Strategic Human Resource Management and Employment Relations

There are several learnings one can have by studying how changes and differences in an organisation’s macro-economic, legal, political, social, cultural and technological context has an impact on managing people, or what we generally refer to as human resource management and employment relations (HRM & ER). A major case in point from the twenty-first century is the catastrophic impacts of the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) on managing people in the organisations directly affected by it. The approach taken by this book is to embed learning using theoretical insights balanced with learning from case studies from different contexts. I believe a case-based approach is critical in providing insights in applied disciplines such as HRM and ER and to allow the learner to engage in higher order learning skills. To this end, this chapter begins with an overview of the case-based approach to learning, highlighting the conditions where such an approach is most effective. The skills of a facilitator of learning are also acknowledged as important in bringing the most out of the specific cases. This chapter also provides an overview of the structure of the book and its associated case studies for developing higher order understanding of strategic HRM and ER.

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The rapid change in technology which is the hallmark of the workplace in the twenty-first century has given rise to unique challenges to Human Resource (HR) Management, not least in the frontline interaction with the outside world such as recruitment and selection. Applicant vetting may go beyond a reference check as technology now gives professionals access to much more information than ever before. For example, as prospective employees as well as applicants often have both personal and professional social network accounts, HR practice has to be expanded from what is possible to what is ethically and morally appropriate – especially when the law is one step behind these rapid changes. In other words, the amount and accuracy of the information that is submitted for the position by applicants is not the main issue anymore. An important concern regards the extent to which HR professionals and other individuals involved in recruitment and selection seek out information online to obtain further information via means (such as websites and social media) that cross both legitimate and ethical boundaries. The following overview and learning exercise provides an opportunity for students to learn and reflect on these issues. We conclude the sections with two lists, one for references cited in the overview and another that includes additional reading suggestions.

Global work-life initiatives present unique challenges for HR departments in multinational enterprises (MNEs) because of the complexity of implementing policies that require sensitivity to local issues such as cultural traditions and legislation (e.g., Bardoel and De Cieri 2007; Scullion et al. 2007; Sumelius et al. 2008). However, discussion specific to work-life management in a global context is limited (e.g., Allen et al. 2010; Lewis et al. 2007). Amid unprecedented levels of global mergers, acquisitions and international growth, the challenge for HR professionals working in multinational enterprises is to define a global work/life strategy that establishes shared guidelines while allowing for local differences. Although there are a number of common issues faced by working women and men and their families, a global work-life strategy needs to reflect a course of action that is appropriate to the local environment. According to Spinks (2003) an effective family friendly strategy requires managers to be cognizant of a number of local factors that influence employees’ work and personal lives. These factors include the culture and tradition, the role of key stake-holders, public policies, community resources and infrastructure, and workplace practices and demo-graphics (Bardoel and De Cieri 2007).

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) occur frequently all over the world and about 70% are categorized as cross-border deals with the aim of multinational firms to undertake investments in foreign countries (Peng 2008). There is evidence that cross border deals are more difficult to successfully realize than domestic deals because employees not only experience a different organizational culture but also have to interact with a different national culture (Chung et al. 2014). The rule of thumb is that integrations become increasingly difficult as cultural distance and differences increases between the bidder and the target in a M&A context. Most of the studies take it for granted that employees are heavily affected by direct involvement in a cross border acquisition (e.g. Chung et al. 2014; Nemanich and Keller 2007). Yet, indirect effects of social identification can also affect the lack of direct interaction between employees from both parties (the acquirer and the acquired). This case study deals about a Japanese steelmaker who overtook a German engineering firm specializing in waste disposal business. Challenges in the post-merger integration and especially between the expatriated Japanese managers to the German subsidiary and the German employees are discussed.

Systel Technologies is an embedded telecom solutions company that helps businesses across the telecom value chain to accelerate product development life cycles. It was established in 1989 in the US and later moved its headquarters to Bangalore, India, in 1991. Currently it has three divisions, namely, the semiconductor division, terminal equipment division and networking services division (with a proposal to set up a fourth division on wireless LAN technology), and employs about 2400 people at offices in India, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the UK and the USA. The company is known for its performance-oriented work culture and innovative human resource policies and practices, which they periodically review and revise to accommodate the changes in the product-market situations and the corresponding changes in the organizational structure/design and processes. Accordingly, they recently conducted a review of their performance appraisal system under the initiative of a newly appointed HR Manager (Nitin Parekh) who had specialized expertise and experience in performance management. Based on the inputs received from discussions with the various stakeholders, Nitin designed a new system of performance appraisal, which had many progressive features such as: joint identification of KPAs (Key Performance Areas) by the employee and his/her manager; building of KPAs around four functional clusters, namely, project, process, people and developmental; goal-setting based on KPAs and clusters; making the superiors’ (including the CEO’s) goals known to the subordinates; reducing the impact of rating errors (such as severity, leniency and central tendency) through the statistical process of normalization; accommodating the requirements of the IT-enabled work system, where the employees are often required to work under several managers in different locations/countries and in virtual teams; ratings based on scale-points indicating the extent to which the expectations are met; and the creation of a ‘comprehensive portal’ where the raters can access all the details of the employee’s performance. Although the new system was generally well-received by the employees, the feedback collected by a consultant after 1 year of its implementation showed that there were still a few areas of concern for the employees. Based on the employees’ feedback, the consultant made a few suggestions, which included: the introduction of the 360-degree appraisal system; conducting the appraisal training to help employees participate effectively in the appraisal process; initiating adequate follow-up on the outcomes of the appraisal including the training for better job-performance; and developing a corporate-level policy on employee compensation (where the appraisal outcomes could also be considered). Nitin was wondering what he should recommend to the top management.

When one of India’s foremost news magazine puts you on their front page then you have certainly arrived. However, when the issue is closely read by stock market analysts who are understanding the dynamics of Indian stock market then there is something happening which is disruptive to say the least and a black swan to say the most. The person in question is Ramdev Baba of Patanjali, the most dynamic businessman in India, who continues to create a complex supply chain of products based on his learnings not from Havard but Haridwar, a pilgrimage site in the foothills of Himalayas. So why are the investors and consumers putting their bets behind this monk, fondly called Baba Ramdev by his followers? And here we enter the heart of the paradox. At one level he is a sadhu, an aesthetic, a monk and as a monk he has to leave his family, adopt a new name, and live a frugal life in a monastery or ashram as it is called in India. In these Ashrams the monks are usually engaged in religious practices, reciting hymns, offering prayers, doing rituals, doing meditation and reading religious scriptures. Ashrams have Hindu devotees coming to them for listening to religious discourses of the monks and conduct religious activities. Baba Ramdev has done all this and continues to do so, yet paradoxically, surprisingly and astonishingly he has been able to use the ethos and working principles of ashram ecosystem to create Indias’s most ruthless, ambitious and expansive business organization with global ambitions. He himself is one the richest men in India.

Nowadays, organizations in many national and societal contexts face the challenge of managing an increasingly diverse workforce. Yet, diversity does not mean the same in different countries and companies, and HR managers are seldom aware of this. As a result, every diversity campaign has its blindspots. For strategic international HRM, this is a relevant finding. It suggests that HR first needs to identify what diversity ‘means’ to those involved, prior to being able to manage diversity globally or internationally. Also, national and local HR managers can learn from alternative approaches to diversity in other countries. Based on this insight, this chapter highlights the meanings of diversity in the German context, using the example of the German automotive supplier Robert Bosch. It also provides the reader with the techniques for a more holistic diversity management.

Ms. Wolf is the Director of a large Agency, a branch of a national public administration dealing with formal compliance and respect of the law. Her “military branch” is made of civil servants working as inspectors. Ms. Wolf has recently noted a growing level of absenteeism, conflicts at work and rising employee turnover. Not being an expert in the field, she has started reading a book on people management but what she reads does not look totally convincing to her. She read: “Happy employees ➔ happy customers ➔ happy employees”.

Over the last 20 years the Italian education system has lived an intense and tormented epoch of reforms and radical changes culminated in the introduction of school autonomy and decentralisation. Such institutional pressures have created, in the Italian school system, contradictory effects at an individual and organizational levels leading to employee resistance or indifference on one hand, and investment in training for developing coping strategies, on the other. The Italian school system comprises of teachers–the largest professional group of workers within public schools, who are also viewed as individual participants of change. Managing professionals and their professions is increasingly gaining momentum as organisations realize the importance of attracting and retaining key talent and human capital. Managing change in a professional setting such as in the case of school teachers, can be difficult as the nature of their profession affords them high autonomy, paradoxically, at the same time, there is a low level of observed cohesiveness amongst the teachers.

Therese Sevaldsen was the Head of Human Resources at Philips Middle East and Turkey, based in the regional headquarters in Dubai, UAE. Throughout her years at Philips, she had led major HR transformation projects. Her passion, dedication and expertise had placed her as an influential role model at Philips. She was known to be business oriented, passionate about people, and a strong advocate for women in leadership. She adopted a leadership style which was inclusive and based on trust. In addition, she tried to be an inspirational leader, providing clear direction, encouraging her team to challenge the status quo, and leading them to implement new innovative HR solutions that better served internal and external customers. Prior to her role at Phillips, Therese was the Head of HR for Schneider Electric in Dubai, a fortune 500 Company with 2000 employees across 14 countries, and 1 billion EUR revenue. Before this she had a number of business partner roles in Schneider Electric and other companies in the lighting and high tech industry. Therese was a mother of two school-aged boys. She enjoyed balancing her personal life with a very successful career. Activities like building Lego structures with her boys, and family Sci-Fi movie evenings gave her immense pleasure. She had just returned from a Best Practices session, held this morning at the Dubai Business Women’s Council, as part of the International Women’s Day celebrationsfor 2017, in which her CEO had spoken about the various steps Philips was taking to ensure gender equality. It was only 2 days before, that Therese and her team at Philips MET had received news that they had won an award for being among the best places to work within the UAE. This accolade was further validation for the key value espoused by Philips, which had people at its core (Exhibit 1). Further, as the Performance highlights in 2015 indicated, 1.7 billion lives had been improved by Phillips Green Products alone, 0.88 billion lives by Phillips Care Products and 0.3 billion by Phillips wellbeing products (Philips Annual Report 2015, and Exhibit 2).