Changing Patterns of Global Staffing In the Multinational Enterprise, Research Paper Example

Introduction

With the advent of technology, it has spurred the increase in globalization. The result of this event is more companies forming mergers and acquisitions in order to strengthen their market position around the world. No longer do workers have to remain in their country of origin, but companies are finding it easier, as well as more cost effective to send team members to different branches internationally. These are seen as the numerous way in which companies efficiently and rapidly expand their businesses to incorporate the newest technologies, and into the newer markets. While Canada might not seem too foreign for many US workers, it is still a different country in which business is ran differently. The purpose of this paper is to provide a global staffing overview of helping to be accommodating to international employees. The aim of this paper is to focus on how from the HR perspective to create an effective onboarding process that helps the employee survive for a year in the United States. The factors that the company, as well as the relocating staff must consider includes health care, pay rates, laws, customs, and the global country that may differ from that in the United States. As an HR professional, it is important to consider the factors of the expanding global business environment that makes the job market a competitive force for utilizing employees that possess the right skills and talent.

Approach

In looking at the factors and other aspects of globally staffing to another country such as Canada, the approach that will be taken includes looking at Canada’s “Work in Canada” website. As well, as look into the local laws, policies surrounding international workers, healthcare for international workers, and other important policies. This approach will also cover the different HR methods used in recruitment and retention. Looking into the laws surrounding contracts, and the way business is conducted nationally and internationally.  More in depth, this research will use information gathered from the DeVry online library, which will help in finding the primary sources that discuss Human Resource Management, global staffing, and professional journals that discuss the differences in the workplace.  Specifically work from McNulty et al. (2009), Collings, Scullion, and Morley (2007), Heejin Kim (2013), and works from Elgar’s Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. All of these sources are intricate in helping to expound on the topic of global staffing, the importance of HR, and the differences in the way in which US employees try to work cohesively in other countries.

Focus

The main focus of this paper is to provide a well researched view in which HR takes in order to relocate or send an employee to another global environment. Using Canada as a real world example, when sending an employee to another country, there are several factors that must be taken into consideration. This is the same as an international worker that comes from another country such as Canada to the United States. This impacts not only the employees, but also the organization, and specifically human resources. Global staffing is an important part of a company expanding their international presence.  Globalization has not only increased with technology, but has changed the way in which companies conduct business. Due to globalization, it has helped to increase competition within the labor market, as more and more talent is available to international companies. There is an emerging talent being sought after overseas, in which HR must adapt to in order to recruit the most talented candidate that has the hard to find skillset. With this in mind, the role of this paper is to explore the differences in laws and policies that are being followed in the United States, as compared to the country of origin of the employee. Not only are their differences that differ in compensation, but also in holidays, sick policy, family policy, healthcare, and other issues that an international worker needs to be made of aware of to survive in the United States. The practical relevance of this paper, as well as the researched information is for the benefit of the organization, the international employees, and the HR professional. This information will be viable for understanding the differences and the similarities that is pertinent in global staffing, and human resource management.

Literature Review

International or global staffing is an essential function of multinational companies today. Times have changed the way in which human resource management functions. It is now more evitable than ever the importance that is placed on HR in international or growing companies. Looking to current research on the changes in which HR must take with global staffing, is a strategic and fair approach. “For HR to work effectively there must be consistency and fairness of practice and delivery, but cultural difference and local market conditions, and legislation, require variation, and differentiation.” (Stiles and Trevor, 2005) It is important that human resources and the company work together in order to have a strategic global staffing plan that is able to address the questions, as well as seek or can identify the answers to recruiting and obtaining international talent. According to Collins, Scullion, and Morely (2007) “the importance of effective staffing strategies for the successful implementation of international business strategies, especially strategic alliances and cross-border mergers in informal and emerging and culturally distant markets.” (Collins, Scullion, and Morely 2007) The trend in which many host companies are recruiting international employees to work for in their headquarters started in the late 1980s.

Looking at many Japanese companies researched by Kim (2013), the author saw that “inpatriation was considered as a tool for localization of human resources.” (Kim, 2013) Not only is the trend a result of globalization, but also due to the diversification of global staffing in which emerging economies have influenced the need for inpatriation. When international employees are recruited to work in the United States there are several legal hoops in which they must jump through. The hosting company must first set up a guest worker program in which allows the international employee to seek a work visa so they can legally be able to work for the company. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the employee would be considered a temporary (nonimmigrant) worker, in which they work in the United States for a specific period of time. (USCIS, 2015)  For international workers that are employed in the United States they are granted a certain protection, similar to American employees.

The wages in the United States differs from that in Canada, or in many international countries. For a higher skilled job, that requires much education and experience, the pay wage increases exponentially. Not only does the pay rate differ for that that collect minimum wage, but will fall in the higher income spectrum. The work week, will also be a new thing to international workers. In Canada the labor, law does not allow workers to work more than 8 hours a day without approval, or more than 48 hours a week. For the United States a typical work week is 40 to 60 hours, and overtime pay will be payable after 40 hours, as compared to 44 hours in Canada. (DOL, 2013) Just like in Canada, employees rely on a contract to be protected, and entitled to benefits. According to the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity), the EEO laws protect all workers that work in the United States and its territories no matter the citizenship. These laws includes discriminatory laws enforced by the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) (EEOC, 2015). In a matter of surviving, the employee will be set up with the same protection and rights, as well as afforded the same insurance coverage that the American employee is provided. Employees will also be provided with vacation and sick days, and if the international employee decides to bring family along, they will be provided benefits that help in providing FMLA, and a work/life balance. The employee will not only go through the required training that all incoming employees must follow, but this training will be set up to provided them with sources and information that will help guide them throughout the year. This includes benefits and insurance information, information for transportation, and information that helps in infiltrating into the American lifestyle.

Results

While there was not any quantitative data that was used in researching this information, qualitative data that was taken from the primary resources around international human resources, has provided the necessary information for the importance of global staffing. Global staffing is imperative to helping to keep a company growing, as well as the company and HR to measure an employee’s return on investment. In looking at the appropriate model to use for welcoming international employees to take the HR systems approach. It helps in measuring ROI of the expatriate or inpatriate, and look at the use of subsystems that interact with HR. The HR practices that are utilized help to recruit high talent, and establish non-financial and financial benefits for the company. Looking at the long-term strategic plans of the company, if the company wants to have the competitive edge, they must welcome new talent into newer markets.

Conclusion

As a result, from this data, the information is interpreted as a way in which companies can adjust that HR in order to be more accommodating to international workers. International employees are able to receive the same benefits and rights as national workers, so it is not much the host country has to do but introduce them to information and resources to make their adjustment easier. This information is useful to the organization because it presents pertinent information that helps to improve HR techniques, as well as consider the external and internal factors in global staffing. In following the HR systems approach in which utilizes the complex systems that work with the HR department, it can create a diverse work force that is able to work ahead of the competition. The organization can be better because of this information, due to the importance that is placed on international expansion, as well as international presence in the growing market.

References

Collins, David G., Scullion, Hugh, Morely, Michael. (2007). Changing Patterns of Global Staffing in the Multinational Enterprise: Challenges to the Conventional Expatriate Assignment and Emerging Alternatives. Journal of World Business 42. Retrieved from http://ir.library.nuigalway.ie/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10379/682/JWB_resubmission_final.pdf?sequence=1

EEOC. (2015). Employee Rights When Working for Multinational Employers. EEOC Laws. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/multi-employees.html

Elgar, Edward. (2006). Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Retrieved from http://www.untag-smd.ac.id/files/Perpustakaan_Digital_2/PERSONEL%20%20MANAGEMENT%20Handbook%20of%20Research%20in%20International%20Human%20Resource%20Management%20%28Elgar%20Origi.pdf#page=151

Kim, Heejin. (2013). Inpatriation: A Review of Three Research Streams. Annals of Business Administrative Science 12. Retrieved from http://www.gbrc.jp/journal/abasjp/ms/abas12-24.pdf

Wages.(2013). DOL. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/overtimepay.htm

Working in the US. (2015). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved from http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/working-us