Lecture 4 (International HRM)

Question 1

Parent, host and third countries

Answer 1

Parent - The country in which the company is headquartered and where it was originally founded.
Host - The country where a foreign company establishes operations.
Third - A country that is neither the host nor the parent country.

Question 2

Expatriate meaning

Answer 2

migrant worker who is a professional or skilled worker in their profession

Question 3

Expatriate core characteristics

Answer 3

1. Self-orientation (self-esteem, mental well-being)
2. Others-orientation (relationship development, willingness to communicate)
3. Perceptual ability (ability to understand why other countries behave the way they do)
4. Cultural toughness (how well expatriate adjusts to a particular posting)

Question 4

Ethnocentric policies

Answer 4

The subsidiary must comply with the default policies and procedures of headquarters (Toyota) (Our way is the best way)

People of home country employed in key positions across the world.

Question 5

Polycentric policies

Answer 5

Marketing strategies are based on the economic political or cultural disparities of the countries where subsidaries are located (McDonalds)

People of local nationality are employed for key positions in their own country.

Question 6

Regiocentric policies, example

Answer 6

Belief that countries existing in the same geographic regiona have economic, social, cultural or political similarities (CocaCola, Nestle)

Regional people developed for key positions anywhere in the region

Question 7

Geocentric policies

Answer 7

Company sees the whole world as a potential market (Microsoft, Google)

Best people from anywhere employeed in key positions anywhere

Question 8

Convergence and divergence

Answer 8

Convergence (standardization) - similar practices across the world

Divergence (localization) differentiated in response to local requirement

Question 9

Hoefstedes’ 6 cultural dimensions

Answer 9

Long-term orientations
Restraint vs indulgence (extent to which poeple try to control their desires and impulses)

Question 10

Open system theory meaning

Answer 10

• Organization is a “living organizm”
• Systems adapt to their environments in order to survive
• Resources flow in and transformed in output

Question 11

Best practice/Universal approach by Pfeffer

Answer 11

There is a coherent set HR practices that is universally valid and effective, irrespective of the situation

Question 12

Best fit/Contingency approach

Answer 12

The effectiveness of given HRM systems is likely to vary depending on the particular intra- and inter- organizational context and situation involved.

Question 13

4 FITs of contingency

Answer 13

1. Strategic/Vertical fit (All HR practices are aligned with the strategy of organization)
2. Internal/Horizontal fit (HR practices are aligned) [Compensation based on team output for individual work - is not aligned]
3. Organizational fit (Alligning HR practices according to organization size, culture, structure)
4. Environmental fit (HR practices alligned to external environment) [Rules, regulations, labor union laws]

Question 14

Institutional theory

Answer 14

Societal expectations and pressure makes organizations to change and adapt

Question 15

Legitimacy meaning

Answer 15

Being in accordance with local norms

Question 16

Isomorphism meaning

Answer 16

Constraining process that forces one unit in a population to resemble other units that face the same set of environmental conditions

Question 17

! Isomorphism types

Answer 17

• Coercive (Forced by regularotions and law)
• Normative (progressional (IT, medical, not retailer) norms, shared knowledge, values, beliefs)
• Mimetic (Going with the trend, copying only because its popular) - worst type, because all organizations have different dynamics

Question 18

Implication meaning

Answer 18

result or effect that seems likely in the future, or the act of suggesting something without saying it directly

Question 19

Intervention meaning

Answer 19

strategic action designed to address a specific issue or challenge within the organization

Question 20

Isomorphism refers to the process through which organizations attempt to gain what?

Answer 20

Legitimacy