Cultural Differences Can Be Difficult To Manage, Even if Anticipated - Essay Example

Resource management, specifically, human resource (HR) management, can encompass a multitude of different tasks, depending on the needs of the company. International human resource management (IHRM) is usually a little more complex than resource management, as it deals with many different issues from taxation, government, culture, money, workplace values to customs and other such problems specifically geared to happen more within the framework of an international business climate than a domestic business climate.

This means that a myriad of cultures, as they relate to international human resource management, are bound to either clash or conjoin. . As P. Dowling states, "Once-safe markets are now fierce battlegrounds where firms aggressively fight for market share against foreignand domestic competitors." (Dowling,et al 1999.) In summary, according to the book, IHRM, (International Human Resource Management by Dowling, et al 1999), with current 21st century trends in place, a continued globalization effort in regard to the international marketplace is expected to keep growing to accommodate the diverse international marketplace.

The Evolving Global MarketplaceThe 21st century international globalization effort is forcing IHR management to observe, familiarize themselves with, and provide custom solutions for similar upcoming issues for their own market sector. As this process matures over the next few decades, these companies will face many similar issues that other cross culture businesses have faced within their own corporate market. What used to be called 'communication and assertiveness' within the static bounded corporation has to now adjust to, and create clear communication across integrated supply chains, and a multinational work force, all of which can be working simultaneously on the same project.

Successfully managing IHRM will give companies a strategic advantage. Companies who do not master this dynamic new facet of the global marketplace can, and will likely suffer equally dismal failure. For example, the world watched in awe, and then in disdain just a few years ago as the US space agency NASA attempted to land an exploratory probe on the surface of mars. The multibillion dollar spacecraft crashed to the surface on Dec 3, 1999, and although NASA was slow to release details, information finally