INTERNATIONAL HUMAN

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Recruitment & Selection

June 11, 2008

International Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment Defined as searching for and
obtaining potential job candidates in sufficient
numbers for and quality so that the organization
can select the most appropriate persons for its job
needs
Selection Defined as the process of gathering
information for the purposes of evaluating and
deciding whom should be employed in particular
jobs
June 11, 2008

Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (1)
Advantages of the Ethnocentric Approach
Perceived lack of qualified host country nationals (HCNs)
The necessity to maintain and consolidate good
communication, coordination and control links with the
organizations headquarters
The assurance that the foreign subsidiary or unit will
comply with corporate objectives, policies, standards etc.
PCNs may be most suitable because they have the
requisite skills and experience
Promising managers are given the opportunity of
international experience
June 11, 2008

Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (2)
Disadvantages of the Ethnocentric Approach
It limits the promotional opportunities of HCNs
PCN expatriate managers may experience adjustment
problems
PCN expatriate managers may attempt to impose styles
which are appropriate at the organizations headquarters
but which may be deemed inappropriate in the host
country
The compensation packages of PCN expatriate
managers may be at a level considered unjustified by the
HCNs
PCN expatriate managers are expensive
June 11, 2008

Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (3)
Advantages of the Polycentric Approach
It eliminates language barriers, avoids adjustment problems
of expatriate managers and their families, and removes the
need for expensive cultural awareness training programmes
Hiring costs are reduced
No work permit required
Motivation effect because HCNs see a career potential
Lower organizational profile in sensitive political situations
Continuity of management improves because the HCNs
stay longer in the organization
Local responsiveness and sensitivity, host government
policy
June 11, 2008

Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (4)
Disadvantages of the Polycentric Approach
More difficulty in bridging the gap (objectives, policies,
standards, communication, coordination, control, culture
and attitudes etc.) between the HCN unit and the
organizations parent headquarters
Tends to encourage too much decentralization
HCN managers have limited career opportunities outside
the subsidiary or unit
Limits opportunities for PCN expatriate managers to gain
foreign experience, adversely effecting their insight and
hence strategic decision-making and resource allocation
June 11, 2008

Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (5a)
Advantages of the Geocentric Approach
Facilitates the development of an international team
Overcomes the decentralization effect of the polycentric
approach

June 11, 2008

Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (5b)
For the geocentric approach to be successful, 5 assumptions must be
met:
(4) Highly competent employees are available at headquarters and
subsidiaries
(2) International experience is a condition for success in top positions
(3) Managers with high potential and ambition for promotion are
constantly ready to be transferred from one country to another
(4) Open disposition and high adaptability on the part of competent and
mobile managers to different assignment conditions
(5) Open disposition and high adaptability can be learned with more
foreign experience
June 11, 2008

Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (5c)
Disadvantages of the Geocentric Approach
Immigration controls and work permits for the foreign
manager and his family
Provision of extensive, time-consuming (and sometimes)
expensive information and documentation for foreign
nationals
Large numbers of PCNs, HCNs and TCNs must be sent
to foreign locations in order to create a successful
geocentric staffing policy
High Training and relocation cost
Devising an appropriate compensation structure
More centralized control over staffing and loss of
autonomy by the subsidiary in HRM issues
June 11, 2008

Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (6)
Advantages of the Regiocentric Approach
It allows interaction between managers of an organizations
subsidiaries transferred to their organizations regional
headquarters, and managers from the organizations
headquarters posted to the regional headquarters
More sensitivity to local conditions as subsidiaries are
staffed mostly by HCNs
TCNs from the region may be better informed about the
host country environment than PCNs
Lower salary and benefit requirements for TCNs
Paves the way for adoption of a geocentric approach
June 11, 2008

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Pros and Cons of the Four International

Staffing Approaches (6)
Disadvantages of the Regiocentric Approach
It can prevent the organization from taking a global stance
Improves career opportunities at the regional, but not
international level
Factors such as political animosity between regional
countries and work permit requirements must be taken into
consideration

June 11, 2008

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Selecting Staff for International

Assignments
Selecting staff for international assignments is a complex
undertaking for several reasons, including:
Identifying a suitable person for the assignment
Predicting his or her performance in a new, culturally
potentially very different environment
Dealing with personal and family-related issues and
problems
Devising an appropriate compensation package
Complying with host country regulations
June 11, 2008

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The Problem of Expatriate Failure

Expatriate failure means the premature
return of an expatriate manager before the
completion of his or her international
assignment due to the persons failure to
attain the expected performance levels
and due to the persons continuing inability
to adjust to the new work and cultural
environment in the host country
June 11, 2008

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The Cost of Expatriate Failure

Expatriate failure has two cost components:
Direct Costs Can be easily measured in monetary
terms (e.g.: air fare, relocation expenses, salary and
training) and varies according to the level of the position in
question, the country of destination, the exchange rates
and whether a new PCN takes over the assignment of the
failed colleague
Indirect Costs Cannot be measured easily in monetary
terms but may be significantly higher than the direct costs.
Examples include loss of the organizations reputation and
market share, loss of morale and productivity in the local
work force, complications with the host government,
discreditation of the expatriate at the organizations
headquarters and a future performance impact
June 11, 2008

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The Reasons for Expatriate Failure

Lack of technical
competence

Personal or emotional
problems

Difficulties with the

new environment

Managers Personal or
Emotional Maturity

Inability to Cope With

Larger International
Responsibility

Spouses Inability
to Adjust

Managers Inability
to Adjust

Other Family Reasons

June 11, 2008

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Criteria for Selecting Staff for

International Assignments

Technical Ability

Cross-Cultural
Suitability
Family Requirements

SELECTION DECISION

Country-Cultural
Requirements

Organization-Specific
Requirements
Language

June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Technical Ability)
Technical and managerial competencies of the
person to perform the required tasks
Research studies indicate that technical ability
are the most important selection criteria for
organizations
Usually easy to evaluate on the basis of past
performance

June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Cross-Cultural Suitability)
Certain individual traits and characteristics can have an
impact on the success or failure of an international
assignment cultural empathy, adaptability, diplomacy,
language ability, positive attitude, emotional stability, and
maturity
Ability to implement technical and managerial skills and
feel reasonably comfortable in a in a foreign environment
Sometimes difficult to determine
June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Family Requirements)
Spouse may not adjust to a foreign environment
Adjustment level of spouse depends on several factors,
such as the adjustment of the expatriate and the
spouses own opinion of the international assignment
A higher level of organizational support in the early
stages of expatriation usually correlates with a higher
level of adjustment by the spouse
June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Country-Cultural Requirements)
Hardship Postings (Remoteness of job location, social
upheavals, safety risks, very low standard of living and
lack of recreational opportunities etc.)
Pressure of living in repressive cultures and countries
(e.g. China, Saudi Arabia and other totalitarian Islamic
states in the Middle East)
Denial of work permits to female expatriates
June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Organization-Specific Requirements)
Situational Factors influence staff selection. Examples:
Organizations staffing approach may require
sending more expatriates to work in certain regions
and locations than otherwise
Partner organizations may be involved in the
selection of expatriate staff, for example, on
international joint ventures
Certain specific skills, for example, training, may be
used as a selection criteria
June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Language)
Important situational factor. Knowledge of the host
countrys language is considered critical for many seniorlevel positions along with the ability to communicate
effectively
Knowledge of the host countrys language helps
expatriates and their families feel more comfortable in
the new environment

June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Other Considerations 1)
Time Unexpected international vacancies may arise
for which positions have to be quickly filled by
expatriates and which may preclude the use of
screening tests
Family - A potential expatriate may refuse the
international assignment due to family considerations
(childrens welfare and education, parental care,
single parents)
June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Other Considerations 2)
Dual-Career Couples Research studies undertaken reveal
that many potential expatriates are reluctant or unwilling to
take on international assignments because of the career
implications for their spouses, e.g. loss of jobs and career
opportunities, difficulty in finding new employment in the
expatriates host country
Some companies are now offering assistance programmes
for the benefit of their expatriates spouses (employment
hunting, networking, intra-company employment, commuter
marriages and on-assignment career support)
June 11, 2008

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The Staff Selection Criteria

(Other Considerations 3)
Female Managers Studies reveal that female expatriates
make up a very small proportion (< 10% percent) of the total
expatriate population. Possible reasons are:
Females are less desirous than males of international
assignments
Females are less likely to be offered international
assignments
There are a comparatively smaller number of females with
the requisite skills to be sent on international assignments
Many repressive cultures discourage the sending of female
expatriates, and
In many repressive cultures males do not like reporting to
females
June 11, 2008

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Selection Tests
Selection Tests entails the use of certain personal
and other related criteria with a view to determining
whether a person is suitable or not for an international expatriate assignment
Problems with such tests relate to their:
Reliability
Culture-boundedness
June 11, 2008

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Alternative Model of Expatriate Selection

Mendenhall and Oddou propose a four-dimensional approach
linking specific behavoioural tendencies to probable international performance:
Self-Orientedness adaptive concern for selfpreservation, self-enjoyment and mental hygiene
Perceptual expertise in accurately understanding the
behavour of host country nationals
Others-Orientedness Degree of concern about the host
country nationals and the expoatriates desire to affiliate
with them
Cultural Toughness Difference between the expatriates
country and the host countrys cultural, social, political,
economic etc. environment and ist implication for the
expatriate
June 11, 2008

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