Chapter 2: Comparative Human Resource Management

1. A multinational corporation is planning to implement a common set of performance management practices throughout its global subsidiaries. What advice would you offer to the HRM director of the firm in relation to this plan and why?

Good answers will discuss duality and challenges between global integration and local adaptation; issues related to transfer of practices, implementation and internalisation; cultural and institutional differences between different nations with regard to performance and behaviour. Better answers will also note different international orientations (Perlmutter); the impact of e-HRM system; use examples and discuss the policy/implementation gap and the role of line managers. Include critical analysis, evaluation and a synthesis.

2. Show how the local environment influences a firm’s approach to flexible working practices, taking the example of a country you know.

Good answers should define flexible working practices, discuss legal and other institutional constraints on the development of certain forms of flexible working, the role of trade unions where appropriate, and the impact of flexible working on individuals, and organisations and the cultural assumptions underlying its use. Better answers will locate these issues in the cultural and institutional environment and discuss the impact on society and what organisations should be aiming to do and how to take steps forward.

3. What would be the best way for multinational companies, operating across borders, to ensure that their human resource policies were applied equitably throughout the organisation in order to generate company-wide thinking?

Good answers should refer to the tension between standardisation and local awareness; identify problems with blanket imposition of HRM policies; note how these will be ‘modified’ by local practice; and show that students understand that socialisation policies (recruitment, transfers, training, etc.) are more likely to generate global awareness. Better answers will challenge the notion that company-wide thinking would be appropriate in all circumstances; and argue that implementation of principles and standards more likely to generate success than systems and procedures.

4. Compare and contrast the role of HRM departments in your country and one other you know about, critically appraising the impact on firm competitiveness.

Good answers should refer to the variety of approaches to HRM in different countries; discuss the likelihood of them being represented on key decision-making bodies and the relationship to the role of line managers. Better answers would also note the link to relevant institutions such as trade unions and employment legislation.

5. Evaluate whether cross-cultural differences in HRM practices are increasing or decreasing and why. You may want to use examples to illustrate your argument.

Good answers will discuss convergence vs. divergence and what these terms mean; cultural and institutional explanations; using examples. Better answers will balance cultural and institutional reasons and explore the impact that these differences have on our paradigms of good HRM and the implications for organisations operating internationally. Include critical analysis, evaluation and a synthesis.