Body of the Project
Your project will provide an in-depth look at how a major multinational company operates overseas in two separate countries. The country comparison project is a 15- to 20-page paper that asks you to compare and contrast laws and regulations, mandated compliance issues, demographics, culture, currency, economic and political stability, language, labor relations (unions), HRM policies and practices, HR trends and the likely effects, and the characteristics of the HR department/function of two separate countries.
Provide as much insight into, and explanation of, the differences or similarities as possible. Use your understanding of the impact of the contextual factors (see below) on the HR policies and practices to estimate what a country's HR policies and practices are likely to be, just in case you can't find specific information on them. Use this understanding in your discussion of the HR policies and practices you find and the contextual factors of the countries. Make predictions about future trends toward possible convergence of HR policies and practices. Integrate research from online sources as well as our library to support your ideas and conclusions.
You will select a region of the world, and within your region, select two countries. For each country, select a target city to use in your analysis. The following is a list of the seven regions that you can choose from.
- Middle East (i.e., cities in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia)
- Asia I (i.e., cities in India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia)
- Asia II (i.e., cities in Japan, Korea, China)
- West Europe (i.e., cities in France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom)
- East Europe (i.e., cities in Poland, Bulgaria, Russia)
- Africa (i.e., cities in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa)
- Central and South America (i.e., cities in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba)
You have been asked to compare and contrast two city locations within a given geographic region. You will make a presentation to the executive committee of your company (i.e., the class) regarding the pros and cons of each location from the HR perspective. That is, you will be doing a comparative HR analysis for each city. Ultimately you will want to put forth its recommendations for a city within the region.
The Comparative Analysis
Finally, after you have selected the countries, you will use the following scenario as a point of reference to do your comparative HR analysis strategic plan.
Your company is looking for a location for a new production facility in your geographic region. This production facility will hire many local workers for all aspects of the facility (e.g., production, supervision, quality, shipping, and other line functions). There may be a few (but not too many) traditional expatriates in accordance with the country's established regulations. Fill in some details about your hypothetical organization to make the presentation more interesting and more relevant.
Prepare a report and make a presentation comparing and contrasting the countries. The focus of the report is how the management of your human talent will affect the ability to be successful in that region. You will need to discuss a variety of issues in order to conduct a thorough analysis. The following is a list of the possible issues. These are only suggestions. You probably will not be able to cover everything. It is your prerogative to present the issues you believe are most relevant for the given region. Basically give us a well-justified decision regarding the location you have selected from an HR perspective.
Details to Include
Details you should include in your research paper:
- Analysis of need and availability of talent (local, third country nationals)
- Legal obligations and concerns affecting HR and labor relations
- Mandated regulatory compliance of the country
- Labor and management relations challenges that impact the decision-making process of global leaders
- Employee relations
- Staffing and selection
- Compensation and benefit programs
- Competence of workforce (education and training)
- Turnover rates
- Medical and health systems
- Cultural dimensions (How do they affect the practice of HR? How will they affect the functioning of the location?)
- The way in which the organizations are structured in the country
- Quality and performance standards to create the best place to work for
- Mechanisms to attract, recruit, select, and retain qualified talent
- Value, empower, motivate, and reward employees
- Ethical concerns regarding hiring, child labor, bribery, and so on
- Salary levels expected by host nationals
- Availability of housing, schools, benefits, and so on for expatriates
- Other compensation and benefit concerns
- Language
- Other norms of the business community (e.g., greetings, meetings, negotiation)
- Women in business