International human resource development practices in Singapore

Abstract

International Human Resource Development (IHRD) refers to training and development, career development and organisation development programmes conducted by organisations, for expatriate employees as well as employees taking up overseas assignments. The purpose of this study is to examine the current IHRD practices in both multi-national corporations (MNCs) and local companies in Singapore. The study was conducted across 300 companies, which were randomly selected from "Singapore 1000, 1992". Data was collected through a questionnaire designed by the research team, which was administered to the human resource managers using the local mail system. The collected data was then analysed using the appropriate statistical tools for responding to the research questions of the study. It was found that IHRD functions are not widely practised among companies in Singapore, particularly in local companies. The role of human resource professionals in designing and implementing training and development, career development and organisation development programmes were very limited in most companies. It was also observed that there were differences in IHRD practices among MNCs and local companies in Singapore. Implications of the findings were discussed for training and development, career development, and organisation development issues of IHRD. Finally, recommendations were made for future studies in this area through a wider coverage of organisations.