CHAPTER Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments

31017_05_Ch05_p109-136.qxd 9/7/07 12:15 PM Page 118118 CHAPTER 5 RECRUITING AND SELECTING STAFFDespite these limitations, however, expatriates often relate experiencing thesephases, and awareness of the psychological adjustment process can assist theexpatriate adopt positive coping behaviors. We should also note that family membersexperience the phases differently, and not necessarily move through the variousphases at the same time as each other. How accompanying family membershandle cultural adjustment is important, as there can be a spill-over effect – anunhappy spouse may affect the expatriate’s ability to adjust, and thus impact onperformance. For example, in their study of US managers in Japan, Korea, Taiwanand Hong Kong, Black and Stephens 25 found a high correlation between spouseand expatriate adjustment. Companies can assist in the cultural adjustment of theexpatriate and employee by using volunteer employees who have worked abroadas expatriates to ‘adopt’ a visiting family and assist in their adjustment.Length of assignmentThere is some evidence that length of assignment does contribute to adjustmentand performance. For example, the average assignment for Japanese firms tends tobe four to five years, compared with the figure shown in Table 5.1 of 1–3 years for53 per cent of the sample of the GMAC 2005 survey. A longer assignment allowsthe expatriate more time to adjust to the foreign situation and become productive.26 Japanese firms often do not expect the expatriate to perform up to full capacityuntil the third year; the first year of the foreign assignment is seen mainly asa period of adjustment to the foreign environment.Willingness to moveIn a situation where an employee is a reluctant expatriate or accompanied by reluctantfamily members, it is more likely that they may interpret negatively eventsand situations encountered in the new environment. In their survey of 405 USmanagers and their spouse/partners, Brett and Stroh 27 found a significant causalrelationship between the manager and the spouse’s willingness to move. Theyconclude that managers who are most ready for international relocations are thosewhose spouses are also supportive of that move – a not surprising finding. Otherstudies support the importance of a positive outlook. For example, Hamill 28reported that the reasons for lower British expatriate failure rates were that Britishmanagers were more internationally mobile than US managers, and that perhapsBritish companies had developed more effective expatriate policies. Dowlingand Welch 29 note that the respondents in their research perceived an expatriateposting as a desirable appointment – an opportunity to travel and live overseas –leading to a positive outlook on the foreign assignment. Willingness to relocate asa predictor of success should include the views of family members and is alsoassociated with the perceived desirability of the location of the internationalassignment.Work environment-related factorsGregersen and Black 30 studied 220 American expatriates in four Pacific Rim countries.They found a positive correlation between what they term ‘intent to stay inthe overseas assignment’ and the PCN’s commitment to the local company,adjustment to interaction with HCNs, and adjustment to general living conditions.Adjustment to the work role itself however, was negatively associated with ‘intent