• Explain and discuss the role of RBV and Institutional theory and research on HRM & OB policies and practices in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
• Apply HRM & OB theoretical frameworks and concepts to case studies of local and foreign firms in LAC, in order to discuss lessons from successful vs. failed HRM & OB practices.
• Discuss different methodological strategies to conduct research on HRM & OB in LAC.

Many organisations today manage strategic human resources that are scarce, valuable, inimitable and non-tradable in countries plagued by uncertainties and ambiguities due to among others political instability, social unrest and cultural differences. Such situations are challenging for foreign managers to understand and navigate in. This course uses insights from the resource-based-view of the firm (RBV) and institutional theory to bridge strategic management theory and strategic human resource management (HRM) in order to discuss and analyse the above mentioned opportunities and challenges that local and international firms encounter in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). For example, we will analyse and discuss the management policies and practices emerging in firms operating in security risk contexts in LAC, which are characterised e.g. by narco-terrorism. The course adopts a general management perspective towards the field of HRM. In other words, rather than assuming that the student wants to become an HR professional, we will examine HRM and leading policies and practices from the perspective of a manager who wishes to effectively interact with, and utilise, the human resources at his/her disposal. The theoretical areas covered by the course are, therefore: RBV, Institutional theory, HR strategy, Comparative HR policies and practices, and Organisational Behaviour (OB – in terms of Groups, Teams, Leadership and Power).