MANG6179 International and Comparative Human Resource Management

Module Aims

The module aims to assist you to contribute to aspects of people management in an international context. • appreciate international and comparative developments in the character of the employment relationship • understand institutional and cultural differences • consider, discuss, formulate and communicate human resource strategy and practices for organisations operating across national boundaries including the member states of the EU, the USA, Canada, Japan and South East Asia • achieve an appropriate balance between international strategy and local flexibility • conceive and shape a role for international corporate HR functions or departments • recognise the strengths and limitations of one’s own international/ inter-cultural knowledge and capabilities

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• aspects of national cultures and their implications for organisations;
• the role and effects on organisations of social regulation by social actors, i.e. nation states, employment and labour law, unions, employers’ associations and international bodies such as the EU and the ILO;
• differing HRM practices across countries, in terms e.g. of reward, work organization, training, flexibility and work-life balance;
• the differing potential roles of HR departments in different countries and in international organizations e.g. in pursuing notions of ‘best practice’ which might be applied internationally;
• the constraints and opportunities offered by differing national infrastructures of employment relations.

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• consider the impact of cross cultural issues for communicating and operating across national boundaries;
• identify how employment law and joint regulation shape strategic HR choices in different countries;
• assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of HR support resources and mechanisms in subsidiary/associated companies and gain acceptance for making appropriate constructive adjustments;
• deal with matters of HRM practice, around e.g. reward, work organisation, training and development and work-life balance in an international context;
• manage or professionally influence HRM practices with knowledge of notions of ‘best practice’ and their limits;
• operate with appropriate sensitivity and responsiveness in cross-cultural situations; assert viewpoints in a culturally sensitive way, avoiding offence or misunderstanding, and exercising influence and persuasion in situations where communications are difficult;
• manage HR departments with different nationally or internationally textured identities.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• operate effectively in terms of international/cross cultural awareness;
• manage ambiguities arising in international contexts, for example in people management, effectively;
• pursue individual work-related goals effectively;
• undertake searches for both qualitative and quantitative information using a range of information sources.