Human Resource Issues in Setting Up Projects in France - Coursework Example

Human Resource Issues in setting up projects in France Analysis Paper Submitted by: Introduction Setting up a businessor starting a new project in a new country always need extensive research and analysis. Every country has its own business environment and is attractive to some type of businesses. As a human resource manager it is important to consider all the aspects related to the department before starting up any new business of project (Bhatia & Dey, pg 1, 2005). Things to consider as a HR manager: It is essential to find out about the labor force of the country, their diversity, age trends, skills and culture. Where as other factors should also be considered such as the economical conditions, government regulations, infrastructure, laws and culture of the country. Managers must screen the external environment before entering the market. If these factors are neglected before going to the country, organization may end up in loosing huge amount of money and resources (Human Resource Management, pg 1, 2008). That is why HR managers should consider all the aspects very carefully as the availability of the required labor force also depend upon these factors. Other than that a company has to answer the question that why they want to go to that country, who will be the workers, what will be the structure, from where will the finances come and what are the legal requirements to consider. As a HR manager ones job is to find out about the labor force availability and the legal requirements. Both the areas are the most important areas for the company to enter in a new country, as workers are the one who are responsible for running the business, where as legal laws keeps a check on your activities and business (Globalization and Environment, pg 2, 2009). The final decision is highly based on the report submitted by the HR manager. Setting up a Business in France It is not a surprising thing that a company wants to do business in France, the simplest reason is that the company wants to enter into the worlds 6th economic power, which is open to all and has been a center of innovation, lifestyle and creativity. There are many reasons of why foreign companies want to invest in France. The first is that France provides a gateway to access the European countries and it has lower set up cost for a business as compared to other European countries. As there are benefits for setting up a business in France, there are drawbacks as well, and to minimize those drawbacks Human Resource manager has to use different approaches to analyze the environment of the country (Rose, pg 123, 2006). One such approach is PEST (Political, economical, social and technological) analysis. It is a very useful tool to screen the environment of any country. The analysis helps the company to set the directions, predict the growth and decline and environment for operations (Mathis & Jackson, pg 132, 2006). PEST Analysis of France Political environment: The political environment is stable in the country for the new investors from abroad. Government has formed policies to support such business and at the same time safeguarding the interest of the employees by giving flexible working hours and good retirement packages. There is no political uncertainty in the country, thus it is safe to invest as far as political factors are concerned (Mathis & Jackson, pg 110, 2006). Environmental conditions: 80% of the countries electricity is generated through nuclear plants, where are the main source of increase in temperature, where as, being the industrial country it is now facing environmental challenges. Thus any new business will have to deal with new environmental policies in order to set up the business (Daft, pg 123, 2001). Social environment: France is one of the most liberal countries in the world, but still face some social issues such as the diversity of among its residents and their life style conflicts. There is a huge % of child born with out a married couple and increase number of homosexuality and same sex marriages. For most of the businesses these issues are not of that much importance that is why social conditions are also favorable for a business to set up in France (Heller, pg 41, 2007). Technological environment: As France is one of the developed country in the world as has the history of innovations and creativity, there is no such issue for a business in terms of technology. According to the PEST analysis, France is a feasible place to set up a business, where as this analysis alone is not enough to get the clear picture about the feasibility. It is important to look at the country from human resource manager’s perspective (Rose, pg 198, 2006). From human resource perspective there are few issues that the business might face. Human Resource Issues in France Like other countries France also has some human resource problems. Few of them are presented here. Diversity of labor force: Many diversity experts in the world have realized that the diversity in France is taking a serious shape and is a big challenge to manage. Such challenges have shown its trailer in October 2005 riots when Paris and its suburbs were closed due to strikes and violent protests and the president was forced to put emergency. It was mainly due to the low wage rate for minorities and un-employment among them. As a human Resource manager this must be considered, that whom you are hiring and at that wage rate and where our office or factory is located. As the diversity is increasing it is getting harder to avoid the labor conflicts. It is considered good that the organization has the diverse work force, but over diversity may also harm the productivity and efficiency. It is not that diversity is bringing harm to the country but companies like L’Oreal and AREVA have taken it as the opportunity and has used the diverse talent effectively. But despite of all the efforts made by the government to control the diversity, it has remained the challenged (Mathis & Jackson, pg 114, 2006). Aging workforce: It is a global issue as in almost all the developed countries there will be a gap in skilled workers due to the aging workforce. G7 countries have agreed to end the age discrimination, yet they might fall behind to their targets. Most of the skilled and experienced workers in France are getting close to their retirement age, where as the ones who are going to take their places are far behind in their experience and knowledge. This fact forces the government to allow foreign workers to work in France so that the pace of the development can be maintained. As a human Resource manager one has to consider this reality that the workers available in the country are of this type. The aging factor has also increased the flexible timing practice which is again not an easy job for the company to handle (NSW Employers Responsibilities, pg 2, 2009). Organizational Culture: France is a country, which has it own lifestyle and tradition and people from this area speak different language and share different value from rest of the western countries. A person who worked in a Pizza Hut in United States will feel a huge difference in working at a Pizza Hut in France. People are not friendly and stick to their work only. The working environment is very different as flexible working is common in France, which is very difficult for a new company. The working styles are also different as there is minimum amount of communication done horizontally and vertically (Robbins & Judge, pg 112, 2004). As a Human Resource manager one has to decide up on, that how many workers they he wants from the local community and how many from other countries. Another problem that foreign companies face is that they need to hire French national at the top level of the company, this is something which directly effects on the organizational culture but one has to deal with it. Recommendations Human resource can go for multicultural hiring because if not done in this way, social pressure will develop to hire diverse people. In comparison with the competitors organization should offer little higher salaries so that talented people can be utilized (Solutions to HR Problems, pg 1, 2009). As government gives more benefits on hiring older people, company should hire people who are older and have more experience to share with the company (Heller, pg 67, 2007). As a human resource manager one must consider all the legal requirements at time of hiring, as neglecting these requirements may end up in serious consequences. Works Cited Bhatia, A., & Dey, R. (2005). Globalization of Product Development: The Inevitable Next Stage. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from http://www.infosys.com/global-sourcing/white-papers/globalization-product-development-part1.pdf Daft, R. (2001). Organization Theory and Design, 9th ed. Chicago: South-Western. Employers health and safety responsibilities. (2009). Retrieved April 1, 2009, from Directgov - Employment: www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/HealthAndSafetyAtWork/DG_4016686 Globalisation and Environment. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2009, from http://www.blogspot.globalisation.com/14021 Heller, R. (2007, July 8). Management Training: Make your business its own corporate academy for management training and improvement. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from Thinking Managers: http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/management/management-training.php Human Resource Management. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2008, from Guide to Managing a Great Workplace: www.managementhelp.org/hr_mgmnt/hr_mgmnt.htm Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2006). Human Resource Management. Virginia: Thomson South-Western. NSW Employers Responsibilities. (2009). Retrieved April 1, 2009, from www.findlaw.com.au/article/6684.htm Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2004). Organizational Behavior. New York: Pearsons. Rose, J. (2006, July 31). HR Training for New Managers. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from http://trainingpd.suite101.com/article.cfm/hr_training_for_new_managers_ Solutions to HR Problems. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2009, from www.businessitonline.com/solutions-to-hr-problems.bios Read More