Bridgeton Industries

Human Resource Management

MGT 303

Globalization and the some of the Challenges it presents to Human Resource Management

With the proliferation of the internet international Business transactions are more common today than ever. Globalization is now a key factor when creating a business strategy for most companies whether they are small family own businesses or huge corporations. Globalization however does not just involve selling a product in other countries. There are legal and cultural concerns that must be addressed. The legal aspects are fairly simple because in most places the laws are spelled out. It's the local customs, and regional way of doing things that can be tricky. Research on globalization has shown that it is not an omnipotent, unidirectional force leveling everything in its path. Because a global culture does not exist, any search for it would be futile. It is more fruitful to instead focus on particular aspects of life that are indeed affected by the globalizing process. (1). In this new economy, as it has been in the past, it will be the people not the machines who will determine a company's success. Having an effective Human Resource Management team that effectively analyze your company's current and future personnel needs is key in any business organization.

Globalization can not only affect a company opening an office in another country but it can affect a small local business as well. As the internet brings the world closer together it becomes far more likely that a business that opened with no intention of selling internationally will have customers form different parts of the world asking for their product. For instance a steel company located in Pennsylvania may suddenly find orders coming in from South American factories. How the steel plant chooses to handle this new international customer could mean a competitive advantage or a competitive loss. Companies need to have a work force in place capable of handling business transactions from their non-traditional, or intended markets. This means having the foresight to have a managing team and staff that will be responsive to the changes in the marketplace. The classic example of this the Chevy NOVA when it was introduced in Mexico. If there had been one Latino or even a Spanish speaking individual on the marketing team It would have saved CHEVROLET millions in loses. An individual familiar with Spanish could have told management that "NO VA" translates in to "NO GO".Not exactly the best of names for an automobile. Not only did Chevrolet lose sales in this endeavor but it now had an image problem to deal with when it came to its Latin American market.

Although the most obvious solution to meeting the global challenge is to find qualified individuals of different ethnic backgrounds, to build a solid and diverse workforce, there can be other factors can affect trade on a global level. Issues such as immigration and foreign policy may affect international business. Companies operating overseas may have to hide their political affiliation or national origin in order to compete. Finding that despite lack of support for American foreign policies, reports of increased sales by American businesses continue; Additional proof which is seen in recent purchases of European companies by American corporations; Apparent ability of Europeans to differentiate between U.S. foreign policy which they don't like and U.S. products, people and businesses which they do; Sales figures from several companies; Intertwined business ownerships which make it harder to attack brand names; Concern by some that future regulatory decisions may hurt U.S. businesses. (2).

Once a company has decided to meet the global challenge, a solid plan must be in place to attract and retain employees with international cultural skills and backgrounds. Sometimes, simply encouraging minorities to apply in the job posting is enough. Posting a job listing in a local minority newspaper can also yield good results. Overall, employees need to feel comfortable and accepted in their work environment. However some companies in order to keep their competitive advantage have a more aggressive strategy in place. These companies offer help with immigration issues. They hire lawyers and specialist that can assist with the H-1B and L-1 visas that are required to work in the united states. Some companies pay all legal cost associated with hiring a foreign employee. Other companies, like Intel lobby the legislature. Intel human resources lawyer Patrick Duffy has a suggestion that goes beyond higher visa caps: Exempt foreign workers with advanced degrees from visa quotas altogether.-- In 1998, pressured by tech companies and immigration lawyers, Congress expanded the annual limit on H-1Bs from 65,000 to 115,000. It raised the cap again to 195,000 beginning in 2001.(3)

Some companies find themselves addressing greater social issues in order to