International Human Resource Management
Managing people in a multinational context
Chapter Objectives
We focus on the ‘managing the people’ aspect of IHRM:
• Issues relating to staffing foreign operations
• The reasons for using international assignments:
filling positions and developing managers and organizations.
• Various types of international assignments:
short term, extended and longer term;
• Various non-standard arrangements:
commuter, rotator, contractual and virtual
• The role of expatriates and non-expatriates in supporting
international business activities
• Return on investment of international assignments
• The role of the corporate HR function in MNEs
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Terms
Expatriate roles:
Assignments: short-term
extended
agent of direct control
traditional
agent of socialization
commuter
language node
ROI approach
rotational
network builder
contractual
virtual
boundary spanner
inpatriates
expatriates
flexpatriates
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Approaches to staffing: ethnocentric
polycentric
geocentric
regiocentric
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Table
4-1a
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The advantages and disadvantages of using PCNs
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Table
4-1b
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The advantages and disadvantages of using TCNs
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Table
4-1c
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The advantages and disadvantages of using HCNs
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Figure
4-1
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Determinants of staffing choices
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Reasons for International Assignments
1. Position filling
2. Management development
3. Organization development
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Types of international assignments
•
•
•
Short term
up to 3months
Extended
up to 1year
Long term (traditional expatriate assignment)
1 to 5 years
Some non-standard assignments:
• Commuter
go home every one to two weeks
• Rotational
commute for set period followed by
break in home country
• Contractual specific skills employees hired for
6 to 12 months on specific projects
• Virtual
employee manages international
responsibilities from home country base
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Table
4-2
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Differences between
traditional and short-term assignments
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Figure
4-2
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The roles of an expatriate
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Figure
4-3
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ROI indicators for calculating international assignments
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4-steps to calculate expatriate ROI
1. Identify financial and non-financial costs and
benefits.
2. Link the costs and benefits to the purpose of
the long-term assignment.
3. Identify the appropriate antecedents from a
system’s perspective.
4. Conduct the calculation at an appropriate time
within the context of the assignment’s purpose.
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Table
4-3
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Various roles of corporate HR
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Discussion Questions
1. Outline the main characteristics of the four approaches to international
staffing.
2. Which factors determine the choice of a staffing approach? Would a MNE
choose the same staffing approach worldwide? Place your arguments in the
context of the model outlining determinants of staffing choices.
3. What are the reasons for using international assignments?
4. What is the role of inpatriates? Do inpatriates guarantee a geocentric staffing
policy?
5. Why is it important to measure return on investment of international
assignments? Which indicators can be used?
6. As a newly appointed Project Manager of a research team, you consider that
you will be able to manage the project virtually from your office in London,
even though the other six members are located in Munich. This will solve your
personal dilemma as your family does not want to be relocated. The project has
a six-month deadline. What factors should you need to consider in order to
make this virtual assignment effective?
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