Introduction

This book is about International Human Resource Management (IHRM). That is, it is about human resource management in a global context. The conduct of business is increasingly global in scope and managing human resources has become critical to the successful conduct of global business. This third edition has been written to update this most important but fast changing discipline. The majority of the book discusses the IHRM issues faced by multinational enterprises (MNEs), primarily from the perspective of the parent company or headquarters. However, MNEs increasingly manage their work forces on a global basis, so this edition not only examines management of parent companies’ work forces, but provides increased focus on management of work forces in subsidiaries, international joint ventures, and global partnerships, as well as issues related to human resource management of global work forces, with globalized policies, shared services, and global centers of HR excellence.