Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example

?Human Resource Management Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The Environmental Challenges 4 Cultural Factors 5 Ethical Considerations 6 Other Business Challenges 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction It has become quite important for organizations to continue growing sustainably and spreading out its business operations so as to survive in the highly competitive environment of 21st century. Globalization has become quite necessary and is developing to be an essential strategy for organizations with the intention of making available superior products and along with services at a reasonable cost. Organizations are performing a thorough assessment of all its operations so as to decide on the operations that are possible to be carried out in other different countries. It is becoming a need for organizations to make its existence felt in the global marketplace which can be attained through globalization. Globalization not only helps the organizations in attaining competitive advantage but also ensures sustained survival of the organizations. With the globalization of the organizations, it becomes imperative for the human resource management practices to become familiar with the latest environment (Zinnov, 2011). The Environmental Challenges Globalization of organization means expansion or branching out of the organization in one single countries or different countries. This implies that the organization needs to alter its way of working and operations according to the business, social and political environment of the new country which can also be termed as the host country. The way of working and performing business operations vary in case of different countries. The organization needs to conduct its operations taking into concern the legal as well as social specifications of the new country (Macdonald, 1997). Apart from abiding by the legal regulations of the country, the other most important environmental challenge associated with transitioning to a global company is to adapt their management applications with the practices prevalent in the new country. Workplace policies, behavior and applications need to be followed according to the legal norms practiced in the host country. Other environmental challenges include varied customer requirements, difference in the cultural values among the people or the workers, an overabundance of stakeholders like customers, investors and so on with varied claims, diverse economic, political as well as legal environments and lastly the assortment of strategies of the competitors (Financial Times, 2007). Cultural Factors Cultural factors are considered to be the slightest substantial factor but for international organizations, they turn out to be one of the most important factors. Culture is perceived to be the features and behavioral structure of the people of a particular society. Cultural factors include religion, customs and approaches, language, values and mind-sets, education, material constituents, social foundations and aesthetics. Culture can also be said to be the complete system of life of the people in a specific society. For organizations to be successful, it is vital that they take into deliberation and adapt to the culture of the country or society. Understanding the cultural factors assists in endowing with competitive advantage to some extent to the organizations (Lan & Unhelkar, 2005). For instance, the Indian culture is quite open to new products, ideas and thoughts and accepts change without much hesitance. Thus, the people in India working as employees can adapt to the different working style and ways without much hesitance, whereas the Japanese culture is quite rigid and is not open towards accepting all and every kind of alterations in their society. Thus, organizations branching out in Japan should take it into concern and should be careful to practice their business operations according to the societal ways. Any alteration in the ways of working in the organizations would not be readily accepted by the local employees and customers in the host country that in turn shall hamper the competency and sustainability of the country (ITIM, 2009). Ethical Considerations Ethics is given immense importance in the world of business. Fresh developments and matters come up on a regular basis which might give rise to a significant trouble for organizations and result in losing customers. In the recent times, the requirements for appropriate ethical behavior inside the organizations are considered to be quite vital in order to keep away from probable lawsuits. The recent globalization of businesses and elimination of the business obstructions across the world has additionally emphasized the importance of ethical behavior. So, it is crucial for organizations to indulge in ethical behaviors with the purpose to avoid developing a negative perception by the people for such organizations. The organizations need to make sure that their operations are performed by taking into consideration the code of conduct for that particular country (Mahdavi, 2005). With this concern, the growing organizations require complying with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or the OECD. This is considered as the developer of rules in case of industrialized countries. The International Labor Organization (ILO), involved with the issue of ‘direct investment’ in the developing nations, can also be considered as another developer of code of conduct for globalizing companies. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is engaged with the issue of just behavior in between the multinational corporations and thus is also related with the ethical considerations of growing companies. Finally, the Center for Transnational Corporations (CTC) also tends to assist the internationalizing companies in defining their code of conduct with ethical considerations in different host countries. Other ethical matters that need to be considered by organizations are serving gifts to any personnel of the firm for the fulfillment of personal interests that conflict with the interest of the organization (Mahdavi, 2005). Other Business Challenges Other business challenges, most likely to be witnessed by internationalizing companies can be identified as follows: The technological challenges, Challenge of developing competitive advantages in an unknown market, Entering and capturing the new market, product or service alterations depending on the new market, Maintaining the present market growth and branching out into fresh markets, Competing in the new market, Understanding the internal capabilities of the organization in the new market Identifying the external limitations, Understanding the growth strategy of the organization in the new market the and challenges regarding the management approaches, and Understanding the strategies of the competitors in the new market (Harvard Business Review, 2011). Conclusion It is quite evident from the above discussion that organizations need to concentrate and focus on multiple factors while planning their global expansion. The success or the failure of organizations is dependent on the proper treatment and understanding of the above mentioned factors. It is quite important for organizations to take these issues into consideration so as to attain competitive advantages along with global success. Successful global expansion would ensure the sustained existence of such organizations in this fiercely competitive age. It should be kept in mind that the adaption of effective human resource management strategies is the most significant aspects to be considered while expanding globally. It can not only minimize the risks associated with environmental and cultural divergences, but can also reward the organization with better productivity and sustainable growth in the market. With this concern, the human resource management practices should be altered according to the culture, preference and trends of the host market. References Financial Times, (2007). Managing Complexity in Global Organizations. Perspectives for Managers. Retrieved Online on October 22, 2011 from http://media.ft.com/cms/d38ba8ea-d933-11db-9b4a-000b5df10621.pdf Harvard Business Review, (2011). Strategic Challenge of Entrenching Locally While Expanding Globally. Store. Retrieved Online on October 22, 2011 from http://hbr.org/product/mtr-strategic-challenge-of-entrenching-locally-whi/an/HKU722-PDF-ENG ITIM, (2009). Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Countries. Retrieved Online on October 22, 2011 from http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_japan.shtml Lan, Y. & Unhelkar, B., (2005). Global Enterprise Transitions: Managing the Process. Idea Group Inc. Mahdavi, I., (2005). International Business Ethics: Strategies and Responsibilities. Journal of Academic and Business Ethics. Retrieved Online on October 22, 2011 from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/09279.pdf Mcdonald, D., (1997). Industrial Relations and Globalization: Challenges for Employers and Their Organizations. International Labor Organization. Retrieved Online on October 22, 2011 from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/actemp/downloads/publications/dmirglob.pdf Zinnov, (2011). Global Organizations: An Analysis. Global Organizations. Retrieved Online on October 22, 2011 from http://www.zinnov.com/pdfFiles/1246961270Global_Organizations-_An_Analysis.pdf Read More