FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY

HO CHI MINH CITY CAMPUS

COURSE: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

ASSGINMENT

Student’s name: Lê Bá Thành Phú

Intake: K56BFB
Index number: 1805025214

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2019

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1) HR challenges of international
business.
a) Recruiting from other
countries
Knowing you need to attract talent from overseas to stay competitive is one thing;
actually
going about it is quite another. For the University of Exeter this is about ensuring all
employees are trained on the importance of collaborating and recruiting globally.
“With all
our young academics we’re talking to them about our global ambition, getting them
involved
in trips abroad and collaborating with other organisations. It’s broadening the
horizons of
everybody,” says HRD Jacqui Marshall. “It’s also really a lot more research on our
parts –
really thinking about which disciplines we want and where they are in the
world.”
b) Communicating well
overseas
Liaising with line managers, senior executives and locally-based HR colleagues
becomes
much harder when you’re separated by thousands of miles. “The biggest challenge is
managing a virtual team,” says Amec Foster Wheeler’s group HRD Will Serle. “You
can no
longer open the door and wander around your team. It requires you to form those
relationships initially and then, because you can’t travel to places continuously, you
have to
put extra effort into maintaining those in a virtual
way.”
c) Encouraging
feedback

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Being geographically dispersed can mean not only less frequent catch-ups but also a
less
open, trusting dynamic when you are communicating. Gordon Headley cites a
situation at
Tullow where standardising compensation and benefits had disgruntled some
African
employees. While his HR team on the ground were aware of the issue, they didn’t
think to
tell him as he was the boss. This is why getting out into the country and making it
clear
you’re open to feedback is so critical, he
says.
d) Getting the HR function structure
right
Implementing the best structure globally is a case of getting the balance right
between plenty
of expertise on the ground and maintaining a good level of central control and
consistency,
says Serle. “You don’t want your expertise duplicated in every country because then
you
lose your consistency,” he adds. “But then you have certain businesses which are
happy with
that; they don’t need things more joined up. There’s no one right
way.”
e) Managing different, culturally influenced, career
ambitions

A key challenge for Creditsafe has been inspiring employees in some European
countries to
aim for management level, while managing the expectations of the typically highly

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ambitious American staff. “In the UK and US people are very hungry to develop
their careers
in the way they’re perhaps not in some European countries. At that point it becomes
a slightly
different proposition in the way you sell it,” says HR and training director Gareth
Way,
explaining that in the US, by contrast, it’s about creating “more levels so people can
still
progress vertically and into other
departments”.
f) Maintaining a sense of brand identity and
loyalty
Where an organisation operates in many different regions it’s easy for company
culture to
become diluted. Campus Living Villages combats this with regular secondments and
its
management development programme Elev8, where modules are held in different
territories.
“For example, the group who started in 2014 did leadership in Houston, finance in
Sydney,
HR in Manchester and resident life in Utah. They’ll be doing facilities management
in New
Zealand next,” says global HRD Jan
Wilman.
g) Ethical grey areas
Anyone who’s ever travelled, never mind headed up a global HR function, knows
there are
matters you previously held as morally black and white that become much less
straightforward once you’ve engaged with another culture’s belief system. Serle says
HRDs
must know exactly where to draw the line. “It’s probably one of the single biggest
challenges

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that an international business will face,” he says. “In our organisation we have a very
clear
set of values and behaviours that go with those, and in some countries where we
have the
opportunity to work we would really struggle to operate without compromising those
values.
So it’s critically important to know your views as an
organisation.”
2) How intercountry differences affect
HRM
According to the research, the senior international HR managers consider three key
factors
that affect Human resource management process in an international
environment:
Deployment: It means moving the person with right skills to the suitable positions
irrespective of geographical
boundaries.
Knowledge and innovation dissemination: It means spreading the best practices and
knowledge through out the organization negating the place of its
origin.

Identifying and developing talent on a global basis: It involves screening those

candidates
who can perform well in a global environment and also honing their
abilities.
It is difficult to maintain global staffing needs as it involves addressing various
activities like
candidate selection, assignment terms and documentation, relocation processing and
vender
management, immigration processing, cultural and language orientation and training,
tax

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administration, compensation administration, carrier planning and development and

handling of spouse and dependent matters. For example, in firms like Ford Motor, an
HR
manager needs to understand different cultures and the ways to motivate people from
different section of the societies. While in China, special insurance should be
provided to
cover emergency evacuations for serious health problems. So for a global HR
manager, the
job is challenging not just because of the long distances involved but because of
cultural,
political, legal and economic differences among the people of different
countries.
In a capitalist economy like the United States, the companies dealing within the
border of
the country encounter only a limited set of economic, cultural and legal variables. In
US,
there are some differences among the laws affecting HR across different states but
basic
federal guidelines help them to solve such matters like discrimination, labor relation
and
safety and health
easily.
Cultural factors: Different countries have different cultures- in other words; they
adhere to
different nation’s art, social programs, politics and way of doing things. According
to the
difference in culture, the management practices vary among different countries. For
example, the study of 330 managers in Hong Kong, the people’s republic of China
and the
United States found that the US managers are most concerned about getting their
tasks done.

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Chinese managers were more focused on maintaining a harmonious environment

while the
managers from Hong Kong were somewhere in between these two extremes. For
example,
in Germany one is expected to arrive in time and should address the seniors
formally. So the
people arriving from different countries need to be oriented in order to avoid cultural
shock.
Economic Systems: The difference of economic systems also affects the HR
practices. For
example, France- a capitalist’s society- has strict rules regarding the lay off of
workers and
also limits the number of hours an employee can work. The labor costs are also
substantially
different. For example, in US, the production workers normally get $21.33 while in
Mexico
it is $5.41, in United Kingdom it is $17.47, in Germany it is $25.08 while the same is
only
$5.41 in
Taiwan.

Legal and industrial relations factor: The industrial relations (the relationship
among the
work, union and employer) also vary from country to country. For example, in US it
is easy
to hire and fire a worker but the same is time consuming and expensive in Europe. In
several
European countries, the work councils replace the Union based system of United
States.
Work councils are elected by the employees and they meet once a month to decide
policies

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related to the workers. In some countries like Germany, there is another principle
called co
determination
.
and grievance process. But the same is not required in Germany and more emphasis
is paid
on the type and condition of work. Also like Germany, the Italy does not require
written job
agreements. But with tying these differences will fade away in EU and the cultural
differences will be translated into different management
practices.
3) List and briefly describe the main methods for staffing global
organizations.
• Recruitment and Onboarding
Process
Attracting, hiring and retaining a skilled workforce is perhaps the most basic of the
human
resources functions. There are several elements to this task including developing a
job
description, interviewing candidates, making offers and negotiating salaries and
benefits.
Companies that recognize the value of their people place a significant amount of
stock in the
recruitment function of HR, no matter where in the world hiring takes place. There is
good
reason for this – having a solid team of employees can raise the company's profile,
help it to
achieve profitability and keep it running effectively and
efficiently.
• On-the-Job Training
Even when an organization hires skilled employees, there is normally some level of
on-the-

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job training that the human resources department is responsible for providing. This is
because every organization performs tasks in a slightly different way. One company
might
use computer software differently from another, or it may have a different
timekeeping
method. Whatever the specific processes of the organization, human resources has a
main
function in providing this training to the
staff.
• Continuing Professional
Development
Closely related to training is HR's function in professional development. But
whereas
training needs are centered around the organization's processes and procedures,
professional
development is about providing employees with opportunities for growth and
education on
an individual basis. Development often entails moving an employee between
departments

so that he or she gains skills in multiple areas. For an international operation, this
may also
mean moving employees across
boundaries.
• Benefits and Compensation
While the management of benefits and compensation is a given for human resources,
the
globalization of companies in the twenty-first century has meant that HR must now
adapt to
new ways of providing benefits to an organization's employees. Non-traditional
benefits

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such as flexible working hours, paternity leave, extended vacation time and
telecommuting
are ways to motivate existing employees and to attract and retain new skilled
employees.
• Ensuring Legal Compliance
The final function of human resource management is perhaps the least glamorous but
arguably of utmost importance. Ensuring legal compliance with labor and tax law is
a vital
part of ensuring the organization's continued existence. The federal government as
well as
the state and local government where the business operates impose mandates on
companies
regarding the working hours of employees, tax allowances, required break times and
working hours, minimum wage amounts and policies on
discrimination.
4) Discuss some important issues to keep in mind in training, appraising, and
comprensating international
employees.
1. Budget
Allocation
The strategy should include the organization’s approach to allocating compensation
dollars
into salary and
benefits.
This budget allocation will determine how much of the total compensation budget
will be
spent on salary and what percentage will be spent on benefits and other
incentives.
For example, for a budget of $1000 for compensation, if 90% is salary and 10% is
benefits,

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you need to determine how that 10% is spent – one scenario might be – 7% on health
benefits,
2% on retirement savings and 1% on tuition
reimbursement.
2. Develop Salary
Ranges
Develop salary ranges to ensure employee pay is competitive with other
organizations. To
be competitive, it is important to benchmark like jobs within the same industry and
create a
pay structure. Salary ranges can be developed internally by conducting research or
utilizing
sites like salary.com or payscale.com to determine average salaries in a particular
geographic
area.
3. Salary Audits

Markets change therefore it is important to perform routine salary audits to ensure

salary
ranges reflect current compensation trends in a particular
industry.
4. Benefit
Package
Organizations use compensation strategies to define how it views and manages
employee
pay and benefits. Many organizations use benefit packages, in addition to salary, to
attract
and retain
employees.
For instance, I know employees who have stayed with organizations because the
benefits

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were too good to walk away

from.
5. Performance Management
System
It is important to have a structured performance management process to ensure
employees
are meeting corporate objectives and are assessed on a regular
basis.
This process should include development of annual goals, annual performance
appraisals
and a structured process for coaching and mentoring
employees.
5) Explain with examples how to implement a global human resource
management
program.
Strategic human resource management is key for the retention and development of
quality
staff. It’s likely that employees will feel valued and want to stay with a company that
places
a premium on employee retention and engagement. Before you implement strategic
human
resource management, you will need to create a strategic HR planning process using
the
steps
below:
1. Develop a thorough understanding of your company’s
objectives
Since the success of strategic HR is dependent on how well it links to your
company’s goals,
you need to have a thorough understanding of your aims, objectives, and mission.
You’ll

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need to be able to articulate both your short and long-term plans for growth to the
relevant
HR
personnel.
2. Evaluate your HR
capability
Evaluating your current HR capabilities will enable you to understand the employees
you
have and how they contribute to fulfilling your goals and objectives. Additionally,
you
should also undertake a skills inventory for every
employee.
3. Analyze your current HR capacity in light of your
goals
An assessment of your HR capacity will help you to recognize barriers and
implement a plan
of action to capitalize on opportunities and effectively deal with threats. Strategic
HR

personnel will analyze the number of employees as well as their skills and will work
with
senior leadership to identify ways to better equip employees to serve the needs of
your
company.
4. Estimate your company’s future HR
requirements
After an analysis of your company’s employees and skills has been done in relation
to your
objectives, it’s time to forecast your HR needs. The forecast should be done in
relation to:

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Demand – A prediction needs to be made in relation to the number of employees

with the
associated skills that will be required in order for your company’s future needs to
be met.
Supply – Looks at the employees and skills that are currently available to help your
company
achieve its strategic
goals.
5. Determine the tools required for employees to complete
the job
HR personnel need to liaise with the appropriate departments to find out how the
tools used
by employees impact on their ability to perform their roles. For example, where a
company
employs hourly staff, it’s crucial to utilize workforce management software. This
software
manages important HR functions such as scheduling, holiday entitlement, and sick
leave.

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