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Dessler, Cole and SutherlandHuman Resources Management in Canada

Canadian Ninth Edition

Chapter Eighteen

Managing Human Resources in an International Business© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario 18-1

18-2

The Internationalization of BusinessThree Broad Global HR Challenges

Deployment

of skills

where

needed

Knowledge

and

innovation

dissemination

Identifying

and developing

talent on a

global basis

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario

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How Intercountry Differences Affect HRM

Cultural factors

Economic factors

Labour cost factors

Industrial relations factors

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario

18-4

Improving International Assignments Through Selection

-job knowledge and motivation

-relational skills

-flexibility/adaptability

-extra-cultural openness

-family situation

Five Important Factors for International Assignee Success

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario

18-5

Training and Maintaining International Employees

-raise awareness of cultural differences and their impact-understand attitudes and their effects on behaviour-factual knowledge about target country-language skills, adjustment and adaptation

Orientation and Training

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Training and Maintaining International Employees

Balance Sheet Approach

-maintain same standard of living as at home

Incentives -tied to performance of foreign subsidiary

International EAPs -help with stress of relocation

International Compensation

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario

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Training and Maintaining International Employees

-stipulate difficulty level of assignment-weight on-site managers’ appraisal higher than home-site manager-advice to home-country manager from former expatriate-modify performance criteria for overseas situation-use qualitative as well as quantitative criteria

Performance Appraisal

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario

18-8

Training and Maintaining International Employees

-industry/regionally oriented-locals less autonomous; employer associations negotiate-union recognition, union security less formal-some collective agreements outside the law-brevity of agreements-grievances and strikes less frequent-less government regulation, more direct intervention-more worker participation

International Labour Relations

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario

18-9

Training and Maintaining International Employees

-kidnapping ‘way of life’ in many areas-arrive close to airport departure time-home and car security systems-vary departure and arrival times for work-keep up to date on crime-project confident body language

Safety and Fair Treatment

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario

18-10

Training and Maintaining International Employees

-write repatriation agreements-assign a sponsor-provide career counseling-keep communication open-offer financial support-develop reorientation programs-build in return trips

Repatriation

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario