EMERGING ISSUES AND NEW POLICIES  IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Human resource management has become increasingly dynamic and complex, and new policies and topics have emerged to try to reduce this complexity. The Institute for Labour Studies dedicates a great deal of its research to explore these new policies and topics within human resource management.

Project Manager: Racheli Gabel Shemueli (ESADE)
Academic Partners: Jean-Luc Cerdin (ESSEC-Paris) & Simha Ronen (Tel Aviv University)

Abstract

The success of international postings is vital for the continued growth and vitality of international companies. The main challenge is to create global management by highlytrained managers who are capable of doing business in a different and complex setting. However,  various academic studies reveal problems regarding strategic management and managers' performance and satisfaction. Thus, appropriate management will benefit both companies and their managers.

This project aims to identify the key success factors of managers working abroad.The project objectives are to:

- Assess the importance and impact of emotional intelligence on managers' adaptation to and success in international postings.
- Identify the role of additional individual, cultural, and organisational factors to predict the success of expatriate managers.
- Create a tool for predicting the success of managers sent on international postings.

Project Manager: Yingying Zhang (ESADE)
Academic Partners: Keyong Dong Universidad RenMing, Beijing & Tony Lingham (Weatherhead School of management & ESADE)

Abstract

The surge in the internationalisation  of Spanish companies in China began in the 1980s
when large Spanish groups entered this giant market in various ways: through direct sales
or purchases below production cost; through public tenders for a large consumer product
market; or simply through international trade and strategic planning for growth, etc. This
trend continued in the 1990s, although this was hindered to some extent by first the economic
crisis in Spain and then by the financial crisis in Asia.

Spanish companies have learnt from their ventures in China over the last twenty years. The
Chinese is a strategic market but is a difficult one to penetrate.
This explains why there have been both successes and failures for Spanish companies
operating there. One of the biggest problems concerns the human resources required for
expansion. A manager responsible for internationalisation stated: "I have a comprehensive strategic plan for working in China but what worries me is who is going to carry out".

Strategic investment in the internationalisation of Spanish multinationals faces
serious problems:

- The high cost of investment versus high risks regarding returns.
- Consistency between the international strategy for human resources and the company's global strategy.
- Strong commitment of human resources in the internationalisation process.

Project Manager: Mercè Mach (ESADE)
Academic Partners: Shay Tzafrir (Haifa University) & Vicenta Sierra (ESADE)

Work teams play an important role in organisations' daily activity. There is a general belief
among academics and professionals that trust oils the wheels of the social system and  facilitates co-ordinated action. However, there is little empirical evidence of how trust
affects the way teams work.

Sports clubs depend greatly on the results obtained by their teams. Clubs' revenue, prestige, and opportunities for making new investments (in players, facilities, etc.) are thus highly dependent on meeting objectives and achieving sporting success. Hence the importance of disposing of information that enables the club to improve the team's per formance and enhance the organisation's long-term prospects of survival.

This research will shed light on the factors contributing to team effectiveness. It will look
at the link between trust and team per formance in the context of professional body-contact
sports. In particular, it will examine the extent to which players perceptions regarding
trust (between team players, relationship with the club director, trainer, the institution, and sports club) may affect team per formance. It will also consider the moderating impact
of management style, group cohesion, and organisational policies.

Objectives:

-To understand the role played by trust in team per formance
- To provide empirical evidence regarding the impact of trust and other mediating variables (cohesion, leadership,organisational policies) on the per formance of professional sports teams.