Strategic and International HRM - Example

STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL HRM + Introduction Human Resource management commonly referred to as HRM is a process of managing the staff in a workplace or organization. The Human Resources manager is the person tasked with the mandate of employing, firing, nurturing and maintaining a friendly relationship among different organization and the staff. The workers in their stations are considered to be very important asset hence there is a need to manage them for efficient working environment (Aswathappa & Dash, 2008). International Strategic Human Resources Management Because of the reason explained, there seem to be a need of to come up with a strategic plan for Human Resources Management which can be defined as the proactive engagement of the employees in a given organization whose components includes hiring, payroll and discipline so as to improve the quality of working experience, boost the retention of the employees and meet the organizations objective in a good working atmosphere. With the discovery of globalization, most organizations no longer apply local Human Resources Management. The process has increased the diversity of workforce and the cultural diversities have been integrated therefore leading to the rise of the International Human Resource Management (Dowling, Festing & Engle, 2008) Functions of the international human resources management The development in the International Human resource management has led to massive interconnections between the organizations leading to numerous transactions. The Basic function of the International Human Resources Management is to have an organization’s activities felt internationally but still be able to manage the local feel which is the host country. The International Human Resources Management aims at managing the local appeal while still having the international identity (Scarpello, 2008). Also it aims at diversifying various cultures through employment of different people from the different culture and geographical boundaries. Challenges Human Resources Management has the core mandate of ensuring that an organization’s operations functions properly. But this also comes up with a share of its challenges and in this instance the China’s State Grid Corporation is going to be examined and its challenges in the Human Resources Management. The State Grid Corporation is a company based in China that major in utilities and employs staff from different backgrounds. (Barrett & Mayson, 2008). Cultural differences The State Grid Corporation is a huge company that utilizes its work force through employing a chain of Human Resources Manager. Most of the heads of the Human Resources would find it hard to solve cultural problems as they are tasked with mandate of ensuring that they develop the strategies of adapting with the cultural norms while in different countries apart from China. For example most Chinese Human Resources Manager based in English speaking nations such as Ireland may find it hard in solving simple problem that is tied with cultural difference. Also blending the original organizations culture with the local culture can be quite challenging (Beck, 2011). Massive Applications It was established that competition among the applicants was a major challenge for the relevant Human Resources manager. The job being advertized would attract a huge number of applicants which in most cases would meet or surpass the relevant requirements for the advertized job positions (Chen & Wang, 2005). Also the State Grid Corporation which is highly regarded with the Chinese would fuel more people to apply for the job positions. The selection criteria would arise to problems as the unsuccessful applicants would view the Humans resources manager as being corrupt or showing favoritism to certain candidates. This would occasionally dent the public image of the Multibillion Utility Company. Retention of the Staff There is an imperative need of making sure that the workforce is maintained and this can only be achieved by training the currently employed staff and the existing staff so as to meet the dynamic business demands. For this to be achieved there is an urgent need to maximize on the available resources and this leads to increased expenditure so as to meet the demands. The training process demands for higher budget and the Managers can find it difficult to appraise the trained staff due to budgetary constrain hence lowering the performance of the staff (Sims, 2002). Also in some instances, the State Grid Corporation may incorporate a new product and this may arise to train all of its over a million workforce which may some times dent the financial resource of the company. Poaching from Competitors In the Utility field where there are several multibillion companies such as CLP Group and Huaneng Power International poses a threat to the State Grid Corporation on their strategies that they are supposed to employ so as to manage and maintain their employees. There was a great headache of the HRs trying to manage their employees after employment and training since in most cases the employee would be poached by a competitor or opt to look for the greener pastures. Also the competitor may opt to double the payment of the trained staff in State Grid Corporation which in most cases the staff would find it more enticing to accept the offer. This would lead to loss to the organization considering the heavy cost incurred in training the employee and the lost of the employee as one of the resource. Also another challenge would crop up of advertizing the vacant job position and training the successful applicants. Environmental factors leading to the challenges Government regulation When the State Grid Corporation set its foot to new country such as Lebanon, it is forced to adhere to the system and conditions of that country. The laid down system may force the patterns and dynamics of the Human Resources department since in most times it is a basic requirement for the locals to be absorbed in that new Company in its country. The instance is given when the state Grid Corporation took its base in Cyprus, the Cyprus government demanded that its local people also should be allotted positions in the State Grid Corporation (Kumar, 2011). The scenario creates a critical condition to the HR manager since they are forced not to follow the rules and conditions of the Company. There was a rampant claim of bribery and corruption among the Heads of Resources Management as some residents who allegedly were not qualified were absorbed while the qualified foreigners were left out. It was such a pressure that if the company could have not absorbed the residents, then they could have been slapped with such a huge fine which could have lead to massive strain of its resources. Workforce demographics The State Grid Corporation being such a huge company is taxed with the mandate of ensuring that the Age balance is maintained in its operation for maximum profits. Therefore there arises the issue of Demographics and this can be defined as the entrance of the new generation to the job market while the older generation exits. The entrance of the new generation to the work place poses a great challenge to The State Grid Corporation as most of the Heads of Human Resources Managers are supposed to develop advertizing strategies that are attractive to the new generation. At the same time when the older generation exits the job market, they are supposed to be paid their benefits and compensations (Mcdonald, et al, 2002). The Human Resources department finds it hard to juggle between the two because for the incoming generation to accept the offer, they must be enticed with heavy perks which times may be unaffordable to the organization. Application of Human Resources Management Strategies Flexibility In the case of International Human resources management, there arises the issue of cultural difference therefore its appropriate for the Human Resources Manager to be flexible while coming out with the appropriate decisions to curb the cases of social differences. Also the Human Resources Manager can take a step further of insuring that they understand the culture of the given nation that they are supposedly to take base. This would have been applied by the State Grid Corporation while venturing into Cyprus so as to ensure that they are in the know of the Companies Law in that given state. Training for the Chinese workforce on the language of English may be conducted to ensure that that at least they know the basic language and cultures of the Irish people before setting up their base. Strategic human resources skills In cases whereby the employees are underpaid or less motivated it’s good to apply the strategic management skills by forwarding the problem to the top management so as to allocate more funds towards the Human Resources Management department in order to retain the current workforce and give a high level of satisfaction. Also this will ensure that the employees do not look for the better jobs or greener pastures. Also this will put off the competitors at bay as the staff will be more motivated. For the staffs that are trained internally, it’s only wise to appraise them and give them more benefits so as to be retained in that given organization (Bhatia, 2009). Conclusion As discussed above, it has been noted that the State Grid Corporation faced lots of Human Resources Management challenges despite the fact of it being a big multinational company. Therefore any other company can be faced with challenges such as staff retention cultural differences, massive application and competition. Therefore it is in order for any other company while faced with Human Resources it is supposed to apply the strategic human Resources so as to overcome the challenges. The Strategic Human Resources management can only be achieved in an environment where there is a cordial relationship between the Human Resources manager and the employees. The above mentioned strategies such as Flexibility in decision making, knowing various cultures and strategic human resources skills can come in handy to ensure a good working environment of the staff and the top management. This will lead to higher satisfaction among the employees and higher retention which can be a real boost to the company and increase its profits share while overcoming the Human Resources Management challenges. References ASWATHAPPA, K., & DASH, S. (2008). International human resource management: text and cases. New Delhi, Tata McGraw-Hill Pub. DOWLING, P., FESTING, M., & ENGLE, A. D. (2008). International human resource management: managing people in a multinational context. London, Thomson Learning. SCARPELLO, V. G. (2008). The handbook of human resource management education: promoting an effective and efficient curriculum. Los Angeles, Sage Publications. BARRETT, R., & MAYSON, S. (2008). International handbook of entrepreneurship and HRM. Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=338798. BECK, T. (2011). Differences and Similarities Between International and Domestic Human Resource Management. Munich, GRIN Verlag GmbH. http://nbn- resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:101:1-2013091110526. CHEN, J., & WANG, Z. (2005). Technology innovation and HRM. Bradford, England, Emerald Group Pub. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10103430. SIMS, R. R. (2002). Organizational success through effective human resources management. Westport, Conn, Quorum Books. KUMAR, R. (2011). Human resource management : strategic analysis text and cases. New Dehli, I.K. International. MCDONAL, F., BURTON, F., WALTON, P., DOWLING, P., & DECIERI, H. (2002). International business. London, Thomson. BHATIA, S. K. (2009). HRM in global scenario: practices and strategies for competitive success. New Delhi, Deep & Deep Publications. Read More