International human resource management - Chapter 4 pot

Chapter 4Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments... Chapter objectives• the myth of the global manager • the debate surrounding expatriate failure In Part I, we demo

Chapter 4

Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments

Chapter objectives

• the myth of the global manager

• the debate surrounding expatriate failure

In Part I, we demonstrated how people play a central role in

sustaining international operations As international

assignments are an important vehicle for staffing, it is critical that they are managed effectively, and the expatriates are

supported so that performance outcomes are achieved The

focus of this chapter, then, is on recruitment and selection

activities in an international context We will address the

following issues:

Chapter objectives (cont.)

• factors moderating intent to stay or leave the international assignment

• selection criteria for international assignments

• dual-career couples

• are female expatriates different?

The global manager

• Myth 1: there is a universal approach to

management

• Myth 2: People can acquire multicultural

adaptability and behaviours

• Myth 3: There are common characteristics

shared by successful international managers

• Myth 4: There are no impediments to

Table 4-1: Current expatriate profile

Expatriate failure

• Definition: Premature return of an

expatriate

• Now recognized that under-performance

during an international assignment, and

retention upon completion, should be

included

Expatriate failure

• What is the magnitude of the phenomenon?

– Suggestion of a falling rate compared with

early (1980s) studies

– Evidence is somewhat inconclusive

– Discussion about its magnitude has drawn

attention to expatriate failure and prompted

considerable research into its causes

Expatriate failure

• Direct costs of failure: airfares, associated

relocation expenses, and salary and training – Varies according to level of position concerned – Country of destination

– Exchange rates

– Whether ‘failed’ manager is replaced by

another expatriate

Expatriate failure

• Indirect costs (invisible)

– Damaged relationships with key stakeholders in the foreign location

– Negative effects on local staff

– Negative effects on expatriate concerned

– Family relationships may be affected

Factors moderating expatriate

Figure 4-1: International assignments: factors

Figure 4-2: The phases of cultural adjustment

The phases of adjustment

• The U-Curve is not normative

• The time period involved varies between

Figure 4-3: The dynamics of the employment relationship

The employment relationship

• The nature of the employment relationship

– Relational: broad, open-ended and long-term

obligations

– Transactional: specific short-term monetized

obligations

• The condition of the relationship

– Intact: when employee considers there has been fair

treatment, reciprocal trust

Figure 4-4: Likelihood of exit

Organizational commitment

• Affective component: employee’s

attachment to, identification with and

involvement in, the organization

• Continuance component: based on

assessed costs associated with exiting the

organization

• Normative component: refers to

Why consider the psychological

contract?

• Nature, location and duration of an international

assignment may provoke intense, individual

reactions to perceived violations

• Expatriates tend to have broad, elaborate,

employment relationships with greater emphasis

on relational nature

• Expectations and promises underpin this

relationship

Figure 4-5: Factors in expatriate selection

Mendenhall and Oddou Model

• Self-oriented dimension

• Perceptual dimension

• Others-oriented dimension

• Cultural-toughness dimension

Table 4-2: Harris and Brewster’s selection typology

Solutions to the dual-career

Table 4-3: Barriers to females taking international assignments

Chapter summary

• Four myths related to the concept of a global manager – that there is a universal approach to management; that people can acquire multicultural adaptability and behaviors; that there are common characteristics

successful international managers share; and that there are no

impediments to mobility.

• The debate surrounding the definition and magnitude of expatriate

failure.

This chapter has addressed key issues affecting recruitment and

selection for international assignments We have covered:

Chapter summary (cont.)

• Cultural adjustment and other moderating factors affecting

expatriate intent to stay and performance These included duration

of the assignment, willingness to move, work-related factors and the employment relationship.

• Individual and situational factors to be considered in the selection decision Evaluation of the common criteria used revealed the

difficulty of selecting the right candidate for an international

assignment and the importance of including family considerations

in the selection process.

(cont.)

Chapter summary (cont.)

• Dual-career couples as a barrier to staff mobility, and the techniques that multinationals are utilizing to overcome this constraint.

• Female expatriates and whether they face different issues to their male counterparts.

It is also clear that, while our appreciation of the issues surrounding expatriate recruitment and selection has deepened in the past 20

years, much remains to be explored The field is dominated by US research into predominantly US samples of expatriates, although

Chapter summary (cont.)

Will the factors affecting the selection decision be similar for

multinationals emerging from countries such as China and India?

If more multinationals are to encourage subsidiary staff to consider international assignments as part of an intra-organizational network approach to management, we will need further understanding of how valid the issues discussed in this chapter are for all categories of staff from different country locations.

Another area that remains ignored is the selection of non-expatriates, that is, the international business travelers we discussed in Chapter

3 In our survey of current literature, there is a paucity of recognition

Chapter summary (cont.)

The various consulting firm surveys conducted into relocation trends

in 2002 that we draw on in this chapter indicate that more

multinationals are resorting to replacing traditional assignments with business travel as a way of overcoming staff immobility Likewise, there is a need for further work into the performance–selection link surrounding non-standard assignments, including commuter and

virtual assignments.

Chapter summary (cont.)

It is apparent, though, that staff selection remains critical Finding the right people to fill positions, particularly key managers – whether PCN, TCN or HCN – can determine international expansion

However, effective recruitment and selection are only the first step

As we will explore in the next chapter, maintaining and retaining

productive staff are equally important.