HRM302 International Human Resource Management

Task

What factors would the Human Resource Manager of the multinational organisation have to take into consideration when relocating an employee (parent company national) overseas for an extended international assignment? Some of the issues you may include (but not limited to) are:

Pre-departure training, cross cultural training, relocation, compensation and allowances, tax rate, organisations policies, performance management, career development, repatriation, etc.

Task specifics:

You are the HR manager of an Australian IT company (Soft Croc Pty Ltd – not an existing company) that develops software for clients throughout Asia. As Soft Croc expands and wants to be closer to their Southeast Asian markets, the decision has been made to open an office in Thailand.

Resultantly, they will need to relocate some staff from Australia to oversee the opening and development of the new offices and its Thai staff for approximately two years. As the HR manager, your task is to plan and develop an international HRM strategy for the international assignment of two Australian employees who will be sharing the development and management responsibilities in the new host country.

The two employees that management has considered for the international assignment are Mr Ben Fisher and Mrs Anita Shrestha. Ben is 35 years old, married (his wife is a manager of a Sydney healthcare centre), no kids, and a passionate surfer. He worked as a software development manager at Soft Croc for 3 years and has worked in the UK and Singapore for a few years before moving back to his home country Australia. Anita is 38 years old, married (her husband is an Uber driver), and has two boys (8 and 10 years old). Originally from Nepal, she came to Australia 7 years ago to complete her MBA and worked as a business development manager at Soft Croc ever since. Neither Ben nor Anita have been to Thailand before and do not speak Thai.

Develop an international assignment strategy for Soft Croc Pty Ltd.

• Research and briefly discuss
  • the main cultural differences between Australia and Thailand with regards work environments and

• environmental/external influences (PESTLE) on work environments and HR in Thailand.

• Discuss the factors that need to be considered for the relocation of staff to Thailand and make a recommendation on how the company should proceed with this for each factor.

• Evaluate and critically discuss for each of the two employees (Ben and Anita), how their personal situation needs to be considered for the international assignment.

For your above discussions, research relevant academic journal articles (at least 10) as well as other credible sources (e.g. consulting reports, government or industry information)