The Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management at Oxford University Press - Essay Example

The Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management at Oxford Press 7 August Submitted by: Submitted The business environment is globalizing rapidly and organizations need to take into account factors beyond their immediate or national environments. This is even more crucial for multinational organizations that operate in several countries. The globalized business environment has implications for the human resource practices and functions of multinational organizations. This paper discusses the implications globalization has had on the recruitment and selection, human resource development, training and development, and performance and reward practices at Oxford University Press, the oldest and largest university press in the world with operations in 100 countries of the world. The human resource function is centralized but adequate scope for accommodating local needs and environmental pressures is present. Recruitment and selection is based on local market needs and product offerings in accordance with the policies of the Delegates. Training, development, reward and performance appraisal, and employee engagement initiatives at branches are also designed locally but in accordance with the broad policy shaped by the Delegates. The Press should grant greater autonomy to branches so that the HR function can be more responsive to urgent international pressures. Contents The Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management at Oxford University Press 1 Abstract 2 The Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management at Oxford University Press 4 Impact of Globalization on Organizational Strategy 4 References 14 Campbell, C. (2013). Nelson Thornes could make up to 50 redundancies before Christmas. [Online]. Available at: http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Nelson-Thornes-make-50-redundancies-Christmas/story-20320403-detail/story.html. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. 14 OUP. (2014). History. [Online]. Available at: http://global.oup.com/about/oup_history/?AB=B&cc=ro. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. 14 The Guardian. (2012). Oxford University Press fined £1.9m over bribery by African subsidiary firms. [Online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/jul/03/oxford-university-press-fined-bribery. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. 15 The Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management at Oxford University Press Impact of Globalization on Organizational Strategy The multinational organisation selected for this analysis is the Oxford University Press. The OUP is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the world and has been publishing scholarly works since 1478 (OUP, 2014). The international growth and expansion of the press began with the establishment of the first international office in New York in 1896 and in Canada in 1904. The OUP serves a global market serving 100 countries with offices in 50 countries of the world. In response to globalization, the Press is following a product development strategy where technology-enabled educational materials are being developed for culturally and linguistically diverse markets around the world. The most recent version of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary was launched as a purely online dictionary. From the human resource perspective, the Press follows a traditional structure that is based on a group of Delegates appointed from the University of Oxford academicians to oversee the policy of the press. The Delegates also appoint a Finance Committee and Chief Executive for the Press. The Press employs a large global human resource in more than 100 countries (OUP, 2014). In response to global demands for standardization and uniformity, the Press has developed specific codes for conduct for dealing with suppliers, authors, and other third knees up stakeholders. These policies are implemented through the human resource departments of all branches of the Press. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the corporate world has been criticized for financial corruption and lack of transparency. The Press was also involved in a corruption scandal in 2012 with the World Bank. This event led to an organisation -wide process of restructuring and developing new policies for controlling bribery, fraud and other forms of corruption by employees of the Press. Impact of Globalization Human Resource Management Practices This section analyzes how the forces of globalization hae influenced the human resource management practices at the Oxford University Press and its various branches. Harvey and Turnbull (2010, p. 232) explain that HR strategy is affected by local and international factors as well as organizational factors such as brand image, quality standards, and so on. Hence, in multinational organizations, scope should be offered for global HR strategies to fit with the concerns and interests of smaller subsidiaries and branches. Impact on Resourcing the organisation In terms of resourcing the organisation, the Oxford University Press follows a strategy of sourcing local talent. This is contrary to the trend of global sourcing in multinational organizations which allows em to deploy human resources across global locations by matching the skill set to the organizational needs. Collings, Scullion and Dowling (2009, p. 1254) argue that global sourcing enables organizations to become more responsive and innovative in integrating the global operations of an organisation. Schuler, Jackson and Tarique (2011, p. 508) explain how global talent management enables multinational firms to balance talent surpluses and gaps across branches. However, at OUP, international hiring is rare and only takes gaff at the senior most levels. The reason for this strategy is that the Press pursues a strategy of developing products that are bespoke to the cultural needs and environment of the host country. For instance, the branches of the Press in India, Pakistan, China and Malaysia employ local editors and sales staff because they are more familiar with the local environment and limitations of the product users. whilst this strategy may not be in queue with the general preference to stimulate creativity and better problem-solving by employing a global hiring strategy, the organisation makes the exception because it does not produce mass-manufactured and kit products. Each book or educational aid is developed according to local tastes. Hence, there is a need to employ people who can develop and market products to the local consumers in accordance with their needs and expectations. However, to facilitate sharing of ideas, regional and international divisions are created and the heads of individual branches interact to streamline production processes and benefit from economies of scale. The Asia Division created recently for the same purpose has resulted in the shifting of the printing operations in the Pakistan market to Malaysia because of lower costs and higher quality of printing in the Malaysian market. This has created concerns for the staff at the Pakistan branch which has evolved to the role of coordinator between printers and distributors. Impact on Human Resource Development The human resource development function is basically responsible for training and developing the skills of employees in the organisation. whilst the function is important to groom individuals to perform efficiently in their present roles, the function is crucial to groom high-potential employees for managerial and senior-level positions. The human resource function includes processes and practices such as talent management and training and development amongst others. At the Oxford University Press, the management invests considerably in the training and development of employees. De Saa-Perez and Garcia-Falcon (2002, p. 136) explain that managerial effectiveness depends on the existence of an HR policy that enables managers to develop specific human resource capital through strategic planning. Hence, training and development programs are more in queue with the local needs as opposed to global needs. This again shows that the human resource practices at the Press reflect its focus on local needs and skill requirements. Taking the instance of the Pakistan branch of the Press, the employees are hired on a probation full stop during which they are trained by senior employees and managers to graft on individual projects. Members from Sales, Editorial and Marketing functions are often sent to participate in publishing and editing courses in neighboring India. Senior level employees such as managers and directors are also sent on training courses to increase their selling and managerial skills. Employees in customer-facing departments such as Customer Service and Sales Support are sent for soft skill development courses in local universities. IT skills training is also provided to employees who are not technology-savvy. In 2012, the SAP system was implemented in the Pakistan branch for which employees in sales support and customer service were provided training. These measures reflect that the Press has gone beyond the universalist approach as suggested by Delbridge, Hauptmeier and Sengupta (2011, p. 49) which allows it to respond to the emerging contingencies and skill gaps amongst employees in disparate locations. Impact on Employment Relations The employment relations function is crucial for the efficient running of the organisation and the relationships between employees and management. It is important for the Press to focus on the employment relation function to create a healthy environment where employees cooperate with each other to execute the business strategy. The Press is pursuing a global policy of expansion and acquisition with the most recent acquisition of Nelson Thornes in 2013. This would create some challenges for the employment relations between new and olde employees of the Press. In response to the globalization challenges for the publishing industry, publishers around the world are consolidating their operations in response to competition from international publishers and electronic technology. This has put pressure on the book publishing industry to protect its fortunes by expanding its market share through a policy of mergers and acquisitions. Oxford University Press has acquired Nelson Thornes Publishers in 2013 to broaden its product base and expand its market share. According to the OUP (2013) website, the employees of Nelson Thornes will not be affected as the company will be operating as a stand-alone subsidiary of the Press. This shows that the company is pursuing a cautious approach to avoid major redundancies which could damage morale at the organisation. However, according to a report (Campbell, 2013), prior to the acquisition, Nelson Thornes had laid orf 50 employees which created some resentment and anxiety in the workforce. Moreover, the head of the Nelson Thornes operations has been appointed from the OUP senior management which can create additional challenges for employees at Nelson Thornes adjusting to the new graft environment. Impact on Performance and Rewards Management Performance and reward management is an integral part of the human resource function and places an increased responsibility on the management fair dinkum and honest in evaluating employee performance and administering rewards. The Press has a formal performance management system in gaff which is implemented at all branches of the company. In this regard, the branches of the Press are following the dominant HR policy code from the head office at Oxford, UK. According to Farndale et al. (2010, p. 49), this policy can be described as a relationship of dependence due to the centralized organizational structure. The branches follow the processes prescribed by the head office. Smith and Meiksins (1995, p. 250) criticize the inability of headquarters to balance the challenges of diversity and standardization in their HR policies, which is also observed to some extent at OUP. The global forces in the environment of the organisation include increased competition from other publishers, freelance graft opportunities, and electronic media organizations. In order to retain employees, the organisation offers performance-based rewards and benefits to employees. As the organisation operates in an environment which is not as dynamic as other manufacturing or service industries, the organisation has not brought about radical or fundamental changes to its performance evaluation. All employees including freelance and full-time workers undergo a performance evaluation process with their supervisors. Rewards include financial compensation, career progression and other non-financial rewards. Employees are also awarded a cash award at the end of the year and a bonus if sales targets for the year hae been met. The closest influence of globalization forces on the environment is the fact that sales targets and the rewards for achieving em hae increased in recent years. Strategic International HRM at OUP This section analyzes the extent to which strategic international HRM exists at Oxford University Press. The section includes a discussion of the degree of vertical and horizontal integration at the Press with regard to human resource strategy. The various components of HRM discussed in the previous sections are discussed with reference to vertical and horizontal integration. Vertical Integration Vertical integration explains the degree to which the human resource practices at a multinational organisation support the overall business strategy. A high degree of integration reflects a bessy fit approach which explains that each component of HRM contributes effectively to the execution of the overall business strategy. At OUP, the global business strategy is to pursue expansion through product and market development. Technology is an essential part of the strategy through which new products and delivery methods are being developed at the company. Thus, the Press depends on a strong snooker of IT experts and content producers to produce educational materials for its large markets that can be delivered through technological resources. The company has made significant investments in increasing its technology base. amongst these, the most significant organisation -wide measure is the Digital Asset Management (DAM) process which creates a centralized repository for sharing informational resources. The company has trained the IT heads at its various branches to complete the orientation on the DAM project and it is being implemented in different phases at various branches. The DAM project is expected to reduce costs but will require considerable training for employees who are not technology-savvy. These include editors, compositors, illustrators, and other employees who graft on content production and sharing. This aspect shows the high need for training and development at the Press in the coming years because the strategic objective of the Press is to ramp up its technology-enabled products in the form of electronic books called Oxford books or o-books and educational material available online through subscription. These measures indicate that the Press is following the resource-based view which requires organizations to develop dynamic capabilities by leveraging core competencies around rare and inimitable resources. Wright, Dunford and Snell (2001, p. 711) argue that organizations should evolve their dynamic capabilities over time which is what OUP appears to be doing. These factors necessitate high levels of training for employees in various branches across the world. At present, training has been provided to employees at the senior levels so that they appreciate the need of the strategic move. whilst projects are being developed in various branches, there is more room for coordination and collaboration between branches. The training and development needs are served by the central headquarters at Oxford which identifies any possible linkages between branches that can benefit project execution. Furthermore, the performance and reward management practices differ according to the functional responsibilities of various departments. Together, these contribute to the overall strategy execution at the Press. The Press has also appointed technology experts to oversee the production of digital products at various branches of the organisation. A digital products editor was appointed at the Pakistan branch of the Press in 2013. In India, on the other hand, a dedicated team of digital product editors oversees the production and delivery of digital content. Third knees up content developers are also brought on board to develop products such as educational CDs and online educational content. All these moves show that the Press is aligning its human resource practices to achieve its international strategic objectives. Horizontal Integration Horizontal integration describes the degree to which HRM functions and practices support each other and complement the objectives and achievements for the entire HR function. The concept of bessy fit can be invoked to explain how the HRM functions such as selecting talent, employee engagement and training and development support each other. The resource-based view also shows how the practices and processes of the organisation make the bessy use of available resources to the Press. The selection of talent at the Press is based on relevant experience and qualifications. On the other hand, the rewards and performance function is executed with the achievement of performance goals that differ from department to department. Project completion on timely deadlines is an important factor. To engage employees and achieve satisfaction, the Press adopts policies that promote graft -life balance and that comply with local as well as internationally accepted laws. Corruption and bribery policies hae been enforced recently which depict the high level of commitment to ethical conduct and fair practice at the organisation. All of these practices complement each other for the successful execution of the HR strategy. Impact of Organizational, Industry and International Contexts In addition to the international forces of increased competition and technological advancement, the human resource practices at Oxford University Press are affected by the unique organizational, industrial and international factors in the task environment. Schuler, Dowling and De Cieri (1993, p. 738) explain that the environment of strategic HRM is becoming increasingly complex with a number of exogenous and endogenous variables impacting the HR function. One of the most distinguishing features is the role of the Delegates of the Press who are appointed from amongst the academics at the University of Oxford. These delegates are empowered to make policy decisions about the publication programme and major strategic issues. Unlike other multinational organizations, the executive authority is not vested in a board of directors but in delegates who may promote the interests of the academic community to a greater extent than a professional manager or director. Therefore, the kind of products developed by the Press and the human resource requirements are influenced by the decisions of the Delegates of the Press. On the other hand, this policy reduces the discretion for local branch HR departments in developing local HR policies (Ferner et al., 2011, p. 484). The global publishing industry is facing some unique challenges that influence the human resource strategies at the Oxford University Press. The most urgent industry force is the growing use of technology and the threat of the electronic medium pushing the print medium away from the mainstream. The Press has had to respond to it by making technological literacy an important criterion in the selection, training and development of its workforce. Editors, in particular, are now hired or trained to develop competencies in editing content for print as well as electronic media. The events and issues in the local communities where the Press operates also impose requirements for human resource decisions. For instance, fluency in local languages and customs is essential when hiring editors and sales representatives in different branches across the globe. This is another reason why the Press does not pursue an aggressive strategy of global recruitment and selection. The international regulatory environment has also had a deep impact on the human resource function at the Press. In 2012, the Press was fined nearly £2 million after its branches in Tanzania and Kenya had made payments to obtain contracts to supply textbooks under a World Bank programme in Africa (The Guardian, 2012). The incident was discovered by the officials of the World Bank following which the high court and the Serious Fraud Office of the UK determined that the Press was guilty of unlawful conduct through its branches and employees (The Guardian, 2012). Following the discovery the Press was barred by the World Bank from competing in any of its projects for the next three years. In response to this incident, the Press has made significant changes to its HR policies and has introduced a no-tolerance policy for bribery and any kind of unethical behaviour. It has published the Employee Code of Conduct and Partner Code of Conduct through which every partner and employee undertakes to refrain from bribery and other unethical business practices in the course of their connection with the organisation. Conclusion and Recommendations On the basis of the foregoing discussion it can be argued that the international environment is becoming increasingly influential for organizations because of their rapid pace of globalization. Globalization has brought the convergence of print and electronic media which is creating a unique impact for the global publishing industry. These forces are impacting the human resource function in organizations by requiring the HR team to find employees who are fluent with different cultures and national environments. Global sourcing and the emergence of the online economy means that employees expect to graft at their own pace from any location. Traditional human resource practices are being challenged and organizations are expected to offer flexible working arrangements to employees. The Oxford University Press also operates in an increasingly global environment and a highly competitive industry. However, it has a bleedin centralized structure which restricts the freedom of the human resource function to address local needs of the employees working at different branches, especially with regard to recruitment and selection and employee engagement practices. Considerable freedom is observed as far as training and development practices are concerned. Therefore, the Press should delegate autonomy to the branches with regard to the human resource function so that recruitment and selection as well as other aspects of the HR function can be executed according to local as well as global considerations. References Campbell, C. (2013). Nelson Thornes could make up to 50 redundancies before Christmas. [Online]. Available at: http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Nelson-Thornes-make-50-redundancies-Christmas/story-20320403-detail/story.html. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. Collings, D., Scullion, H., and Dowling, P. (2009). 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B., and Snell, S. A. (2001). Human resources and the resource based view of the firm. Journal of Management, 27, 701-721. Read More