CHAPTER Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments

31017_05_Ch05_p109-136.qxd 9/7/07 12:15 PM Page 124124 CHAPTER 5 RECRUITING AND SELECTING STAFFThere are signs that in a post 9/11 world, the USA is beginning to refocus on someof these issues. Recently, the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the USCongress 47 has examined the issue of international and foreign language studiesand the Chair of the Committee noted that:Congress created Title VI in the National Defense Education Act of 1958 toaddress a sense of crisis caused by U.S. citizens’ lack of knowledge of othercountries and cultures. This program remains the federal government’sleading mechanism for supporting programs that produce Americans withexpertise in foreign languages and international studies, includinginternational business . . . Continued federal support for these programsreflects the significance and growing relevance of language and area studies,diplomacy, national security, and business competitiveness.This level of commitment is encouraging, but as we noted in Chapter 1, the task ofinternationalizing business education in the USA is a large one and will requireconsiderable resources and persistence for significant progress to be made.Another component to language as a situation factor in the selection decision isthe role of the common corporate language. As previously discussed, many multinationalsadopt a common corporate language as a way of standardizing reportingsystems and procedures. This is not, perhaps, an issue for PCN selection withinmultinationals from the Anglo-Saxon world (Britain, the USA, Canada, Australiaand New Zealand) where the chosen corporate language remains the same as thatof the home country. However, it becomes an expatriate selection issue for multinationalsfrom non-English-speaking countries that adopt English as the corporatelanguage, unless the posting is to a country with a shared language. For instance,a Spanish multinational, using Spanish as the corporate language, selecting a PCNto head its new subsidiary in Mexico, does not face the same language issue as aSpanish multinational, with English as its corporate language, selecting a PCN toits US facility. For the latter, fluency in English would be required. Lack of fluencyin the corporate language, therefore, can be a selection barrier. Prospective candidatesmay be eliminated from the potential pool due to a lack of at least competencyin the common language. 48 Language ability therefore may limit the MNE’sability to select the most appropriate candidate.The use of selection testsAlthough there is a consensus among scholars and practitioners that personalcharacteristics (or traits) are important, there is considerable debate about howsuch personal characteristics can be reliably and accurately measured. Personalityand psychological tests have been used in the selection process, but the effectivenessof such tests as predictors of cultural adjustment is questioned. For example,Torbiörn 49 comments that though desirable personality traits are specified and recommended,the tests or criteria to assess these traits are seldom convincingly validated.Likewise, Willis 50 states that if tests are used they should be selected withcare and regard for reliability and validity because, while some tests may be usefulin suggesting potential problems, there appears to be little correlation betweentest scores and performance. He further adds that most of the relevant tests havebeen devised in the USA and, therefore, may be culture-bound. Use of such testswithout careful modification on non-American nationals adds another questionmark to their reliability and validity as predictors of expatriate success. It is importantthat HRM staff in all locations are aware of the debate surrounding the use of