Globalization and Human Resource Management

Globalization of Human Resource Management
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Abstract
Today, numerous corporations have operations in every corner of the world as it has become more globalized. Multinational companies must embrace the culture of a particular region and structure their activities to reflect the values of that society so as to operate successfully in diverse environments. The human resource department plays a vital role in ensuring a company conforms to the practices of a particular culture. Globalization means that the role of human resources has been expanded to encompass the beliefs and values of a particular society. Over the years, there have been many works of literature that deal with the topic of globalization and human resources. This paper focuses Kin Pak Sun’s (1999) article that was published at the turn of the new millennium. The author deals with the global context of human resources by examining how human resources is related to national cultures. Sun analyses the role of human resource in global organizations, the development of international leaders, and proposes the changes required for public administration teaching

Globalization and Human Resource Management
Pan Suk Kim’s (1999) article, Globalization of Human Resource Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective for the Public Sector identifies the different HR practices in different regions of the world. Kim places particular focus on the development of human resources in this rapidly changing world. The following paper is a summary of Kim’s thoughts.

The author divides the paper into four main sections. Firstly, she deals with the global context of human resources by examining how human resources is related to national cultures. Secondly, she deals with the function of human resource management in multinational firms, especially in negotiation. Thirdly, Kim illustrates the development of globalized executives and managers. Lastly, the article suggests changes that should be enforced in public administration pedagogy so as to match the skill requirements of the public sector.
The Global Context of Human Resources
The global economy is experiencing vast changes that have transformed the way people do business. Today, the movement of people, capital, and goods between different regions is much easier. Nonetheless, there remain significant cultural barriers that limit the competitiveness of global organizations. To survive and attain success in the 21st century, firms must adopt a worldwide perspective and change leadership to reflect the global environment. Global leaders are those who can convert threats into opportunities, motivate individuals to achieve success, facilitate innovation, and solve problems across different cultures through teamwork. The diversity of different cultures has affected the way management is approached in the modern world the performance of workers. Due to cross-cultural settings, the traditional principles of management and human resource practice are under serious scrutiny. Cross-cultural awareness, hence, can enable a firm to achieve success.
Role of Negotiation in Multinational Firms
A negotiator should be aware of the cultural differences between different parties. To achieve this, Kim proposes the use of the Fisher model which addresses five dimensions of cross-cultural negations. These include; the parties and the context; types of decision making; the character of a particular nationality; sound on a cross-cultural level; translators and interpreters. The Fisher’s framework facilitates consultants and scholars with a foundation for empirical studies and actual practice. Modern innovations have changed the way negotiation is approached since the practice can nowadays be simulated in computer programs that use complex algorithms to determine the best alternative. However, application of these methods disregard the cultural differences that exist between negotiating parties and people from different countries. Therefore, for international negotiations to be successful, every player must consider the cultural differences between the negotiating parties.
Development of Globalized Executives and Managers
One of the main challenges in the practice of human resource management is facilitating executives with a global mindset. Cultural awareness and adaptability have become important skills for managers in this era of rapid globalization. The training of globalized leaders requires a rapid change in the techniques used to develop human resources since they are numerous basic characteristics that future leaders should possess, such as a global approach, ability to manage cross-cultural teams, global leadership skills, ability to participate in networking, and a change agent on the global level. Development of these skills can be done through a concept called intercultural competence that comprises of three key areas; emotional competence, communicative competence (effective communication, both verbally and non-verbally with people from other cultures), and mental competence.
Transformation of Public Administration Pedagogy
The rapid rate of globalization means that the methods used to teach human resources need to transform. Students need to be prepared for the emerging global challenges in regards to management, and this means the abandonment of traditional methods of public administration pedagogy. The characteristics that a globalized public administration school should possess are cultural exposure, reasonability, focus on problems, flexibility, and multilingual. These characteristics would help in the development of future globalized leaders in the public administration sector.
Reference
Kim, P. S. (1999). Globalization of Human Resource Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective for The Public Sector. Public Personnel Management,28(2), 227-243.