Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management - Essay Example

Drawing upon at least three research-based source documents, identify one other contemporary issue in HRM that is entirely different from your first assignment, critically analyze how these sources shed new light on the issue, and propose a further research strategy for the issue. With the advent of globalization, business has increased at a very fast pace and outpaced the ability of an organization to grow its business in outside countries. It has opened new opportunities for the organizations to enter into the world market. With increasing competition in the world market, organizations are feeling the requirement for experienced and skilled managers. Thus the Human Resource Management is facing challenge to select, recruit and retain skill experts. To be successful manager apart from knowledge and skill a complex and perfect amalgamation of cultural, social, political, organizational and technical competencies are also required. The development of global leadership through expatriate managers has been regarded as the contest for global core competency (Harvey & Novicevic, 2001, p. 69). Developing a company’s workforce is quite important especially when it is for overseas assignments (Haslberger & Stroh, 1992, p. 287). The purpose of this paper is to study three research based journals and to propose a new and contemporary idea on, which a new research can be done. Overview of the Papers The first paper done by Tungli and Peiperl has studied the expatriate management policy and practices over 136 Multinational Companies based at four different countries like Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States. The finding of the paper focuses on the staffing, selection, training and success. The researcher has also compared their own study with the studies already done previously and has tried to understand the change in the policies over time. They have also highlighted the future issue and trends in expatriation (Tungli & Peiperl, 2009, p. 153). The purpose of the second study by Sterner and Fermer was done to understand the situation of Public Sector Expatriate and the adjustment done by them in their foreign assignments. This study specifically studies the relationship between job factors and the way the expatriate adjust with their work. This study is quite significant because firstly a lot of Public Sector ethos influences the job factor, which in turn affects the performance of the expatriate. Secondly previous researches have never gone for investigating the work adjustments for an expatriate. And lastly since with globalization competitions have increased and public sectors are also experiencing a rise in the expatriate abroad to perform a task. Till then no relevant research had been done assessing the development of the expatriate. So this research becomes quite significant (Sterner & Fermer, 2009, p. 76). The third study by Shen and Lang examines the “cross cultural training (CCT) policies and practices” (Shen & Lang, 2009, p. 371) in terms of provision, delivery mode, level of rigor and the effect of the CCT programs on the expatriate working for different Australian MNE. The empirical study reveals that the CCT of the Australian MNE are highly rigorous. They generally include about term international assignment to their CCT because in short term assignment the employees have to make quick and short adjustments with the cultural differences. In this way the impact on the expatriate is stronger and thus reduces the failure (Shen & Lang, 2009, p. 371). After studying the other three research work, one can throw a light on the Gap between the expectation of the expatriate and the HR policies. The study should highlight on the selection, training and retention of the expatriate. Selection is the first and foremost thing that has to be given importance. Because if the selection is wrong then even training are not going to work. Secondly training is a vital parameter which helps to fight with the culture shock. Thirdly often the expatriate either leave the job after going abroad or after coming back to the parent nation so retention becomes very important. A lot of cost is incurred by the organization in providing training and sending the expatriate abroad so if the employee leaves the company it is a huge loss for the organization. Expatriate as a Broad Field in HRM Study Human Resource Management is defined as “the organizational function that deals with issue related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration and training” (Kayodo, 2012, p. 1). HRM is the tactical approach towards managing environment, work place culture and people. Effective HRM enables the employee to work efficiently and productively so that it can contribute towards the accomplishment of overall company goal and objective. Today HRM is shifting away from the conventional managerial, transactional and personnel roles. Now it is more into strategic utilization of resources and program that impacts the organization’s business measurably. This change is due to globalization, which impacts the modern business through complex and numerous challenges and opportunities. There is a sustainable growth in the need of skilled workforce. The supply of talent is not meeting up with the demand in the global market, which is tern is increases the gap between demand and supply. So now attracting skilled workforce is becoming priority for the global organizations. For the global firms, global leadership development and staffing has gained importance in the global HRM. In order to sustain in the global competition the multinationals have to adapt with the human resource practices that are adapted by others. This factor has made the study on the expatriate so vital. The issue and challenges related to expatriate is the recent concern of the HRM throughout the globe (Kayodo, 2012, p. 1). Theoretical Framework of the Resources The First Study by Tungli and Peiperl As globalization continues the role of the expatriate becomes more and more important. Before beginning with the research, the researcher has tried to find the reason for growing importance of the expatriate. They found that it was due to meet up with the skill gap, organizational development and the management development too. Now when focusing on the selection approach, the previous theories have shown that most of the companies don’t have the proper section. Moreover the proportion of women expatriate is low than that of male. More and more married women are joining the workforce, while balancing their personal and professional life. The multinational companies are facing challenges while selecting them. While going towards the training it is observed that providing training to the expatriate before going abroad is done by nearly 70% of the companies but still failure is seen. The failure is mainly due to the adjusting problem of the spouse. On coming to the assessment part it is noticed that assessing the expatriate is a real challenge since sometimes data are missing in the subsidiary or sometimes the evaluator cannot comply with the policies given by the home country (Tungli & Peiperl, 2009, pp. 154-157). The Second Study by Sterner and Fermer The study highlights on the work outcome of the expatriate that is work adjustment, job satisfaction, work effectiveness. Work adjustment is regarded to be critical. It is referred to as adjusting not only with the new responsibility but also with the interaction with the host national as well as the non working environment. Work effectiveness is directly linked to the adjustment done by the expatriate. Previous researches have shown that expatriate who has adjusted with the work and life at the host nation are likely to perform better than the other who cannot adjust. Job satisfaction is an emotional state of mind resulting from evaluation related to work or experience. It is primarily work related and arises from successfully adopting with the job requirement. Job factors are critical parameter which makes great impact on the job outcome. The job factors like role clarity, role inconsistency, role discretion and role overload affects the work outcome of an expatriate. Role clarity refers to the set of expected behavior that is expected from an expatriate for that particular responsibility. Role conflict refers to undesirable job expectation due to conflict in the information regarding expectation from an individual in the new responsibility. Role overload can be both qualitative and quantitative. If an individual feels that he lacks skill which is required to complete a task then it is qualitative role overload but if he finds that the time is short to finish the task then it is quantitative role overload. Role discretion is the amount of freedom that an individual enjoys while performing the job responsibility (Sterner & Fermer, 2009, pp. 76-78). The Third Study by Shen and Lang The Cross cultural training is an educative process the helps individuals to develop cognitive, affective and behavioral competencies that are needed for improving intercultural learning and helps in interaction in a diverse culture. The cross cultural training intends towards educating the expatriate regarding awareness, knowledge and skill needed to work in the host nation. The CCT should be used to provide the knowledge and ability to the expatriate to perform better. This should include briefing about the geography, climatic condition, schools, language spoken and every aspect of the culture. The CCT can be delivered through lectures, mentoring field experience and interview with the repatriate. The training should be provided just before leaving. CCT rigor is defined as the extent of trainee’s involvement in the training. The key indicator of CCT rigor is program, timing, mode of delivery and duration of training. Previous studies have shown that higher level of rigor in the cross cultural training results in lower level of failure (Shen & Lang, 2009, pp. 373-375). Advantages and Limitations of the Theoretical Framework The above three research work has exhaustively studied all the aspects of expatriate starting from selection till assessment. The research has also taken into consideration the lower proportion of female expatriate rather than male. This opens a new horizon of study in future. This also lets the companies to have a revision of their expatriate policies. They have beautifully frames the factors affecting the job outcome of the employees. The theoretical frame work of the above three research work has the limitation that all the three research works are talking about the MNC of the developed nations, but they also consider the underdeveloped or the developing one too. They have not discussed about the attrition rate of the expatriate in abroad or even after coming back to the host nation. Failure in terms of losing an employee is also matter of concern since the organization cannot use the experience gained by the individual. Research Methodologies In the first study by Tungli and Peiperl questionnaire was designed and was sent through mail to collect the primary data. Since geographic diversity and the language problem was prevalent in the study so a number of review was done and finally the questionnaire was reached. The rating questions were based on 6 point Likert scale to make a choice between “never/ rarely/ sometimes/ often/ very often/ always” (Tungli & Peiperl, 2009, p. 158). The remaining questions were supported on the percentage. The expatriate management policies were based on country, sector, company size, foreign revenue and number of expatriate. Multivariate analysis was done. To generate similarities and differences between the MNC’s of the four different nations, unvaried statistics were generated. To identify which country has different practice post hoc Scheffe test was done (Tungli & Peiperl, 2009, pp. 158-159). In the second study by Sterner and Fermer questionnaire was developed to do the survey among the employees of United States Department of Defense. The questionnaire was sent out to the target sample through intranet and the respondent returned their answers either through fax or any other electronic means. Single direct questions were used to estimate background variables. Open ended questions were also there to get additional comments. Work adjustment was assessed using three items by the scale developed by Black with range from “not adjusted at all” to “completely adjusted” (Sterner & Fermer, 2009, p. 81). Role discretion was measured with four item using four point Likert Scale whereas job satisfaction was measured with four items but using five point Likert Scale. Scales of Rizzo was used to assess role clarity and role conflict and the three items used by Black was used to measure role overload. All three of these are measured using four point Likert scale. Work effectiveness was also measured by five point Likert Scale. Time on current location was addressed using direct question (Sterner & Fermer, 2009, pp. 80-82). In the third study by Shen and Lang a qualitative approach was followed. The researchers have chosen the MNE from Australia based on top 50 businesses for 2005 in the Business Review Weekly and top 50 company index in 2006 in In-Business magazine. Out of 16 only 5 accepted the invitation to participate in the survey. The research was primarily based on the five case studies. Each participating MNE nominated a senior manager who was interviewed. Based on the answer of the manager the analysis was done and the conclusion was drawn (Shen & Lang, 2009, pp. 377-378). Advantages and Limitations of the Research Methodology The research methodology used in the first case was quite fine but in the second and the third case no correlation was verified using ANOVA or simple correlation. Hence the results may be questionable. The results of the first study were in an advantageous position if authenticity is questioned. In the second test the work effectiveness was measured by only one item scale which may not be reliable. Rest all the parameters were either judged by five points or four point Likert scale which is quite reliable. In the last case choosing the MNE was done using an authenticated source but the response was quite low. There was no close ended question. The research was based on the answer of a single or two to three persons, which may not be reliable. New and Contemporary Idea Though a lot of study has been done on expatriate but they are generally based on a particular region and mostly involves developing country. Moreover the policies are studies and tried to understand the relationship between cross culture training and outcome. If all the three results of are considered then one can get many new ideas. The factors on which motivation of the expatriate depends can be further more elaborated. A survey can be done on the expatriate to know their problems and preferences. The study can be done on any of the developing nations. The retention of the expatriate is also very important. A research can be done on that. A comparative analysis can be done between the developing nation’s expatriate policies and that of a developed nation. Conclusion The three sources chosen have showed the HR policies prevalent in other countries regarding the selection and recruitment of the expatriate along with this the studies also showed that the factors which affects the job outcome of the expatriate. The importance of the Cross cultural training is also seen. The three studies give an overview of the HRM policies that are there for the expatriate. Keeping this in mind a gap between the HRM policies of the expatriate and expectation of the expatriate can be examines. This gap can help one to understand the reason for expatriate failure and the factors of retention. Along with this it will also show how the staffing is done and whether any changes are required. The theories related to selection, recruitment, training, assessment of the expatriate and retention can be studied. Proper questionnaire has to be designed both for the HR managers and the employee. Likert scale can be used to make the questions close ended. The expatriate has to categorized designation wise. The researcher has to choose the organization on which the research can be done. For this any business magazine providing rating of the companies related to HR policies can be considered. This study will throw a light whether a gap exists or not. This will help in a better understanding of the HR policies on the expatriate and will help the organization to work as per. This research work can help in reducing the attrition rate and also helps in motivating more and more employee by filling up the gap, if any. REFERENCES Tungli, Z. & Peiperl, M. (2009). Expatriate Practices in German, Japanese, U.K., And U.S. Multinational Companies: A Comparative Survey Of Changes. Human Resource Management, 48(1), pp. 153-171. Selmer, J. & Fenner, C.R. (2009). Job factors and work outcomes of public sector expatriates. Human Resource Management Journal, 19(1), pp. 75-90. Shen, J. & Lang, B. (2009). Cross-cultural training and its impact on expatriate performance in Australian MNEs. Human Resource Development International, 12(4), pp. 371-386. Haslberger, A. & Stroh, L.K. (1992). Development and Selection of Multinational Expatriates. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 3(3), pp. 287-293. Kayode, O. (2012). Impact of Globalization on Human Resource Management. Science Journal of Business Management, 2012(3), pp. 1-4. Harvey, M. & Novicevic, M.M. (2001). Selecting expatriates for increasingly complex global assignments. Career Development International, 6(2), pp. 69-86. Read More