PROFILE OF

INTERNATIONAL
SELECTION
METHODS
D.G.C.H.Rajapakshe
CPM 17367
HRM 3346
Introduction

The world has become the global village and globalization has become an important tool for the
organizations to be successful in this rapidly changing world. The organization should adopt this
changes in business environment. As a result of that the coordination between different cultures
and people with different backgrounds is increasing in a different multinational organization day
by day. According to Harvey & Novicevic the increasing international activities and global
competition resulted in increase in globalization. The process of recruitment and selection has
always been very important in any organization. Recruitment and selection concepts are come up
with the HRM.

HRM is utilizing human resource in efficient & effective way to achieve objective of an
organization. When we concern about the HRM there are two ways of about it. First one is
domestic HRM means process of procuring, allocating & effectively utilizing the human
resource in local countries. Other one is the IHRM. Here we widely talk about the International
HRM.

IHRM can be defined as a set of activities set of activities, functions and processes aimed at
attracting, developing and retaining human resources in the MNCs. (Taylor and his associates
1996) OR International aspect of HRM means HRM practices in business organizations that
have international business operation outside the country. (Definition by Prof. Opatha) When we
go through these two concept we are able to find out the salient differences between two of
concepts.

What is the International Selection & Process?

When we go through the International Human Resource Management As main key area
International selection can be identified. What is selection? Selection is the process of choosing
the most suitable candidate for the vacant position in the organization. In other words, selection
means weeding out unsuitable applicants and selecting those individuals with prerequisite
qualifications and capabilities to fill the jobs in the organization. But international selection is
Selection is the process of gathering information for the purposes of evaluating and deciding who
should be employed in particular jobs (Dowling and Shuler, 2008). Selection is a process of
choosing qualified applicant from pool of candidates. We have to gather information about their

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knowledge, skills, competencies, abilities and attitudes. Then we do kind of evaluation according
the predetermined evaluation criteria. Then there by we can measure their suitability to vacancy.
Objectives of the selection are matching a candidate to a job context at international setting
rather than job content, In here to select employees who are able to perform both specific task as
well as perform well in 9 different national cultures otherwise IHRM managers are expected to
ensure whether the candidate match or qualified enough to do a job in different country context
or in international context and to select employees who are able to perform both specific task as
well as perform well in a different national cultures. There are four approaches for the
recruitment and selection in any multinational organization. These four approaches are given as
follows. Ethnocentric: It is the type of the recruitment approach in which all the key positions
and top management is filled by the nationals of the parent company. According to this approach
all the top management decisions and the key strategies of the companies is made by the parent
country headquarters. Polycentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which the host
country fills all the key positions in the subsidiary. Each subsidiary is treated as the separate
national entity. But all the key financial decisions are taken by the parent country headquarter.
Regiocentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which regional talent is preferred. For
example if the person is required on for the development
of any product then the person who will be recruited will
be from the host country. Geocentric: This is the kind of
approach where the persons are recruited without seen
any race, religion or region. This approach is
international based and is getting in practice in most of
the developed countries like UK, USA etc. Organization
is unable to implement the selection suddenly. Therefore there is a process for selection.

Step 01: Analyze current international Step 04: Develop a pool of candidates for
staffing needs strategic success

Step 02: Analyze the current strength of the Step 05: Form a selection team
international carder
Step 06: Define strategic purpose of
Step 03. Define future needs Assignment

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Step 07: Assess the assignment context
Step 08: Establish selection criteria
Step 09: Review the pool of candidates
Step 10: Administrator test and Feedback
instruments
Step 11: Interview candidates and spouse
and family members

Step 12: Make the offer.

At the moment we have an idea about the selection process. Under this selection process step 10-
Administrator test and Feedback instruments. In here after a candidate pool has been define, the
human resource management department can facilitates the use of a verity of selection methods.
With the changing world more of MNEs are sending their expatriates in other parts of the world
to accomplish their goals and to gain competitive advantage in global world. As the selection is
the most important step for any organization to choose its expatriate and it is always important
for MNE’s to choose or select the right person for the given task. There are various selection
methods available, and for the selection procedure all of these depending on the situation and
culture of the organization. Some of these selection methods are given below.

• Application form • Trial projects

• Initial telephone interviews • Examination of Past performance

• Ono-to-one interview • Psychological Testing- mentally fit

for international assignment
• Psychometric test
• Assessment Centers – Competency
• General intelligent test
Assessment

• Panel interviews
• work sample test

• In-trey exercises
• situational test

• Presentations
• Supervisors personal opinions etc.

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International Selection Methods

 Interviews

Interviews are commonly used, but the approach to them differs. In the UK it is increasingly
common to have a structured interview, and panel interviews are not uncommon. In the USA
almost all interviews follow a very structured process where all applicants are asked exactly the
same questions. In Northern Europe it is common for the HR Manager to be one of the
interviewers, but this is less likely in other countries in the world. There are also cultural
differences in the ways in which applicants will react in an interview situation. For example, in
Korea it is a cultural norm, when asked a ‘good question’ to keep silent as a mark of respect.
However, in cultures such as the USA and the UK to remain silent when asked a question would
be seen to be rude or ignorant. It is important that cultural differences are understood and
interpreted appropriately. Research evidence highlights the limitations of the traditional
interview as a poor predictor of a candidate’s performance on
the job. The self-fulfilling prophecy effect. Interviewers may
ask questions designed to confirm initial impressions of
candidates gained either before the interview or in its early
stages. The stereotyping effect. Interviewers sometimes
assume that particular characteristics are typical of members
of a particular group. In the case of sex, race, disability,
marital status or ex-offenders, decisions made on this basis
are often illegal. However, the effect occurs in the case of all
kinds of social groups. The halo and horns effect.
Interviewers sometimes rate candidates as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ across the board and thus reach very
unbalanced decisions. The contrast effect. Interviewers can allow the experience of interviewing
one candidate to affect the way they interview others who are seen later in the selection process.
The similar-to-me effect. Interviewers sometimes give preference to candidates they perceive as
having a similar background, career history, personality or attitudes to themselves. The personal
liking effect. Interviewers may make decisions on the basis of whether they personally like or
dislike the candidate.

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So the above mentioned procedures are used by different organizations depending upon the
nature of job and the normal practice they use within the organization. The different methods of
selection for the expatriate selection which most of the multinational organizations use is as
follows

 Psychometric Tests
 Assessment Centers
 Coffee Machine System

The selection of expatriate is a bit different from the local selection of a local manager. For the
selection of an international manager there are a lot of extra factors which needs to be considered
by the selectors. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals
including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs.
(Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate
within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other
tends to stop him from going. (Baruch 2005, pg 129). According to Dowling and Welch the
factor involve to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process are as Country-cultural
requirement, Language, MNE requirements, Technical Ability, Cross Cultural Suitability,
Family Requirements (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999) So keeping in view all the above
mentioned factors an expatriate should be selected by a multinational organization. Selection
involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job.
According to (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999, pg: 154) Multinationals take great care in their
selection process, however predicting future performance potential of the concerned staff is
challenging at the best of times especially operating in foreign environments adds another level
of uncertainty. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals
including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs.
(Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate
within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other
tends to stop him from going (Baruch 2005, pg 129).

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Selection methods mostly use in Multinational Companies

 Psychometric Tests:

According to Passmore, 2008 Psychometrics are the widely used testing method for the selection
of the employee and personal development. The psychological test is always important for the
selection of the employee especially for the selection of an international manager. According to
the validity of psychological tests is disputed. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) the
psychologists the variation between the different natured job test is very small (Schmidt and
Hunter, 1998). According to a survey done by The Graduate Recruitment in 2007 two third or
about 67 percent of 219 respondents surveyed said that the results of psychometric test had some
influence on recruiting and selection decisions, and 24 percent said that it has strong influence,
and only 2 percent said that these test does not have any influence. So the above figure shows the
importance of psychometric tests. With the increase in the use of technology in the workplace,
online testing is also growing in popularity - particularly in the recruitment of graduates and
where employers are faced with high volumes of applicants. The use of psychological testing
does attract some controversy. This is particularly true in international settings. Most tests are
designed and developed by occupational psychologists and are accompanied by detailed manuals
providing the data to establish the reliability of the test and the normative information against
which test results may be compared. With personality tests there are no right or wrong answers
as they are designed to present a profile of an individual

When we find out the real world examples for psychometric tests companies have used in
different ways.

Ford Motor and Their Psychometric Testing:

The famous car company uses a two-part psychometric

test namely, numerical reasoning and inductive reasoning tests.
Numerical reasoning assessments contain 20 questions and have a duration of 20 minutes. The
numerical assessment tests its candidates on statistics, ratios, percentages, and graph
interpretation while the inductive reasoning assessment has the need for knowledge of logic to
succeed.  The latter incorporates having to identify patterns in a sequence of images.

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Practo and Their Psychometric Testing:

One of the leading healthcare technology startups, Practo too

uses psychometric tests other than just asking its candidates to
solve real-time problems. Practo’s CEO and Co-founder, Shashank ND states that they as a team
believe in hiring people who match the company’s culture and are passionate about its vision.

Stock Holding Corporation and Their Psychometric Testing:

HR Manager, Sujatha Krishnakumar explains that they used psychometry for Competency
Mapping, conducting assessments, generating reports, and analytics. The result was that the final
reports were well laid out and gave them useful insights about the participants.

ExxonMobil and Their Psychometric Testing:

The multinational company does not see an end to

the testing process. The recruitment process is
divided into stages that start with an online
application form and ends at the assessment center.
At the stage of the application form, a candidate is
asked to answer a few competency questions, and some other personality test questions are then
asked during a telephone interview and other assessments. However, the main psychometric test
is the second stage, and it is an online numerical reasoning test of 20 minutes, supplied by one of
the biggest online testing companies around.

 Assessment centers

As the assessment centers are considered to be one of the best selection techniques so according
to Sparow and Brewster assessment centers will be the best idea as a selection technique to
assess the competency of international managers. This is rarely the case,
however. According to sparrow (1999) Even where assessment centers are

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used to select the managers in international settings, the key cross cultural assessment centers
seems to be to design the assessment process so that it is very adaptable to local environment in
which it will be operated. So there is need of cross culture assessment centers in which
international managers can be assessed accordingly with the changing environment.
Krause and Gebert (2003) have done study on international literature on the conception,
operation and evaluation of assessment centers. He examined 281 German firms whose language
was German and he compares them with the previously studied firms of United States of
America. Study showed that both the American and German firms use the assessment centers but
the purpose of some of them was different from the basics. For example the competencies
assessed for job analysis might be identified through the use of interviews with job incumbents
in 79% of US firms and only 39% of German firms. Most of the German firms rely on interviews
for the selection of international managers or expatriates.

Assessment centers are increasingly common in the UK, but still relatively unknown in many
other countries. In designing activities in an assessment center it is important to ensure that they
are free of cultural bias, and that the results are interpreted appropriately. Assessment centers
involve candidates completing a number of different tasks as part of the selection process. An
assessment center should reflect the reality of the job and the organisation. The tasks set should
link with the job description and person specification. It must be fair as a selection process
regarding the time taken, the number of asks set and the opportunities for candidates to show
different aspects of their abilities. Selectors must be trained to observe, record, classify and rate
behaviour, and seek evidence accurately and objectively against the job description and person
specification. Selectors preferably should also have had some training on interviewing skills and
in managing diversity, and have good listening skills. Assessors might also be used to observe
and comment on behaviour although they do not necessarily take part in final selection decisions.
A feedback session with either an occupational psychologist or someone trained to deliver
professional feedback is of benefit to candidates and indicates the organisation takes selection
seriously.so the assessment centers are considered to be an important process for expatriate
selection.

 Coffee Machine System

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This system was the idea of Harris and Brewster (1999) the key findings of the study show the
reality of the selection process for expatriate selection in the organizations. In many
organizations the selection process falls under what we call ‘coffee machine system’ and this
system is the most common form of expatriate selection. What happens is that the senior line
manager is standing by the coffee machine when he/she is joined by the colleague. ‘How’s it
going?’

‘Oh, you know, overworked and underpaid.’

Actually Jimmy in Mumbai has just fallen ill and is being flown home. I don’t know who I can
choose to work over there at very short notice of time. It is driving me crazy.

‘Have you met Simon on the fifth floor?’ he is working in the same line of work. He is very good
and bright and looks like going a long way. He was telling me that he and his wife had great
holiday in Goa a couple of years ago. He seems to like India. Could be worthy to speak to him.

Hey, thanks I will check and speak to him.

‘No problem. They don’t seem to be able to improve this coffee though, do they?’

What happen in the organization next is that the manger will take some decision and will have
informal discussion with his seniors about Simon and then that man will be called and
interviewed and selected for the required position. Accordingly HR department and financial
department will be involved in the process and the formal and systematic process will be started.

This method is rarely used in the organizations in particular cases when there is an urgent need to
fill the position of expatriate.

Conclusion

The world is globalizing day by day and now it is also called global village and specifically UK
has become one of the biggest multicultural countries and there are a lot of multinational
organizations working in UK. With the changing world more of MNEs are sending their
expatriates in other parts of the world to accomplish their goals and to gain competitive

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advantage in global world. As the selection is the most important step for any organization to
choose its expatriate and it is always important for MNE’s to choose or select the right person for
the given task. Therefore above international selection methods are need to identify best
selection method.

References

 All Answers Ltd. (November 2018). MNE Selection Techniques for International
Assignments. Retrieved from https://ukdiss.com/examples/corporate-culture-
business.php?vref=1
 Chapter 4 (of IHRM) Recruitment & Selection ( International Staffing) by Dr.Shamal
Gomas
 Top 10 Companies That Use Psychometric Assessments https://blog.mettl.com/10-
companies-using-psychometric-testing/
 Additional reading material form LMS

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