International People Management
Abstract
This paper discusses international people management in relation to project management. The importance of People management to project teams, since it is depicted to meet the requirements stipulated by the project aligned organization is also illustrated. Global Human Resource practices are also compared between the United Kingdom and Nigeria whereby it is seen that people management practices in Nigeria are not advanced therefore demonstrating the lack of effective and coherent HRM practices while on the other hand, in the United Kingdom, the people management practices are developed to such an extent that they are efficient and effective. Analysis of existing literature was conducted to determine the relationship between the current knowledge and the literature whereby five peer-reviewed sources gave more profound insights into International people management in the form of theories like the institutional theory, models, for instance, the SSD model and literature. The next step in the paper was the critical and evaluative self-reflection based on Self-awareness and sensitivity to psychological, social and cultural factors that are key influencers of behaviour in an international project team. The paper after that concluded with considerations and evaluations of options whereby the range of options that are available to improve teamwork together with the recommendations to improve team dynamics, trust and associated success in international projects were discussed.
International People Management
Introduction
International People management (IPM) is also referred to as International Human Resource Management (IHRM). Through this functional area, all facets of Human Resource in the global context are dealt with. The primary practices at this point include managing the international workforce, dealing with issues of expatriation whereby employees take jobs or assignments in another country other than that which they reside and repatriation whereby the employees come back home after completing an international assignment or due to reassigning (SHRM, 2017). The most crucial aspect, however, is that the people management is responsible for Human Resource practices and laws across the globe, hand in hand with the issues and concerns that may arise in the particular states and regions where the organization is conducting business. The IPM also handles matters to do with a career focus, communications in the global context and legal together with regulatory concerns. The HR department is also focused on significant issues which include leadership, whereby it is responsible for ensuring that the global leadership of the organization is in line with the foreign state or region’s culture where it is conducting business (SHRM, 2017). Benefits and compensation, whereby since the organization is focused on acquiring key talents globally, HR strives to rationalize its benefits and compensation schemes in the endeavour of globalizing their incentives. What comes out from this attempt is a global philosophy on how the workforce is reimbursed in a manner workable enough that it can be adapted in a local setting. Ethics and social duty. Since business ethics and viability are the critical aspects of working in another state, the practices of this nature carried out by an organization are essential for communicating a message to the employees working for the organization in a foreign land and also to the ruling government of the State that the business is there for the long haul. Diversity (SHRM, 2017). This is arguably the most crucial and sensitive role of the HRM in the global context. It involves putting in place the differences in culture, barriers in language, religious practices hand in hand with other facets like sexual orientation in the workplace. This being the case, in a global context, without proper handling of these factors, complex issues may arise that may hinder the organization’s progress. The HR department is thus required to conduct intensive research on the diversity factors and concerns of the foreign country where the business will be conducted before the commencement of the international project. Employee relations. Since staying and working internationally may bring about various challenges to the factor of employee relations such as performance issues, lack of motivation and absenteeism, International people management is responsible for dealing with such scenarios for instance through the international employee assistance program (EAP). Finally, staffing management is particularly demanding in the global context since staffing practices in one country are not the same as those of another country (SHRM, 2017). Global HR, therefore, faces challenges such as global recruiting and global management of assignments. On this basis, this paper will discuss the role of International People Management (IPM) to project management with an emphasis on organizational behavior, social sciences and psychology.
People management is quite essential in project teams since it is depicted to meet the requirements stipulated by the project aligned organization (Martina, Rodney and Anne, 2004). It’s essential to note that every single time a project team is designed, the people management layout changes. This, therefore, means that the workplace is defined as a project-oriented organization which develops various needs for HRM. With all these in consideration, the people’s management is tasked with developing different practices of recruitment, training, assignment and project leadership. This, therefore, portrays the essentiality of people management in project teams. Aside from that, the role of people management department in project management remains to be the designing and setting of policies, rules and guidelines which illustrate distinct operations and practices all in the essence of supporting the project operations (Martina, Rodney and Anne, 2004). As an overview, the importance of people management to project teams is put into three categories. Assignment is the first category. At this point, it is responsible for allocating the project workforce, which includes, program and project managers together with project team members to their new projects, through the use of various assessment centres. This process can be compared to the recruitment process of applicants to an organization (Martina, Rodney and Anne, 2004). Project leadership is the second category which entails people management taking leadership of the project team, while at the same time striving to build and maintain the project team. Dispersement is the final category. During the period whereby the project is coming to an end, most of the individuals in the project team are considered vulnerable to quitting the organization. This being the case, people management has to cross-examine the core workforce about their encounters and experiences while handling the project and also counsel them on issues related to the future (Martina, Rodney and Anne, 2004).
Comparing Global people management between the United Kingdom and Nigeria, it is seen that in Nigeria, the social and cultural diversity has played a significant role in affecting its human resource management practices. Issues like employment discrimination are not tackled adequality by people management due to the presence of the “quota system” in public organizations. Unionization is the trend in Nigeria which is used by the workforce in public sectors to protect and foster their interests. This being the case, people management practices in Nigeria are not advanced, therefore illustrating the lack of effective and coherent HRM practices (Fajana, Owoyemi, Elegbede and Gbajumo-Sheriff, 2011). On the other hand, in the United Kingdom, the people management practices are developed to such an extent that they are efficient and effective. In terms of employee benefits, the National Health Service (NHS) offers health coverage to employees for free. Employees are covered from discrimination among other aspects according to the numerous laws that impact HRM policies there. This includes the Employment Right Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health act (Budhwar and Khatri, 2001).
Relationship with existing literature
In International project-oriented contexts, according to (Delbridge, Hauptmeier and Sengupta, 2011) through their journal article, “Broadening the horizons of International HRM,” International People management is based on the model’s enterprise, managerialism and universalism. The report utilizes a multi-step technique to acquire a more comprehensive and situated grasp of People management in the international context. Based on the article, International HRM is primarily concentrated on the guidelines, practices and procedures of Human Resource specialists in individual multinational enterprises (MNEs). This being the case, they illustrate both a managerialist viewpoint and an organizational analysis level which is at the cost of their prospective results. The model in the HRM field explored at this point is the System Society & Dominance (SSD) model which imparts a means by which to incorporate both national and international contexts of business levels. Through the system outcomes portrayed in the model, work relations together with management are stressed on, on the basis that they operate in the contexts of politics and economics which are considered systemic (Delbridge, Hauptmeier and Sengupta, 2011). The Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) is also used in the journal article as a means by which the kinds of “national context” whereby IPM occurs is classified. Fundamental issues that face organizations are also highlighted using this approach, such as coordination concerns of managers in Human Resource Management and Industrial interrelations. Therefore, the VoC technique is more advantageous than the universalist model, which is mainly used in IPM. The advantage is that the method is of great help in explaining the reasons behind the disparities in People management across states (Delbridge, Hauptmeier and Sengupta, 2011).
According to (Boon, Den Hartog and Lepak, 2019), based on the tactical HRM Literature, the centre of attention of People management in the global context should be more focused on Human resource (HR) systems instead of individual practices. This is because the ramifications of HR practices tend to be reliant upon other system practices (Boon, Den Hartog and Lepak, 2019). The article, however, claims that synergism and interactivity are crucial in an HR system which would play a significant role in the International project-oriented contexts. This being the case, organizations must focus on anticipating, estimating and the combination of practices to boost their HR systems. The underlying assumption in this research article, however, is that the productiveness of People management practices entirely relies on other practices carried out in the system. Nevertheless, when these kinds of practices are able to fit into a cogent system in the form of an internal or horizontal fit, they develop the ability to strengthen each other and in the process, develop synergies (Boon, Den Hartog and Lepak, 2019). The article, therefore, concludes that to thrive in the international project-oriented context, it is essential that Human resource practices be scrutinized mutually rather than on a separate basis.
According to (Mayrhofer, Gooderham and Brewster, 2019), in their peer-reviewed article “Context and Human Resource Management” People management is needed to put into full consideration the issue of context and to be specific, national and international context which is useful in this case to international projects. Therefore, organizations should utilize both cultural and institutional theories to accomplish the task. Recently, the issue of context is said to have been recognized by International HRM in developing goals and objectives for project management. Despite existing two substantial theories to people management, this article emphasizes on institutional theories with the reasoning that in various instances, organizational managements can bypass through cultural differences a good example being the recruitment of individuals who are not aligned to the local cultural standards into a branch or subsidiary of the organization (Mayrhofer, Gooderham and Brewster, 2019). However, the management has lesser freedom and autonomy on the grounds of institutions which include state laws and financial regulations, because, at this point, they are subjected to only two options, obeying the stipulated rules or facing dire consequences in the form of penalties. This being the case, the institutional theory focuses on forces that are considered on the farther side of the organizational boundaries. Therefore, the institutions, i.e. rules, standards and also beliefs, guide the organization in the process of the development of international projects. Based on comparative neo-institutionalism, for the organization to be quite effective in project management, HRM must inaugurate and preserve legitimacy (Mayrhofer, Gooderham and Brewster, 2019).
According to (Peltonen, 2012), in “critical approaches to international Human Resource Management,” IHRM is designed to scrutinize the outline and impacts of human resource practices in organizations based on cross-culture. This being the case what is put into consideration in the literature of international projects of organizations is the international personnel questions. Pelton claims that since time immemorial, the field of management has been influenced by functionalist models (Peltonen, 2012). However, in the last couple of years, theoretical inventiveness has risen in the management field to dominate project management practices in the field of People management. One of the theories in international People management is the labor process theory. This theory scrutinizes the postulation to which logical management approaches (with HRM also included), are used to automate and make work simpler, thus ensuring efficiency in terms of control of work. Critical theory, on the other hand, is considered a social theory whose primary focus is to scrutinize the established comprehensions of social life and how ideological conversations and technocratic awareness taint this. Also mentioned by the author is Poststructuralism, whose primary focus is engaging with duplexity and pecking orders. Putting this into context, International people management would, therefore, adjunct a focus on relations that result from employment with close attention kept on the means through which cultural differences influence HRM practices in global settings (Peltonen, 2012). The core role of culture and its variations in the colloquy of International People management could be regarded as widening the extent of critical conversations beyond the power aligned scrutiny of Human resource practices (Peltonen, 2012).
According to (Caldas, Tonelli and Lacombe, 2011), the functionalists and critical techniques in global people management are among the most debated upon approaches. The former approach revolves around matters to do with transferring the best Human Resource practices over the borders in an international context. According to functionalist theorists, this process of transferring efficient and effective practices of people management globally is entirely possible, and the undertaking of such procedures should be among the top priorities of the International people management functions (Caldas, Tonelli and Lacombe, 2011). Contrary to the functionalist approach, the critical technique should prioritize control hand in hand with power relations in the organization. According to critical theorists, the functional method of transferring HR practices to other states is considered a form of neo-colonialism. Theories aside, the main literature discussed in this IHRM article include staffing, since the activity of international staffing is being increasingly visualized as one of the main people management practices that are used by multinational corporations (MNCs) to manage and coordinate their extensively disseminated global operations. Global staffing is therefore considered very important since the success of the organization internationally depends on People Managements’ hiring top-quality employees. Staffing techniques such as inpatriation which includes hiring a diverse workforce (Caldas, Tonelli and Lacombe, 2011). To strategically deal with the issue of global staffing, techniques, for instance, the usage of new structures of international assignments are being put in place. This includes short term and commuter assignments which have become pertinent because of the extra costs and risk of failure through conventional means of expatriation. Failure is mainly imminent since it is based on the adaptation of the employee while working abroad.
Critical and evaluative self-reflection
At this point, Self-awareness and sensitivity to psychological, social and cultural factors are key influencers of behavior in an international project team. Beginning with self-awareness, it is said to be a fundamental leadership skill within the confinements of emotional intelligence (Sasu, 2018). This is a character trait that is especially suited for project managers who head project teams. Through an emotionally intelligent leader, cohesion is achieved among the team members who are united in the course of achieving the set goals and objectives of the project in an international context. The term self-awareness, therefore, refers to the ability of an individual to recognize his/her emotions together with the effects that come with it on the grounds of the individual’s State internally, inclination and resources (Sasu, 2018). This being the case, self-aware leaders are considered to be very reflective and thoughtful towards states of affairs and occurrences. This is because they possess deeper insights into their individual emotions, strengths and weaknesses together with their values and motives. In other terms, the leaders own genuine self-knowledge as they are straightforward towards other people and also to themselves. In the International context, numerous development projects in Nigeria have concluded with massive cost overruns, delays in schedules, desertion of the projects and shaky scrutiny and evaluation activities (Fajana, Owoyemi, Elegbede and Gbajumo-Sheriff, 2011). This can be hugely attributed to lack of firm International people management, and putting things into context, the project managers lacked self-awareness. This influenced the HR practices in Nigeria, therefore decreasing efficient and effectiveness. Aside from that, self-awareness can be divided into three parts. These include emotional self-awareness which is the capacity and expertise to read one self’s emotions and with that, perceive their effect on the fulfilment and performance of an activity that is underway. Accurate self-assessment which refers to the acknowledgement of one’s strengths and weakness and finally, self-confidence which emerges from self-worth hand in hand with the deep-rooted ability to achieve specific tasks (Sasu, 2018). This being the case, possessing self-awareness may, therefore, influence behavior of oneself, for instance, the project manager who in return, influences the action of the entire project team within an international focus to increase productivity.
Sensitivity to the psychological factors may also influence the behavior of self and others in project teams within an international focus. Psychological factors are said to be those that affect the personality of an individual (De Mascia, 2014). Within the personality prospect, five primary factors are identified that are likely to influence the behavior of self and others in project teams. This being the case, sensitivity to these factors may impact behavior either positively or negatively. The first factor is extraversion. A project manager with high levels of extraversion can develop a robust and sturdy working relationship with the project’s team members. This, in return, influences their behavior positively, whereby they can work together to achieve project goals. However, on the other hand, an introverted project manager may experience difficulties in doing this since this is not a natural preference for the individual. As a result, negative attitudes and perceptions reign supreme across the project’s team (De Mascia, 2014). Agreeableness is another psychological factor. Project managers who are considered ‘agreeable’ are more friendly, compassionate and supportive (De Mascia, 2014). This being the case, during the designing and delivery of projects such managers consider individuals processes and are supportive of the team around the project. This creates positive morale all round for oneself and the entire team, thus maximizing productivity.
Emotional stability, one of the psychological factors, is also crucial in the process of influencing positive behavior across the project team. This factor is all about individuals’ reactions to occurrences. This being the case, emotionally stable project managers have the ability to react with calmness in case the international project goes wrong. An important point to note is that sometimes projects can be tough to the point that things do not go according to plans (De Mascia, 2014). At this point, emotionally stable project managers can manage the project as best as he/she can to ensure it survives. This behavior also leads the project team to fight for the survival of the project. Openness is also another factor. In project management, this involves being receptive to new ideas and in the process, illustrating creativity. An open individual is likely to influence the behavior of self and the project’s team by making them receptive to innovations among other changes in the project. Conscientiousness is the final psychological factor. This involves being organized in the activities of the project and therefore, endlessly seeing engagements through to the end. This would be quite favorable since the team would adapt to the behavior of persistence in completing the project (De Mascia, 2014).
Sensitivity to Socio-cultural factors influences behavior of self and others in project teams within an international focus. Considering the context of global organizations between the United Kingdom and Nigeria, socio-cultural factors differ according to the State. This might, as a result, influence the projects being conducted through International personal management as a result of sensitivity of the workforce to the socio-cultural factors which alters their behavior towards increasing effectiveness of the international project. Considering the instance of expatriates who have are from the United Kingdom and have headed to Nigeria on an international assignment, Various socio-cultural factors may influence their behaviors towards productivity. Beginning with religion, while over half of the entire population in the United Kingdom are staunch Christians, in Nigeria, Christianity is not that popular since religion is divided into Islam, Christianity and traditional African religion, for instance, the “Yoruba ethnic group” (Fajana, Owoyemi, Elegbede and Gbajumo-Sheriff, 2011). This means that expatriates who are devoted Christians may experience some hostility should they bring their religious practices to the workplace. This, in turn, influences their behavior whereby they may lose commitment to the International project’s goals. On the social context, communication between the expatriates and the natives may be subjected to obstacles due to language barriers. The native Nigerians main languages are divided almost equally across four languages including Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and English. However, in the UK, the primary language spoken by an estimated 93% of the citizens is English. Therefore, the language barrier may influence the behavior of the projects team since cooperation and sharing of ideas is difficult, thus encouraging individuality.
Basing on the governance and organizational structures, of the two nations, in the United Kingdom the Equality Act of 2010 dictates that is unlawful to discriminate any individual because of protected traits such as religion, disability. This, therefore, means that factors such as an employee’s sexual orientation should not lead to the employee’s discrimination. However, in Nigeria, sexual orientation is a point of concern since LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) individuals face a lot of challenges and criticism both socially and legally. The State does not allow LGBT rights which means that the LGBT individuals are not protected from discrimination (Fajana, Owoyemi, Elegbede and Gbajumo-Sheriff, 2011). This being the case, LGBT individuals in Nigeria are not quite outright and open on their sexual orientation due to fear of retaliation and violence from the natives. Putting this into consideration expatriates who may head to Nigeria from the United Kingdom for international assignment with different sexual orientations that fall within the LGBT category may be forced to change their behavior by either keeping a secret their sexual orientations or changing them totally to fit in with the natives. Therefore, this might influence the productivity of the expatriates in the process of project management, making the project fail while at the same time, the expatriates return to their country.
Consideration and evaluation of options
According to the Project Management Institute, the project leader is solely responsible for promoting teamwork. This being the case, the range of options that are available to improve cooperation in projects are as follows: The leader of the project becoming an exemplar for work engagement. This enhances teamwork in that the project leader inspires and motivates the rest of the team to be engaged. With this in consideration, being an exemplar/ role model is considered an essential behavior by a project leader to promote teamwork and after that desired results (Juanita, 2015). The next option is the provision of social and structural resources to the project team. This includes both physical and conceptual materials and information which are aimed towards the fulfilment of work-related duties and goals (Juanita, 2015). On social resources, the project leader should provide resources such as socializing platforms where the team members can meet other members and grow relations. The next option is providing challenging tasks to the project’s team. This act as chances for skill development and proficiency of the team members which brings them together even more in the form of commitment to the project hand in hand with supporting the project’s effectiveness (Juanita, 2015). The next step is to authorize the entire team to take part in the activities of creating work plans to attain team goals. This option is essential since team members feel more invested and committed to the project if they are allowed to determine how tasks are to be done while at the same time coming up with tools to conclude the tasks (Juanita, 2015). The final option is to get rid of impediments that are setting back teamwork. Some of these stumbling blocks may include ambiguous stipulations from stakeholders and scarcity of resources to attain the project’s goals. It is, therefore, the project leader’s duty to mitigate external pressures for the team to focus on the task at hand.
The recommendations to improve team dynamics, trust and associated success in international projects include, accepting cultural differences and in the process, making the differences open for dialogue. Once the team leader is aware of the differences in culture, the differences are to be mapped out, and conversations rolled out on how these differences might be turned into strengths. Recurrent communication is also essential (Bond-Barnard, Fletcher and Steyn, 2018). This should be done on a regular basis since it is vital to global project teams. A good instance of these recurrent communications includes the scheduling of regular meetings. Fostering and reinforcing diversity programs is also critical for the project managers through assigning the international team members shared projects with the goal that the team members get to learn from each other while at the same time forming relations (Bond-Barnard, Fletcher and Steyn, 2018).
In conclusion, the International People Management plays a significant role in project management since it links the workforce to the tasks of the projects. Emphasizing on organizational behavior, social sciences and psychology brings about deeper insights into the concept of international project management assignments.
References
Bond-Barnard, T., Fletcher, L. and Steyn, H., 2018. Linking trust and collaboration in project teams to project management success. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, [online] 11(2), pp.432-457. Available at: <https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-06-2017-0068> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Budhwar, P. and Khatri, N., 2001. A comparative study of HR practices in Britain and India. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, [online] 12(5), pp.800-826. Available at: <http://DOI: 10.1080/09585190110047848> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Caldas, M., Tonelli, M. and Lacombe, B., 2011. IHRM In Developing Countries: Does the Functionalist Vs. Critical Debate Make Sense South Of The Equator? [online] scielo.br. Available at: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1807-76922011000400006> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Delbridge, R., Hauptmeier, M. and Sengupta, S., 2011. Beyond the enterprise: Broadening the horizons of International HRM. Human Relations, [online] 64(4), pp.483-505. Available at: <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0018726710396388> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
De Mascia, S., 2014. Are Some Pms More Psychologically Equipped Than Others? [online] Apm.org.uk. Available at: <https://www.apm.org.uk/blog/are-some-project-managers-more-psychologically-equipped-for-success-than-others/> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Fajana, S., Owoyemi, O., Elegbede, T. and Gbajumo-Sheriff, M., 2011. Human Resource Management Practices in Nigeria. Journal of Management and Strategy [online] 2(2). Available at: <http://doi:10.5430/jms.v2n2p57> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Juanita, W., 2015. Engaging Your Team to Greater Project Performance. [online] Pmi.org. Available at: <https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/engaging-team-great-project-performance-9941> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Martina, H., Rodney, T. and Anne E, K., 2004. Human Resource Management Key Importance Project Organization. [online] Pmi.org. Available at: <https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/human-resources-management-project-organization-8322> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Mayrhofer, W., Gooderham, P. and Brewster, C., 2019. Context and HRM: Theory, Evidence, and Proposals. International Studies of Management & Organization, [online] 49(4), pp.355-371. Available at: <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00208825.2019.1646486> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Peltonen, T., 2012. Critical Approaches to International Human Resource Management. [eBook] pp.533-545. Available at: <https://www.academia.edu/1147863/Critical_Approaches_to_International_Human_Resource_Management_2012> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
Sasu, E., 2018. Impact of Self-Awareness Emotional -Project Success. [online] Academia.edu. Available at: <https://www.academia.edu/37284380/Impact_of_Self_awareness_Emotional_Project_Success_pdf> [Accessed 18 August 2020].
SHRM. 2017. Introduction to The Global Human Resources Discipline. [online] Available at: <https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/introglobalhr.aspx> [Accessed 18 August 2020].