France and Belgium Tatiana Laffargue Pauline Pichon International Human Ressources

The content: Introduction I) Context: economics politic and culture a) Economics b) Politics c) Culture II) Labour market trends a) Generality b) Different worker categories III) Management and organisation a) Formality and bureaucracy b) Elitism and intellect c) C)Strategic awareness and internal partneship and empowerment of line managers IV) Managing human ressources a) Recruitment and selection b) Training and development c) Rewards and remuneration d) Industrial actions and disputes Conclusion

Introduction: Both countries are part of E.U. In common: history, culture, institutional infrastructure and political orientation. Share same borders Since 2002, same money device: Euro France: spoken language french Belgium: French is the second spoken language after flemish Shift in managing employees in Belgium compare to french

Belgium and France: indicator in 2009 CountryBelgiumFrance Area30,528643,427 Population10,414,33664,420,073 GDP growth rate in % -2.7%-2,5% Inflation rate00.1 Source: CIA world fact book, 2010.

I) Contexts: economics, politics and culture A) Economics Most industrialized and advanced economies of the Western World. Belgium: Main industry: engineering, metal products, motor vehicle assembly, processed food, vegetable, sugar beets and tobacco Reputation to transform raw material into finished goods. Main trade partners are from the EU France: Main industry: steel,machinery, chemicals, automobile, metallurgy, aircraft, electronics, mining, textiles, food processing and tourism. Manufacturing is the backbone of the French economic strength Main export and import: EU, African colonies, Middle East, Asia

B) Politics

C) Culture The southern part of the Belgium is very similar to France. Both are high on individualism, uncertainty avoidance, low on masculinity and high on power distance. A high concern for employment security and emloyee freedom. Both countries have a significant presence of different ethnic groups (North Africans, Indo-Chinese, Africans and East Europeans.

II) Labour market trends FranceBelgium Population64 million28 million Active people5 million10 million Min working age18 (16 smt)15≈18 Standard working week35h38h Min annual holiday25 days20 days SectorBelgiumFrance Agriculture23.8 Industry Services A) Generality

Belgium has a lower unemployment rate than France Highest rank of unemployment are the less educated and the unskilled young people (under 25years old.) France and Belgium governments took initatives to help: Young people <25 years old Old people >55 years old Long-term unemployed Belgium France Unemployment rate B) Unemployment

C) Different worker categories Part time worker Most popular form of flexible working practices in Fr and B: Part-time work Annual hours Temporary work Female participation France: rate in employment above the EU average: 57.6% in 2005 W:Excellent provision of child care Belgium: rate in emplyment: 53.8% in 2005 W More educated than men, but most are part time workers. Part time workers France16%17.2%  w: 31% Belgium15.7%23.2%  w: 43%

Migrant labour Large pop. of migrant workers in both countries from African colonies, recently from Central and Eastern Europe. Immigrant policies tightened to control the flow Issue: illegal migrant who work in agriculture and construction. Number of migrant has increased

Older working population (Between 55 and 64 years old France and Belgium do not suffer of an ageing population. Belgium’s employment rate was 31.8% in 2005 France’s one was 37.9% in French governments Mobilizing older people = reduce pensions

III) Management and organisation The practice of management in Belgium and France is influenced by: -national laws -Regulations -EU directives -Socio-economic and politic changes -Global competitive pressures French and Belgium HR managers play a significant role in the process of decision making.

Approach to management: - Formalized and bureaucratized - Respect for hierarchy and status is very important Respect for hierarchy: its unusual to adress one’s superior by the first name or in the informal « you ». We use «sir», «mrs » or « miss » to talk to managers and between the provider and the receiver of a service. Communication in French and Belgium organizations is very dependent on the written word on paper. In the French-speaking regions (Wallonia and France) communication is often top-down. In large power distance countries organizations structures are hierarchical and subordinates rely on their leaders. Formalities and bureaucratic procedures are apparent in communication process and also in HRM functions, especially in recruitement and selection procedures A) Formality and bureaucracy

The francophone approach to management is very elitist and intellectually driven The concept of « cadres » used to describe a manager it implies a form of implicit rigidity in delegating power and making decisions from the top and passing them down the hierarchy. It’s difficult to find the exact meaning of the concept of « cadre » but it is synonymous with success and elite. In Belgium and France lots of words define the act of managing and imply a level of authority and prestige: « gérant », »directeur », « chef », « patron ». These words reflet the importance given to the elite in a social system where people operate according to an « honour system » B) Elitism and intellect

C) Strategic awareness In both countries HR managers are very involved in corporate strategy development. Management functions in many French and Belgian organizations are a shared reponsibility between all departments. Thanks to specific training, line managers have become more expert in human ressource management.

IV) Managing human ressources A) Recruitment and selection Both countries use traditional methods though they differ slightly. The use of international recruitment agencies is limited. More employers use internet to promote while job seekers use it as well. To attract diversity, French company use US and European website translated into English. The practice of HRM in Fr and B mirrors the characteristics of the Francophone approach to management.

CharacteristicsFranceBelgium Application formMoreLess InterviewsLessMore ReferenceMoreLess GraphologyMore than any country in the world Less Psycometric testsVery limited Assessment centresVery limited Generally, in France and Belgium we commonly find: application forms, interviews and reference. Internet is widely use for recruitment but less for the purpose of selection While Belgians promote internal recruitment in colleges and universities, French recruit graduates for job directly in prestigious school.

B) Training and development In both countries education is free and obligatory from the age of 6 to 16 in France and from 6 to 18 in Belgium To reduce youth enemployment a number of vocational training schemes have been introduced: BelgiumFrance - Vocational education is provided in parallel with a general secondary education. - Vocational training has been incorporated as part of secondary school education. BelgiumFrance - Vocational training through technical and vocational lessons in full time secondary education. - Vocational education schools provide technical, vocational and art training - Apprenticeship employment for the 16/25 age group. - In workplace and in apprentice training centres. (CFA - contrat de qualification)

Vocational trainings differ from one community to another in Belgium German-speaking community FlemishFrench Does not provides apprenticeship training outside secondary school Provides apprenticeship training in industry and in medium size entreprises (part-time study) Vocational training in schools and in medium size organizations and with self-employed proffesionals There are laws to reduce inequalities in skills and knowledge created by the education system among the French workforce. Employees are expected to gain the skills needed through trainings. Full time employees are entitled to paid educational leave if they or their employers identify the need for training. Each regions introduced their own rules

C) Reward and remuneration Jobs are evaluated on specific criteria: Level of knowledge Level of responsibility Level of complexity The salaries are negociated between: The employer and the trade union The employer and the employee The employer by himself

Minimum wage SMIC The rise of the SMIC take in account: Inflation and purchasing power of the average basic hourly pay of manual workers. Performance-related pay CountriesSMIC France1,321€ Belgium1,336€ In private sectors, in public sectors since 1980s It is based on special criteria For ex: if improved performance are seen, gain up to 20% bonus from your salary

Trade Union France: not recognized until 1884 Socialist government introduced new reforms to consolidate the right of workers. Trade unions are organized at the national level into confederations. Belgium: less militant and more restricted in their activities by binding collective agreements and employment laws. Trade unions are organized into confederations and federation at national, regional and local levels.

D) Industrial actions and disputes Industrial actions In Belgium strikes are allowed but the law is not clear about what does constitute legal strike action. So very often employers protest against workers and win. They could have penalties Strikes are allowed but they are sometimes violent. The right to strike is a right in France since July 16, 1971.

Industrial dispute In both countries there are laws about the settlement of industrial disputes where we can find all procedures (conciliation, mediation, arbitration). FranceBelgium First-instance labour / Half of the members are elected by employees and the other half by employers. The judicial code was introduced in Deals with all individual and collective cases. They can go to the court but they can also consider other dispute settlement procedures such as mediation or conciliation

Conclusion Management in Belgium and France is mainly characterized by bureaucracy and formalization moreover there is a high respect for intellect, elitism and strategic awareness. There is a high level of unemployment in both countries and there are flexible working practices. These last years we could have seen a growth in female employment and lots of immigrants. Moreover lots of workers are old. Concerning selection methods they are relatively the same: interviews, psychometric tests, assessment centres and references it changes according to the level of the offer. Despite the move towards more individualized payment systems, collective wage agreements are still favoured by trade unions and by organizations Belgians are less militant and they are more controlled by laws.