Human Resource Management

Abstract

     This research paper will define considerations that HR professionals should take into account when designing fringe benefit programs for expatriates. Further, the paper will provide in-depth comparison and contrast of contrast defined contribution plans with defined benefit plans. Finally, the paper will speak about deferred stock compensation, its forms and benefits.

Human resource management is not simply directing efforts of human capital on achieving the organizational goals and objectives. Human resource is also concerned with developing proper benefits plans, deferred compensation plans and choosing whether to implement defined contribution or defined benefits plans. Firstly, when designing fringe benefit programs for expatriates a lot of considerations appear on the scale as every employee should be covered by fringe benefits. Fringe benefits or benefits in kind are defined as non-wage compensation benefits which are provided for employees additionally. It is necessary to remember that fringe benefits are taxable. For expatriates fringe benefits should include groups insurance, housing, sick leave, disability income protection, funding for education, social security, tuition reimbursement, and other specialized needs. Organization should understand that the primary purpose of fringe benefits is increase expatriates’ economic and social security as they remain the mostly affected by any economic and social changes in the country’s policy. In particular, expatriates should be provided with medical prescription, relocation assistance, retirement benefits plans, long-term care insurance, child care benefits, transportation benefits, wellness programs, discounted shopping and legal assistance plans. Expatriates will feel protected and remain better qualified employee. Fringe benefits improve efficiency and productivity as every one is sure that he is secured. (Sims, 2002)

Further, human resource management in many organizations is concerned what plan to choose: defined contribution plan or defined benefit plan. Defined contribution plan ensures that every employee is provided with individual account and the number of benefits are “based on the amount contributed into the plan and are also affected by income, expenses, gains and loses”. Defined contribution plans includes 403(b) and 401(k) plans. Defined benefit plan suggests monthly benefits, whereas defined contribution plan isn’t limited to monthly benefits. In defined benefit plan all monthly benefits depend on service and salary. In contrast to defined contribution plans, defined benefit plans are referred to as fully funded pension plans. However, defined contribution plans offer also certain advantages. For example, participants are allowed to say how much they are willing to save; savings can be funded through payroll deductions; investment result offer benefits for participants, etc. Moreover, participant easily understood the concepts and requirements of defined contribution plans. Similar, defined benefit plan ensures security for workers. It stresses that participants should not bother about investment risks and costs of living adjustments. Furthermore, defined benefit plan is not dependent on abilities to save. Nevertheless, more and more workers prefer defined contribution plan as defined benefit plans are more complex and costly for maintaining. In particular, defined contribution plan allows flexible management of the account and it is less costly for running. Therefore, it is better to choose defined contribution plan as responsibility of investing is put in the hands of the employees, but employees should remember about investment risks. (Spring, 1998)

Finally, a deferred stock compensation plan is defined as arrangement in which “an employee or owner defers some potion of their current income until a specified future date”. It suggests that earned wages are paid in later date. The major types of deferred compensation plans are qualified and non-qualified plans. A qualified deferred compensation suggests that employer is provided with tax deduction for the contributed amount, whereas non-qualified deferred compensation plan suggests that employee is provided with tax deduction till payment of the benefits. An example of deferred compensation is Section 409A which suggests six forms: account plans, retirement saving plans (IRA, 401 (a)), non-account plans, equity-based compensation plans, and others. IRA (Individual Retirement Accounts) and 401K Plans are the best suited for retirement, because there are no taxes on interest, capital gains and dividends from the investments. It means that the future money will in the account working for future retiree. If a person is under 70 and has earned income, he is eligible to make contributions. Deductible contributions may be also made. (Den Uyl, 1996)

References

Den Uyl, Janet. (1996). Options for Deferred Compensation Plans. Healthcare Financial Management, 6, 3, 34-38.

Sims, Ronald R. (2002). Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources Management. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

Spring, Joel. (1998). Education and the Rise of the Global Economy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

The direct effects of such a shift in paradigm reflected in many areas, of which the most prominent ones are as below. a) New concepts like intellectual capital, human capital and knowledge management came into being; b) A newfound freedom engulfed the managerial proceedings; c) Cultures like information sharing or learning came into being; d) It empowered the employees more than ever; e) It started generating competitive advantage from the employees.

From a simple perspective, it is the journey of civilization from agricultural revolution to digital revolution via industrial revolution has influenced the concept of the resources from time to time (like the money replacing grains as the mode of trade), where humans have rediscovered themselves as the prime capital in this digital age. According to Gates (2000:xxii,l) business is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the last 50 years. These changes will occur because of the flow of digital information.

The successful companies of the next decade will be the ones that use digital tools to reinvent the way they work. The rise of IT industry in the US alone in the tune of $866 billion (Rennie, 2003) even ten years back from now (1997) corroborates Bill Gate’s words. There is no doubt that the new economy is constantly favoring three things – one, globalization, two, intangible potential like ideas, information and relationships, and three, inter-connectivity. Thus, the factors, which were considered significant in the sustenance and growth of economy, are no longer seen under same light.

For example, time, place, money and physical assets – these elements are not as important today as they were in the pre-digital era. Thus the theories of business based on their contribution have become obsolete. Now the geography is not a matter of concern, nor there is any constraint regarding time, thanks to the virtual world, where the new drivers of the new economy are Internet, e-Commerce and Web lifestyle. There is but little doubt that these factors have magically changed the outlook and lifestyle all around the globe, if not radically.

Now anything can take place under any circumstance – this is not uncertainty, but a newfound flexibility – which enables everyone to participate in the business process of any magnitude. Therefore, gone are the days of the ‘part-whole’ relationship of HRM and the organizations, where an executive could have come to full circle only by concentrating on the methodologies about interrelating the functional components of the organization, viz. , production, distribution, product mix and human resources.

HRM now has moved far, far ahead from the role of ‘firm-positioning’ to one of ‘global-positioning’ with branding, where it has only thing in common with its past, and that is, building the ‘competitive advantage’ of the organization. It is now the rise of the knowledge worker, which is customizing the nature of work and the to-do lists of the management. Negative Challenges Professionals here are no more valued in terms of physical presence or producing hard labor; it is the result at the end is what determining their worth.

In this state of ‘perform or perish’ scene, one might think of a paradox here too – where the rise of the human at the core of business has forced humans themselves to be isolated in terms of intellectual abilities – because this rise would foster the growth of only who are deserving – undeniably, at the expense of those who are not endowed with high intellect! Thus, the concept of sharing the success has also taken a route with this newfound recognition of human abilities.

This aspect also earmarks a gray area in HRM, as how far it would go on the track of competitive advantage, or what could be the nature of applying it within the organization – because, in this new economy with humans at the helm of transaction, the concept of competitive advantage is bound to boil down to the competition among the peers. There is thus, a possibility of increase in the number of have-nots, while there is the premonition too for the privileged class – who might get isolated with their huge, contrasting amount of wealth.

Thus this is nonetheless a great challenge for HRM on the following grounds: i) It has to take care in educating the employees so that all gets the chance to manifest their potential to the best of their capacity; ii) It has to ensure the prevention of corruption in the rank and file of the already privileged employees; iii) It should not be influenced by any kind of bias or vested interest. These challenges, in fact, add more to the significance of HRM, rather than to its role.

CONCLUSION

Starting its journey from Personnel Management, the Human Resource Management has walked a long way through the various bends of civilization, all the while evolving with time. However, it was not considered as something indispensable even in the mid-nineteenth century. But with the advent of digital communication and the rise of globalization, HRM has managed a quantum leap – so much so, the revolutionary rise in the importance of HRM can be considered as the hallmark of digital revolution.

The advent of Information Age has created a plethora of opportunities in every direction and discipline, and accordingly the society has undergone a sea change in every respect. It has dethroned the earlier axis of business, i. e. , financial capital and physical assets, and established human resources in its place. Naturally, this new circumstance has pushed HRM to evolve accordingly to carry out the new responsibilities like knowledge management or managing globalization of business, besides matching with the speed of digital communication.

Thus, beginning its journey as a mere support system to the organization, HRM has risen to the rank of chief architect of the present and future of economy by being an integral part of the organization, where recruits, educates, informs, trains, monitors and evaluates the employees of the organization.

REFERENCES

Ali, M. Old Management Theory and Employee Motivation”. Web Article. Retrieved on Nov 27, 2007, from http://ezinearticles. com/? Old-Management-Theory-and- Employee-Motivation&id=631505 Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99-120.

The transition from a centrally planned economy to a socialist market economy has resulted in significant changes in the economic system, which is and will continue to have major implications for the practice of human resource management (Schuler, 1989). Moreover, as Williams (1993) notes, the role which China is playing as a global economic power is beginning to influence the emergent pattern of world business.

These changes necessitate an appreciation and understanding of the different HRM practices under planned and market economic systems, the impact of the changing economic system upon present HRM practices and the implications of such a change for future trends in HRM for China. This will also have practical value for both Chinese managers and Western managers who currently have operations in the country. The reforms affect the human resource management and management as a whole.

The Chinese have started elaborate methods of assessing management and leadership skills which are not common in Eastern Europe. Most cadres in Chinese enterprises are either elected or selected through some open and democratic procedures. It is now easier for Multinational Corporation to thrive in China since the economy and the country itself is welcoming investors and is applying 6 new systems thus, the emergence and transfer of more investors and manufacturing industries from nearby Asian countries to China due to a more friendly business environment as well as low labor cost.

Since China is still in the process of opening up the country to investors and still adjusting to change, the best human resource is a cross breed of ethnocentric and polycentric approach where employment opportunities are open for both citizens and foreign nationals. The geocentric approach tends to reduce cultural myopia and to enhance local responsiveness. Thus, other things being equal, a geo¬centric staffing policy seems the most attractive. In India, the liberalization of policies has a significant implication in Human Resource Management.

In order to compete with multinational companies, they upgraded their technology and considered developing their workforce into well-trained, highly skilled individuals. The Indian firms upgraded their technology in order to match the multinational enterprises. Indian firms are now under great pressure to change from traditional, costly and low technology to a high, more effective one. There is a need to improve the infrastructure and the bureaucracy in the operating level and cultural organization.

More policies that will lead to capital-intensive from labor-intensive production methods of production need to be done resulting to loss of employment for many thus a need to generate new sustainable employment. Indian firms are attempting to be globally competitive and match world standards such as ISO9000. Their goal is to increase productivity, generate employment, improve quality, downsize surplus labor and reduce cost. The corporate management changed from regulation driven to market driven, from protection to competition.

Liberalization paved a way and challenge existing and traditional practices and technology for the betterment of India’s economy. The Indian firms which upgraded their technology now compete against multinational companies. Organizations need to develop highly skilled, efficient and motivated employees in order to cope with the demand for well-trained 7 workers. The faster business organizations and firms modernize plants and use new technology the more successful they will be. Also read Strategic Role of Human Resource Management essay

The HR’s function is to develop a constant awareness of mission, enhance innovation, train, motivate and improve the compensation schemes and develop better employee relations. Since these economic reforms, India’s economy responded positively. In fact, India is now considered one of the emerging economies in Asia. More investors are coming seeing its potential. It has survived in the 1997 Asian financial crisis. World Bank forecasts that in 2020, India will be the fourth largest economy in the world.

The past years, more improvements are seen in telecommunications, financial and shipping sectors mostly brought by multinational enterprises since state control and ownership in the economy was reduced. This attracted more foreign direct investments in the country. Multinational corporations should share and transfer the technology to India in order to succeed in their business ventures. The Indian workforce is big but needs advanced technology and training. India is still far behind the more advanced Asian economies and human resource development is seen as a key to success.

Since the traditional human resource management system developed over a very long time, it will take some time to change. HRM is playing an important role in bringing about change in Indian organizations. Thus, the human resource management approach which will work best in India would be the ethnocentric staffing policy in which all key management positions are filled by parent-country nationals. All important positions were to be held by parent-country nationals in order to transfer core competencies to India business operation. Knowledge underlying a core competency cannot easily be articulated and written down.

Such knowledge often has a significant tacit dimension; it is acquired through experience. References: Hill, Charles W. L. 2005. International Business: Competing in the Global Market Place. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Cooke, Fang Lee. “Ownership Change and Reshaping of Employment Relations in China: A Study of Two Manufacturing Companies” .

The Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 44, pp. 19-39, 2002 Tayeb, Monir H. ,2005. International Human Resource Management: A Multinational Company Perspective. Oxford Poole, Michael. 2002. Human Resource Management: Critical Perspectives in Business and Management, pp.107-108 Budhwar, Pawan S. , Debrah, Yaw A. 2001 Human Resource Management in Developing Countries, pp. 75-78 Hansen, Gary B.

‘A guide to worker displacement: Some tools for reducing the impact on workers, communities and enterprises’, International Labor Office, [Online] Available at: http://www. ilo. org/, pp. 7-53 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 1995, Available at http://www. state. gov/ Morishima, Motohiro, 1997, Changes in Japanese Human Resource Management: A Demand-Side Story, Vol. 36-No. 11 November 1,1997, Available at: http://www. jil. go. jp.

Starbucks is one of the best known and fastest growing companies in the world. Set up in 1971, in Seattle, the company grew slowly initially, but expanded rapidly in the late 1980s and the 1990s. By the early 2000s, there were nearly 9,000 Starbucks outlets across the world and the company’s eventual retail target was to open 30,000 outlets. It was widely believed that the company’s success and rapid growth could be attributed largely to its committed and motivated workforce. This paper will discusses the starbucks hr policies and work culture at Starbucks.

Starbucks is considered to be one of the few companies in the retail sector to provide generous benefits to both full time workers as well as part timers, and this shows how they care about its employees. This had a tremendous impact that their employees remained motivated, and had a moderately low employee turnover. In the early 2000s, the Starbucks had faced a serious challenge of finding and retaining the right number and kind of employees to man its future growth. One of the Fortune’s list “Best Companies to Work For” last January 2005, was Starbucks Coffee Company (Starbucks).

They were placed second among large companies to be listed in a prestigious list of Fortune. This only shows that their HR Strategy is very competitive and have a best Starbucks human resource management and work culture. Starbucks knows the importance and value of its employees. This is their overall corporate strategy to hire the best there is, and be able to retain and motivate them in the long run. For a retail company, where there’s a lot of competition especially in coffee business is a world wide trend, and rivalries soars high, employees especially the front liners are critical to one’s industry.

Starbucks HR policies

It could make or break you. If this would be a problem for a retail business, employee turnover would be on top of their list. It is very difficult to retain best employees and keep them motivated not only in terms of financial aspect but other key factors that will contribute in order form them to be loyal to the company. Starbucks is known for their employee-friendly policies and supportive work culture. Some companies don’t offer benefits for their part timers, but Starbucks have changed this kind of policy toward its employees.

Thus, the kind of benefits extension it offered to its employees has attracted a lot of people to apply. As a result, this had made a major impact to the company’s low turn over of its employees and productivity and efficiency of employees are highly visible. This could make an impact to Starbucks Human Resource Strategy, the have identified and assess the key factors for employee retention. First, they have identified Value Creation; they have succeeded to implement a new value proposition to their customers, shareholder and employees.

Second vital factor is its Core Competence; it’s a mix of people, process and system of the company that will provide value to their customers. Furthermore, the kind of value they provide to their customers are very essential to the success of the company and in return will also benefit the employees. Third, Starbucks human capital architecture, it is not only about filling vacancies or numbers of employees rather the importance of the role and how will it be able to contribute to the success of the company. The total package of one’s individual will benefit the company as well.

Not only for the present needs of the company but as well as for their future expansion. Last key factor would be the strategic alignment, human capital and its process will enable them to provide better services to its customers, and the impact would be on financial success of the company. Starbucks Human Resource System has several aspects that will lead to a better process such as; leadership, structure, technology, workflow, staffing, training, and rewards. These strategies will enable Starbucks to achieve its core vision. (Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies)

By identifying key factors in HR strategies this will help Starbucks to expand their business world wide. 10 years from now would be critical to them but if they will continue what they have started to their employees, transition would not be that hard for them. Their main goal is to attract potential employees, continue to motivate them by giving benefits, rewards and trainings for them to remain loyal to the company. Starbucks ambitious expansion program with generous human resource policies sounds strategically in a sense, that they be able to keep the turnover low and provide a ready pool of experienced employees to support expansion.

However, three possible problems must be consider by the early 2000s; would the company be able to support its current staff with the same level of benefits that they can offer for their staff in the future, given the large increase in the number of employees; if they attempt to lower its human resource costs by cutting on benefits would the company be able to retain its employees; and would Starbucks be able to maintain its small company culture, an important element in its past growth.

As one of their expansion growth, they see China as one of the biggest market in Asia, and would become firm’s largest market outside of North America, considering China’s population and their culture, their likeness for tea and coffee. In 1999 where the first Starbucks outlet on the Chinese mainland opened in Beijing, Starbucks has become one of the most popular brands among Chinese white-collar workers aged between 25 and 40, according to surveys.

Considerably, Starbucks in Beijing has maintained an annual sales growth of more than 30% in recent years. In Shanghai, the chain started to make a profit the second year after the first store opened in the city. Its net profit reached 32 million yuan ($4 million) in less than two years. (http://www. atimes. com/atimes/China_Business) Starbucks may have difficulties in expanding its business in China because of certain policies, they only receives royalty fees from the licensee that unable to regulate cash flow in the business.

They have to revise ownership from time to time and use better strategic opportunities to penetrate the market successfully. But the removal of restrictions on foreign investment in the retail industry at the end of 2004, due to China’s World Trade Organization membership, also opens the door for Starbucks to be directly involved in the development of the China market. With 400 Starbucks stores in China and continues to expand, it can be clearly seen that Starbucks was able to penetrate the Chinese Market and will continue to increase its stores in the near future.

This is an indication that they have succeeded and will continue to achieve such growth. 35-year-old Starbucks still opens five new ones daily, with 11,500 stores around the world. In February the coffee retailer would maintain annual earnings growth of at least 20% over the next three to five years. Starbucks believe over the long term that the market opportunities for Starbucks worldwide mean at least 30,000 stores, with 15,000 in North America and 15,000 outside North America.

Molex’s early decision to align its global human resource management (HRM) strategy with its international business structure was the single most important factor taken toward successfully managing its diverse, widespread workforce. According to its website, Molex operates 55 manufacturing facilities in 19 countries and has 18,000 employees in 115 locations around the globe. Furthermore, the company’s operations outside the Americas generate approximately 60 percent of its total sales.1 This paper will demonstrate how Molex combines host country HR expertise with company-wide HRM standards and clear communication to remain profitable while keeping its employees focused and motivated.

A key part of Molex’s HRM strategy is to employ host-country human resource (HR) experts. This polycentric approach to HRM helps the company gain acceptance as an integral part of the host country and acts to subdue the “foreign company” image many global companies contend with outside their home countries. Another benefit is local national HRM managers are often informal leaders in the community and they know the laws, customs, culture and the language.2 According to Malou Roth, Molex’s former vice president of corporate training and development, it’s relatively easy to send someone from the home country to oversee technical operations overseas, which are typically more standardized. But it’s viewed as a more difficult task to export people who know how to effectively recruit and manage local talent.

That’s where the company’s policy of hiring host country HR experts enters the picture. Additionally, the costs involved with an expatriate HR workforce can range from two to five times an employee’s annual base salary.4 Molex’s use of locally hired personnel experts further serves to reduce the cost of transferring expatriate HR specialists from the home country to another. But how does the company meld geographically separated employees from different cultures into a coherent team?

Molex lays a solid foundation for its worldwide workforce by providing minimum HR standards to all entities, regardless of location. “What I tried to do when I came to Molex 15 years ago was take the basic HR programs and practices that I knew were good ones and make those things standards or consistent practices at every entity in every country,” says Roth. 5 Although staff at each operating location has the flexibility to add to the basic HRM standards according to local needs, the baseline standards remain in tact to ensure all parts of the company are heading in the same direction as it relates to HR. This practice allows both employees and management to understand what is expected, no matter what country they’re working in. However, it is not enough to merely create standards; they must be effectively communicated.

Although many leading companies today have clear objectives with well-defined strategies for accomplishing these objectives, their communication plans remain vague and poorly conceived. But Molex has developed an effective communication process as an important part of its global HR strategy. Each of its entities conducts scheduled meetings to discuss the company’s priorities and any new business developments. Kathi Regas, corporate vice president of HR at Molex says: “Our annual communications meetings ensure that our employees know they’re a part of something much bigger than their local entities.”6 Employees become more knowledgeable and the company benefits from the exchange of “best practices” and ideas. The company uses communication as a means to strengthen its corporate culture by making sure employees are aware of their roles in that culture. And the more Molex employees know, the more they feel they have a vested interest in the company’s success.

Molex has succeeded at creating a workforce that feels supported and informed through the use of solid global HR practices. The company promotes its global mindset by capitalizing on host country HR expertise, providing and articulating minimum HR standards for all entities, and maintaining open lines of communication. These HR principles match Molex’s business goals and act as the glue that holds the team together. Additionally, they facilitate employee and company success. In an article published in The Business Ledger, CEO and Chairman John Krehbiel declared: “Our employees’ ability to be successful within the company keeps them interested and motivated. They know their hard work and effort has helped to build one of the fastest growing and most profitable electrical connector companies in the world and we think they like being part of that team.

My role of Human Resource Consultant , is to analyse the function and the purpose of the Personnel Department within the Carrefour organisation . Usually , the life of a company is described by results, figures , indicators ,forgetting one of the most important aspect: The Human Resource aspect of the company. The people within the company are valuable assets witch influence and helps the development of the organisation , and because of that , the Human Resource Management is very important . How well an organisation obtains, maintains and retains its human resources determines its success or failure.

William Werther and Keits Davis (1993:10) suggest that:” The purpose of Human Resource management is to improve the productive contribution of people of the organisation in an ethical and socially responsible way”. In practice, human resource management achieve its purpose by meeting objectives. II. Theory Aims and Objectives The objectives are benchmarks against witch actions are evaluated. There are four types of objectives that are common to human resource management:

1. Societal objectives -its about meeting social and legal responsibilities within the employment field. Being one of the PEST factors , social environment influence any company’s activity. Any firm is recruiting its human resources from society ,so the organisation must be ethically and socially responsible to the needs and challenges of society . The failure of the organisation to use their resources for society’s benefit in ethical ways, may result in restrictions. The most common societal concerns are about discrimination , safety etc.
2. Organisational objectives – to recognise that human resource management exists to contribute to organisational effectiveness and to assist the organisation with its primary objectives. The personnel department exists to serve the rest of the organisation and its duty is to obtain, utilise and develop human resources to achieve this objective. Obtaining involves recruitment and selections, utilising- manpower planning and developing -appraising, training and promoting.
3. Functional objectives – the personnel department needs to contribute to organisational goals and also to help in the management of change through its specific activities(training , recruitment/selection , appraisal) and through consultation , participation and education ,enabling the organisation to change.
4.  Personal objectives- to create and maintain effective relationships within organisation by offering to the employees assistance in achieving their personal goals. Personal objectives of employees must be met if workers are to be maintained , retained and motivated. Otherwise , employee performance and satisfaction may decline and employees may leave the organisation.

Personnel Department Activities

To achieve its purpose and objectives , the personnel department obtains, develops utilises, evaluates , maintains and retains the right numbers and types of workers to provide an appropriate workforce. Werther and Davis (1993:13) say in their descriptions of Human Resources and Personnel Management ” Human Resource activities are those actions to provide and maintain an appropriate workforce for the organisation “. The human resource activities are different from one organisation from another , because of the size of the organisation. Large personnel departments are usually “full-service”. This means that activity is very complex and includes:

• Employee relations – human resource departments are establishing policies and assisting managers to ensure employee retention, satisfaction and performance. Here we can meet
• Industrial relations: developing communication systems designed to promote co-operation between employees and employers.
• Participation : Jointly involving management and employees in making decisions on matters of mutual interest.
• Communications: Promoting organisation effectiveness through the design of informational channels that ensure that the right information is available to the right people at the right time.

Discipline/ grievance – there are numerous incidents or situation that can lead to an employee to holding a grievance (sex assault, safety hazards, dealing with conflict); internal rules and legislation and writing grievance and discipline procedures are required Health and Safety/Welfare – health and safety policies aim to protect people against the hazards arising from their employment. Occupational health programmes are concerned with the prevention of ill-health arising from work Safety programmes deal with the prevention of accidents ensuring the safety of everyone within the workplace.

Welfare is about providing leisure, counselling and other support services for employees(medical insurance The main objectives of the Carrefour Personnel Department is to become an employer of reference in the modern distribution. Carrefour is doing that by thinking new training projects. Carrefour is aiming to stimulate intercultural communication facilitate new employee exchange between collaborators from different countries , sending employees abroad through exchange programs which can share experiences with others.

Carrefour also believes in teenage power. In 1999 a group of 20 young Romanian graduates was trained for 9 months in French Carrefour stores and in the same time at the Professional Institute from Clermont Ferrand . There , they learned about the business management and now they are managers in different departments in the first hypermarket in Bucharest . The investment in such training programs costs the French Group about 3 million FF.

    The novel The Devil Wears Prada is an example of how not to conduct a business in regard to human resource management. Miranda Priestly violates every rule in regard to hiring, her employees’ working hours, benefits and compensation. Her assistants work at least twelve hours a day without overtime pay; hiring practices include not hiring any woman who cannot fit into a size four. Miranda gives instructions with little information and expects them to be followed perfectly, regardless of whether these instructions are given in the office or after she has called her assistants at home on the weekend. In spite of these business practices, Miranda Priestly is considered the epitome of taste and style. Miranda uses threats and intimidation to run her magazine, which, in the real world, would set her up for a bankruptcy-sized lawsuit.

    Andrea Sachs plans to be a writer, but she needs a job in order to survive until that happens. She applies for the job as Miranda’s second assistant because it is, in fact, a job with a publication. The first problem with Andrea Sachs’ new job is that she is told if she can stick it out for a year, she will have her choice of assignments in the future. This is the lure that entices Andrea to take the job, even though her intention is to be a writer, not an errand girl. However, she understands that she has to start at the bottom, and this is the way to do it. The one part of her job that is made clear to her is that Emily, as Miranda’s first assistant, will handle Miranda’s business for the magazine, while Andrea will mostly be running personal errands. Unfortunately, her job requires little time learning about the magazine and its practices and more time being Miranda’s personal slave. Miranda frequently holds the promise of better jobs to come over her head in order to keep her from quitting. On page 327, Miranda hints that she might be willing to put in a call to The New Yorker (the site of Andrea’s dream job), when they return from Paris. This implies, of course, that Andrea must do anything she is asked, no matter how unreasonable. Job promotions and giving a good reference should be based on specific job performance, not on the whims of an impossible-to-please boss.

    Acceptable hiring practices are violated immediately when Andrea is hired with no mention of pay, benefits, or working hours (Weisberger, 2003, p. 27). An employer should first offer the candidate the job, and then discuss salary, potential overtime, and working hours. The prospective employee also needs to know what benefits come with the job. Andrea isn’t offered the job; she is informed that Miranda is willing to hire her. Neither Miranda nor Emily gives Andrea a complete job description. She is merely left to assume that she will be told what to do and when to do it. This is an irresponsible approach to business, as Andrea has no frame of reference for determining which requests are reasonable and which are unreasonable given her job description. However, she does realize that any and all requests must be completed, less risk being fired. The benefits that come with the job are common perks within the fashion industry, as well as clothing, accessories and other items from the Runway closet. The problem with these benefits is that an employee who doesn’t wear a size four or smaller would, in the end, receive no benefits at all. In addition, Andrea is required to dress fashionably for her job, so these perks aren’t so much benefits as they are a work uniform.

    Andrea has been told that she may have to work some fourteen-hour days, but that this would not occur too frequently. Throughout the novel, Andrea works at least a fourteen-hour day, every day, and her weekends are occupied with bizarre requests from Miranda. Miranda demands that Andrea acquire a copy of the latest Harry Potter book – a book that won’t be in the stores for two more days. While Andrea is Miranda’s assistant, asking her to perform tasks for her children is stretching her job description. What makes it worse is the amount of time Andrea spends acquiring the book and shipping it to Paris – time that could have been spent at work, learning about the business for which she works. Andrea completes the task and expects to have the weekend to herself. However, she is inundated with calls from Miranda demanding to know where the book is and complaining that there was only one (nearly impossible to get) copy of the book for both girls (Weisberger, 2003, p. 89). Andrea complains frequently throughout the novel of the low pay, but she should be making a great deal of money considering the hours she puts in at work.

    Employees in any business should get at least a minimum of vacation time, breaks during the work day, and adequate time to eat lunch and use the restroom. Andrea gets none of the above. She arrives at work at seven o’clock and gets a ten or fifteen minute break – but only occasionally. One day, she is gone for five hours – during which time, Emily has not gone to the restroom once, for fear of missing a call from Miranda (Weisberger, 2003, p. 49). On page 62, it is already three o’clock and Andrea has not had a lunch break. Emily left the office to get lunch and hasn’t returned, after insisting that Andrea needed to stay at the desk just in case Miranda called. Andrea finally gives up waiting and goes to the cafeteria to get lunch. There, she encounters Emily, who is furious that Andrea has left the desk unmanned. She seethes, “If she called, we’re dead. You’re dead.” (Weisberger, 2003, p. 65).

Miranda’s power is such that her assistants aren’t even allowed a lunch or restroom break. Frequently throughout the novel, Andrea is criticized for her insistence upon eating lunch. Not only does she not get vacation time, but she doesn’t even have her evenings or weekends to herself. Rather, she can be called on a moment’s notice, after which she must drop everything and tend to Miranda’s needs, no matter how insignificant or impossible. Andrea must cancel plans with her boyfriend to attend a party that Miranda is throwing; to refuse would have resulted in being fired. When Emily comes down with mono and cannot go to Paris, Andrea must once again rearrange her life in order to go. A trip to Paris in any other context would have seemed like an incredible gift, but not for someone who hasn’t seen her family in months because her job demands that she stay in the city in order to be nearby if Miranda should happen to call.

    Runway’s hiring practices are questionable. Andrea is surrounded by attractive skinny girls, whom she describes as, “All weighed less than 110 pounds” (Weisberger, 2003, p. 41). While this may not be a hiring practice, it does put pressure on the staff to maintain an unhealthy weight in order to keep the job. When Andrea goes to the cafeteria for lunch, she finds that she is the only person eating anything substantial. In addition, the only men who work for Runway are gay. While this might be due to the fact that gay men have more of an interest in fashion, the other conclusion to be drawn is that they are simply not hiring straight men.

    Miranda has decided that she is far too important to carry on a conversation with her employees. Her assistants are expected to do their jobs perfectly with little information as to what they’re doing. This would be a problem in the real world, as employees need to be told, in detail, how to perform their jobs. This allows the employer to build a foundation upon which they can evaluate the employee. When Miranda gives Andrea and Emily instructions, they are always embedded in a short non-sequitor, for which Andrea has no frame of reference. She must hunt down the necessary information by asking Emily (her superior) or anyone else who might have the answer. She cannot ask her boss for further information.  This occurred on page 44, when Andrea is told to get Miranda a skirt. However, she doesn’t say what kind of skirt or even the purpose of the shirt. Andrea is left to figure that out on her own. She has a similar experience when Miranda mentions an antique shop she liked. The problem is that Miranda doesn’t mention the name of the shop or where it was located. Three days after finding every conceivable way to locate this antique shop, Andrea is finally given permission by Emily to ask Miranda for clarification. It is only at this time that Miranda gave her the business card for the store. Miranda never gives her employees clear expectations or any type of rubric for distinguishing good job performance from bad job performance.  On page 185, Miranda demands that Andrea get a hot-fudge sundae for her. Five minutes later, Andrea hasn’t left to get it, and Miranda is in a rage. An e-mail from Emily reads, “I wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t going to fire you…” This tells Andrea that she could be fired simply for taking too long in getting her boss dessert.

    Miranda is a caricature of a demanding, impossible-to-please boss who is permitted to behave like a tyrant because of her status in the fashion world. Everyone wants Miranda’s opinion on everything, and this is why she is allowed to treat her employees like slaves. By delegating every seemingly unimportant task to her assistants, Miranda can spend her time looking good and only dealing with business issues that require her name or signature. Unfortunately, Miranda has ignored many responsibilities of a good boss, one of which is to conduct a formal performance evaluation. Emily and Andrea should be evaluated based on their job description and given a promotion or a raise based on this evaluation, rather than on seniority alone.

    If Miranda was the target of a human resource audit, she would be instructed to make the following changes:

Employees must receive overtime for working longer than an eight-hour day, and must be given adequate notice that they will be required to stay late.
Hiring practices must be changed – Runway cannot discriminate on the basis of sex or weight.
Miranda must give her employees a job description. It must detail everything they are expected to do in a regular work day, as well as the occasional errands that they may need to attend to for Miranda. She must stop mixing business with her personal life – if Andrea is hired to attend to her personal needs, then she must not also be required to handle Runway duties, and vice-versa.
Miranda must conduct scheduled performance evaluations in order to let her assistants know how they are doing on the job and in order to have a basis for promotion, raises, or to be fired. Read about paradigm shift in human resource management

    In conclusion, The Devil Wears Prada is indeed a worst-case scenario in regard to employment. In the real world, employees who work hard are rewarded, and bosses who threaten to fire their employees over a delayed sundae are reprimanded. The novel does prove an important point, which is that fashion and pop culture have taken over in regard to values, so much that many people endure indescribable working conditions in order to get a foot in the door in a particular industry. Miranda Priestly does exist, and there are many Andreas in the world, working fourteen-hour days in order to break into an industry that sets and follows its own rules.

Works Cited:

Weisberger, L. (2003). The Devil Wears Prada. New York, NY: Random House.