In the current global economic climate, International HRM is facing unprecedented pressure to become more innovative, effective, and efficient. In this respect, the significance of International Human Resource Management cannot be overestimated in relation to the success of a global business entity.

With this in mind select two different organizations that operate internationally. These organizations should operate in different sectors and in different geographic locations.

Question 1: Critically evaluate the challenges now facing these organizations from an International HRM perspective. Your essay should focus on theory /models /frameworks related to IHRM in the context of a rapidly changing global context.

Question 2: Critically evaluate the role of technology in the commercial strategy/performance of a multi-national organization.

Over the past 50 years, international markets have contributed an increasing share of revenues and profits for multinational corporations (MNCs). For example, the share of international profits as a percentage of total profits for U.S. firms rose from 5% in the 1960s to over 25% during the 2000s [1]. The increase has been particularly dramatic over the past decade, as U.S. corporate overseas profits increased at a double-digit pace for 22 consecutive quarters [49]. U.S. firms have also found higher returns on sales in foreign markets than in domestic markets, and less variability in earnings compared with domestic operations [18]. This trend is expected to continue and accelerate in the future, because globalization is an important vehicle for MNCs to manage revenue growth and cost reduction. Globalization provides opportunities for revenue growth by expanding operations into new geographical areas, and opportunities to reduce costs and increase profitability through economies of scale and scope [4]. It presents multinational firms with strategic opportunities that are not available to purely domestic firms, such as the ability to acquire inputs from multiple locations and serve diverse markets [2]. Globalization also enables firms to access global availability of talent to reduce cycle time, spur innovation, and maintain or improve quality [29]. Among the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the 10 that get the largest share of their sales abroad were expected to see revenues grow by an average of 8.3%, and the 10 that do the least business outside the U.S. were expected to show much lower average revenue gains of 1.6%