International human resource management BA3180

Pre-requisites

BA2090 Human Resource Management

Topics covered

• Outline the main differences between International and Comparative HRM and provide an analytical framework for thinking about these differences.
• The nature of strategy and structure in MNCs. 
• The country-of-origin effect and its repercussions 
• The theory that host countries of the branches of MNCs have more of an impact on them than that of the home country or of the organisation as a whole
• Different approaches to the analysis of contemporary capitalism and considers what role they allocate to the business organisation.
• Examines the HRM practices of US-based MNCs. 
• The business and HRM systems of the United Kingdom 
• ‘social-democratic’ model of HRM 
• Social policy within the European Union (EU)
• The challenges and on-going developments in the management of people in Africa.
• The contemporary developments in the management of people in the Asian region.
• The nature of Japanese HRM and the impact of Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) and subsidiary formation on the question of transferring home country practices overseas. 
• British fieldwork into a cluster of Japanese subsidiaries and the problems they encountered during their establishment and maturity in regard to their human resource management operations.
• The role the nationality of the parent firm takes in shaping the integration process.
• Expatriates
• Business ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR ) 
• The directive on European works councils (EWCs)
• The international aspects of recruitment and selection
• The issues involved in developing performance appraisal and compensation systems for international managers.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module students should be able to:

• Understand the implications of changes in the global organisation of firms and the international workforce for HRM policy choices
• Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the key analytical concepts and models in international HRM
• Assess the principal comparisons and contrasts of the business and human resource systems in the UK and the USA, Germany and Japan.
• Evaluate the different approaches to and strategies for HRM in international business activities, and their impact on employees
• Evaluate the problems of transferring HRM practices from one country to another and the role of MNCs as agents of knowledge transfer.

Assessment

This module is assessed by a three hour unseen written examination.

Essential reading

• International Human Resource Management, 3rd Ed. (Harzing & Pinnington)