Upload
others
View
12
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Global HRM
Basic Assumptions
Major growth opportunities for large organizations are
at the international level
Going across national borders creates the need to
coordinate and manage actions of employees from
different cultures, educational levels, etc.
Cultural, legal, and other differences affect all levels
of HRM functions (e.g., selection, training, etc.)
And now for a short quiz: Number
Why Move Beyond National Level?
New markets
Reduce labor costs
Needed knowledge, skills, or resources may not be readily available
locally
Technology makes operating at a distance feasible
Operate on a 24/7 basis
Easier to do than in the past
Levels of Global Participation
See Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright (2009), Fig. 15.1, p. 437
Factors Affecting HRM in International Markets
Global HRM
Culture
EducationEconomic Systems
Political-Legal
Systems
(Wiletzky, 2009)
Example: Culture
• Culture – a community’s set of shared assumptions
about how the world works and what ideals are worth
striving for.
• Culture can greatly affect a country’s laws.
• Culture influences what people value, so it affects
people’s economic systems and efforts to invest in
education.
• Culture often determines the effectiveness of various
HRM practices.
(Wiletzky, 2009)
• Cultural characteristics influence the ways members of
an organization behave toward one another as well as
their attitudes toward various HRM practices.
• Cultures strongly influence appropriateness of HRM
practices.
• Cultural differences can affect how people communicate
and how they coordinate their activities.
(Wiletzky, 2009)
Culture
Basic idea is that culture impacts how managers relate to employees
or “how leaders are expected to lead.” Another example: How training
takes place and role of the trainer.
Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture
1. Individualism/Collectivism Describes the strength of the relation between an individual and other individuals in the society.
2. Power Distance Concerns the way the culture deals with unequal distribution of power and defines the amount of inequality that is normal.
3. Uncertainty Avoidance Describes how cultures handle the fact that the future is unpredictable.
4. Masculinity/Femininity The emphasis a culture places on practices or qualities that have traditionally been considered masculine or feminine.
5. Long-term/Short-term Orientation
Suggests whether the focus of cultural values is on the future (long term) or the past and present (short term).
(Wiletzky, 2009)
(cf. Weiten, 2011, p. 526)
Terms for Employees in an International Workforce
• Parent-country national – employee who was born and
works in the country in which an organization’s
headquarters is located.
• Host-country national – employee who is a citizen of the
country (other than parent country) in which an organization
operates a facility.
• Third-country national – employee who is a citizen of a
country that is neither the parent country nor the host
country of the employer.
(Wiletzky, 2009)
Terms for Employees (continued)
• When organizations operate overseas, they hire a
combination of parent-country nationals, host-country
nationals, or third-country nationals.
• Expatriates – employees assigned to work in another
country.
– “A citizen of one country living and working in another country.”
(Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 1998, p. 518)
(Wiletzky, 2009)
Local vs. Expatriates: Advantages and Disadvantages (1 of 2)
(cf. Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 1998, p. 520)
Locals
• Decreases labor costs
• Shows trust
• Increases local acceptance of
organization
• Helps reflect local knowledge and
issues in decisions
• Potential problems balancing global
and local priorities
• May lead to delays in making difficult
local decisions
• Local labor pool may not contain
necessary KSAOs and competencies
• Possible decline in corporate oversight
and control
Advantages Disadvantages
Local vs. Expatriates: Advantages and Disadvantages (2 of 2)
Expatriates
• Increased transfer of business
practices
• May increase corporate control and
coordination
• Employee development (e.g.,
multinational experience)
• May be used to develop local talent
• Problems adapting to and returning
from international assignments
• To locals, expatriates (and company)
viewed as foreigners
• Costs for travel, moving, etc.
• Possible personal and family issues
• Use of expatriates may be prohibited
or time-limited by host nation laws,
etc.
Advantages Disadvantages
(cf. Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 1998, p. 520)
Criteria for Selection of Employees for Foreign Assignments
1. Competency in the employee’s area of expertise
2. Ability to communicate verbally and nonverbally in the foreign country
3. Flexibility, tolerance of ambiguity, and sensitivity to cultural differences
4. Motivation to succeed and enjoyment of challenges
5. Willingness to learn about the foreign country’s culture, language, and customs
6. Support from family members
(Wiletzky, 2009)
Selection of Expatriates: Examples
(Bennett, 2002, p. 4)
Examples of standardized measures:
• Overseas Assignment Inventory
• Culture Shock Inventory
• Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory
Also use:
• Structured behavioral interviews
• Assessment centers
• Self-assessment programs
Expatriates: Examples of Problems
Career blocked or sidetracked
Culture shock
Lack of proper recruitment, selection, training, and
orientation
Overemphasis on technical skills
“Dumping ground” for problem employees
Family problems
Problems upon return (loss of status, lack of respect for
new skills, problems with return position, reverse culture
shock)
(Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 1998, pp. 522-525)
Profile of Effective Expatriate Spouse: Examples
(Bennett, 2002, p. 2-3)
Good listener; “concerned about others”
Flexible in response to ideas, beliefs, or points of view
Effective at building and maintaining relationships with
diverse persons
Respect for others; “nonethnocentric”
Good relations with immediate family
Other issues to consider include impact on:
• Spouse’s career
• Children’s educational and other needs
Effects of Culture on Training Design
See Noe et al. (2009), Table 15.1. p. 447
International HR: Training Topic Examples
(Kreicker, 2005)
• Intercultural competency
• Language training
• Cultural training & coaching
• Security briefing
• Employee’s expectations for assignment
• Company’s expectations for assignment
• Business culture training
• Management training
• Informational meetings
Performance Management Across National Boundaries
Differences may include:
– Which behaviors are rated
– How and the extent to which performance is measured
– Who performs the rating
– How feedback is required
(Wiletzky, 2009)
Compensating Expatriates
• Balance sheet approach –adjusts expatriate’s
compensation so that it gives her/him the same standard
of living as in the home country plus extra pay for the
inconvenience of locating overseas.
• This approach involves an effort by the global
organization to ensure that its expatriates are “made
whole.”
(Wiletzky, 2009)
The Balance
Sheet for
Determining
Expatriate
Compensation
See Noe et
al. (2009),
Fig. 15.6, p.
457
Compensating Expatriates (continued)
After setting the total pay, the organization divides
this amount into the four components of the total pay
package:
1. Base salary
2. Tax equalization allowance
3. Benefits
4. Allowances
(Wiletzky, 2009)
International
Assignment
Allowance
Form
See Noe et al. (2009),
Fig. 15.7, p. 460
Helping Expatriates Return Home
Repatriation – the process of preparing expatriates
to return home from foreign assignment.
1. Communication: the expatriate receives information
and recognizes changes at home while abroad.
2. Validation: giving the expatriate recognition for the
overseas service when this person returns home.
(Wiletzky, 2009)