Significance of Human Resources in International Business Arena

As the success of domestic business depends on its human resources, the success of a multinational company depends on international human resource management. Human resources managers are kind of people managers of any business organization, and are responsible for managing a wide range of employees. The human resource manager in a multi-national company with divisions or subsidiaries in foreign countries has all the normal HR responsibilities plus a brace of additional tasks that are specific to offshore operations of his department. He is literally responsible for international human resource management. International human resource management functions cover many different activities related to a business organization’s employees and contractors. The first and most important is the staffing needs of the company whether staff members are company employees or outside contractors. Other functions include recruiting and training employees, ensuring that they are performing at expected levels or better, handling performance issues and making Continue reading

Tips for Effective Employee Recognition and Reward Programs

Recognition is defined as a form of sincere praise or appreciation given to an individual by another and reward as the earned item of value presented to an individual for successful accomplishment of a particular service, task or mission. Recognition and reward programs has always been an effective strategy for retaining employees and it normally do not cost much and not very time-consuming. Informal recognition and reward program can recognize outstanding performance rather quickly while formal program develops the performance growth in a long term basis. Well planned recognition and reward programs builds comradeship within the team and makes employees feel valued and appreciated. Employees want to feel appreciated and seldom will they find compliments a surplus. Effective recognition and reward programs recognizes and appreciates the efforts of individuals while taking into account their individual needs, differences and personalities. As a leader, do not assume that the approach of one-size-fits-all Continue reading

Performance Related Pay – Definition, Objectives and Conditions

Rewarding performance is the element of the performance management process which seeks to give employees some kind of return for achieving their targets. This is wider than just financial recompense and includes such things as praise, greater opportunities for training and development, and promotion. Very often one of the things most sought by an employee is the recognition that he or she is doing a good job and where, for example, this is expressed in terms of bonus it is very often the recognition rather than the cash that really matters. It is only when money enters the equation that rewarding performance become very tricky and the emphasis her is therefore on the financial aspects. People very often consider performance management solely in terms of Performance Related Pay (PRP). PRP is a method of remuneration that provides individuals with financial rewards in the form of increases to basic pay or Continue reading

Understanding Cross-Cultural Communication in International Business

Cross-cultural communication exists when people from differing cultures have reached a certain degree of understanding regarding their differences. For understanding to take place, both people must have some form of knowledge or awareness regarding the norms or customs that exist in each other’s culture. Verbal and nonverbal communications can contain implied meanings, as well as certain degrees of symbolism. For successful communication to take place, background knowledge concerning values, norms and perceptions is necessary in order for clear, effective communication to take place. The key to effective cross-cultural communication is knowledge. It is essential that people understand the potential problems of cross-cultural communication, and make a conscious effort to overcome these problems and important to assume that one’s efforts will not always be successful, and adjust one’s behavior appropriately. For example, one should always assume that there is a significant possibility that cultural differences are causing communication problems, and be Continue reading

Tactics or Strategies Adopted in Collective Bargaining

The tactics or strategies to be adopted in any collective bargaining situation vary depending upon the culture of the organization and different environmental factors, particularly the type of union operating in an industrial establishment. But the following are some of the common strategies to make collective bargaining exercise more meaningful: The management has to anticipate the demands and also understand the main directions in which the demands are going to be placed. Generally speaking, negotiations are best done if both the parties do their home work well. The representatives must come to the bargaining table equipped with the necessary information and supportive data regarding the company’s economic status and prospects, the prevailing rates of pay and conditions of employment in comparable industries in the local areas. The management team should take into consideration the financial liability involved, the past agreements, and the impact of present negotiations in future years. It Continue reading

Quality of Work Life (QWL) – Definition, Scope, Principles, and Techniques

The term Quality of Work Life (QWL) aims at changing the entire organizational climate by humanizing work, individualizing organizations and changing the structural and managerial systems. It takes into consideration the socio-psychological needs of the employees. It seeks to create such a culture of work commitment in the organizations which will ensure higher productivity and greater job satisfaction for the employees. Quality of work life refers to the favorableness or unfavorableness of the job environment of an organization for its employees. It is generic term which covers a person’s feelings about every dimension of his work e.g. economic incentives and rewards, job security, working conditions, organizational and interpersonal relationships etc. The term QWL has different meanings for different people. A few important definitions of Quality of Work Life (QWL)  are as follows: According to Harrison: “Quality of Work Life is the degree to which work in an organization contributes to Continue reading