Challanges with Globalization in Hrm
Challenges with Global HRM
Globalization poses various challenges for human resource departments and as they move towards a more global economy, organizations have to rethink their traditional ways of managing people. What would be normal custom and practice in one country may be frowned upon in another. Routine decisions on career development, for example, can become extremely complex in an organization working across different countries. Selecting employees and managing people of different cultures are just some of the challenges human resource management face when going global. To manage an organization 's operations in another country is a very difficult task that usually requires a deep understanding of procedures. Studies of the matter have shown that the high rate of failure of foreigners on international assignments, and the financial expenses of sending these managers overseas is not as efficient or effective as hiring host country managers for multinational companies (Dowling et al., 1994). Culture is a very complex concept and anyone involved in hiring talent from other cultures needs to have a good understanding of how it can influence key recruitment practices such as interviews, assessments and applications. Understanding that a person’s cultural background determines not only which language they speak or what holidays they celebrate, but virtually every aspect of social and professional life is essential. When hiring new employees from diverse cultural backgrounds, different behaviors and attitudes can create confusion, misunderstandings and false perceptions; for instance, job interviews conducted by an American company in China may not result in hiring the best candidates as a result of the large cultural distance between the two countries. For example: directness and openness are highly valued in American culture so American interviewers tend to ask open questions around the professional background of the applicants. Chinese culture
Globalization poses various challenges for human resource departments and as they move towards a more global economy, organizations have to rethink their traditional ways of managing people. What would be normal custom and practice in one country may be frowned upon in another. Routine decisions on career development, for example, can become extremely complex in an organization working across different countries. Selecting employees and managing people of different cultures are just some of the challenges human resource management face when going global. To manage an organization 's operations in another country is a very difficult task that usually requires a deep understanding of procedures. Studies of the matter have shown that the high rate of failure of foreigners on international assignments, and the financial expenses of sending these managers overseas is not as efficient or effective as hiring host country managers for multinational companies (Dowling et al., 1994). Culture is a very complex concept and anyone involved in hiring talent from other cultures needs to have a good understanding of how it can influence key recruitment practices such as interviews, assessments and applications. Understanding that a person’s cultural background determines not only which language they speak or what holidays they celebrate, but virtually every aspect of social and professional life is essential. When hiring new employees from diverse cultural backgrounds, different behaviors and attitudes can create confusion, misunderstandings and false perceptions; for instance, job interviews conducted by an American company in China may not result in hiring the best candidates as a result of the large cultural distance between the two countries. For example: directness and openness are highly valued in American culture so American interviewers tend to ask open questions around the professional background of the applicants. Chinese culture
References: Adler, N. J. and Ghadar, F. 1990. Strategic Human Resource Management: A Global Perspective, In Pieper, R. Human Resource Management: An International Comparison, pp: 235-260. Dowling, P.J., Schuler, R.S. and Welch, D. (1994) International Dimensions of Human Resource Management (2nd edn), Wadsworth: California. Kozloff, Barry, and Larry O 'Leary. "Global HR News: Selecting People for International Assignments." Selecting Research International. Global HR, 19 Nov. 2000. Web. 09 July 2013.