International Human Resource Management

There are many differences between legal issues in china and Australia. For instance in China, the legal system is supplemented with local regulations. The local regulations are major challenges to international companies expanding their businesses in China.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on International Human Resource Management – Comparison between Australia and China specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These local laws and regulations differ from provinces as well as in the major cities in China such as Beijing and Shanghai. Different economic zones have different laws and regulations relating to labor (Lan, 1995). The interpretation of legislation and local practices also differs in various regions across China. There are various local regulations and practices that influence application of law in China as compared to Australia. The local regulations in China are supposed to be consistent with the nationa l legislation but sometimes there are conflicts. In Australia, there are few local laws which are consistent with the Australian national law. International companies should adhere to the local rules and regulation in China. Employment contract law in China also differs from that in Australia. In china, the employment contract law is very generous to workers and it provides a lot of protection as compared to the employment law in Australia. For instance in china, if an individual is employed temporarily for more than one short term contracts then he is deemed to be permanently employed (Villa, 2009).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is different from Australia where a person can be employed temporary for more than one short term contract without being viewed as a permanent employee. According to the contract law in China, an employee must have a formal contract. It is m andatory for employment contract to be written. This contract must contain important details such as compensation, working hours as well as job description. International human resource managers must be aware of these protective provisions in contract law. This is a major challenge which is faced by most international companies doing business in China. Another challenge faced by foreign companies is that they are not allowed to directly employ Chinese citizens in China. However, they may involve Chinese citizens in performing some services. In China employment contract must contain a basic fixed salary which should not be changed by the employer. Corruption is a serious problem in China just like in other developing countries across the globe. In this country corruption involves bribe, fraud, embezzlement as well as extortion (He, 2003). Some people give bribes to the hiring officials in order to secure employment. Some people are also employed or promoted to a higher position depen ding on whether they know leaders in the high ranks. These leaders may be their relatives, friends or even classmates.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on International Human Resource Management – Comparison between Australia and China specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In Australia, corruption is very minimal as compared to China and the country was ranked as the least corrupt country among the group of 20 developed nations (Brinsden, 2011). In China, human rights are normally considered when recruiting employees. Minors under the age of 16 are not supposed to be recruited. Employment discrimination is also discouraged, and there are equal employment rights for both male and female. The employees have the right to be employed and the right to labor safety and hygiene. Recommendation The human resource professional are supposed to be conversant with legal issues relating to employment in China. They should kno w the requirement of employment contracts in order to avoid the challenges they face in China. They should engage Chinese citizens in services to avoid the liability of being an employer. Human resource manager should advice the multinational companies to have a registered presence in China (Lam, 2004). They should comply with legal restrictions, which are found in this country. They should also comply with employment contracts requirement. They should also engage representative office in order to enter into business contracts. The human resource manager should also understand the human rights that are provided to the employees in China. References Brinsden, C., 2011. Australia ranked the least corrupt country in the G20. International  Business Journal , 11-12. He, Z., 2003. The study of the problem of corruption and anti-corruption in China.  Comparative economic and social systems , 19-23.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lam, T., 2004. Human resources issues in the development of tourism in China.  Internationa journal of contemporary hospitality management , 1-4. Lan, L., 1995. Human resource management in Chinese hotels. International journal of  contemporary hospitality management , 1-5. Villa, M., 2009. Employment laws in China. International human resource journal , 17-21. This report on International Human Resource Management – Comparison between Australia and China was written and submitted by user Xavier Davenport to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. International human resource management Introduction Human resource management involves the management of workers or employees in an organization. It depends on the cultural and institutional framework. Human resource management varies from country to country. Good human resource management, is defined differently in different national cultures, and operates differently across the globe. International organizations try to deal with issues created by these differences.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on International human resource management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Today the world has become more global in terms of technology, economies and communications. The development of international enterprises has resulted to the decline in traditional business boundaries. This has led to high rates of economic development. It can be noted that multinational companies have dominated the world economy. About 63000 international organizations dominate the w orld trade (Budwar, 2005). It accounts about two thirds of the world’s business. According to the recent study, each of the 10 largest multinational corporations has more annual sales than the Australian government tax revenues. Most of international business transactions involve two parts of multinational companies. Multinational companies act as global organizations with employees based in different parts across the globe. Globalization has been enhanced through fiscal consolidation such mergers and acquisitions (Sisson, 2003). According to the recent statistics, the worldwide foreign direct investment increased from 6500 billion dollars in 2000 to 10000 billion dollars in 2005. Today there is also global transfer of work through the creation of new jobs or global sourcing part of an individual’s work. The high skill white-collar job is being transferred to different countries. For instance, Bank of America is outsourcing about 1100 jobs, to Indian companies to reduc e labor cost. The aim of this report is to explore the main issues and theories of international human resource management and comparative human resource management. International human resource management International human resource management is the process of employing and developing people in international organizations. It is the management of people across the globe. It identifies the way in which international companies manage human resources across different countries and different cultures. It deals with the management of people beyond the national level. An international company is a company by which operations are carried out in subsidiaries overseas which rely on manufacturing capacity of the parent company. Different multinational companies have different magnitude attitudes and business styles (Wood, 2003).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Human resource manag ers in international companies have to consider the impact of international influences in their work. In all international companies’ human resource management is one the key aspects in the success of the company. In most of these organizations, the cost of managing people is the largest single item of operating costs. The knowledge and capabilities inculcated in human resource is the key to success of the organization. Human resource management is vital to the survival and success of an organization. The human resource specialists are increasingly becoming internationally oriented in their functional activities. This is important, for people working in multinational corporations also those in small and medium sized enterprises. In the modern world, there is fee economic environment. Restrictions on labor movements are reduced in areas such as European Community (Sisson, 2003). The development of new technologies has enabled enterprises to operate internationally as soon as t hey are established. International corporations are not only in the private sector. Many international corporations, such as those in United Nations, the regional trade bodies, have employees working in different companies across the globe. Human resource managers working in international corporations are faced with the impact of multi-country, regional and global change. Such managers are supposed to be equipped with interpersonal skills, negotiation skills, strategic thinking, analytical and conceptual abilities. These managers will require a wide knowledge of knowledge in areas such as international business, international finance, local labor markets, international labor legislation, cultural differences, and international compensation and benefits. International human resource management involves organizations that manage people in different legal, institutional and cultural circumstances. It should also be aware of cost effective management practices (Budwar, 2005). Companies, which address the issue of international human resource management, have to deal with a range of policy and strategic issues. International human resource management identifies how multinational corporations ensure that organizations have international coherence.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on International human resource management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It also explores how organizations apply cost effective approaches to managing people working in different countries across the globe. It ensures that organizations are able to manage those people who have to work in different countries in the world. International human resource management was believed to have the same main dimensions as human resource management in a national context but to operate on a large scale. It focuses on human resource practices that change when a firm goes international. The recent research on IHRM has pointed out the im portance of connect human resource policies and practices with organizational strategies. International management scholars have done extensive research on how multinational corporations have organized their operations globally. Several issues have been discussed by scholars. The strategy structure configurations of international organizations have been discussed by several authors. It involves changing from hierarchical structures to network structures. The differences between local and international human resource management are another key issue discussed by authors such as Adler and Bartholomew. It establishes the great complexity and strategic importance of the international role. How multinational corporations approach the staffing and management of their subsidiaries is another key issue explored by researchers. It provides factors for defining the modern approach to IHRM within an international organization. Organizational factors are considered to be very crucial in determi ning the extent of internal consistency. Integrative models have been developed, by scholars to demonstrate the complexity of human resource decisions in the international sphere. However, these models do not provide a solution to criticisms that have been leveled to IHRM. According to these criticisms the political, economic, social cultural and institutional contexts are described as contingency factors. This is despite the fact that it is known that firm level globalization is a country specific phenomenon.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most of these models do not differentiate between cross national and cross cultural differences. Cultural relativity has made researchers focus on the hard human resource functional processes. Most of the researchers do not support idealist human resource management systems. For instance, the view of human resource management emphasizes on high performance work systems as a basis of comparisons. The researchers tend to ignore the subtle ways in which cultural and national difference influence the experienced reality of human resource management. Convergence and divergence argument assumes that human resource management system has to converge or remain divergent. It does not consider the fact that some parts of human resource system might be converging in some areas and converging in other areas (Dickmann, 2008). Analysis of IHRM should consider the range of distinctive national and local solutions to human resource issues in the organization. Human resource affordability is another key issue in IHRM. The increased interest in metrics indicates the need to deliver proven cost reductions and ensure human resource affordability (Wood, 2003). Most of international organizations committing most of their times to ensuring people are why they can be most cost effective. Most global human resource functions have undergone recent restricting in order to deliver global business strategies efficiently. Many international organizations are making substantial investments in getting things right. Human resource function is a path of organizational development which was identified in other service and specialist functions. Physical and cultural differences present barriers to successful knowledge transfer among human resource professionals. Global networking is an important aspect within international human resource management. However it is considered to be critical because of the identified organizational changes. International human resource professionals, mostly use info rmal networks, which is one of their main objectives. Networks are mostly applied in decentralized models of international human resource management. Global networks are used to reduce the impacts of bureaucracy and act as important decision making groups. International human resource management involves a number of key issues, which are supposed to be considered. Culture and environment difference is a key issue in international human resources. The demand of the globalized and liberalized business environment has made researchers pay attention to the study of cultures as an explanatory variable. Human resources managers across the globe have realized that it is essential to avoid parochial views when doing business across different cultures. Knowledge of cultural differences in different regions and a global focus is crucial for a business to survive in the modern business environment. Culture is a collective mental programming that people in a certain group have in common. This p rogramming is different from that of other groups, regions or nations. Today human resource managers of multinational corporations frequently encounter cultural differences. This has a negative effect to management practices in international organizations. Family structures, religious organizations, forms of government, work organizations, law, settlement patterns and buildings are common beliefs that derive from common culture. Competing demands of globalization and local differentiation has led to the need to establish human resources as a source competitive advantage. Globalization process is identified at different levels of industry, firm and functions (Dickmann, 2008). The impact of national culture on managing people involves the meaning of culture, the literature on cultural differences and identifies the extent to which aspects of work practices are nationally or locally based. Culture and organizational life involve the implications of performing business activities across national cultures for concepts of business management, and human resource management. Leadership is a major factor that influences the shape of human resource policies and practices. Different national cultures have different leadership styles which influences the human resource management. Individualism is a national culture attribute adopted by those people who give themselves and their families’ first priority. In this society, the ties between individuals are loose. Every person in this society looks at himself and the immediate family. Collectivism involves people who give first priority to, and finding protection in, the wider group. In this, people are integrated into strong, cohesive groups which protect them in exchange for loyalty (Sparrow, 2004). Different cultures allow for different sharing of power within the society. The challenge is the level of human inequality that indicates the operation of each particular society. Power distance is determined by power dis tance index. A society, which supports high power distance, will accept large separation of power between the rich and the poor in the society. Low power distance society will accept sharing of power where the gap between the top and the bottom is low. Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which a society can be able to put up with uncertainty. Low avoidance society will not feel the need to avoid uncertainty. High avoidance society will feel challenged by uncertainty (Dickmann, 2008). Masculinity is the tendency of a nation to prefer assertiveness and materialism. It involves a community in which men’s roles are clearly defined. Femininity is where the society has a high concern for relationships and welfare of other people. In this case, the gender roles in the society overlap. According to Masculinity Index, Japan tops the list of countries with high gender roles distinction at work. The low gender roles distinction at work was identified in France, Spain, Salvador and Ea st Africa. It was characterized by cooperation at work and a close relation between employees and the boss. High gender roles were characterized by challenge and recognition in jobs, belief in individual decisions, high stress on the job, and preference for large corporations (Clark, 2000). International human resource involves international organizational models. The first model is decentralized federation, which is the traditional multinational corporation. In this model, each national organization is managed as a separate company that seeks to optimize its performance in the local environment (Sparrow, 2004). Coordinated federation is another model which involves the centre developing sophisticated management systems to maintain overall control although the scope is given to local management. Centralized hub is a model, which focuses on the international market rather than local markets. These organizations are global rather than multinational. Transnational is another internatio nal organization model. In this model, the organization establishes multidimensional strategic capacities which help the organization to compete across the globe. It also enables responsiveness to market demands. Another key issue facing international organizations is convergence and divergence. This is the extent to which the international human practices should either converge in the same location or diverge in response to local requirements. The major decisions are made by the parent company, but there is a need to much local autonomy as possible in order to ensure that local demands are taken into account (Dowling, 2008). There are several factors that enhance increase in convergence, the power of markets, and the importance of cost, quality and productivity pressures benchmarking best practice. The idea of best practice theory recommends the implementation of best practices in human resource management, which will improve the performance of the organization. There are several b est practices for achieving competitive advantages through putting people first. These best practices include selective hiring, providing employment security, extensive training, sharing information, high payment based on companies’ performance among others. However, it is difficult to draw a generalized conclusion about which is the best human resource management practice. Best fit or the contingency approach to human resource management is another approach of academic theory. It argues that human resource management may improve performance of an organization when there is a close relationship between the practices and company’s strategy. This ensures that there is a close relationship between the human resource policies and the external market or business strategy (Guest, 2007). The life cycle model assumes that human resource policies can be based on the levels of organization development. Competitive advantage models assume that human resource policies are based on competitive strategy adopted by the organization. Configuration models recommend for an organization to close examine its strategy in order to determine the best human resource policies and practices (Sparrow, 2004). This argument states that, the organization’s strategy can be highlighted, but many organizations thrive in a state of flux and growth. The resource based view is considered as the foundation of modern human resource management. It concentrates on the internal human resources of the company, and how they contribute to competitive advantage. This model argues that human resource management plays a significant role in establishing human resources that are important and effectively organized. The theory of human resource management assumes that the objective of human resource management is to enable a company to achieve it strategic objectives through attracting and maintaining employees. Human resource management approach attempts to ensure a close relationship or ganization’s employees and the overall strategic objective of the company (Brewster, 2002). In the view of academic theory of human resource management, human beings are not robots, thus this call for the Importance of an interdisciplinary evaluation of staff in the work place. Academic fields such as economics, psychology, industrial relations and sociology play a vital role in enhancing the academic theory of human resource management. Critical theories such as postmodernism and post-structuralism also play a very significant role in ensuring that people are treated well in the work place. International human resource management involves various processes, which enables achievement of established goals and objectives (Adler, 2000). Comparative human resource Comparative human resource management explains the way human resource management differs between different regions and countries across the globe. Most countries have more or less regional differences which includes one or many language groups. Countries have different economic and political system, education, employment laws all these factors should be considered in order to understand and apply effective human resource management policies. Most nations have various cultures that have implications to human resource management (Clark, 2000). Most organizations face challenges of adapting their human resource management practices to the new set of cultures. In the process of globalization, organizations begin to do business in different areas.During this process the number and variety of cultures changes. Organizations are supposed to adapt new human resource policies in order to curb these challenges. As cultures increase and organizations try to treat each different culture with respect, several practical issues may come up making business operation more difficult. For instance, the case of religious and secular holidays to be honored based on the cultural representation in the work place. The of ficial language spoken in the work place is another cultural issue influencing human resource management. Many countries differ in terms of legal, political labor market, and economic conditions. These are critical issues affecting comparative human resource management. Comparative human resource management indicates how human resource practices are affected by different cultures. Cultural perspective on comparative human resource management is based on Hofstede’s (1980). He identified four distinct cultural value dimensions. The four dimensions include power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, and individualism/collectivism. According to him cultural differences are embedded to human resource manager’s way of thinking, which guides managerial actions and choices (Clark, 2000). Different cultures in different regions affect the human resource manager’s decision making and job performance. The effect of cultures on human resource management h elps in understanding managerial behavior and reactions. This notion has been highly criticized due to the limited number of dimensions, which do not capture the richness of the cultural environment. Effect of culture on human resource management is also challenged because of his insistence that national features persist over time. The four dimensions are statistical constructs developed on responses without a deep understanding of the underlying processes. The issue of cultural differences indicates the differences between low context and high context societies. Context is described as the information that surrounds a certain event. In high context societies, the external environment and non verbal cues are very influential factors in the communication process (Clark, 2000). High context cultures include countries such as Japan, Arab and southern European societies. Low context cultures involve clear and written forms of communication. Examples of low context societies are Anglo-Sa xon and northern European. Culture is viewed as important values regarding relationships among people and their environment. Kluckhohn developed four basic value orientations. He later subdivided these orientations into dimensions to determine cultural variations across different societies. These cultural orientations have been used, by researchers to explain significant differences of human resource management practices across different nations in the world. However, these orientations are rarely applied to human resource management research because of the complexity. Recently additional cultural dimensions have been developed to identify the effect of culture on the design and implementation of human resource management policies and practices. For instance, development of the paternalism dimension is one of the significant cultural dimensions. It involves the extent to which a society encourages and accepts that, people with authority provide care, guidance and protection to their subordinates. Subordinates in paternalistic societies are respect and loyalty to their superiors. Another recent cultural dimension is fatalism which is the belief of societal members that the results of their actions are not totally controlled. Managers who take on managerial posts in a certain culture are socialized along similar values and beliefs. The character of culture helps to socialize new generations of members and reinforce the predominant cultural values and norms. According to social cognition theory, a person’s cognition is greatly influenced by ones cultural background. Culture usually affect the way in which individuals choose, interpret and validate information in order to identify and categorize issues (Adler, 2000). It is a powerful determinant in how human performance problems are viewed and how their solutions in the form of employee development. Cultural values normally influence how human resource management practices such as recruitment, selection, pr omotion, performance appraisal are designed and implemented. (Begin 377) Different cultures are adopted by different social groups (Dickmann, 2008). These social groups may make the adoption of certain human resource management policies politically and socially unacceptable. The impact of culture on human resource policies through impact on institutions is an important mechanism. Cultural differences influence the key comparative human resource management practices. For instance, recruitment, selection and retention practices differ across different cultures. Recruitment and selection in cultures of high performance orientation are based job related knowledge and technical skills. Collectivist cultures prefer the use of internal labor markets to promote loyalty. The externally recruited candidates find it difficult to enter the strong social networks within the organization. High on uncertainty avoidance cultures use a lot of selection tests, and conduct more interviews (Tayeb, 2005 ). This shows that there is a great desire to collect objective data for making selection decisions. Cultures high on performance orientation use standardized and job specific selection methods. Compensation and benefit schemes are designed according to different cultural settings. Compensation systems in universalistic cultures are based on formal, objective and systematic in relation to the value of a job within the organization. High power distance and fatalistic cultures have low performance reward contingencies. Uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer skilled based reward systems (Dickmann, 2008). Low uncertainty avoidance cultures focus on individual performance based pay. Individualistic societies put a lot of emphasis on personal achievement in performance appraisal. On the other hand, collectivist cultures concentrate on group based achievements. Issues discussed during the performance appraisal vary according to different cultures. For instance, individualistic cultures conc entrate on discussing employee’s potential for future promotion based on task performance. Collectivist societies focus mostly on seniority based promotion decisions (Dowling, 2008). Cultural variations have great influence on training and development. Fatalistic cultures don not recognize the importance of training and development. High power distance cultures employ senior managers instead of external trainers as instructors in order to ensure a high level of credibility and trust. Comparative human resource management provides, managers working in multinational corporations with guidelines on how to design and implement an effective human resource management system in different cultural contexts. Criticism of comparative human resource management is seen in the debate on localization versus standardization and in the process of transferring human resource management policies across countries (Briscoe Schuler, 2008). Comparative cross cultural research is faced with a lot of methodological problems, which limit the researchers in making valid conclusions. Dimensional approaches of culture on human resource management may have a weakness if culture is not measured directly. If cultural scores are disrupted, the analysis using these scores may also be disrupted making the conclusions suspicious. The issue of culture in comparative human management may also be affected by the original cultural models (Harzing, 2004). Conclusion Human resource management is a very important subject in the portfolio of management activities. International human resource management and comparative management have developed in the process of globalization. Managing international HRM explores the critical elements of effectiveness for HR on global (Tayeb, 2005). There are several key issues and theories developed in the context of international human resource management and comparative human resource management. International human resource management explores the way in whi ch international companies manage their human resources across different regions and countries across the globe. It also explores how multinational corporations ensure that organizations use cost effective approach in managing people in all countries across the globe. In all the multinational corporations and international organizations, human resource management plays a vital role in enhancing success (Scullion, 2006). On the other hand, comparative human resource management explores the differences of human resource management in various areas, regions, and countries in the world. Countries have different language groups, different labor markets, education systems and employment laws. This makes human resource management vary from country to country. Cultural differences between regions and nations are a major factor in the increasing internationalization of employment. The knowledge of cultural differences is a significant part of an international manager’s brief. The huma n resource activities such as selection, recruitment, training and development, reward and performance appraisal among others are greatly affected by cultural values and practices. Great care should be taken in considering whether to adopt standardized human resource policies and practices throughout in the whole world. Finally, international human resource management and comparative human resource management are major concerns of multinational corporations and even medium companies across the globe (Harzing, 2004). References Adler, N., 2000. Strategic human resource management. Human resource management  in international comparison , 237-238. Begin, J., 2002. Comparative HRM. International journal of human resource management , 376-377. Brewster, C., 2002. Strategic human resource management. Management international  review , 45-46. Briscoe, D., Schuler, R., 2008. International human resource management. Chicago: Taylor Francis. Budwar, P., 2005. Rethinking comparative and cross national human resource. The  international journal of human resource management , 497-498. Clark, T., 2000. Researching comparative and international human resource management. International studies of management and organizations , 20-21. Dickmann, M., 2008. International human resource management. New York: Taylor    Francis. Dowling, P., 2008. International human resource management:managing people in a  multinational context. Cengage Learning EMEA: Chicago. Guest, D., 2007. Human resource management and performance. International journal  of human resource management , 263-264. Harzing, A., 2004. International human resource management. New York: SAGE. Scullion, H., 2006. Global staffing. California: Routledge. Sisson, K., 2003. In search of HRM. British journal of industrial relations , 201-202. Sparrow, P., 2004. Globalizing human resource management. California: Routledge. Tayeb, M., 2005. International human resource management: a multinational company  pers pective. London: Oxford University Press. Wood, S., 2003. The four pillars of HRM. Human resource management journal , 49-50. This report on International human resource management was written and submitted by user Keith V. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. International Human Resource Management Introduction International human resource has gained a lot of attention among the researchers in the recent past. The world has been reduced into a small village due to technological advancements. Technological advancements, especially in the field of transport and communication have had a massive effect on human resource.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on International Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Human resource can therefore, move from one geographical location to another with a lot of ease.1 The improved communication system has also brought about scenarios where a firm can employ individuals who are miles away from the company. It is currently a common phenomenon to find a situation where an Australian company employs an Indian staying in India as a customer service officer who receives calls and give direction to customers on phone. This has resulted in what is popularly referred to as international human resource management.2 There is need to manage employees beyond the borders. This is especially so when it comes to globalized firms which have operations going beyond the borders of the parent country. The world is experiencing radical changes in the labor environment. International human resource management globally is an area that is vital and requires special attention for it is the backbone of all sectors of the economy of any given country.3 This has become one of the legislative areas, calling for many political leaders to spend much of their time and brains in finding solutions to issues that emanate from work and labor. In search for the same, countries like the Australia have established several education centers that aim at expanding public understanding on important issues affecting the working group. In these institutions they admit under graduate who take studies in areas related to human resource management. In Australia, laws have been enact ed to guide the labor market. Managing employees in this century needs an understanding of various societal factors within the organization. It is important to understand different social settings of different employees in order to be able to understand their behavior within the organization. Understanding organizational behavior is the key to having employees working as a unit. Managing and Developing Employees in International Setting The current world is experiencing a lot of changes in the labor market. The competition in the international labor market is becoming stiff each day.4 Globally, technology has posed both positive and negative impacts in the global labor market. Although it has made the work easier, it has again replaced the human labor that is vital in the world market.5Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Economically, international or local trade is the backbo ne of any stable nation. In the working environment, employees have been faced with several challenges that need to be addressed by any nation seeking to compete in the world market. It is important to understand how both the expatriate and local employees. This is elaborated as stated below. Expatriate Employee The current world has greatly encouraged international trade. People from different countries meet together in the world market, competing with an aim of maximizing their output. There is an exchange of business experts from one field to another moving from one country to another, others reside in foreign countries for business purposes. When dealing with the expatriate, it will be important to understand their social background in order to predict their behavior. The management should act having a clear understanding that expatriates have a number of factors that make them unique from the locals. This should be put into consideration when managing them. Local employees The local employees are always easier to manage than expatriates.6 Managing the locals involves understanding the local forces that affects their behavior. This would involve understanding the social factors that have direct impact to the human resource. Local employees have the capacity to transform the parent firm which should be a guide to other branches. There are regulations that the Australian government has put in place to ensure that the rights of employees are respected, irrespective of their citizenship. These regulations protect both the locals and the expatriates working in this country. The following are some of the highly observed regulations in this country. Regulation of Employment Relationship The law clearly spells the type of relationship that should exist between various institutions within an organization. Within an organization, the two common types of relationship that exist are the employer-employee relationship, and employee-employee relationship. There is a way in which the employer should relate with his or her employees.7 There should be mutual respect between the employer and the employee and each should ensure that they do not infringe into the others right. The employer should respect the right of the employee and ensure that he or she is appropriately compensated for the work done.8 The employee on the other hand has the responsibility to meet the standard expected of him or her at the workplace.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on International Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Regulation of Discrimination in Employment Discrimination of whatsoever form is strictly prohibited by the law of the land. The law clearly states that the employer should not discriminate on any basis when hiring or directing the employees. The country has enacted law that prohibits employers from discriminating employees based on race, gender, religion, age or any other demographic basis.9 The affirmative action was meant to demonstrate further that employers are not allowed to discriminate against women at their workplace simply because they are women. This is so even when a firm is dealing with expatriates. Legislation was enacted that protects employees both locally and in the international forum. Such an employer who engages in discriminative acts may face litigation in a court of law. Regulation of Employment Environment It is always very important for an employer to ensure that the working environment is safe enough for the employees. In various occasions, employees are always subjected to working environments that are not conducive to their health or such other factors based on their country of origin.10 The employees have right to their privacy. As such, it would be going against the law for the employer to intrude into the privacy of the employer. It would be wrong for the employer to demand information that can pass as confidential from the employees if the information does not directly relate to the task. This is irrespective of whether this information is gotten directly from the employee by inquiry, or through the third party, the employer is not allowed obtain information from the employer against the employees wish. Occupational Safety and Health An employee should be safe when working in various units of the organization irrespective of their country of origin. At no given point should the general well being of the employee be at risk. The employer has the responsibility to ensure that the safety of all employees is well taken care of both within the plant and when sent on duties outside the firm. The employer must also factor in health of the employees.11 At no point should the employees be subjected to working conditions that may have adverse effects on their health. Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act was a legislation that was meant to help the employer and the employee relate well . The employer needs perfection from the employees for the compensation paid on a monthly or weekly basis. On the other hand, there is a capacity that an employee should have. The law regulates the expectation of the employer and the output of employee to ensure fairness. Importance of IHRM to Organizations and Individuals from a Practical Perspective From a practical perspective, international human resource management is very important both to individuals and organization. To an organization which hopes to venture into international markets, there is need to understand international human resource management in order to operate successfully in the international market.12Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The organizational factors that are considered locally are very different from that that affects the labor market internationally. It would therefore, be important to understand the labor market of each individual country because it would always be unique from others. This would require unique treatment in order to achieve the desired results. Implementing the Strategies For a long time, labor has not been given its rightful position in many organizations. Many of the managements have not thought of viewing their employees as very important asserts. However, the happenings of the recent past have proven that labor force is one of the most important asserts to any given organization.13 When the management lays down objectives to be achieved, it is always the employees who are expected to implement the policies that would bring the desired results. It is this work force that would be expected to turn the policies from paper to reality. Therefore, retention of employees is very importa nt. Employees should be retained within the organization to ensure that the firm’s operations are consistent. High turnover rate of employees is not healthy for the firm’s prosperity. This is because it does not only affect the smooth implementation of policies within the firm, but also leads to increased cost of training new employees. It is even worse that the employees would go away having learnt the strategies of the firm, making the firm vulnerable to its competitors.14 The management should therefore device methods of hiring qualified employees and retaining them within the firm. One of the best ways to achieve this is through motivation. It is through motivation that employees will feel attached to the firm and therefore feel committed to the firm. Motivation is very important in international human resource management. Relationship between Employee Motivation and Success of a Firm in the Global Market Employees are the implementing arm of the organization. Whil e the top executives formulate the policies to be implemented by the organization, most of their tasks always end in the paper.15 It is upon the employees to make these blueprints a reality. In his words, employees are the engine of the organization. When well taken care of and put in a proper condition, they would always give the best of the results to the organization. However, when they are neglected and left to ‘rust’ they will always give leap service and the output will be very disappointing. Motivating employees within the organization is very important. There is a direct link between employee motivation and success of a firm. It is very important that a firm increases the rate of employee motivation because of a number of reasons. In most of the occasions, policies are always developed to last for one whole year.16 However, these policies are always units in the larger vision of the firm. A vision may be developed to be achieved in a time span of say thirty year or so. This duration is long and the firm may not take a direct approach towards achieving this vision. It therefore has to split this vision into yearly strategic objectives. When the year begins, the firm would plan with its current work force. When some of the employees leave along the year because of lack of motivation, it would be a blow to the success of that year’s strategic objectives. The firm would be forced to look for a replacement and train them and make them understand the objectives to be achieved. This is time consuming and costly venture that would reduce the success of the organization. Changing the employees on a yearly basis is not good either. This is because in so doing, the vision of the firm will be lost. It will not be possible to realize the vision because every year, the firm would be forced to start with new employees who may not understand the vision, and how it was developed in the first place. This minimizes chances of achieving expected goals within the organization. Strategies of Employee Motivation To ensure that there is a constantly motivated workforce, it would require the management to employ the right strategies that would ensure that it succeeds in this. It may appear as a simple task of making employees happy.17 However, it goes beyond this, especially when it comes to managing employees in overseas countries. To motivate employees within the firm, there are a series of strategies that a firm should employ in order to ensure that employees are constantly satisfied. The secret behind retention lies in ensuring that the employee is satisfied and feels challenged with the present task. This will cause the drive in him to want to come tomorrow and beat the challenge.18 The recommendations below gives a detailed strategy of how to employ the right individuals to the firm, and how such individuals should be retained, once employed. Conclusion International human resource management has become very relevant in the curr ent global society. The world has been reduced into a small global village where labor can move from one part of the country to another. Firms are also investing in the global market. This means that human resource managements should have a sound understanding of the global labor market in order to operate successfully in the global market. Bibliography Arthur, Joan. â€Å"Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover.† The academy of management journal, 37.3 (2008): 670-687. Barney, John. â€Å"Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage.† Journal of management, 17.1 (2010): 99. Baruch, Yusuf. â€Å"Response rate in academic studies-A comparative analysis.† Human relations, 52.4 (2006): 421-438. Boselie, Paul. â€Å"Commonalities and contradictions in HRM and performance research.† Human Resource Management Journal, 15.3 (2005): 67-94. Brewster, Charles. â€Å"A continent of diversity.† Personnel management Lon don, 5.9 (2008): 36-40. Budhwar, Prisca. â€Å"Rethinking comparative and cross-national human resource management research.† The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12.3 (2006): 497-515. Cutcher, Gershenfeld. â€Å"Impact on Economic Performance of a Transformation in Workplace Relations.† Management Journal, 44 (2007): 241. Evans, Paul. The global challenge: international human resource management. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2011. Fey, Cecil. â€Å"The effect of human resource management practices on MNC subsidiary performance in Russia.† Journal of International Business Studies, 32.1 (2012): 59-75. Grobler, Pieter. Human resource management in South Africa. London: Thomson Learning, 2006. Guest, Daniel. â€Å"Human resource management and performance: a review and research agenda.† The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8.3 (2009): 263-276. Guest, Edwin. â€Å"Human resource management and industrial relations.† Journal of management Studies, 24.5 (2001): 503-521. Guthrie, James. â€Å"High-involvement work practices, turnover, and productivity: Evidence from New Zealand.† The Academy of Management Journal, 44.1 (2002): 180-190. Hamill, Jane. â€Å"Labour relations decision making within multinational corporations.† Industrial Relations Journal, 15.2 (2006): 30-34. Hedlund, Gerald. â€Å"The hypermodern MNC—a hierarchy?† Human resource management, 25.1 (2004): 9-35. Jensen, Titus. â€Å"The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance.† Academy of management journal, 38.3 (2011): 635-672. Marchington, Moses. â€Å"Involvement and participation.† Human Resource Management: A Critical Text, 7(67): 280-305. Stahl, Günter. Handbook of research in international human resource management. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishers, 2012. Footnotes 1 Hedlund, Gerald. â€Å"The hypermodern MNC —a hierarchy?† Human resource management, 25.1 (2004): 9-35. 2 Pieter Grobler, Human resource management in South Africa (London: Thomson Learning, 2006), 28. 3 Marchington, Moses. â€Å"Involvement and participation.† Human Resource Management: A Critical Text, 7(67): 280-305. 4 James Guthrie. â€Å"High-involvement work practices, turnover, and productivity: Evidence from New Zealand.† The Academy of Management Journal, 44.1 (2002): 180-190. 5 Titus Jensen. â€Å"The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance.† Academy of management journal, 38.3 (2011): 635-672. 6 Edwin Guest. â€Å"Human resource management and industrial relations.† Journal of management Studies, 24.5 (2001): 503-521. 7 Daniel Guest. â€Å"Human resource management and performance: a review and research agenda.† The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8.3 (2009): 263-276. 8 Jane Hami ll. â€Å"Labour relations decision making within multinational corporations.† Industrial Relations Journal, 15.2 (2006): 30-34. 9 Paul Evans, The global challenge: international human resource management (New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2011), 34. 10 Cecil Fey. â€Å"The effect of human resource management practices on MNC subsidiary performance in Russia.† Journal of International Business Studies, 32.1 (2012): 59-75. 11 Prisca Budhwar. â€Å"Rethinking comparative and cross-national human resource management research.† The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12.3 (2006): 497-515. 12 Gershenfeld Cutcher. â€Å"Impact on Economic Performance of a Transformation in Workplace Relations.† Management Journal, 44 (2007): 241. 13 Paul Boselie. â€Å"Commonalities and contradictions in HRM and performance research.† Human Resource Management Journal, 15.3 (2005): 67-94. 14 Charles Brewster. â€Å"A continent of diversity.† Personnel m anagement London, 5.9 (2008): 36-40. 15 Günter Stahl, Handbook of research in international human resource management (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishers,( 2012), 56. 16 Joan Arthur, â€Å"Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover.† The academy of management journal, 37.3 (2008): 670-687. 17 John Barney. â€Å"Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage.† Journal of management, 17.1 (2010): 99. 18 Yusuf Baruch. â€Å"Response rate in academic studies-A comparative analysis.† Human relations, 52.4 (2006): 421-438. 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