Internationally, human resource management is increasingly being seen as strategically important in managing people at work. Drawing upon practices two or more countries critically evaluate this statement.

INTERNATIONAL Human Resources Management

2005

International Human Resources Management

I . Introduction

The urge to reduce cost and fierce competition in business have driven companies to find best solutions to increase revenue while keeping costs as low as possible . Expanding into foreign market could be a sweet temptation for companies in to increase revenues and market share We call such companies that operate worldwide as Multinational Companies (MNCs ) or Multinational Enterprises (MNEs ) while we refer the expansion process as Globalization

Nowadays , globalization is almost a common issue within the business

world because of the undeniable benefits and necessity of going abroad Currently , we witness there are so many large and small and medium enterprises (SMEs ) have broaden their presences into foreign markets However , the processes of expanding businesses abroad should not be viewed as ordinary activities since they requires massive and demanding changes in to survive the intense competition and other complicated aspects

To deal with such changes , companies require staffs or employees having distinct qualities such as people who can endure the process and help the company to build their new `structure ' within foreign markets . For the very least , this team of pioneers must consist of people with interests in international matters , multilingual language capabilities and knowledge on managing cultural diversity in workplace (Delaney 2002

In short , we will find that the difference between general HRM and International HRM lies on the ability of multinational companies to deal with cultural diversity , gender issues , and diverse needs of local markets

In to obtain benefits of being a multinational company , therefore the company should employ appropriate approaches into International Human Resources Management (IHRM . For this reason , in this , we will elaborate several issues on IHRM

II . Strategy of International Human Resource Strategy (IHRM

In a lecture material , International HRM is generally about how multinational companies or enterprises manage their geographically dispersed workforces . By meaning , Taylor (1996 ) defines IHRM as a range of people management functions , processes and activities which involve consideration of more than one national context

Since IHRM deals with issues in more than one national context therefore , we might see that multinational companies face several challenges in to meet local responsiveness in which those challenges become contemporary issues in IHRM

International presences mean that multinational companies need to address the variations in customer demands

Winning local market is characterized by local competition rather than multinational competition

In some places , there is a strict political barriers that may prevent multinational companies to do specific action

Local Legislation may force multinational companies to provide products or services prevent full standardization of product - leading to more tailored approaches

Concerning the needs to cope with above challenges , International HRM increasingly promotes and develops cross-cultural competence . This is imperative since enhancing competence for international workers have two complex dimensions

Dispersed geographic locations means that multinational companies should coordinate operations to be effective

The presence of multiculturalism implies that multinational companies should foster coordination to be effective

In to foster...