Foreword by Nancy J. Adler^1
Which is farther, the sun at sunrise or the sun at noon? The first sage argued,
‘At sunrise, of course, the sun is closest when it is largest.’ The second sage
vehemently disagreed, ‘No, at noon, of course! The sun is closest when it’s
warmest.’ Unable to resolve the dilemma, the two sages turned to
Confucius.com for help. Feeling the sun’s fading warmth as it lowered itself
into a blazing sunset, Confucius remained silent.^2Myth, misinformation, and silence have pervaded the field of international
human resource management (HRM) since its inception.^3 Understanding the
dynamics of people in organizations has always been challenging. However,
never prior to the twenty-first century has the intensity of globalization inter-
acted so profoundly with organizations and the people who lead them and
work in them. To understand the challenges of twenty-first century organi-
zational efficacy is to address the myriad of dilemmas facing people who con-
stantly work outside their native country with people from wider and wider
ranges of the world’s cultures.
Can we allow ourselves to continue to be guided by myth, misinformation,
and silence? No. Do we, as scholars, researchers, and executives, know how to
resolve the human dilemmas posed by extremely high levels of global inter-
action? No, not yet. Do we need to know? Yes. In International Human Resource
Management, the editors have brought together an eminent group of scholars
from around the world to report on state-of-the-art international HRM
research. Unlike Confucius, they have chosen not to remain silent in the face
of dilemmas that were heretofore unresolvable. They offer research results and
recommendations that can and should guide our scholarly and executive
appreciation of global diversity and its impact on human system functioning.
The book includes macro strategic perspectives along with micro individual-level(^1) Nancy J. Adler is a professor of international management at McGill University, Montreal,
Canada.
(^2) Based on an ancient Chinese wisdom story as edited by Nancy J. Adler and Lew Yung-Chien
while artists in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, 2002.
(^3) For an in-depth discussion of the patterns of myths and errors undermining the field, see
A.W.K. Harzing’s ‘The Role of Culture in Entry Mode Studies: From Negligence to Myopia?’ in
Advances in International Management, Vol. 15, 2003, pp. 75–127; A.W.K. Harzing’s ‘Are Our
Referencing Errors Undermining our Scholarship and Credibility? The Case of Expatriate
Failure Rates,’ Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 23, February, 2002, pp. 127–148; and
A.W.K Harzing’s ‘The Persistent Myth of High Expatriate Failure Rates,’ The International
Journal of Human Resource Management, May 1995, pp. 457–475.
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