Introduction to International HRM

• International Human Resource Dr Scott Tindal

Lecturer
Management Human Resources & Organisational Behaviour
INDU-1130 Business School

S.R.Tindal@Greenwich.ac.uk
• Tutorial 1
September 2021.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this workshop, you will:

1. Be familiar with your tutor, and his current research.

2. Be more familiar with each other.
3. Understand the assessments for this module.
Meet your tutor!
Dr Scott Tindal
• MA (hons), MSc from Dundee.
• PhD in Sociology from Edinburgh.

• Organisational and work sociologist

• Researched military reservists; student mobility;
• Supermarket workers;
• Changes in work driven by the Covid-19 crisis.
Ice breaker (option #1)
https://padlet.com/s_r_tindal/qdui8vcbmsk0sfh1

Have you ever lived in another country?

Have you ever visited another country?

What is the same?

What is different?
Ice breaker (option #2)
Imagine you had a time-machine; and could go
back to any point in the past.

Where would you go, and why?

© 2021 BBC, used for educational purposes.

Module outline, and assessment
 International HRM Topics Recruitment

2. Functions
1. Theory (practice) Performance
Management
Convergence
/ Divergence
of HRM
Pay &
reward
Three
‘lenses’ of
IHRM Training &
Development
‘Green’ HRM

Covid-19 & 3. Contemporary Employee

Surveillance
HRM Issues Relations
Assessment:
Two assessments:

(1) Essay, 2,000 words, worth 50% of module grade, to be

submitted by 21st December 2021.

(2) Report on ‘Greenway Hotels Group’, up to 2,500 words, worth

50% of the module grade, to be submitted by 6th April,2 2022.
Essay
The essay has two questions, and focuses on the theoretical aspects of IHRM.

Question 1:
What are the different conceptual approaches HRM academics can take when examining HRM
within an international context. Illustrate your answer with references to conceptual ideas and
empirical evidence from the literature.
~1,000 words.

Question 2:
“Globalisation means that eventually HR policy and practice will converge into a single ‘best
practice’ everywhere in the world.” Discuss and evaluate this claim. Illustrate your answer with
reference to conceptual ideas and empirical evidence from the literature.
~1,000 words.
Report
This report is more about the practical application of HRM to a company
that is internationalising.

You take the role of a HR consultant to the board of directors for the
Greenway Hotels Group.

Greenway is a UK hotel chain that is looking to expand into France, and

beyond.

There is a formative group presentation (10mins)

1. What should their long-term strategic approach be for resourcing their management team
within the French subsidiary company? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this
approach?

2. What differences in HR policy and practice should the board consider when expanding their
business to France (and potentially elsewhere in continental Europe)? (Consider: Performance
management/appraisal, employee relations/trade unions, pay & reward which may be
different in France than Britain).

3. What are the wider socio-political and cultural circumstances which the board should consider?
(This is an open question where you can discuss things that interest you. You may talk about
cultural differences, regulatory differences (e.g. in France the working week is limited in ways
that it is not in the UK), you may wish talk about Brexit and how this may impact on the free
movement of people/managers, or Coronavirus and how this may affect the hospitality sector
and how employees work and interact either each other, and customers).
Questions so far?
Next week:
We will look at what IHRM is, and the three ‘lenses’ for studying HR in an
international & global context.