Subject: International Human Resource Management

Date Edited: 09th March 2015

Subject Code: IHRM
Assignment 1

Assignment A: Four Questions with Short Paragraph Answers (4Q x 5 = 20 marks)

1. What is the difference between HRM, Strategic HRM and International HRM?
HRM is the development of policies, and management of processes and activities undertaken by
a Human Resource Department for an organization. The activities have evolved from what used
to be called Personnel Management. It includes the management of recruitment and selection of
employees, their training and development, the management of their performance and rewards,
and finally the termination of their employment. It also involves the management of employment
relations, which may include dealing with employee representatives or their trade unions. It is
usually studied in the context of one country and its legislation which affects the policies and
practices.
Strategic HRM includes all of the above activities. However, Strategic HRM ensures that all
policies, processes and activities are focused on supporting the Strategic objectives of the
organization. Therefore Strategic HRM is derived from the strategy of the organization. The HR
manager will ideally also be involved in developing the organizations strategy.
International HRM concerns the worldwide management of human resources, usually in the
context of a multinational enterprise. The purpose of IHRM is, to enable the firm, multinational
enterprise (MNE) to be successful globally

2. What is ERPG theory and explain the significance of the EPRG theory to International
HRM.
EPG Model is an International Business model including three dimensions - Ethnocentric,
Polycentric and Geocentric. It has been introduced by Howard V. Perlmutter within the journal

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article "The Tortuous Evolution of Multinational Enterprises" in 1969. These three dimensions
allow executives to more accurately develop their firm's general strategic profile on IHRM.

This EPRG model helps explain the degree to which the parent company tries to control its
subsidiaries activities, sometimes through the appointment of expatriates. It illustrates how
different orientations result in a variety of staffing outcomes, in terms of the appointment of
either expatriate or host country managers.
An ethnocentric orientation would result in the appointment of a parent country national to key
positions worldwide.
A polycentric orientation would ensure Host Country Nationals (HCNs) are developed for key
positions in their own country.
A regiocentric orientation would see that people from a region are developed for key positions in
that region
A geocentric orientation would appoint the best people whether Parent Country National (PCN),
Third Country National (TCN), or Host Country National (HCN) for key positions worldwide.

3. What factors determine the approach of an International HR department to their

management of overseas employees?
The role of modern human resource departments is to focus on organizations long-term
objectives. Instead of focusing exclusively on internal human resource issues, modern human
resource department in an International environment takes a balanced and broader approach. This
is to support the reason why companies want to go Global in the first place; and that is to
continue to survive and prosper by enlarging their market place by going International. Thus HR
departments in IHRM must place emphasis on future-oriented plans and objectives and value
adding initiatives (Adler and Ghadar, 1990; Adler, 1997; Kobrin, 1988; Milliman et al., 1991;
Tung and Punnett, 1993). Ulrich (1996) defines the roles of human resource based on the
following four functions Strategic business partner, Change Agent, Employee champion, and
Administration Expert. They are also champions of globalization and technology savvy.
Therefore the approach of an International HR department to their management of overseas
employees will be affected by the way an organization internationalizes, and the structural forms
the MNE may adopt, as well as its orientation. On the approach of short term, medium and long
term strategies, the balance of overseas employees managed by the overseas subsidiarys own
HR department will need to be short term and the training and growth of the host country HRM
department need to be done for long term. The approach of an International HR department will
also depend on the degree of local responsiveness and global integration the organization is
seeking to achieve.

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4. How might the structure of an organization influence the role of an International HR

manager and thus in practical terms, how might the work of an International HR manager
differ from that of an HR manager handling only domestic HRM?
The structure of an organization will influence the role of an international HR manager,
depending on the stage of development domestic, international, multinational or global of that
company.
During the domestic stage there is no need for employees to be recruited to work overseas
although visits by sales or technical staff to foreign offices may be required. At the international
stage, its main focus is on local responsiveness and the transfer of learning from the home base.
This aligns with the polycentric approach when HCNs would be developed for managerial
positions.
The multinational form focuses on global strategy, typically governed from headquarters and
bolstered by an ethnocentric orientation, meaning expatriate PCNs would be employed in the
subsidiaries.
Finally the global stage adopts a form that seeks to combine local responsiveness and global
integration. It shares characteristics associated with a regiocentric orientation so that the best
people from the region would be appointed to management positions in the subsidiaries.
Thus at the multinational form and at the global stage, the international HR manager needs to
deal with more complexity in managing expatriate employees than a domestic HR Manager. The
International HR manager will need to be involved with many personal aspects of the
expatriates life in managing relocation: spouse and family pre-departure preparation,
accommodation, safety and health issues schooling, and other benefits. In addition there is more
complexity in recruitment, cross-cultural and pre-departure training, managing performance at a
distance, and repatriation issues. There would not be so much complexity and involvement in
family issues in domestic HRM.

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Assignment B: One Essay with Word Count of 1500 words (20 marks)

Assignment Detail:
Multinational companies (MNCs) recognize that human resources play an important role in
developing and sustaining a competitive advantage in todays highly competitive global business
As a result, MNCs increasingly use expatriates on short-term and long-term international job
assignments for a variety of purposes, such as to acquire and transfer knowledge, to manage a
foreign subsidiary, to fill a staffing need, to maintain communication, coordination, and control
between subsidiaries and corporate headquarters, and to develop global leadership competence.
This has become unavoidable in the Global Business Arena and this is exactly what you face as
newly appointed CEO of an MNC. After substantial discussions with your senior managers and
with the help of consultants you identify that one of your key strategies need to be the Training
and Development of International Staff. Recalling your academic knowledge on International
Human Resource Management from your studies at City University, you decide to write a paper
as a documented guide for all your Senior Managers so that everyone has the same
understanding.
Assignment:
Write a paper of about 1500 words base on the context of IHRM on the subject of Training and
Development of International Staff.
1 Introduction
2 Phase 1 Identify the type of global assignment
3 Phase 2 Conduct a cross-cultural training needs analysis
4 Phase 3 Establish CCT goals and measures
5 Phase 4 Develop and deliver the CCT program
6 Phase 5 Evaluate cross-cultural training
7 Final considerations
8 Conclusions
References ch11- pg283-Anne Wil Harzing - IHRM

Write an essay that encompasses the above.

It should have a contents page, an introduction, the main discussion, conclusion and references
or bibliography. Marks will be deducted if the paper does not have Introduction, conclusion, and
references.

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The accepted font is either Times New Roman or Arial and the font size should be font 12.
Students should use the 1.5 or 2 spacing format.

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