Human Management - Term Paper Example

 «Human Management» We are living in a Globalized world. Ever since the integration of markets for goods and services across the world became the norm, there has been a movement of goods and services from one part of the world to another. Concomitant with the rise of globalization, there has been a movement of people from the East to the West and Vice Versa. Though the phenomenon of migration from the East to the West has been studied in depth and reported extensively, there has been a noticeable movement of people from the Western nations to the countries of Asia (Japan, China and India for e.g.) to man the various managerial positions in the MNE’s (Multinational Enterprises) being set up in the East. This paper debunks the statement that HRM is irrelevant outside the United States by referring to case studies of both MNE’s (Multinational Enterprises) as well as domestic companies in countries like India and China that have benefitted from the introduction of HRM policies that are in vogue in the US and by applying the principles of HRM in their companies with some variants to account for cultural differences etc. This paper proves that HRM is indeed practiced in a vibrant way in the countries that have benefited from globalization and the notion that HRM is unsuitable outside the US is false. This paper also discusses the other parts of the topic statement that HRM is “American, Optimistic, apparently humanistic and also superficially simple” by looking at each of the parts of the statement and analyzing them from multiple perspectives. It has to be borne in mind that the practice of HRM is indeed a humane approach towards people though as we shall see the personnel management theories that preceded the advent of HRM were also people centric (albeit in a limited fashion). According to one definition of HRM, “Human resource management is a series of activities which: first enables working people and the organisation which uses their skills to agree about the objectives and nature of their working relationship and, secondly, ensures that the agreement is fulfilled.” (Torrington, Hall and Taylor 2002, p. 13) Similarly a definition of personnel management would be: “Personnel management is most realistically seen as a series of activities enabling working man and his employing organisation to reach agreement about the nature and objectives of the employment relationship between them, and then to fulfill those agreements” (Torrington and Chapman 1979, p. 4). This definition makes it clear that the role of a personnel manager is to mediate between the employees and the management. And it is the case that in many cases, the personnel manager takes the side of the employees in this mediation effort. As with any other field in management and the science surrounding its study, there are multiple interpretations of the themes that are explored throughout this paper. To explain Torrington’s definition, it would mean that both personnel management as well as HRM must perform a mediating role and the absence of commitment on either side of the contractual relationship would jeopardize the nature and the meaning of the contract. Viewed in this context, characterizing HRM as apparently humanistic and hence something that does not serve the needs of the fast paced and competitive modern world is unfair to the practice of HRM. The 20th century witnessed the birth of the modern corporation which necessitated the rise of management theories to describe the way in which people are treated in the organizations. The predecessor to the modern HRM theories were the Personnel Management theories that essentially viewed people as machines and building blocks who behaved in a mechanistic manner and hence they could be managed using the “metaphor of a clock” where each part is tuned precisely and each component interacts with the others in clearly defined ways. However, with the advent of the service sector in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the emphasis shifted from treating people as parts of machines to the conception of organizations as “living systems” and hence the “holistic” theories of management came into fashion. (Baecker, 2006) The rise of the service sector in the East with Offshoring of Knowledge work being done to countries like India, the adoption of HRM policies that have originated in the United States has become the norm in the companies working in the Offshoring industry. Hence, it is by no means definite that HRM is an imported ideal in these countries as managers have found it easier to implement those policies that are best suited for the rise of the global workforce. (Schein, 1996) As we shall see in subsequent sections, the rise of MNE’s in the East has also necessitated adapting the Americanized HRM policies to the needs of the local conditions. The reason for the analysis in the preceding paragraphs is to point to the “complex” nature of HRM practice with its diverse modes of managing people in organizations. Hence, it cannot be said by any stretch of imagination that HRM is superficially simple. Saying so would reduce the complex subject to a state where the notion of Human Resource Management as practiced in the modern organization would be treated in an off-hand manner. HRM or Human Resource Management comprises theoretical and practical aspects of managing people in organizations. HRM as is practiced in the United States is indeed the dominant system to manage people. The evolution of modern day HRM was mainly due to the prevalence of organizations modeled along the lines of what pioneering management thinkers like Taylor prescribed. Hence, it can be said that the practice of HRM is concomitant with the modern system of corporate governance which attests to the importance of such practices in the US as well as in other parts of the world. It is often argued that with the evolution of the HRM in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, it has led to a situation where the role of the HR manager is diminished and he or she becomes an appendage of management with no real autonomy and decision making powers. It is precisely this tendency that the practitioners of HRM must guard against if they have to stay relevant and contribute their bit to the organisation. The topic sentence that expressed the statement that HRM is optimistic and superficially simple has to be seen in this context. The question as to whether HRM is irrelevant in the world outside of the US needs to be debunked right away. This is because wherever there are organizations that are modeled along modern management practices, there is scope for HRM to be used as a system to manage people. As with the case with other management systems exported from the US to the rest of the world, HRM started off on uncertain territory in the rest of the world, but has now established itself firmly as a system in itself in the rest of the world. The famous proponent of globalization and New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman, introduces us to the concept of “Glocalization” which means to think globally and act locally. In his book, The World is flat; Friedman argues that companies wishing to be leaders in the global marketplace need to orient their strategies with an eye on the local conditions. What this means is that it is not enough for companies to devise strategies in New York or London. They also need to ensure that their strategies count in the countries that they are operating in. This fusion of globalization and localization has been dubbed “Glocalization” and he cites the instances of companies in Japan and India that have managed to absorb the foreign influences without losing their essential identity. (Friedman, 2005, p.99) Glocalisation is the process wherein the ability of a country to adapt itself to the challenges thrown up by the globalization process results in creating opportunities that combines the best elements of both. “This ability of the host country to absorb and assimilate the cultural and economic exchange of information and capital has made the difference between success and failure for many economies. The faster and the more versatile the economy is in making this possible, the better it is at integration into the world economy.” (Friedman, 2005, p. 326) MNE’s operating in countries like Japan and India has tailored their HR policies to the needs of the local conditions and this has given a new dimension to the practice of HRM in these countries. For instance, the emphasis on “collective” action that is at the heart of Japanese culture has been successfully assimilated into the practice of HRM by the foreign companies operating there. Similarly, in India, there have been instances where managers of intercultural teams (as would be discussed in the case study) have found methods to “bridge” the gap between the American conceptions of HRM and the need for local variants. The article by Lane makes the case that the success of Japanese industry and corporations has been due to the work ethic of the people and the way in which companies and corporates have taken care of them by indulging in employee friendly practices and the impact of “Confucian tradition of Japan has played a key role” in the molding of ethical and normative behavior (Lane, 2007) The author makes some very good points though there is no mention of the “lost decade” of the 1990’s and early years of this century mainly due to the deflationary conditions that gripped the country. The point here is that all the articles surveyed so far have highlighted the uniqueness of Japanese culture and managerial styles though they have glossed over the inadequacies of the same. The paragraphs above point to the fact that the relevance of HRM outside the US lies in its ability to “mutate” and evolve into practices that take into account the local conditions. As the article by Aya Fukushige and David P. Spicer makes it clear, leadership behavior and leadership styles in Japan are different from those in the West mainly due to the different aspects of culture and the influence of collectivism on Japanese corporate culture as opposed to the rugged individualism that characterizes Western Corporate behavior. Hence, the way in which Japanese corporate honchos react to situations is a product of these differing influences and any analysis of Japanese management practices must take this into account (Fukushige and Spicer, 2007, 516) The notion that HRM is irrelevant outside the United States is not borne out by facts that show that a significant percentage of Multinational Companies operating in India adopt policies that have been drafted in the US. To take the example of one such MNE operating in India (Fidelity), the policies that are in vogue in this company have originated in the US. The reason for this is that many HR managers in companies like Fidelity find that it is easier to follow Americanized HR policies as the workforce is essentially global in nature. This means that a global HR policy works best in these instances. Further, the companies operating in Japan (Citigroup) have made some changes to their global HR policies to take into account the local conditions but have nonetheless “sourced” these policies from the US. This goes on to show that despite the prevalence of local differences, the HRM methods of American companies are in demand in these countries. As explained in the previous sections, a “one size fits all” approach may not be the norm for MNE’s outside the US. But, the fact that the root of the policies being pursued in these countries points to the relevance of HRM policies that have a “made in the USA” tag to them. To take a specific example, many countries in the East did not have the concept of a “Five day work-week” before global companies came along and introduced this. The success of this concept wherein leisure and work times are delineated has caught on in these countries where it is now commonplace to see many local companies following this practice as well. The practice of “casual dressing” on Fridays that is the direct result of American influence on local companies is another example of how HRM methods introduced in the US have found acceptance elsewhere in the world. The Japanese style of management that has some collectivist elements as opposed to the rugged individualism of the West has blended well with the global HR practices and has given rise to its own variations in the way HRM is practiced in Japan. This has also influenced the way in which American companies treat their employees. Hence, this is a classic example of an idea that has been transformed by contact with another idea leading to a result that is a good blend of both while ignoring the bad aspects. This is the most telling aspect of how HRM has influenced and has been influenced in the way it is practiced in the US and in countries like Japan. The instances of MNE’s operating in countries like Japan and India that have followed global HR policies is an affirmation of the points that have been made in this paper so far. Many entrepreneurs in these countries have gone on record to state that they find the HR policies of MNE’s superior to what they have in their companies and this attests to the growing influence of Americanized HR policies in the countries that are jumping on to the global capitalist bandwagon. This goes on to show the increasing acceptance of HRM policies that have been designed in the US and adopted throughout the world. This paper has discussed the topic statement about HRM being irrelevant outside the US and that the practice of HRM is superficially simple in its execution. The main focus throughout this paper has been on debunking the assertion inherent in the topic statement. At the risk of sounding repetitive, it needs to be emphasized that HRM as it is practiced around the world is neither a fully “Made in the US” variety that makes it imported and hence irrelevant nor it is a completely local flavor that makes the HRM being practiced outside the US a pale shadow of what it is in the US. The point that has been put forward (forcefully, at times) is that like all exchanges of ideas, HRM has undergone a process of adaptation and assimilation in the countries where it has been adopted. In a manner comparable to the historical “Silk Road” that not only felicitated trade and commerce but also intellectual progress in those times, the modern equivalent of globalization has indeed rendered American ideas about management an audience across the globe. The popularity of management books written by American authors in the Eastern countries attests to the fact that globalization has indeed facilitated the movement and exchange of ideas as well. In conclusion, HRM cannot be said to be an imported ideal that is “idealistic” in nature when it is indeed being practiced in a robust and competitive manner across the world. References Baecker, Dirk. 2006. “The Form of the Firm”. Organization, 2006, 13; 109 Friedman, Thomas. 2003. The World is flat: A Brief History of the 21st century. New York: Bantam Books. Jackson, J. et al. (2002). `Healthy Organizations and the Link to Peaceful Societies: Strategies for Implementing Organizational Change'. 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Torrington, D.P., Hall, L.A. and Taylor, S. (2008) Human Resource Management (8th edition). Harlow: Pearson Education. Read More