Meeting the Challenge of Globalization – Comparing Korean and Japanese Global Human Resource Management

Japan and South Korea are home to numerous multinational firms, particularly in highly globalized manufacturing industries such as automobiles and electronics. Both countries also have distinct business cultures and management systems which arguably lend strong competitiveness to their leading multinationals. However, the business activities of Japanese and Korean firms are increasingly being transferred to overseas locations, resulting in the need to attract, nurture and retain talent from all over the world. How can firms with strong national roots manage their global human resources competently without giving up their home-grown competitive strengths? How can they effectively integrate managers who neither know the business cultures nor the languages of their firms’ home countries?    

The Korean perspective will be delivered by Martin Hemmert, Professor of International Business at Korea University in Seoul and President of the Euro-Asia Management Studies Association. An expert in comparative studies of business systems and innovation management, he has eight years of research experience in Japan and twelve years in Korea. He has published six books, including most recently Tiger Management: Korean companies on world markets, and numerous articles in peer reviewed journals.

The Japan perspective will be presented by Hitoshi Yamanishi, Managing Director of Nomura Babcock & Brown Co., Ltd. in Tokyo. He was until recently Head of Group HR strategy at Nomura Holdings, Inc., which is one of the leading Japanese financial institutions, and has more than a decade of experience in delivering HR strategy globally in that capacity. He is author of a few HR related books such as Global HR Strategy for Japanese Firms (in Japanese, Nikkei Publishing Inc.), HR Scheme Under the Age of Globalization and Empathy (in Japanese, Hakuto Shobou).