Task 1.

Discuss the conceptual problems concerned with comparative and international

analysis of the organizational practices and its impact on national employment systems

The process of handling and managing individuals beyond national boundaries by

organizations. It includes international management of individuals that are employed by the
organization. Organizations that work nationally and as well as need to expand themselves
internationally comprises of multinational firms. As the parent company, the international
companies working their operations overseas rely on the manufacturing dimensions.
International business must motivate and utilize their employee's services both at their parent
nation and at their foreign office. The process of allocating and utilizing human efforts and
resources is called IHRM. The activities should be defined by human resources for the
employees to achieve designed objectives and take advantage over competitors at the
international level(Taylor, Beechler, & Napier, 1996).

Comparative human resource management

It is an organized way of investigation that follows a pattern and variations in cross-national in

HRM. In accordance with the comparative HRM, different national based business raises from
different factors such as cultural, historical and institutional heritage in different countries.
Such differences arise due to some historical events in the development of industries. The
'culturalist' viewpoint where it is contended that national business styles develop, because of
inculcated social frames of mind and mental constructions. It portrays culture in five
measurements which are control separate, independence, manliness, vulnerability shirking and
long-haul introduction. Different analysts guarantee that HR the board rehearses vary between
countries because of the nearness of national establishments, for instance, instruction, banking
administrations or state help(Brewster, 2007).

Internationalization likewise influences worker introduction. The inward adjustments in the

internationalization process require more elevated amounts of adaptability. So as to inside
adapt to outer decent variety in business sectors and inner assorted variety in structures, process
and individuals, preparing necessities to invest authoritative individuals with change the
executive’s skill. Expanded preparing helps in working up certainty that change does not occur
to rapidly or causes an excessive amount of disturbance. It empowers representatives to more
readily ace the rising difficulties in the internationalization procedure. The executives need to
take workers' stresses and nerves into thought. Representative association and investment
guarantees continuous duty(Shen, 2005).

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The first challenge is the cultural shock and language barrier to communicate properly.
Expatriates face problems related to personal and work adaptation. If these problems remained
unsolved they can result in stress for the employee and have a negative effect on his career and
success of the assignment(Hill, 2008).

Solution to such kind of problems all depends upon the effectiveness of intercultural training
received. Because effective training will reduce the psychological pressure of culture change.
The cultural shock will be reduced by studying intercultural models to make them familiar with
the rules and values of a foreign land.

Cultural Shock

Cultural shock basically divided into four steps,

 Honeymoon stage, the positive energy and excited about new experiences.
 Irritability, exposure to different community and culture. Doing simple things in
complicated way, rise of frustration after realization of facts
 Adjustment, with time regulate into new life and accepting changes
 Adaption, accepting their culture and working ethics
 Return to homeland, expecting the differences that have been happened in community
and life

The impact of cultural differences on people flows are evidenced by migration patterns. 60
percent of migrants move to a country with the same major religion, and 40 percent go to a
country with the same major language. And research on diasporas and international business
networks has shown migration to have an important effect on information flows as well as
patterns of trade and investment. As one study noted, in addition to being used to transmit
information about past opportunistic business conduct networks can be used to transmit
information about current opportunities for profitable international trade. Shifting to evidence
directly linking cultural factors to product flows(Laurent, 1986).
The basic answer is that by refining the alignment between cultural contexts and management
practices yields tangible business assistances,
 Participative management can improve profitability in low power distance cultures but
worsen it in high power distance cultures

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  Quick fixes can improve profitability in more short-term oriented cultures but worsen
it in longer oriented cultures
 Merit-based pay and promotion policies can improve profitability in more masculine
cultures and can decrease in more feminine cultures.
 Highlighting individual contributions can increase profitability.
Influencing factors

Language is maybe the most critical key to understanding society by and large and the qualities,
convictions, demeanours, and feelings of a specific individual or gathering. English is generally
acknowledged as the language of business; numerous worldwide foundations and organizations
have received English as their official language. For some organizations, for example, Toyota,
NEC, Hitachi, and IBM Japan, English-talking capacity is an essential for advancement. In any
case, any presumption that talking a similar language expels social contrasts is risky—it
regularly just shrouds them. Also, a dependence on English by British and American
supervisors, and an absence of other language aptitudes, can debilitate their capacity to
understand and adjust to different societies(Grinblatt & Keloharju, 2001).

Religion, connected to both provincial attributes and language, likewise impacts business
culture through a lot of shared guiding principle. Protestants hold solid convictions about the
estimation of deferred delight, sparing, and speculation. At the broadest dimension culture can
allude basically to the way of life and conduct of guaranteed gathering of individuals, so
corporate culture is a term used to describe how the supervisors and workers of specific
organizations will in general carry on.

All MNCs work in one worldwide market and in this manner need to react to the equivalent
ecological weights, for example, globalization and innovation, the development in universal
exchange and the move towards a universally incorporated money related framework. Besides,
the across the board routine with regards to benchmarking 'best practice' as far as cost, quality
and profitability may likewise have added to assembly of worldwide HRM models for example
Japanese style 'lean-creation' framework during the 1990s. In addition, these weights towards
intermingling stem to a limited extent from the impact of MNCs themselves through their
capacity to exchange rehearses crosswise over outskirts and dissolve nation of-starting point
impacts. At last, the arrangement and improvement of similar global units for the most part
from American or European business colleges may have added to homogenized worldwide
HRM approaches and practices(Boxall, 1995).

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Task 2. “Marriot should apply convergence theory”. Do you agree with the given
statement? Critically evaluate your answer.

Convergence and divergence in one company are the primary points for global HRM that can
judge the extent for the company to implement certain organizational practices (convergence)
or mould them to suit the local market demands (divergence). The problem rises for the all
international companies to achieve the balance between the local and abroad autonomy.
Decision should be made on whether their HR policies should converge worldwide or to
diverge them to be differentiated in response to demand.
Business key decisions can be changed by the nation of origin practices and qualities. The
overseeing activities in one or a scope of host nation situations face the test of transplanting
'ethnocentric' belief systems, changing the weighty strategies and practices in their associations
with neighbourhood administrators, workers and outside representatives(Tregaskis &
Brewster, 2005).
According to Brewster (2004) the convergence happens due to the outcome of market
competition, cost intensive, quality of product and manufacturing pressures, cost economies,
international cadres and strategic practice. According to Stiles (2007) organization try to find
that works for human resources in international companies as their options range is permitted
to common practices that are believed to be achieve higher performance. While Brewster think
that human resources should work on some parts that can coverage and other parts ay diverge
itself.

Aspects disturbing between convergence and divergence

 Well-defined local norms.
 Operational unit is embedded in the local environment.
 flow of resources strength such as finance, information and people between the host
and the subsidiary.
 Orientation of the parent to control.
 Nature of the industry means the extent to which it is primarily a domestic industry at
local level.
 Specific organizational capabilities, including HRM, that are critical

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Another controversial factor is Globalization. Concept of globalization appears in 1940s and
got attention in academic fields. As it leads to form social relations worldwide and
interconnectedness between cultures, societies and individuals. This causes the removal of
restrictive regulations in market, international markets, high quality flow of knowledge and
fast mobility of production factors. Globalization relates to modernity that is related to cultural,
commercial and technological patterns worldwide. Homogenization theory believes that
globalization leads towards cultural convergence and it related to some country pattern mostly
American or Western.

Some researchers consider this method the "McDonaldization of society", named on the drive-
through joint. This procedure of McDonaldization relies upon the suggestion that the
contemporary perspective of the legitimization procedure is a drive-through restaurant, for
instance, that of the McDonalds chain, which is instructing the market. Because of the
improvement of McDonaldization this procedure is moreover related or associated with that of
Americanization. Homogenization suggests that society is getting more indistinct than some
other time in late memory and an overall buyer culture is making a result of "new" overall
information and correspondence advancements while calculability, efficiency, control and
consistency are expanded(Bailey & Spicer, 2007).

Social examples have all the earmarks of being an obstruction regarding intermingling.
Collaborate frameworks are probably not going to combine as they would hang tight to make
progress toward points of interest and utilizing distinctive positions. Organizations attempt to
be diverse to get good in the global market). Dissimilar results have been delivered because of
the mind conflicting communication between global states and multinationals. Researchers
supporting the uniqueness propositions hold the view that administration techniques can't be
simply exchanged as social and institutional pat-terns contrast crosswise over nations. In this
way, embracing from best practices, despite the fact that they may be fruitful, isn't generally
recommended(Niels & ten Kate, 2016).

Hominization of societies can prompt extreme clashes and risk around the world. Analysts
demonstrated the fight between Jihad (forceful social) and Mcworld (clean social monism) and
states that union hypothesis will prompt conflict of societies. Mcworld prompts the blend of
music and sustenance, to bring individuals closer while Jihad alludes to parochial qualities and
tribalism. The social conflict and the differences among Islamic and Western qualities are seen
to be the purpose behind these occasions. Consequently, disparity, yet in addition complete

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dismissal may result as a response when diverse social orders and societies are united and
experience a fight(Gratton, Hope-Hailey, Stiles, & Truss, 1999).

From this precedent, individuals anticipate that the HRM strategies should merge around the
world. While others need it to remain the equivalent or wander. Moreover, assembly occurs at
worldwide dimension in financial and specialized variables may results in dissimilarity at intra
national and national dimension. Purposes behind confinement for union are, countries are at
various phases of mechanical and monetary improvement, distinctive political-financial
structures, unique esteem frameworks, social highlights and organizations, intra-national
framework heterogeneity, different decisions in society and miniaturized scale (association)
levels on the nature, content process of work connections, divergence between expressed
institutional systems and truth of training, and variations in the spread, take-up and task of
innovation, and elective answers for basic issues.

Besides, from a hypothetical point of view a few inquiries emerge. Usually similar elements
(for example innovation, adaptability) which are delivering both assembly and difference.
Indeed, even hazardous as 'intermingling' suggests a meeting up and 'disparity' a moving
separated. These incorporates concession to the recognizable proof of combination, even at one
explicit time and spatial and political, monetary, social and innovative setting and dimensions
of progress. The three distinctive attributes of change are,

(1) re-examination and change of a framework's 'profound structure' (system of major

presumptions and standards fundamental the essential setup),

(2) change in structure and practice happens quickly in respect to the past,

(3) far reaching experimentation and increments in speciation and decent variety.

In Ethiopia, women work 12 hours shifts for the sorting and grading of coffee beans for a dollar.
Their scene of work was placed at coffee shops in America and Europe. Coffee cups cost 5
dollars and it is sold by multinational business. Coffee is one of most prominent traded
commodities after oil. It generates 80 billion dollars every year. In 2001, prices of coffee hits
low and a humanitarian crisis strikes caused the 25 million farmers and families lose their
money for their labour. It is the example of divergence. After some time, coffee prices rises
again, Starbucks earns 8 billion dollar per year and sells the Ethiopia coffee beans for 26$/

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pound while the farmers receives only 1 or 0.6$/ pound and 3 cents from 3$ cappuccino cup
goes to farmers(Nelson & Gopalan, 2016).

Task. 3 Compare different strategies used by Marriot International for following HR

practices and structures adopted in any two selected countries of your choice.

3.1 Recruitment & Selection

It is the process of enticing individuals with appropriate qualifications. Recruitment is the
procedure of identifying potential candidates and selection begins when the right individual is
found for one task.
In Marriott hotel recruitment and selection includes applications form different candidates.
Then interview is arranged by the human resource manager were potential of the candidate is
tested and briefs about Marriott hotel. After the interview, candidate is selected for the position
in the organization. Then manager guides the candidate about the job requirements that will
help the organization to achieve its objectives and goals.

In most of the cases the applicants are selected based on following factors or criterion.

 Education
 Competence
 Experience
 Skills & Abilities
 Personal Characteristics

In china, for the recruitment and selection of employees the human resource practices are nearly
conventional. In some organization, HR department plays a traditional role where it includes
calculation of wages and personal fillings. In china most of the companies are state owned
where have cradle to grave policy which includes welfare coverage and guaranteed
employment. China’s employment culture is different it better to learn Chinese management
and organizational behaviour for expatriates. They held job fairs and campus recruitment. Their
selection process includes interviews, tests and behavioural event(Xiao, 1996).

Australia follows strategic objective and company mission statement for any recruitment and
selection process. Their human resources strategies include plans linked with cooperate
requirements, developmental plans. Achieving goals, recruitment strategies, training and

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mentoring programs. In Australia they depend on recruit individual from within the
organization. They follow a policy of filling job vacancies at upper level through promotions.
Selection techniques includes advertisements followed by interview, tests and reference
checks. Cost effective recruitment will be the primary concern of any company(Carless, 2007).

3.2 Training & Development

Organization most important subsystem is the training and development of employees which
requires persistent improvement in the employee’s performance. Training employees is an
educational process to enhance their skills and attitude to gain more knowledge to achieve
organizational goals. With regular intervals, sessions and training must be organized to increase
the enthusiasm in employees to achieve working goals and earn rewards.
In north America, one organization used an online learning method for the training of
employees which already happens in Marriott hotel chain. If Marriott hotel opened their chain
in Asian countries it will help their expatriates to communicate through internet and have face
to face communication(Treven, 2003).

Hotel industry is labour intensive and Chinese government have invested in hotel industry for
that employees training and development is necessary. Hotels in China focused mainly on
operational skills rather than interpersonal skills. They carried out workshops and assessment
for their employees regularly. All such activities can be arranged by HR department which
Chinese has replicated from Western society and Marriott hotel chains. Hotel leader’s attitudes
are responsible to carry out such changes(Murrell, 1984).

3.3 Reward & Remuneration

Workers reward frameworks mention to programs set up by an organization to remunerate

execution and spur representatives on individual as well as gathering levels. They are ordinarily
viewed as isolated from compensation yet might be financial in nature or generally have an
expense to the organization. While recently thought about the area of expansive organizations,
independent companies have likewise started utilizing them as an apparatus to bait top workers
in an aggressive occupation advertise just as to build representative execution.

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As noted, although worker acknowledgment programs are frequently joined with remuneration
programs they hold an alternate reason out and out. They planned to give a money related
advantage. Albeit numerous components of planning and keeping up remuneration and
acknowledgment frameworks are the equivalent, it is helpful to remember this distinction,
particularly for entrepreneur’s keen on inspiring staffs while minimizing expenses. Rewards
can be in form of bonuses, commissions, variable pay, profit sharing and stock options.
Operational excellence, produce leaderships and customer intimacy results by the organization
which in turn give customer rewards in these fields(Ezzamel & Willmott, 1998).

In China, mostly policies have been implemented from Western world. Marriott hotel gives
their employees regular holidays with increase incentives throughout the year. If one
employees spend over time, they reward them with extra pay. With the establishment and new
investments in China they are adopting hotel management from American and European world.

3.4 International Corporate Social Responsibility

This deals with a self-handled business model that forms the responsibility for a company to
be accountable to itself, public and stakeholders. They should be responsible for any activity
outcome from economy, social and environmental. For instance, Starbucks forms a
environmental friendly cup for their customers, hired more than 10,000 refugees as their
employees and forming relationships with farmers(Kolk & van Tulder, 2010).
In Australia, organization has a social responsibility for the impact of its decisions and activities
on environment and society though ethical behaviour. It should take account of the
stakeholder’s expectations. Laws and international practices should be known.

In Canada, social cooperate strategy deals with best practices and experience in business
launched in 2009. It includes the strategies that will promote Canada’s values with high ethical
standard. Government role to strengthen their policies to welcome any investment and benefits
from their investments.

In United Arab Emirates the social resposbility concept have been present from the Islamic
times with people living practising Islamic values. All organizations and business setup their
workstations in UAE and prosper. Marriott hotel from an American state and proper in Islamic
values and environment(Crane et al., 2009).

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