Globalizacija ir žmonių išteklių valdymas

The article analyses the complexity of human resource management in the context of business globalization. The problem is the balancing of the global trends in HRM with the influence of national cultures. The general aim of the article is to explore the problem of balancing the seemingly opposing forces (such as thinking global – acting local, decentralization–centralization, differentiation–integration, etc.) and to identify trends and values in HRM. The article shows that such opposing forces should be considered not as binary either / or decisions, but as complementary forces that need to be balanced. The analysis is supported by examining the changing practice of HRM in the United Kingdom, France, the USA and Japan. This review shows the main trends and the principal tasks faced by HRM professionals in the 21st century. HRM changes that have taken place in the UK are a reflection, primarily, of changing regulation arising both from the UK government and from membership in the EU, globalization and strong pressures to drive costs downwards. French HR managers are striving to adapt French organizations to the environment by relying on unique practices or practices similar to those implemented in other countries. In late 2000s, the US economy is slowing. Though workers may become easier to find in general, recruitment continues to be challenging in the areas where skill shortages exist. The US workforce will continue to become more diverse. Firms are likely to continue experimenting with variable compensation and high performance work systems to enhance productivity. The change of HR practices in Japanese companies seems to be slow and incremental, carefully avoiding traumatic breaks with the past. Japanese managers have a strong sense of corporate obligation to provide jobs, income and security. On comparing changes in the patterns of HMR in the UK, France, the USA and Japan, the article analyses the peculiarities of HMR in Lithuania as a representative country of the post-soviet bloc. The practice of HRM in Lithuania during 1990–2008 may be separated into two periods. Each period was influenced by controversial groups of factors: traditions that came into being under the soviet regime and the new traditions still undergoing formation. In the first period dominated the so-called “hard” HRM, with the focus on employee control, utmost exploitation of their potential and obtaining the maximum benefit from them, neglect of employees’ needs. The lack of qualified workers, increasing emigration and the growing competition in the second period urge the managers to shift attention to “soft” HRM, i.e. to the needs of their employees as one of the key resources of the competitive advantage