Workplace Knowledge - Globalization & Social Responsibility

Question 1

What are the stages of international human resources management?

Answer 1

Import-export firms > multinational enterprises (MNEs) > global firms

Question 2

What is the difference between a multinational enterprise (MNEs) and a global firm? What type of HR procedures and policies are required to manage these?

Answer 2

Multinational enterprises are where employees are located in the home country and a number of expatriate managers may be sent to oversee foreign operations. This phase requires HR policies and practices to be revised for each country

Global firms (final stage of globalization) have main strategic corporate units in multiple countries that all interact with headquarters and with each other. Each country could have its own complete operation or each function of the org may be located in separate countries. Global countries strive to implement HR policies and procedures that meet global needs, with limited adaptions for each cultural location.

Question 3

What is an expatriate? Repatriates?

Answer 3

Expatriates are individuals who are sent on assignments outside their home country, with the expectation that these employees will return following the completion of the assignment. If an employee is from the same country as the company’s headquarters, he/she may. be known as either parent-country national or headquarters expatriates.

Repatriates are individuals returning to their home country from an assignment in another country.

Question 4

What is a local national vs. a third-country national?

Answer 4

Local nationals, or first- or host-country nationals are employees who are hired for a job in their own country, when the company is based in another country.

Employees working for an international firm but who are citizens of neither the home country nor host country are third-country nationals. These are usually technical or professional employees hired for short-term assignments are are also branded as international freelance employees.

Question 5

What factors determine the success of an international assignment?

Answer 5

Selecting people who fit both the culture and assignment, arranging their transition, preparing them and their families**, evaluating performance remotely, and repatriating after the assignment

Open, inclusive communication should be encouraged throughout the assignment

Question 6

How do families impact international assignments?

Answer 6

If the employee’s loved ones have a difficult time adjusting, he/she could decide to return early, resulting in an incomplete assignment. The success of expatriates depends upon the spouse and the family’s ability to adjust to new cultures. Some aspects that may help expedite the family’s adjustment overseas include the spouse’s ability to work or maintain career advancement, family living accommodations, education for children, and health and dental care

Question 7

How should compensation adjustments be handled for expatriates?

Answer 7

International assignment must be aligned with a global compensation system in which respective adjustments are made per assignment. The arrangement must take into consideration cost controls while providing sufficient motivation and rewards for the expat. Multinational organizations must create global compensation plans that are consistent with global mobility and business strategy.

Question 8

What are the different methods for calculating global compensation adjustments?

Answer 8

1. Home-country-based approach = based on employee’s standard of living in his/her home country
2. Host-country-based approach = based upon local national rates
3. Headquarters-based approach = based upon the home country of the organization
4. Balance sheet approach = calculates compensation based on home country’s rates, with all allowances, deductions, and reimbursements before converting into the host country’s currency

Question 9

What are factors to consider for employee repatriation?

Answer 9

It is important to plan for the employee’s return well in advance, before the assignment has even begun and have career development discussions to identify suitable positions that utilize global skills.

Staying connected through email, newsletters, a mentor or buddy system, and home visits can ensure the employee remains in the loop. Recognize the employee’s return with a reception and maybe ask him/her to provide a speech or presentation of the international operations. Additional services might include retraining courses, reverse culture shock counseling, and outplacement services for the employee’s spouse.

Question 10

What are the pros and cons of off shoring?

Answer 10

Off-shoring is the act of getting work done in another country by local employees abroad that was previously done in-house by domestic employees.

Benefits = lower costs, better availability of certain skills, and getting work done through faster channels; reach new markets or talent pools not available domestically
Cons = criticism for transferring jobs, language and cultural barriers, and intellectual property or geopolitcal risks

Question 11

What should HR professionals engage in to have an effective corporate citizenship and governance system?

Answer 11

• Create a code of corporate conduct and ethics so that all members of the firm know what behaviors are expected of them
• Create a policy detailing how employees will be trained on the code, how many code violations should be reported, how whistle-blowers should be protected, how issues with be investigated, what consequences violators will face, and how reports will be tracked and documented.
• Ensure that leaders and board members uphold their fiduciary responsibility and always act with the best interests of the company in mind
• Help spearhead or support environmental initiatives like reducing consumption and waste
• Help spearhead or support activities that attempt to solve societal problems