International Human Resource

Management (IHRM)

Session 1:

What is International Human Resource Management ?

IHRM

Employers rely on International Human Resource Management (IHRM) to deal with global HR challenges. We can define IHRM as: The human resource management concepts and techniques employers use to manage the human resource challenges of their international operations. (G. Dessler)

IHRM

The subject matter of international human resource management generally focuses on three main topics:

1. Managing human resources in global companies (e.g. selecting, training and compensating employees who work or are assigned abroad)

2. Managing expatriate employees (those the employer posts abroad)

3. Comparing human resource practices in a variety of different countries.

IHRM Underlying all three IHRM topics is the idea that inter-country

differences in things like values and legal systems affect how employers manage human resources from country to country. The big issue is dealing with the cultural, political, legal and economic differences among countries and their people. The bottom line is that what works in one country might well fail in another!