The challenges of globalization

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts. Initial post should be 150-250 words in length.

1) The challenges of globalization are further exacerbated by political and social unrest in many parts of the world, as well as the economic difficulties the world is currently witnessing” (Youssef, 2015, sec 10.1, Globalization and HRM, para 1). International instability and political issues have caused a lot hesitation across the globe with organizations sending employees into these developing countries that at this point are just becoming to unsafe. Youssef (2015) states, “although political, economic, and cultural differences have always been concerns in global HRM, recent events clearly present organizations with unique HRM challenges that penetrate every area of operation” (sec 10.1, Globalization and HRM, International Assignments and Political Instability, para 4). The sourcing of employees and relocations is no longer on a scale of within the U.S. but now rather, across the globe. That drives home employee safety which is ultimately the number one concern for any organization. “HR planning should account for political conditions that would make it impossible or unsafe for the organization’s members to travel, which would impact organizational goals and expansion plans” (Youssef, 2015, sec 10.1, Globalization and HRM, International Assignments and Political Instability, para 4).

“Cultural differences and value system dissimilarities can hinder communication and collaboration, and they can exacerbate psychological or social distance in global settings. The most familiar models for cultural differences are those of Hofstede, Trompenaars, and the GLOBE project” (Youssef, 2015, sec 10.1, Globalization and HRM, Managing a Global Workforce From a Distance, para 3). Hofstede had 5 critical factors in determining cultural dimensions such as: Power Distance, Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long- versus short term Orientation. “Note that Hofstede and Trompenaars are both Dutch purveyors of international cultural models, and are each very critical of the others’ models” (Straker, 1997). Trompenaars’ cultural factors include 7 different areas in determining cultural dimensions. These include: Universalism vs. Particularism, Analyzing vs. Integrating, Individualism vs. Communitarianism, Inner-directed vs. Outer-directed, Time as sequence vs. Time as synchronization, Achieved status vs. Ascribed status, and Equality vs. Hierarchy. Globe model identifies nine areas of cultural dimensions such as: Performance Orientation, Uncertainty Avoidance, Humane Orientation, Institutional Collectivism, In-group Collectivism, Assertiveness, Gender egalitarianism, Future Orientation, Power Distance. “There is a lot of difference among their theories in the variables used for their dimensions and how they are measured, making it difficult to directly compare their results. The implication of their research suggests the importance for organizations to understand the impact culture has on employee and manager interactions as well as operating in a multicultural environment” (Parrot, 2013). Organizations can apply and adapt criteria from each of the cultural differences model to best benefit their strategic goals and objectives.

2) How does the current landscape of global HRM impact HR planning?

“Recent global trends have changed the way organizations manage and leverage human capital” (Youssef, C. 2015). In recent years the violence and social unrest in other countries has made it difficult to send employees over seas. So now businesses are outsourcing to other countries and have a new set of issue to deal with. As stated in the textbook, “Cross cultural barriers that are challenging for global leaders, include language barriers, different time zones, corruption, and institutional deficiencies” (Youssef, C. 2015). Along with these issues that HR must deal with, safety is the companies main concern. “HR planning should account for potential conditions that would make it impossible or unsafe for the organizations members to travel, which would impact organizational goals and expansion plans” (Youssef, C. 2015). Due to these challenges there must be new ways HR has to deal with employees overseas and from different countries. HR must change their behavior when dealing with employees overseas or from different cultural backgrounds. Some examples are; slow down when speaking, give the person time to process what you are saying. Simplify your words, avoiding slang. Tone down your voice, HR must ask about language terms they do not understand. (Gurchiek, K. 2016). As stated in Developing a Global Mindset is Critical to Organizational Success,“Foster urged HR practitioners to work with their organizations to create a global strategy that is informed by best practices of the entire organization, including headquarters” (Gurchiek, K. 2016).

What are the HRM implications of Hofstede’s, Trompenaars’, and the GLOBE models’ cross-cultural dimensions?

“According to Youssef and Luthans (2012) global leaders face at least three unique challenges ; distance, cultural differences, and cross country barriers” (Youssef, C. 2015). There are three cross cultural dimensions that come into play, Hofstede’s, Trompenaars’ and the Globe Project. Hofstede’s cultural dimension model has five factors; Power distance, Individual vs. Collectivism, Masculinity vs. Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long vs. Short term Orientation. (Straker, D. 1997). Trompenaars’ had seven cultural factors in his cultural dimensions; Universal vs. particularism, analyzing vs. intergrating, individuals vs. communitarianism, inner directed vs. outer directed, time as sequence vs. time as synchronisation, achieved status vs. ascribed status, and equality vs. hierarchy. (Straker, D. 1997). The Globe project is another model to demonstrate cross cultural dimensions. It has nine dimensions; Uncertainty avoidance, Power distance, Institutional Collectivism, In-group Collectivism, Gender egalitarianism, Assertiveness, Future orientation, Performance orientation, and finally Humane orientation. The Globe Project continues to differentiate its model from Hofstede’s by testing their nine dimensions across two milestones within a culture, by capturing a cultures values and current practices in their society. (Parrott, L. 2013). “Unlike Globe Trompenaars’ work is primarily based on sociology” (Parrott, L. 2013). According to Parrott (2013) “There is a lot of differences among their theories in the variables used for their dimnesions and how they are measured, making it difficult to directly compare their results” (Parrott, L. 2013). Businesses’ and HR managers can pick and choose from these models to make the cross cultural model for their organization.

3) Today, social media is playing a major role in the selection process. How would the use of such tools as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and others impact your decision in finding the right candidate and why would you select such tool(s)?

I agree that social media does play a huge factor in selecting people for a job. I have never had to select someone so a job, but I know that if I did I would scroll social media to see what type of person they are. My wife has had to select new cooks for her job and before she did, I know that she was looking on Facebook to see what type of person they are. Did they have photos of kids, many party photos, what this person likes in their off time from work and things that might imply that they might be or not be the best worker. I also remember reading a few years ago that some states were passing laws that protected minors from being discriminated against for social media posts that happened before they were of age.

I think that if I were an employer I would use social media to see what type of person a future employee might be. I know that this may not be the best interpretation of that person, but I feel what you put out in cyberspace says a lot about who you are as a person.

What would be the impact on HR policies?

“With the visibility of personal information on the social media platforms and usage of these information by employers for personnel screening and selection has led to the emergence of digital social contract, a new proactive transparency expectations from organizations to workers. The employers have reported to be using the online information to evaluate job candidates during personnel selection. Another study by Caers and Castelyns (2010) reported that employers review the personal information on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn for screening the candidates, which in turn, creates the risk of selection biases even before the first round of interview” (Priyadarshini & Jha, 2017). One of the biggest concerns with using social media for narrowing down candidates for job selecting is that online privacy is being violate.

I am not sure what impact this would have on HR policies but I do think that even if this was something that employers should not do, I do not see this stopping anyone from looking at future employees when they are at home on a personal computer. I am not saying it is right, but it is human nature to be curious about people.

4) Today, social media is playing a major role in the selection process. How would the use of such tools as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and others impact your decision in finding the right candidate and why would you select such tool(s)?

Social media is playing a huge role in the job market. Employers can now do Facebook searches and look through potential employees twitter accounts to see what type of person this potential candidate may be. At my current job we use social media every day. We do what is known as social recruiting, ” the process where both online and offline social and professional networks of individuals and organizations connect and communicate to match jobs with the right candidates” (Youssef, C. 2015). I have my own recruiting page on Facebook to find potential candidates. Once I find someone we check all there social media accounts to make sure they are not doing anything or posting anything that would look bad for the Marine Corps. I also look for tattoos and the candidate’s weight to see if they are acceptable applicants. I have many people lie about their tattoos or weight and I can check online and see if they are being truthful. I think most employers would use these sites to see what type of pictures and statuses these applicants are posting and if it fits with the companies values.

What would be the impact on HR policies?

“In the age of instant communication, managers must be part of the social networking process, and social recruiting must be part of an organizations recruiting strategies” (Youssef, C. 2015). HR managers can weed out candidates simply by going to their social media account. Companies and HR managers are using profiling, “profiling involves the gathering of information by employers on employees via online search engines or individual social media sites in order to select an appropriate job applicant” (McDonald, P. Thompson, P. 2016). HR policies should change to include being able to look through a potential applicants social media. I think though HR should be upfront with the applicant that they will look through their social media so the applicant doesn’t feel like they are being spied on. There is a fine line here that HR has to proceed with caution. According to the article by McDonald and Thompson (2016), “There are emerging tensions between employers/managers (including HR managers) and employees around social media use in employment.” There needs to be policies set in place so everyone feels comfortable. Of course you as the employee should know what to not put on your social media accounts. ” This information goes both ways, as job candidates know as much about employers as employers know about candidates through their own social network connections” (Youssef, C. 2015).