Chapter 20* Flashcards
International Human Resource Management
HR Management
designs a structure to RETAIN the best people, and the company functions with high productivity
Expatriates
leave their own country to live and work in another:
- home country nationals
- Third-country nationals
Trends in expatriate assignments
- most expatriate assignments are short term lasting less than a year
- more assignments are going to younger and older workers than in the past
- the number of female expatriates, third-country nationals, and reverse expatriates is rising
Ethnocentric
fill key management positions with home-country nationals
Polycentric
use host-country nationals to manage local subsidiaries
Geocentric
seek the best people for key jobs throughout the organization, regardless of nationality
Expatriate selection
screening executives to find those with the greatest inclination and highest potential for foreign assignment
Expatriate failure
a manager’s premature return home due to poor performance
Repatriation
the process of reintegrating the expatriate into the home country upon completion of the foreign assignment
Balance sheet approach
equalizes purchasing power across countries so expatriates have the same living standard in their foreign posting that they had at home
International Human Resource Management (IHRM)
is an umbrella terms that refers to overseeing all things related to managing employees in the MNE
IHRM is more difficult for the MNE than its domestic counterpart due to
- environmental differences
- strategic contingencies
- organizational challenges
HRM policies that support the MNE’s strategy
generate high productivity and competitive advantage
MNEs use expatriates for various reasons, including
- filling a skills gap in the local market
- transferring competencies
- integrating decision-making perspectives
- coordinating strategic activities
- developing leaders
An executive perspective
directs attention to the managerial activities that run IB operations
Classifying a foreign assignment, in terms of the executive’s relative nationality, uses a range of terms, including
- expatriate
- home(parent)-country national
- third-country national
- inpatriate
- transpatriate
- repatriate
Commuter assignment
posts an expatriate for a shorter span, 1-3 years, with returns home at regular intervals
Short-term expatriate assignments
such as commuters and flexpatriates, are more common today than a decade ago, Steadily, gig expats joins the club
Changing markets, growing cost consciousness, and evolving strategies
rest notions of who is an expatriate - now we see growing interest in the young, the old, and the restless
Reverse expats
spend a predetermined amount of time at the company’s home country operations before running emerging market operations
Escalating cost concerns spur MNEs
to emphasize commuter posts in lieu of longer-term international expatriate assignments
Ethnocentrism
is the conviction that one’s preferred policies and procedures are the superior way to manage anyone, anywhere
The ethnocentric framework
fills key management positions with home-country nationals
The ethnocentric staffing framework
is vulnerable to problems arising from workplace, legal-political, and misreads and misfits tensions
The polycentric staffing framework
looks to host-country nationals to manage local activities
Using host-country managers
boosts local motivation and moral. Still, likely costs include gaps with global operations due to problems of autonomy and allegiance
The regiocentric staffing framework
fills expat slots with executives that have the corresponding regional outlook and orientation and typically reside in the region
The geocentric framework
posts the most-qualified executives, regardless of nationality, to expatriate slots, regardless of location
The geocentric staffing framework
is vulnerable to problems arising from professional and logistic tensions
Technical competency and operational expertise
are key determinants of executives posted to an expatriate slot
Orientation, both self and other, helps expats
- manage ambiguity, uncertainty, and risk
- resolve physical, emotional and social stress
- support effective communication
- enhances interpersonal interactions
Resourcefulness refers to a person’s potential for
- self-maintenance
- situational flexibility
- interpreting the immediate environment
- developing productive workplace relationships
Executives in foreign subsidiaries
usually assume a broader range of leadership roles than counterparts running similar-size home-country operations
A global mindset
helps expatriates see opportunities, not threats and complexities
Preparation programs
transfer practical information about the host country as well as improve the expat’s cultural readiness
Culture shock
is the anxiety and disorientation experienced when one moves into an unfamiliar culture
Key to successfully transitioning to a foreign assignment, beyond workplace adjustments
is mastering the new ways of the 3 S’s - schooling, shopping, and socializing
Variations of the balance sheet approach to expatriate compensation include
- home-based method
- headquarters-based method
- host-based method
- global market method
“Keeping employees whole”
requires IHRM nullify those features of an international assignment that negatively affect an expatriate’s standard of living
Expatriate compensation packages
can include various payments, allowances, provisions, and reimbursements
IHRM tailors allowances to help an expatriate offset the difficulties of
- different standards of living
- replicating preferred housing
- supporting a trailing spouse
- extraordinary safety or security hardships
MNE’s struggle to equalize pay
for the same type of job that is done by different people in different countries
Repatriation
- can trigger work, financial, and social adjustment challenges
- find the right job for the returning executive to avoid frustrations
Reverse culture shock
occurs when one experiences anxiety upon returning to one’s own culture
Navigating repatriation requires
a keen sense of its positive and negative aspects - before departure, while abroad, and especially before transitioning home
The improving sophistication of expatriate selection processes
has reduced the rate of expatriate failure
Expatriate failure is
operationally costly, professionally detrimental, and personally stressful
