Challenges of Globalization (2013)
Challenges of Globalization (2013)
Dr. Payush
Abstract:
In the business world, the term "Globalization" describes how an organization's operations, procedures, and
strategies are integrated into a variety of cultures, goods, services, and concepts. Due to its focus on
diversity, globalization has a profound effect on how businesses handle their workforce. Managers can
better prepare their organizations for the increasingly global business environment by having a better
understanding of how globalization affects human resources. An organization's human resources make up
its whole. It needs to pay attention to labor-management relations, plan and staff personnel, conduct
training programmes, and make compensation decisions in order to attract and retain a pool of competent
employees for each of its operations. Companies hire foreign managers from a variety of internal and
external sources. Recruitment needs to be done externally during the initial phases of internationalization.
Afterwards, transfer candidates are frequently drawn from an internal pool. The next choice is whether to
use citizens of the home country, the host country, or a third country. Selection criteria that take into
account personal qualities, competence, and flexibility should be prioritized when hiring foreign managers.
Policies for the pay and advancement of candidates chosen for assignments abroad should also be
established. The company must simultaneously pay close attention to the training and development
requirements of local managers.
Introduction
Although the term "globalisation" has mostly come to refer to economic issues, its effects
extend beyond national economies; in fact, the term encompasses all facets of life, including
cultural, social, psychological, and political ones. While it is true that globalization has a
noticeable and significant impact on the nation's politics and economy, its effects on people's
mindsets and cultures become increasingly apparent in their thoughts and behaviors over
time. In the business world, the term "globalization" describes how an organization integrates
its operations, procedures, and strategies into a variety of cultures, goods, services, and
concepts. Due to its emphasis on diversity, globalisation has a profound effect on how
businesses handle their workforces. Managers can better prepare their organisations for the
increasingly global business environment by having a better understanding of how
globalization affects human resources. Globalisation has benefits and drawbacks. It can lead
to multiple new directions if used appropriately. It has the potential to destroy economies if
used improperly. The process of integrating economies, societies, and cultures from many
worldviews through trade, politics, and technology is known as globalisation. Put simply, the
world appears to be a common land devoid of boundaries and stops existing as a divided
entity made up of territories, borders, and land. In this manner, one can precisely understand
what is happening at one end of the world while sitting on the other. It redefines what is
meant to be meant by "small world." The truth is that globalisation has an impact on each and
every one of us. What's the deal? Take a close look at your surroundings and, more
importantly, at yourself. It's likely that some of the things you associate with yourself are not
local in origin. In essence, they are alien. A few examples of how globalisation has impacted
our lives are the things we wear, the food we eat, the popular burger restaurant that recently
opened nearby, or the ability to lip-synch to the newest pop song that's all the rage in Britain.
Just as easily as we would go to the market and shop for groceries, we can easily purchase
goods that are not made in our own nation or watch a foreign film. There are innumerable
instances that suffice to demonstrate the reality of globalisation. To properly comprehend
globalisation, however, and determine whether it is beneficial or detrimental to a nation, we
must weigh its advantages and disadvantages.
Pros of globalization:
c) A consistent inflow of funds into developing nations causes the dollar gap to
progressively narrow.
d) The existence of a global market has led to a rise in the production sector and
numerous investment opportunities for various companies.
e) Eventually, a global power is emerging rather than distinct power sectors being divided
up.
f) Decisions made in politics are truly helping people everywhere. Politics is becoming
more and more integrated.
The flow of information between two countries is increasing, particularly when those
countries have nothing in common.
g) Increasingly, cultures are mingling and each country seeks to understand the cultural
preferences of the other.
h) Through this process, we are actually discovering things that we like and eventually
adopting them.
i) Corporations and governments are attempting to solve ecological problems for one
another because we have similar financial interests.
j) Socially, we have become more accepting and tolerant of one another, and people from
other countries seem more approachable than they did previously.
k) As a result, manufacturers find this profitable and contribute to the creation of more
jobs.
m) One nation's economy is reliant on the economy of another due to globalisation. Any
changes to one nation's economy will have an impact on the other. As a result, governments
start to worry more about one another in an effort to reduce their economic disparity
Cons of Globalization:
a) Many people in developed countries are losing their jobs, which is problematic for
them because businesses are outsourcing work to developing countries where labour
costs are lower and profits are higher.
b) Businesses are building in other countries that are equally well-equipped, transferring
the quality to other countries. Those who work in developed countries face tremendous
pressure because they constantly fear that their jobs will be outsourced.
c) Some experts believe that while globalisation has many positive effects, it is also
bringing about negative effects like social degeneration and the spread of infectious
diseases.
During the 1950s, there was a prevalent notion that workers were hired "to do-or-die" rather
than to ask "why." Words like "manpower,""staff," and "personnel" started to be used in the
1960s, and instead of managing the employees, managing the personnel became more and
more acceptable as research showed that improving worker organisation could increase
productivity. Furthermore, people began to realise in the late 1970s that productivity
depended on people to a certain extent.
Additionally, employees began to demand more from their employers than just their salaries
—that is, whatever they thought was fair. "Human resources" became the term used to refer
to personnel. Considering the world at large, Theories, models, and concepts like theory
X/Y/Z, the two factor theory of motivation, the contingency model, social comparison
processes, job enrichment, managerial grid, Kaizen, and others were accepted and introduced
by Indian managers and behavioural scientists.
There are some changes and transitions taking place in Indian organisations. The 50s and 60s
generation of workers has retired. The hangover of all middle-class values has placed the
middle-level at the top. There is a growing influx of recent MBA graduates into industrial
companies. Big companies' HRD/HRM divisions are led by youthful executives in their mid-
30s. Furthermore, as a result of an unparalleled progress in information technology, there is
an increasing requirement to comprehend, oversee, and guide this shift. Organisation
development (OD), HRD, and IR must all be integrated with HRM in order to create a
successful HRM strategy. Better individual-organization interface and a stronger emphasis on
organisational effectiveness than on personal success are key components of India's 21st-
century HRM strategies. It is inevitable that shifts in the political and socioeconomic
landscape will result in modifications to the organisational environment. Because of how
quickly the business environment is changing, personnel managers today may find
themselves out of date. As a result, they should continuously update their knowledge and
skills by considering the needs and goals of their organisations. Among the significant
obstacles are:
Recruitment:
Globalisation expands the pool of available labour, but it also raises the risk of linguistic and
cultural barriers during the hiring process. If the business ignores these obstacles, the hiring
process may become more challenging and time-consuming. When hiring workers abroad,
human resource managers need to adjust to the various traditions and cultures.
Labour rules:
National labour laws can vary significantly from one another. Human resources managers
need to keep up with the labour laws of the nations in which they conduct business as a result
of growing globalisation to make sure that the company is not unintentionally violating any
laws. Furthermore, human resource managers need to ensure that they are not abusing labour
laws that might be more lenient abroad than they are domestically. The company's hiring and
training procedures should be implemented by human resources management 5 in all of the
nations where the business conducts business.
Implications for the labour force:
Social inequity:
Numerous nations have unorthodox work safety laws, disparate labour standards, and lower
minimum wages. Due to these reasons, operating a business and manufacturing goods in
these nations is less expensive than doing so in the US or other, more developed nations.
Many believe that outsourcing is an exploitative practise that deepens the divide between the
rich and the poor worldwide. Outsourcing is done in order to obtain cheaper labour. HR
professionals can fight social injustice by advocating for greater corporate accountability. Just
because a business is located in a nation that tolerates social injustice does not mean that it
must operate with less stringent labour standards.
Social transparency:
Employees in human resources have the opportunity to observe and learn from how
businesses in different cultures handle various business operations, including HR functions,
thanks to globalisation. HR managers can choose more effective or efficient methods by
comparing the business practices of another culture to their own. This can be done by taking
the time to learn about that culture's business practices. HR professionals have the
opportunity to choose from the best ideas and approaches available worldwide thanks to
access to a range of business approaches.
Diversified Workforce:
Companies of all sizes are now interacting with stakeholders and customers from a variety of
social backgrounds, languages, and cultural backgrounds as a result of the rise of
globalisation. As a result, a lot of HR directors look to hire workers with similarly varied
backgrounds. Businesses that engage in diversity recruitment do so because they understand
the importance of having employees that their clients can identify with and because a diverse
workforce broadens the scope of perspectives and influences within the company.
Vision penetration:
Internal environment:
Establishing a setting that adapts to changes outside of it ensuring the contentment of the
organization's members via culture, customs, practices, and even systems will grow in
significance as a component of managing managerial staff.
Industrial relations (IR) :
Practices have changed significantly. It will be necessary to bury the idea that employees
must receive discipline at the manager's desk. Employee development may require
straightforward and suitable inputs, but the company's HRM philosophy and a common set of
assumptions must guide the management and development of both employees and managers.
The paradigm of managing managers would involve helping them live in a psychological
state of readiness to continuously change, in addition to helping them learn new skills and
assess environmental changes to evolve business strategies.
Hopefully, in the process of designing organisations, we will soon abandon the blind
acceptance of foreign ideas and trends such as TQM, quality circles, and so forth. Rather than
these, the organisational structure would be based on two things: (i) the people approach,
which considers employees' relationships, strengths, and aspirations at work; and (ii) the task
approach, which entails understanding the complexities of technology, jobs, and functions to
be performed in order to achieve organisational tasks.
As organisations grow in size and complexity, so does the number of people employed there.
Managing a larger workforce presents significant issues and difficulties, particularly as
employees' awareness of their rights grows.
Under the old bureaucratic mode, organisations were created to carry out technical tasks with
rigid task compartmentalization. However, in the future, human involvement will be needed
for both the establishment of the democratic humanistic system and technical functions.
Higher level needs are being satisfied:
Employees are starting to recognise their higher level needs. This knowledge is probably
going to increase workforce. As a result, managers would need to develop effective strategies
for inspiring employees and obtaining work from them.
Over the past forty years, there have been significant advancements brought about by
members' desire to have more control over how their organisation is run. As a result, modern
organisations are shifting away from hierarchical structures and towards a social structure
that values equality more. In the days to come, this will become increasingly typical.
Technological advancements:
As a result of these developments, many old jobs will become obsolete and new ones will be
created. Modernization-related unemployment might be eliminated by carefully evaluating
workforce requirements and providing redundant workers with alternative skill training.An
innovative role for computerised information systems will be seen in managerial decision-
making. Additionally, it will become more significant at the strategic and coordination levels.
Legal environment changes: In order to meet the ever-increasing changes in the legal
environment, the appropriate adjustments must be made in order to maximise the use of
human resources.
Human resource management: The educated and conscientious workers of the new
generation will demand more opportunities for self-actualization and a greater level of
participation. Compared to previous generations, motivating workers of the current
generation is a bit more challenging. Higher levels of professional competency and a shift in
their value system are partially to blame for this.
Conclusion
It is evident that the traditional role of the human resource manager has changed significantly
due to the rapid pace of globalisation. To meet the challenges of the new millennium, human
resource managers must fundamentally alter their attitudes and perspectives. The
government's positive embrace of globalisation has forced us to improve the traditional areas
of practise. The development of employees to meet the challenges of the next millennium is
largely dependent on human resource management. Human resource information systems are
widely used by HR managers for employee training and communication. Globalisation is the
application of the US free market system to the entire world for many businesses.
International trade is now simpler than ever thanks to information technology and quicker
delivery techniques. There were numerous advantages and disadvantages to this increased
trade, particularly for the human resources department of companies. HR departments are in
charge of employee development, training, and hiring. When businesses relocate departments
abroad or redefine their operations to include the global economy, these tasks become
increasingly complex.
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