Chapter 4

Recruiting and Selecting

Staff for International
Assignments

1
Chapter Objectives
 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.

2
Chapter Objectives (cont.)
 The focus of this chapter is on recruitment
and selection activities in an international
context. We will address the following issues:
 The myth of the global manager
 The debate surrounding expatriate failure
 Factors moderating intent to stay or leave the
international assignment
 Selection criteria for international assignments
 Dual-career couples
 Gender issues
3
The global manager
Myth 1: There is a universal approach to
management.
Myth 2: People can acquire multicultural
adaptability and behaviors.
Myth 3: There are common characteristics
shared by successful international
managers.
Myth 4: There are no impediments to mobility.

4
 Current Expatriate Profile
Category PCN (42%) HCN (16%) TCN (42%)
Gender Male (82%) Female (18%)
Age (Yrs) 30-49 (60%) 20-29 (17%)
Marital status Married (65%) Single (26%)
Partner (9%)
Accompanied by Spouse (86%) Children (59%)
Duration 1-3 years (52%) Short-term (9%)
Location Europe (35%) Asia-Pacific (24%)
Primary reason Fill a position
Prior international experience 30%

Source: based on data from global Relocation Trends: 2002 Survey Report, GMAC Global Relocation Services,
National Foreign Trade Council and SHRM Global Forum, GMAC-GRS 2003.

5
Expatriate Failure
 Definition: Premature return of an expatriate
 Under-performance during an international
assignment
 Retention upon completion

6
Expatriate Failure Rates
Recall Rate Percent Percent of Companies
US Multinationals
20 - 40% 7%
10 - 20% 69
< 10 24
European Multinationals
11 - 15% 3%
6 - 10 38
<5 59
Japanese Multinationals
11 - 19% 14%
6 - 10 10
<5 76
7
Reason for Expatriate Failure

 US Firms  Japanese Firms

Inability of spouse to  Inability to cope with
adjust larger overseas
responsibilities
Manager’s inability to
 Difficulties with the new
adjust environment
Other family problems  Personal or emotional
Manager’s personal or problems
emotional immaturity  Lack of technical
Inability to cope with competence
larger overseas  Inability of spouse to
responsibilities adjust

European Multinationals: Inability of spouse to adjust.

8
 Costs of Expatriate Failure
 Direct costs:  Costs vary
 Airfares according to:
 Associated  Level of position
relocation expenses  Country of
 Salary and benefits destination
 Training and  Exchange rates
development  Whether ‘failed’
 Averaged $250,000 manager is replaced
per early return by another
expatriate

9
Indirect Cost of Expatriate Failure
 Damaged relationships with key
stakeholders in the foreign location
 Negative effects on local staff
 Poor labor relations
 Negative effects on expatriate
concerned
 Family relationships may be affected
 Loss of market share

10
Factors Moderating Expatriate
Performance
 Inability to adjust to the foreign culture
 Length of assignment
 Willingness to move
 Work-related factors
 Psychological contract/employment
relationship

11
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
 Violated: provoked by belief organization has
not fulfilled its obligations
12
The Dynamics of the Employment
Relationship

13
Likelihood of Exit

14
International Assignments: Factors
Moderating Performance

15
The Phases of Cultural Adjustment

16
The Phases of Adjustment
 The U-Curve is not normative
 The time period involved varies between
individuals
 The U-Curve does not explain how and why
people move through the various phases
 It may be more cyclical than a U-Curve
 Needs to consider repatriation

17
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
 Employee’s feelings of obligation to remain

18
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
19
Selection Criteria
 Technical ability
 Cross-cultural suitability
 Family requirements
 Country-cultural requirements
 MNE requirements
 Language

20
Using Traits and Personality Tests to
Predict Expatriate Success
 Although some tests may be useful in
suggesting potential problems, there may be
little correlation between test scores and
performance
 Most of the tests have been devised in the
United States, thus culture-bound
 In some countries, there is controversy about
the use of psychological tests ( different
pattern of usage across countries)
 Use of personality traits to predict intercultural
competence is complicated by the fact that
personality traits are not defined and
evaluated in similar way in different cultures

21
Factors in Expatriate Selection

22
Mendenhall and Oddou’s Model
 Self-oriented dimension
 Perceptual dimension
 Others-oriented dimension
 Cultural-toughness dimension

23
 Harris and Brewster’s Selection Typology
Formal
Open
 Clearly defined criteria
 Clearly defined measures
 Training for selectors
 Open advertising of vacancy
(internal/external)
 Panel discussions
Closed
 Clearly defined criteria
 Clearly defined measures
 Training for selectors
 Panel discussions
 Nominations only (networking/reputation)
Informal
 Less defined criteria
 Less defined measures
 Limited training for selectors
 Open advertising of vacancy
 Recommendations
 No panel discussions
 Selector’s individual preferences
determine selection criteria and measures
 No panel discussions
 Nominations only (networking/reputation)
24
Solutions to the Dual-career Challenge

 Alternative assignment arrangements

 Short-term
 Commuter
 Other (e.g. unaccompanied, business travel,
virtual assignments)
 Family-friendly policies
 Inter-company networking
 Job-hunting assistance
 Intra-company employment
 On-assignment career support
25
Barriers to Females Taking
International Assignments

External Barrier Self-established Barriers

 HR managers reluctant to  Some women have limited

select female candidates willingness to relocate
 Culturally tough locations or  The dual-career couple
regions preclude female  Women are often a barrier to
expatriates their own careers by behaving
 Those selecting expatriates according to gender based
have stereotypes in their role models.
minds that influence decisions

26
Equal Employment Opportunity Issues
 Cultural Variations
 Law and enforcement
 Social values
 Corporate practices
 The United States
 EEOA within the country
 International approach

27
Chapter Summary
This chapter has addressed key issues affecting
recruitment and selection for international
assignments. We have covered:
 Four myths related to the concept of a global
manager
 The debate surrounding the definition and
magnitude of expatriate failure.
(cont.)

28
Chapter Summary (cont.)
 Cultural adjustment and other moderating factors
affecting expatriate intent to stay and
performance.
 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.)
29
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 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 there has been an upsurge in interest from
European academics and practitioners.

30
Chapter Summary
It is also apparent 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.
We will explore in the next chapter that maintaining
and retaining productive staff are equally important.

31
Chapter Summary
 Corporate philosophy on recruiting and selection
 Selection criteria and issues of concern
 Local and home countries’ policies on foreign labor
 Variations in national labor law and labor markets
 Inter-company networking
 Intra-company arrangement
 Career assistance programs
 Training and continuous adaptation

32
 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 of this group.
(cont.)
33
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.

34
35
INTERNATIONAL
STAFFING
RECRUITMENT AND
SELECTION
HRP - Concept
 Stainer – Human Resource Planning is
the strategy for the acquisition,
utilization, improvement and
preservation of organizations human
resources. It aimed at coordinating the
requirements for and the availability of
different types of employees.
HRP - PROCESS
International HRP
 The HRP is closely linked to the
business plans
 HRP – The process of forecasting an
international organization's future demand
for and supply of the right type of people in
the right number.
 Corporate planning – managerial activities
that set the company's objectives for the
future and determine the appropriate
means for achieving these objectives
International HRP – Key Issues
 Identifying top management potential early.
 Identifying critical success factors for future
international managers.
 Providing developmental opportunities
 Tracking and maintaining commitment to
individuals in their international career paths.
 Tying strategic business planning to HRP and
vice-versa.
 Dealing with multiple business units while
attempting to achieve globally and regionally
focused
strategies.
International Recruitment - Recent
Trends
 Some distinct trends observed in international
staffing
 Work Force Diversity
 Off shoring
 Increasing use of background checks
 Identifying recruiting sources
 Challenges of dual career couples.
International Recruitment - Recent
Trends
 Diversity Policy - a global guideline
 Need for diversity - why should a company
seek diversity? What will be the benefits to die
company and its customers?
 Vision of diversity - what should diversity look
like? What is the ideal form of diversity for this
company?
 Commitment to diversity - who all need to be
supportive and involved in making the initiative
real?
 Systems and structures for diversity - How to
institutionalize diversity throughout the
management practices?
 Sustain it - how to devise action plans for
creating and sustaining diversity?
International Recruitment - Recent
Trends
 Out sourcing
 HR activities divested from operational to
strategic role
 Helps in reducing bureaucracy
 Encourage a more responsive culture by
introducing external market forces
 Disadvantage
 The relevance of HR department is at stake
International Recruitment - Recent
Trends
 Background Checks
 Educational qualification
 Employment record
 Address
 Professional qualification
 Credit and bankruptcy
 Database
 Probable criminal record
International Recruitment - Recent
Trends
 Sources of Recruiting
 Job Posting Websites 92 %
 Your Company's Website 85 %
 Employee Referral Programme 81 %
 Recruiters (External) 59 %
 Recruiters (internal) 50 %
 Ads in Local Media 48 %
 Your Company’s Intranet 47 %
 College / University Recruiting 45 %
 Temporary to Permanent Hiring 42 %
 Ads in Professional Association Media 28 %
 E-mail lists / Discussion Groups 21 %
 Ads in National Media 15 %
 Blogs 3%
International Recruitment - Recent
Trends
 Dual Career Groups
 Turn down the international assignment
 Find a job for the traveling spouse
 Commuter assignment
 Sabbatical
 Intra company employment
 On assignment career support
International Selection
 The following four issues are relevant in the
context of staffing global businesses
 Linking staffing plans with the evolution of the
MNC
 Staffing orientation
 Managing expatriates
 Female expatriates
Staffing Orientations
 Company’s response to global market opportunities
depend greatly on management’s assumptions or
beliefs
 both conscious and unconscious
 The world view of a company’s personnel can be
described as
 Ethnocentric
 Polycentric
 Regiocentric
 Geocentric
Ethnocentric Orientation
 Firms at the early stages of internationalization
 Assumptions
 Home country is superior
 Similarities in markets
 Assume the products and practices that succeed in the
home country will be successful every where
 domestic companies - the ethnocentric orientation
means that opportunities outside the home country
are ignored
 International company - they adhere to the notion that
the products that succeed in the home country are
superior and therefore, can be sold everywhere
without adaptation
Ethnocentric Orientation
 Managing international operations - people from the
home country i.e. Parent Country Nationals (PCNs)
fill top management and other key positions
 Perceived lack of qualified Host Country Nationals
(HCNs)
 need to maintain good communication, coordination,
and control links with corporate headquarters
 The firm uses a large group of expatriate mangers
 Foreign operations are viewed as being secondary or
subordinate to domestic ones
 Operates under the assumption that “tried and true”
headquarters’ knowledge and organisational
capabilities can be applied in other parts of the world.
Polycentric Orientation
 Opposite of ethnocentric orientation
 Assumption that each country in which a
company does business is unique
 Each subsidiary to develop its own unique
business and strategies in order to succeed
 the term multinational company is often used
to describe such a structure
 This eliminates the language barriers, avoids
adjustment problems for expatriates and
allows an MNC to take a lower profile in
sensitive political situations
Polycentric Orientation
 Subsidiaries are managed and staffed by personnel
from the host country
 The HCNs are recruited to manage subsidiaries
 PCNs occupy the corporate headquarters
 Employment of HCNs is less expensive
 It has its limitations in terms of
 Bridging the gap between the HCN subsidiary managers and
PCN managers at corporate head quarter
 language barriers
 conflicting national loyalties
 a range of cultural differences may isolate the corporate HQ
staff
Regiocentric Orientations
 Management views regions as unique and seeks to
develop an integrated regional strategy
 It is a regional approach in which the MNC divides its
operations into geographical regions and transfers
staff within these regions
 This approach reflects some sensitivity to local
conditions, since local subsidiaries are staffed by
HCNs
 This approach to staffing policy will reflect
organisational needs, but there are difficulties in
maintaining a uniform approach to international
staffing
Regiocentric Orientations
 Strategies in different countries may require
different staffing approaches
 Have a worldview on a regional scale
 Selection for staffing is on the basis of a set
of characteristics
 SMILE
 Specialty (required skill, knowledge)
 Management ability (particularly motivational
ability)
 International flexibility (adaptability)
 Language facility
 Endeavor (perseverance in the face of difficulty).
Geocentric Orientations
 Views the entire world as a potential market
 Strives to develop integrated world business
strategies
 Represents a synthesis of ethnocentrism and
polycentrism
 a ‘world view’ that sees similarities and differences in
markets and countries and seeks to create a global
strategy that is fully responsive to local needs and
wants.
 Nationality is deliberately downplayed
 Firm actively searches on a worldwide or regional
basis for the best people to fill key positions
 Transactional firms tend to follow this approach.
Geocentric Orientations
 Regiocentric or Geocentric orientations are practiced
in global or transnational company
 However, some research suggests that many
companies are seeking to strengthen their regional
competitiveness rather than moving directly to
develop global responses to changes in the
competitive environment.
 This approach is feasible when highly competent and
mobile managers have an open disposition and high
adaptability to different conditions in their various
assignments and such employees are available at
HQ as also in subsidiaries.
 PCNs
Advantages
• Familiarity with the home office
goals. Objectives, policies and
practices
• Promising managers are given
international exposure.
• PCNs are the best people for
international assignments because
of special skills and experiences
Disadvantages
• Difficulty in adapting to the foreign
language and the socio-economic,
political, cultural and legal
environment
• Excessive cost of selecting,
training, and maintaining expatriate
managers and their families abroad
• Promotional opportunities for
HCNs arc limited
• PCNs may impose an
inappropriate HQ style
Compensation for PCNs and HCNs
may differ
• Family adjustment problems,
especially concerning unemployed
spouses
 HCNs
• Familiarity with the
socioeconomic. political and legal
environment and with business
practices in the host country
• Lower cost incurred in hiring
them compared to PCNs and TCNs
• Promotional opportunities for
locals and consequently, their
motivation and commitment
• Languages and other barriers are
eliminated
• Continuity of management
improves since HCNs stay longer
in positions
• Salary and benefit requirements
may be lower than of PCNs
• Difficulty in exercising effective
control over the subsidiary's
operations
• Communication difficulties in
dealing with home-office
personnel
• Lack of opportunities for the
home country's nationals to gain
international and cross* cultural
experience
• HCNs have limited career
opportunity outside the subsidiary
• Hiring HCNs may encourage a
federation of nationals rather than
global units
 TCNs
•TCNs may be better informed
than PCNs about the countries
of assignment
•TCNs arc truly international
managers
•Host country government may
resent hiring TCNs
•TCNs may not want to return to
their own countries after
assignment Host country's
sensitivity' with respect to
nationals of specific countries is
missing
•HCNs arc impeded in their
efforts to upgrade their own
ranks and assume responsible
positions in the multinational
subsidiaries HCNs or PCNs
Managing Expatriates
 A few guidelines would help identify potential
expatriates.
 The willingness and enthusiasm of a person to
work on overseas assignments
 Looking at their background - are they
multiculturists themselves?
 He should possess appropriate skills for the
positions overseas
 The family background of the individual also
needs to be considered
 Local laws of host countries often come in the
way of expat postings
Managing Expatriates
 The element of 'cost' that drives the decision to staff
with HCN's rather than PCNs.
 If expatriation is inevitable, the need lo calculate
 Cost-effectiveness differentials
 Negotiating competitive compensation packages
 Relocation costs
 Providing support with relocation with reference to packing
and shipping of belongings
 Locating suitable residence are required to be done
Managing Expatriates
 Selection Criteria for International Staffing
 Technical Competence
 Relational Skill
 Ability to Cope with Environmental Variables
 Family Situation
Managing Expatriates
 Mark Mendenhall and Gary Oddou in 1985 identified
four major dimensions that could influence an expat's
selection and adjustment.
 Self orientation - self-confidence, self-esteem and mental
hygiene*
 Others orientation - develop lasting friendships and close
relationships with them and acculturate more easily in
overseas assignments-
 Perceptual dimension - ability to make correct attributions
about the reasons or causes of host-nationals' behaviour
 Cultural toughness dimension - the situation rather than to
people.
Managing Expatriates
 Specific Individual Criteria
 Willingness and motivation
 Performance (previous)
 Technical abilities
 Relational skills
 Cross-cultural adaptability
 Open-mindedness
 Stress adaptation skills
 Administrative skill
 Communication skill
 Leadership traits
 Marital status
Managing Expatriates
 Specific Family Support
 Willingness and motivation lo become a
trailing spouse
 Spouse’s adjustability
 Give up jobs and career prospects
 Marriage stability
 Children s education
Managing Expatriates
 Job Factors
 Technical skills
 Familiarity with working in HQ
 Basic managerial skills
 General administrative capability
 Relational Dimensions
 Tolerance for ambiguity
 Behavioral flexibility
 Non-judgementalism
 Cultural empathy
Managing Expatriates
 Motivational State
 Believe in the mission
 Congruence with career path
 Interest in overseas, specific host country culture
 Acquire new patterns of behaviour and attitudes
 Family Situation
 The spouse's willingness to relocate
 Openness, supportiveness
 Ability to adapt to a culture different
 Stability of the marriage
 Language Skills
 Host country language
 Non-verbal communication
Managing Expatriates
 Common Hardship Factors
 Housing—availability and quality of expatriate housing,
limitations due to crime or security considerations, reliability
of utilities;
 Climate and physical conditions—conditions of excessive
temperature or weather risk of major climatic problems or
natural disasters;
 Pollution—severity of atmospheric, water, radiation and
noise pollution:
 Diseases and sanitation—health risks, public sanitation,
need for food or water treatment:
 Medical facilities—availability and quality of health care
facilities and medical staff; Educational facilities—availability
of quality schools for expatriate children
Managing Expatriates
 Common Hardship Factors
 Infrastructure—quality and reliability of telecommunication,
mail, utilities, road conditions;
 Physical remoteness—geographic isolation, travel systems;
 Political violence and repression—risk of violence, terrorist
activities, government repression;
 Political and social environment—freedom of expression,
human rights, intolerance, corruption and poverty levels;
 Crime—risk to person and property, police force;
 Communication—use of major world languages, media
availability and censorship;
 Availability of goods and services—availability and quality of
food supplies, clothing and grocery.
Managing Expatriates
 Course of Action for MNCs —
 Provide culture and language orientation to
make the unfamiliar become a little less
strange.
 Authorize pre-assignment visits for the
expatriate and spouse so that they can find
appropriate accommodation
 Encourage the family to involve the children in
the discussion on educational options.
 Provide local contact information so that the
family will be welcomed on arrival.
Managing Expatriates
 Course of Action for MNCs —
 Assign home-country mentors who are familiar
with the challenges of expatriation.
 Provide EAP(Employee Assistance
Programme)
 Provide an explicit job description so that the
employee knows precisely what is expected,
thus minimizing insecurity
 Inform the family, prior to their acceptance of
the move, of expected hardship conditions so
that they can prepare themselves beforehand.
Managing Expatriates
 Expat Failure
 US Organisations
 Inability of spouse to adjust
 Manager's inability to adjust
 Other family reasons
 Manager's personal or emotional maturity
 Inability to cope with larger international
responsibilities
 Japanese Organisations
 Inability to cope with larger international
responsibilities
 Difficulties with new environment
 Personal or emotional problems
Female Expats
 Issues
 Motivation
 Stereotyping
 Capabilities – Relational skills, coping with
stress
 Organisational Process
 Host country attitude
 Problems
 Role expectations
 Patron Male boss
 Sexual harassment
 Threatened male colleagues
Managing Expatriates
 Minimize expat failures:
 Design a job that maximizes role clarity,
minimizes role conflict and compensates for
role novelty
 Use discerning measures for selection of
international employees and their companions.
 Educate native and foreign employees in
intercultural communication competence.
 Provide opportunity for language lessons.
 Provide a technical assistant to help with the
details of starting life in a different culture.
 Provide all information and equipment
pertinent to the role/work of the employee.
Managing Expatriates
 Minimize expat failures:
 Create open, frequent communication with the home
organisation to dispel feelings of abandonment.
 Create opportunities for positive social interactions in order
to communicate and become better acquainted with host
country members.
 Mostly, listen to them.
 Provide proper organisational support systems, both through
logistical support and support from supervisors and co-
workers in the host counu).
 Include spouse in any training and support programmes.
THANK YOU