Managers in the hr essay

Managers in the HR department acknowledge they have various ongoing challenges. Levels of risks and consequences also linked with HRM decisions is the final difference between domestic HRM and international HRM. There definitely are major risks linked with HRM in domestic situations.

Unfair hiring practices can result in a firm’s being charged with infringement of laws and subjected to financial penalties. The failure to set up constructive relationships with domestic unions can direct to strikes and other forms of labor actions. However, international HRM personnel face these same risks and some additional ones that are exceptional and more threatening. Depending on the countries where the MNC operates, headquarters and subsidiary HRM personnel can have to worry concerning the physical safety of employees (i.

e. , in some countries kidnapping and terrorism are of concern to international HRM personnel). Frequently, the human and financial results of failure in the international ground are more severe than in domestic business. For instance, expatriate failure (the early return of an expatriate from an international assignment) is a potentially high-cost problem for international companies. Direct costs (salary, training costs, and travel and relocation expenses) per failure to the parent firm can be as high as three times the domestic salary plus replacement expenses, depending on currency exchange rates and location of assignments.

Indirect costs such as loss of market share as well as damage to international customer relationships can be considerable. Obviously, if managers do not perform well and should be recalled to the home country, their failure characterizes a huge financial loss for the firm. A final risk is that of expropriation or convulsion of the MNC’s assets in a foreign country. If HRM policies provoke host country unions or significant political groups, the MNC can be asked to leave the country, have its assets seized, or get the local government taking majority control of its operation. Again, this is not the kind of risk that most domestic HRM personnel face. Progressively more, domestic HRM is taking on some of the flavor of international HRM as it deals greater extent with a multicultural workforce, given the changing demographics in the United States.

Thus, several of the current focus of domestic HRM on issues of managing workforce diversity can prove to be beneficial to the practice of international HRM. While not necessarily transferable to a multinational framework, the management of diversity within a single national perspective at least lays the foundation for appreciating the challenges of being an MNC. Conclusion In general, the essence of what is HRM in today’s organizations varies significantly. In most instances, the HRM role is accomplished by the HR department working in combination with line staff in the company. HR managers in joint ventures find their function either restricted or liberated by a broad range of internal and external organizational conditions which comprise: Resource accessibility (staff, financial); Level of support from stakeholders in the Joint Venture and parent firms; The extent to which HR managers are privy to strategic business information on the company; Legislated work force strategy or union stipulations; Diversity and consequently the capability to demonstrate the formation of culturally sensitive HR policy and practice; Company size; and Level of planned involvement by expatriate versus local managers. (Gupta and Govindarajan, 2001) For HR managers, in particular, international complexity creates a demand for a new and intricate role which extends beyond the development of established HRM policy and techniques.

Consideration should be given to a “ process role” to ease the assimilation of people and values within the venture. A process orientation might comprise, for instance, how to take in former parent employees into the joint venture, how to pact with changing roles for managers and other employees, or how to form HR policy which is sensitive to the norms as well as values of employees who symbolize different national cultures. In international joint ventures, the assimilation of values and processes is required not simply in the joint venture, but between the joint venture and parent firms as well. These subtle, yet frequently overlooked features of joint ventures have significant implications for both employee fulfillment and corporate success. Though technical HRM competence is a requisite base condition, a process focus can put in to greater energy, enthusiasm, and understanding of organizational goals and precedence for employees. A new, process-oriented role for managers is multifaceted, and demands that managers have personal and political as well as technical skills.

Managers will require acting proactively, together with other organizational stakeholders. If HRM staffs are to be effective in this lately defined and complex role, they need: (1) early involvement, (2) integrity with a wide range of stakeholders, (3) capability and eagerness to chart new HR-related values and policy, and (4) sufficient staff and financial resources. Reference:• Ball, D. A.

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