Page 91 - DMGT548_GLOBAL_HRM

Global HRM

Notes America, women have tended to have a lower social status and are not universally employed.
Multinationals must be aware of legislation and ensure subsidiary compliance where appropriate.
Obeying Local EEO Laws: In 1993, one of the Hyatt hotels in Australia had to explain to the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commissioner on national television that why it was circulating an
internal memo that violated Australian Equal Employment (EE) legislation. The internal memo
concerned was from a Japanese Hyatt hotel that had vacancies for two young single males.
Under Australian EE law, these constitute age, marital status, and sex discrimination respectively,
so the memo violated Australian law on three counts. The hotel’s defence that such circulation of
internal job vacancies was normal company practice was not acceptable. The EE Commissioner
did recognise that special circumstances may have been behind the internal memo–that the
positions were traineeships and that the persons would share accommodation in a male-only
dormitory.

5.2.1 Selection Process

Selection is the process by which the organisation chooses from among the applicants, those
people who are perceived the best meet the job requirements. For each candidate, the organisation
evaluates candidate skills, education, and experience to find the people who best ‘fit’ the particular
job specification. Ideal selection identifies the best fit between the person and the job.

Example: Employee Selection at Mitsubishi

For the U.S. based Mitsubishi-Chrysler joint venture auto plant, employees are selected the
Japanese way. The selection process lasts three days. On the first day, applicants are required to
perform tasks that mimic factory jobs. Work-related tests are followed by a series of written,
medical, and drug tests and a final screening by plant supervisors. The selection process tests
individuals for high level of skills, dedication to their work, an aptitude for learning new work
methods, teamwork is expected. Those who are selected must go through a rigorous training
programme, where they learn technical skills, interpersonal skills, creativity facilitation, and
idea-generation. They are taught efficiency in the form of the Japanese philosophy of ‘kaizen’, or
continual improvement. This basic training is followed by several weeks of on-the-job training.
Later, promotion decisions are based, in part, on how well candidates do in management
development seminars and in-basket exercises. In any respect, human resource management is
a priority task in Japanese firms.
Mitsubishi’s relations with its U.S. employees seem to be faring well, as the firm reports that
over 50% of its U.S. sales are vehicles that were manufactured in the U.S. (Business Week, 1988)
There are seven basic factors in the selection process:
1. Application forms

2. Interviewing
3. Assessment centres
4. Employment testing
5. Reference checks

6. Physical examinations
7. Selection validation

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