Introduction The objective of this research is to determine the convergence, divergence and crossvergence of culture in IHRM, by looking at recruitment

and selection in Nigeria as well as the Pension Scheme. It will also focus on the political, economic, social, technical and legal environment a number of factors that influence human resource policies and practice in Nigeria. International human resource management(IHRM) is the term used to refer to the instance where an organisation`s HRM entails managing employees in more than one nation .(Ngo et al 1998 cited in Lloyd and Hartel ,2004, pg60) .According to( Dowling et al, 2008) IHRM covers a wide range of human resource issues faces MNCs in different parts of their organizations additionally ,we include comparative analysis of HRM in different countries.(Capelli and Croker, 1996) argues that international human resource practices is a crucial factor in creating unique organisational competences ,in turn help companies differentiate their products and services and thus build competitive advantage. International HRM refers to relatively separate areas of practice and research (Dowling and Welch ,2004) HRM policies and practices are carried out within an economic, social, political and legal environment .Thus there is a need for considerable historical and cultural insights into local conditions to understand the processes, philosophies and problems of national models of HRM (Hofstede, 1993) .The indigenous Nigeria system is associated with traditional workplaces. These include village farms ,crafts and traditional trading concerns which are most locally owned some scholars( Ahiauzu,1989 ,cited in Anakwe, 2002, pg1043) have identified principles underlying the African system of work organisation .These include ;The organization of work on the basis of unitary ideology of the workplace and the lack of pluralistic objectives among members of the work group, Status differences are recognized between the head of the group and the members, Age is a determining factor in the choice of persons for leadership position ( Ahiauzu, ,1989, cited in Anakwe, 2002, pg 1045) etc.
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The western system is associated with industrial and modern workplaces, which include multinational companies and their subsidiaries, companies that were initiated by foreign partners indigenous companies with foreign partners and public enterprises whose histories can be traced to the colonial era. Examples of such companies in Nigeria are evident in almost all sectors of the economy, especially in the banking, oil; telecommunication etc, (Jackson, 2002 cited in Azolukum et al; 2009, pg64) argues that there are considerable historical, economic, political and social variations in the business environment across African countries. He contends that current approaches to managing people in Africa are often framed within the context of dichotomous developeddeveloping worldview that not only paints a negative view of management in Africa, but also assumes the need to shift towards the developed world approach. The growth and development of personnel management in Nigeria, as elsewhere in subSaharan Africa, have undergone significant changes. Over 200 multinational companies are now based in Nigeria .(Geo JaJa and Magnum, 2000 cited in Anakwe,2002,pg 1044) and is among the fifty-four developing countries considered to be emerging economies because Nigeria is instituting policies and practices geared towards embracing a capital market economy (Hoskisson et al, 2000 ) Foreign capital investment has brought foreigners and their ways of organizing to the country: Nigeria has accordingly become exposed to western HRM thinking. So far, however, there has been little discussion about a report trend among business leaders not only foreign expatriates but also indigenous organizational mangers to search for information and knowledge on how human resources can add more value to the firm and the spread of best practice thinking influenced by (many western) consulting firms and business schools. ( Ovadje and Ankomah ,2001, p. 187). Focusing on Nigerian banking industry, a sector and country where globalisation has posed real challenges and opportunities .Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa after south Africa,
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accounting for 40 percent of west Africas GDP(world bank ,2007).our research question is the nature and extent of the diffusion of the international HRM practice(employment flexibility )in Nigerias banking industry. The nature and extent to which various flexible employment arrangement (e.g. outsourcing, subcontracting, franchise etc) are utilised in the case study organisation discussed in the section below. The notion the organisations should embrace employment flexibility is one of the cardinal objectives of the HRM model. (Guest 1987, cited in Adeleye, 2010, pg151).The banking sector has experienced dramatic changes in the past fifteen years. In 1998 for example, the government revoked the licences of 26 to 48 distressed banks. The human resource function has become critical to the survival of the banks. This presumption has however been challenged by several scholars, their key argument is that given the importance of the jobs and employment on the agenda of politicians and regulators in several countries, it is simplistic to ignore the critical role of the national context of employment regulation. (Nordhaug and Gooderham, 1997 ). In highly regulated employment systems like Norway, they argue, organizations have less managerial autonomy as they must ensure compliance with rigid employment laws. Supporting this view, (Chung, 2007, cited in Adeleye, 2010, pg151) argues that in Europe, the national institutional arrangements play a significant role in the determination of the nature and level of utilization of flexible employment practices. Also, ( Horwitz et al ,2000) conclude in their comparative study of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, that: the more voluntaries the industrial relations system, the more employers are able to make strategic choices regarding flexible and other innovative work practices. Further, (Gooderham and Nordhaug 1997), argues that powerful social factors such as labour unions exert their power and influence and resist - or at least curtail - the extent to which flexible employment practices are adopted by organizations. The key drivers of employment flexibility in the bank appear to be twofold: the need to focus on its core operations and personnel, and a subtle attempt to avoid union organising and

recognition. In terms of the externalization of the employment relationship, the bank differs from most of the other banks as it did not engage the services of professional employment agencies for many of its low- and medium-skill jobs, opting instead for an intra-group arrangement with a sister company. Also, there was no outsourcing of high-skill jobs. These reflect the banks preference for the traditional single-employer model with internalized employment contracts. The key institutional influences on the type and level of practices employed are: established local norms and practices and the labour unions .FamlyBanks approach to managing the employment relationship is not a far departure from the traditional approach of internalised, single employer relationship. The only departure from the standard employment model was the outsourcing of low-skill jobs to a sister company, motivated by the need to better manage the core businesses of the firm, and those employed in those businesses. High-skill jobs were not affected by these changes at all, and many of the highskill jobs / services that are outsourced in other banks (for example, human resources, legal services, etc) remained in-house. (Adeleye, 2010; pg153). In the Nigerian context, the socalled war against casualization embarked upon by the central labour organization encapsulates the continuing efforts of labour to curtail the trend towards increased employment flexibility. The unions had been attempting to use both political and legal means to pressurize employers to abandon the use of these practices, (Mohammed, 2010, citied in Adeleye, 2010, pg 151). However, in the face of diminishing union membership - and declining financial resources - this war could not be sustained by the unions (at the national level), and the drive towards increased flexibility continues unabated. . The situation in the banking sector, where less than 7 per cent of the banks were unionized had made it particularly difficult for the sectoral unions to exert any meaningful influence on employers. This relative weakness and diminishing power and influence of unions at both the national and sectoral level resulted in a situation where there was little, and in most cases, no

resistance to managerial autonomy. It can therefore be argued that this partly contributed to the progressive adoption of flexible employment practices in this study .The concept of mimetic isomorphism (from new institutional theory) is also relevant in explaining the diffusion process in this study as flexible employment practices had long been successfully introduced in the oil and gas sector, the leading sector of the Nigerian economy. This paper is an attempt to address these two limitations since the human factor is one of the key issues in the new era of globalization (Hassan, 1992; Sims & Sims, 1995). Three central arguments made in this paper are: (1) That a great deal of evidence has accrued to suggest that changes taking place in the global business environment often are not accompanied by complementary changes in human resource management practices leading to a situation whereby the failure of some firms is due to the mismanagement of people rather than to problems with technical systems per se. (2) That this is because organizations have achieved relatively low levels of effectiveness in implementing Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) practices (Huselid, et al., 1997).This particularly the case in emerging economics in developing countries(Nigeria).That are exposed to challenges and opportunities of globalisation .A number of factors that affect HRM in global markets are identified ,Culture, Economic system, Political system, The legal frame work and human capital( Noe et al;2000).In this case of developing countries, globalisation poses distinct challenges to government . Increased international business activity and emphasis on globalization have rekindled Interest in the convergence/divergence thesis which dominated much of the US and European management research in the 1950s and 1960s, (Dowling,1999, cited in Anakwe2002 pg 1046). An extension of the framework is the inclusion of cross-vergence. (Ralston et al 1993, cited in Anakwe, 2002, pg1046) Advocates of the convergence view hold that human resource management practices irrespective of culture will, over time, tend
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towards common human resource management universals, and that these universals are present in all industrial or industrializing societies. (Ralston et al 1993, cited in Anakwe, 2002, pg 1046).it is plausible that the hiring practices in different nations are also undergoing major changes due to the globalization of modern industries. In spite of the cross national difference, the trend seems to be irresistible. (Huo et al, 2002, pg 42). However, Further research has said that the convergence theory states that national cultures are slowly becoming homogenized (reflecting a shrinking world).This is a result of the global economy, information technology, and similar educational and work experience. (Adler 1983).The convergence thesis maintain that economic ideology drives value ,as a result industrialized nations will share common values with regards to economic activity and work related behaviour.( England and lee ,1974). The divergence perspective recognizes country and cultural differences. They expect the value systems of people in the workforce to remain largely unchanged even if they adopt capitalism.( Lincoln et al 1978 cited in Anakwe, 2002, pg 1046), a divergence perspective stresses national and cultural differences. Hence the value system influencing managerial action will remain largely unchanged following the adoption of western capitalist forms of industrial production .(Brewster et al ,1993) Nigeria offers a context where, on the one hand, receptiveness to western normative people management seems credible, given a history of foreign (English language) governance, an internationally educated indigenous elite, and a contemporary export-led economy undergoing World Bank/International monetary fund (IMF) inspired structural adjustment On the other hand, a counter-trend may be envisaged characterized by influential ethnic affiliations, traditional forms of relationship problem solving beyond professionalized management, values that privilege the group rather than the individual, and postcolonial resistance to alien organizational practices (HRM divergence brake). Between the extremes, however, it may be possible to observe managerial values

acculturated by the interaction of externally driven directional convergence and indigenous institutional and social factors producing neither finally convergent nor permanently divergent HRM, but instead a hybridized blend of practices (HRM cross-vergence pragmatism). This papers unique contribution is its focus on the convergence/divergence/cross vergence perspectives in discussing human resource management practices in Nigeria. Hence, it extends earlier studies that emphasized the limitations of convergence perspective (e.g. Jaeger and Kanungo, 1990 cited in Anakwe 2002pg 1005). It provides the basis for further theoretical and empirical work. For multinational corporations, the Nigerian worker has a favourable attitude towards the foreign system of organization; he/she can forge a strong identification with the organizations culture. Hence, Nigerias cultural characteristics suggest that: (1) employees tendencies would reflect a collectivist orientation which entails conformity and identification with an in-group, which in this case could include the organization, the extended family and other work and non-work affiliations; (2)employees tendencies would be consistent with a high power distance culture; (3)employees would expect organizations and managers to be responsible for their welfare and (4) employees would need some structure and guidelines to execute job demands.( Anakwe ,2002, pg1055)

As other HRM functions, when discussing the recruitment and selection practices in Nigeria organisations, a distinction must be made between practices in small and medium-sized firms on the other hand, and the large organisations including the multinational companies (MNCs)on the other. The small firms rely on friends and relatives (of the owners and employees) and unsolicited applications to fill vacancies .The growing unemployment situation has led to an increase in unsolicited job applications. (Ovadeje and Ankomah,2001)

In the 1980s many companies recruited from the university campuses and polytechnics. However, with growing unemployment among graduates and the number of unsolicited applications, few companies now follow this practice. The use of consulting firms and media advertising is common among large firms .Recruiting qualified and competent workers may be very difficult for some organizations because of some environmental constraints. Some organizations have unattractive workplaces, have policies that demand promotions from within, operate under union regulations, or offer low wages, which makes recruitment exercise and keeping employees difficult (Nickels et al., 1999 cited in Biobele Richards Briggs pg 144). analysising the method of recruitment and selection used in Japan according to (Pucik, 1984 cited in Huo,et al, 2002,pg41) large Japanese organization usually conduct recruitment and selection on a yearly basis and tend to hire cohorts of fresh graduates annually.( Morishma ,1995, cited in Huo et al, 2002, pg41) points out that important selection criteria used by Japanese firms revolve around trainability or ability to learn rather than the ability to execute tasks and duty. It was finally concluded that as results of the problems of recruitment in Nigeria, the system is perceived to comprise of lazy, ineffective and inefficient people resulting low employee productivity in the service (Biobele Richards Briggs 2007,pg152)

However, far too little attention has been paid to Pension in Nigeria, (Longman ,1995) defines pension as an amount of money paid regularly by government or company to someone who can no longer earn money by working for government or employer especially because of old age or sickness. In spite of this, Nigeria is still faced with the problem of managing a proper pension scheme for its retirees, whether in the private or public sector. For instance, the pension industry in Nigeria is marred by corruption (Chamberlain, 2005 cited in N. E. Bassey et al 2010, pg61), there are frequent complaints of pensioners collapsing and

dying in queues while attempting to collect their pension. There are cases of underfunding (OJo-Aromokudo 2008 cited in N. E. Bassey et al 2010,pg67).This is coupled with lack of adequate record keeping. Most Pension Institutions in the country are dominated by incompetent staff. This, coupled with their poor human relation renders them unfit for the Modern pension reforms and its associated challenges (N. E. Bassey,et al 2010,pg68). From the foregoing discourse, it was recommended that the Federal Government of Nigeria should not relent in pursuing her nascent democracy that entrenches good leadership and good practices to make the citizens have faith in policies like the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004.Also, E-payment of pensions should be adopted for easy reference, easy update and logistics of the pension scheme system.( Nyong B. C et al 2010,pg114) Conclusion This study has shown that human resource management practices in Nigeria are a blend of foreign or Western practices and the contexts in which the organizations function. Organizations have proactively to adopt a cross vergence perspective in designing, developing and implementing human resource management practices in Nigeria and other developing economies. (Anakwe, 2002). One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that first socio-cultural norms have some significant impact on specific HRM practices .As noted by( Dowling et al ,1991),activities such as recruitment ,promoting, rewarding and dismissal are often determined by culture specific practices. Secondly there are wider external factors to contend with; the state of the economy, political, and other pressure may result in otherwise unpleasant but generally acceptable practices of doing business. Third ,the federal and state governments together act as the main employers of waged labour hence are directly involved in the running of trade unions in the country ,which sometimes include firing of trade unions leaders(Ovadeje and Ankomah,2001). In conclusion, consistent with the cross-vergence

perspective, the following excerpt by Laurent synthesizes the reality of the existence of multinational corporations and/other affiliates, and in order to be effective locally, they is also need to adapt those ways to the specific cultural requirements of different societies. While the global nature of the business may call for increased consistency, the variety of cultural environments may be calling for differentiation. (Laurent, 1986: 97) It then becomes evident that adopting a convergence perspective is no longer feasible. In general, therefore, it seems that government should give pension matters top priority because after hard service comes a period of retirement. The paper recommends as follows: To minimize corruption, our Law enforcement Agencies and other corruption fighting Commission like EFCC, Further review of pension laws in Nigeria by government should be done, and finally Proper record keeping should be ensured. Overall, in order to achieve improved and sustained organizational performance, HRM activities should be implemented in an environment of employee involvement.(Baird et al,1988 ) proposed that HRM practices "must fit with and support each other" . Thus, organizations simultaneously use many HRM practices that may enhance "operational effectiveness" but in order to achieve "strategic positioning" as (Porter 1996 cited in Okpara and Wynn pg72) suggested, they have to combine HRM practices in a way that produces a synergistic effect. Finally, remuneration of federal civil servants should be increased in order to attract more competent application and also reduce the rate of labour turnover in the service. The immediate priority therefore, is the need to re-examine the reliability and validity of employee selection instruments in the federal civil service. Biobele Richards Briggs ,(2007)

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Dowling et al., (2002). International handbook on globalisation education and policy published by Springer .P.O Box17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Netherland. Dowling and Welch, (2004). International dimensions of human resource management, Wadsworth, Belmont. England, G.W. and Lee, R. (1974) The Relationship between Managerial Values and ManagerialSuccess in the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, Journal of Applied Psychology, Gooderham, P., and Nordhaug, O. (1997). Flexibility in Norwegian and UK firms: competitive pressure and institutional embeddedness. Employee Relations, Hassan, S. M. J. (1992). Human Resource Management in a New Era of Globalism. Business Forum 17(1), Los Angeles, Horwitz, F., Allan, C., Brosnan, P., and Walsh, P. (2000). Flexible work practices: perspectives from the southern hemisphere. South African Journal of Business Management, Hofstede, (1993)Cultural Constraints in Management Theories, Acadamy of Management Executive, Hoskisson, R.E., Eden, L., Lau, C.M. and Wright, M. (2000), "Strategy in emerging economies", Academy of Management Journal,.

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Huo P,Jason H,Nancy Napier,(2002)Divergence or Convergence :A Cross National Comparisson or Personnel Selection PraticesHuman resource management :Spring 2002;41,1;ABI/INFORM Global Huselid, M.A., Jackson, S.E & Randall, R.S. 1997. Technical and strategic human resource management effectiveness as determinants of firm performance. Academy of Management Journal Laurent, A. (1986) The Cross-Cultural Puzzle of International Human Resource Management , Human Resource Management, 25: 91102. Longman P (1995). Dictionary of Contemporary English. Longman Group Ltd., Harlow Essex N. E. Bassey, O. U. Etim and F. A. Asinya(2010) AN OVERVIEW OF THE NIGERIAN PENSION SCHEME FROM 1951-2004. GLOBAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES VOL 7, NO. 1&2, 2008: 61-70 Nyong B. C. and Duze C. O. 2010. The Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 and retirement planning in Nigeria. Journal of Economics and International Finance Vol. 3(2), pp.109-115, February 2011.Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/JEIF Ovadje, F. and Ankomah, A. (2001), "Human resource management in Nigeria", in Budhwar, P.S. and Debrah, Y.A. (Eds), Human Resource Management in Developing Countries, Routledge, London, pp. 174-89.

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