[MUSIC] Hello everyone, welcome back to our MOOC on intercultural management. My name is Kerstin Alfes and I'm a professor for Organization and Human Resource Management at the ESCP Europe Berlin campus. During this week, Marion Festing and I together with you, will take a look at one key asset that multinationals need to manage effectively in order to ensure that they can achieve their strategic outcomes, the organization's human resources. Specifically, we will discuss approaches that multinationals can take with regards to staffing, developing and rewarding the global workforce. Before we go into the details of inter-cultural human resource management, we will describe in this first unit the context in which it resides. The unit has two learning objectives, first we want to outline conflicting goals that HRM departments in multinational companies are facing. With regards to the extent to which they take a local versus a global approach. And second we will illustrate different factors that influence an HREM department's strategic options with regards to managing its global workforce. One of the key challenges that HR leaders face in multinational companies Is finding the right balance between two alternatives. First, is having one integrated set of HRM practices, developed at the headquarters that is consistently implemented across the different locations. And second is, being responsive to the contextual factors and needs of local subsidiaries and thereby offering different practices in different countries. Let's take a look at an example, the German based company Bayer is a multi-national organization doing business in the fields of healthcare, agriculture and high tech polymer materials. The company operates in most countries of the world. With key locations in Leverkusen in Germany, Pittsburg, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong, Mumbai, and Manilla. The H R department needs to solve essential management problems for international firms. Namely, finding a balance between global standardization and local responsiveness. Put yourself in the shoes of the chief HR director and ask yourself, should Bayer develop one approach to recruitment, selection, talent management and rewards? So that the same employment condition apply to a scientist in the United States, in Germany or in India? This would ensure that all employees are treated equally and have access to the same HRM practices. For example, should there be one policy about retirement and pension plans for all managers across the globe? Alternatively should the HR department take a local approach? >> Local responsiveness relates to the extent to which the HRM department adheres to local norms and practices. >> This would ensure that the company takes into account legal specifications and local norms in different countries when developing HRM practices. For example, the number of paid holidays might vary between different nations. Take a look at this graph. The total number of paid leave days in Finland is 36 days, whereas the total number in Indonesia is only 12 days. For this reason, a scientist at Bayer might be entitled to a different number of leave days depending on the country in which he or she works. There a number of factors that influence the extent to which HR departments take a local versus a global approach to managing their work force. For example, HR departments might decide to take a local approach for practices that are heavily influenced by local labor laws, such as working conditions, minimum pay, number of payed holidays and recruitment and selection practices. In contrast, HR practices that are a reflection of the global workforce such as global telemanagement expatriation and repatriation are more likely to be standardized across the organization. HRM departments might also decide to take a slightly different approach for different parts of their workforce. Administrative and operational staff are often recruited from amongst local employees. It is therefore important to follow local customs in order to be competitive. In contrast, senior and top managers often move across facilities in different countries, and therefore need an integrated set of HRM practices that is consistent across the world. Further factors that influence the extent to which HRM departments take a local versus a global approach. Our multinationals corporate strategy, the country of origin and the industry within which the company is operating. In the units that follow during this week my colleague professor Marion [INAUDIBLE] and I will be presenting to you how an intercultural dimension influences the way that employees are recruited, selected, developed and rewarded. In each unit we will present to you key theoretical concepts illustrated by practical examples. And we will also give you information about our own research on intercultural HRM. Similar to the other modules, we have posted additional readings in the further readings and resources for each of the topics. And we also encourage you to engage in discussions on the course discussion forum to explore our topics in more detail. We are looking forward to an exciting learning experience on intercultural HRM this week. [MUSIC]
