Differences between HR Practices in France and UK - Case Study Example

Case Study - HR Contents Introduction 3 Differences between HR practices in France and UK 3 Recommendation on HR policies and practices 5 Reference 7Bibliography 7 Introduction In the era of globalization, the MNCs are feeling the pressure of not only gaining a competitive advantage but also of their Human resource management. In a complex scenario the role of the HR department has gathered a high importance in the successful operation and failure of the companies operation in international grounds. An important practise in international business is to transfer the policies and practices of the MNCs into different business into which the company is operating. The transfer of HR policies and practices are complex especially when it is between two international regions with different domain and characteristics (Susaeta & Pin, 2008). This project report would deal with a UK based growing company, Vitamond which manufacturers a range of non alcoholic drinks which has positioned as a healthy life style. The company has decided to set up a manufacturing plant in France. Therefore the report would deal with the HR practises and policies of France as compared to UK. Differences between HR practices in France and UK The HRM practises usually vary to a great extend between different nationality and it was mainly due to the changing practise of HR policies and practises due to acquisition or expansion. To a great extent, HRM penetration reflects the complex interaction between the difference in between the culture and globalization (Price, 2007, p.593). There exists a huge difference between the human resource practise in UK and that of France. The regulatory factors in UK and France differ in number on aspects. France ranks high in terms of employment protection legislation among the OECD countries. UK employers tend to face minimum legal restriction on firing of an employee and hiring of an employee. A high rate of difference exists between the two countries is in the area of employee representation and performance pay (See Appendix A). It can be seen that performance pay is 19.9% in UK whereas in France it is 72.6% (Lorenz, et.al, n.d, p.5). In UK, additional incentives from the standard pay scales are paid to the employees based on the performance of the individual, but however gender gaps still prevails in UK. However in case of France, the French are the champions for individualisations of compensation which might turn equity into key issues. France has the willingness to increase its compensation flexibility taking into consideration the important and necessary benefits. Therefore the HR professionals experience difficulty in linking the design and implementing its compensation with the structure of the organisation (Česynienė, 2008, p.43-48). The French HR policies and practises tend to support the training practises. French companies which has about ten and more people working into the organisation has a mandatory contribution of 1.5% of wage bills spend on training. The percentage of employees participating into training programs is about 38% for small organisation and about 60% for MNCs. In UK most of the companies have failed to understand the importance of training and the relationship between its employees. Most of the UK companies consider hiring skilled workers as the organisation need not have to pay the cost of training (Needham & Dransfield, 2000, p.427). Therefore it can be said that, in France the HRM is very much dedicated to the productivity of both the functions of HR and the organisation. Thus in order to make impact, add and create value and to achieve a competitive advantage, the HR department along with the line mangers no longer neglect the value of its employees (Česynienė, 2008, p.43-49). The HRM practises and policies differ in many ways between UK and France and it would be extremely necessary for the HR department team to take into consideration all the necessary formalities and HR practises that are valued more in France since most of the employees will be local thus complying by their needs would benefit the manufacturing firm. Recommendation on HR policies and practices Since both the countries differ in their HR policies and practises to a very large extent, it is important for Vitamond to adapt and practise the HRM practises in its new manufacturing plant in France. UK differs in its Hr policies thus it is advisable to the CEO to follow the culture and HR practise that France follows. The company needs to focus and spend heavily on the training and development programs as it is regarded as an important aspect in the field of HRM in France. Since the employees hired will be local people it will become necessary for the organisation to follow their culture. The HRM policies must fit with the strategy of the organisation. The integration and cohesion of Hr policies to complement and to provide help in order to achieve strategic goals for its organisation (Bratton & Gold, 2003, p.47). In addition to training, French employees are highly motivated with pay scale and there is no discrimination between the female workers and the male workers which is not the case in UK. Therefore the CEO must understand the mindset before hiring the employees and pay according to the set standard of MNCs in France. The mangers are advised to have a clear understanding of the set rules and regulations for the company. In the process of developing sustainable HR policies and practises it is necessary to take care of the expatriates and it is one of the major factor which determine the success of the international organisation. Thus to address the expatriates effective policies such as training session should be introduced, taking care of their career and development and so on. Therefore it a nut shell, it can be said that, the company should formulate strategies in order to develop the talent in order to meet the needs of the organisation; concentrate on the cultural factors; the HR department should be based on policies and practises in order to fit the local people mindset and also for the expatriates. Therefore with adopting effective HR policies and practises the UK based organisation will be able to mark a presence in the France and could achieve a competitive advantage in the manufacturing industry b way of its effective Human Resource management practice and policies. Reference Bratton, J. & Gold, J., 2001. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Great Britain: Routledge. Česynienė, R., 2008. Globalization And Human Resource Management. [Pdf]. Available at: < http://www.leidykla.eu/fileadmin/Ekonomika/82/41-56.pdf> [Accessed 4 May 2012]. Lorenz, E. Michie, J. and Wilkinson, F., No Date. HRM Complementarities and Innovative Performance in French and British Industry. [Pdf]. Available at: < http://hp.gredeg.cnrs.fr/Edward_Lorenz/Papers/HRM%20Complementarities.pdf> [Accessed 4 May 2012]. Needham, D. & Dransfield, R., 2000. Advanced Business: For the 2000 Standards. UK: Heinemann. Price, A., 2007. Human Resource Management in a Business Context. UK: Cengage Learning EMEA. Susaeta, L. & Pin, J. R., 2008. The Five Phases in the transfer of HR policies and Practices within MNCS. [Pdf]. Available at: < http://www.iese.edu/research/pdfs/DI-0724-E.pdf> [Accessed 4 May 2012]. Bibliography Armstrong, M., 2012. Armstrongs Handbook of Management and Leadership: Developing Effective People Skills for Better Leadership and Management. Kogan Page Publishers. Brewster, C., 1994. Policy and Practice in European Human Resource Management: The Price Waterhouse Cranfield Survey. Routledge. Gary, D., 2011. Human Resource Management. Pearson Education India. Werner, S. et.al, Human Resource Management. Cengage Learning. Read More