Essay On Strategic Human Resource Management
Employees that work in international area face special activities as orientation and training, continuing employee development, and readjustment training and development. The orientation and training that expatriates and their families receive before the international assignment begins include work adjustment, interaction adjustment and general adjustment such as language, culture, history, and living conditions. Career planning and continued involvement of expatriates in corporate employee development activities are essential.
One of the greatest deterrents to accepting foreign assignments is employees’ concern that they will be out of sight and out of mind. If businesses are to be managed effectively in an international setting, managers need to be educated and trained in global management skills. For example, Levi Strauss has identified the following six attributes of the global manager. Those are the ability to seize strategic opportunities; ability to manage highly decentralized organizations; awareness of global issues; sensitivity to issues to diversity; competence in interpersonal relations; and skill in building community.
(Sherman, Bohlander, and Snell; 640) Organizations with employees in many different countries face some special compensation pressures. Variations in laws, living costs, tax policies, and other factors all must be considered in establishing the compensation for expatriate managers and professionals. Even the value of the U. S. dollar can be tracked and adjustments made as the dollar rises or falls in relation to currency rates in other countries. Add to all of these concerns the need to compensate employees for the costs of housing, schooling of children, and yearly transportation home for themselves and their family members.
Many multinational firms have compensation programs that use the balance-sheet approach that provides international employees with a compensation package that equalizes cost differences between the international assignment and the same assignment in the home country. Unlike the balance-sheet approach, a global market approach to compensation requires that the international assignment must be viewed as continual though the assignment may take the employee to different countries for differing lengths of time. The nature of employee and labor relations varies form country to country.
When international operations are considered, concerns related to health safety, and security must be evaluated. It is important to understand the applicable labor-management laws, regulations, and practices before commencing operations in foreign countries. With more and more expatriates working internationally, especially in the less-developed countries, health and safety issues are arising and addressing these issues is part of the human resource role.
Bibliography:
Cherrington, David J. , Laura Zaugg Middleton. An Introduction to Global Business Issues. http://www.elibrary. com HR Magazine. 06-01-1995 Internet available: http://www. ihrin. org/affiliates/index. cfm Mathis, Robert L. , John H. Jackson. Human Resource Management. Essential Perspectives. 1st edition. South-Western College Publishing. Cincinnati, 1999. Noe, Raymond A. , John R. Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhart, and Patrick M. Wright. Human Resource Management. Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 3rd edition. Irwin McGraw-Hull. Boston, 2000. Sherman, Arthur, George Bohlander, and Scott Snell. Managing Human Resources. 11th edition. South-Western College Publishing. Cincinnati, 1998.
