MN3271 International HRM

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MN327 International Human Resource Management: 2013/14

Lecturers Prof. Michael Gold Prof. Alice Lam (Coordinator: autumn term) (Coordinator: spring term) Founder’s FE156 Founder’s FE148 [email protected] [email protected] Brief outline and aims of the course

The world is integrating as businesses locate cross-nationally, and employees and managers

move through the multinational company from one country to another. Both the firm and

human resource management (HRM) are being spatially stretched. This poses important

questions for the management of human resources within the firm: are local or home-based

management practices, or some global set of practices, most suited to local workplaces? How

do managers and employees from different countries work together? In other words, are

German firms in the UK practising mainly British or German employment and work

practices, or some sort of novel hybrid? Do US firms in China treat workers differently from

workers in the United States? Do Japanese firms in the UK become localised as managers are

drawn from the local labour market and not Japan? Do multinational companies act as a law

unto themselves as they move around the globe, or do local states tie them down and embed

them within national rules, cultures and practices? What is the role of the European Union in

regulating regional employment relations? And what is the roe of global labour regulation?

What are the core human resource and employment issues in international business activities?

What are the difficulties in coordinating workforces that are accustomed to contrasting

management styles, and with skills and competences that are constructed differently? To what

extent do multinational companies act as agents of knowledge transfer in a globalising

economy?

Answers to these questions are critical to the future of work, as that future comes to reflect a

more globalised workplace, with standards and ideas about authority relations, payment

systems and types of recruitment drawn from different sources and not just the nation state.

We examine these issues through practical examples, case studies and the latest research.

Learning outcomes On completion of the course, you should be able to:

Understand the implications of changes in the global organisation of firms and the

international workforce for HRM policy choices

Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the key analytical concepts and models in

international HRM

Assess the principal comparisons and contrasts of the business and human resource systems in the UK and the USA, Germany and Japan.

Evaluate the different approaches to and strategies for HRM in international business

activities, and their impact on employees

Evaluate the problems of transferring HRM practices from one country to another,

and the role of MNCs as agents of knowledge transfer.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Overview of lecture and seminar topics 2013/14 Dates of Autumn term: Monday 23 September to Friday 13 December 2013

Date Lecture Seminar Topic

1 October Comparative and international

HRM: an introduction No seminar

8 October Organisational structures of

multinational companies ‘Liability of foreignness’: McDonald’s and Wal-

Mart

15 October Culture and IHRM ‘Liability of foreignness’: McDonald’s and Wal-

Mart (rpt)

22 October National business systems and

IHRM Cultural diversity in a Danish MNC

29 October Frameworks for understanding

IHRM Cultural diversity in a Danish MNC (rpt)

5 November HRM in the UK and USA Reading week – no seminar 12 November HRM in Germany The German system of HR: is it under threat?

19 November Cross-border mergers and

acquisitions

The German system of HR: is it under threat?

(rpt)

26 November Employment policy of the

European Union EWCs and international HRM

3 December Employee participation and the

European Union

EWCs and international HRM (rpt)

10 December Review of term one: questions and answers

No seminar

Dates of Spring term: Monday 13 January to Friday 28 March 2014

Date Lecture Seminar Topic

14 January Business systems and HRM in

Japan No seminar

21 January

Skills, knowledge and

organisational learning: national

differences

HRM and inter-organisational learning in

international alliances

28 January Strategic international HRM

HRM and inter-organisational learning in

international alliances (rpt)

4 February International staffing policy in

MNCs

International staffing

11 February Expatriation and careers

International staffing (rpt)

18 February International compensation and

performance

International performance management

25 February Transferring HRM and work

practices across national borders

International performance management (rpt)

4 March

Global labour mobility Transnational communities

11 March International CSR and global

labour standards

Transnational communities (rpt)

18 March Conclusion and revision

No seminar

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Organisation The course consists of twenty-one weekly one-hour lectures in MX 001 (Tuesdays 1.00-2.00pm) and eight fortnightly two-hour seminars in WIN 1-03 (Tuesdays 2.00-4.00pm), except in the first and last weeks of the teaching term, and in reading weeks, when there are no seminars. Basic reading for each seminar is contained in the reading packs posted on Moodle. Each pack is accompanied by a set of questions for discussion. To make the seminars as productive as possible, please read the pack and questions in advance, and bring them along with you. You are expected to contribute actively and make presentations in the seminars. These presentations, though not formally assessed, are designed to stimulate class discussion, deepen your understanding of your chosen topic and refine your presentational skills, as well as give you relevant feedback. Assessment Exam: 70% Coursework: 30% (two written assignments of 1,750 words at 15% each) Informal feedback given on seminar presentations Coursework deadlines Assignment one: noon, Thursday, 16 January 2014 Assignment two: noon, Thursday, 20 March 2014 Core texts

Bamber, G. J., Lansbury, R. D. and Wailes, N. (2011) International and Comparative

Employment Relations: Globalisation and Change, London: Sage Publications [5th

ed.]

Edwards, T. and Rees, C. (2011) International Human Resource Management: Globalization,

National Systems and Multinational Companies, London: FT/ Prentice Hall [2nd

ed.]

Harzing, A.-W. and Pinnington, A.H. (2011) International Human Resource Management,

London: Sage Publications [3rd

ed.] Other useful background texts

There are many books that cover international HRM, and these are just some suggestions to

get you started (you’ll find a fuller list at the end of this course outline):

Briscoe, D. R. and Schuler, R. S. (2008) International Human Resource Management: Policy

and Practice for the Global Enterprise, London and New York: Routledge

Dowling, P.J., Festing, M. and Engle, A. (2008) International Human Resource Management,

London: Thomson Learning

Gold, M. (ed.) (2009) Employment Policy in the European Union. Origins, Themes,

Prospects, Basingstoke: Palgrave

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Gooderham, P.N., Grøgaard, B. and Nordhaug, O. (2013) International Management. Theory

and Practice, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar

Hollinshead, G. (2010) International and Comparative Human Resource Management,

Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education

Perkins, S.J. and Shortland, S. (2006) Strategic International Human Resource Management,

London: Kogan Page

Scullion, H. and Linehan, M. (2005) International Human Resource Management. A Critical

Text, Basingstoke: Palgrave

Tayeb, M. H. (2005) International Human Resource Management: a Multinational Company

Perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press You should also read widely for the whole course amongst relevant journals, such as: British Journal of Industrial Relations

Economic and Industrial Democracy European Journal of Industrial Relations Industrial Relations Journal

International Journal of Human Resource Management

Journal of International Business Studies

Journal of Management Studies

Journal of World Business

People Management

And don’t forget to read the business pages of the quality press on a regular basis to keep

yourself up to date with views and trends.

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Course Content and Reading List—Autumn Term 2013/14

Lecturer: Prof. Michael Gold

Week 1: 1 October

Comparative and International HRM: an Introduction

What is comparative and international HRM? Why is it important? How has the process of

globalisation affected HRM? What are convergence and divergence? What are the key issues

in international HRM?

Core reading: Bamber et al., chap.1; Edwards and Rees, chaps. 1, 2; Harzing and Pinnington,

chaps. 1, 2

Supplementary reading:


London: Thomson Learning, chaps. 1, 2


Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, chap.1

Week 2: 8 October

Organisational Structures of MNCs

What is a multinational corporation? How do corporations structure themselves to do business

internationally? How have their structures changed over time? What sort of strategies do they

use? How do MNCs relate to local areas?

Core reading: Edwards and Rees, chap. 5


Royle, T. (2000) Working for McDonald’s in Europe. The Unequal Struggle? London:

Routledge, chaps. 4, 5

Christopherson, S. (2007) ‘Barriers to “US style” lean retailing: the case of Wal-Mart’s

failure in Germany’, Journal of Economic Geography, 7: 451-69

Ghoshal, S. and Bartlett, C. (2002) Managing across Borders. The Transnational Solution,

London: Random House, Introduction

Morgan, G. (2005) ‘Multinationals and Work’, in S. Ackroyd, R. Batt, P. Thompson and P. S.

Tolbert (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Work and Organisation, Oxford University Press

Week 3: 15 October

Culture and IHRM

What is meant by the term ‘culture’? What theories of cultural determination are there? How reliable are they? To what extent is the greatest influence on an MNC subsidiary the national culture of the country from which it originated?

Core reading: Edwards and Rees, chap.3; Harzing and Pinnington, chap. 3


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Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and

Organizations across Nations, Thousand Oaks: Sage

Hofstede, G. (2002) ‘Dimensions Do Not Exist: A Reply to Brendan McSweeney’, Human

Relations 55(11): 1355-61


Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, chap. 2

McSweeney, B. (2002) ‘Hofstede’s Model of National Cultural Differences and their

Consequences: A Triumph of Faith – A Failure of Analysis’, Human Relations 55(1):

89-118

Week 4: 22 October

National Business Systems and IHRM

What is meant by the terms ‘national business systems’ and ‘varieties of capitalism’? What

theories of institutional determination are there? How reliable are they? To what extent is the

greatest influence on an MNC subsidiary the institutions of the country in which it is located?

Core reading: Edwards and Rees, chaps. 3, 4; Harzing and Pinnington, chap. 7


Hall, P.A. and Soskice, D. (eds) (2001) Varieties of Capitalism. The Institutional Foundations

of Comparative Advantage, Oxford University Press

Hancké, B., Rhodes, M. and Thatcher, M. (2007) Beyond Varieties of Capitalism, Oxford:

Oxford University Press

Streeck, W. and Thelen, K. (2005) Beyond Continuity. Institutional Change in Advanced

Political Economies, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Whitley, R. (2000) Divergent Capitalisms. The Social Structuring and Change of Business

Systems, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Week 5: 29 October

A Framework for Understanding IHRM

What are the main factors we have to understand in studying International HRM? What

approaches are there to studying IHRM, and how helpful are they? What is meant by the

terms ‘system effects’ and ‘societal effects’? How does diffusion of ‘best practices’ take place

across borders? What is meant by ‘dominance effects’, and how might they be constrained?

Core reading: Edwards and Rees, chap.7; Harzing and Pinnington, chap. 5


Elger, T. and Smith, C. (2005) Assembling Work: Remaking Factory Regimes in Japanese

Multinationals in Britain, Oxford University Press, chap. 4

Metcalfe, B.D. and Rees, C.J. (2005) ‘Theorising Advances in International HR

Development’, HR Development International, 8(4): 449-65

Rowley, C. and Warner, M. (2007) ‘Introduction: Globalising IHRM’, International Journal

of Human Resource Management, 18(5): 703-16

Smith, C. and Meiksins, P. (1995) ‘System, Society and Dominance Effects in Cross-national

Organisational Analysis’, Work, Employment and Society 9(2): 241-67

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Week 6: 5 November

HRM in UK/USA

What are the key traits of the British and US business systems/HRM? How did they develop?

What current trends and challenges are faced by British and US businesses? What are the

respective impacts on British business of the EU, the USA and the Commonwealth?

Core reading: Bamber, Lansbury and Wailes, chaps. 2 and 3


Augar, P. (2000) The Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism, London: Penguin

Crouch, C. (2011) The Strange Non-death of Neo-liberalism, London: Polity

Hollinshead, G. (2010) International and Comparative Human resource Management,

Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education, chap. 7

Hutton, W. (2010) Them and Us: Politics, Greed and Inequality – Why We need a Fair

Society, London: Little, Brown & Co

Week 7: 12 November

HRM in Germany

What are the key traits of the business systems/HRM in Germany? How did they develop?

What is the ‘German model’, and why has it appeared so attractive to many observers? What

pressures is it under? To what extent is it adaptable?

Core reading: Bamber, Lansbury and Wailes, chap.8

Supplementary reading: Doellgast, V. and Greer, I. (2007) ‘Vertical disintegration and the disorganisation of German

industrial relations’, British Journal of Industrial Relations 45(1): 55-76

Ferner, A., Quintanilla, J. and Varul, M. (2001) ‘Country-of-origin effects, host-country

effects, and the management of HR in multinationals: German companies in Britain

and Spain’, Journal of World Business 36(2): 107-128

Haipeter, T. (2011) ‘“Unbound” Employers’ Associations and Derogations: Erosion or

Renewal of Collective Bargaining in the German Metalworking Industry?’, Industrial

Relations Journal 42(2): 174-94

Streeck, W. (2009) Re-Forming Capitalism. Institutional Change in the German Political

Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Week 8: 19 November

Cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions

What is the role of HRM in cross-border mergers and acquisitions? To what extent is it

possible, desirable or necessary to integrate the HR policies of the companies involved? How

do they handle the employment consequences of restructuring across national boundaries?

Core reading: Edwards and Rees, chap. 8; Harzing and Pinnington, chap. 4



Andover: Cengage Learning, chap. 3

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Aguilera, R. and Dencker, J. (2004) ‘The role of human resource management in cross-border

mergers and acquisitions’, International Journal of Human Resource Management

15(8): 1355-70

Bower, J. (2001) ‘Not all M&As are alike – and that matters’, Harvard Business Review

March: 93-101

Child, J., Faulkner, D. and Pitkethly, R. (2001) The Management of International

Acquisitions, Oxford: OUP

Week 9: 26 November

Employment Policy of the European Union

What is the significance of the European Union from an IHRM perspective? What are the

elements of social and employment policy in the EU? What is their rationale? How did the

system evolve and where is it heading? Does it represent a case of convergence or

divergence?

Core reading: Harzing and Pinnington, chaps. 7, 17


El-Agraa, A.M. (2004) The European Union. Economics and Policies, London: Prentice Hall,

chap. 23

Gold, M. (ed.) (2009) Employment Policy in the European Union. Origins, Themes,

Prospects, Basingstoke: Palgrave, chap.1

Hantrais, L. (2007) Social Policy in the European Union, Basingstoke: Palgrave, chaps. 1, 2

Week 10: 3 December

Employee Participation and the European Union

What role might European works councils play in IHRM? What is the significance of the

recent directives introducing the European Company and information and consultation

requirements across the EU?

Core Reading: Edwards and Rees, chap. 12

Supplementary Reading:

Cressey, P. ‘Employee Participation’, in Gold, M. (ed.) (2009) Employment Policy in the

European Union, Basingstoke: Palgrave, pp.139-59

Gold, M. (2003) ‘European works councils: who benefits?’ in Gold, M. (ed.) New Frontiers

of Democratic Participation at Work, Aldershot: Ashgate, chap.3

Greer, I. and Hauptmeier, M. (2012) ‘Identity Work: Sustaining Transnational Collective

Action at General Motors Europe’, Industrial Relations 51(2): 275-297

Timming, A.R. and Veersma, U. (2007) ‘Living Apart Together? A Chorus of Multiple

Identities’, in M. Whittall, H. Knudsen and F. Huijgen (eds) Towards a European

Labour Identity. The Case of the European Works Council, London: Routledge, pp.

41-54

Week 11: 10 December

Review of Term One: Questions and Answers

Core readings: Everything you’ve covered so far!

A review of the contents of Term One, and your chance to come along for a Question and

Answer session.

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Course Content and Reading List—Spring Term 2013/14

Lecturer: Prof. Alice Lam

Week 1: 14 January Business Systems and HRM in Japan

Along with Germany, Japan is seen as a leading exemplar of the coordinated market

economies, according to the ‘varieties of capitalism’ literature. The Japanese business and HRM model has aroused a great deal of controversy and interest since the 1980s, not only because many of its distinctive features are associated with high employee commitment and productivity, but also because it poses a fundamental challenge to many of the principles underlying the Anglo-American model of management. This lecture will examine the distinctive features of the Japanese enterprise and HRM system from a comparative perspective, discuss how and why western evaluation of the Japanese model has shifted over time.

Core reading: Bamber, Lansbury and Wailes, chap.10, ‘Employment relations in Japan’

Hayahsi, M. (2002) ‘A historical review of Japanese Management Theories: the search for a

general theory of Japanese management’, Asian Business and Management, 1(2)

Benson, J. and Debroux, P. (2004) ‘The changing nature of Japanese human resource

management’, International Studies of Organization and Management, 34(1): 32-51

Arjan B. Keizer (2009) ‘Transformations in- and outside the internal labour market:

institutional change and continuity in Japanese employment practices’, International

Journal of Human Resource Management, 20 (7): 1521–1535.


Schaede, Ulrike (2012) ‘From developmental state to the “New Japan”: the strategic

inflection point in Japanese business’, Asia Pacific Business Review, 18(2): 167-185.

Jacoby, Sanford, M (2005) ‘The Embedded Corporation: Corporate Governance and

Employment Relations’ in Japan and the United States. Princeton and Oxford:

Princeton University Press, chaps 1-3.

Peltokorpi, V. (2013) “Job embeddedness in Japanese organizations” The International

Journal of Human Resource Management, 24:8: 1551-1569.

Kanai, A. (2009) ‘“Karoshi (work to death)” in Japan’, Journal of Business Ethics, 84

(SUPPL. 2): 209-216

Benson, J, (2006) ‘Japanese management, enterprise unions and company performance’

Industrial Relations Journal, 37(3): 242-248

Morris, J. et al. (2006) ‘New Organizational Forms, Human Resource Management and

Structural Convergence? A Study of Japanese Organizations’, Organization Studies,

27(10): 1485-1511

Lincoln, J.R. and Y. Nakata (1997) 'The transformation of the Japanese employment system:

nature, depth and origins', Work and Occupations, 24(1).

Week 2: 21 January Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Learning: National Differences

The development of workforce skills and knowledge are widely believed to be central to the

competitive performance of firms. The growth of the knowledge-based economy has led to a

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growing interest in organisational learning and knowledge management. This session will

discuss the various approaches to skill development, patterns of organisational learning and

knowledge management, focusing on how these are shaped by wider societal factors,

especially nationally constituted organisational forms and labour markets. It will also explore

how differences in skills structure and organisation of knowledge between firms from

different countries create barriers to inter-organisational learning in international alliances.

Core reading: Lam, A. (1997) ‘Embedded firms, embedded knowledge: problems of collaboration and

knowledge transfer in global collaborative ventures’ Organization Studies, 18(6): 973-996

Harzing and Pinnington (2011), chapter 10.


Lam, A. (2000) ‘Tacit knowledge, organizational learning and societal institutions: an

integrated approach’ Organization Studies, 21(3): 487-513

Hong, J. and R. Snell (2008) ‘Power inequality in cross-cultural learning: The case of

Japanese transplants in China’, Asia Pacific Business Review, 14(2): 253-273

Scully, J. W. et (2013) “The role of SHRM in turning tacit knowledge into explicit

knowledge: a cross-national study of the UK and Malta”, The International Journal

of Human Resource Management, 24:12, 2299-2320

Koike, K. (2002) ‘Intellectual skills and competitive strength: is a radical change necessary?’

Journal of Education and Work, 15(4): 391-408

Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995) The Knowledge Creating Company, Oxford University

Press, chaps. 1-3

Nonaka, I. and Toyama, Ryoko (2005) ‘The theory of the knowledge-creating firm:

subjectivity, objectivity and synthesis’, Industrial and Corporate Change, 14(3): 419-

436

Week 3: 28 January

Strategic International Human Resource Management

The theory underpinning Human Resource Management is the belief that business strategy

and HR strategy need to be integrated if the firm wishes to sustain competitive advantage.

This session will examine the nature and directions of links between HRM and business

strategies, and the unique issues in strategic HRM that arise in firms that are operating in a

global environment. It will discuss the complexity and challenge of HR strategy formulation

in multinational corporations.

Core reading:

Harzing and Van Ruysseveldt (2005), chaps. 2 and 3, or Harzing and Pinnington (2011) chap.

5

Schuler, R.S., P.J. Dowling and H. de Cieri ‘An integrative framework of strategic

international human resource management’ in Schuler, R.S. and Jackson, S.E. (eds.)

(1999) Strategic Human Resource Management chap 17. (Also available:

International Journal of Human Resource Management, December 1993, pp, 717-

64.)


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Brewster, C. ‘Strategic human resource management: the value of different paradigms’ in

Schuler, R.S. and Jackson, S.E. (eds.) (1999) Strategic Human Resource Management

chap 18.

Briscoe, D.R. and Schuler S.S. (2004) International Human Resource Management, 2nd

Edition, (London and New York: Routledge), chaps 1 & 2.

Keating and Thompson (2004) ‘International human resource management: overcoming

disciplinary sectarianism’ Employee Relations, 26 (4): 595-612.

Scullion, H. and Linehan, M (2005) International Human Resource Management. A Critical

Text (Basingstoke: Palgrave), chap.2.

Week 4: 4 February

International Staffing Policies in MNCs

As the strategies for conducting international business have become more complex and

difficult, so also have the staffing options for such firms. This session will introduce the

nature of and problems associated with the staffing of multinational firms’ international

operations. It will analyse the challenges in global workforce planning for MNCs and their

staffing options within the changing global business environment and labour markets. It will

also discuss the different approaches to managerial staffing and selection, the tensions

between global coordination and local adaptation, and problems in managing workforces

across borders.

Core reading:

Harzing and Pinnington (2011) chap.6 or Harzing and Van Ruysseveldt (2005), chap. 10

Harvey, M., Speier, C. and Novecevic, M. M. (2001) ‘A theory-based framework for strategic

global human resource staffing policies and practices’, International Journal of

Human Resource Management, 12(6): 898-915

Tarique, I. and Schuler R. (2008) ‘Emerging issues and challenges in global staffing: a North

American Perspective’ International Journal of Human Resource Management,

19(8): 1397-1415.


Global talent management (2010), Journal of World Business, special issue, 17, 1.

Ibraiz, T. et al. (2006) ‘A model of multinational subsidiary staffing composition’,

International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(2): 207-224


Text, Basingstoke: Palgrave, chaps. 3 and 9

Briscoe, D.R. and S.S. Schuler (2004/2008) International Human Resource Management, 2nd

Edition, London and New York: Routledge, chaps 8 and 9

Tayeb, M. H. (2005) International Human Resource Management: a Multinational Company

Perspective, Oxford University Press, chap. 5

Evans, P. and Lorange, P. (1989) ‘The two logics behind human resource management’, in P.

Evans, Y.Doz and A. Laurent (ed.) Human Resource Management in International

Firms: Change, Globalisation, Innovation. Basingstoke: Macmillan, pp.144-61

Shen, J. (2006) ‘Factors affecting international staffing in Chinese multinationals’,

International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(2): 295-315

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Week 5: 11 February

Expatriation and Careers

Expatriate management constitutes a core area of international HRM in multinational firms.

Despite the high cost of expatriation, many MNCs continue to recruit internally instead of the

local labour market when seeking to hire managerial personnel for subsidiaries. This session

will look at the reasons behind this and explore the changing role of international assignments

in MNCs global HR and knowledge management strategies. It will also examine the

implications of expatriation for employee career development.

Core reading:

Harzing and Pinnington (2011) chap 11. or Harzing and Van Ruysseveldt (2005), chaps 11

and 13, or Edwards and Rees, chaps 9 and 10

Gollings, D.G. et al. (2007) ‘Changing patterns of global staffing the multinational enterprise:

challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives’,

Journal of World Business, 42: 198-213

Pinto, L.H. (2012) ‘Compelled to go abroad? Motives and outcomes of international

assignments’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23, 11: 2295-

2314.


Tungli, Z. and M. Peiperl (2009). ‘Expatriate practices in German, Japanese, U.K., and U.S.

multinational companies: A comparative survey of changes.’ Human Resource

Management, 48(1): 153-171 Harzing, A-W. (2002) ‘Of bears, bumblebees and spiders: the role of expatriates in

controlling foreign subsidiaries’, Journal of World Business, 36(4): 366-379

Vo, A. N. (2009). Career development for host country nationals: a case of American and

Japanese multinational companies in Vietnam. The International Journal of Human

Resource Management 20(6), 1402 - 1420.


Text, Basingstoke: Palgrave, chaps 7 and 9

Minbaeva and Michailova (2004) ‘Knowledge transfer and expatriation in multinational

corporations’, Employee Relations, 26(6): 663-679

Foster, N. (2000) ‘The myth of the international manager’, International Journal of Human

Resource Management, 11(1): 126-142

Stroh et al. (2000) ‘Triumphs and tragedies: expectations and commitments upon

repatriation’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 11(2): 681-

697.

Week 6: 18 February

International Compensation and Performance Management

This session will deal with the compensation and performance management of staff in MNCs.

It will discuss the factors influencing MNCs international compensation policies, problems of

cost control, the complexity and difficulty in maintaining consistency across international

locations, and issues of equity between workforces in multiple countries, and between local

nationals and expatriates.

Core reading:

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Harzing and Pinnington (2011), chap 14, or Harzing and Van Ruysseveldt chap. 12, or

Edwards and Rees, chap 11

Toh and Denisi (2003) ‘Host country national reactions to expatriate pay policies: a model

and implications’, Academy of Management Review, 28(4): 606-621


Leung, K., Zhu, Y. et al. (2009) ‘Compensation disparity between locals and expatriates:

Moderating the effects of perceived injustice in foreign multinationals in China’,

Journal of World Business, 44(1): 85-93

Suutari and Tornikoski (2003) ‘The challenge of expatriate compensation: the sources of

satisfaction and dissatisfaction among expatriates’, International Journal of Human

Resource Management, 12(3): 389-404

Schuler, R.S. and Rogosvsky, N. (1998) ‘Understanding compensation practices across firms:

the impact of national culture’, Journal of International Business Studies, 29(1): 159-

177

Shen, Jie (2004) ‘International performance appraisals: policies, practices and determinants in

the case of Chinese multinational companies’, International Journal of Manpower

25(6): 547-563

Briscoe, D.R. and Schuler, S. (2004/2008) International Human Resource Management, 2nd

Edition, London and New York: Routledge, chaps 11 and 12


Text, Basingstoke: Palgrave, chap. 6

Week 7: 25 February Transferring HRM and Work Practices across Borders

This lecture will explore the theme of transfer of HRM and work practices across national borders by discussing the case of global diffusion of lean production and high performance work practices.

Core reading:

Harzing and Pinnington (2011), chap. 8 or Harzing and Van Ruysseveldt (2005), chap 15. or

Edwards and Rees, chap 7 . Friel, D. (2005) ‘Transferring a lean production concept from Germany to the United States:

the impact of labour laws and training systems’, Academy of Management Executive, 19, 2: 50-58.

Supplementary reading: Zhang, L. (2008) ‘Lean production and labour controls in the Chinese automobile industry in

an age of globalization’, International Labour and Working Class History, 73: 24-44. Doeringer, P.B. et al (2003) ‘The adoption and diffusion of high-performance management:

lessons from Japanese multinationals in the West’ Cambridge Journal of Economics, 27, 265-286.

Maccoby, M. (1997) ‘Is there a best way to build a car?’ Harvard Business Review, November-December 1997: 161-171.

Brown, G. D. and O’Rourke, D. (2007) ‘Lean manufacturing comes to China: A case study of its impact on workplace health and safety’ International Journal of Occupational Evironment and Health, 13(3): 249-257.

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Multinationals in Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press), Chaps. 1 & 12.

Edwards, T, and Kuruvilla, S. (2005) ‘International HRM: national business systems,

organizational politics and the international division of labour in MNCs’

International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16 (1): 1-25.

Berggren C. (1993) 'Lean production: the end of history?' Work Employment and Society, 7:2

June, pp. 163-188.

Week 8: 4 March

Global Labour Mobility and Transnational Communities

Human mobility plays a critical role in the transfer of advanced knowledge across national

borders. In the postwar decades, the migration of highly skilled individuals from developing

to advanced economies was viewed as ‘brain drain’ that exacerbated global inequality.

However, recent research suggests that the global migration of skilled workers has been

shifting from a one-way ‘brain drain’ to a two-way ‘brain circulation’. Since the late 1980s,

growing numbers of foreign-educated technical/managerial professionals from Asia have

been returning to their home countries and are playing a critical role in upgrading the

innovative capabilities of home-based firms by transferring the latest technological and

business knowledge. This session will examine the role of returnee migrants as transnational

agents in global knowledge diffusion and regional economic development.

Core reading:

Tung RL (2008) ‘Brain circulation, diaspora, and international competitiveness’. European

Management Journal 26(5): 298-304.

Saxenian A and Hsu JY (2001) ‘The Silicon Valley-Hsinchu Connection: Technical

Communities and Industrial Upgrading’. Industrial and Corporate Change 10(4):

893-920.

Williams AM (2007) ‘Listen to Me, Learn with Me: International Migration and Knowledge

Transfer’. British Journal of Industrial Relations 45(2): 361-382. Supplementary reading:

Beaverstock JV and Hall S ‘Competing for talent: global mobility, immigration and the City

of London's labour market’. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society

5(2): 271-288.

Docquier Fdr, Lohest O and Marfouk A (2007) ‘Brain Drain in Developing Countries’. The

World Bank Economic Review 21(2): 193-218.

Freeman RB ‘Globalization of scientific and engineering talent: international mobility of

students, workers, and ideas and the world economy’. Economics of Innovation and

New Technology 19(5): 393-406.

Horwitz, Frank M. (2013) “An analysis of skills development in a transitional

economy: the case of the South African labour market”, The International Journal of

Human Resource Management, 24:12, 2435-2451.

JÖNs H (2009) ‘Brain circulation’ and transnational knowledge networks: studying long-term

effects of academic mobility to Germany, 1954–2000. Global Networks 9(3): 315-

338.

Tung RL and Lazarova M (2006) ‘Brain drain versus brain gain: an exploratory study of ex-

host country nationals in Central and East Europe’. The International Journal of

Human Resource Management 17(11): 1853-1872.

15

Week 9: 11 March

International CSR and Global Labour Standards

This session will look at the development of regional and international labour regulations that

impact on IHRM and multinationals, debates on decent work and the difficulty of formulating

labour standards in the twenty-first century. It will also discuss the issue of ethical conduct for

HR managers in the conduct of their enterprises around the globe.

Core reading:

Edwards and Rees, chaps 12& 13 or Harzing and Pinnington (2011), chap. 17-18

Kolk, A. and Tulder, R. (2004) ‘Ethics in multinational approaches to child labour’, Journal

of World Business, 39: 49-60.

Shen, J. (2011) ‘Developing the concept of socially responsible international human resource

management’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(6): 1351-

1363.


Briscoe and Schuler (2004), chaps 6 and 7, ‘Global employment law and labour relations’,

‘Global ethics and labour standards’.

Hartman, Laura, P. et al (2003) ‘Exploring the ethics and economics of global labour

standards: a challenge to integrated social contract theory’ Business Ethics Quarterly,

3 (2): 193-220.

Kolk, A and van Tulder, R. (2002) ‘The effectiveness of self-regulation: corporate codes of

conduct and child labour’, European Management Journal, 20(3): 260-271

Parkes, C. & Davis, A.J. (2013) “Ethics and social responsibility– do HR professionals have

the ‘courage to challenge’ or are they set to be permanent ‘bystanders?’, The

International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24:12, 2411-2434.

Preuss, L., Haunschild, A. and Matten, D. (2009) ‘The rise of CSR: implications for HRM

and employee representation’, International Journal of Human Resource

Management, 20(4): 975-995

Verma, A. (2003) ‘Global labour standards: can we get from here to there’, The International

Journal of Labour Law and Industrial Relations, 19/4

Week 10: 18 March

Conclusion and Revision

16

Further Reading

Please note that the following are merely suggested sources. Many other books not quoted here cover these topics just as well, and you should aim to read as widely as possible.

Altman, Y. and Shortland, S. (2008) ‘Women and International Assignments: Taking Stock –

A 25-year Review’, Human Resource Management, 47(2): 199–216.

Bartlett, C.A. and Ghoshal, S. (2002) Managing across Borders. The Transnational Solution,

London: Random House

Brewster, C. Sparrow, P. and Vernon, G. (2007) International Human Resource Management,

London: CIPD

Doellgast, V. (2012) Disintegrating Democracy at Work. Labor Unions and the Future of

Good Jobs in the Service Economy, Ithaca and London: ILR Press


Multinationals in Britain, Oxford University Press

Ferner, A. and Hyman, R. (1998) Changing Industrial Relations in Europe, Oxford:

Blackwell

Gold, M. (ed.) (2003) New Frontiers of Democratic Participation at Work, Aldershot:

Ashgate

Hall, E.T. (1976) Beyond Culture, New York: Doubleday

Held, D., et al. (1999) Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture, Cambridge:

Polity Press

Hofstede, G. (1994) Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind, London: Harper

Collins

Jackson, T. (2002) International HRM. A Cross-cultural Approach, London: Sage

Katz, H.C. and Darbishire, O. (2000) Converging Divergences: Worldwide Changes in

Employment Systems, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press

Lecher, W., Platzer, H-W., Rueb, S. and Weiner, K-P. (2001) European Works Councils.

Developments, Types and Networking, Aldershot: Gower, chap. 1

Morgan, G., Kristensen, P. H. and Whitley, R. (2001) The Multinational Firm: Organizing

Across Institutional and National Divides, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Micklethwait, J. and Wooldridge, A. (2000) A Future Perfect: The Challenge and Hidden

Promise of Globalisation, London: William Heinemann

Moore, F. (2005) Transnational Business Cultures: Life and Work in a Multinational

Corporation, Aldershot: Ashgate

Royle, T. (2000) Working for McDonald’s in Europe. The Unequal Struggle? London:

Routledge

Sparrow, P. (ed) (2009). Handbook of International Human Resource Management, London:

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John Wiley and Sons

Streeck, W. and Thelen, K. (2005) Beyond Continuity. Institutional Change in Advanced

Political Economies, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Tayeb, M. (2003) International Management. Theories and Practices, London: Prentice Hall

Trompenaars, F. (1992) Riding the Waves of Culture, London: Nicholas Brealey

Waddington, J. (2011) European Works Councils. A Transnational Institution in the Making,

London: Routledge

Womack, J.P., Jones, D. T. and Roos, D. (1990) The Machine that Changed the World.

Oxford: Maxwell MacMillan International

Whitley, R. (2000) Divergent Capitalisms: The Social Structuring and Change of Business

Systems, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Whittall, M., Knudsen, H. and Huijgen, F. (eds.) (2007) Towards a European Labour

Identity. The Case of the European Works Council, London: Routledge

General information

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MN3271 International HRM

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