Human Resource Management in the Uk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resource Management in the Uk - Essay Example The HR department must know how to measure performance in a global setting. The HR staff must pursue talent management initiatives for executives. The HR staff must revamp organizational capabilities and competencies to enhance the performance of company employees. The HR department must help the employees identify with and actively push for corporate global brands. In addition, international joint ventures, transfer of knowledge and foreign direct investment also pose several challenges to HR staff. The recurrent challenges refer to subsidiary to Company Headquarters relations and the management of expatriate employees. (Sparrow et.al., 2004). The effective deployment of human resources is a strategy which helps firms attain competitive advantage. The HR departments of UK companies respond to the needs of the firms as these participate in global competition. (Sparrow, et. al., 2004). Most UK companies start operations in the domestic marketplace. This set-up demands that all of the firm's facilities, employees, and customers within the boundaries of one country. In this context, employees may differ to a certain degree in terms of their regional or ethnic origins but the pool of employees is homogeneous. International firms consider their international markets as part of their domestic operations. This strategy requires that firms enter international markets by building production facilities in foreign countries. Multinational firms build facilities in different countries to make use of costs and production efficiencies. The HR problems tackled by multinational companies are similar to those faced by international companies. The HR department needs to consider the cultural, financial, legal, and economic linkages of several countries. (Sparrow, et. al., 2004). Transnational firms utilize modern, high quality products and services at minimum costs. These firms combine the strength of global efficiencies with local responsiveness. Transnational companies specialize in economies of scale and emphasize flexibility and mass customization of products. In this set-up, HR systems should encourage flexible production create synergies through the cultural differences. Multinational firms locate facilities in a particular country to tap that country's market. The transnational firms take into account the cultures, political, legal and economic framework to choose locations around the globe. These firms have multiple headquarters spread across the globe, which redounds to less hierarchy, hence, emphasizing decision-making. These HR systems attract, train and retain executives who are not only competent in cross-border transactions but are also competent in decision-making in flattened organizations. In a transnational firm, the HRM issue is to identi fy strategic advantages of a given set of labor resources. (Sparrow, et. al., 2004).In a study by Deirdre McCaughey and Nealia S. Bruning (2005) global corporations such as McDonalds and Hewlett Packard derive more than 60% percent of their revenues from international operations. The HR departments of these companies hire employees for foreign assignments as a strategic human resource strategy (Brewster, 1997). The assignment failure of expatriate employees is due to the failure of the HR Department to provide training to engage with people from varying cultures. Other