Human Resource Management in a Global Context: A Critical Approach

Citation

Strachan, L. (2012), "Human Resource Management in a Global Context: A Critical Approach", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 36 No. 9, pp. 948-951. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090591211280991

Book synopsis

This text examines the increasingly global context of HRM practice from a critical thinking approach. It is helpfully separated into three sections, each with five or six chapters, which explore a number of aspects of HRM within the global context. The book's target audience is primarily students studying HRM at a higher education level, due to the way in which critical thinking and writing are pivotal throughout, and the use of case studies at the end of chapters really enhances the learning outcomes of the chapters.

The initial section, “The Human Resource Management Arena”, summarises the current underpinning concepts of the HRM discipline. The opening chapter discusses the contextualisation of HRM within organisations considering sociocultural, legal and political, economic and technological, along with local contexts. The authors highlight that HRM will have a limited value if cultural and institutional contexts are not considered fully (p. 24). The following chapter then frames HRM within key theoretical debates considering the shift from mainstream HRM to strategic human resource management and its longer‐term frame of reference within the subject. This is a vital discussion due to the way in which HRM is ever increasingly being utilised as a competitive advantage within organisations (Colakoglu et al., 2006, p. 43). The authors also highlight how SHRM focuses on the links between human resource practices, the human resource pool and organisational outcomes, which are increasingly important within the global marketplaces in which these organisations exist. Such discussions frame the following two chapters as the authors go on to explore considerations transnational companies must take into account in the current economic climate as well as examining diversity management within organisations in order that businesses take full advantage of their human resource talent pool. The final chapter within this section discusses ethics within the HRM realm and bemoans the fact that ethical issues are either forgotten or taken for granted.

The second section within the text is “Human Resource Management in Practice”, which begins with chapters looking at human resource planning and job and work design. Concepts such as talent management, the outsourcing of work and other such strategic challenges are explored here. Both chapters discuss how organisations can ensure they achieve a sustained competitive advantage whilst taking into account the needs and feelings of employees and ensuring levels of engagement are unaffected through any new job designs and strategic planning of human resources. The authors then examine recruitment and selection, which they describe as seminal topics within HRM. The text then looks at performance management and reward management, respectively, highlighting the difficulties and issues arising within multinational companies. Issues and complexities of culture are underlined and it is emphasised that performance management and the reward system may and most likely will need to be altered and tailored between headquarters and subsidiary companies. The final chapter in this section looks at training, development and learning where discussions range from classical to contemporary training approaches. Again the authors use the international backdrop as a successful tool in highlighting how considerations must be made by national corporations in delivering learning interventions across international contexts.

The final section of the book is “Human Resource Management and Contemporary Issues”, which analyses a variety of concepts that have a major impact on today's organisations. The first and most important chapter is change management, which is vital due to the fact that environments are so unpredictable and turbulent. The authors suggest that the nature of change has evolved and that managers at the cutting edge of change therefore need greater capabilities in managing and achieving sustainability within organisations. The authors highlight that a study of employee involvement is key to HRM, as it is arguably a core ingredient in high‐performance work systems due to the fact that it influences the way in which an individual responds to and interacts with the organisation. This section also looks at the issue of work‐life balance in the twenty‐first century, due to the ever‐changing environment and the changing face of employment within organisations. The authors argue that organisations need to incorporate flexibility and management skills throughout the company, especially within multinational corporations, where it may be that these needs and considerations vary depending on the culture and context. The final chapter of the text explores human resource management in small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) as this type of organisation accounts for the vast majority of businesses worldwide (Small Business Service, 2004, p. 425). The authors comment that although their importance to the international economy is not in doubt, how to promote improvement and sustainable growth is. The chapter discusses the fact that employment relations are complex within such organisations (Mayson and Barrett, 2006, p. 439). As a result, individuals play a central important role within SMEs and HR functions are characterised by a high degree of informality and flexibility.

Overall the authors discuss crucial elements of HR in theory and practice and use international contextual considerations as an effective backdrop to their discussions and explorations throughout the text. Key themes within HRM are identified and analysed: nevertheless, throughout the text the authors highlight a number of challenges and opportunities for both academics and practitioners alike which enables a focus not only on the macro‐environment but also the meso‐organisational and micro‐individual levels respectively. To summarise, the book effectively frames HRM within a global context, which will be key for future considerations of the development of HRM in practice throughout organisations.

Evaluation

This text is very effective in communicating the turbulent world in which HRM exists in practice. The international undertone of the book, which in many cases is used as a comparative stance, is very useful in displaying high levels of criticality whilst also depicting the global environment in which HRM exists.

Personally I would recommend this text to students as it encourages and emphasises the importance of criticality whilst having an analytical tone that is very easy to read. In many ways this text extends the needs of its readers by discussing key arguments and debates surrounding concepts within the HRM paradigm whilst considering the global context of such concepts.

The layout of the book is excellent due to the way in which it initially explains each concept and different schools of thought surrounding it whilst then exploring the international paradigm and what impacts and considerations must be made for international organisations within such a global context. A prime example of this is in chapter ten, related to the concept of reward management: here, the authors initially identify and detail different rewards, thereafter follows a critical perspective of reward management and a treatise on international reward management.

It is a result of this structure, the discussions surrounding the concepts along with the global contextual undertone, that leads me to recommend the text to students studying international human resource management.

In the authors' own words

“Bringing together eminent international scholars, this book places a premium on the critical thinking and analytical abilities that can be successfully applied to HRM. We take a different view of HRM theory and practice from that of often mechanically prescriptive orthodox texts. Our take on the theory and practice of HRM is far from US‐ or UK‐centric: our choice of the topics as well as geographies covered in the text (that is, continental Europe and Asia‐Pacific) is an attempt to situate the critical issues facing HRM in a global context” (p. 2).

About the reviewer

Laura Strachan is undertaking doctoral studies in the area of human resource management within the public sector. Her research interest centres on an investigation of key aspects in the development of Sustainable Leadership in the NHS in Scotland. Laura Strachan can be contacted at: l.strachan@napier.ac.uk