Dr Tribhuvananda

Searching for and obtaining potential job

candidates in sufficient numbers and quality so
that the organization can select the most
appropriate people to fill its job needs.
Process of gathering information for the
purposes of evaluating and deciding who
should be employed in particular jobs

Minimize the selection error

Staffing approach
Expatriate management
Repatriation management
It is argued that almost all employees at middle
management and more operative levels are
usually recruited locally, but this is not the case
when candidates for upper management posts
are being recruited.
The key issue is whether firm recruits internally
or externally
Approaches Ethnocentric
Polycentric
Geocentric
Re-giocentric
Philosophies of Ethnocentric predisposition
Management A nationalistic philosophy of management whereby
the values and interests of the parent company guide
Ethnocentric strategic decisions.
predisposition
Philosophies of Polycentric predisposition
Management A philosophy of management whereby
strategic decisions are tailored to suit the
Ethnocentric
cultures of the countries where the MNC
predisposition
operates.
Polycentric
predisposition
Philosophies of Regiocentric predisposition
Management A philosophy of management whereby the
firm tries to blend its own interests with
Ethnocentric those of its subsidiaries on a regional basis.
predisposition

Polycentric
predisposition

Regiocentric
predisposition
Philosophies of Geocentric predisposition
Management A philosophy of management whereby the
company tries to integrate a global systems
Ethnocentric approach to decision making.
predisposition

Polycentric
predisposition

Regiocentric
predisposition

Geocentric
predisposition
Ethnocentric
The company uses the approach developed in the
home country, and the values, attitudes, practices,
and priorities of headquarters determine the
human resources policies and practices
All key positions in a multinational being filled by
PCNs
Autonomy and strategic decisions are made at
headquarters.
Key positions in domestic and foreign operations
are held by headquarters personnel.
Advantages
Lack of qualified host-country nationals (HCNs)
Can reduce perceived high risks – good
communication, coordination and control links with
corporate headquarters
To ensure that the new subsidiary complies with
overall corporate objectives and policies or local
staff may not have the required level of
competence
Disadvantages
It limits the promotion opportunities of HCNs,
which may lead to reduced productivity and
increased turnover among that group
Adaptation of expatriate managers to host
countries often takes a long time
Compensation packages – considerable income gap
in favor of PCNs is viewed by HCNs as unjustified
Expatriates – changes may affect sensitivity to the
needs and expectations of their host-country
subordinates
Expatriates are very expensive to maintain in
overseas locations
Polycentric
HCNs are recruited to manage subsidiaries in their
own country and PCNs occupy positions at
corporate headquarters
PCNs are rarely transferred to foreign subsidiary
operations
Advantages
Eliminates language barriers
Removes the need for expensive cultural awareness
training programs
Lower profile sensitive political situations
Less expensive
Avoids the turnover of key managers
Disadvantages
Bridging gap between PCN and HCN managers –
language barriers, conflicting national loyalties and
cultural differences
HCN managers have limited opportunities to gain
experience outside their own country.
Regiocentric
Reflects the geographic strategy and structure of
the multinational
Staff may move outside their countries but only
within the particular geographic region
Enjoy greater degree of regional autonomy in
decision making
Advantages
Interaction between executives transferred to
regional headquarters
Sensitivity to local conditions
A way for a multinational to move gradually
towards geocentric
Disadvantages
It can produce federalism at a regional rather than
a country basis and constrain the organization from
taking a global stance
Staff may advance to regional headquarters but
rarely to positions at the parent headquarters
Geocentric
Utilizes the best people for the key jobs throughout
the organization, regardless of nationality
Nationality is ignored in favor of ability
Color of one’s passport does not matter when it
comes to rewards, promotion and development
Advantages
Assists in developing a global perspective and an
internal pool of labor for deployment throughout
the global organization
It supports cooperation ad resource sharing across
units
Disadvantages
Government may utilize immigration controls in
order to force HCN employment
Difficulty in obtaining a work permit for the
accompanying spouse or partner
Increased training and relocation costs.
Using Head-hunters
Cross national advertising
E-recruitment (Internet)
International graduate programme
Executive search with an average compensation
of over $100000 per year

Monsters
Newspapers and journals are used most
commonly.
Advertising has the advantage of reaching a
large audience of possible applicants.

Location specific
The kind of market they operate
Airport lounges, magazines, newspapers,
magazines and journey for works
Through internet technologies
Social medias etc.
Careers in website etc.
Many factors have been identified as predictors
of expatriate success.
Different selection criteria should be used for
different overseas job assignments.
 Technical ability

Cross-cultural
suitability

Family requirements

Country/cultural
requirements

Language

Factors involved in
expatriate selection
Technical ability
Basis of skills or competencies for the job
Cross-cultural suitability
Should include cultural empathy, adaptability,
diplomacy, language ability, emotional stability and
maturity
Family requirements
Spouse – makes the success of the overseas
assignment
County/cultural requirements
The lack of a work permit for the accompanying
spouse or partner may cause difficulties in
adjustment and even contribute to failure
Language
Ability to speak local language
The use of selection tests
Most of the selection tests have been devised in
the USA and therefore, may be culture-bound
Different pattern of usage across countries – the
use of psychological tests is very low in Germany
Most of the companies, use interview to assess
expatriate suitability
Generally Includes
Analytical
Willingness to take risk
Action-oriented
Able to look situation constructively and not
defensively
Able to deal with information from many sources
Able to delegate work and trust subordinates
Able to live with ambiguity and complexity
Why failure occurs?
Inability to adjust to the foreign culture
Spouse / partner dissatisfaction
Inability to adapt
Difficulties with family adjustment in the new
location
Difficulties associated with different management
styles
Culture and language difficulties
Issues associated with the accompanying partners
career development