DOES HRM DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL CONTEXTS?

By Munya Zvimba & Craig Halliday

WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT?(HRM)

“ Typically, HRM refers to those activities undertaken by an organization to effectively utilise its human resources.” (Dowling, 2008)

“The process of hiring and developing employees so that they become more valuable to the organization”. (business dictionary, 2014)

Some of the activities could include: Human Resource planning Staffing ( recruitment, education, selection & placement) Training & development

WHAT IS DOMESTIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (DHRM)?

DHRM occurs when employees reside within one national boundary.

DHRM tends to deal with one currency and one tax rate and one set of regulations.

WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (IHRM)?

“All issues related to the management of people in an international context including; human resource issues facing MNCs in different parts of their organisations and comparative analyses of HRM in different countries’ (Stahl and Björkman, 2006)

“The complexity of working in different countries and employing different national categories of workers is a key variable that differentiates domestic and international management.” (Dowling, 2008)

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DOMESTIC HRM & IHRM?

DHRM focuses on one domestic market which usually has one nationality, where as IHRM deals with different markets and different nationalities. (whatishr.com, 2014)

Other areas of focus for IHRM include: Culture. Work ethic. Political and legal. Health & Safety. Economic. Staffing. Placement. Education. Training and development.

CULTURE

DHRM tends to focus on one culture. IHRM has to deal with different cultures. IHRM has to be aware of issues such as the

local codes of conduct, religious beliefs and hierarchy’s in local communities.

CULTURE

10 most corrupt countries.

Source: Transparency International, 2014

CULTURE

10 least corrupt countries.

Source: Transparency International, 2014 .

WORK ETHIC

Source: BBC 2012

POLITICAL & LEGAL

Most mnc’s home nations have stable Governments and proper rule of law.

A stable government equals economic stability.

IHRM has to consider the political climate when expanding abroad.

Here are some examples of unstable governments:

Egypt –Arab springs. Ukraine –Divide between Russian speaking

Ukrainians and the indigenous Ukrainians.

POLITICAL & LEGAL

Terrorism and Kidnapping(Scullion et al, 2007)

Here are some examples of kidnappings: 2005 – BBC reported that 6 Shell oil workers

were kidnapped in the Nigerian oil delta. (BBC, 2005)

2010 – CBC reported that 7 local oil workers were kidnapped from Exxon Mobil Corp to disrupt operations of western companies

2014 - Daily mail reported an employee of Sigma Ltd (sub-contractor for Chevron Texaco) was kidnapped and held to ransom for £72000.(Dailymail, 2014)

HEALTH & SAFETY

EDUCATION

Education levels determine what type of workforce is available.