An organization's most valued resource is its people. Hence, managing people effectively is critical to organizational success. But organizations in today's business world are integrally linked to the global economy and many of you will manage teams of people located in different countries. When managing people in the global context, how should you think about people's decisions? In particular, should you follow a "one-size-fits-all" universalistic approach or should you customize your management practices to local contexts and institutions? If customization is necessary, what are the different local institutions that could affect people-management decisions?

We will answer these questions while learning about recruitment, compensation, performance management, diversity management, global teams, job design and global supply chains. In each class, we will discuss a case about a firm dealing with a specific people management problem in a specific part of the world, and we will use this example to understand how local institutions and norms dramatically influence HR solutions. In doing so, we will cover a range of carefully picked global industries including microfinance, IT services and manufacturing and understand local institutions in countries as diverse as Japan, South Africa, France, Kenya and China. Further, in most classes we will be hosting a distinguished guest speaker who will provide additional insights on the topic being discussed in class. 
This course is practical but based on social science research. Where relevant, students are encouraged to bring their own experiences and illustrations into class discussion.

This course is useful for those who expect to work with global teams and is relevant for anyone thinking about the future of work.

Faculty: Aruna Ranganathan

Course Date & Time

Monday - Friday, 9:30AM - 4:30PM PST