Managing the global enterprise and modern business management are becoming synonymous. "International" can no longer be relegated to a subset of organizations or to a division within the organization. Definitions of success now transcend national boundaries. In fact, the very concept of domestic business may have become anachronistic. To succeed, many corporations have developed global strategies. Yet, few firms have created global organizational cultures and teams of globally skilled managers capable of fully implementing those business strategies. Unfortunately, many firms still conduct the worldwide management of people as if neither the external economic and technological environment, nor the international strategy and structure of the firm had changed. This session will briefly trace the evolution of major firm's business strategy from their previously domestic focus to their current global perspective. Similarly, we will trace the evolution of human resource systems from domestic to global perspectives. We will then review the findings of recent research studies confirming a gap between current business and human resource practices. Within this context, we will identify some of the best human resource practices used by global firms.

Managing the global enterprise and modern business management are becoming synonymous. "International" can no longer be relegated to a subset of organizations or to a division within the organization. Definitions of success now transcend national boundaries. In fact, the very concept of domestic business may have become anachronistic. To succeed, many corporations have developed global strategies. Yet, few firms have created global organizational cultures and teams of globally skilled managers capable of fully implementing those business strategies. Unfortunately, many firms still conduct the worldwide management of people as if neither the external economic and technological environment, nor the international strategy and structure of the firm had changed. This session will briefly trace the evolution of major firm's business strategy from their previously domestic focus to their current global perspective. Similarly, we will trace the evolution of human resource systems from domestic to global perspectives. We will then review the findings of recent research studies confirming a gap between current business and human resource practices. Within this context, we will identify some of the best human resource practices used by global firms.