This paper reviews the development of performance management, presenting the major perspectives of this important area of human resource management. Our concept of performance management involves several aspects: links with organizational strategy, establishment of individual goals, feedback on progress, opportunities for improvement and development. We also note that performance management systems will vary acording to the characteristics of the organization and its environment; for example, multinational enterprises face significant complexity in developing, implementing and maintaining performance management processes.

Some international companies are using advanced communication and information technology to manage virtually, rather than sending a traditional expatriate into the foreign location. This article explores the feasibility of using virtual assignments as a replacement for the traditional expatriate international posting.

Recent international management and strategic international human resource management literature on control in multinational enterprises has identified a role for expatriates as personal integrating mechanisms. This reflects efforts to strike the right control balance of global integration and local responsiveness, without continual need for structural realignment. In this paper, control and expatriate performance management were explored in three Australian multinational enterprises; two non-profits and one for profit. The unit of analysis was the dyadic relationship comprised of the expatriate and the multinational in the performance management operation. Organisational and individual-level implications for the feasibility of cultural control and implications for theory, research and practice conclude the paper.

In this paper, we examine the implications of ethnocentrism and paternalism in teaching approaches for the field of strategic international human resource management (SIHRM), as an example of management studies. We argue that the teaching of SIHRM has been approached in a colonizing fashion, joining and extending the territories of human resource management and organizational strategy through the definition and teaching of a new language and conceptual vocabulary. We explore philosophical approaches and processes involved in teaching SIHRM, and consider implications of pedagogical developments in this field of management education.

Australia has a high level of cultural diversity, particularly within the manufacturing sector. Yet the management of cultural diversity in Australia has only been mediocre. The aim of this study was to examine whether human resource diversity management practices in the Australian manufacturing sector have improved since the previous study by D'Netto and Sohal (1999). The intervening period has been characterised by the progression of diversity management research and practice from nascency to acceptance as a mature sub-field of management and human resource management. In addition, significant changes have occurred in the manufacturing sector. The results of our study of 119 manufacturing organisations indicated that positive changes in HR diversity management have occurred with the passage of time. The overall performance of manufacturing organisations in Australia, with respect to the use of human resource diversity management practices is no longer 'mediocre' and can now be classified as 'above average'. While there is still considerable scope for improvement, especially in the area of recruitment, we found that employers in the Australian manufacturing sector value diversity and recognise the benefits of diversity. We explain the findings of our study and discuss the implications for future research.

This paper addresses the question of whether Australian international human resource management (IHRM) research is dominated by either a universalist or contextualist paradigm. Using a systematic review approach, 82 peer reviewed papers were analysed using a basic extraction tool to record publication and research design details. The universalist/contextualist distinction decision was based on the point at which theory became evident in each publication. Results indicated an almost even split in the universalist/contextualist paradigm choice suggesting a balanced rather than dominant research preference. This finding may reflect the impact of both European and North American influences in Australian IHRM research. A second finding is a high level of papers without proposed theoretical relationships: this second finding has a number of ramifications for IHRM research and practice in Australia.

Using a sample of 563 Australian professionals currently working overseas, we investigate the relationships between intention to repatriate and national identity, demographic variables, quality of life, career advancement, personal networks, social context, and situational characteristics. Our findings show that national identity, length of time already spent overseas, quality of life available in the home country, employment in a multinational enterprise (MNE) and expatriate location were predictive of intention to repatriate to Australia. This research has implications for individuals, employers and government policy with regard to the management of talent flows of skilled workers.

International human resource management (IHRM) represents an important dimension of international management. Over the past three decades, there has been considerable growth in research and practice in IHRM. While there have been extensive developments in this field, numerous scholars have identified aspects requiring review and revision. Hence, this paper reviews and interrogates the progress in IHRM's theoretical development. The review leads to the conclusion that research in IHRM has tended to emphasize integration over other forms of progress. In response, and in provocation, imitation rather than integration is suggested as an approach for the development of future theoretical and conceptual directions in IHRM.

Our research explores the organisational context of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs), an increasingly important sector that has been largely overlooked by management scholars. This sector is of increasing importance in Australia and throughout the world. We focus on Strategic International Human Resource Management (SIHRM), as a particularly important area of management for INGOs. The central purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of strategic international HRM for INGOs and offer a series of propositions specific to INGOs. By doing this, implications for future theoretical and empirical development emerge, with particular attention given to the Australian context.

The capability to transfer knowledge successfully within the multinational enterprise (MNE) has been identified as a source of competitive advantage. This paper develops a conceptual framework that links the knowledge transfer capacity of MNE employees, training and development, and the degree of knowledge transfer success within MNEs. The integrative conceptual framework bridges the disciplines of international business and strategic human resource management, and organisational and individual levels of analysis in MNEs. Thus, from its perspective of the capability-based view of knowledge transfer, it contributes to building theory and an agenda for future research into knowledge transfer capacity in MNEs.

Over the last two decades there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of organizations that have internationalized their operations. The international movement of labour that has been concomitant with such expansion of international business has meant that issues associated with the management of human resources across international borders are increasingly important to international human resource managers and academics. The research presented in this paper examines international human resource management (IHRM) pedagogy and practice in Australia. It reports IHRM academicians' and practitioners' understanding of the major issues for teaching and practice in IHRM and elucidates current developments and directions for this field.

Expatriation is of enduring importance for multinational enterprise. Research and practice have focused on many aspects of expatriate management, reflecting a concern about expatriate performance, yet relatively little attention has been paid to expatriate performance management. Even less is known about the interplay between organization-level performance management practices and expatriates’ self-management of performance while on international assignment. During a qualitative exploration of expatriate performance management, I found that when expatriates were faced with undefined situations, they resorted to past professional, occupational or organizational experiences, depending on their length of tenure with the organization, to guide their performance. I develop this theme as a basis for future research by drawing on control, identity and scheme theories, to propose a model of an individual-level cognitive process determining work-role behavior. This paper is a work in progress. Material in the paper cannot be used without permission of the author. A COGNITIVE MODEL OF EXPATRIATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

This article calls for the inclusion of multinational non-profit organizations in the research and pedagogy of strategic international human resource management. Multinational non-profit enterprise is increasingly influential, both economically and philosophically, as economic and socio-cultural boundaries become more interdependent. Yet the multinational non-profit sector has been ignored by international human resource management scholars. When research and pedagogy overlook practice, a concern exists with regard to their relevance. By outlining the international development of multinational non-profit enterprise, the article contextualizes strategic international human resource management in multinational intermediate private aid and development agencies. Analysis of a particular example, World Vision Australia, illustrates the discussion.

This research explored variations to traditional international assignment. Interviews with expert informants and a survey of 43 human resource managers investigated whether or not four categories of international assignment identified in a recent European survey are occurring in Australian-based multinational enterprises (MNEs). The findings presented are illuminating, but not generalisable. It seems that within this group, a portfolio of international assignment options, in addition to expatriation, is increasingly being offered and undertaken by the Australian respondents to this study. Implications these variations present for international assignment management are presented as an agenda for future research.

A qualitative study of a research and development network of major global mining companies is reported in this paper. In this international inter‐organizational network, emergent global human resource development and, particularly, career development challenges for participating individuals and organizations are analyzed. These challenges arise from two important dimensions of present and future network effectiveness, the boundary activities of network centrality, and building and maintaining optimal trust. Implications for future research and practice are identified.

Internationalising firms often begin the process by entering similar markets to their own. This strategy has been given as the explanation for the focus by Australian businesses on Britain as the location for much of their foreign direct investment. This paper extends research into Australian investment in Britain published in an earlier edition of this journal by examining problems related to unanticipated differences between Australian and British management styles. It examines the impact on interpersonal relations when the perceived cultural distance between two countries is small and actual distance much greater. Implications for international management are also considered.