INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Introduction
International human resource management is almost similar to human resource management. The difference is that in international human resource management, the department considers the international factors that affect human capital, such as the culture of the host country (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung 2016). Three types of candidates are considered during selection in international human resource management. These include home candidates, host candidates, and third-country nationals. Home candidates are people from the country of origin of the international business. Host candidates are people from the host country, while third-country nationals are neither from host nor home countries (Singh 2019). In the case of Morningstar Communications and Technologies (MCT), the human regional human resource department should select a managing director of the Indian company and will consider all types of candidates. It is a top-ranking position and requires a thorough analysis to determine the best candidate to become the managing director. This report analyzes some of the considerations the human resource department should consider, and the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. It will conclude by recommending the best candidate for the position.
Key issues in the selection
Legal and cultural considerations
Understanding the laws of the hosting county is essential to determine the selection method and practices to ensure the selection is legal. The company should understand the legal policies of the host country and how they relate to the local employees and expatriate workers (Guest 2017). The first legal consideration is discrimination policies. Equality is one of the primary concerns in employment, and national governments formulate policies to ensure potential employment candidates, and workers do not lose positions due to discrimination (DeCenzo, Robbins and Verhulst 2016). Some of the factors protected under discrimination are gender, religion, marital status, and race. The regional human resource department should research the legal policies of India on discrimination before selecting the next managing director. The other legal consideration is the employment contract and termination of an employee. India operates on labor laws, which were formulated after independence in 1947. The labor laws make it hard for an organization to fire its employees even on “tough” economic situations (Singh 2019). However, companies can formulate contracts that dictate the nature of the employment and circumstances when a worker can be fired. It is a factor that can influence the origin of the next managing director because Indians are used to the law protecting their jobs. However, it does not mean that a candidate from the host country should not be selected due to labor laws since a contract can be created between the employee and the organization.
The culture of the host country influences human resource management practices. In the case if MCT, the company should integrate the corporate culture and the Indian culture in the selection to enhance the productivity of the organization. The selection committee should select a person who understands the culture of the host country. A manager can lead to the failure of an international company if they do not understand the national culture (Sparrow, Brewster and Chung 2016). An example of a company that failed was Revlon when it expanded its operations to Brazil. The manager introduced a perfume with the scent of camellia flower without knowing that the flower is used in funeral in Brazilian culture (Brewster et al. 2016). Understanding the national culture provides the managing director with knowledge on products to introduce into the market, and practices that will motivate the target market.
Understanding host country’s culture provides knowledge on aspects such as etiquette, religion, and history (Guest 2017). It is information that will influence the leadership style and implementation of policies of the managing director while enhancing the motivation of employees and consumers (Brewster et al. 2016). In the selection process of the new managing director, the ideal candidate should have some information about the Indian culture. It is an aspect that will ensure the new leader of the firm has the capability to create a successful relationship with employees from the host country, while promoting the corporate culture and objectives.
Strengths and weaknesses of each candidate
The first strength of Tom Wallace is that he has a lot of experience in working at MCT. He has worked in MCT for 30 years. Experience is essential because it enhances a person’s job awareness. Tom also leads a unit in the USA which is almost the size of the Indian operation. The other strength is that Tom has limited family devotions because his children are old with independent families. Therefore, it will be easy for him to move from the USA to India. Tom’s weakness is that he has never worked in another country. Therefore he will need time to learn how to lead operations outside the USA. The other weakness is that Tom will retire in four and half years, meaning he does not provide a long-term solution for leadership in India.
The first strength of Brett Harrison is that he has a lot of experience working in MCT (15 years), especially in supervising staff. The other strength is that Brett has experience working in the Asian region. He worked in the Asian region center, thus touring most of the operations in the region. He understands the Indian culture, geography and politics meaning he will settle in the country fast. Brett’s weakness is that family commitments might limit his productivity because his wife cannot transfer to India since her organization does not have operations in the country.
The first strength of Atasi Das is that she has experience in leading large operations because for the last two years she was the assistant in command of product group which is half the size of Indian operations. The other strength is that she is passionate about leading international operations because she pointed out when hired at MCT that her objective was to be assigned to international operations. In her undergraduate she majored in international management. The final strength is that she is conversant with Indian culture because her parents are from India, and she can fluently speak Hindi. Her weakness is that she does not have experience working in another country.
The strength of Ravi Desai is that he has foreign experience, and understands Asian region because he is the managing director of larger Asian operation. The other strength is that Ravi is from India, and understands the Indian culture. Most people from MCT argue that he will once become the leader of the Indian operations. The other strength of Ravi is he will have limited family commitments because his wife and children live in India. Ravi has a Master’s degree from India which enhances his understanding of the Indian market and how to run international businesses.
The first strength of Seng is that he has MBA degree stabilizes his educational background. The position of a managing director requires a person how has the best education. The other strength is that he has experience as a managing director because he is the current managing director of assembly operation of MCT in Malaysia. The first weakness is that Seng is not conversant with the Indian culture. The other weakness is that he is very close to his family in Malaysia and Singapore hence increasing the probability of the distance limiting his motivation.
The first strength of Saumitra is that he understands the responsibilities of a managing director in India because he is the assistant managing director. The other strength is that he has background information about the Indian culture because he fluently speaks Hindi and the local language of Bengaluru, Kannada. He is effective because he is responsible for the increased sales in the country due to his connections to influential families and politicians. Saumitra’s weakness is that he has the least experience since he has only four years experience working in MCT. The other weakness is that he does not have direct-line experience because he has only worked as an assistant managing director for four years.
How to minimize challenges facing candidates
The firm can train Tom Wallace the Indian culture to increase his knowledge on how to settle in India. Tom’s weakness is that he has never worked in a foreign country, and training can minimize that challenge. To minimize Brett’s challenge, he can be offered regular leaves to connect with his family because his wife cannot transfer to India. Offering paid leaves is a strategy to influence the motivation of an employee. Atasi Das has similar weakness with Tom Wallace, which can be countered by training her Indian culture. She will also require training on how to manage operation in a foreign country because she has never worked outside USA. Seng requires training on how to speak Hindi, and the Indian culture because he has never been to India. The other way to minimize his challenge is by offering leaves to connect with his families in Malaysia and Singapore because he is close to his extended family. Saumitra’s challenge of lacking direct-line experience can be minimized by selecting an employee with experience to his current assistant managing director position. It is a strategy that will help Saumitra to enhance his experience if selected.
Recommendations
The best candidate for the managing director position is Ravi Desai. He has the ten years experience working in the Asian region. He helps to supervise and oversee the production and sales in Asian countries especially China, Malaysia and Singapore. He has not worked in India, but it is his native country. He is familiar with the Indian culture and will implement practices that will integrate the culture of the host country and corporate culture. His wife is from India and does not work. Therefore, selecting Ravi for the job will keep him close to his country and enhance his motivation. Ravi is the only candidate who has MBA and conversant with the Indian culture. Some of the other candidates have one of the properties but Ravi satisfies both making him the ideas successor. Ravi has operated on large platforms because throughout his ten years with MCT he has worked the entire South East Asia. Generally, Ravi has enough experience, educational background, direct-line experience and knowledgeable on the Indian culture hence becoming the best candidate.
The first strategy to support the new managing director is retaining the existing assistant managing director. The assistant managing director has information on how the operations were carried out in the branch, and has a connection with the employees. It is a strategy that will help Ravi to settle in Indian branch fast. The other assistance is to create monthly reviews. Some employees are afraid of reviews because they are afraid the superiors will detect their errors, but it is a strategy that helps a new employee to settle fast because errors will be detected early and trained on how to improve operations (Brewster et al. 2016). Therefore, Morningstar Communications and Technologies should offer assistance and create reviews to support Ravi in his new position as a managing director of the Indian branch.
Conclusion
Employee selection is a challenging process because the human resource department needs to pick a new employee from a group of potentials. International human resource management takes into consideration the laws and culture of a host country during the selection process to ensure that the practice is legal, and supporting the national culture. Integrating national and corporate cultures is a strategy of motivating employees from the host country and the customers. Analyzing the candidates for the managing director’s position requires determining the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, and using that information to settle to one candidate who is predicted to perform better than others. In this case, the best candidate for the position is Ravi Desai. He has experience in running large MCT operations, knowledgeable on the Indian culture, can speak Hindi and has MBA. It is essential for the human resource department to balance these aspects during the selection process.
References
Brewster, C., Sparrow, P., Vernon, G. and Houldsworth, E., 2016. International human resource management. Kogan Page Publishers.
DeCenzo, D.A., Robbins, S.P. and Verhulst, S.L., 2016. Fundamentals of human resource management. John Wiley & Sons.
Guest, D.E., 2017. Human resource management and employee well‐being: Towards a new analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1), pp.22-38.
Singh, R., 2019. HR Policies In India: 10 Best Practices For Employers – India Briefing News. [online] India Briefing News. Available at: https://www.india-briefing.com/news/hr-policies-in-india-10-best-practices-for-employers-16977.html/
Sparrow, P., Brewster, C. and Chung, C., 2016. Globalizing human resource management. Routledge.