For Phyllis Young only.Answer the Question as Described. It is due in 24 hours.

Week 6 - Instructor Guidance

BUS 692

Week Six Guidance                                                               Dr. Marvee L. Marr

International HRM

A Quick Case to get the subject rolling….

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES:  Expatriates in Qatar.  Qatar is one of the richest countries of the world due to its oil and gas revenues. All Qatari citizens receive first –class government provided health, education, and other social benefits. Due to Qatar’s incredible growth Qatari citizens account for only 15% of the workforce. They complain that foreigners are crowding them out.

Questions:

1.     Why are Qatari citizens complaining about receiving a lot of material benefits without needing to work?

2.      What are some possible solutions that Qatar’s government can implement to provide more career opportunities for its citizens?

I.          Introduction.  The Internet has helped “flatten” the world of work throughout the globe. Today there is a world market for labor and human resources in many ways. Companies in the U.S. are more likely to have at least some operations in other countries. Technology has made it much easier for US companies to conduct business in other countries.

II.        Global Strategic HRM.  The conduct of HRM differs throughout the world. Many of these differences are related to cultural factors, while other differences derive from regulations.

       Statistical Overview. One way to gain an understanding of strategic HRM on a global scale is the examine recent statistical analyses: the percentage of female participation in the workforce, the type of work people do throughout the world, the ability of foreign-born individuals to work in a given country, self-employment, part-time vs. full-time employment, and unemployment rates are some of the statistics to watch. Global HR statistics provide helpful information about establishing and running operations in various countries.

       Cultural Issues and Differences. Considerable cultural differences around the world have a profound impact upon the practices of international HRM (Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, 2012) :

  Power Distance. In countries with more egalitarian cultures efforts may be made to eliminate overt workplace hierarchical differences. In such countries workplace employee committees or other mechanisms that give employees direct input into the management of the organization are common. In high power distance countries more centralized, hierarchical, even autocratic decision-making structures are common.

  Uncertainty Avoidance. High uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer clear rules procedures and structures. They value orderliness and predictability. Countries with low uncertainty avoidance have more “hang loose” attitude towards things.

  Individualism vs. Collectivism. In highly individualistic cultures employees tend to be evaluated and rewarded in great measure for their individual achievements and performances. Society places a high value upon individual success. In collectivistic countries people tend to think of themselves as part of a group and measure their success according to the success of the group. In such countries it is more common for workers to be paid based on the performance of their work team. Workers in such countries may expect their community to help take care of them.

  Masculinity vs. Femininity relates to values and traits that are traditionally associated  with one gender or the other. Highly masculine cultures place a high value on things such as competition, assertiveness, and achievement. More feminine cultures place high value upon care for the weak and relationships. HR practices and policies in more feminine countries may likely be more liberal with respect to sick days, disability pay, and parental leave than those in masculine countries.

  Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation. HR practices in longer-term-oriented countries may place greater emphasis on worker retirement savings programs and pensions.

       Regulatory Issues Including Immigration and Border Security. Countries have vastly different regulatory legal-political systems and structures which govern the conduct of HRM. Some of these regulations pertain to the ability of employees to form labor unions and engage in collective bargaining. Governmental regulations related to immigration and border security are among the most important in the field of international HRM.

       Outsourcing and Offshoring. Outsourcing involves the process of a company subcontracting a certain production function to a third party. Offshoring involves the process of transferring an organizational function to another country, regardless of whether this function is outsourced or stays within the same company. Offshoring and outsourcing practices have been extremely controversial among U.S. workers and labor unions because these practices involve transforming U.S. jobs into jobs with other companies overseas.

 

Staffing Policies. A key initial decision a company will have to make is how to staff the office. Headquarters or parent company employees who are being sent to work overseas for their companies are parent country nationals. Workers already living in the foreign or host country are known as host country nationals. Employees from other countries are known as third country nationals. Parent country nationals and third country national are known as expatriates.

       Virtual Staffing. Technological advances have made it possible for someone to work as a virtual expatriate today. This might be accomplished via trips to the foreign office, supplemented by extensive ongoing emailing, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, etc. Arrangements of this kind have some drawbacks: it is difficult for virtual expatriates to build strong relationships with people in the foreign office. Consequently, companies in global situations frequently require expatriates to live in the place of their foreign assignments.

       Expatriate Issues in Staffing.  Despite the inherent cost and cultural advantages that often exist for hiring locally, a local labor market may not have enough qualified workers. One reason for hiring expatriates relates to control. Staffing foreign operations with workers from the parent country will help impose the values and structures of the headquarters upon foreign operations. The risks of an expatriate staffing policy relate to expatriate failure, a situation when the expatriate does not complete the assignment and returns home early. Family issues often play a part because either the family members fail to adjust to the new environment, or because the expatriate does not take the family along. Short-term expatriate assignments appear to be an increasing trend. Repatriation, the process that takes place when an expatriate returns home, can also present some problems. Employees sometimes face “culture shock” upon repatriation.

 

Video on being an expat:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-HZINQ_I9E

       What are Training and Development?

o   Training involves providing employees with skills specific to the jobs they will be doing.

o   Development involves preparing employees for new future assignments or higher level positions.  

       Needs Assessment. Assessing company training and development needs in the international HRM context is directly related to strategic planning. A corporation that sends executives from the U.S. to work overseas usually needs to provide them with training in foreign language and culture. Corporations establishing operations in foreign countries also must focus on the potential training and development needs of the host country nationals.

       Types of Training and Development. The types of training and development differ depending on the situation and vary from Internet-based training to personal training and development programs.

       Expatriate Needs in Training and Development. Special training and development needs are likely necessary for expatriates.

IV.       Performance Appraisal and Compensation. Performance appraisal involves the process of assessing employee performance. A direct link between performance appraisals and compensation usually exists. Determining compensation for workers in a variety of countries and cultures is complex.

       Assessing Performance. A key purpose of performance appraisal is to provide employees with performance feedback. Assessment also helps identify areas for potential training and development. In some jobs, performance is relatively easy to measure. In other jobs, measuring overall performance might be difficult. Other relevant issues include who conducts the performance appraisal, and how feedback is presented.

       Cultural Differences in Performance Appraisal. Cultural norms, rules, and legal differences help to influence how performance appraisals are conducted.

       Compensation and National Differences in Cost of Living. Compensating employees presents a major challenge in MNCs because the cost of living varies dramatically from country to country. Differentials in cost of living are important factors considered by corporate HR and other executives when determining where to establish foreign operations, and the compensation necessary to provide employees with livable wages in different locations. There are also national differences in the forms of compensation employees receive in different parts of the world. Among benefits that differ from country to country are housing allowances and retirement benefits.

       Expatriate Issues in Compensation. When it comes to establishing compensation packages for expatriates, complications may arise. The base rate of which country should be used? How do taxes figure into compensation levels? In which currency should employees be paid? In compensating expatriates, most MNCs use a balance sheet approach, which involves keeping the expatriate on the home country’s salary structure and also providing various additional allowances so that the expatriate can maintain a home country standard of living.

       Executive Pay. Executive compensation has recently become a controversial issue. Increased reporting requirements with respect to total top executive compensation have heightened the scrutiny of compensation differences between workers vs. top managers. The U.N. International  Labor Organization’s World of Work Report focused directly on the internationally widening gap between executive pay and employee pay. In response to these concerns and recent global financial conditions, a number of major corporations have recently frozen top executive salaries.

References:

THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. (2012 ).Dimensions. Retrieved May 27, 2014, from http://geert

hofstede.com/dimensions.html

Gaspar, J. E., Arreola-Risa, A., Hise, R., & Bierman, L. (2014).  Introduction to global business:

understanding the international environment and global business functions. New York:

Cengage Publishing.