chapter 19 Flashcards
=what is human resource management
Activities an organization conducts to use its human resources effectively.\all related ti the global strategy of the firm
Human Resources is responsible for which aspects of organizational ahrchietcyure
structure, processes, people, incentives and controls and culture
what is HRM professionals role
they have the shape elements from arhcietcyure in a manner that is consistent with the strategy of the enterprise so that the firm can effectively implement its strategy
how can superior human resource management be sustained
with high productivity and competitive advantage in a global economy
what is staffing policy
Strategy concerned with selecting employees for particular jobs.
selecting individuals who have the skills required to do a certain job
developing and promoting the desired corporate culture of the firm
what is corporate culture
The organization’s norms and value systems.
strong corporate culture can help a firm implement its strategy
what are the three types of staffing policies
the ethnocentric approach, the poly centric approach and geocentric approach (most attractive )
what is the ethno centric staffing policy approach
A staffing approach within the multinational enterprise in which all key management positions are filled by parent-country nationals.
it’s like having the same head coach (management from the home country) for all teams (subsidiaries) in different parts of the world.
firms pursue an ethnocentric staffing policy for three reasons
- the firm may believe the hist country lacks qualified individuals to filll senior management positions
common in less developed countries - the firm may see an ethnocentric staffing policy as the best way to maintain a unified corporate culture
- if the firm is trying to create value by transferring core competences to a foreign iteration, it may believe that the best way is to transfer parent country nationals who have knowledge of that comptennacys in a foreign operation –> acquired through experience , have to transfer the appropriate managers
what are the issues with an ethnocentric approach
- it limits advancement opportunities in host country nationals–> can lead to lower productivity, resentment
- lead to cultural myopia (firms failyure to understand host country cultural differences that require different approaches to marketing and management )
what is the poly centric approach
A staffing policy in a multinational enterprise in which host-country nationals are recruited to manage subsidiaries in their own country, while parent-country nationals occupy key positions at corporate headquarters.
LOCALIZATION
advantages of a poly centric approach
- firm is less likely to suffer from cultural myopia
- may be less expensive
disvadnatgaes of the poly centric approach
- host country nationals have limited ippprutnies to gain opprtunies outside their own country and thus cannot progress beyond senior positions in their own subsidiary –> nay cause resentment
- the gap between host country managers and parent country managers –> can create isolation because of lanangue barriers and cultural differences and create a fedration
- federation can also cause inertia
what is the geocentric staffing policy
A staffing policy where the best people are sought for key jobs throughout a multinational enterprise, regardless of nationality
pros of geocentric staffing policy
- enables the firm to make the best use of its Human Resources
- enables the firm to build a cadre of international executives who feel at home working in a number of cultures –> builds a strong culture and informal management network
ways that limit a geocentric policy
- many countries want foreign subsidies to employ their citizens and they just use immigration laws and lots of documentation
- also can be expensive
- may also need a compensation structure with a standardized international base pay Lebel higher than national levels
what are expatriates
citizens of one country working in another country
inpatriates
used to identify a subset of expatriates who are citizens of a foreign country working in the hime country of their multinational employer
what is expatriate failure
The premature return of an expatriate manager to the home country
failure of the firms selection policies to idnetify individuals who will not thrive abroad –> could have premature return and very high costs
how to reduce expatriate failure rates
by improving selection procedures to screen out innaproriate candidates
wha are the four dimensions that seem to predict success in foreign posting created by MENDENHALL AND ODDOU
- self orientation
- others orientation
- perceptual ability
- cultural toughness
what is self orientation
self esteem self confidence mental well being have to be high in order to succeed
if people can adapt their foods, sports music, will succeed
what is others orientation
- the ability of the expatriate to interact effeicvely with host country nationals
what are the two factors of others orientation
- relationship development –. creating long lasting feindships with host country nationals
- willingness to communicate –> using the host country language, make the effort
what is perceptual ability
- ability o understand why people of other countries behave the way they dio
- ability to empathize
- have not be judgmental in interpreting behaviour
- reliable in their management style
what is cultural toughness
- relationship between the country of assignment and how well an expatriate adjusts to a particular posting
- some cultures are very hard to adjust to
what is a fundamental attribute of a global manager
- global midnset–< weakling with high levels of ambiguity, complexity and are open to the world
- gained from early life
what is management development
- develop the managers skills
helps reofrnce the desired culture of the firm
what are most international business concerned with
training more than management development
tehy tended to focus their training efforts on preparing home country nationals for foreign postings
what is cultural training
- seeks to foster an appreciation fr the host countrys culture
- understanding a host countrys culture will the manager empathize with the culture
- should receive training in the host countries culture, history, poltoocs
- maybe go visit before with the family
what is language training
- learning to communicate in the host countrys language
what is practical training
- helping the expatriate manager and family ease themselves into day to day life in the host country
- establish a routine
0 find a communicate
what is an aspect that is overlooked
preparing the expatriate managers for the reentry of their home country org
- often will face an org coming back that is lost or may have to refund a job or might have standby positions that dont use the expatriates skills
how to solve the issue of re entering
good HR planning
- have good programs to help them
what is management development programs
- deigned to increase the overall skill levels of managers throgh a mix of ongoing amangeemnt education and rotations of managers through a tuner of jobs within the firm to give them varied epxeirnce
international businesses have been using management development as what
statregic tool–> trasnational statregy uses this
what do management development programs help
build a unifying corporate culture by socializing new mamahgers into the norms and values of the firm
- training events
- imitation rites
- bring managers together through informal amnageemtn network
why are performance appraisal systems used
- used to evaluate the performance of managers against some criteria that the firm judges to be important for the implementation of statretgy and the attainment of compeotobve advantage globally
- important for control systems
what makes it hard to evaluate the performance of expatriate managers bijectively
unintentional bias
- host nation and home office may be bias
how to reduce the bias in performance appraisal
- most expatriates believe more weight should eb given to an onset managers appria;s than to an offsite managers appraisal. an onsite manager os more likely to evuakaye the soft variables that re important aspects of the expatriates performance
- home officers should be consulted before an onsite manager completes a formal termination evukatuon–> gives the home office manager the opportunity to abalone what could be a very hostile evaluation based on a cultural misunderstanding
what are the two issues in compensation
- how compensation should be adjusted to reflect national differences in economic circumstances and compensation practices
2, how should expatriate managers be paid
what question do national differences in conmpensation raise for international business ?
should the firm pay executives in different countries according to the prevailing standards in each country or should it equalize pay on a global basis
where does this problem arise of compensation
geocentric staffing policies
arises questions like should all members of a cadre be paid the same salary
over the past decade, firms are moving to what type of compensation structure
one that is based on consistent global standards, with employees being evaluated by the same grading system and having access to the same bonus pay and benefits structure no matter where they work
what is the most common approach to expatriate pay
the balance sheet approach
equalizes purchasing power across countries so employees can enjoy the same living standard in their foreign posting that they have enjoyed at home
wants to provide expatriates with the same standard of living in their host countries
what are the components of a typical expatriate compsentation package
base salary, foreign service premium, allowance of various types, tax differentials and benefits
may be three times more expensive than the home country
an expatriates base salary
should normally be in the same range as the base salary for a similar position in the home country
paid in either home currency or local currency
developed nations may offer higher based salaries than undeveloped country
what is a foreign service premium
extra pay which the expatriate receives for working outside their country for origin
because you have to adapt so much, they give you extra pay
what are the four types of allowances included in an expatriates compassion package
hardship –> paid when the expatriate has to move somewhere bad
housing–> given to ensure that the expatriate can afford the same quality of housing in the foreign country that he would have at him
cost of living–> will have the same standtadd of living as home
education–> expatriates children receive adequate schooling that meets home country standards
if there is no reciprocal tax treaty put in place, what will the expatriate have to do
may have to pay income tax to both the home and host countries
the firm will typically pay it
what is the benefits?
firms ensure that their expatriates receive the same level of medical and pension benefits that they receive abroad
can be costly for the firm
what is a diverse workforce
one that has a significant mix of all genders and in which cultural and ethnic minority groups are well represented
has been linked to superior financial performance
why does a diverse workforce improve performance
- diverse talents bring insights into the needs of a diverse customer base that is a homogenous management group composed exclusively of one race or one gender cannot
- women and minority ethnic groups bring a lot
- when the customer set is diverse, those customers may appreciate interacting with an enterprise whose employees look like them and have a better understanding of their needs
- may improve brand image
- increases employee satisifcation= higher productivity
why is building a diverse workforce not easy
because the definition of what constitutes a cultural and ethnic minority group may vary across nations, as may the acceptance of women in the workplace
how can international businesses promote workforce diversity
- senior level executives have to promote it and set clear goals
hold managers accountable for attaining global diversity goals and reward those who hit or exceed goals
senior management mist also lead by example by hiring and promoting people;e of diverse backgrounds
diversity workshops–> overcoming stereotyping by role playing, focusing on differences
what is the issue in international labor relations
the degree to which organized labor can limit the choices of an international business
what do labour unions try to do
get better pay, greater job security and better working conditions by bargaining with management
what is a concern of organized labour
company can counter its bargaining power with the power to move production to another country
an international business will keep highly skilled tasks in its home country and farm out only low skilled tasks to foreign plants
when an international business attempts to import employnent practices and contractual agreements from its home country–> organized labor is sacred that their influence and power will be reduced
organized labor has responded to the increased bagraginibg power of multinational coropiratios by taking what three actions
- trying to establish international labor orgs
- lobbying for national legislation to restrict multinationals
- trying to achieve international regulations on multinationals through such orgs as the United Nations
HAVE NOT BEEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL
WHAT HAPPEND with ITS
wanted to bargain internationally with multinational firms
organized labor believed that by coordinating union across countries through an ITS, it could counter the power of a multinational corp by threatening to disrupt production on an international scale
NOT SUCCESSFUL
what is the main difference in different international business in their approaches to international labor relations?
the degree to which labor relations activities are centralized or decentralized
are labor relations more centralize or decenyralized
decentralized –> labor laws and union power vary so much from one country to another
why are labor relations becoming more centralized
international firms want to rationalize their global operations
a lot more competition so firms want to conyrol their costs and labor costs so much they want to move their pridciton to another country that has lower costs
what can be a major source of compeotove advantage
the way work is organized within plant
what are the new trends
shifting towards globalization
moving towards greater ethnic and gender diversity
there are tougher policies toward legal immigration which makes it more difficult to move talent around the world –> harder to adopt a geocentric staffing policy, may have to shift back to a poly centric approach
higher restrictions on the cross border flow ofnhuman capital continues
companies may have to grow their operations outside their
