Managing globally competent people

TLDR

Transnational firms require transnational human‑resource management systems. The article recommends global HR changes at both individual and systemic levels. It outlines the skills managers must possess to be globally competent and proposes a framework for evaluating firms’ HR systems. A survey of fifty North American firms revealed that HR strategies lag behind business strategies and identified several misconceptions that hinder the development of truly global HR systems.

Abstract

Executive Overview Transnational firms need transnational human resource management systems. This article recommends global human resource changes at two levels: individual and systemic. First, it presents a set of skills needed by individual managers to be globally competent, highlighting those which transcend the historic competencies required of expatriate managers. Second, it suggests a framework for assessing the global competence of firms' human resource systems. Based on a survey of fifty major North American firms, the authors find today's human resource strategies to be significantly less global than firms' business strategies. To overcome this gap, they identify a series of illusions preventing firms from creating human resource systems which are sufficiently global to support transnational business strategies.