HRM 584 Week 2 Course Project

HRM 584 Week 2 Course Project

Course Project

This term, each student will develop a project worth 250 points.

• Course Project Proposal due in Week 2 – graded (50 points).
• Final Project due end of Week 7 – graded (200 points) that applies our HRM584 course concepts.

Please make sure to review all of the subcomponents in detail before submitting your project proposal, worth 50 points (due end of Week 2). The proposal should be a maximum of two pages and should be about a multinational company that operates in two different cities overseas that you have selected (including the reason why), a brief outline (a rough draft is fine) of your paper, and your thoughts on some of the sources you might utilize in the paper. The Course Project will not be accepted unless your proposal is submitted to the Dropbox and approved. The focus of your paper is an international human resources topic (not general business).

Body of the Project

Your project will provide an in-depth look at how a major multinational company operates overseas in two separate countries. The country comparison project is a 15- to 20-page paper that asks you to compare and contrast laws and regulations, mandated compliance issues, demographics, culture, currency, economic and political stability, language, labor relations (unions), HRM policies and practices, HR trends and the likely effects, and the characteristics of the HR department/function of two separate countries.

Provide as much insight into, and explanation of, the differences or similarities as possible. Use your understanding of the impact of the contextual factors (see below) on the HR policies and practices to estimate what a country’s HR policies and practices are likely to be, just in case you can’t find specific information on them. Use this understanding in your discussion of the HR policies and practices you find and the contextual factors of the countries. Make predictions about future trends toward possible convergence of HR policies and practices. Integrate research from online sources as well as our library to support your ideas and conclusions.

You will select a region of the world, and within your region, select two countries. For each country, select a target city to use in your analysis. The following is a list of the seven regions that you can choose from.

1. Middle East (i.e., cities in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia)
2. Asia I (i.e., cities in India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia)
3. Asia II (i.e., cities in Japan, Korea, China)
4. West Europe (i.e., cities in France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom)
5. East Europe (i.e., cities in Poland, Bulgaria, Russia)
6. Africa (i.e., cities in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa)
7. Central and South America (i.e., cities in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba)

You have been asked to compare and contrast two city locations within a given geographic region. You will make a presentation to the executive committee of your company (i.e., the class) regarding the pros and cons of each location from the HR perspective. That is, you will be doing a comparative HR analysis for each city. Ultimately you will want to put forth its recommendations for a city within the region.

The Comparative Analysis

Finally, after you have selected the countries, you will use the following scenario as a point of reference to do your comparative HR analysis strategic plan.

Your company is looking for a location for a new production facility in your geographic region. This production facility will hire many local workers for all aspects of the facility (e.g., production, supervision, quality, shipping, and other line functions). There may be a few (but not too many) traditional expatriates in accordance with the country’s established regulations. Fill in some details about your hypothetical organization to make the presentation more interesting and more relevant.

Prepare a report and make a presentation comparing and contrasting the countries. The focus of the report is how the management of your human talent will affect the ability to be successful in that region. You will need to discuss a variety of issues in order to conduct a thorough analysis. The following is a list of the possible issues. These are only suggestions. You probably will not be able to cover everything. It is your prerogative to present the issues you believe are most relevant for the given region. Basically give us a well-justified decision regarding the location you have selected from an HR perspective.

Details to Include

Details you should include in your research paper:

• Analysis of need and availability of talent (local, third country nationals)
• Legal obligations and concerns affecting HR and labor relations
• Mandated regulatory compliance of the country
• Labor and management relations challenges that impact the decision-making process of global leaders
• Employee relations
• Staffing and selection
• Compensation and benefit programs
• Competence of workforce (education and training)
• Turnover rates
• Medical and health systems
• Cultural dimensions (How do they affect the practice of HR? How will they affect the functioning of the location?)
• The way in which the organizations are structured in the country
• Quality and performance standards to create the best place to work for
• Mechanisms to attract, recruit, select, and retain qualified talent
• Value, empower, motivate, and reward employees
• Ethical concerns regarding hiring, child labor, bribery, and so on
• Salary levels expected by host nationals
• Availability of housing, schools, benefits, and so on for expatriates
• Other compensation and benefit concerns
• Language
• Other norms of the business community (e.g., greetings, meetings, negotiation)
• Women in business

Grading Rubrics

The final paper should be prepared according to DeVry/Keller standards for academic integrity. In addition, each paper should be neatly typed, should use appropriate graphics, and should be approximately 15–20 pages in length, not counting appendices. Sloppy or careless work will be penalized.

Papers will be graded according to the rigor of the questions asked, the research and information provided, how well the questions are answered in the research, and the depth and breadth of research scope.

Papers will be graded giving 20% for subject, 40% for illustrating international HR strategy, 20% for the depth and breadth of research and documentation, and 20% for the overall presentation, including graphics.

Generally speaking, papers that are merely informational are not sufficiently rigorous to show academic understanding and strength. A paper that develops the strategic link between international human resources and global business strategy and follows the business strategy through to the human resources strategy and the specific issues and tactics is the type of paper you are expected to produce.

The Course Project is due Week 7. Examples of completed Course Projects can be found in Doc Sharing.