Chapter 11: The Future of Human Resources Flashcards
Unions’ current approaches and functions will most likely render them efficient and effective.
a. True
b. False
False
Kurt Lewin’s force-field theory of organizational change emphasizes the organization’s future flexibility and adaptive capacity.
a. True
b. False
False
__________ seem(s) to be more extrinsically focused, while __________ tend(s) to believe that there is more to life than a paycheck.
a. Generation X, The Matures
b. Generation X, Baby Boomers
c. Generation Y, Generation Z
d. Generation X, Generation Y
d. Generation X, Generation Y
Which of the following can be referred to as the pay-or-play mandate?
a. The Sarbanes Oxley Act
b. The individual mandate
c. The employer mandate
d. The In Loco Parentis Rule
c. The employer mandate
__________ is a process in which on- and offline social and professional networks connect and communicate to match the right candidates with jobs.
a. Social recruiting
b. Social networking
c. Professional hiring
d. Online recruiting
a. Social recruiting
Which of the following is NOT true about emerging economies?
a. Theyare very good at protecting data and intellectual property.
b. They are experiencing exponential economic growth.
c. They have experienced increases in labor costs.
d. They present strategic and operational risks for outsourcing operations.
a. They are very good at protecting data and intellectual property.
Which of the following is NOT true about emerging economies?
a. Theyare very good at protecting data and intellectual property.
b. They are experiencing exponential economic growth.
c. They have experienced increases in labor costs.
d. They present strategic and operational risks for outsourcing operations.
a. They are very good at protecting data and intellectual property.
- political and social unrest in many parts of the world
- economic difficulties the world is currently witnessing
Challenges of increasing trends towards outsourcing and international assignments (aka globalization)
- labor savings in low-cost countries are trumped by hidden waste and overhead costs necessary to make the supply chain function well
- Wages in countries such as China are now five times what they were in 2000 and rising at an annualized rate of about 20%
- The natural gas boom in the United States has dramatically lowered facility costs while oil prices have tripled since 2000, making cargo-ship fuel much more expensive (Burton, 2013).
- outsourcing operations abroad present strategic risks such as lack of data security and intellectual property loss, operational risks such as poor service quality and operational inefficiency
- inherent location risks such as infrastructure and political instability in the host country (Page et al., 2010).
rising costs of outsourcing
If there is to be value added from outsourcing, it will no longer come from establishing sweatshops in a country with a struggling economy and lax safety regulations to save a few percentage points on labor costs. It will have to come from building a strategic network of autonomous partners across the globe.
Shifting views of outsourcing
what used to be driven by labor costs is now being driven by strategic value
In this network, knowledge can be more dynamically created, shared, and leveraged toward several beneficial ends. These ends include stronger forecasting of consumer needs and market trends; better management of resources; and more ethical, transparent, and sustainable business models
benefits of strategic value-driven outsourcing
HR planning should account for political conditions that would make it impossible or unsafe for the organization’s members to travel, which would impact organizational goals and expansion plans.
HR can shape “where to operate”
Job analysis and job design can be adapted to ensure that operations in unstable countries can be run remotely, from safer hubs across the world, or in partnership with locals. This information can feed into organizational strategies for global operations such as joint ventures, outsourcing, franchising, or licensing.
HR can shape “which modes of entry to select”
Current political conditions require traits and coping mechanisms that will help expatriates and their families resiliently bounce back from adversity. Unlike predictors of success in a domestic context in which knowledge, skills, and abilities may dominate the selection strategy, many psychological and biodata factors including personality characteristics, language fluency, and international experience take on increasing importance in predicting international assignee success (Caligiuri et al., 2009). For example, work by Shin et al. (2007) suggests that to be successful in a foreign assignment an expatriate must have higher levels of social and perceptual skills, greater reasoning ability, and a stronger achievement orientation than a domestic employee in the same job.
HR can shape “Whom to send on international assignments and how to prepare them”
Depending on the region and the country, accepting an international assignment today can be a much more risky endeavor than at any time in the past, and this risk should factor into compensation and benefit decisions. The balance sheet approach was discussed in Chapter 9 in regard to determining fair compensation of expatriates, and Shelton (2008) suggests that the balance sheet approach is most effective when the pay of an expatriate is split between the home and local currencies, thus making it easier to manage both ongoing financial obligations at home and purchases in the host country. Compensation of expatriates is further complicated by evidence that local employees often regard their compensation vis-à-vis that of expatriates as unfair (Leung et al., 2009). Expatriation and premature repatriation can also have heavy tax implications (Ludwig, 2004), and wars or political upheavals can result in loss of wealth. HR should proactively protect employee wealth associated with foreign assignments—ensuring that the motivational impact of compensation, benefits, and other rewards is not compromised.
HR can shape “How to compensate employees for international assignments”
