The Task

Compare and contrast three elements of HRM (e.g. strategic staffing, recruitment selection, retention, training and development, performance management, compensation and industrial relations) between three countries, also referring to issues relating to culture. 

Clearly overview HRM in each country and state which three elements you are focusing on. Discuss and analyse each element in relation to the three countries, making sure to cover similarities and differences. 

Present a table that summarises your analysis. 

Present this assignment in essay form with at least one comparative table in the body of the essay or as an appendix. 

Clearly state and support your argument. 

This assignment requires you to undertake some desk research and wider reading/analysis. You are not required to interview anyone. However, you do need to access recent (past three years) information from journals, books, and reliable government/private enterprise, university and non-government organisations' (NGOs) sites on the Internet (e.g. not Wikipedia). 

Remember The International Journal of HRM is an excellent source but do not use this solely. 

Start on this assignment as soon as you can. 

What are you aiming for? 

Comparative HRM (CHRM) explores the extent to which HRM differs between different countries – or between different areas within a country or different regions of the world, such as North America, the Pacific Rim states or Europe (Brewster & Larsen 2000). 

We know that countries may have different labour markets and education systems, different employment laws and trade unions, and different cultural expectations. It should be no surprise, therefore, to find that employment systems differ noticeably between countries and that managing human resources has to vary from country to country. 

TYPICAL QUESTIONS ASKED BY COMPARATIVE RESEARCHERS 

• How is HRM structured in individual countries? 
• What strategies are discussed? 
• What is actually put into practice? 
• What are the main differences and similarities between countries ? 
• To what extent are HRM policies influenced by national factors such as culture, government policy, and educational systems?

Introduction

Human Resource management is generally defined as a set of principles that help in managing the human resource that would lead to flexibility, the loyalty of the employees, the quality of work and a move towards the integrated organisation (Nankervis & Cooke, 2013). It is imperative that the HR managers should update themselves with the latest trends and developments in the field to keep them well aware and informed, which will help them in designing of better HRM policies and principles. HRM plays an important role when it comes to retain and motivate employees at work.

International HRM constitutes of various activities which have the main aim towards human resource management at an international level to obtain a competitive advantage. IHRM comprise of all the HRM functions like selection, performance appraisal, recruitment, training and development and all are done at an international level (Nankervis & Cooke, 2013). Also, some of the global activities are also its part like expatriate management, skills management, etc.

The following study is related to comparative human resource management. It helps us understand and compare three main aspects of human resource across three countries, namely, the Czech Republic, China and India. The policies that are compared are compensation, performance appraisal and training and development. Before the comparison is presented, it is important to have a general idea of the HRM in three nations.

As per the report by Ernst and Young, the Indian HRM industry has grown at a compounded rate of around 21% over a horizon of the past four years. With time the industry has become more organised and has given way to new players (Lampa, 2016). The multinational companies and the emerging sectors are helping to change the traditional mindset of formulating the policies. A major issue that the HR managers in India face is high staff turnover. Industries like call centres have a huge attrition rate. The Ministry of Labour and Employment is concerned with the safeguarding of the interests of the employees in India.

HRM in China is still in its nascent phase. It is still emerging and developing. The companies that operate in China adopted HRM policies from Western countries (OECD, 2013). It gave them a dual advantage of making a transition from the traditional thinking process to more contemporary and competitive thinking, and they can learn and grow from the experience of the people who had already used those principles (Lampa, 2016). The Chinese managers practice the 'logic of collaboration' and the 'logic of competitiveness'. These are the reason we can see Chinese companies growing at a phenomenal rate over the last few years. 

From the very beginning of the 19th century, the multinationals played a very big role in the development of the HR policies and principles in the Czech Republic (Glaister & Sahadev, 2014).  The labour market of Czech is characterised by a decreasing unemployment rate of below 7%. The managers here believe that most of the high skilled labours are present locally and with proper training and development, the outsourcing can be reduced. 

The next part compares the three very important HR practices across the three countries stated above.

(Some parts of the solution has been blurred due to privacy protection policy)