《1.上海大学管理学英语unit5C.pptVIP

Text C Global Human Resource Management 1 Today’s business environment is changing in many ways. One of the most noticeable is the move toward an international marketplace. Companies are becoming international enterprises through a variety of foreign investment strategies, including importing, exporting, licensing, participation in joint ventures, and mergers with and acquisitions of foreign-owned businesses. The trend toward an international business environment has been supported by many recent social and political events. 2 Foreign direct investment in the United States has increased at the same remarkable rate as American investments overseas. To develop a sense of how much other nations now invest directly in the United States, consider the fact that in 1996, 4.9 million American workers held jobs at subsidiaries of foreign companies. And these foreign investors’ spending topped $ 200 billion in 1998. The Concept of “Fit” in Global HRM 3 When an organization structures its HRM policies for international operations, it should consider cultural differences through the concept of “fit.” Fit refers to the degree that HRM policies are congruent with the strategic international plan of the organization and with the work-related values of foreign culture. 4 For an organization to be successful in the international marketplace, it must be concerned with this fit from both an internal and an external perspective. Internal fit is concerned with making sure that HRM policies facilitate the work values and motivations of employees. Policies must be structured in ways that allow head-quarters and foreign subsidiaries to interact without sacrificing efficiency. 5 External fit, on the other hand, refers to the degree to which HRM matches the context in which the organization is operating. In this regard, HRM is critical to international operations because of its effects on cross-cultural interaction. To be effective, the organization must understand the cul