The History of International Human Resource Management - Essay Example

HISTORY OF IHRM By (Name) Name of Class (Course) Professor (Tutor) Name of Institution (University) City and State The Date The concept of management is increasingly becoming globalized in its outlook. The fact that organizations are competing on international levels makes it insufficient to only comprehend the local concept of management. The globalization of management involves the exchange and development of practices and ideas on international levels. Human resource managers are able to learn from their international competitors through the exchange of techniques and ideas as a result of innovations in communications technology (Harzing & Pinnington, 2015). With new knowledge about different countries, organizations can now comfortably enter new international markets creating the field of International Human Resource Management. Effectively managing international human resource management can enable a business to compete more productively in the global market place. There has been a gradual transition in substance and style from labour management to human resource management and in the 19th century international human resource management (Rowley & Warner, 2013). Human resource managers could consult the representatives of a target international market about the employment aspects, the local culture, customs and traditions and safety in order to successfully operate on the local market. However, the development of IHRM practices over the years also came with great improvements and changes with regard to race which will be the main focus of this essay. It is acknowledged by workforce diversity that individuals vary in many ways. These could be invisible or visible like gender and race (Budhwar, 2009).These predominant diversity issues are however different in every country. Gender inequality was and still is the most common and oldest diversity issue globally while in Asia race, religion and ethnicity separated the workforce; more so in China. Racial discrimination was also predominantly seen in the United States of America and South Africa. Migration has been in existence for as long as humans have been in existence. It is not just a feature of the contemporary world. The modern international migration is closely related to the existence of the global economy and nation-states that developed since the end of the middle-ages. Migration of labour began with Europeans moving to North and South American colonies with the intention of farming new land and settling. They ended up either pushing out or enslaving the existing economies while Africans were brought to work as slaves in the farms (Wolf, 2012). This migration continued over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries but most, if not all the colonies fought to become independent countries. The concept of management came up with the first acquisition of slaves even before the 19th century. Even before the European migration to other nations, they were divided between the wealthy and the poor who worked for the wealthy. This brought about the concept of management but the term was not used till the 19th century where construction of structures like roads and railways systems had begun. During these times, the labourers were classified according to their traits which were mostly gender, age, beauty, strength and race. They were classified, catalogued and measured against each other (Smith, 2016). The workers were traded like commodities regardless of personal desires, family ties or aspirations. They had no right as their owners owned their rights for them. During these times, the concept of management came in where the labourers were divided between gangs with different levels of productivity and these had leaders who managed their processes (Barr, 2004). The lowest level of workers were the Africans who did most of the jobs while the natives were given the jobs of managing them. The managing techniques included violence and punishment for wrongfully done jobs or misbehaviour. In those times, the planters who ran the plantations were explicitly termed as managers with management skills (Rael, 2015). The decisions of who could do managerial jobs were made by the White Supremacy. The slaves were to understand that their master had the ultimate power and had to be obeyed without question. These managers acquired managerial practices of recruitment and retention of labour and keeping account and record books which were similar to the contemporary progress books seen in offices today (Lucio & Waddington, 1994). Consequently, the threats of violence to make the labourers work harder were replaced by some planters who decided to offer incentives for hard workers but this was a trick to know how much work they could do and if it is not done as much the next day, they would be flogged. Management innovation and violence were part of the same process. With these levels of violence and control, the managers decided to experiment with new management techniques which included maternity, impact nutrition and diet and decreasing the need for recruitment (Horne, 2007). This kind of slavery experienced in the US in the 19th century was as a result of racism and white supremacy. It was associated with the white Europeans perceiving themselves as the most ambitious, effective and highly capable workers with the right to dominate their perceived inferiors (Beaumont, 1999). The white supremacy then brought about management as a category of occupation. Today, the white privilege has had various impacts including: recruitment, retention, senior management, performance related towards organizations and ideals of good workers in organizations. In the contemporary society, people are attracted to economically developed regions. They move to the new places in search of better employment conditions and jobs. These people are referred to as labour migrants. As a result of this migration, human resource management issues are raised. Challenges of dealing with immigration rules and regulations, recognition of diverse education systems, different management and having to deal with the different cultures arise from this. Multinational corporations are employing specialists and managers from their home countries and recruiting manual labourers from the host country. There is also racial divisions in most of these companies. With the ever increasing number of international migrants, companies all over the world have become more diverse and accommodating. Labour forces that were previously homogenous are being replaced by a mixture of different races and cultural groups (Cimoga, 2016). This is advantageous to multinational corporations since diversity is beneficial with regard to variety of ideas, cultural norms, styles, languages and lifestyles and also encourages peaceful co-relations. Bringing different races together helps in the reduction of conflict in societies that comprise different races. Many contemporary organizations, unlike previously, have realized the benefits of tapping into different forms of skills and knowledge that stems from hiring people from different racial backgrounds. The incorporation of diverse races and cultures by international human resource management is however not supported by all nations. Some societies chose to stigmatize and marginalize migrants since they see them as a source of economic problems (Cheng & Hitt, 2004). Some countries have even witnessed the rise of groups seeking to implement more strict immigration laws and anti-immigration political parties. Some go as far as engaging in violent activities against immigrants. In the last two decades, there has been a steady transition in substance and style in personnel management to human resource management and now to international human resource management. It was previously believed that the role of the personnel manager had no strategic relevance since it was mostly and administrative type of role. The modern concept of human resource management however, was perceived to be much more strategic in range (Briscoe, Tarique & Schuler, 2016). Human resource management came as a result of the modifications in boundaries, objectives, substance and functions of the personnel management functions. The effectiveness of the role of human resource management in the success of a national business is mirrored in the effectiveness of management of human resource in a multinational corporation; it would significantly determine its success or failure internationally. Over the years, geographical borders have been removed when conducting business. The consequent corrosion of distance and cultural barriers has also motivated international business. Human Resource practitioners have now developed new skills and concepts to manage labour force outside their usual boundaries. Globalization is perceived as a major promoter of international human resource management. The early human resource management techniques, also known as personnel management are similar to the contemporary international human resource management techniques in some ways. First, both the 19th century management techniques and the current one focus on the importance of having the human resource management techniques to be in line with the objectives of the company or the business. They all aim at achieving the mission, vision and goals of the respective organizations. Both the early management strategies and the contemporary strategies emphasize on the importance of workers in developing their competencies fully in order for them to make their best contribution to the success of the business. This similarity is partly subject to contradiction since the early managers that operated with slave used threats and violence for better production, but it can be said that this was their way of developing their skills. Another similarity is placing the employees into groups according to their skills and knowledge and abilities to ensure maximum production. There is also the utilization of the same type of competence analysis, performance management, training management development and selection methods in both the early worker management and the current international; human resource management. The history of detailed record keeping dates back to the 19th century in America when the wealthy slave owners appointed managers in charge of their plantations. They would then ask for reports on how the progress of the business (Johnston, 2013). This is also seen in the current international human resource management although the current record keeping mechanisms are not as detailed as it was in the past. There are also similarities where the slave owners held contests with incentives for the best performers which have been seen in the early twentieth and 21st centuries where company managers offer cash rewards if the works reached certain levels of production. The differences in international human resource management with regard to race in the 19th century slavery period however outweigh the similarities. The main differences have been brought about by technological advancements, and more acceptance of diversity and multiculturalism. In the 19th century slavery period, only the whites owned farmlands, they were the ultimate bosses. The appointed managers were either the natives or the blacks themselves managing their own. Nowadays, African men and women can be seen holding higher positions and presiding over the whites in the same region. Multiculturalism, diversity and multilingual workplaces and workforces on the complexities of managing them have increasingly become vital in the international human resource management industry. As much as cases of racism can be heard here and there, they have significantly declined since the 19th century and cannot be compared to the extent it was at the time. Currently, diversity management is driven by necessary laws. However, many organizations are realizing the benefits of diversity in terms of getting different forms and levels of skills and knowledge which can be achieved by hiring people from diverse backgrounds (Von, 2002). A diverse and multicultural workplace in the current day is believed to be beneficial to the multinational corporations in terms of greater creativity and innovation, better decision making and increasingly successful marketing and promotion to various customers (Armstrong, 2006). This is different from the 19th century slavery period where the White farm owners believed that the Africans could only be good at working in the farms and could not make any decisions that could help with better production. They were not allowed to oppose any decisions and follow instructions without hesitation, failure to which would lead to violent punishment. Even with the acceptance of diversity and multiculturalism in international human resource management, cases of race segmentation can still be found. Nevertheless, unlike the 19th century where there were no measures to manage racism. Measures have been put in place to cub racism in multinational corporations. There are certain jobs that are still dominated by certain races, this is especially so in corporations from Western countries that have entered the African markets. The highest ranking jobs in this companies are dominated by people from the company’s originating country. At work sites where there are workers of various nationalities, the management is usually indulged to organize work groups according to language (Trestl, 2009). Industries like the construction, agriculture, shipbuilding, domestic services and shipbuilding where it is common to subcontract, large numbers of experience ethnically segmented labour markets and migrant workers are used. They are recruited through work agencies or good contracts to their countries of origin. Unlike in the 19th century, in contemporary multinational corporations, workers who fluently speak the host language most likely become interface points with management taking in the foreman role. They usually become managers or become labour suppliers, using their knowledge of the host society and home country or personal contacts to get matching labourers for the available jobs. Another difference between the 19th century international personnel management and the current international management is the availability of the protection of workers of different races from the dominant one in the host country. In the 19th century in the North and South American regions, the Africans and Natives were perceived as property with no rights. This is contrary to the modern work places where they are treated as people with rights. There are efforts to protect migrant rights by making immigration rules more benevolent, fighting racism and discrimination and ensuring equal treatment of workers in the workplace despite their races(Cimoga, 2016). Many non-governmental organizations that help migrants and the minor races access legal services. They present those that need any type of assistance and some even represent certain minority communities. A good example is the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency that promotes the rights of migrant workers. These are steps that have helped cub racism from the 19th century and reduced it to a great extent. The concept of management has gone through a lot of transformation since the 19th century slavery period. As expected of humans, the slavery regime brought about fights for freedom. This continued through to the 20th century where racism reduced but not significantly. This led to the creation of the personnel management field which looked after the rights and welfare of the employees. However, it was deemed not to look at the welfare of the company and as such, changes were being made to the personnel functions shifting the focus to the term Human resource management. This concept replaced the term personnel management as a result of the development and introduction of new theories like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Armstrong, 2006). It was and is still defined as a set of company activities used to develop, attract and maintain an effective workforce. It changed from personnel management with the goals of carrying out the general strategy of providing human resource practices and policies that reinforce the culture and policies of the organization. The management of racial discrimination comes in as a result of the modern dynamic work environment. This has also endorsed dynamic responsibilities for human resource managers. Their jobs are no longer to hire, manage and fire employees but has included more strategic responsibilities (Legge, 2004). Since the world has become a global village, the manager has to also become a global manager in order to be competent in the competitive global markets. The human resource manager has to be conversant with the labour laws of different countries most especially those that are target markets to the company. He or she has to be sensitive to the diverse needs of employees from different backgrounds. They have to comprehend their cultural and social backgrounds and simultaneously uphold the standards of the organization. This then brought about the concept of international human resource management where the managers can handle employees of all races and backgrounds. Differences in race are real in the 21st century multinational corporations. The main international human resource issue is the extent the cultural differences would bring to the organization. This was not a major concern in the 19th century labour management since the workers were like property with no rights. They just had to follow instructions. Now, the existence of different approaches towards individualistic cultures and collectivism are expected to create some amount of multiple negotiations for international human resource managers to consider (Kidger, 1991). Some cultures value working together as teams, despite individual backgrounds while others are more individualists. Race differences could influence human resource management practices and the business structure of the organization that intends to go international. Multinational corporations are now being encouraged to consider different people from different backgrounds and cultures. It may look like a complex task but if the international human resource manager works with the expatriates to help them understand their variations, this exercise could be easily facilitated. As much as globalization calls for a substantial change in the direction of standardization of certain aspects of human resource management like influence of local culture and institutional arrangements, labour market practices keep calling for divergence. International human resource management has undergone a great deal of transformation since the 19th century. The fight for freedom has substantially reduced racism and employers and multinational companies are now hiring workforce for different job levels whether high or low depending on their skills and knowledge as opposed to their races or cultural backgrounds as it was done before. It is up to the human resource managers to know and understand the different backgrounds before hiring them. They have to take advantage of the knowledge, skills and labour power of the workers and the different perspectives they bring to the table. This has to be done while at the same time minimizing the tensions that come with diverse labour force. They should avoid going against the different state laws of the new international markets and balance the interest of the local members with the rights and interests of the international workers. The fact that racism has greatly been reduced is a very big plus for international human resource management since diversity is also advantageous to multinational corporations through diverse perspectives, innovations, skills and knowledge. Reference List Armstrong, M., 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. (10th Edn.) London: Kogan Page. Barr, G. E., 2004. Slavery in the United States. (1st Edn.). Chicago: Heinemann Library. Beaumont, G. D., 1999. Marie, or, Slavery in the United States: a novel of Jacksonian America. (1st Edn). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Briscoe, D. R., Tarique, I., & Schuler, R. S., 2016. Policies and practices for multinational enterprises. International human resource management journal, 7(2), pp 24-56. Budhwar, P. S., 2009. 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