Examine the distinguishing features of HRM in Europe Essay

Examine the distinguishing features of HRM in Europe - Essay Example Cray& Mallory (1998) say it was a reaction against the more functional approach embodied in personnel management. Relative to this phenomenon is another growing trend which is globalization. Organizations and businesses have become global as a result of technological innovations, and the introduction of more development in communications and transportation. The internet and information technology have revolutionized the way organizations and businesses work. Globalization is not new. This has been with the world business and economy since the centuries after Columbus and da Gama started their voyages from the Mediterranean. Globalisation has revolutionized businesses and organisations. A commonly accepted definition of globalization by economists, says Van Der Bly (2005, p. 875), is that it is the â€Å"international economic integration that can be pursued through policies of ‘openness’, the liberalization of trade, investment and finance, leading to an ‘open economy.† The importance of borders between different countries is reduced, and similar events and phenomena in countries throughout the world are more easily linked. 1.) HRM is now considered the determinant factor in the success or failure in international business (Black et al., 1999, cited in Scullion & Paauwe, 2004), and also the success of global business depends most importantly on the quality of management in the MNC (Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998, cited in Scullion & Paauwe, 2004); â€Å"HRM emphasizes that employees are critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage; that human resources practices need to be integrated with the corporate strategy, and that human resource specialists help organizational controllers to meet both efficiency and equity objectives† (Bratton, 1999, p. 11). One of the first explicit statements of the HRM concept was made by the Michigan School (Fombrun et al, 1984, cited in Armstrong, 2006, p. 4), which held that HR systems and the organization