Running head: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Human Resources Abroad

Karen Aguilar
The University of Texas at El Paso

Author Note
This paper was prepared for Workplace Writing RWS 3355 taught by Professor Esther Al-Tabaa
Abstract

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This paper focuses on the impact of globalization when a company decides to expand
internationally. Globalization is commonly interpreted as the spread of production,
communications and innovations business around the world. Rapid globalization is a growing
phenomenon and with todays mentality, growing awareness regarding human rights is not only
bringing humanity into mainstream affairs being major stakeholders indirectly but also greater
expectations. Globalizations impact might often be understood better at a local level. The theme
of globalization can be debated but whether it is an advantage or a setback, the process and its
effects cannot be ignored. Globalization has an important relationship with employment, and it
depends on the countries policies on how it influences. The goal of this paper is to analyze this
impact and how the company can prevent these problems.

Human Resources Abroad

A Review of Literature

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Companies are going global in todays society, and a very big issue is the process of
adaptation that a company has to go through. Human Resources departments are affected by US
labor laws when companies are going abroad. The Society of Human Resource Management
(SHRM), mentions that companies have what is known as HR global strategies and practices.
The rapid rise of companies into the global economy has led to a greater interest and demands in
the developing of strategies for companies human resources. The main issues of Human
Resources abroad are: adapting to a rapidly changing worker profile, understanding the subtleties
of workers qualifications and retaining and engaging a changing workforce. Only a small
percentage of companies can be successful abroad, it is important for a company going abroad to
understand the culture, values and regulation differences. An example of this is how labor rates
vary from country to country and how this affects the company. Some questions that going
global may cause are, Can you over work employees? How is overtime treated in specific
countries? What are other countries custom to (lunch breaks, work hours)?
The problem is the challenges companies face in regards to the different policies in human
resources when the company goes abroad. This is a problem that is being faced more in todays
society because of the amount of companies going global and challenges must be established in
order to address them.
Knowing the main issue this are some questions research will answer:
1. What should a company do to avoid conflict on human resources issues abroad?
2. Should companies invest in International adaptation programs for their employees?
3. Which labor laws are considered when a company is making business abroad? What are
the laws for expatriates?

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

What should a company do to avoid conflict on human resources issues abroad?

The article Few Companies Succeed Going Global by Christian Stadler mentions the
relation between companies percentage of success from going global to staying local. The article
talks about what companies have done in order to move abroad positively, but it also mentions
how sometimes it is better, financially, for the company to stay local for the company to be more
successful. Stadler, mentions, Global expansion is also more complicated to manage (Stadler,
2015). It then provides an example of a company expanding to Brazil. Stadler then mentions,
operations in Brazil, however, turned out to be much more difficult than expected because of
regulatory, political, and cultural differences (Stadler, 2015). Companies do not plan and
coordinate the necessary training to successfully manage a company abroad. Like the article
mentions, considering the countrys regulatory, political and cultural differences is key for a
successful international business. The Brazilian company fixed this problem and avoided conflict
by sending more managers and giving the company more management attention, including
frequent trips to Brazil, took far more time than for similar plants at home (Stadler, 2015). In
order for a company to avoid the most issues, the company needs to consider the interpretation of
certain concepts when doing deciding on going global, for example an article on Challenges and
Opportunities of Globalization for the Development of Human Rights in Pakistan 2010-2014 by
Muhammad Arshad Watoo mentions that Globalization has paradigm changing affects on the
norms of human rights in all over the world Human rights norms can be measured at different
levels like individual, societal state and international (Rashid, A., & Watoo, M.A., 2015). The
article mentions that a key problem is the different interpretations and definitions of certain
words when doing business internationally. Companies have looked into the idea of promoting
globalization in a more liberal way with movements which would benefit and improve human

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

rights. A report in the article by Watoo later reveals that millions of people around the globe are
still deprived off their basic fundamental rights, which are freedoms of speech, thought,
movement, expression, assembly and associations (Rashid, A., & Watoo, M.A., 2015). These
problems can be address with the creation of a universal definition and with setting an
understanding that if the local, state or national government fail to take provide responsibility or
explanation to the company, then an agreed international organization (third party) would play
the due role and fill in the blanks for the company going abroad.

Should companies invest in International adaptation programs for their employees?

An article by the Society of Human Resources Management mentions that, the youth
population is causing skills shortages, filled by older workers, more women in the workforce
and cross-border migration (Wilkie, 2015). The article discussed that the younger population is
not filling all the positions, therefore companies are looking abroad to find the scarcity of
employees, having them face expatriation. Globalization and employment have a growing
important and that policy is very important for globalization. The article by Impact of
Globalization on Trade and Employment by Archana Gaur, proves that globalization and
employment relationship of growing importance to policy makers in developing countries, but is
difficult analyze both theoretically and empirically (Gaur, 2015). The article by Gaur, proves
that globalization and employment have a relationship and that policymakers should consider
and analyze this when creating policymakers for developing countries. Although the final impact
of outsourcing is debatable, it is very likely that companies will intensify such activities in future
due to strong evidences in support of significant cost savings. Companies should invest in
adaptation programs for their employees since they are already investing in the international
market, Gaur mentions foreign investment often enters a country that has opened itself to
5

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

international markets [leading] to an increase in demand for local labor and hence higher ages
(Gaur, 2015). The article explains how the investment in international business has a positive
effect in the local population and as Gaur mentions, the training of international enhances
employment and earnings in developing countries because of inflows of foreign investment
(Gaur, 2015). Thanks to companies taking the risk of globalizing, companies have a better access
to international labor, specialization, new and better technologies and therefore companies gain
these talents that cannot be found locally.
Which labor laws are considered when a company is making business abroad? What are
the laws for expatriates?
Companies should follow some advice before making business abroad, how to handle
import, export and what to do once you have gone abroad, using other successful companies.
Another example of a companys experience of an international move. The article How to Take
Your Company Global mentions one big difference between doing business domestically and
internationally is culture. According to Hilka Klinkenberg, founder of Etiquette International in
New York City, less than 25 percent of U.S. business ventures abroad are successful (How to
Take Your Company Global) The article discusses come important bullet points needed to be
understood when taking a company abroad. The article explains what other companies have done
in order to be successful. It gives advice on what to do before going abroad, how to handle
import, export and what to do once you have gone abroad. The article Organizational Culture in
the Age of Globalization by Emanoil Muscalu, mentions the reason why globalization includes a
multitude of complex processes, reaching different areas of society. How is this term defined in
any different country, but as the article mentions one thing that the article states is that
globalization raises an endless polemic, progressing continuously and irreversibly generate major

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

effects, with both sides of the party, in other words both countries. The article quotes, Whether
globalization is an advantage or a drawback for an organization, depending on the political and
economic situation of the society in which it operates, the process itself cannot be ignored
(MUSCALU, 2014). Globalization is a commonly used term to describe the spread of
production, communication and technologies across the world. An article by Bakova focuses on
the Slovak industry but will serve as a great example on what it is the country faced from the
company going global. The article by Watoo mentions, that
training of managers for the multicultural environment. Slovakia is not yet a typically
multicultural country in spite of the fact that since the revolution has passed 25 years and
nearly 10 years Slovakia has been a Member State of the EU According to their
analysis, before 1989 the migrants had been influenced by the society so greatly that they
had to adapt to majority and this way the cultural differences were removed (Rashid, A.,
& Watoo, M.A., 2015)
Globalization encompasses many political, social and economic changes and innovations, it has
become one of the themes in the theoretical circles. The preservation of human rights has
brought the issue into legislation to make it law as a written part of the constitution at national,
regional and global level in almost all spheres. Consequently, assurance of fundamental human
rights is ground reality and written part of all the constitutions of the world. An article by Rashid
mentions, Globalization has transformed the world into a global village where there are
commonalities of the cultures, exchange of ideas and free economic approaches are struggling to
bring consensus among the world society to protect and preserve the human rights against any
violation. This reality of preservation of human rights has brought the issue into legislation to
make it law as a written part of the constitution at national, regional and global levels.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

References
Bakova, L. & Chipekova, A. (2015). THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION FOR TRAINING
OF MANAGERS IN SLOVAK INDUSTRY. Socio-Economic Problems & The State,
12(1), 42-47.
Challenges for human resource management and global business strategy - Future HR Trends.
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://futurehrtrends.eiu.com/report-2014/challenges-humanresource-management/
Collier, B. J. (2014). Looking to the Future: Training a New Generation for Balinese Arja. Asian
Theater Journal, 31(2) 457-480.
E. (n.d.). How to Take Your Company Global. Retrieved from
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/159252
Gaur, A. (2015). Impact of Globalization on Trade and Employment. International Journal of
Multidisciplinary Approach & Studies, 110-113.
Gharagoz, S. A., Entezar, E.,&Mahmooei, B. H. (2015). The Quality of Governance in the Age
of Globalization. Proceedings Of The Multidisciplinary Academic Conference, 1-34.
Khan, H&Bashar, O. R. (2016). DOES GLOBALIZATION CREATE A LEVEL PLAYING
FIELD THROUGH OUTSOURCING AND BRAIN DRAIN IN THE GLOBAL
ECONOMY?. Journal of Developing Areas, 50191-207.
MUSCALU, E. (2014). ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION.
Bulletin Stiinfic, 19(2), 120-125.
PAASSCHEN, F. V. (2015). Globalization from a Business Leaders Point of View. Brown
Journal of World Affairs, 22(1), 175-189.
Rashid, A., & Watoo, M.A. (2015). Challenges and Opportunities of Globalization for
Development of Human Rights in Pakistan 2010-2014. South Asian Studies (1026678X), 30(2), 215-229.
Sadler, C. (2015). Few Companes Actually Suceed at Going Global. Retrieved, from
https://hbr.org/2015/03/few-companies-actually-succeed-at-going-global
Wilkie, D. (2015). Globalization Presents Complex Challenges for HR Managers. Retrieved
September, 2016, from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/globalizationpresents-complex-challenges-for-hr-managers.aspx