By: Jeremy Bradley
Globalization is a term in business that refers to the integration of an organization’s operations, processes and strategies into diverse cultures, products, services and ideas. Because of its emphasis on diversity, globalization also has a deep impact on the way companies manage their employees. Understanding the effects of globalization on human resources can help managers to better equip their organizations for the increasingly global business environment.
Diversity Recruitment
With the rise of globalization, companies of all sizes are now interacting with customers and stakeholders from diverse cultures, languages and social backgrounds. In response, many human resource managers seek to hire employees from equally diverse backgrounds. Companies engaging in this diversity recruitment recognize the value of having people that their customers can relate to, and they know that having a team of diverse people contributes to the range of ideas and influences within the organization.
Push for Professional Development
A further effect of globalization on HR management is a push for professional development. Professional development is concerned with providing employees opportunities to achieve their career-related goals. Some organizations provide resources for their employees to earn a university degree; others send their employees to conferences or networking events and training days. Professional development is important to globalization because it creates a win-win situation. The employees feel as though the organization is concerned with providing a range of skills and competencies for their employees. Likewise, the organization benefits from the added skills and connections that the employees who take advantage of professional development programs acquire.
Greater Emphasis on Training
Similar to professional development, a greater emphasis on training has resulted because of globalization in human resources management. Training, however, tends to be focused on the needs and professional competencies of groups of employees within the organization. The company might, for instance, host language classes to give its call centre staff an edge in telephone sales. It might also teach its employees how to use a new global software platform. This emphasis on training seeks to give the company a competitive edge in the global marketplace by honing the employees’ diversity emphasis.
Management of Laws across Jurisdictions
A final effect of globalization on human resources management is the need for businesses to understand and apply the laws of many different jurisdictions to the particular business. The federal government sets out a number of tax and labour laws that businesses operating in the United States must comply with, but there may also be local and regional laws that apply to companies that operate in different states or different countries. Selling products in Europe, for example, might mean that a company has to impose a Value-Added Tax on its goods. Hiring employees at branch locations in different locations might change the requirements on minimum wage, tax allowances or working hours. Understanding these laws is vitally essential to the organization because any breach of them will have a serious impact not only on the business’s financial well-being but also on its reputation.
Source: chron.com
