Description

University of Greenwich

INDU1130 International Human Resource Management

Assessment brief 

Assessment 1: Essay

Deadline: 1^st December 2025

Weighting: 50%

Word count:  Maximum 2000 words

The essay has two questions and focuses on the theoretical aspects of IHRM. The questions you are required to address are:

• Question 1: What are the different conceptual approaches International Human Resource Management (HRM) takes when examining HRM in an international context. Illustrate your answer with references to conceptual ideas and empirical evidence from the literature. (1,000 words)
• Question 2: “Globalisation means that eventually HR policy and practice will converge into a single ‘best practice’ everywhere in the world”. Discuss and evaluate this claim. Illustrate your answer with reference to conceptual ideas and empirical evidence from the literature. (1,000 words)

The first questions will form part first of the essay. To answer the first question, you are required to briefly outline the three approaches to IHRM: cultural, institutional, and global. You must illustrate this with critically analysing the specific theories, by means of outlining the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches to exploring HR policies and practices. This critical examination should be supported by empirical evidence from the literature.

The second question forms the second part of the essay and is a convergence-divergence debate. In this section, you will evaluate the statement “Globalisation means that eventually HR policy and practice will converge into a single ‘best practice’ everywhere in the world”. This statement should examine two views. The first view should examine and discuss that globalisation, technology, and competition will eventually force similar HR policy towards a single ‘best practice’. You should find a journal article/paper which shows the evidence for this view. The second view should consider the opposing view examining and discussing that cultural, institutional, and other national differences mean there will always remain a divergence between difference countries and companies in how they do HR. Again, this will be evidenced with a journal article/paper.

 

Assessment 2: Report 

Deadline: 23^rd March, 2026

Weighting: 50%

Word Count: maximum 2500 words
Task 

You hare tasked with writing a report to the Board of Directors of the Macdonald Hotels and Resort Group Ltd. The details of the case are presented in the ‘Macdonald Hotels and Resort case study’ document on Moodle. Macdonald Hotels and Resorts is a British hotel and resort chain that plans to internationalise beyond Spain by acquiring a small hotel chain in a country of your choice. The board of directors have commissioned you, as a HR consultant, to give then advice and recommendations of their questions:

1. What should their long-term strategic approach (internationalisation strategy) be for resourcing their management team within the new acquired hotels? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?
2. What differences in HR policy and practice should the board consider when expanding their business to the country of expansion (Consider TWO of the HR functions such as performance management/appraisal, employee relations/trade unions, pay & reward, recruitment & selection which may be different in the chosen country than Britain).  
3. What are the wider socio-political and cultural circumstances which the board should consider? (This is an open question where you can discuss things that interest you. You may talk about cultural differences, regulatory differences; you may wish to talk about global mobility issues and how this may impact on the free movement of people/managers; or sustainable HRM, its implications and how this may have an impact on employees, their work, and their interactions with each other).The report should focus on the practical HRM aspects of Macdonald Hotel’s plans to acquire a small hotel chain in another country. You will draw, critically and analytically, on evidence (empirical studies) that reflect the kinds of issues companies might face in this situation (from cultural, institutional, regulatory perspectives). You should make practical recommendations which will provide the Board of Directors with a sound basis for decisions and action.

You are required to read the detailed case brief document on Moodle under the Assessment Information section.

Use of AI: AI technologies can be valuable tools to enhance your academic skills, such as refining your English language use, summarising complex materials such as journal articles, supporting critical thinking, and deepening your conceptual understanding. These resources should be used responsibly as part of your learning journey. It is important to uphold academic integrity by ensuring that all submitted work is your own original effort therefore, AI tools must not be used to generate assignments or any content that you submit for assessment. Adhering to these principles helps maintain fairness and the value of your qualification. Please view the AI guidance here.

 

Reading Materials

Author	Title	Publisher	ISBN
Brewster, C., Houldsworth, E., Sparrow, and P., Vernon, G. (2023)	International Human Resources Management (5th Edition)	Kogan Page Publishers	9781398603554
Wintersberger, D. (2017)	International Human Resource Management: A case study approach	Kogan Page: London.	9780749480998

Additional Reading: 

Author	Title	Publisher	ISBN
Brewster, C., Sparrow, P., Vernon, G., and Houldsworth, E. (2016)	International Human Resource Management (4th education)	CIPD: London	1843983753

 

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