Support your arguments in all discussion postings with data and concepts from the required readings and videos posted in this classroom, and additional scholarly or reliable non-scholarly research.
Mini Case Study: Global Strategic HR Management at IBM
In 2003, Sam Palmisano took over as the Chairman and CEO of IBM; a company that was in good financial shape. This helped Palmisano position IBM as a globally integrated company by capitalizing on the “strength of its human capital,” and not only its products (Grossman, 2007, p. 54). Palmisano called for IBM to create an on-demand global supply chain that provides IBM customers with services and products whenever and wherever they need it. Palmisano then eliminated layers of management bureaucracy and shifted IBM’s workforce nearer to its global customers to enhance the company’s service delivery competitiveness. Palmisano centered IBM’s global strategy on the assumption that its human capital will continue to be the company’s key differentiator in global markets, and that HR and talent management, rather than products and services are IBM’s core business (Grossman, 2007). As of today, IBM generates more than $ 81 billion revenue from continuing operations (IBM, 2016), and employs more than 378,000 people worldwide (Statista, 2015).
When HR departments focus on best practices, they may lose sight of the continuously changing demands of global markets that require updating certain practices. These changing demands may be due to regulatory, geographical, industry standards, technological, or customer preferences shifts, and may require the quick mobilization of a disaggregated and flexible global workforce. IBM’s success as a global company may be partially attributed to its local flexibility and global coordination. However, the company has not been historically flexible or coordinated; it was more firm than flexible, and more controlled than coordinated (Morris & Calami, 2009).
For Palmisano, the key was to remain loyal to the original principles upon which IBM was founded; the pursuit of excellence, customer service, and respect for the individual. However, over the years, these values morphed into egotism instead of excellence, selfishness instead of customer focus, and entitlement instead of respect (Palmisano, Hemp, & Stewart, 2004). This required a top-down system to ensure that everyone was on the same wavelength; however, IBM learned the hard way that top-down management is incompatible with most global companies today (Morris & Calami, 2009).
In this era of globalization with continuously changing market needs and preferences, the only path for IBM to succeed was through enduring values of a strong entrepreneurial mindset and continuous renewal that would help the company survive the many geopolitical shifts and economic cycles. The role of IBM’s HR managers was crucial here; they had to be more entrepreneurial in how they handled the changing demands of IBM’s global workforce, as well as the company’s customers, and also become networkers, i.e. they needed to stay networked with each other to be able to reintegrate the modified or renewed practices (Morris & Calami, 2009). In other words, they needed to develop dynamic capabilities that would allow them to continuously renew and integrate HR practices (Teece, 2007).
IBM usually responded quickly to its customer demands but has not been usually flexible. Entrepreneurial HR meant analyzing the industry for changing trends standards, or regulations. They are open to local knowledge and search globally for best practices that can be implemented (Morris & Calami, 2009); they basically accept new challenges and come up with new ways to solve them (Nonaka, 1994). Networked HR meant that IBM’s HR departments had a huge amount of information of HR practices that are globally shared and integrated. This information exchange was enhanced by having HR departments that are both company and customer oriented, with minimal centralization, allowing IBM to provide superior and consistent global services (Morris & Calami, 2009).
Successful organizations such as IBM benefit from short-term advantages while building their capabilities for “long-term strategic renewal” (Tushman & O’Reilly, 1997, p. 2). They alter themselves through strategic change and proactive innovation. Proactive organizations shift from their current strength to their future strength by being the leaders in innovation within their industries. First, their managers excel at short-term competition, which involves the alignment among structure, strategy, culture, people, and process. This efficiency “requires mastering the basics;” however, efficiency on its own will not ensure IBM’s long-term success (p. 3). To achieve sustainable and long-term success, IBM should excel at understanding when and how to” initiate revolutionary innovation,” and accordingly a revolutionary change within the company (p. 3).
nternational Operations: Company Structure & HR Management
Discuss how a company should be, can be, organized for international business; and issues related to human resources international management. The Infosys and Tel-Comm-Tek cases illustrate major issues in organizing company operations and selecting staff for international operations.
Readings
Ananthram, S., & Nankervis, A. (2013). Global managerial skill sets, management development, and the role of HR: An exploratory qualitative study of North American and Indian managers. Contemporary Management Research, 9(3), 299-322. doi:10.7903/cmr.9731
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=97747727&site=eds-live&scope=site
Friedman, B. A. (2007). Globalization implications for human resource management roles. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 19(3), 157-171. doi:10.1007/s10672-007-9043-1
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=26618680&site=eds-live&scope=site
Hill, J. A. (2016). Protecting a global workforce in a changing world. Benefits Magazine, 53(5), 26.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=114649123&site=eds-live&scope=site
Overman, S. (2016). Tapping talent around the globe. HR Magazine, 61(1), 46.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=112810959&site=eds-live&scope=site
Dixit, A. (2013). Globalization & HR challenges. Human Capital, 36-40.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=109266641&site=eds-live&scope=site
Required Media (Important)
Video about important issues in managing human resources for a global organization. https://youtu.be/RRdKQhS2CLc
Optional Resources
Useful websites related to international labor statistics, expats, costs of living are:
https://www.conference-board.org/ilcprogram/ – The Conference Board International Labor Comparisons – provides data on:
Labor force, employment, and unemployment
Hourly compensation costs
Productivity and unit labor costs
Consumer prices
Charting International Labor Comparisons
Interactive Excel Dashboards
Compensation costs in China and India
https://aoprals.state.gov/Web920/location.asp?menu_id=95 – Official U. S. Department of State site (Office of Allowances) for living costs in your countries. The State Department data are given in US dollars. Typical expat compensation includes four components: Base salary, benefits, allowances, and incentives.
https://www.imercer.com/content/mobility/quality-of-living-city-rankings.html – Quality of Living Global City Rankings, Mercer Survey 2016, excellent information listed by country and city.
http://globaledge.msu.edu/international-internships – GlobalEdge’s International Internship Directory. To search for an internship, you can select by type of organization, country or subject of study/work.
http://expatexplorer.hsbc.com/survey/ – HSBC Interactive Expat Explorer Survey – compares countries on economics, experience, raising children, a total of 49 elements available. Which country do you want to go to and work?
http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/118761/Shell_Schools_Supporting_Expat_Families – Shell Schools: Supporting Expat Families (2012) – how one company supports its oil workers in remote locations.
A. respond to the questions posted.
B. Reflection.
Topic A
1. IBM spent $ 100 million on its restructuring effort. Was this a good investment? Why or why not?
2. What should IBM’s HR do to ensure that it recruits the best talent worldwide? How would the selection of the right global managers impact IBM’s revenue and market share?
Support your arguments in all posts with the data and concepts from the readings, videos, and scholarly/reliable non-scholarly research!
From your research, give examples of global companies where the HR departments have shifted their focus from administration to supporting organizational changes. Describe those changes.
Support your arguments in all posts with the data and concepts from the readings, videos, and scholarly/reliable non-scholarly research!
Topic B. Reflection.
What are the criteria that HR should look for when selecting global expatriate managers?
How important are family issues in an expatriate career?
How is an expatriate’s package calculated and what factors are considered in the calculation?
Support your arguments in all posts with the data and concepts from the readings, videos, and scholarly/reliable non-scholarly research!
