Management
|
|
Human Resource Management can include two large areas: personnel management and development functions. The following note attempts to shed light on development functions, which have tended to be somewhat disregarded in traditional public personnel administration and international public administration education. In fact, globalization of human resource management demands a precise cross-cultural vision in corporations that operate internationally. International environments are
changing rapidly. Nothing is permanent and the cause of yesterday’s success may be
the cause of tomorrow’s failure. Today’s leaders must assume the responsibility
for creating new models of management systems because many of the assumptions on which
management practice was based are now becoming obsolete. Foreign competition and the need
to trade more effectively overseas have forced most corporations and governments to become
increasingly culturally sensitive and global minded.
The ability to cope with cultural relativity is the key requirement for global managers to succeed today and tomorrow. It is said that culture refers to the collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. Therefore, four dimensions of national culture are identified: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism and masculinity/femininity. Differences between cultures have many consequences for management practices. In collectivist cultures, leadership should respect and encourage employees’ group loyalty; incentives should be given collectively and their distribution should be left up to the group. In individual cultures, individuals tend to be more mobile and incentives should be given to individuals. Cross-cultural skills and intercultural communications skills can contribute to the success of negotiations in cross-cultural settings. Developing Leadership in Global Negotiations: Negotiation is a skill and it can be improved. Here, five considerations for analyzing cross-cultural negotiations are addressed:
The development of the global or transitional organization requires senior managers who are not only internationally mobile, but who in their minds can also travel across boundaries by understanding the international implications of their work. How can such competencies best be developed? Many more organizations now seek to use international assignments for individual and organizational development, often with the assistance of a centralized human resource function, which can plan and track staff careers on a global basis. Organizations need to provide on-going training so that managers adjust to expatriation and repatriation. With central and local governments expanding their efforts to promote and attract foreign investment or investors, encounters with officials from foreign corporations and governments have significantly increased. Governments have entered the arena of international commerce and open competition under the guidance of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Some of these encounters are predictable, but one element that continues to be problematic is how much and what kind of preparation should be undertaken for interaction with people from foreign cultures. To better understand cross-cultural skill development, adjustment and performance, the integration of cross-cultural training, and social learning theory is key. As conclusion, the effective human resource management is a powerful competitive weapon not only in the private sector, but also in the public sector. Removing the competitive handicap of parochialism is an essential task facing not only human resource specialists, but line managers and executives as well. Increasing cross-border encounters make us aware of what we share as human beings: our significant cultural diversity, our need to cooperate and the competition underlying our relationships. |
