One situation which global corporations often face is the extent to which their policies should ‘converge’  i.e. be more or less the same in every location, or ‘diverge’ i.e. be different according to local requirements.

Usually it is easier for organizations to have convergent policies or a universalistic approach as it helps maintain uniformity & does away with the cost & effort of designing place specific policies. However, this is hardly ever possible incase of remuneration which differs universally.Divergences to respect cultural differences are more appropriate if the full potential of an overseas company has to be realized as adopting a convergent approach to Human Resource policies may mean taking insufficient account of local cultural diversity.

Example: In Europe, different Human Resource functions are carried out differently in different countries with different weightage. This may prove significantly problematic to a US corporation which uses a universalistic approach in the US and tries to use the same approach in Europe

Organizational forms are no longer traditional i.e. centered geographically, management dominated or one-size-fits-all. Global competition has changed and polarized the organization types to such that lay emphasis on local commercial partnering wherein regional customer service is important while at the same time large scale investment is made for global brand recognition and multinationalism with insider knowledge.

Broadly there are 4 types of organizational models-

1. DeCentralized- This type of model is typical of a Multinational Corporation in which each national unit is managed as a separate entity & optimises its performance in the respective local environment
2. Coordinated-This type of model considers the management in the parent company as the central unit reaching out to its national units via sophisticated management techniques.Local market conditions however demand adoption of some practices specific to a particular place and national units have some management scope there.
3. Centralized-This form of organizational model has its origin from Japanese firms. Centralized control & decision making allow a truely global mode to the organization as it has a worldwide approach rather than focussing on local markets.It is also known as the ‘Hub Model’
4. Transnational-Spanning across different countries, this type of corporation gives local responsiveness to markets at the same time as implementing a multi-dimensional strategic plan for global capabilities

Considering how the work processes as well as people management & development has to be dealt with not only within an organization but also outside it, outside the country and with all possible types of people, International Human Resource Management could be posed with challenges more often than as they occur within an organization which is content to manage its staff only.
Some of the common problems encountered are-

• Managing Diversity-An international organization deals with diversity not only incase of people but also social systems, legal requirements, remuneration etc
• Managing Effective Communication-Clear communication is a valuable tool for employee involvement & motivation. Nothing beats face-to-face communication- not even the most sophisticated electronic mediums- which might not always be possible very often in a global organization
• Managing Effective Resourcing-With a worldwide reach, it becomes even more imperative for an organization to attract & retain staff of a high calibre to manage international operations so as to maintain a competitive edge.
• Maintaining Uniformity & Fairness-Employment practices & remuneration are often the soft targets of unfairness amidst the workforce of a global organization.This gets more mixed up especially incase of a joint venture or strategic alliance leading to divided loyalties among workers of the parent company, host country nationals, third country nationals and consultants.

Hence, there are quite a few complexities associated with the overall management in a multi-national organization but if planned well & executed effectively with emphasis on good communication, the running can be smooth and fair

In 1994, Torrington came up with the ’7C’s to define International Human Resource Management. These were-

1. Culture
2. Cosmopolitan
3. Competence
4. Consultancy
5. Coordination
6. Compensation
7. Communication

Simply put, the ’7C’s characterise the nature of International HRM and help differentiate it from general Human Resource Management.

Cultural differences form the background of International HRM making it mandatory that this cosmopolitan quality is dealt with by maintaining good communication between all departments of an organization worldwide. What helps is good expertise in devising methods to co-ordinate working of different parts of the business.This involves developing a wide range of competences as employees work across boundaries and may differ at all levels-not just politically or culturally- but also as there may be expatriates who relocate after a long time interval & face adjustment problems on repatriation or there are people involved in high level co-ordination who are constantly on the move. Good consulting mechanisms and due attention given to special requirements for pay & benefits help smooth flow of management across borders.

The world has become more competitive than ever. Organizations now need to manage globally as if it were one vast market. Operations are being internationalized by overseas expansions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships as well as mergers & aquisitions. Hence, it becomes imperative to have good policies & practices which make management of people across boundaries efficient. This is where International HRM comes in.

International Human Resource Management is the process of the employment & development of people in  international organizations. It is simply Human Resource Management on a larger,varied and more complex scale involving coordination across national boundaries. The same basic techniques of resourcing,development and career management are applied to an international worforce, keeping in mind adaption to different cultures as well as local requirements.  The workforce may include local country nationals, parent country nationals working on short term assignments or for long periods as expatriates and third country nationals who are not parent country nationals but work for the corporation in a local country (example: a britisher working in India for an American-owned company)