CHAPTER Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments

31017_05_Ch05_p109-136.qxd 9/7/07 12:15 PM Page 132132 CHAPTER 5 RECRUITING AND SELECTING STAFFSummaryThis chapter has addressed key issues affecting recruitment and selection forinternational assignments. We have covered:● Four myths related to the concept of a global manager: that there is auniversal approach to management; that people can acquire multiculturaladaptability and behaviors; that there are common characteristics successfulinternational managers share; and that there are no impediments tomobility.● The debate surrounding the definition and magnitude of expatriatefailure.● Cultural adjustment and other moderating factors affecting expatriateintent to stay and performance. These included duration of the assignment,willingness to move and work-related factors.● Individual and situational factors to be considered in the selectiondecision. Evaluation of the common criteria used revealed the difficultyof selecting the right candidate for an international assignment and theimportance of including family considerations in the selection process.● Dual career couples as a barrier to staff mobility, and the techniquesmultinationals are utilizing to overcome this constraint.● Female expatriates and whether they face different issues to their malecounterparts.It is also clear that, while our appreciation of the issues surrounding expatriaterecruitment and selection has deepened in the past 30 years, much remainsto be explored. The field is dominated by US research into predominantlyUS samples of expatriates, though there has been an upsurge ininterest from European academics and practitioners. Will the factors affectingthe selection decision be similar for multinationals emerging fromcountries such as China and India? If more multinationals are to encouragesubsidiary staff to consider international assignments as part of an intraorganizationalnetwork approach to management, we will need furtherunderstanding of how valid the issues discussed in this chapter are for allcategories of staff from different country locations. It is apparent, though,that staff selection remains critical. Finding the right people to fill positions,particularly key managers – whether PCN, TCN or HCN – can determine internationalexpansion. However, effective recruitment and selection is onlythe first step.Discussion Questions1 What is the difference between a global manager and a global mindset?2 Should multinationals be concerned about expatriate failure? If so, why?3 What are the most important factors involved in the selection decision?4 Are female expatriates different?5 Discuss the proposition that most expatriate selection decisions are madeinformally, as suggested by the ‘coffee-machine’ solution.