HR integration

Culture is the way we a group of individuals do things in a more or less similar way. Differences in the culture and the organization mode of function can result into a crisis of miss understanding. The most vivid ways in which culture affects human resource integration in M&As (mergers and acquisitions) and international joint ventures (IJV) are in decision-making. The procedure of decision-making and problem solving requires that the individuals involved channels their ideas in a common focus. However, when there are cultural and institutional variations, ample time will be wasted. In addition to time wasting, the differences culminate into ambiguities in the association. Such state results to conflicts within the firm where the participants fail to agree on matters concerning the M&A or IJV. In the end, the consequences are dissolution of the project. There are studies, which have proved that differences in culture upset teamwork and development between the alliance partners. Thus, resulting to poor performance or even crumbling of the venture (Dowling, P., Festing, M. & Engle, A. 2008).

Typical challenges for HRM in internationalized SMEs

Human resource management in internationalized SMEs is faced with a number of challenges. There are limited ideas, which can be, use to identify business opportunities and scrutinize the market thereby causing difficulties in maintaining a competitive edge. There is inadequate government effort in assisting the programs especially in the transportation cost, training of personnel for internationalization and obtaining foreign representation. The program faces hindrances in establishing a link with potential oversee customers as well as generating enough capital to cater for exportation. In addition to these challenges, there is not adequate time to handle internationalization (Bertrand, J. August 23, 2010).

Staffing approach

The approach arrived at in staffing an organization varies from in different organizations. In general, there are four core determinants of the approach employed to staff a firm. These include vacancy specificities, company nature, local unit specificities and integrated human resource management practices. Vacancy specificities influence the mode of staffing in the aspect of culture of individuals to be appointed. The availability of the staffs required to fill vacancies in the country is a crucial influence. Moreover, under vacancy specificities, the firm type dictates the nature of individual qualification and relation thus affecting staffing. Secondly, the nature or specificities of the firm which include organizational culture, mode of governance, structure and strategies of the firm, in addition to global influence, determines the staffing approach. This is because the appointed or selected staffs must be in congruent with the company’s layout and outline. The company’s technology used, and marketing strategies add up to the list of company related factors that determine the staffing choices (Briscoe, D., Ichuler, R., & Claus, L. 2008).

The IHRM practices of a firm will also dictate the staffing choices in that, the individuals arrived at, have to comply with activities such as training and development, compensation scheme, career management and satisfy the selection criteria. In the same vein, the local unit specificities dictate the locus of decision making process, the roles and importance of the units, as well as the system used to establish the vacancies. Therefore, the approach used should satisfy these factors (Briscoe, D., Ichuler, R., & Claus, L. 2008).

In the approaches, the most applied approach is that of ethnocentric staffing approach. However, for multinational enterprise, adoption of the same staffing approach may be inapplicable due to the differences in the levels of economy and technology advancement in varied companies.

Factors to consider in making the virtual assignment

For efficient virtual management, the manager should consider several factors that will proof adequacy and fruitful leadership. Noting that these individuals as well far off from their manager trust in the function allocation and cooperation should be a determinant. The clarity of information communicated to and from is another issue to be considered. The presence of an adequate communication channel should be considered (Jury, A. W. 2008). Moreover, the issue of presence despite the distance should be looked into. This will ensure that the team remains focused all the time. Finally, it is essential to consider cultural disparities to avoid conducting a research in a way that violates the respondents’ rights (Dowling, P., Festing, M. & Engle, A. 2008)