WINONA UNIVERSITY
Business Administration Department
Semester: _Fall_____

Assignment for Course #: __477_________

Course Name: _________Int’l HRM______________________

Submitted to: Dr. Mussie Tessema

Submitted by: ___ ___________

Due Date: _____9/12______________________

Assignment Title: _____Case 1.2___________________________________________

CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance received in its presentation is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the paper. I have also cited any sources from which I used, data, ideas or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. I also certify that this paper was prepared specifically for this course.

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Comments:

1. In the case of Harry Ramsden’s, I think the main issue they had to deal with was the difference in culture. Since fish and chips is a traditionally English meal, it may be known in other cultures but not widely consumed and it may not be accepted by a local culture. As stated in the case, one of the main concerns they had when they opened a location in Japan was that Japanese consumers had a reputation for having an aversion to greasy food, which is what fish and chips is. Another issue was that it seems like they were expanding globally without any clear plan. In the quote from Richard Taylor, he stated “We need experience now”, which makes it sound like they were essentially going to open new locations and gain experience from trial and error, instead of hiring some executives with experience in this area to help develop a strategy. Because of the rapid growth and seemingly poor planning, many locations had to close, citing poor location and difficulty with staffing and management. Had Harry Ramsden’s developed a strategy for international expansion that accounted for the variables they would encounter in expanding into different cultures, some of these issues may have been avoided. 2. Human resources management could influence the strategic decision to go international by recognizing the challenges that they would be facing with bringing a domestic product and company into new cultures. There are many HRM factors that they have to account for when making the decision to expand. For instance, choosing countries that they will be able to hire the kind of employees that they need to make the new location successful. In addition, a few current employees may have to temporarily relocate to the new location in order to train new talent and ensure that standards are being met, so they would need to ensure they have employees willing to make that move to the new location. Lastly, every country has different HRM policies and it is important that the location being chosen has policies in place that align with the work environment that is needed to be successful.