Human Resource Management and Labour Relations in the Brics: A Review of the Research Literature

The BRIC countries have developed into central actors in globalization within the past years. These countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China - stand for the large "emerging markets" which play an increasing role in the world economy since the beginning of this century. Because of the size and dynamics of the "emerging markets" this also means that the structures and patterns of organization which are developing here are increasingly gaining in worldwide influence. This is of direct importance for those companies, which are establishing new locations in these countries, as is meanwhile the case in the automobile industry. An increasing share of the employees of their companies can be found in these new regions of location. The present publication includes contributions by four authors from the BRIC countries, who deal with the question of peculiarities of the HR personnel systems based on the research literature in these countries which is not easily available for Western readers. Which traditional models exist for the formation of personnel systems, for human resource management, what are the models, organizational patterns and management concepts, which can be followed by companies, what questions are still contested, and what role are the multi-national companies playing? The contributions show a broad variety of approaches regarding personnel management, reflecting the background of different conditions for human resources, legal regulations and cultural influences. Altogether, the representations of the country-specific characteristics enable us to envision new departures which can be observed in the new industrial centers of the world economy in the area of labor and personnel management.