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ECONOMICS
The analysis of the European model of human resource management Birca A. (Republic of Moldova)
Анализ европейской модели управления человеческими ресурсами Быркэ А. П. (Республика Молдова)
Быркэ Алик Петрович /Birca Alic - доктор экономических наук, доцент,
кафедра социального менеджмента, Молдавская экономическая академия, г. Кишинёв, Республика Молдова
Abstract: this article is devoted to the European model of development of human resource management. In this context, there are analyzed several aspects by several researchers, concerned about this issue. Researching the development of human resource management models at the european level, the author has deemed it necessary to come up with new issues aiming to enrich the previous models, highlighting in particular: human resources geopolitical context, international migration and transnational corporations behaviour.
Аннотация: эта статья посвящена европейской модели развития управления человеческими ресурсами. В связи с этим, некоторые аспекты анализируются с помощью нескольких исследователей, которые рассматривали этот вопрос. В результате исследований модели развития управления человеческими ресурсами на европейском уровне, автор счел необходимым, чтобы придумать новые аспекты, целью которых является обогащение предыдущих моделей, отметить, в частности: геополитический контекст человеческих ресурсов, международную миграцию рабочей силы и поведение транснациональных корпораций.
Keywords: human resources, human resource management, the European Union, the European model.
Ключевые слова: человеческие ресурсы, управление человеческими ресурсами, Европейский союз, европейская модель.
Human resource management approach at the european level represents an issue that has preoccupied many researchers. The need for human resource management approach at european level exists due to the important and difficult issues, that are faced on a regular basis by organizations, managers, employees and their representatives.
According to Petigrew's opinion, the main feature of the european human resource management is flexibility [4; p. 190]. This particularity of the human resource management european model has several meanings. Firstly, we mean the economic, social, cultural and political diversity, aspects that describe the european space. Secondly, the european space is characterized by a very high degree of the workforce mobility. The movement of persons and the employment presents a great importance for european space.
The necessity of developing the european model of human resource management is based on the idea that cultural and legislative aspects differ from one country to another and require the implementation of new approaches and insights of human resources in Europe. In this sense, the English researcher C. Brewster affirms that there is a difference between the human resource management that exists in Europe and the model that exists in the United States, Japan, Asia, etc. Thus, C. Brewster proposes a model of the human resource management where the staffing practices (recruitment, selection, performance evaluation, remuneration, etc.) arise from the human resources strategy and have a total impact on them, so it is linked to each organization's strategy. The 1 -st figure presents the European model of human resource management after Brewster.
Environment
Organization
International context
Organization strategy
t
National context
(culture, economic legislation, forms of ownership)
The strategy of lnunan resources management
(integration, decentralization, policy training, reward systems.)
The concept of lnunan resources management
(staff training, labor market, employment etc)
t
Practices of lnunan resources management
(selection, performance evaluation, communications, relations, etc.)
Î
Fig. 1. The European model of human resource management after C. Brewster
Source: [2, p. 15]
This model places both the strategy of the organization, and the strategies and policies of human resources within an external environment which includes the following elements:
• international context (supranational bodies such as the European Union, International Labour Office, AESSM etc.);
• national context (cultural, economic and social system, legislation);
• the national context of human resource management (vocational training, employment, payroll, labor relations, etc.).
Analyzing C. Brewster's model, we note that it is based on ethnocentrism, according to which the development of a concept in a country shall be considered valid for the other countries without taking into account national differences. However, C. Brewster's model has been criticized by many human resources researchers such as F. Bournois, G. Clark, R. Smith etc. In their point of view, C. Brewster tried to transfer in Europe, the american literature relating to human resources management, without taking into account cultural boundaries. Or, cultural diversity implies the existence of management models and theories varying from one country to another, which does not justify the european model of the human resource management's approach as the one and only. In order to clarify the European management of human resources, English scientist G. Clark comes with an alternative model that encourages switching from ethnocentric approach in human resource management to the polycentric. This model is built on the idea that the concepts and practices of the human resource management prevailing in a country are the result of the following factors:
• international institutional context, namely the impact of international organizations on the character and nature of human resource management in different countries;
• national culture characterized by attitudes, values and perceptions;
• national institutional context, in terms of different social contexts leading to their own ways of organizing (the development of organizations in different national contexts suggests that there is only one way to control and organize the economic activities) [1, p. 275].
According to G. Clark, the nature of human resources management in a country may be the result of a historical development in an institutional context. Economical, educational, financial, legislative and political factors have the potential importance to the development of human resources management. In this approach there can be no predetermined pattern of human resources management. Starting from the cultural and institutional context of each country human resource
management should be applied carefully in each country because the concepts and notions related to management practices in human resources can be interpreted differently.
Based on the fundamental elements used by C. Brewster and G. Clark, we consider it necessary to include other issues that could influence the european management of human resources. In our point of view, the international labor migration can have significant influence on the evolution of human resources practices implemented in each European country. Similarly, transnational corporations, as a result of business expansion, can 'export' in European countries HR practices and procedures applied in the origin country, which can reshape human resource management configuration. Another relevant factor submitted in this scientific endeavor is the geopolitical context of human resources that can directly or indirectly influence human resource management practices and procedures applied by the member states of the EU. Based on these, we propose our own model of human resource management in the European context, based on the fundamentals presented in the models of G. Clark and C. Brewster (Figure 2).
Fig. 2. The European model of human resource management Source: Developed by the author based on the G. Clark and C. Brewster's ideas
The european model of human resource management is limited by the variety of legislative constraints that are specific to both the European Union and each of the countries of the european area. Also, the european model of human resource management is limited by a high degree of State interventionism in regulating strategies and human resource policies at the national level. From the point of view of fundamental values, we can deduce that the european model of human resource management might be characterized by:
• legal regulations concerning hiring, layoffs and termination of the employment contracts;
• legislative regulations on wage levels;
• rules concerning the qualification of educational programs and training of human resources;
• Funds allocation of the public financial resources in order to initiate and develop programs for training, retraining, career counseling, creating new jobs and increasing the employment of labor;
• European Social Charter rules, applicable in particular to the EU level.
By studying the similarities and differences in human resources management practices and procedures at the European level, Slovenian researchers M. Ignatov and I. Svetlik have identified four distinct models:
• the model specific to the Eastern European countries (Poland, Romania, Bulgaria etc.);
• the model characteristic to the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland);
• the model applicable in the countries of Western Europe (Germany, France, UK, etc.);
• the participatory management model, specific to the countries of Southern and Central Europe (Czech Republic, Slovenia, Italy, Spain etc.) [5, p. 67].
As a result of the carried out research, we note that the EU can be made up of four groups of countries that determine similarities and differences of the human resources management on the organizations level: Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland); the Anglo-Saxon countries (Ireland and United Kingdom); Germanic countries (Germany and Austria); the Latin American countries (France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Portugal).
The Anglo-Saxon countries have a number of features specific to the american model of human resources management, differentiating it of the other European countries from this point of view [4, p. 197]. Southern European countries are characterized by a number of features such as the increased level of state intervention in the economy, legal regulations and protectionist strong hierarchy. Nordic countries of Europe are dominated by a series of values such as liberalism and the low level of state intervention, very good activities organization and participatory management.
Eastern EU countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic are dominated by German model as a result of economic relations that the two countries have developed with Germany.
Therefore, due to the diversity of the cultural, legal and institutional framework that varies from one country to another, the human resource management in the european context is accomplished way harder. Human resources professionals have to solve a bigger amount of problems in order to ensure the success and competitiveness of the respective organizations. The international migration has a significant impact on human resource management, as well as the geopolitical context of the human resources.
References
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2. Borza A. Human resource management in the European context. Cluj-Napoca: Dacia Publishing, 1999. 289 p.
3. Brewster C., Sparrow P. R., Vernon G. International Human Resource Management. Second edition. London: CIPD, 2007. 232 p.
4. Marinas C-V. Comparing management of human resources. Bucharest: Economica Publishing, 2010. 380 p.
5. Chivu I. European dimension of human resources management. Brasov. Star Publishing, 2003. 261 p.
6. Petrescu I. European dimension of personnel management organization. Sibiu: ALMA MATER, 2006. 278 p.
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