are various aspects that are attached to International Human Resources Management. The proffered analysis offers a clear insight on the activities and dimensions of IHRM. The benefits of IHRM are diverse based on the heterogeneous functions that the departments are required to execute or indulge such as increase involvement in the employee’s personal life, managing the external forces among others. As technology facilitates globalization and liberalization International Human Resource Management requires more dynamic policies towards ensuring that these trends doesn’t alter the organizations global performances (Certo, 2002).
Question two
Our national culture is so deeply ingrained in us that it cannot easily be erased by an external force such as company culture. Critically discuss
Introduction
The cultural diversity or the national culture for the employees or the society represents an essential problem for the managers. This is evident not only on the majority of the multinational companies but also the national companies. When an organization opts to employ personnel from other countries, they are required to obey the restrictions coherent to the cultural differences. The national culture is deeply ingrained in to the respective society forcing the managers to develop other strategies to enhance competitiveness and efficiency (Certo, 2002). The external forces such as a company culture can limitedly develop strategies that can contradict with the national culture with most of the global companies seeking to develop strategies aimed at adopting the culture under which they operates (Mockler, 2001).
Analysis
As stipulated in the proffered analysis, cultural diversity or the national culture have a significant impact on the company with manager posed with an essential problem towards addressing the factor. The respective cultural groups can be used to understand and offer a clear insight on the impact of culture on the company activities as stipulated in the preceding analysis. Still on the aspect of cultural diversity, we find that communication is an important factor as it defines communities since communication serves the purpose of linking people together (Peters and Waterman, 1992). During communication it is of vital importance to remain aware of the cultural diversity that may exist among different people and how to respectfully engage with such individuals or communities. Cultural diversity within an organisation or community is very beneficial however failure to grasp its core aspects or factors can lead to serious rifts among people. As such it is important to carefully understand cultural diversity and how it works to positively gain from a diverse culture within an organisation or community. It is vital to obtain ideology and information from various diversities (Mockler, 2001). The cultural groups are dynamic and have functional status which could generate a hugely undifferentiated methodology that is aimed at examining relevance in the phenomena of internationally accepted dynamics. Thus, the relationships generated would envision a largely significant process that would be universally integrated into cultural groups. However, this could be a factor that may in one platform prevent an important derivative of extensiveness in assuming the overall impact of culture within a given area of concentration, whether global or within a local environment.
Distance in front of power
This signifies the essence given by the members of the unequal economical society and social hence an impact on the company employee’s perception (Peters and Waterman, 1992)
Individualism or collectivism
Under this approach, a description on the relations between peoples in availed. The notion presented depicts that the richer the country is the individuated the comportment of its inhabitants with the reverse applying (Kim, 1991)
The masculineness or womanhood
This describes the position that is occupied by the respective culture in relation to equality between the sexes. The analogy created under this approach is that the masculine society avails the role between a man and a woman as differentiated while in the feminine cultures the roles are interchangeable with the existing much equality. This is evident in various countries such as predominant masculine cultures being in; Japan, Greece, Italy, Venezuela while Sweden, Denmark, Holland and Finland being feminine cultures (Certo, 2002).
The control of incertitude
This is the measure under which the individuals are threaded by the unknown. Various cultures in which the control of the incertitude is large tends to prevail the need for planning, security, order as evident in France, Japan, Greece, Portugal, Belgium while in Denmark, Sweden, Great Britain among others the control of incertitude is reduced hence assuming risks in the developed activity (Hofstede, 1996). Immense power is hence established continuously within the mainstream lifecycle of specific cultural enhancements. The ultimate consideration which is overly examined by the composite features of incertitude explains the core attributes relevant to changing individual development metrics.
Conclusion
The proffered analysis avails a detailed insight on how ingrained deeply our national culture is, such that external forces such as the company culture have little or no effect towards erasing the respective impact. The proffered cultural groups and the attached entities depicts some of the cultural practices within the society that companies or firms both at the national level and the global level have to embrace to adopt while seeking to invest on such diverse cultures. Managers dealing with the multinational companies are faced with complex decisions as they seek to hire personnel from the multidimensional geographical spaces (inclusive of the national companies hiring employees from different nationalities) with the problem of coexistence of cultures in the same company emerging. Culture impact on the human resource management and the employees performance is diverse with the managers required to develop strategic approaches to avert the attached risks (Hofstede, 1996).
References
- P.V.Morgan, (1986) IHRM : Fact or Fiction. Personnel Administrator, Vol 31, 9 (1986) pp 44
- Certo, S.C. (2002), Modern management. Diversity, quality, ethics and global medium, Teora Publishing House, Bucharest, p.716.
- Hofstede, G. (1996), Management of multicultural structure. Software of reasoning, Editura Economică, Bucharest.
- Kim, J. (1991), Issues in Workforce Diversity, Pannel Presentation at the First Annual National Diversity Conference, San Francisco.
- Lynch, R. (2002) Corporative Strategy, ARC Publishing House, Bucharest.
- Mockler, R. J. (2001), Strategic Multinational Management. An integrative process based on contexts, Editura Economică, Bucharest.
- Morrison, A. M. (1992), Leadership Diversity as Strategy, Jossey - Bass, San Francisco.
- Peters, T., Waterman, R. (1992), In Search of Excellence, Harper and Row, New - York.
