Headquarters’ Perspective

As a business grows from national to international size, the HRM function must take on a new and broader perspective. Whenever a company expands overseas with any functions such as sales, production, or full operations, or by any forms of cross-border alliances, the HRM activities must adapt to a more complex environment. Peter J. Dowling et al. (1999, 4) argue that the complexity of international HRM can be attributed to six factors that differentiate international from domestic HRM. The international HRM includes:

• More HR functions and activities, for instance, the management of international assignees and assistance with international relocation.

• The need for a broader perspective, including knowledge about employment laws and regulations in countries where international assignees work.

• More involvement in employees’ personal lives, as the company relocates employees and their families from country to country.

• Managing a much wider range of employees who require different staffing, compensations, and benefit programs.

• More risk exposure, including political risks and uncertainties, early repatriation of foreign assignees due to internal politics and foreign affairs.

However, these characteristics of international HRM seem to come more from headquarters’ perspective; they are typically the headquarters’ HRM responsibilities. The focus is from the center to the subsidiaries, dictating and overseeing HR practices in all foreign operations and administering the movement of employees between locations.