International HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 1

International HRM - Essay Example Oakland (2000) proposed that employees’ participation helps in implementing the total quality management (TQM) strategy. The participative form of management is stated to help the subordinates in sharing the decision making power with their superiors. But the success of any strategy depends upon a number of factors, implementation policy and prevailing circumstances. How such policies are implemented by the companies, depends upon the laws of the land and the factors like union’s bargaining power, relationship employees’ unions and the management, the composition of public equity in the company etc. Participatory form of management includes quality circles, collective bargaining, job control, works councils or workers council, co-determination, employee participation on company boards, labour-controlled investment funds and employee stock ownership plans (O’Hara, 1999). Such participation leads to involvement of employees in key decision making processes a nd the employee feels empowered at the workforce, as he has a say in setting the course instead of just following the orders. How this empowerment is carried out, depends upon the way decentralisation takes place within the organisation Today, in view of the competition, profit margins have become quite thin, which sometimes forces the management towards taking cost-cutting initiatives, that includes outsourcing, retrenchments, relocation of employees, pressure on employee benefits etc. Germany and UK too are affected by the phenomenon of outsourcing and availability of skilled workforce at cheaper rates from places like India, China, Philippines, Malaysia etc. Under such circumstances, the unions as well as the management come under pressure to fine-tune their strategies in order to retain the loyalties and goodwill. While Unions in these nations are busy fighting for the retention of jobs, managements too