Comparative Human Resource Between Canada and Australia

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Table of Contents

Executive summary
Introduction
Analysis
Implications and recommendations for HR professionals
Reference list

Executive summary

Human resources management is pertinent to the development of the firm. In fact, it is considered essential for countries such as Canada that need to develop their international human capital to attract foreign investments.

Most research studies that have been carried out tend to show that the availability of necessary human capital is one of the major factors which contribute to the attraction of international investments.

Given that there are quite a number of foreign investments in Canada, it is imperative to note that there is a clear indication that international human resource managers are present in this country.

However, the development of these human resources within a country depend on numerous factors such as the country culture, education standards, legal issues as well as its demographics in terms of skills.

Usually, the international human resource managers must take into consideration the cultural differences that they would encounter in the host country. This consideration is also important when recruiting for foreign labor force.

During the process international human resource (IHM) should recruit those with the Canadian experience or trained on the applications of culture management so as to reduce the cost of retraining.

This paper investigates the various aspects that pertain to IHRM in an effort to offer recommendations to human resource managers going for Canada. The paper commences with an introduction of the topic at hand and then proceeds to the analysis.

The analytical part of this paper compares the situations in both Canada and Australia. Implications and recommendations for the human resources professionals is provided in the final part of the discussion.

Introduction

Canada is a country in North American continent which covers most of the northern part. It is among the developed nations and is very attractive both to investors and tourist.

Its economic stability and innovativeness have been the key attractions for foreign companies establishing operations in the country (O’Donnell et al., 2002).

In fact, the majority of large corporations are foreign-owned, but with headquarters located in the country. Canada is also a member of significant business treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which makes it a hub for international businesses.

In addition, the country is a major exporter of agricultural products, medicine, minerals and machinery. Therefore, the issue of international human resource management (IHRM) is vital to the economic success of the firms determined to invest in Canada.

The mere existence of foreign-owned firms indicates the presence of foreign human resource managers as well. In that respect, understanding the aspects pertinent to the country but relevant to human resource management is quite important for IHR managers.

Analysis

According to CBC News, the national population of Canada reached 34,349,200 people as at December 2010 (CBCnews, 2011, par.2). The majority of the people are between the ages of 40 to 60 years. There males exceed females by approximately 5 percent.

Statistics Canada (2012) reported that the unemployment rate in Canada averaged 7.2 percent by March 2012, indicating the availability of unexploited labor force.

The leading industries in employment include construction, manufacturing, healthcare and social assistance, trade and educational services. A wide gap exists between the rich and the poor.

In essence, as the share of the richest group continues to increase, the middle income earners and the poorest income group shares decrease. As at December 2011, the average income for males was $24.81 while for femles was $21.33 which indicated an increase from the previous year.

The literacy level in Canada is 99% and this level lowers as age increases. More so, the skills level is decreasing as the most skilled labor force becomes aged.

In contrast, the Australian population is estimated to be 22,888,459 (ABS, 2012). The number of males is slightly higher than females and males are generally younger with a median of 36.8 years as compared to 37.6 years for females.

The unemployment rate is about 5.2 percent indicating zero growth from last year. There is a significant gap between the poor and the rich in terms of individuals as well as households.

The country’s literacy and skills levels are declining as a result inequalities in schools and aging respectively.

Like any other culture, the Canadian culture is distinctive and unique in that the country occupies a very specific part of the world’s geography and the people act themselves differently from other people in other parts of the globe (Schafer, 2006, p.1).

While many factors such as environmental, economic, religious, social and education have shaped Canadian culture, contribution from immigrants have also added to the overall culture.

According to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Canada can be classified as an individualistic culture (Hofstede, 1984). There are different religions that the Canadians embrace including Christianity, Islamic and traditional aboriginal religion.

This diversity also extends to gender, families and marriage where some people pursue equality while others do not. The Canadians have greatly been influenced by the Americans in terms of family size.

They no longer live as extended families except for the few aboriginals who have stuck to their traditions. The next of kin is usually the son or the daughter to that particular family. Food cuisines are as diverse as ethnicity, but generally influenced by the abundance of the country.

The Canadians are very open to the provisions from different cultures. They would engage in any business transactions in any place including clubs and churches (O’Donnell, Garavan & Mensik, 2001). However, they are keen to formalize their business activities before completing transactions.

On the other hand, the Australian culture is hard to describe on its own due to influence from diverse cultural groups. However, this culture is characterized by aspects that relate partly to the western culture and partly to the eastern culture.

Compared to Canada, Islamic religion is more emphasized though Christianity and other religions play a significant role. This difference extends to families in which the extended family is the norm and decisions in most cases are made by the male members.

This practice extends to businesses and most of the firms have centralized organizational structures (Sheehan, Fenwick & Dowling, 2010). The Australians always stick to the rule when doing business and make it as formal as possible.

As noted earlier, Canada is a constitutional dominion, a federal state and a parliamentary democracy. The parliament is a representative of the people and through it people can contribute to policy enactment. Through its fiscal entities, the Canadian government makes economic policies.

The national currency is the Canadian dollar and is reflected in all legal tenders. NAFTA has not only enriched the economic relation between Canada and US, but also increased the interest of other countries to Canada.

As an ally of US, the country is more prone to incidences of terrorism and has even been criticized as the hideout for the organizers (Helfand, & Osborne, 2003).

Contrastingly, Australia is not prone to terrorism incidences as the geographical location does not allow for a strong relationship with the west. Although it is a constitutional monarchy of the British, its political relations are more inclined to the east.

The Canadian law is based on the Canadian constitution which can only be amended by the act of the parliament. The law defines all business activities and strictly prohibits corruption and other unethical business practices.

The human rights as defined in the constitution seek to give both the Canadians and foreigners the freedom to work on their own, but as legal-binding citizens. Similarly, the basis of the Australian law is the constitution.

The common law acts as the principal law that defines the legality of all business practices. Under the common law, the contract law seeks to maintain fair practices in business contracts (Sheehan, Fenwick & Dowling, 2010, p.1820).

Human rights in this context are the source of democratic freedom, but have little significance in the business context.

Implications and recommendations for HR professionals

The Canadian population is aging which affects the country’s capacity to provide skilled labor necessary to build the increasingly innovative and productive organizations. International human resources managers are therefore expected to be challenged by this lack of skilled labor.

Long and Shields (2005; 2010) observe that the already existing firms in Canada are competing for talents and skills in different ways such as increasing pays and rewards to their workers.

The Canadian birth rate which reduced since 1990s and the aging baby boomers also suggest insufficient workforce.

Since more and more firms are establishing operations in Canada perhaps due to resources availability and political stability, IHR managers will be expected to source their labor forces elsewhere.

The distinctive and unique Canadian culture has implications on IHR managers especially in regard to cultural shocks. Du Plessis & Beaver (2008, p.170) consider cultural shock as a paramount issues for multinational organizations (MNC) wishing to establish operations overseas.

The IHR managers having the entire responsibility of expatriation will certainly be required to overcome the cultural shocks expected within the Canadian context (Walsworth, 2007).

The Canadian society may expect certain behaviors from business expatriates such as business etiquette that might completely be unique. Religion in particular can be a cultural element that could create gaps between foreign businessmen and the Canadians (Adhikari & Pokhre, 2004).

Therefore, IHR managers should put in place strategies to overcome such challenges prior to their entry in the Canadian market.

The international human resource managers must take into consideration the cultural differences that they would encounter in the host country. This consideration is also important when recruiting for foreign labor force.

During the process international human resource (IHM) should recruit those with the Canadian experience or trained on the applications of culture management so as to reduce the cost of retraining

One way that the managers can overcome the workforce problem is to form a mutual relationship with institutions of higher learning. This will enable them to train their own pool of candidates which will meet the job requirements of the organization.

The cultural shock problem can be solved through expatriate training. Beitler (2005) is of the opinion that expatriate training that involves a process can eliminate cultural shock.

In the Canadian context, expatriate training may also include a session on the specific legal requirements for doing business in order to eliminate any legal implication.

Reference list

Adhikari, R. & Pokhre, M. 2004, ‘Managerial Values and HR Decision-Making: A Comparative Study between Nepal and Canada.’ The Nepalese Management Review, vol.12, no.1, pp.28-39.

ABS 2012. Population clock. Web.

Beitler, M. 2005, Expatriate training and support. Web.

CBCnews 2011, Canada’s population growth slows. Web.

Du Plessis, A. J. & Beaver, B. 2008, ‘The changing role of human resource managers for international assignments.’ International Review of Business Research Papers, vol.4 no.5, pp.166-181.

Helfand, N. & Osborne, D. 2003. Asian organized crime and terrorist activity in Canada. Web.

Hofstede, G. 1984, Culture’s consequences: international differences in work-related values. SAGE, Los Angeles.

Long, R. J. & Shields, J. L. 2005, ‘Performance pay in Canadian and Australia firms: a comparative study.’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol.16 no.10, pp. 1783-1811.

Long, R. J. & Shields, J. L. 2010, ‘From pay to praise? Non-cash employee recognition in Canadian and Australian firms.’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 21 no. 8, pp.1145-1172.

O’Donnell, D., Garavan, T., & Mensik, S. 2001, An International Comparison of Managerial Values and HR Decision-making: How Are Canadian Managers Different from Irish and Australian Managers? Web.

O’Donnell, D., Mensik S., Garavan, T., Taggar, S., & McGuire, D. 2002, Employment Equality Agendas: A Comparative Study of Canada, Ireland and Australia. Web.

Schafer, D. 2006, Culture and customs of Canada. Web.

Sheehan, C., Fenwick, M. & Dowling, P. J. 2010. An investigation of paradigm choice in Australian international human resource management research. International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 21 no. 11, pp.1816-1836.

Statistics Canada 2012, Employment and unemployment. Web.

Walsworth, S. 2007, ‘Measuring workplace internationalization: incorporating self-reported measures of international engagement.’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol.18 no.8, pp.1418-1436.

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