Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.

PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance

by De Cieri & Kramar
1
Managing a global
workforce
Chapter 14
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-2
Managing a global workforce
Objectives
*Discuss the meaning of international HRM
(IHRM).
*Have an understanding of the dimensions
of international HR activities.
*Be aware of the impact of internationalisation
on the activities and policies of HRM.
*Understand the variables that moderate
differences between domestic and international
HRM.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-3
Managing a global workforce
Objectives (continued)
*Understand the complexity of operating in
different countries and employing different
national categories of employees.
*Understand the role of strategic HRM in
multinational enterprises.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-4
Three approaches to IHRM
Cross-cultural management approach
*Examines human behaviour within organisations
from an international perspective.
Comparative HRM
*Seeks to describe, compare and analyse HRM
systems in various countries.
HRM in multinational enterprises (MNEs)
*Explores the implications of the process of
internationalisation on HRM activities and
policies.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-5
Source: Adapted from P.V. Morgan, International human resource management: Fact or fiction?, Personnel Administrator, 31(9),
1986, p.44.
Figure 14.1 Model of IHRM
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-6
Types of employees in an MNE
Parent-country nationals (PCNs)
*Employees who were born and live in a parent
country.
CA parent (or home) country: the country in which a
companys corporate headquarters is located.
Host-country nationals (HCNs)
*Employees born and raised in a host country.
CHost country: a country in which the MNE seeks to
locate or has already located a facility.
Third-country nationals (TCNs)
*Employees born in a country other than a
parent or host country.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-7
Types of international work
Expatriates
*An employee sent by his/her company in one country
to work in a different country.
Global team project
*Bringing together employees from different locations
to complete a specific team project.
Short-term assignments
*Sending employees on assignments, such as a three-
month assignment, to a foreign location.
Virtual assignment.
*Assignments requiring employees in different locations
to use information technology to communicate on job
projects and tasks.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-8
Factors which differentiate
international from domestic HRM
More HR activities
The need for a broader perspective
More involvement in employees' personal
lives
Changes in emphasis with variable mix of
expatriates and locals in workforce
Risk exposure
More external influences
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-9
Source: P.J. Dowling, University of Canberra. Used with permission.
Figure 14.2 Variables that moderate differences
between domestic and international HRM
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-10
The cultural environment:
key terms
Culture
*A distinct way of life, shared by members of a
group or society, with common values, attitudes
and behaviours that are transmitted over time in
a gradual, yet dynamic, process.
Culture shock
*A phenomenon experienced by people who
move across cultures. They experience a shock
reaction (or psychological disorientation) when
exposed to new cultural experiences, because
they misunderstand or do not recognise
important cues.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-11
The cultural environment:
the emic-etic distinction
Emic
*Culture-specific aspects of concepts or
behaviour.
Etic:
*Culture-common aspects of concepts or
behaviour.
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-12
The cultural environment:
the convergence hypothesis
The hypothesis that management practices
around the world would converge, based
on two assumptions:
That the principles of sound management
would hold, regardless of national environment.
gThat the universality of sound management
practices would lead to societies becoming
more and more alike in the future.

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-13
The cultural environment:
the divergence hypothesis
In opposition to the convergence
hypothesis, the notion that societies and
management practices around the world
will remain, or become more, dissimilar.

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-14
Industry type
Multi-domestic industry:
*An industry in which competition in each
country is essentially independent of
competition in other countries.
Global industry:
*An industry in which a firms competitive
position in one country is significantly
influenced by its position in other countries.

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-15
Extent of MNE reliance on
domestic market
The top ten MNEs on the UNCTAD index
of transnationality
Nestl (Switzerland)
Thomson (Canada)
Holderbank Financire (Switzerland) [now Holcim]
Seagram (Canada)
+Solvay (Belgium)
Asea Brown Boveri (Sweden/Switzerland)
;Electrolux (Sweden)
^Unilever (Britain/Netherlands)
Philips (Netherlands)
Roche (Switzerland)
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-16
Attitudes of senior management
to international operations
Ethnocentrism
*The assumption that ones own cultural
approach is superior to any other.
*An ethnocentric approach to international
staffing typically results in all key management
positions being held by PCNs.
*Also, international HRM activities are typically
developed and administered by PCNs.

Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-17
Source: Adapted from H. De Cieri & P.J. Dowling, Strategic human resource management in multinational enterprises: theoretical and empirical
developments, in P.M. Wright, L.D. Dyer, J.W. Boudreau & G.T. Milkovich (eds.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management in the
Twenty-First Century, supplement 4. JAI Press, Stamford CT, 1999, p.318.
Strategic HRM
HR function strategy
HR practices
External factors
Industry characteristics
Country/regional characteristics
Inter-organisational networks
Internal organisational
factors
MNE structure
- Structure of international
operations
- Intra-organisational networks
- Mechanisms of coordination
- International entry mode
MNE strategy
- Corporate-level strategy
- Business-level strategy
Organisational life-cycle stage
Experience in managing
international operations
Headquarters international
orientation
MNE concerns
& goals
Competitiveness
Efficiency
Balance of global
integration & local
responsiveness
Flexibility
Figure 14.3 Framework of strategic HRM in
multinational enterprises
Copyright 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
PPTs t/a Human Resource Management in Australia: Strategy-People-Performance
by De Cieri & Kramar
14-18
Summary
Three main approaches have been applied to the
study of international HRM.
Several variables moderate differences between
domestic and international HRM.
Strategic HRM research examines the relationships
between internal organisational characteristics,
HRM strategy and practices, and firm performance
or competitive advantage. The evidence is
inconclusive and important questions remain
about the nature of these relationships.