International Human Resource Management - Coursework Example

Introduction International Human Resource Management (IHRM) is the total input human has to put in any organization or in any production process. IHRM deals with the management of employees in international institutions. This may be in terms of knowledge, workforce, talents and skills just but to mention a few. When all this are combined, then there is likely to be a smooth running of the organization. It is also concerned with accomplishing the company`s goals through combined effort. Companies have to manage their operations with the prevailing international environments. International human resource management enables full individual development and desirable working relationships. This essay examines the issues and problems surrounding international human resource management. Challenges facing international human resource management on prevailing cultures Culture greatly affects the style of management. This is especially where communication is concerned. Different people speak different languages and thus when these cultures come together, communication may become a challenge. Workers may not be able to speak due to the language barrier. Hence, a human resource manager is supposed to see to it that these people are able to communicate otherwise crippling the activities of the organization. This is because nothing is better than face to face communication (Todnem & Macleod 2012). Even the very sophisticated technology mediums cannot beat it. These mediums may not be possible especially in international organizations. When the staff is from different corners of the globe, it may pose some difficulty to get a manager who can deal with all these people. This is because it is hard to find a person who can manage such a wide range of international operations (Nickson 2012). It is also difficult to retain staff of high caliber and to be able to put up with the competitive evolving world market. To some managers, it is hard to be fair and equal to al employees. This is because one may be biased towards a certain tribe or race. This may make some staff to lose morale of working. This gets worse when the employee is torn apart among workers of the company, host country citizens and the mother country nationals. It is therefore important that human resource managers are careful during their work to prevent such mishaps. Due to the diversification, people from various cultures are brought together by a common purpose of working for an international company. These people have different backgrounds, religions and more so, cultures (Nickson 2012). It becomes a great challenge for a human resource manager to be able to deal with a combination of this people. It requires a person who is fair enough to deal with this very sensitive situation. It is quite important that all human resource managers decide to make the right choices concerning management of the employees as labor is a basic factor of production. Challenges facing international human resource management due to changes in economic, technological and legal environmental factors Every business longs to increase its profit margin. So does every country. When the economic situation of a country improves, the number of job opportunities increases. This causes the country to import labor which is relatively cheaper. On the other hand, when the economy of a country deteriorates, the country does not need labor so it does not hire labor. The people who were working at the time are no longer needed (Nickson 2012). This may pose a great challenge to the human resource manager as he or she may wonder what to do with the deficit labor. If they were fired, it would bring about some public attention. Incase not, the company is to lose. This may get very complicated and it takes the human resource manager a lot of courage to take the bold and correct step. Technological factors are the emerging and up to date in terms of the fields of research, teaching and business just but to mention a few. Technological factors affect business activities in various ways. They affect its amount of sales, amount of produce, its ability to expand and the demand for its products. When the business is affected negatively, the human resource manager may have to lay off some workers while if it is gets a big profit, he or she may have to increase the number of workers. Under such situations, a strong character is required so as to make an informed choice (Todnem & Macleod 2012). Businesses have to comply with the law. If the law requires that a company employs a certain number of people, then the institution has to do so. The human resource manager may face a challenge in that the lay may not favor the institution`s policies and he or she has to put down strategies that will help the organization not to experience losses. In some countries, there may be no stable political governance. This may make people not to work in such nations and the companies in the state may experience labor shortages and may end up operating at a loss (Todnem & Macleod 2012). On the other hand, if a person working in such a country decides to look after his own safety, he or she ends up loosing the job. This ends up causing distress to the people involved. Issues from changing management practices This research aims at analyzing the adequacy of contemporary human resource management practices due to changes in the international sector. Globalization causes competition in the global market. There is much development in personnel management in the world today due to changes in various issues like technology (Trent & Roberts 2010). International human resource management is facing changes because of the changing society. There is the issue of international bodies that companies and countries join so that they are able to import labor from other member countries. An example of such an international body is the European Union. This department in an organization handles issues like recruitment, promotions and retrenchment. That means that a manger in the department looks at skills and abilities of employees before hiring them to work in the organization. Organizations in Brazil are opting to sign standard contracts with their employees so that they are able to deal with emerging trends in international human resource management (Selmer 2012). Companies and organizations in the world today have come up with policies and strategies so that they keep up with the competition. These skills and abilities contribute to the success of an organization. Culture, religion and belief are important dimensions for any human resource manager. This is because he has to look at an employee’s cultures and beliefs before recruiting them. The above factors act as a guideline for managers in a company so that they are able to handle each employee well. They also promotion between an employee and a manager so that none of the two parties feels inferior to the other. Issues in the society are changing affecting management practices in the international human resource. Research shows how current developments in the above discipline have changed practices in IHRM. They explain the importance of human resource management not only in an organization but also in the international sector (Selmer 2012). Achievement of organizational goals in the international sector depends on current issues of the same. Global performance management relies on multinational strategies. Corporate culture impacts so much on the behavior of employees in international firms. Management in the international sector is posing a big challenge to most HR managers. This is because of changes in policies and emergence of new challenges in the world today. There are ten principles guiding human resource management in relation to the changes happening and various issues arising from the same. HRM emphasizes on certain models as a way of reacting towards arising issues. These models deal with certain issues including workforce planning, skills management and recruitment. Compensation of wages and salaries is another emerging issue. It poses a challenge to most international human resource managers. This is because salaries of employees vary from one country to another. It becomes difficult for a human resource manager to set a standards salary even for international employees. Compensation of workers from foreign countries is also a challenge for these human resource managers. Competition is an issue in the sector of HRM. It is for this reason that managers are implementing strategies so that they gain competitive advantage. This will ensure that most companies have a competitive advantage over others in the international market. Companies are competing with each other so that they outshine each other (Trent & Roberts 2010). With this issue, they are coming up with new strategies to deal with competition from other companies. That means that each organization has the challenge of beating international competition. Some countries like the United States of America have laws that help managers deal with the challenge of employment practices in the international arena. This law in the US handles cases that may arise from an employment contract. These are some of the changing issues that international human resource managers have to deal with in their companies. Employment Practices Liability forms part of a law in the US dealing with changing issues in the international human resource. This law handles such issues like sexual harassment, breach of contracts and discrimination among others (Selmer 2012). There have been changes in insurance issues in the international sector. There is a strong force on international human resource managers to take insurance covers for contracts they sign with employees. There is so much liability in the international human resource sector. Employers can take a policy to protect themselves from such practices by employees against suits. Disability is another emerging issue in IHRM. Firms in various countries are embracing the fact that they can employee even people with disabilities into their organization. It is a challenge to mangers in the HR department because some companies involve much of physical work. In that case, it becomes difficult to employ such an employee in such organization. Conclusion There are several issues in IHRM in the corporate world. This is a department each organization has because of the nature of work it is involved in. managers in IHRM deal with hiring human resource from other parts of the world other than the home country. It faces so many challenges in the course of its operations (Trent & Roberts 2010). All these issues and challenges are discussed above in details. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every stakeholder to find ways of handling the challenges. References Todnem, R & Macleod, C. (2012): Managing organizational change in public service: international issues, challenges and cases: Routledge: Pg. 234-302. Trent, R. J & Roberts, L. R. (2010): Managing global supply and risk: best practices, concepts and strategies: J. Ross Publishing: Pg. 123-278. Selmer, J. (2012): International management in China: cross-cultural issues: Routledge: Pg. 90-234. Nickson, D. (2012): Human resource management for the hospitality and tourism industries: Elsevier: Pg. 267-309. Reilly, P & Williams T. (2012): Global Hr: challenges facing the function: Gower Publishing, Ltd: Pg123-276. Read More