Comparing different international HRM strategies

Comparing different international HRM strategiesHuman imaginativenesss Management is a plan approach to managing muckle in force(p)ly for cognitive operation. It aims to establish a more than open, on the t subject vigilance style so that staff will be motivated, developed and managed in a way that they can give their vanquish to support parts missions. Good HRM practices atomic number 18 instrumental in helping departmental objectives and enhance productivity. For the purpose of sacramental manduction expeience and providing reference in launching HRM initiatives.HRM Good PracticesSince launching HRM movement in 1994 in the civil service, Civil Service Bureau has sponsore and mortal departments wear wrap various HRM initiatives. In taking HRM forward, we need strategic and co-ordinated approach in managing people effectively for performance. In taking a strategic and integrated approach, HRM is linked to the department strategic direction in a systematic way. Such an approach is a great deal reflected in the following practices clarifying a department strategic direction by way of articulating its Vision, Mission and Values statementestablishing the strategic linkage and integrating HR programmes through a HRM Plan intercommunicate its short to long term homo resource need through a Manpower Plan.At the same succession, all manager must squeeze a more open, flexible and caring style in managing their staff. Such an approach is reflected in number of ways. The three most common practices are managing people effectively for performance through an open Performance Management System that call for individual objectives tied to departmental objectives, regular coaching, and ontogenesis staff on jobenhancing staff competencies to perform better through effectively training people to achieve departmental objective and resultsLITREATURE REVIEW1)Similarities and Differences in Human Resource Management in the European essenceSources Thunderbird Int ernational Business Re peck, Vol. 45(6) 729-755 November-December 2003 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).European authors have ack right offledged that HRM originally developed in the unify States.. European writer Hendry Pettigrew, have been critical of apply American HRM views to raw(prenominal) countries, especially Europe.Such criticism is entirely valid. A theoretical or practice HR position developed in the cultural context of one country should not indiscrimiately applied to another(prenominal) country without testing the cultural biases of its assumption..While the U.S. influence in HRM has been criticized, on that position is also a particular fondness among some European HRM academic writers to compare and contrast European with U.S. HRM. Brewster and Bournois posed the following question as a point of departure to salutaryify such(prenominal) a comparison, To what extent on that point is enough simi larity in Europe to require us to question whether there may not be large difference between HRM in Europe as a whole and the United States of America? The comparison point out that in Europe, HRM is less dependent,companies have less autonomy and freedom of action, trade unionism is more important, the social partners have more influence,legal regulations are more important, and there is a stronger tradition of employee involvement. Brewster and Hegewisch push the comparison between European and American HRM even further and justify the existence of a European HRM model based on these differences.They conclude that,There are identifiable difference between the way in which HRM is go oned in Europe and that of the United States, a difference which allows us to speak of a European form of HRM . Brewster and Bournois also speak of two paradoxical trends that run through HRM in Europe. On the one hand there are clear country difference that can be understood and explained in the cont ext of each national culture and its manifestations in history, laws, institutions, and employee organizations. On the other hand, there is an difference between the ways in which HRM is conducted in Europe vs the United States Brewster has made important contri howeverion in pioneering the notion that there is a European HRM tradition distinct from others.He must be credited with be the first to attempt to develop a European model of HRM distinct from animated U.S. model. His European HRM model locates organizational issues within sectorial and national influences.However, according to Clark and Mallory , Brewsters European model has four main problems. First, talking abut European HRM is an specimen of reductionism that fails to take into account the cultural diversity of the European nations. Second,Brewster overestimates the level of autonomy enjoyed by HR manager and organizations in the United States. Third, his model is potentially culturally conditioned and inherently eth nocentric.2) Changes in HRM in Europe A longitudinal comparative study among 18 European countriesSources http//www.emeraldinsight.com/ To examine HRM strategies and practices and HRM position within organizations in various cultural, sparing and sociopolitical contexts from a longitudinal perspective.Findings The overall picture is that the 18 countries form two major clusters. Countries in Europe can be consistently clustered in a North/West-South/East distinction, regarding HRM practices. There is no indication of convergence between the major clusters. However, movement from one cluster to another was observed, with Italy and East Germany moving to the North-western cluster.Research limitations/implications The level of analysis, which is HR practice at a national) and regional level, is a methodological limitation of the present study. Analysis at this level conceals qualitative differences between countries, which are important in the contextual paradigm.Practical implicati ons The issue of convergence in HR practices has important implications for HR managers in multinationals who absorb in Europe and the transferability of HR practices.Originality/value This paper addresses the issue of whether over prison term there is an increasing Europeanisation (convergence) of HRM practices in Europe or not, by studying HR practices in 18 European countries.3) Employers Find An Innovative Way To Escape The Growing Expense Of Providing ReferencesSourceswww.workpass.co.uk/calculatorUK Unemployment is at its highest for over a decade and mollify rising fast. One unexpected impact of this trend has been to increase the administrative burden on Human Resource departments, whose staff are postulate to provide references for the rising number of former employee who are seeking jobs.Added to that is the growing scrutiny of landlord and lending organisation seeking to authenticate the salary contingent of current employees, in the wake of recent scandals about i rresponsible lending. It is all making managing references unacceptably clipping-consuming and costly for HR team, at a time when most transactiones are seeking to find new efficiencies and save money.As a result, more and more employers are choosing to entrust reference management to the specialists at WorkPass. Using WorkPass is one of those rare things in business a genuine no-brainer. Its an innovative, online solution thats able to handle all kinds of reference requests relating to both previous employees expression for work and current ones looking for, say, a bank loan or to rent a berth.WorkPass is a wholly owned subsidiary of Verifile Ltd the UKs leading provider of pre-employment screening services. Its services are fully compliant with the Data Protection Act -which means that using WorkPass helps businesses pass the common compliance challenges associated with providing references over to WorkPass, thereby reducing their risks.Ben-Cohen continues We take data apolo gy very seriously. Thats why we make sure that each employee has control over who can access their data by letting them generate consent codes which provide controlled access to their details on our site.As well(p) as effortlessly maintaining high levels of compliance, clients can provide a platinum service that enhances the good reputation of their organisation, fleck freeing up costly HR resource, helping them to deliver real and rapid cost savings.unequivocally on the market, WorkPass is offered as a free service to employers and employees. Reference-seekers instead pay a small access fee for the benefit of getting accurate and immediate responses to their online queries, often within seconds saving them time and money as well.Employers can offer a flexible choice of reference though WorkPass. These include providing introductory references, confirming provided dates of employment and position held detailed references of the sort usually sought by financial institutions req uiring confirmation of salary and customised references, such as those required under compromise agreements.4) The Human Resource Development subroutine the ambiguity of its status within the UK public serviceSource http//ras.sagepub.com/cgi/contentImproving performance thrugh better employee development practice is a recurrent theme within the UK public sector. Human Resource Development is seen as playing a diametric role in this process. This article will review the role, structure and status of HRD with in the UK public service. It will consider the apparnt paradox that exists. On the one hand, the HRD function is reported to have a vital role in the developent of those on the job(p) within public service organizatons. On the other hand, some hold the view that the reshaping the function is diminishing its status and influence. The article draws on the findings of the first phase of study examining the role, structure and status of the HRD function in UK public sector organiz ation. Findings adumbrate that how the HRD function is presented and represented is problematic.5) The Unique Recruiting and Human Resources Practices in JapanSOURCESThe Unique Recruiting and Human Resources Practices in JapanBy Ames Gross and Larry HewesSpring 1997Published in International HR JournalEXECUTIVE SUMMARY Foreign firm attempting to enter the Japanese market must first acquaint themselves with Japans labor laws and human resource practices in order to be successful. Although not required by statute, in Japan, workers generaly have lifetime employment with a single companion. In Japan, promotions and increaes in responsibility are usually based on seniority, kind of than solely on merit, and the promotion of a younger employee over more senior co workers can cause discomfort in the workplace. While Japan does have a national health system, many foreign company enroll their workers in a private health indemnity plan, which are offered by foreign insurance companies.As matter of background, the Japanese economy is now recovering from a long period of recession and stagnation. It is a huge economy in world term, second only in power and size to that of the United States. In many way, Japans economy is superior to that of the United States for example, Japan is the worlds largest creditor nation while the United States is the largest debtor nation. Japan run a trade surplus while the United States has a deficit, and the savings rate of Japans citizens far that of the United States. Japan has a population of 130 millions people, and its society which has been for centuries, and even during several decades, closed is hypothesis up more and more to foreign commerce. For example, there are many more foreign car in Japan now than there were just 10 years ago, and hundreds of U.S. and European company now do business in Japan.Given the size of its market and its economic power, it behaves almost any U.S. business to look seriously at doing business wit h Japan. For some companies those whose products are so unique or who simply do not have the resources to establish a physical presence in Japan purely exporting may work, however, setting up an office in Japan and, of course, recruiting and hiring staff are the best way to go. However, one cannot do this successfully without understanding what the human resources issues and labor laws in Japan are, and how the written and unwritten traditions governing business and employment operate in that country.The purpose of this article is to provide foreign employer with some guideline on this subject. Recruiting, hiring, firing, termination, out placement, salary, title, and other basic subjects are covered.6) The transferability of Japanese HRM practices to ThailandJun OnishiHirosaki University, Aomori, JapanThis question examined the transferability of Japanese human resource management to Thailand. Attitude toward life-time employment, seniority system, consensual decision-making, qu ality circle, and house unions were considered. The sample included 560 managers and staff of Japanese companie in Thailand. The results assign that all five practice except seniority are transferable. The Thai employees have more substantiative attitudes toward consensual decision-making, quality circles and house unions than the Japanese managers in the Japanese manufacturers in Thailand. Some Japanese managers think that consensual decision-making and quality circle are not appropriate or accepted in Thailand. This flavour may limit the implementation of these practices. Regarding seniority, both the Japanese manger and the Thai employees agreed that performance should be evaluated by achievement, but years of service should be part of evaluation criteria.OBJECTIVES1.To study HRM practices in Europe2. To study structures operating within international companies across Europe.3.To study the structure and operation of the European Union4.To study the embodied culture in EuropeRE SEARCH METHODOLOGYResearch would be undertaken through secondary data.The data collected from1.Journals2.Magazines3.Internet4.BooksHR PRACTICES IN EUROPEHR in perspective across EuropeA brief look at the economic and social context of the fifteen longer-established EU member states.Austria joined the EU in 1995. It has benefited greatly from both physically and linguistically close to Germany and it holds key position on transalpine transport routes. This small, but highly efficient, central European state has well-developed system of labor party relations, a high level of employee involvement and a welfare system that, although generous, nevertheles incorporates a sufficient incentive to remain in work.Denmark has driven up its wage level to be the highest in the world by heavily taxing employees and relying heavily on embodied bar happen uponing to regulate pay and employment condition. However, it has one of the most skilled workforce in Europe and has been a pioneer in flexibl e working methods. This has helped Denmark to achieve high, sustain productivity level in recent years.Finland joined the EU in 1995. It has few natural resources and a Byzantine diction that could easily have become a barriers to international trade. However, it has been able to take full advantages of EU and eurozone membership to achieve a low level of impairment inflation and invest in its human capital to produce a highly skilled workforce. The Finnish economy has also benefited by employers being able to tap into ready supply of comminute from the Baltic states.France has low level of unionisaton, but highly militant trade unions. The official stance towards foreign-owned multinational enterpries has often been hostile and there has been a tendency to overreact to corporate restructuing by the application of penal sanctions. The 35-hour workweek has not been a success and the French govenment is now trying to unpick itself from many of its past policies.Germany is the bi ggest and by far the most succesful of the older EU states. During the last two decades it has achieve a difficult innovation in its eastern states from a system of state-run monopolie to a modern market economy. Complete integration has not, however, been fully achieved and a 20% wage gap still exists between eastern and western states. Neither has Germany been able to significanly narrow the equal pay gap between male and female employees.Greece joined the EU in 1981. It continues to be a country with many small employers, generally poor labor relations and government that have frittered away often of the economic gain from EU accession through unprodutive public spending and early retirement schemes. Statutory work obligations are commonly flouted, paricularly in leading sectors such as construction. Government employment data is generally weak, out of date and uneliable. Greece relies very heavily upon its tourism and agricultural industries and has not been successful at att acting a sustained volume of major inward investment projects. Moreover, it has never fully expited its physical location close to major external markets in the Middle East.Ireland provides the best ex within the EU of a small country overcoming its lack of natural resources and peripheral geogaphical position to become a true tiger economy. This has largely been achiev through a low rate of corporation tax, a sustained inward investment strategy and an open-door insurance towards immigants from central and eastern Europe. Ireland has not focused on being a low-wage location, but has concentrated on minimising bureaucratic burden and keeping overhead such as social security costs to a minimum.Italy has overcome many of its past economic and political instability problems, and its most recent reform have helped to encourage flexibility and open up the labour market. However, it has still not overcome its major north-south economic divide, reduced the bureaucratic burden that it conti nues to place on employer, or resolved the inconsistent application of its complex employment laws.Spain joined the European Union in 1986 and was at first country burdened by poor labour productivity, tight employment protection laws and wage indxation. Although these problems have not entirely disappeard Spain is now western Europes second tiger economy, with rapid economic expansion driven by a property boom and a plentiful supply of low cost labour frm north Africa.Sweden joined the EU in 1995. During the 70s and 80s, Sweden had to undertake a major economic restructuring exercise to deal with a decline in it forestry and iron ore mining sectors. Its highly sophisticted and extensive welfare system helped to make this exercise a success. Since accession, however, the Swedish economy has underperformed. This is primarily due to the high tax burden imposed on ordinary workers to sustain the generous welfare provisions, the creation of a colony culture, and the narrownes of pay di fferentials.The United Kingdom operate a very different corporate and work culture from the European continent. It has virtualy abandoned sectoral collective bargaining and has been disinclined to embrace formalised systems of employee participation. It has tended to take a minimalist approach to all EU social and employment Directives and has refused to join the eurozone. Although this has helped to encourage the growth of new enterprises, overmuch of the UK advantage in attracting inward investment has been gained through its cultural and linguitic links with the USA. Labour costs, however, remain high by EU standard and productivity is well below the level that this degree of economic freedom should have achievd.Comparison between employment characteristics in EU15 and new EU states (averages)Employment characteristicEU15 States new-sprung(prenominal) EU StatesEmployee cannot change own working methods29%37%Employees working on shifts12.1%23%Employees working on Sunday6.5%11.7% Employees with fixed-term/temporary job10.5%8.7%Employees working at night4.4%5.4%Employees with a second job1.8%5.2%Length of time in present job10.9 years13.4 yearsLength of working week38.2 hours44.4 hoursLanguage training in workplace (av/yr)4 hours11 hoursManagement training in workplace (av/yr)12 hours7 hoursThe HRM concept remains vestigial in many of established EU member states such as France and Germany. This is largely due to over-reliance on administrative procedures and company rules, the codetrmination powers of workings councils, the prevalence of sectoral collective bargaining, and widespread union resistance to workplace innovation. It therefore remains uncertain how far HRM method will become the norm for managing personnel issues in the new member states.European HR trendsEurope accounts for one-tenth of the world population. Two-thirds of Europeans live in countries that are member of the economic federation known as the European Union (EU). The proportion of t he population (aged 15-64) who are employed in the EU is just 66.0%, compaed to 69.3% in Japan and 71.5% in the USA.The average employee in the EU works for 38.5 hours per week, 18% of the EU working population works part-time, 14.8% are on temporary contract and 5.1% of employees started their job in the last 3 months. 12.9% of the population agd 15-64 have undergone tertiary education and almost 10% of the EU population aged 25-64 take part in lifelong learning activitie. EU citizens spend 12.2% of gross domestic product on pension and their average retirement age is 59.9 years.HR policies and strategies checklistThe focus HR strategy over the last decade has been to find an ever-widening range of methods to clip cost and improve operational performance. These tend to be carried out irrespective of the current stage of the economic cycle or a company sexual intercourse competitive position. Options which were once regarded as either in or out of fashion are now being assessed pu rely on their merit, and are being swiftly adopted if they seems likely to succeed.We have entered an era of corporates perfectionism in which almost anything is possible. The prevailing aim of companie is not just to be more efficient and effective than their business rivals, but to be so good that it will be dangerou for competitors to try to emulate their achievements.Cost savingReduction of operational costs surplusage delayering pay cuts and freezes increasing variable pay as percentage of total pay , recruitment freezes outsourcing removing deputy posts gain sharing -,rationalising company car policies maximising grants or subsidies.Control of overheads relocation to lower-cost centres ,use of teleworkers cutting benefits rationalising back-office functions expense account audits trimming expense budgets extending the working day.Limitation of future liabilities changing from outlined benefit to defined contribution pension schemes removing incremental pay scale s curtailing grade creep.Pain sharing board pay cuts, HQ downsizing single status facilities limiting tallness management severance packages ,utplacement counselling.Operational flexibilityJob flexibility job design flexible working hours annual hours contracts time off in locating (TOIL) time banking ,part-time working ,fixed-term contracts ,multi-skilled work teams.Pay and benefit flexibility profit sharing employee share ownership share options self -service benefits.Operational flexibility time management , improving managerial leverage , the 24/7 workplace use of freelance and temporary staff suggestion schemes.Human capital encouragement of lifelong learning individual learning accounts , action learning elearning cpd mentoring.Retention of know-how strategy for older workers staged retirement ,removing age barriers knowledge management developing knowledge banks.Promotion of equal opportunities removing glass ceiling equality training equal opportunities supervise diversity policies positive action.Promotion of health and physical fitness in-house fitness centre discounts on external facilities stress counselling company sports teams regular medicals.Performance effectivenessUse of performance management methods benchmarking process rengineering management by objectives employee appraisal upward feedback (360 degree feedback) decentralization empowerment delegation quality circle open door policies performance incentive supply chain management HR system integration data mining and warehousing.Improvement of recruitment process student sponsorship on-line recruitment automated scanning background checks positive vetting verification of cv data University ratings personality/literacy testing assessment centres head-hunting succession planning.Reduction of absenteeism attendance bonuses- wellness programmes surveillance of those on long-term absence motivational programmes.Prevention of fraud and theft expense claim audits ctv scanning whistleblowing schemes amnesties forensic audits.Further important element in HR management are softer policy concerns and personnel administration, together with legal compliances and the avoidance of litigation. Increased board visibility and right have become areas of concern following recent exposures of corporate irregularitie such as the Enron affair. Data privacy and security are also becoming more significant issues and are making the application of HR policies a much more complex task.Corporate cultureFamily-friendly workplace work/life balance childcare eldercare parental leave emergency leave term time working job sharing flexible working arrangements sabbaticals.Corporate governance annual social and environmental reports remuneration committee independent reviews visibility and accountability of corporate boards.Localisation support for local events service contracts with SMEs replacement of expatriates with local emp loyee environmental improvement schemes.Employee welfare Dutch-style arbo services hospital visits disability counselling company social functions attendance at funeral long service awards flowers on birth of employees children car-sharing initiative season ticket loans.Legal and ethical complianceSafety statutory obligations codes of conduct safety training , health and safety audits joint committees safety signs emergency procedures alcohol and drugs testing.Employment statutory obligation custom and practice codes of conduct disability quotas collective agreements works councils European work councils.Privacy and security codes of practice data security standards international transfers of personal data email monitoring subject access procedures emergency planning workplace security zoning.Personnel accounting tax compliance ,- payroll procedures IAS 19 remuneration committees.Community corporate social responsibility (CSR) work experience student exchange sponsorship.Labour chat ups and judicatory systems in EuropeBelgiumThere are two levels of specialist labour judicatory in BelgiumLabour tribunals Courts of first instance dealing primariy with individual employment contract issues.Labour courts These hear appeals referred by tribunals and seek to resolve significant collective disputes.Each tribunal retains a team of labour prosecutor who may be called upon to provide opinions to the court and are also responsible for instituting bend proceeding against employers when health and safety laws have been seriously breached.DenmarkDenmark operate a well established and highly complex array of courts, arbitration and conciliation machinery. Actions concerning individual employments contracts are heard by the general courts. The Labour Court Act governs the activities of the labour court that hear cases involving breaches of collective agreements. However, the starting point for dispute village is usually the set of standar d rules that are common to almost all collective agreement. These define a number of steps to be followed as before long as a problem arises in the workplace. The parties are first obliged to negotiate, then to seek private arbitration if required and, finally, to go to court rather than resort to strike action or lock-outs. No individual employee can bring a case, or be the sole subject of a labour court actions.GermanyAround 650,000 cases are heard by labour courts each year in Germany. Of these around 90% concern individuals rather than trade unions or works councils (as collective suits). Half of all cases are settled at an initial hearing before a lower labour court, but 1,000 cases a year eventually go through the full appeals process.Three levels of courts of appeal1) Labour courts (Arbeitsgerichte)2) Higher labour courts (Landersarbeitsgerichte)3) The Federal Supreme Labour Court (Bubdesarbeitsgericht) final court of appealThese deal with private law disputes involving st atutory rights such as wrongful dismissal, infringements of works council procedure, wage payment problems and the interpretation of collective agreement. cordial security cases are heard by separate courts of social affairs. Conflicts of interest between works councis and employers are dealt with by ad hoc settlement committeesItalyLabour court are an integrated element of the civil court system. They are composed of professional judges who deal with a wide range of social insurance and social welfare issues as well as internal civil service dispute and labour laws.There are three levels of labour court1) The court of first instance2) The appeals court3) The CassazioneAll parties must be legally represented at every level of labour courts. Both individuals and collective bodies may seeks a decision by the court. However, unions may intervene in individual disputes if the case involves the interpretations of a collective agreement. Most cases that are heard by a court of first ins tance are permitted to go forward upon appeals.SpainAround 300,000 cases are heard by Spanish labour courts each year. However, only 40% of all cases relate to contracts of employment, with the balance being taken up by social security disputes.There are three levels of labour court1) The social courts at a provincial level.2) The social chamber of the high courts at a regional level.3) The social chamber of the Supreme Court in Mad