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. Middle East (i.e., cities in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia) Asia I (i.e., cities in India, Thailand

HRM584

Course Project Overview

Introduction

This Course Project is an individual project. As such, your project will provide an in-depth look at how a major multinational company operates overseas in two separate countries. The country comparison project includes a seven- to eight-page paper 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, the likely effects, and the characteristics of the HR department or function of two separate countries. Every member of your team should collaborate and select any two countries (within the seven regions listed) to compare and contrast.

Provide as much insight into and explain the differences or similarities as possible. Use your understanding of the impact of the contextual factors 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 each team's HR policies and practices to find the countries' contextual factors. Make predictions about future trends toward possible convergence of HR policies and practices. Integrate research from online sources and DeVry's online library to support your ideas and conclusions.

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 geographic region.

• You are to develop a paper regarding the pros and cons of each area from the international human resource management perspective.
• Providing a comparative HR analysis for each city.
• Ultimately, you should put forth its recommendations for a recommended city within the region.

The Comparative Analysis

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

Your organization 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 only a few) traditional expatriates by the country's established regulations. Fill in details about your hypothetical organization to make the presentation more exciting and relevant.

Prepare a report comparing and contrasting the cities you have selected from the region. The report focuses on how managing your human talent will affect your ability to be successful in that region. You will need to discuss various issues to conduct a thorough analysis. The following is a list of the possible problems. These are only suggestions. You may not be able to cover everything. It is your prerogative to present the issues you believe are most relevant for the region. Give a well-justified decision regarding your selected location from an HR perspective.

Suggested Details

Here are some details that you can include in your research paper.

• Analysis of need/availability of talent (local, third-country nationals)
• Legal obligations and concerns affecting HR and labor relations
• Mandated regulatory compliance of the country
• Flexibility of the wage bill (ability to adjust hours and ability to adjust headcount)
• 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/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 the organizations are structured in the country
• Political and economic stability, currency exchange issues
• 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
• Generating a cohesive culture when leading the organization's vision and mission
• Nepotism
• Ethical concerns regarding hiring, child labor, bribery, and so forth
• Salary levels expected by host nationals
• Availability of housing, schools, benefits, and so forth, for expatriates
• Other compensation and benefit concerns
• Language
• Religion and level of orthodoxy
• Other norms of the business community (e.g., greetings, meetings, negotiation)
• Women in business
• Group norms (e.g., individualism/collectivism)
• Level of formality (i.e., deference, hierarchy)
• Value of time and time consciousness

The final paper should be prepared according to DeVry/Keller standards for academic integrity. In addition, each paper should be neatly typed, use appropriate graphics, and be approximately seven to eight pages long, not counting the title page, reference page(s), or appendices.

In addition, each paper should be free of grammatical and spelling errors, double-spaced, 12-point font Times New Roman, 1-in. margins, and adhere to current APA guidelines.

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

Informational papers must be rigorous enough to show academic understanding and strength. The paper should develops the strategic link between international human resources and global business strategy and follow the business strategy through to the human resources strategy and the specific issues and tactics.

Course Project Draft Paper (Due Week 5)

This assignment is a rough draft of the Course Project paper. Some parts will be more complete than others because of how the material is presented in the course. This is an approximate midpoint checkpoint so your instructor can evaluate where you are with the Course Project, with four to five pages, not counting the title page, references, appendices, and so forth. 

Grading Rubric