Avon Case

1. Evaluate Avon’s Strategic International Human Resources practices in global markets regarding development of a global management cadre, HCNs, and building company associates and independent representatives in host countries.

Avon is a company that realized early on that their managers had to be trained to deal with intercultural in order to remain productive and successful in the over 100 countries the company operates within. They implement tactics that focus on pre-market entry issues like expatriate recruiting, cultural sensitivity training, cost issues and other intercultural considerations, and they also implement post-market entry tactics to follow up on global manager training, like professional development, relationship marketing and managing multiculturalism. With regards to host-country nationals, (HCNs), Avon focuses on its well-developed sales network as well as its strong brand identity in order to attract a productive workforce. One of the company’s main objectives is to empower women around the world, and with demographic shifts creating new market segments such as alpha females, (entrepreneurial/executive, single women), Avon has a great opportunity to do so with its business model. Another great tactic for keeping staffing costs from skyrocketing is to hire associates and independent representatives in host countries, which works perfectly because these are people who know the host country cultures and know how to do business in these countries.

2. Describe how Avon’s business model has changed in light of demographic and social changes in the United States and abroad. What role has HRM played in the company’s global expansion?

Avon has had to adapt its business model due to demographic and social shifts. In the United States, for example, resources have become less differentiated and the biggest way for a company to truly gain a competitive advantage now is with a well-developed workforce. Technological advancements have also created the...