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Managing expatriates
This document discusses issues related to managing human resources internationally. It begins by outlining challenges such as cultural differences, legal compliance, and managing expatriates. It then examines topics like selecting international staff, providing cross-cultural training, establishing global compensation, ensuring safety abroad, and facilitating successful repatriation. Key recommendations include selecting candidates based on cultural skills over just technical skills, ongoing support for expatriates and families, and standardizing goals while allowing flexibility in practices to suit different country contexts.
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Managing expatriates
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- 5. Case 8 fromthe text book Just another move to China ? The Impact of International Assignments on Expatriate Families
- 6. Characters Lisa Macdougal Lachian Macdougal Amelia Macdougal Emily Macdougal
- 7. Issues Pros andCons of International Assignments Identity Crisis Ingroups Identity issues of Children Permanent home Relatives and Circle of Friends Investments Dual career issues Trailing spouse 13-7
- 8. Issues ..... Cultureshock Acculturation Cross cultural communication Adjustments needed Career Interests Kids and their future Security risks Repatriation Reverse culture shock Jayadeva de Silva
- 9. HR and theInternationalization of Business More and more companies are doing business abroad Globalization requires that employees who never leave the home office need to be “internationalized” to some extent Cultural diversity must be addressed
- 10. HR Challenges ofInternational Business Employers face political, social, legal and cultural differences among countries abroad Effective human resource practices must be developed for each country’s local facility and for the company as a whole Vast distances add to the challenges
- 11. HR Managers TopGlobal Concerns Deployment Knowledge and innovation dissemination Identifying and developing talent
- 12. What Is InternationalHRM? Human resource management concepts and techniques employers use to manage the HR challenges of their international operations Focuses on three main areas: 1. Management of HR in global corporations 2. Management of expatriate employees 3. Compare HRM practices in variety of countries
- 13. Which Inter-Country DifferencesAffect HRM Cultural factors Economic systems Legal and industrial relations factors
- 14. Cultural Factors Culturaldifferences influence HR policies and procedures that work best in a particular place Researchers have concluded that countries different along four cultural dimensions: 1. Assertiveness 2. Future orientation 3. Performance orientation 4. Humane orientation
- 15. Economic Systems Factors Fromcountry to country, economic systems vary in the following: Labor laws, regulations and costs Hourly compensation and a typical work week Vacation and benefits requirements
- 16. Legal and IndustrialRelations Factors The interplay of directives and country laws means HR practices must vary from country to country Some EU countries have minimum wages systems in place while others set national limits The EU sets the workweek at 48 hours but most countries set it at 40 hours per week EU countries have many levels of employee representation
- 17. Improving International Assignments ThroughSelection 80% of Financial Times top 100 company CEOs recently had overseas assignments Often the assignments fail due to poor expatriate entry and reentry preparation Companies are taking steps to reduce expat problems by selecting expats more carefully, helping spouses get jobs abroad and providing more ongoing support to the expat and family Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 13-17
- 18. When International AssignmentsSucceed They focus on knowledge creation and global leadership development They assign overseas people whose technical skills are matched or exceeded by their cross-cultural abilities Their expatriate assignments include a deliberate repatriation process
- 19. Expatriate Personality Expatsare increasingly younger and single Tend to be extroverted, agreeable and emotionally stable individuals Tend to have great cultural empathy
- 21. International Staffing: Homeor Local? Locals are citizens of the countries where they are working Expatriates are noncitizens of the countries in which they are working Host country nationals are citizens of the country in which the multinational company has its headquarters (can be expatriates) Third-country nationals are citizens of a country other than the parent or the host country
- 22. International Staffing: Homeor Local?, cont. Using locals can be cost effective and help the multinational gain favor with the host country Using expats helps multinationals meet required technical qualifications and help the multinational implement headquarters instructions and culture A hybrid solution that utilizes both locals and expats can help smooth the multinational’s transition
- 23. Pros and Consof Offshoring Offshoring is having local employees abroad do jobs previously done in-house It is growing rapidly and remains controversial Opponents cite job drain means millions of fewer white-collar jobs for Americans Proponents cite global competitiveness and increased R&D that will increase domestic jobs
- 24. Values and InternationalStaffing Policy Ethnocentric companies will make sure the home country’s attitudes, management style, knowledge, evaluation criteria, etc., prevail through filling key management jobs with parent-country nationals Polycentric companies believe that only host country managers can understand the culture and behavior of the host country market and the foreign subsidiary should be managed by host- country nationals and home office with parent- country nationals
- 25. Values and InternationalStaffing Policy, cont. Geocentric companies believe that the best manager for the firm could be located anywhere so they look at all management for potential and staff on the basis of choosing the best people for key jobs regardless of nationality
- 26. Ethics and Codesof Conduct Exporting a firm’s ethics is problematic as the code might not translate to the host-country and can be undermined by cultural norms Lawyers recommend a company focus on creating and distributing a global code of conduct that creates standards for adhering to U.S. law that has cross-border impact
- 27. Selecting International Managers Screening and testing Realistic previews Adaptability screening
- 31. Sending Women ManagersAbroad Women expats are underrepresented Misconceptions about familial decisions and safety concerns add to the problem
- 32. Sending Women ManagersAbroad, cont. Misperception can be short-circuited by: 1. Formalize a process for identifying employees willing to be expats 2. Train managers to understand how employees really feel about going abroad 3. Let successful female expats recruit prospective female expats 4. Provide the expat’s spouse with employment assistance
- 33. Training and MaintainingInternational Employees Cross-cultural training
- 34. Training and MaintainingInternational Employees, cont.Expats can also be trained by a 4-step approach: Level 1 focuses on the impact of cultural differences Level 2 aims at getting participants to understand who attitudes are formed and influence behavior Level 3 provides a factual knowledge of the target country Level 4 provides skill building in areas like language, adjustment and adaptation skills
- 35. Other Expatriate Training Documentary programs about the country’s geography and socioeconomic/political history Cultural assimilation to display the sorts of social and interpersonal situations expats are likely to encounter Language training Sensitivity training Actual interactions with people from other countries
- 37. Trends To providecontinuing, in-country, cross-cultural training during early stages of overseas assignment Using returning managers as resources to cultivate the “global mindsets” of the home-office staff Increased use of software and the Internet for cross-cultural training
- 39. International Compensation BalanceSheet Approach based on the following: Income taxes Housing Goods and services Discretionary expenses Premiums Incentives
- 41. Establishing a GlobalPay System Phase I: Formulate a global compensation framework Phase II: Organize jobs and appraisals Phase III: Create detailed pay policies Phase IV: Talent management framework Phase V: Ongoing program assessment
- 42. Performance Appraisal ofInternational Managers Stipulate the assignment’s difficulty level and adapt performance criteria to the situation Weigh the evaluation more toward the onsite manager’s appraisal than toward the home-site manager’s If the home-office manager does the actual written appraisal have him or her use a former expatriate from the same overseas location for advice
- 43. Safety and FairTreatment Abroad Provide expats with training about traveling, living abroad and the place they’re going to Tell them not to draw attention to the fact that they’re American Have travelers arrive at airports as close to departure time as possible and wait in areas away from the main flow of traffic Equip the expat’s car and home with adequate security systems
- 44. Safety and FairTreatment Abroad, cont. Tell employee to vary their departure and arrival times and take different routes Keep employees current on crime and other problems by regularly checking the State Department’s travel advisory service and consular information sheets Advise employees to remain confident at all times
- 45. Repatriation: Problems andSolutions 40-60% of expats will quit within 3 years of returning home Formal repatriation programs are useful Make sure the expat and family do not feel the company has left them adrift
- 46. How to Implementa Global HR System Form global HR networks Remember that it’s more important to standardize ends and competencies than specific methods Remember that global systems are more accepted in truly global organizations Investigate pressures to differentiate; then determine legitimacy =
- 47. How to Implementa Global HR System, cont. Remember, “You can’t communicate enough” Dedicate adequate resources for the global HR effort