18.8 New areas and issues

International human resource management

One issue in human resource management that is attracting increasing attention

– and is a rapidly growing area of consultancy work – concerns international HRM. The growing internationalization of business and of HRM has already been noted. Increasing numbers of people are living and working outside their home country (expatriates). Traditionally these people were government representatives (civil and armed services), members of religious groups and charities, and staff of major multinational corporations (MNCs) sent from developed to developing countries. This pattern has changed, as the large MNCs have generally reduced the number of international transferees, while smaller companies have moved into the area. This process has been facilitated by the growth of international trade blocs such as the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the EU. Within the EU in particular, there are now Union-wide legislation and policies aimed at easing the movement of people seeking employment across national boundaries.

This is a field that has tended to be dominated by consultants from two broad areas. Accounting firms, financial consultancies and employee benefits consultants advise on pay, taxation and pension issues. Recruitment consultancies have gradually moved into international assignments as their clients have become more international. There are now a number of organizations specializing in international recruitment, particularly for the three main groups of internationally mobile employees: senior managers, technical specialists and, somewhat paradoxically, relatively unskilled people such as hotel workers, construction industry labourers and household servants. One criticism that may be levelled here is that, for the managerial jobs in particular, too much attention is paid to previous experience and not enough to intercultural adaptability. In other words, it is assumed that a manager who is successful in one country will also be successful in another country. However, there is now considerable evidence to show that the process of managing varies from country to country.