International Assignees to Talent Management - Research Paper Example

Data Collection and Analysis The researcher has used two-prone strategy to collect and analyze data. First, the researcher has collected data from the authentic sources particularly from reliable journals and books. In the research, the focus was to obtain authentic information relevant for selecting best and brightest employees. The research mainly relied on the tools previously used by the different authors and companies for this purpose. For this purpose, the researcher used the information provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers as they conduct primary research focusing on the issues related with the international assignments. Subsequently, the researcher obtained information tools by the companies to assess productivity and performance of the international assignees. After collecting all the relevant information, the researcher carried out the analysis strategy in which the researcher employed subjective understanding, experience and relevance of such factors and information to the objectives of this paper. The objective of using personal or subjective understanding is to discuss the different aspects and ramifications of the information for the paper. Alternative Solutions Various alternatives have provided their relevancy to the international assignments: international business travelers (IBT), short-term assignments, rotational and commuter assignments and virtual assignments (Collings et al., 2007, p. 205). Welch and Worm (2006:284) describe international business travelers (IBT) as “one for whom business travel is an essential component of their work.” IBTs are advantageous as they provide face-to-face interaction in carrying out business transactions without the necessity to physically relocate them. Their appropriateness is utilized when organization intends to develop new markets and the countries having a volatile economic and political environment where employees do not want to be relocated. IBTs remain more suitable option for carrying out some non-routine organizational task such as production scheduling or annual budget meetings in multi-national companies and they can be a reliable when managing subsidiary operations without physically relocating. Tahvanainen et al. (2005) describe that the short-term assignments remain the most recognized application of non-standard assignment. In order to describe duration in short term assignments, Collings et al. (2007) have limited to the duration shorter than a year and they describe this alternative international assignment as a temporary internal transfer particularly to a foreign subsidiary for a period of less than a year. In this regard, Schullion and Collings (2006) maintain that these assignees can be appropriate for entertaining organizational objectives without using a considerable amount of resources. In the same direction, Tahvananinen et al. (2005:665) highlight the particular organizational situations require the services of these assignees and the organizational situations are: (1) skill transfer or problem transfer; (2) managerial development; (3) control purposes. Rotational and commuter assignments have increased recently. Welch and Worm (2006) define rotational assignments as where staff routinely commutes from their home country to workplace in another country for a shorter period which is followed by a period of time off in the home country. On the other hand, PricewaterhouseCoopers (2005) elaborates commuter assignments as where an assignee commutes from their home base to a workplace in another country, particularly on bi-weekly or weekly basis. Mayrhofer and Schullion (2002) quote the example of German engineers assigned with technical and managerial responsibilities in the clothing industry who frequently travelled in various Eastern European countries and regularly returning back home to spend weekends with their families. However, a recent report on the commuter assignments has raised some issues. In this regard, Dowling and Welch (2004:68) state “there are serious concerns about the viability of commuter arrangements over an extended period of time due to the build-up of stress from intensive travel commitments and the impact on personal relationships.” Decentralization and globalization have increased the number of virtual assignments in the recent history (Collings et al., 2007, p. 207). Various organizations are compelled to respond to their dynamic environments by developing and maintaining global virtual teams, in which team members are geographically dispersed but they coordinate their work with the use of electronic and communication technologies. Dowling and Welch (2004) explain that in global virtual teams, staff do not relocate to a host location but they have a particular responsibility to manage international staff by sitting in their home country. It has been highlighted that virtual assignments are most relevant for routine business activities especially when face-to-face communication is indispensible (Hertel et al., 2005). Creating a candidate pool (Factors for motivating individuals to accept international assignments Categories Standard Average Best Career development 1-3 3-5 5-7 Challenging job 1-3 3-5 5-7 Opportunity to live and work abroad 1-3 3-5 5-7 Financial gain 1-3 3-5 5-7 Language and communication skills 1-3 3-5 5-7 ____________________________________ Minimum Requirement 8 9 10 These five factors would be used for ascertaining the particular scores of the international assignees. This pool would be employed to highlight aggregate score of the international assignees. The above mentioned table provides three different standards that would be used to ascertain level of performance of international assignees in the five different categories. In each segments, assignees are required to obtain minimum score as mentioned. If they fail to attain the minimum score, they would not be able to receive consideration for the future international assignments. In this pool, each category would be separately judged and score would be provided by the human resource department personnel. The pool has been devised in a way to attract international assignees to consider the significance of the international assignments. In which, they are required to consider career development opportunities, financial gain, opportunity to live and work abroad and language and communication skills. The categories have not similar level of significance. For instance, some international assignees may be more satisfied with the option of higher amount of financial gain and others may be more interested to enhance their career by working abroad. Consequently, the rationale behind developing this pool is provided by the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, which are normally applied by the companies to upgrade the skills of the employees and improve productivity and performance of their employees. Self-selection Given that the personal circumstances and the demographic profiles of the international assignee candidates will differ, self-selection has been identified as an effective tool for sharing and understanding realistic assessments in a tailored way; and self-selection has become useful as global assignment candidates self-analyze their appropriateness with the personality and lifestyle requirements related to the international assignment (Caligiuri & Phillips, 2003). In this regard, Caligiuri et al. (1998) cite an example mentioning that an unmarried individual who is a candidate for an international assignment might have different set of circumstances when compared with a married candidate. Also, Caligiuri et al. (2009: 256) explain that effective self-selection tools empower international assignee candidates to critically analyze and evaluate themselves based on three significant dimensions: (1) individual and personality characteristics; (2) family issues (including circumstances of children and spouses); and (2) career issues. A number of organizations have found that the self-selection or self-assessment step paves the way for the creation and development of a candidate pool of potential international assignees having higher chances of success. Subsequently, this pool can be further organized to encompass the following aspects: the availability of the employee (when and to what countries, countries preferred, languages the employee speaks and understands, skills, technical knowledge and abilities. Formal selection process specifically developed for global mobility (any idea for this one?) (300) Proposed Recommended Solution Assessment and selection tool should include: Personality Many researchers have found that high-performing and well-adjusted international assignees tend to have certain personality features or traits (Mol et al., 2005). The effects of particular personality characteristics have enabled international assignees 1) to initiate contact with host nationals; 2) to be receptive and open to understand and learn the traditions and norms of new cultures; 4) to collect cultural information; and 5) to manage the personality traits even under the stress pressure (Shaffer et al., 2006). Caligiuri et al., (2009:253) explains “the Big Five” amalgation of personality factors: (1) agreeableness, (2) extroversion, (3) emotional stability, (4) conscientiousness, and (5) intellect or openness. For instance, employees having higher conscientiousness are more likely to lead and to become leaders, become successful appropriate status in the eyes of other, earn higher amount of salaries, get promoted and have clear indicators of performance. Emotional stability enables international assignees to accommodate changes that are inbuilt to the foreign workplace environment and try to perform in a way that shows understanding of the new culture and their influence. Openness is to properly face criticism that may be directly or indirectly offered by new colleagues or it may come from both subordinate or from the senior management. It enables the international assignees to remain unchanged when facing criticism or unfavorable views from the new foreign workplace environment. Also, extroverted individuals have capacity to effectively learn the social culture of the host country by employing their relationships with local nationals and as a result, they nurture and maintain higher cross-cultural adjustment (Searle & Ward, 1990). Communication and language skills Harrison and Gilley (1999) state that there exists a positive relationship between language skills and international assignee success. Some researchers have maintained that language skills, which are highly essential for effective communication, are highly critical for attaining cross-cultural adjustment and adapting to new workplace environment. However, some researchers indicate that language and communication skills are two separate requirements. It is highly vital for the international assignee to know, speak and understand the language of host country. Subsequently, the international assignee must have nurtured the basic communication skills essential for putting across communication purpose in the most accommodating way. For instance, an international assignee knows and speaks the language of host country, but the international assignee has poor communication skills. Under this scenario, it would be hard to expect that the international assignee would be able to professionally meet the requirements of the assigned task. As a result, it is highly recommended that the international assignees should appropriately meet both language and communication skills requirements before considering the other aspects in the selection process. International exposure Selmer (2002) contends that prior international experience enables an individual’s abolition to work and function effectively in a host country. In the same direction, Brislin (1981) maintains that from a social learning perspective, the more contact international assignees have foreign or host nationals and with the host culture, the greater their cross-cultural understanding along with cross-cultural adjustment. For instance, Searl & Ward (1990) highlight that past research has found that having friendships with host nationals considerably enhances international assignees’ ability to grasp and learn culturally appropriate behaviors and social skills. The prior international experience also increases the level of confidence. The previous international experience provides a strong rationale that a new international assignment would not be challenging for the experienced international assignee. In addition, in the previous international experience, the assignee had learned different skills, behaviors, work pressures and different environment and social pressures. These prior different international experiences have dual ramifications. For instance, if the prior international experience was a successful activity and the international assignee met all the requirements and met the expectations of the senior management; and the assignee was happy with the international experience, there would be no way that the international assignee would be more effective in the future international assignments. However, if the prior experience was a disappointing experience, it would not be wrong to say that the future international assignments would face the same destinations. Aggregately, the personal and professional experience attached with the previous international assignment has considerable importance for the outcome of the future international assignments. Training and development requirements Training and development requirements are mandatory as they enable the international assignee to improve their professional skills to appropriately meet with the requirements of the international assignments. In the recent research, it has been highlighted that the insufficient Human Resource support for international assignees has enabled managers to assume responsibility for their own training and development (Mayerhofer et al., 2004). In the same context, some researchers argue that cultural awareness and cross-cultural communication training would be a significant particularly for those who are involved in virtual assignments. However, there is no disagreement among the authors on the point that there cannot be an absolute set of training and development requirements due to the fact that the international assignments have different manifestations. As the international organizations have different international objectives related to the international assignments, consequently appropriate set of training and development would only be developed that can only be directly supporting the strategic objectives of human resource management. More clearly, the professional training and development requirements would be different than the personal or skill development of the international assignees. Occupational Health and safety Occupational health and safety has received considerable attention in the recent past. This factor is particularly relevant to IBTs as there is a growing body of literature which highlights that the health issues are attached with business travel (Neck, 2000). Neck (2000) further elaborates that these issues can range from an insufficient emphasis and decline of physical fitness, to significantly increased stress levels, to increased alcohol consumption. In this regard, Quick (2000) argues that while these issues have monumental implications for the international assignees concerned, it is also evident that health issues could probably have significant ramifications for organizational performance. At the same time, it is also possible, due to the fact that their families will not be with them, that those on short-term and commuter assignments may work excessive hours. As a result, they may fail to manage work-life balance which may lead to burn-out, stress and poor performance. Although the nature of these consequences largely represents the issues with international assignee, organization may not be able to avoid the effects of such circumstances on the expected level of performance from the international assignee. Benefits and Costs: Limitations of ROI Method There exists insufficient consensus on what Return on Investment (ROI) from expatriation should be (Black et al., 1999) and little tracing of career results for repatriates (Doherty et al., 2011). Most often, organizations rely on the “hard” costs as they are easily computable and they include foreign service inducement, base salary, benefits and allowance (Dowling et al., 2008, pp.162-164) and encompassing travel expenses, special vacations and leave, and costs in preparing the international assignee to work abroad and cost such as administrative support for expatriates, taxation and other advice are included. At the host location, costs may appear in the shape of reaction of locals, the issue of legitimacy, the perception of career ceilings, and the effects on host country reputation and relations (Hailey and Harry, 2008); knowledge creation, exploitation and transfer issues, both in the sending and host units, and the influence on morale are further results that are very difficult to include and assess in an ROI calculation. Implementation Plan (I will share you in the next draft) (300) Incorporation of selection process into talent management (I will share you in the next draft) (300) Conclusion (400) References Black, J.S., Gregersen, H.B., Mendenhall, M.E., and Stroh, L. (1999), Globalizing People Through International Assignments, London: Addison Wesley Brislin, R. (1981). Cross-cultural encounters: Face-to-face interaction. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon. Caligiuri, P., & Phillips, J. (2003). An application of self-assessment realistic job previews to expatriate assignments. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14, 1102−1116 Caligiuri, P., Tarique, I., Jacobs, R., (2009). Selection for international assignments. Human Resource Management Review, 19, 251-262. Caligiuri, P., Hyland, M., Joshi, A., & Bross, A. (1998). Testing a theoretical model for examining the relationship between family adjustment and expatriates' work adjustment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 598−614 Collings, D.G., Scullion, H., Morley, M.J., (2007). Changing patterns of global staffing in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives. Journal of World Business, 42, 198-213. Doherty, N.T., Dickmann, M. (2011). Measuring the return on investment in international assignments: an action research approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(16), 3434-3454. Dowling, P., & Welch, D. (2004). International human resource management: Managing people in a global context (4th ed.). London: Thomson Learning Dowling, P., Festing, M., and Engle, A. (2008), International Human Resource Management: Managing People in a Multinational Context (5th ed.), London: Thomson Learning. Hailey, J., and Harry, W. (2008), ‘Localization: A Strategic Response to Globalization,’ in International Human Resource Management: A European Perspective, eds. M. Dickmann, C. Brewster and P. Sparrow, London: Routledge, pp. 19–38. Hertel, G., Geister, C., & Konradt, U. (2005). Managing virtual teams: A review of Current empirical research. Human Resource Management Review, 15: 69–95. Mayrhofer, W., & Scullion, H. (2002). Female expatriates in international business: Empirical evidence from the German clothing industry. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13: 815–836. Mayerhofer, H., Hartmann, L. C., Michelitsch-Riedl, G., & Kollinger, I. (2004). Flexpatriate assignments: Neglected issue in global staffing. International Journal of Human Resource Management,15 (8): 1371–1389. Mol, S., Born, M., Willemsen, M., & Van der Molen, H. (2005). Predicting expatriate job performance for selection purposes — A quantitative review. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36, 590−620. Neck, C. P. (2000). The fit executive: Exercise and diet guidelines for enhancing performance. Academy of Management Review, 14(2): 72–83. PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2005). International assignments: Global policy and practice, Key trends 2005. PricewaterhouseCoopers Quick, J. C. (2000). Executive health: Building strength, managing risks. Academy of Management Review, 14(2): 34–44. Scullion, H.,&Collings, D. G. (2006). Introduction. In H. Scullion& D. G. Collings (Eds.), Global staffing. London: Routledge Searle, W., & Ward, C. (1990). The prediction of psychological and sociocultural adjustment during cross-cultural transitions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 14, 449−464 Selmer, J. (2002). To train or not to train? European expatriate managers in China. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 2, 37−51. Shaffer, M., Harrison, D., Gregersen, H., Black, J., & Ferzandi, L. (2006). You can take it with you: Individual differences and expatriate effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 109−125. Tahvanainen, M., Welch, D., & Worm, V. (2005). Implications of short-term international assignments. European Management Journal, 23: 663–673. Welch, D. E., & Worm, V. (2006). International business travellers: A challenge for IHRM. In G. K. Stahl & I. Bjo¨rkman (Eds.), Handbook of research in international human resource management. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Read More