The Global Challenge takes a general management perspective on the issues international human resources, since strategy, organizational capabilities, and people management are increasingly intertwined in multinational firms. Each chapter in this book is a stand-alone guide to a particular aspect of international human resource management (HRM)– from the history and overview of international human resource management in the first chapter to the functional implications for human resource professionals in the last, from building multinational coordination to managing the human side of cross-border acquisitions.

The authors build on the traditional agenda of international human resource management—how to respond to cultural and institutional differences, manage cross-border mobility, and develop global leaders. These issues were already discussed in the first two editions of this book, and this new edition contains the latest advances from research and practice.

The structure of this book is similar to that of the Second Edition, but the authors simplified and shortened much of the material while updating research findings and emphasizing the experience of companies from different regions of the world, as well as learning from the new generation of high technology firms riding the digitalization wave. The new edition also addresses the increasingly critical people challenges of coordination, talent and knowledge management, and the underlying dynamics of change:

Reflecting competitive demands, the organization of multinational companies is increasingly multidimensional. If stultifying bureaucracy is to be avoided, firms must rely on lateral leadership roles to create alignment. Cross boundaries teams in different shapes and forms become the basic unit of the multinational firm, and we devote one chapter to discussing HRM issues related to such mechanisms of horizontal coordination.

In an increasingly networked world where talented people have many career options, the binding glue comes from social capital and organizational culture—shared values, beliefs, and norms. Global mindset also helps resolve the inevitable tensions embedded in international business. The new edition conveys how HRM contributes to this social architecture of multinational firms.

The core global human resource management processes — from talent attraction and selection through performance management to leadership development and steering mobility — need to be redesigned to support the needs of global organizations. The new edition provides careful summaries of the latest evidence from research and corporate practice and outline the implications for HRM.

Implementing rapid change in operations spread across the globe is typically a difficult challenge for complex multinationals. Line managers have to pay close attention to the how’s of change, as well as the what’s – and the line looks to their HR managers for guidance. The authors build on the experience of leading firms to present frameworks for how to manage processes of change and how to apply them.

Knowledge management in multinational firms is largely a people game. Social networking opens up tremendous possibilities for global knowledge sharing and the management of innovation. Multinational corporations are learning how to capitalize on this – with new opportunities for HR to make a contribution.

Also, companies continue to grow through mergers and acquisitions, where value depends greatly on the people challenges of integration; and cross-border alliances are part of the fabric of organizational life, along with the associated human resources dimension.

Many multinational firms are struggling with the issue of globalizing their HR practices. How can they build worldwide consistency while respecting the realities of local environments? At the same time, the HR function is undergoing a profound transformation, built around e-HR, self-help, and shared services, while deepening its business support role. The new edition addresses these issues by mapping out various configurations of global HRM.

Most fundamentally, how can firms be both local and global in their orientation to human resource management, capable of exploiting capabilities today while developing talent for tomorrow, integrating worldwide operations while at the same time encouraging local entrepreneurship? In other words, how can firms cope with the “both/and” dualities that underlie international management?

Addressing these issues means that instructors, students and practitioners have to go beyond a narrow functional perspective on international human resource management. While keeping a clear focus on HRM, we wanted to combine the leading edge of practice with the state-of-the art in theory, building on research in strategy, international management, organizational theory, and cross-cultural management, among other domains. Indeed we argue that what is exciting about the international human resource management field is that it must be interdisciplinary in its orientation.