Hr Issues in International Projects

7/29/2019 Hr Issues in International Projects

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A Preliminary Study on Human Resource Management inInternational ConstructionJianjian Du, Chunlu Liu and David Picken (School of Architecture and Building, DeakinUniversity, Geelong, Australia)

ABSTRACTAs construction companies continue to exploreforeign construction markets, variousinternational construction projects are beingundertaken in all corners of the world. In aninternational construction project with manyunique and complicated characteristics, humanresource management can playa significant rolein promoting the efficient use of complex humanresources. The aim of this paper is to establish avalid foundation for further research onmeasuring the impact of human resourcemanagement economically for internationalconstruction projects. The paper examineshuman resource management literature andidentifies the application of the relatedmanagement techniques to the constructionindustry. In addition, the paper uses the literatureanalysis to describe the nature of humanresource management with particular referenceto international construction projects. Inparticular, the research described in this paperidentifies economic performance factors in theimplementation human resource management ininternational construction projects. This paperalso identifies the social effects of humanresource management practices.Keywords: Human resource management,constructionINTRODUCTIONHuman resource management (HRM) isconcerned with managing people within theemployer-employee relationship. Specifically, itinvolves the performanr.e of people in achievingthe organization's objectives and the satisfactionof personal employee needs. HRM can be amajor contributor to the success of the enterprise.HRM has been regarded in various industries asone of the most critical elements of businesssuccess. The successful implementation of HRMfunctions are elements for improving personal,team and organizational performance (Dainty etal., 2000; Ng et al., 2001; Belout and Gauvreau,2004). A number of authors state that the basicfunctions of HRM include planning, job designdevising position descriptions, employee

selection/recruitment, employee training,performance appraisal systems, reward systems,employee relationships and employee's healthand safety (Druker et al., 1996; Maloney, 1997;Bratton and Gold, 1999; Koch, 2003; Loosemoreet al., 2003; Ramlall, 2003). HRM substantiallyinfluences the output of business, for example,on quality, technology, competitive strategy anddevelopment. Furthermore, HRM should includepractices, which provide training anddevelopment opportunities for all employees toimprove individual skills and flexibility of roles(Mullins, 1999).Human resource management has a significantinfluence in the construction industry. Althoughconstruction technologies and managementtechniques have advanced rapidly, projectmanagers still need to pay more attention topeople management. Human resources stillaccount for the majority of costs in mostconstruction projects (Loosemore et al., 2003).International construction projects normallyrequire a longer time span and more parties areinvolved (Chan and Tse, 2003). HR issues havepositive and adverse implications forconstruction industries in all countries (Ofori,2003). HRM is also a significant aspect of thewhole planning and project managementprocess in construction projects, in particularinternational construction projects that involveforeign firms as collaborators or competitors(Bon and Crosthwaite, 2000; Mawhinney, 2001).The complex international construction climate,caused by increased global pricecompetitiveness, development of technologies,changing industry and employment legislation,and changing workforce composition hasprompted project managers to utilise theiremployees more effectively to gain competitiveadvantage and project success. In recent yearsthere has been a widespread realisation thatimprovement of HRM performance is a criticalelement to achieving improvement in efficiency,productivity and cost effectiveness in theconstruction industry. Howes and Tah (2003)describe how the situational model of HRM, thestaff performance model of HRM and the sociotechnical model of HRM are being implemented

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in construction. As a growing number ofconstruction companies are attempting todevelop foreign construction markets, largenumbers of international construction projectsare being undertaken around the world. Due tothe complex characteristics of internationalconstruction projects, there is an increasing needis to understand the relationships betweenvarious project participants and the strategies ofHRM, and to develop an efficient HRM approachfor an international construction project.The aim of this paper is to establish a validfoundation for further research on measuring theimpact of human resource managementeconomically for international constructionprojects. In the following section, the paperexamines HRM literature and identifies theapplication of these management techniquesand then uses the literature analysis to describethe nature of HRM with particular reference tointernational construction projects. Then,characteristics of HRM are pointed out bycomparing them with traditional personnelmanagement in Section 3. In internationalconstruction projects, the influences andrelationships will be introduced between allproject participants and HRM. Interestingly,some of the HRM characteristics and strategiesare quite different at the company level and theproject level in construction. Section 4 presentsthe economic performances in which the HRMprocess affects project participants in aninternational construction project. In particular,the added values, costs and benefits of HRM areidentified and analysed in the context ofconstruction project implementation. This paperprovides the basis for promoting the efficient useof complex human resources involved ininternational construction projects with uniqueand complicated characteristics. Finally,conclusions are presented in the fifth Section.HRM IN INTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTIONHRM can play an important role in the process ofproject management. Although HRM continuesto operate with the most basic of personnelfunctions, which differ little from the traditionalpractices of personnel management, HRM hasqualitatively developed in its strategies. HRM inconstruction has typically been an emergentrather than a strategic or deliberative processand the construction industry has not been asdiligent in implementing HRM as other industries(Brandenburg et a/., 2006). Internationalconstruction projects are one of the activities ofthis industry, which involve multinationalparticipants from different political, legal,economic and cultural backgrounds. HRM hasthe potential to be of critical importance in theinternational construction project for the way in

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which various employees, despite the casualnature of employment, are benefited from theprocess of the project. HRM can also contributeto success in achieving the main objectives ofattaining target dates, meeting financial plansand controlling the quality of the final project.HRM for international collaborationWith the globalisation of economics, culture,politics and techniques, internationalconstruction is becoming an important branch inconstruction management. The environment ofan international construction project is far morecomplex than that of domestic projects and itsHRM strategies challenge the project managersas well as the enterprise leaders. Constructioncontractors involved in international projectsshould respond to the diversity of environmentrequired for the HRM strategies. If the principalemployers of international construction projectsare to avoid losing their best staff to theircompetitors, they must develop more effectiveways of rewarding and developing theirworkforces and meet individual employee careerneeds and expectations; not just in terms offormal employment contracts but also in terms oftheir employees' informal expectations of therelationship between themselves and theiremployer (Dainty et a/., 2000).HRM not only serves and supports themanagement goals and dynamic changes ofinternational construction projects but alsodirectly influences them. HRM is more suited tothe complex requirements of economic activitieswithin international construction projects thantraditional personnel management techniquesbecause HRM strategies can better reflect theentire project strategies. For instance, humanresource managers of an international projectneed to introduce HRM strategies and practicesto suit the specific interests of a client and thecharacteristics of a unique project. The casualnature of employment in internationalconstruction projects makes the planning ofhuman asset requirements an extremely vagueexercise, which can result in low productivity,high employee turnover rates and reducedmotivation to train and plan for the long future(Ng et a/., 2001). As the human resourcemanagement priorities may differ in variouscountries, another challenge is in taking accountof the effects of cultural differences in the contextof the international applicability of common HRMstrategies.HRM at the project levelConstruction is a project based industry whichinvolves all project participants such as clients,designers, contractors, constructors, andconsultants. Most project participants have a


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short-term relationship of cooperation during theproject period. Often they can be from differentcultural backgrounds, and also possess differentconstruction professional and skill levels. Due tothe characteristics of construction projects andvarious project participants, an increasinglyurgent need is to implement HRM to managerelationships among project participants, improveteam performance and promote value forindividuals in construction projects. Humanresource managers need to considermulticultural factors when they constitute andimplement HRM strategies and practices at theproject level.At each level there is a significant difference inthe strategic goals of HRM. At the company levelHRM strategies should ensure that thecompany's human resource requirements for thelong term are met both in terms of numbers andcategories of employee (Cole, 2002). In theconstruction industry, a company needs projectmanagers to make HRM decisions at the projectlevel (Loose more et al., 2003). Therefore, projectmanagers need to depend on the naturalcharacteristics of projects to establish a specificstrategy that is suitable for the needs ofemployees at the project level. The particularhuman resource strategies for a project need tofocus on short-term human resourcerequirements to accomplish a constructionproject successfully.There is also a difference in training betweenHRM at the two levels. Training is one of themost important sections in HRM functions. At thecompany level, the training plans should provideeffective training and development opportunitiesfor all employees to enhance personal skills andmulti-skill capability. Many companies includingconstruction companies make expensiveinvestments in long-term training plans fordeveloping their employees, which is proven tobe worthwhile for company development(Ramlall, 2003). Project managers attempt toprovide systematic training for their employees'personal development, but the duration of, andresource stress in, a project, and the routine anddaily issues of projects restrict the extensiveimplementation of training. It is not really feasibleto provide long-term training for employees atthe project level. Generally, very simple trainingsuch as understanding international constructionregulations is provided for project participants. Atthe project level, the primary responsibility is,largely, to take the existing skill and knowledgelevel and manage their existing humanresources to achieve the maximal performance.However, HRM at the company level focuses ondevelopment of employees' potential, notnecessarily with particular projects in mind, but

which can improve the performance in the longterm period.It is generally agreed that internationalconstruction projects possess a variety of humanbehavioural variables in addition to theconventional technical variables in budget,schedule and quality (Han and Diekmann, 2001;Belout and Gauvreau, 2004). With respect tosuccess, historically, construction projects havebeen managed in terms of technical perspectives,including cost, time and quality. Internationalconstruction projects involve not only technicalchallenges common to domestic constructionprojects, but also the complex and interrelatedbehavioural difficulties particular to internationalprojects. Human resource management appliedto international construction is not a revolutionarystrategy in itself, but the concept and elements ofhuman resource management approaches mayserve as building blocks for developing theworkforce management strategies for complexand extensive international construction projects.HRM IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES ININTERNATIONAL CONSTRUCTIONPractically, the usual requirement is for businessstrategy to be translated into human resourcepractices. HRM plays an active role in thisprocess. Human resource managers need todevelop human resource strategies based on thedefined business strategies. As a consequence,a human resource strategy directly influencesthe success of a business. In construction,effective and efficient HRM strategies positivelyaffect costs, schedule and quality at the projectlevel.Critical factors influencing HRMimplementationWith the rapid growth of globalization, HRMimplemented in the construction industry needsto develop its strategies and practices to suitinternational construction projects. Therefore, itis very important to understand the differencesbetween HRM in general internationalbusinesses and in international construction.HRM in international construction has someparticular characteristics, as distinct from HRM inother international businesses such as in theaviation industry and international trade, or HRMin domestic construction. Those characteristicsare the embodiment of general and uniqueinfluence factors for HRM in an internationalconstruction project.Generally, international construction projectsinvolve more complex relations between thevarious project participants, project profiles andspecial labour requirements when compared todomestic construction projects (Liu et al., 2003).

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Societal factors

Social formationDevelopments innew technology

Communicationmethod

Value judgment

Culture factors

Local

Economic factorsInternational

economic trendsLocal economicconditions

Professional level ofboth local labour

Extent ofcommercialisation

Trade unionactivities in thelabour market

Action by competitorsin the labour market

Workforce factors

Figure 1: Unique factors affecting HRM implementation in international constructionFirst of all, typically project participants are from improve their skills to fulfil long-term businessdifferent cultural backgrounds, which are objectives. On the other hand, human resourcereflected in the way that people are managed, managers do not have time to provide long-termhow people are evaluated, how people are hired, training planning to enhance employees ' skillsand in particular, how people are promoted and performance at the project level. To maintain(Loosemore, 1999). It is generally acknowledged the interests of both clients and contractors, thethat the contextual environment of a country also foremost responsibility of human resourceinfluences the construction industry of each managers is to manage the current employees tojurisdiction (Chan and Tse, 2003). Therefore, contribute their maximum value andHRM strategy that is implemented in an performances in international constructioninternational construction project needs to be projects. In addition, most employees on anbased on the cultural backgrounds of project international construction project are oftenparticipants . As a result, HRM strategy in an involved only for a short term . Human resourceinternational project needs to satisfy multicultural managers therefore need to increase the level ofneeds. Human resource managers need to employees' loyalty through some specialspend a relatively long time to improve strategies and practices such as high rewardcommunication among project participants. This systems, systematic employee welfare supportincludes enhancing the understanding of and equitable performance appraisal systems.different work methods, work ethics andtechnical level among all project participants. A Furthermore, the unique factors of anmodel of HRM which involves multicultural needs international construction project create morewithin projects can help project managers to substantial influences on the implementation ofdevelop favourable employee relations among all HRM. For example, Kim (1999) and Milliman etproject participants in international construction al. (2002) state that the implementation ofsuccessful global strategies needs to pay moreprojects. attention to the cultural differences in the HRM.Another main factor that affects HRM strategies The factors influencing the implementation ofis the duration of a construction project. HRM in international construction can beAccording to the duration of construction projects, identified and classified in various manners (LiuHRM needs to make its strategies based on et al. , 2003). Indicating these factors is importantshort-term objectives. For example, employee for all participants of an international project.training is varied between international Figure 1 presents an approach to formulatingconstruction projects and other international critical factors in detail, which hierarchicallybusinesses. For international business in genera l, affect HRM in international construction projects.employee training needs a highly systematic The factors presented here include internationalplan to develop employees' potential and and local labour markets, economic conditions,

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cultural factors and societal factors and can beextended with the future practice of HRM ininternational construction.Societal factors include development of newtechnologies, local government legislations andpolicies and social formation. The planning andimplementation of employee training are affectedsignificantly by the development of the newtechnologies. Engineering and managementconcepts, theories and technologies that theproject participants have acquired may differeach other because of the variety of theirbackgrounds. Social factors such as languagebarriers also contribute to difficulties in the HRMimplementation in international construction.Whilst scientific methods and engineeringtechnology are readily transferable, it is thehuman factor which makes for social differences.The history and mode of society, the customsand traditions, work habits, personal orcommunity attitudes and philosophy whichmakes for differences in efficiency, effectivenessof performance and ultimate success or failure ofan international construction project. Ignoranceor neglect of social determinants in internationalconstruction could well mean failure, frustrationand disappointment, but recognition of suchfactors, adequate investigation of andpreparation for overcoming the problemsassociated with them will ensure successfulinternational construction management.Cultural diversity is one of the most importantfactors that affects and impacts on strategiesand practices of HRM. In particular, trainingplanning, reward systems, performanceappraisal, leadership and employee relations inan international construction project need to beadjusted or optimised according to diversecultural backgrounds of its participants such astheir varied work ethic and value judgments.Because of the differences in the cultures ofcountries, there exists various kinds ofdifferences in their construction markets. Thesedifferences highly affect the tender and biddingmethods for construction projects, and decisionmaking. Although times may be changing, it isessential for an international constructionenterprise to adjust itself for each individualcountry. Understanding the market mechanics ofa country is fundamental for market entry andthe success of a construction enterprise in anoverseas market is to some extent dependent onthe investigation of the influence of local cultureonto the construction market. Communication isalso a key issue for project participants becauseof the different languages and the methods ofcommunication.Another important factor concerns the economiceffects which can flow from HRM implementation.

For instance, changes in exchange rates underfloating conditions can have drastic impacts onthe success of the projects as one objective ofthe constitution and implementation of HRMstrategies is for a project to be an economicsuccess. International and local economics alsoaffect both the planning and implementation ofHRM strategies and practices because theydirectly influence the project's success.In international and local markets, an unevenprofessional level of labour can directly affect thebenchmarks of employee selection. Moreover,job design, reward systems, and performanceappraisal are impacted strongly by activities ofcompetitors and trade unions in the labourmarket because those activities can providemore opportunities for job applicants. As aconsequence, an international constructioncompany faces great competition in the labourmarket. Given the increasingly competitivenature of the labour market, the recruitment andretention of employees, in particular professionaland managerial employees, challenges themanagers of the project. For example,construction managers normally acquireknowledge and skills in construction methodsand management techniques on the basis oflong-term practice, and turnover in this level ofemployee can significantly impact on the survivaland development of any internationalconstruction project and cause poor performance,low competitiveness and high technology loss:Governments have a large influence on theimplementation and management of internationalconstruction projects. A government'c; influencecan directly take place through tariffs on importsinto a country and through various taxes thatmay be imposed on foreigners operating withincountries, especially when they look to repatriateprofit derived from these foreign nations to theirhome countries. Furthermore, there is no doubtthat there exists some special treatmentaccorded to the domestic contractors in theconstruction markets of some countries, and theuse of the construction sector by the governmentto soak up excess capacity is a form of featherbedding that may better allow these contractorsto operate on a quite different basisinternationally than their competitors from othercountries. Another major way governments canaffect international construction projects is howthey follow up the agreements of internationalorganizations such as the World TradeOrganisation, the General Agreement on Tradeand Services and so on. As all governmentsseek to look after their own interests andinhabitants, there may not exist a true globalmarket with no barriers to trade. It is some way

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off before a relatively fair market can be builtworldwide for international construction projects.HRM functions of project participantsIn an international construction project, there arethe mutual influences between various projectparticipants and strategies of HRM. Therefore, itis necessary to understand the responsibility andfunction of all project participants for HRM in aninternational construction project. The mainproject participants include the client, contractor,project manager, consultants and government ina construction project. They all play an importantrole in project management process and HRM.Some of them have a significant impact on thestrategies of HRM, and some of them areimportant elements in some discrete practices ofHRM.Clients are usually defined as investors inprojects. They are original owners ofconstruction projects. The construction project'sobjectives and functions are devised by clients.Therefore, a client's interests and objectives canindirectly affect decision making in HRMstrategies. For instance, human resourcemanagers should make HRM strategies in lightof a project's requirements and objectives thatclients expected on HRM in the early stage ofconstruction project such as in the HRM planningstage. Clients can also give some suggestions tohuman resource managers (e.g. contractors orproject managers) to constitute particular humanresource strategies at the project level. TheseHRM strategies should be directly helpful inachieving success in construction projects.Naturally, contractors play an important role inHRM in international construction . Theresponsibilities of contractors include four majorparts. Firstly, contractors need to discuss withclients to adjust the objectives of constructionprojects. The adjustment is able to ensure thereasonable and accurate objective of projectsthat impact strongly on HRM in constructionprojects. Secondly, the contractor is one of thoseinvolved in HRM planning. Contractors need totransfer the client's interests to project managers,and both of them develop a particular HRM planbased on the client's interests and the objectivesof a construction project. Thirdly, contractorsneed to participate in devising positiondescriptions. They should make a set ofcomplete position descriptions with the projectmanagers. Lastly, the contractor has animportant role in recruitment. They need to helpthe project managers to select and recruit themost suitable employees.Project managers play a human resourcemanagement role in a construction project. In aninternational construction project, project

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managers are made up of local projectmanagers and overseas project managers. Thelocal project managers are from the location ofthe international construction project. Theyshould have complete comprehension of thelocal professional levels in construction,construction regulations and government polices.The local project managers can help clients andcontractors to make a set of HRM strategies thatare suitable for the characteristics of projects.The overseas project managers are from othercountries. Usually they are knowledgeable inadvanced methods of construction managementand construction technologies. They can play animportant role in HRM during the implementationof training.Consultants can play a role in promotingconstruction technologies at the project level. Forinstance, consultants who possess knowledge inadvanced construction techniques such asconstruction engineers can facilitate training ofemployees in some international constructionprojects. The professional skills and knowledgeof consultants in architecture, engineering ormanagement make significant contributions tothe implementation of HRM in a specific projectsuch as training, benchmarks of performanceappraisal and reward systems.Each project participant plays a different role inHRM over the period of an internationalconstruction project from its decision making tocompletion . Based on current practice ininternational construction, the key functions ofeach project participant are summarised inFigure 2. The time framework comprisesplanning, pre-implementation andimplementation stages.In the planning stage, due to cultural factors,HRM strategy planning and position descriptionsare quite different in an international constructionproject when compared to a domesticconstruction project. For example, a constructionengineer and a construction inspector can beone person in a construction project in somecountries due to different construction systemsand regulations. Hence, in such countries theduties of the two professions need to be includedin a position description. The local projectmanagers who understand the local constructionregulations, environment and labour market playvery important roles in implementation of HRMover the whole project process. The local projectmanagers will directly participate in theestablishment of HRM planning and job designwith contractors. Employee selection andrecruitment should be conducted by local projectmanagers and contractors.


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I Decision making on International construction....;:::::= ................................................................................... ................................................................... .... ......................................

Cf) PIanning stageC J I.(3 I Project objectives I

' ---

r-'-HRM strategy~ planning 01:5J I -Job design 0

1:5 ()Cl) L.. + -. ~ C l )e T. cro (I I Selecting/recruitingu E0 employees-.oJ

......................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................... ..Pre-imple mentation stage-r-- : : ;-- Human resource preparation:u Training in international construction ll)'cr L.. regulations;Cf) (I I 4 Training in cultural differences;(II c Training in advanced constructionl) ~ - - - - .f) technologies..Cl)>0 '---

......................................... ... ............................................................... ...................................................Imple,--- Human resource utilisation: --- :: ;--mentation stagePerformance appraisal; u1:5 Cl)Cl) L.........

Reward system; ~ '0' ...... ~ C l )g Employee relation;c .c Cf) (I IEmployee health and safety (I I cro(ll Cl) (I Ig E Cf) E..-.oJ Cl)>

'--- 0'---Performance:Individual performance;Team performance;Organisation performance

Reviewing project objectives

Figure 2: HRM functions of project participants

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In the pre-implementation stage, the mainpractice is employee training including training ininternational construction regulations, culturalawareness training and training in advancedconstruction technologies. The overseas projectmanagers whose professions have been welldeveloped in their home countries can have apositive role in improving employee skills andconstruction technologies during employeetraining. In addition, consultants can have asignificant influence in the stage of employeetraining. For instance, the professional skill levelof consultants directly affects the capacity to planand implement training in constructiontechnologies provided for all employees on aninternational construction project.In the implementation stage, both local andoverseas project managers will also play animportant role in performance appraisal, rewardsystems, employee relations and employeehealth and safety. These HRM practices areaffected strongly by multicultural characteristicsin an international construction project. Forexample, in the process of managing employeerelations, project managers need to consider thedifferent cultural customs and habits of allemployees. In addition , the wholeimplementation of HRM improves the individual,team and organisation performance. Both localand overseas project managers also affect theimprovement of performance. For example, theoverseas project managers can provide trainingin advanced construction technologies for allemployees. The local project managers can helpthe employees who are from overseas tounderstand local construction regulations. In theend, the project objective will be reviewedbecause the HRM strategies can influence theadjustments of the projects. The HRM functionsidentified in this paper support and serve projectobjectives, and ensure project success in aninternational construction project by specifyingthe HRM roles and interrelationships of projectparticipants.ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF HUMANRESOURCE MANAGEMENTHRM is an expensive investment and the directaffect on profits for each company, project teamand individual is difficult to determine. However,HRM indirectly adds values and enhancesbenefits for every company, project team andindividual. It is necessary to analyse theeconomic performance of implementing HRM. Inan international construction project, the valuesadded, the costs and benefits of HRM to projectparticipants and their companies are the mostimportant benchmarks of economic analysis .

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Values added to project participants and theircompaniesIn international construction projects, the addedvalue of HRM is situated at the strategic level forcompanies and the individual level for projectparticipants. At the strategic level, the addedvalues of HRM are in three main domains. Firstly,human resource managers need to translatebusiness strategy into human resource practicesin an international construction project. Thus, allproject participants can develop their ability toachieve project success through HRM practices.During the implementation of HRM practices, allproject participants can understand clearly theirresponsibility in a particular internationalconstruction project. Secondly, HRM needs tobalance between an expected outcome ofproject success and the capacity of all projectparticipants. The expected outcome cannot bebeyond the abilities of all project participants and,in addition, it cannot be set lower than theirabilities. Efficient HRM should direct all projectparticipants to contribute their maximal value inan international construction project. Thirdly,unified personnel administration also increasesthe added value for all project participants. It canenhance communication and optimise humanresource allocation among all project participants.At the individual level, the direct influence ofHRM is improvement of personal professionalskills and facilitation of career developmentthrough implementing efficient and effectiveHRM strategies and practices. This influence isoften more explicit in international constructionprojects than in other construction projects. Allemployees who are from different companiesand countries should be able to acquireknowledge in new construction technologies andinternational construction regulations throughemployee training during the duration of projects.They also add to the international aspect of theirwork experience records. Furthermore, HRM notonly adds values for individual employees butalso creates the value for their companies. HRMpromotes indirectly competitive advantage of thecompanies of all project participants. HRM canalso deliver values within different areas, rangingfrom the individual to the company.Modelling structures of HRM costs andbenefitsAn increasing trend is that a substantial amountof money is being spent in HRM in variousindustries including the construction industry.Given this significant investment, it is reasonableto enquire about the benefits of such investment.An analysis of costs and benefits is an importantbenchmark in evaluating HRM (Ramlall, 2003).


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In an international construction project, the costsof HRM are made up of major costs and minorcosts. Table 1 shows the major and minor costsof HRM in international construction project. Themajor costs of HRM include costs of personneladministration, employee training, costs ofcommunication, employee welfare andcompensation of health and safety.

estimates that organisations in the USA arespending more than US$ 60 billion annually onemployee training (Ramlall, 2003). Withmulticultural project participants and differentlevels of professionals in an internationalconstruction project, human resource managersneed to provide the particular training that meetsthe needs of multicultural participants and thedifferent professional levels. In addition, complextraining planning needs to expend moreinvestment in an international constructionproject than in a domestic construction project.

Employee training and personnel administrationare two major sources of HRM costs. TheAmerican Society for Training and Development

Objectives Benefits DescriptionsPersonal skills and For example, acquire new professional technology

Individual career developmentproject Flexibility of personal Individual project participants can be competent inparticipants role various positions in an international constructionproject.

Better relationships An important responsibility of human resourceamong the team management is to improve relationships amongNon-individual employees in the team.project Improving team Human resource management can improve teamparticipants performance performance through various practices such asimprovement of individual skills in the team, inrelations and leadership.

Competitive advantage Due to improvement of each employee's skills byhuman resource management, it is certain to improvethe whole company's competitive advantages.Improvement of Improvement of the individual performance canproductivity enhance the whole company's performance.Improvement of Cooperation of individuals who possess knowledge inorganisational new technologies can certainly improve overallAll project performance productivity.participants' Business success Human resource management strategies are not onlycompanies close to business strategies but also support andserve business objectives.Employee benefits To enhance employee loyalty in the company. Forexample, through salary and welfare benefit levels.

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DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONSGlobalisation of construction markets hasallowed more individuals and companies in theconstruction industry to collaborate or competeinternationally. The complexities andinterrelationships in an internationalconstruction project require that its key playerspossess comprehensive knowledge inimplementing HRM. Human resourcemanagement is qualitatively different fromtraditional personnel management. HRMstrategies and practices are developed andimplemented in the light of business objectivesneeds. HRM is a major requirement for allproject participants in an internationalconstruction project because traditionalpersonnel management is not satisfactory dueto the complex personnel structure ininternational projects. Human resourcemanagement, as a successor to personnelmanagement, is more suitable for dealing withpersonnel issues in multicultural environments.However, a variety of factors influence theimplementation of HRM in internationalconstruction. The economic performanceassociated with HRM implementation is alsoworthy of elaborate investigations for each ofthe project participants.This paper has reviewed previous research onhuman resource management in internationalconstruction and indicated the unit features ofHRM for international collaboration and at theproject level. The research presented in thispaper has summarized the key factors of HRMimplementation in international constructionand the HRM function of each of projectparticipants over the project period. This paperoriginally presented the economicperformances of HRM implementation in aninternational construction project, including itsadded value, costs and benefits. This paperhas established a valid foundation for furtherresearch on measuring the impact of humanresource management economically forinternational construction projects. For futureextension of this research, numerical analysesbased on empirical data will focus onquantitative studies of each HRM componentrelevant to international construction projects.ReferencesBelout, A. and Gauvreau, C. (2004). Factorsinfluence project success: the impact of humanresource management, International Journal ofProject Management, 22(1),1-11 .Bon, R. and Crosthwaite, D. (2000). TheFuture of International Construction, ThomasTelford, London.

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Brandenburg, S. , Haas, C. and Byrom, K.(2006). Strategic management of humanresources in construction, Journal ofManagement in Engineering, 22(2), 89-96.Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (1999). HumanResource Management Theory and Practice,Macmillan Press, London.Chan, E. and Tse, R. (2003). CulturalConsideration in International ConstructionContracts, Journal of Construction Engineeringand Management, 129(4), 375-381.Cole, G. (2002). Personnel and HumanResource Management, Continuum, London.Dainty, A., Bagilhole, B. and Neale, R. (2000).The compatibility of construction companies'human resource development policies withemployee career expectations, Engineering,Construction and Architectural Management,7(2), 169-178.Druker, J., White, G., Hegewisch, A. andMayne, L. (1996). Between hard and soft HRM:human resource management in theconstruction industry, ConstructionManagement and Economics, 14(5),405-416.Han, S. and Diekmann, J. (2001). Approachesfor making risk-based go/no-go decision forinternational projects, Journal of ConstructionEngineering and Management, 127(4), 300-308.Howes, R. and Tah, J. (2003). StrategicManagement Applied to InternationalConstruction, Thomas Telford Publishing,London.Kim, P. (1999). Globalization of humanresource management: a cross-culturalperspective for the public sector, PublicPersonnel Management, 28(2), 227-243.Koch, C. (2003). Knowledge management inconsulting engineering - joining IT and humanresources to support the production ofknowledge, Engineering, Construction andArchitectural Management, 10(6), 391-401 .Liu , C., Xu, Y., Itoh, Y. and Tian, J. (2003).Critical Operational Management inInternational Construction, Proceedings ofJoint International Symposium of CIB WorkingCommissions, Singapore, Singapore, 379-387.Loosemore, M. (1999). Internationalconstruction management research : culturalsensitivity in methodological design,Construction Management and Economics,17(5), 553-561 .


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Loosemore, M., Dainty, A. and Lingard, H.(2003). Human Resource Management inConstruction Projects, Spon Press, London.Mawhinney, M. (2001). InternationalConstruction, Blackwell Science, Oxford.Maloney, w. (1997). Strategic planning forhuman resource management in construction,Journal of Management in Engineering, 13(3),49-56.Milliman, J., Taylor, S. and Czaplewski, A.(2002). Cross-cultural performance feedbackin multinational enterprises: opportunity fororganizational learning, Human ResourcePlanning, 25(3), 29-43.Mullins, L. (1999). Management andOrganisational Behaviour, Pearson EducationLimited, Essex.Ng, S., Skitmore, R. and Sharma, T. (2001).Towards a human resource informationsystem for Australia construction companies,Engineering, Construction and ArchitecturalManagement, 8(4), 238-249.Ofori, G. (2003). Frameworks for analysinginternational construction, ConstructionManagement and Economics, 21 (4), 379-391.Ramlall, S. J. (2003). Measuring humanresource management's effectiveness inimproving performance, Human ResourcePlanning, 26(1), 51-62.

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Hr Issues in International Projects