International HRM Flashcards
Host country
A country in which an international company operates
International corporation
A domestic firm that uses its existing capabilities to move into overseas markets (Honda, GE, P&G, used this to break into Europe, adapted existing products without changing much about their operations)
Multidomestic corporation
A firm with independent business units operating in multiple countries; more complex as international subsidiaries usually have more autonomy and less integration (E.g Shell, Philips)
Global corporation
A firm that has integrated worldwide operations through a centralized home office (E.g. Japanese companies like Matsushita and NEC that treat the world market as a unified whole and try to combine their activities in each country to maximize efficiencies on a global scale)
Transnational corporation
A firm that attempts to balance local responsiveness and global scale via a network of specialized operating units; tries to take responsiveness of MDC and efficiency of Global corp; more of an ideal than a reality (IBM, Ford, and Unilever are trying!)
Home-country nationals / Expatriates
Employees from the home country who are on international assignment
Host-country nationals
Employees who are natives of the host country
Third-country nationals
Employees who are natives of a country other than the home country or the host country
Transnational teams
Teams composed of members of multiple nationalities working on projects that span multiple countries
Global manager
A manager equipped to run an international business
Cultural environment
The communications, religion, values, ideologies, education, and social structure of a country
Core skills
Skills considered critical to an employee’s success abroad: experience, decision-making, resourcefulness, adaptability, cultural sensitivity, team building, maturity
Augmented skills
Skills helpful in facilitating the efforts of expatriate managers: technical skills, negotiation skills, strategic thinking, delegation skills, change management
Failure rates
The percentage of expatriates who do not perform satisfactorily
Culture shocks
Perpetual stress experienced by people who settle overseas
