HRM and leadership in
international organizations
final notes
Week 1
Lecture 1: Introduction organizations - Fixed salary → money motivates to work
harder
and HRM - Pension →future perspective
! con: it is hard to implement in the real world
HRM and leadership are important for several
reasons: Taylor ~ scientific management
Scientific management: applying scientific
- Globalized work: global wage differences principles to the study of work to find the most
across different workers efficient way to organize jobs and workspaces
- Explaining global differences: work
conditions etc. - People are lazy, management should as such
- HRM as organizational effectiveness/ focus on increasing their productivity.
efficiency
Secure maximum prosperity for the employer
and for each employee → Division of labor to
(International) HRM
increase productivity
Organizational Behavior (OB)
Organizational behavior: “Study of how Five principles of scientific MNG
people behave in organizations and how the - Manager does the thinking and organizing,
organizations themselves behave” (Sutton, 2018: the worker just works
5) → it does not only consider the ‘what’ but - Manager defines how the worker should do
also the ‘how’ and ‘why’. the work using scientific methods
- Multidisciplinary field - The best person should be selected for each
job
The origin lies in classical organizational - Workers should be trained properly
theories, where the priority is efficiency and - Workers’ performance should be monitored
people are considered just like the other
resources in the organization. ! con: can deskill workers and lead to
demotivation + it underplays the human factor.
Weber ~ bureaucracy
A bureaucratic agency is the most efficient For both this one and Weber, individuals were
and rational way to organize work. resources like any other kind.
Five things are necessary to provide to Mary Parker Follett addressed Taylors issues; try
employees in order to work efficiency: to address employees human needs.
Additionally, interpersonal relations are not a
- Selection of job applicants on the basis of source of inefficiencies, but they can be used to
relevant quantifications promote organizational effectiveness.
- A permanent place to work → security in
their job increases work ethic Hawthorne studies (1929-30)
- Career structure with promotion decided by Turning point in OB → instead of individuals
supervisors → centralization and hierarchy just being like any other resource, they gained
- Superior can give employees power humanity.
,Research question: What is the most productive MNG: hirering,
Employment
physical environment? firering and
training offices - Scientific Welfare offices
management (ex. (ex. medical care)
(recruitment &
First to recognize: Importance of social selection)
pay and records)
relationships → no longer only considering
supervisor and individual as individual controlled In the late 1800s (industrialized west) the last of
by the supervisor but they looked at the HRM were usually done by a supervisor. This
interactive part (importance of informal group changed when in 1890 employment offices came
dynamics). to be (dealt with employment related matters).
And later with the introduction of the welfare
Human Resource Management (HRM) offices (provides employees with extra benefits
OB was the beginning of HRM, but where OB is and better conditions). This came together under
just a field of study, HRM is also a profession. It personnel management which then later turned
is, thus, broader than OB. into HRM. This can also explain why there is
HRM as a field of study allows professional to often conflict between certain parts in HRM:
improve. This is done by analytical HRM, here organizational efficiency and cost effectiveness
3 questions are answered: (business partner approach) VS employee
welfare (employee centered approach).
- What is management trying to do with
people and work, and why? Dimensions of HRM
- How do different models of HRM work and There are 4 main dimensions based on the goals
why are some better than others? HRM has to achieve:
- Who is HRM benefitting and how well is it - Integration → HRM and organizational
doing this? (concerns the outcome and if it strategy
benefits the employer or employee). - Quality →selection, training and
Human resource management: All activities development (human resource practices)
and roles associated with human resources in - Employee commitment → Satisfaction, job
work organizations performance & change
- Flexibility → Trust, commitment &
- HRM: ‘The management of work and motivation, help with organizational
people towards desired ends’ (Sutton, 2018: flexibility
12)
HRM research can be split over 3 fields:
HRM can be seen as an attempt to manage
strategic tensions: - Strategic HRM (HRM and strategy): how
various micro HRM strategies relate to each
Employer control <> Employee other → the bigger picture
motivation
- Micro HRM (HR practices): managing
(autonomy is
motivating) employees and small groups
Short term <> Long term - International HRM (HRM and culture):
productivity adaptability HRM in international companies/different
Corporate survival <> Employee security cultures
Managerial <> Social legitimacy →
autonomy to what extend is it The 4 main activities of HRM:
socially acceptable
that the managers 1. Recruitment and selection of employees:
control look at selection methods and legal
compliance (job design, specification and
training are important)
Historical overview HRM
2. Introduction and joining: negotiation at the
HRM became more and more broad as it
beginning of employment relationship, and
developed over time:
ensuring that they go from starter to fully
functional
, 3. Retention: performance management, If there is a global strategy, then it is important
engagement, reward, training and to know what we want to achieve in terms of
development HRM (can be developed on corporate level or
4. Separation: how will the organization on regional and country level).
continue to be successful once the employee
leaves? - Then implementation: the more centrally the
strategy is developed the more this can
! con: HRM has a unitary view of organizations differ in interpretation form corporate to
means that they see the organization as a single regional level.
entity with a single goal. Thus, employee and - Then perception: regional level can be
organizational interest would be one and the totally different from global level (due to
same. → Means that this approach doesn’t local and cultural differences)
consider that employees have a very different
opinion then employers. Or that different Challenges of OB and HRM
groups of employees can have different interests. Individual or organization? → How people
behave & how organizations can be organized
International HRM
A corporate HR strategy - There are individuals but they are linked to
(centrally developed and organizational elements: people are part of
larger organizations
locally implemented)
which is translated to Ecological fallacy: we take something from an
different regions and individual level and generalize that to individuals
countries. Ex. with the same characteristics. → stereotypical
McDonalds thinking/over generalization
Con: ignores country Theory or application? → Best practices without
specific elements → context
strategy can fail.
What is the link with performance? Financial?
Regional development Organizational? HR-related?
has become more
important which is Strategy
then linked to Organizational strategy: ‘Its understanding of
corporate and country the business it is in and its plan for future
level strategy. → local success’ (Sutton, 2018: 172) (business is also
environment is non-profit and public organizations)
important for
international human - Legitimization of hierarchy: task of the TMT
resources (top management team), who has what to
say/decision making power
There is a - Art and science: data gathering, decision-
reduction on making & nuanced thinking → strategy has
the left had side
→ institutional
multiple aspects
theory - Element of competition: this is what makes
strategy important → resources are scarce,
also human resources
The 5 P’s of strategy ~ Mintzberg
1. Plan: pre-formulated action plan to achieve a
specific goal → Input = SWOT analysis
2. Ploy: A deliberate attempt to mislead
competitors through a specific action. Ex.
Figure 1 Map of SHRM lowering prices when a competitor launches
a new product/service
, ➔ The company's strategic tactics - Power of customers: the larger the
➔ Less seen in nonprofit/public organization alternative options the more power they
3. Pattern: Consistency in the company's have
strategic actions over the years - Competitive rivalry: with other organizations
➔ Flexibility is also important but you must be already working in the industry.
consistent otherwise people lose trust
Together these different forces lead to 3
4. Position: Fit between the organization &
competitive strategies:
environment, the competitive position
5. Perspective: worldview - Cost leadership: organization delivers
➔ The way you look at something gives products and services at a lower price than
direction to actions competitors
➔ Strategy is then an integrated approach/ - Differentiation: organization delivers
shared perspective products differentiated from their
competitors in something other then price
SWOT analysis (Ex. quality)
- Focus: organization focuses on a narrow
market segment
Strategic (international) HRM
Strategic human resource management
(SHRM): Strategic approach to managing
human resources.
Strategic international human resource
management (SIHRM):
- “human resource management issues,
function, policies, and practices that result
Swot analysis: making an analysis of your from the strategic activities of multinational
internal and external context enterprises and that impact the international
- Internal context: strengths and weaknesses concerns and goals of those enterprises.”
of your organization. Schuler, Dowling and De Cieri (1993: 729)
- External context: what are opportunities and - “being globally competitive, efficient,
what are treats? sensitive to the local environment, flexible
and capable of creating an organization in
It is seen as an objective and rational analysis to which learning and the transfer of
base decisions on, but it contains many knowledge are feasible” is a “fundamental
subjective considerations. It is part of a planned assumption in SIHRM.” Schuler, Dowling
approach to strategizing, the downside of this is and De Cieri (1993: 729)
that the SWOT are static.
formulation (i ntegration) > formal implementation (a da ptation) >
Porter’s 5 forces model s tra tegy how HR contributes to strategy
The environmental forces can then impact the • HRM functi ons s hould be • HR contri butes to
formul ated in line with the communicating s trategy
organization. overa ll business stragety and troughout the organization
i ntegrated with eachother. • HR a l so has a role i n ensuring
• The a im is to ensure that the compl iance and contribution
- Threat of new entrants to the industry: orga nization as the human towa rds stratety by ma naging
res ources i n preformance
reduces with high entry barriers • The a im is that HR practeces
a re a djusted, accepted and
- Threat of substitutes: is the product unique us ed.
or is it easily replaced by another product
- Power of suppliers: powerful suppliers can
threaten the success of a company (Ex. they
increase prices, reduce quality) Hard and soft HRM
Soft HRM → Hard HRM →
Hawthorn studies classic/bureaucratic
