International Human Resource Management Report: Charles & Keith

This report analyzes the international human resource management (IHRM) strategies for Charles & Keith, a Singapore-based retail brand, as it expands into the Indonesian market. The report begins with an introduction to IHRM and the company and country backgrounds. It then delves into job design and organizational structure, considering roles like sales assistants and head office positions, and the impact of Hofstede's cultural dimensions on the company's operations. The report also covers recruiting and staffing processes, the ethnocentric approach adopted, and the training and development process for managing international teams. A remuneration package is presented for various roles. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of IHRM in navigating the complexities of international business, specifically in the Indonesian context, and includes references and an appendix with a balance sheet.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
International human resource management
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

2INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Abstract:
The assignment shall explain the scenario wherein a Singapore based company expands into the
market of Indonesia in context of international human resource management In this report,
Charles & Keith has been chosen as the company, which is trying to expand its operation in
Indonesia. The report shall mention the job design and structure and the organizational structure
required in the foreign country. The recruiting and staffing process along with the recruiting and
selection process in the foreign country along with the training and development process shall be
stated in this report.

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Table of Contents
1.0. Introduction to International human resource management:....................................................4
1.1 Purpose of assignment...............................................................................................................4
1.2. Background of the company:....................................................................................................4
1.3. Background of the country:......................................................................................................5
2.0. Job design and structure:..........................................................................................................5
2.2. Organizational structure:..........................................................................................................9
3.0. Recruiting and staffing process:...............................................................................................9
4.0. Training and development process.........................................................................................10
5.0. Remuneration package:..........................................................................................................10
6.0 Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................11
References:....................................................................................................................................13
Appendix:......................................................................................................................................15

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1.0. Introduction to International human resource management:
International human resource management (IHRM) refers to the management of the
issues related to human resources in international firms in foreign subsidiaries. IHRM has gained
popularity with the advent of globalization and rapid advancement in the technology. IHRM
involved the management of human resources on a global scale. It is associated with the several
stages involved in the process of internalization. IHRM involves the processes of recruiting and
efficiently utilizing the human resources in an international business. It addresses the issues that
are related with cross national boundaries (Brewster et al., 2016).
1.1 Purpose of assignment:
The purpose of the assignment is to explain the scenario wherein a Singapore based company
expands into the market of Indonesia in context of international human resource management. In
this report, Charles & Keith has been chosen as the company, which is trying to expand its
operation in Indonesia.
1.2. Background of the company:
Charles & Keith is a Singapore based retail clothing brand, which was established in the
year 1996 by Charles Wong and Keith Wong ("Brand Profile", 2017). The brand has attempted
to have its presence in several countries. The company specializes in shoe designing according to
the preferences of the clients. Later on, the company has diversified its business into bags,
accessories and costume jewelry. The company has more than 500 stores all over the world and
has a strong online presence. The company has associated with several institutes for helping the
society and improving the environment as a part of its corporate social responsibility ("Brand
Profile", 2017).

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1.3. Background of the country:
Indonesia is a country that has abundant natural resources and has easy accessibility to
other nations. The country is surrounded by water bodies, which makes the sea route a major
trading opportunity with other countries. It is one of the top five populous countries in the world
with more than 300 million people. The GDP of Indonesia has been more than 932.3 billion USD
in the year 2016 and is growing at a good pace. The economy of the country is a mixed economy
and it aims to become one of the top ten economies across the globe. The Government of
Indonesia provides support to the infrastructure delivery by involving in public private
partnerships. The country has attracted several foreign investors in the past and has proper rules
and regulations that control the foreign subsidiaries. Despite all the favorable situations for the
businesses in Indonesia, the country faces several challenges in the form of political pressure and
corruption. The clearer regulation and several relaxations in the taxes have encouraged the
foreign investors to come to Indonesia. However, lack of appropriate infrastructural facilities
have been a major concern in the economic development of the country (Armstrong & Taylor,
2014).
2.0. Job design and structure:
Job design refers to the specification of the methods and contents of the jobs so that the
organizational requirements of the job can be understood in relation with the personal and social
requirements (Reiche, Mendenhall & Stahl, 2016). The ultimate objective of job design is to
increase the level of job satisfaction among the organizational employees. The company will
require additional fashion retailer, who shall work on the floor as sales assistant and the job shall
require the following tasks:

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 Showcasing items
 Serving clients
 Handling queries or complaints
 Suggesting clients on their purchasing decision
 Ordering, administering and taking out stock
 Aiding with promotional activities
 Overseeing deliveries
 Administering and motivating staff
 Ensuring that the sales targets are achieved
The head office job role shall involve the following duties and tasks:
Selecting new products and reviewing the old
 Searching the correct suppliers
 Negotiating prices
 Making sure that the products are reach the destination on time
 Aiding in interpreting reports and forecasting future sales
 Showcasing ideas to top management
 Stock control
 Budgeting and financing
 Promoting products
 Handling the changes in the demands of the clients
 Ensuring proper relationships with present suppliers while acquiring new ones
 Attending trade events

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 Obtaining feedback from clients
2.1 Hofstede National Cultural Dimension:
Hofstede National Cultural Dimension is a structure or framework for cross- cultural
communication, which demonstrates the impacts of the culture on the values of the members of
the society (Al Ariss & Sidani, 2016). It also relates the values with the behavior of the
individuals with the help of factor analysis. There are several dimensions of national cultures in
the Hofstede National Cultural Dimension model. The dimensions are mentioned as below:
 Power Distance Index (PDI): Power distance index refers to the “the extent to which
the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept
and expect that power is distributed unequally”. In this particular dimension, high
degree of index implies that the hierarchy is clearly established and implemented
without any doubts (Sparrow, Brewster & Chung, 2016). Indonesia has a better
established hierarchy than Singapore.
 Individualism vs Collectivism (IDV): This particular index indicates the “level up to
which the members of the society are integrated into groups” (Rees & Smith, 2017).
The societies which are individualistic have weak bonding among the members and
they emphasize more upon individual interests than on group interests. On the
contrary, the societies which are collectivistic emphasize more upon benefits of the
groups and the members support each other. Singapore is more individualistic than
Indonesia.
 Uncertainty avoidance index (UAI): The uncertainty avoidance index refers to the
“society’s tolerance for ambiguity”. In this index, people tend to avoid any

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unexpected or unknown event. High degree of uncertainty avoidance index means
that the society has strict guidelines, laws and codes of behavior, which cannot be
altered (Chelladurai & Kerwin, 2017). On the contrary, societies with low uncertainty
avoidance index have greater flexibility in their rules and regulations. Singapore is
more likely to avoid unknown situations and has higher uncertainty avoidance index
than Indonesia.
 Masculinity vs Femininity (MAS): In this particular dimension, masculinity is
referred to as “a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and
material rewards for success” whereas femininity is referred to as “a preference for
cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life”. In higher masculine
societies, there is inequality among the men and women whereas in a higher feminine
society, the women are viewed equally with men. Indonesia has higher MAS than
Singapore, which indicates that there is more inequality between men and women in
Indonesia (Welch & Björkman, 2015).
 Long term orientation vs short term orientation (LTO): This particular dimension
relates the past with the present and the future challenges. Short term orientation
demonstrates that the traditions are maintained and are easily adapted while long term
demonstrates adaptation as an issue (Collings, 2014). Singapore faces more
difficulties in adapting while Indonesia is highly flexible.

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2.2. Organizational structure:
Organizational structure determines the manner in which the organizational activities are
directed towards the achievement of the goals and objectives of the organizations. A majority of
the companies in Singapore are family- run businesses and the eldest member of the family tends
to be the CEO of the organization (Rabl, 2014). Usually, the major decisions are taken by the top
level management in these organizations and the sub- ordinates are to follow the orders of the top
management. Mechanistic organization refers to the organizations that have highly centralized
and formalized procedures. On the contrary organic organization refers to the organizations that
have flexible policies and procedures.
On the other hand, in Indonesia, the organizational structure is systematically organized
with the employees letting the managers to make all the decisions and assign tasks to them. The
promotion of an employee seems to be more dependent upon the relationship of the employees
with the employers rather than their performance. Indonesia is highly affected by nepotism. The
hierarchical nature of a majority of the organizations in Indonesia has resulted in the
development of bureaucracy (Festing, Knappert & Kornau, 2015).
3.0. Recruiting and staffing process:
The most widely used international human resource management approaches involve
ethnocentric, polycentric, geocentric and regiocentric. The selection of the IHRM approach
depends upon the type and degree of internationalization, cultural preferences and the type of
industry and markets served (Slavić, Berber & Leković, 2014). The staffing procedure used
herein shall be ethnocentric as the major positions in the foreign countries shall be held by the
nationals of the parent country.

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4.0. Training and development process:
The following shall be the training and development process for managing international teams:
 Form: The managers shall ensure that there is proper communication with and among the
team members as the team members meet for the first time.
 Norm: This stage involves making the team members comfortable with their job roles
and developing good relationships with the team members.
 Perform: This stage involves the team performing its tasks in accordance with the
expectations of the organization.
 Adjourn: This stage involves the dissolution of the team when it begins to underperform
or the motive of forming a team is achieved.
5.0. Remuneration package:
Posts Annual package Additional benefits
Floor manager Rp 220000000 Basic pay + travelling
allowances + house rent
allowances + telephone
allowances
Sales representatives Rp 150000000 Basic pay + 30% incentives of
the target achieved +
travelling allowances + house
rent allowances
Store manager Rp 190000000 Basic pay + travelling
allowances + house rent

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allowances
Cash counter executive Rp 100000000 Basic pay + travelling
allowances + house rent
allowances
Head of supply chain Rp 350000000 Basic pay + travelling
allowances + house rent
allowances + telephone
alowances
Table: Remuneration package
(Source: Created by author)
6.0 Conclusion:
IHRM deals with the relationship between the foreign environments and the human
resource management activities of the organization. It also involves comparative studies between
the employee skills and knowledge required in the home country and the foreign countries.
Indonesia has proper labor laws that preserve the rights of the employees working in local as
well as international organizations. The country has proper laws related to the terms of
recruitment, termination, working hours, wages and leave entitlements and employing the
foreigners due to which it would be best suitable for the organization to establish a subsidiary in
Indonesia.
Units SGD per
employee($) Total $

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Liabilities Assets
Accounts
payable 5 12100 60500 Cash 60000
Outstanding
expenses 500 Accounts
receivable 1000
61000 61000