Chapter 4

Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments

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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. The focus of this chapter, then, 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

(cont.)
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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?

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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 mobility

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Table 4-1: Current expatriate profile

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Expatriate failure
Definition: Premature return of an expatriate

Now recognized that under-performance

during an international assignment, and retention upon completion, should be included

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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

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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

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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

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Factors moderating expatriate performance

Inability to adjust to the foreign culture
Length of assignment Willingness to move

Work-related factors
Psychological contract

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Figure 4-1: International assignments: factors moderating performance

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Figure 4-2: The phases of cultural adjustment

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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

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Figure 4-3: The dynamics of the employment relationship

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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

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Figure 4-4: Likelihood of exit

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Organizational commitment
Affective component: employees attachment

to, identification with and involvement in, the organization Continuance component: based on assessed costs associated with exiting the organization Normative component: refers to employees feelings of obligation to remain

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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

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Selection criteria
Technical ability

Cross-cultural suitability
Family requirements Country-cultural requirements MNE requirements Language

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Figure 4-5: Factors in expatriate selection

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Mendenhall and Oddou Model

Self-oriented dimension

Perceptual dimension
Others-oriented dimension Cultural-toughness dimension

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Table 4-2: Harris and Brewsters selection typology

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Solutions to the dual-career challenge

Alternative assignment arrangements Short-term Commuter Other (eg. unaccompanied, virtual) Family-friendly policies Inter-company networking Job-hunting assistance Intra-company employment On-assignment career support

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Table 4-3: Barriers to females taking international assignments

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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 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. (cont.)
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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.)
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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 there has been an upsurge in interest from European academics and practitioners. (cont.)
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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.)
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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 performanceselection link surrounding non-standard assignments, including commuter and virtual assignments.

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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.

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