International Human Resource Management

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IHRM Cases
International Human Resource Management
Case exhibits, figures, tables, appendices and
activities
Managing people in a multinational context
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IHRM Case 1
International Human Resource Management
Managing people in a multinational context
Spanning the Globe
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Tex-Mark Corporation
Exhibit A

• Pre-departure activities
• Country briefings, outsourced to a consulting
  firm in San Antonio that had experience dealing
  with the countries in which Tex-Mark operated.
  Tex-Mark was prepared to pay for four sessions
  each lasting one hour.
• Reading Assignments. Three to four books
  (depending on region of assignment) on national
  or regional culture and/or doing business in the
  focal region. Accompanying spouses/partners had
  access to a similar library.Interviews and
  conversations with Tex-Mark employees with
  country experiences.
• Language courses. Attendance at elective
  survival level language classes. These courses
  last from eight to twelve weeks, with three
  course meetings a week. Tex-Mark will pay for
  spouses/partners as well.

In-country training and development Upon arrival,
Tex-Mark staff in the local operation will assist
the accompanying spouse/partner with job search
activities. They will assist with finding
children acceptable schooling situations. Where
possible, Tex-Mark staff will endeavour to
provide a social support network. Repatriation Up
on return all expatriates are required to go
through a debriefing and career
counselling session with HR staff. This should be
held within two months of the persons re-entry
to the home location.
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Case 1 Activity

• In the role of Eric
• Summarize your thoughts on the problems at hand,
  alternative solutions and your strategy on how to
  proceed at the forthcoming meeting.
• How will your proposal solve the problems you
  have defined?
• How can you defend your solution from budgetary
  concerns? In what way is your approach both a
  solution to the problems of expatriates at
  Tex-Mark and a good economic investment?
• Step back out of the role and answer the
  following
• Does Erics personal background assist in his
  assessment of the problems he faces?
• Would you have approached this situation
  differently? If so, what benefits would your
  different approach provide for Tex-Mark?

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IHRM Case 2
International Human Resource Management
Quality compliance at the Hawthorne Arms
Managing people in a multinational context
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Alistair Mackays short list of possible
candidates
Exhibit A
First candidate. Marie Erten-Loiseau. Born in
Prague, her family moved to Toulon when Marie was
twelve years old. Brought up in France, she was
educated as an aeronautical engineer in France
and Germany. Marie worked for Trianon for 13
years, in two divisions within France and Germany
with increasing levels of project responsibility.
Her leadership of two projects over the last
three years in Lodz, Poland, and two sites in the
Czech Republic has been marked by remarkable
success. Married, her husband is
semi-retired. They have one child in
university. Second candidate. Janos Gabor. Born
in Gyor, Hungary, Janos was educated at
University of Pecs, Hungary. He has a good
background in the production of cathode ray tube
and display systems technologies, albeit from the
Central European perspective. He has worked at
Trianon for nearly four years, and has just been
transferred into the cathode ray tube division as
a Senior Engineer. His family is reportedly very
well connected with national government
officials, particularly the old, ex-party members
of multiple ministerial bureaucracies. Janos is
single. Third candidate. Sinead
Marrinan-McGuire, a production engineer on loan
to Trianons London office for joint venture
analyzes and due diligence reviews on technical
and legal grounds. She has spent three years in
the RD development team in Dublin and London,
working on the very technologies to be applied in
this Hungarian joint venture project. Alistair
met and talked with her today in Limerick and
was very impressed with her understanding of
corporate level concerns and strategic issues.
Most of her career has been in Ireland and around
London, with only short, tactical trips to
France. Married, her husband is a solicitor in
Dublin. They have three children, ages 7, 9 and
13.
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Case 2 Activity

• Consider the three candidates in Exhibit A. If
  forced to make a decision tomorrow, which
  candidate should Alistair choose for the job?
  What major factors should determine his choice?
• We are told nothing of the process that Trianon
  uses to recruit candidates for this level of
  final selection. Given what you know about the
  firm from the case, outline a general recruitment
  and selection process for Trianon. Describe how
  your proposed process fits with best selection
  practices as well as the strategic needs of this
  company.
• Should HR staff be involved in strategic
  decisions relating to international business
  operations such as finalizing a joint venture
  agreement?

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IHRM Case 3
International Human Resource Management
Jaguar or Bluebird? (A)
Managing people in a multinational context
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Case 3 Activity
Discuss whether Mark should stay overseas or
return home after his expatriate asssignment.
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IHRM Case 4
International Human Resource Management
Jaguar or Bluebird? (B)
Managing people in a multinational context
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Case 4 Activity
Discuss Marks realizations and his options.
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IHRM Case 5
International Human Resource Management
Managing people in a multinational context
Wolfgangs balancing act
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Personnel costs of the Healthcare Group
Table 4
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HR policies of the Healthcare Group
Table 5
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Question block AStandardization vs local
responsiveness of compensation systems
Wolfgang reconsiders the degree of global
standardization and local responsiveness of the
current global compensation system.

1. Should he move some of the existing pay elements
   across the T account in Figure 2, shifting them
   from globally standardized to locally customized?
2. Should he add or delete some existing practices
   from theT account?
3. Should he change the weights or emphases
   (percentages) of existing elements of the pay
   system?

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Question block B job-based vs competency-based
compensation
If Healthcares job-based pay dominated the
existing system, while other such as
competency-based compensation have not been
pursued, then what advantages might a competency
based system have for Healthcare?

1. How can the firm communicate to the
   geographically dispersed executives the need to
   acquire and maintain those management
   competencies that have been defined in the
   competency set (in folder three)?
2. Would a purely competency-based pay system be
   somehow more flexible?
3. But then again, what about the standardization
   Healthcare has just achieved through
   standardizing the job descriptions across units?
4. How would he take these three competency
   categories and use them to develop a series of
   measurable, behavioral indicators to be used to
   assess an executives contributions to
   Healthcare? In what sense should these new
   behavioral indicators be customized to local
   (regional) contexts? How can Wolfgang go about
   this process to ensure a balance of
   organizational standardization and local
   relevance?

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IHRM Case 6
International Human Resource Management
Strategic forecasts and staffing formulation
Executive and managerial planning for
Bosch-Kazakhstan
Managing people in a multinational context
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Instruments of employee development
Figure 1
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Figure 2
Kazakhstansgeographic location
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Figure 3
Form for situation analysis
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Planning Chart
Figure 4
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Case 6 Activity

• Taking the role of HR manager at Bosch, address
  these issues
• Analyze the company and country-specific
  situation by using the steps outlined in Figure
  3.
• Plan the number and nature of short/medium-term
  (20072010) as well as long-term (20112014)
  staffing requirements on the basis of the figures
  in the chart on facing page and the described
  situation. Fill in your figures in the chart
  (Figure 4).
• Finally, prepare an action plan describing how
  you will meet managerial staffing targets. Look
  especially at information provided in the
  employee development and talent management
  sections of the case for activities and
  timetables. Write down your action plan.

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IHRM Case 7
International Human Resource Management
Norge Electronics (Portugal), SA
Managing people in a multinational context
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Appendix A
Map of Portugal
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Organization chart, Norge Electronics (Portugal),
SA
Appendix B
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Climate study factors
Appendix C
SAT JOB SATISFACTION The degree to which
employees are satisfied with their current
jobs. CLAR CLARITY OF MISSION AND
OBJECTIVES The degree to which employees
understand and accept the organizations mission
and objectives. ESTRUT STRUCTURE The degree to
which the organizational structure supports,
rather than interferes with, getting information,
making decisions and getting the work done. SIN
SYNERGY WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION The degree to
which people in different parts of the
organization work together, support each other
and do not duplicate activities. AMB BUSINESS
AMBITIOUSNESS The degree to which the mission and
objectives are perceived as lofty and
challenging. ESTILO MANAGEMENT STYLE The degree
to which managers styles are supportive of
employees and helpful in getting the work done.
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Climate study factors
Appendix C
REMUN REMUNERATION The degree to which
remuneration is perceived as (a) internally
equitable, (b) competitive with other
organizations, and (c) supportive of individual
and team performance. IDENT CORPORATE
IDENTITY The degree to which employees (a)
perceive the organization as having a unique
identity and (b) accept and support the
identity. EMPOW EMPOWERMENT OF EMPLOYEES The
degree to which employees feel empowered to take
the actions and decisions they need to take in
order to get the job done. Also, the perception
of how much the organization empowers, rather
than controls, employees. RH HUMAN RESOURCE
POLICIES The degree to which human resource
policies and practices are perceived as (a)
supportive of getting the work done, (b)
appropriate to employee needs, and (c)
appropriate to prepare the organization for the
future.
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Preliminary results of the climate study
Appendix D
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Norge Portugal Grades
Appendix E
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Job evaluations, Norge Electronics (Portugal), SA
Appendix F
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Case 7 Activity
Discuss João Silvas actions to professionalize
HR management in the Portuguese subsidiary.
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