B207B

Shaping Business Opportunities II

 Block 2
Session 11: Employee relations and
globalization

Session 11.3: The international labor market

The international labour market
Globalisation has created an increasingly international labour
market.
Individuals are applying for jobs across the world, no longer
restricted to simply choosing opportunities in their own
country
Organisations are progressively transnational with divisions,
operations and contracts that span internationally region
Employers and employees must be aware of global
employment trends

Session 11.3: The international labor market

Growth of an international labour market
The growth of an international labour market offers
organisations and its members a number of new
possibilities.
The spread of organisations into new global areas can
create enhanced opportunities for individuals to gain the
skills that will help organisations successfully engage in
such cultural exchange

Session 11.3: The international labor market

Multiculturalism
 Multiculturalism is a significant contemporary value.
 Multiculturalism reflects desires for the inclusion, respect and safety of
populations marked by ethnic and cultural differences.
 Organisations is composed of multiple cultures as they operate in
numerous parts of the world and their members are from various
international backgrounds.
 It represents the ways organisations must manage and take advantage of
this multiculturalism if they are to be globally competitive.

Session 11.3: The international labor market

Importance of HR Management Multiculturalism
Human resource management is potentially extremely valuable in this respect.
HR Management help organisations to navigate these diverse cultures
HR Management are key forces for assisting firms to attract an international
workforce and meet their diverse needs and desires.
HR Management are, moreover, important information brokers, in terms of
highlighting contrasting regulations and cultural expectations between nations
and regions.
HR Management foster a broader culture of ‘organisational learning’ that
encourages institutions to not only adapt to but also benefit from this greater
diversity.

Session 11.3: The international labor market

 Block 2
Session 12: HRM in a global context
Stakeholders and globalization
Aspiration for modern organizations is trying to create
a ‘win–win’ situation for employers and employees
Attempting to balance the interests of shareholders,
executives and owners with that of their workforce
Innovation is found in discovering new ideas and practices
for achieving a ‘win–win’ result.
Making sure that all voices of stake holders are heard and
all their needs are met as much as is institutionally possible.
This wider stakeholder perspective highlights the tensions
between financial and non-financial priorities

Session 12: HRM in a global context

HRM in stakeholders and globalization
HRM stands out as a crucial force for navigating these often
competing organizational demands.
It proposes and champions corporate social responsibility
both in terms of the firm’s internal processes and external
impact.
It can encourage ‘inclusiveness’ by bringing outside voices
to the attention of decision-makers; including voices they
may not be aware of as well as those of members who may
feel marginalized.
Promote strategies that better connect how these private and
public priorities can be mutually beneficial in the long term

Session 12: HRM in a global context

The role of HRM in globalization
Globalization has reinforced the importance of HRM for
organizations
Same time limiting its ability to set organizational strategy
and priorities
The emphasis on the free market has led to declining
worker protections and wages.
It has also created the conditions for massive job insecurity.
This naturally provides employers with greater power to
determine working conditions.
HRM therefore must work with managers

Session 12: HRM in a global context

Obstacles
Globalization also creates new obstacles to organizational survival and
success.
For private companies, maximizing profit becomes not only a desire but a
requirement.
This means that even if senior managers wanted to introduce more
‘balanced’ priorities they would be restricted in doing so by global
competitive pressures.
It also means they have to be able to manage complex international
pressures and an international workforce
Eg: unpredictability of foreign markets to coping with the needs of the
diverse context they are operating within
For public institutions and NGOs, it means often placing fiscal concerns
above and beyond their original purpose to realize a public good.

Session 12: HRM in a global context

Progress or race to the bottom
Globalization is supposed to result in shared prosperity and
international development
The universal adoption of the ‘free-market’ would break down
national economic barriers and allow for greater movement between
nations and regions.
It would also free up countries with outdated bureaucracies and
‘unaffordable’ welfare systems to new sources of capital and
entrepreneurship.
it would encourage ‘good government’ fighting corruption and
oligarchs.
It would also potentially lead authoritarian regimes to naturally
embrace liberal democracy.

Session 12: HRM in a global context

Realities of globalization are very different
Realities of globalization are very different
billions of people have been lifted out of poverty, global inequality has
risen dramatically
Countries are forced to accept ‘pro-business’ policies that takes funds away
from and negatively impact on healthcare, education and public welfare
It has endorsed the privatization of key services – leading them to cut
corners and produce worse outcomes in order to maximize their profits
There is a worrying rise in ‘authoritarian capitalism’ ranging from state-led
autocracies to the higher levels of policing in established liberal
democracies
In this respect globalization encourages a ‘race to the bottom’ rather than
common international development.

Session 12: HRM in a global context

Disincentive to Innovation
This race to the bottom can also be a disincentive to innovation.
It focuses the possibility of organizational change to simply
optimizing financial returns.
It often uses this as a pre-condition for the conception or
implementation of other new ideas or practices.
It thus prevents ‘out of the box’ thinking from occurring in favor
of simply accepting a global capitalist status quo.
In this respect, globalization represents less a competition
between organizations for the best innovation as it does the
channeling of innovation to meet the needs of fiscal competition.

Session 12: HRM in a global context

Race to the Top
 Human Resource Management has some potential to help reverse this
trend.
 It can be a crucial force for promoting a ‘race to the top’ where
companies use better working conditions, a stronger commitment to
ethics and inclusiveness in order to attract employees and consumers.
 It is questionable whether it would have the organizational power and
overall desire to effectively do so.
 It also raises questions of whether HRM is the best force for addressing
these global challenges.

Session 12: HRM in a global context