Bron: http://www.munichre.com/en/career/munich-re-as-an-employer/what-we-offer/international-assignment/default.aspx
international
assignments
Messiah College
Drs. Kor van der Helm
January 22, 2014
attribution
Attribution in this presentation: all figures come
from Peter J. Dowling, a.o., International Human
Resource Management, South-Western Cencage
Learning, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84480-542-6, unless
mentioned otherwise.
World top ten non-financial transnational
corps., ranked by transnational index
Differences between domestic HRM
and IHRM
The complexity of IHRM can be attributed to six
factors:
1. More HR activities
2. The need for a broader perspective
3. Move involvement in employees’ personal lives
4. Changes in emphasis as the workforce mix of
expatriates and locals varies
5. Risk exposure
6. Broader external influences
Variables that moderate differences
between domestic and international HRM
1. The complexity involved in operating in
different countries and employing different
national categories of employees
2. The cultural environment
3. The industry (or industries) with which the
MNE is primarily involved
4. The extent of reliance of the MNE on its
home-country domestic market
5. The attitudes of senior management
Selection criteria (Tung)
• technical competence
• personal traits or relational abilities
• ability to cope with environmental variables
(language skills)
• family situation
Components of the expatriate adjustment process:
–
–
–
–
self orientation dimension (self confidence)
other’s orientation dimension (interact effectively)
perceptual dimension (understand behavior)
cultural toughness dimension (modify the first three
dimensions. Esp. in countries which are very different)
content / focus of preparation
• the individual’s cultural background
• culture specific features of the host country government
• the individual degree of contract with the host
environment
• the assignment length
• the individual’s family situation
• the individual’s language skills
The roles of an expatriate
8
Reasons for International
Assignments
1. Position filling
2. Management development
3. Organization development
9
International assignees as
knowledge agents
• Understanding of the company’s global
organization and the corporate culture at HQ
• Factual knowledge about the assignment
culture
• The acquisition of culture-specific repertoires
– establish social relationships
– interpersonal trust
– shared values with the host-unit staff
 share and acquire knowledge
facilitate cross-unit knowledge exchange
Roles for International
Assignments
• bear
• bumble-bee
• spider
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 a set period followed by
a break in the home country
• Contractual specific skills employees hired for
6 to 12 months on specific projects
• Virtual
employee manages international
responsibilities from home country base
•
•
•
12
criteria for international transfers
A model of the variables that moderate differences
between domestic and international HRM
three dimensions of HRM
International assignments create
expatriates
The advantages and disadvantages of
using PCNs
17
The advantages and disadvantages
of using HCNs
18
The advantages and disadvantages
of using TCNs
19
Inpatriate assignments
Transfer of subsidiary managers to HQ for a
specific period of time.
– problems which might occur:
status differences
cultural adjustment challenges (need for socialization)
differences in the underlying MNC’s staffing problems
(cultural diversity and multicultural staff composition at HQ.
– purpose:
addition to companies repertoire
add knowledge to the company
help to transfer knowledge
improver HQ-subsidiary relationships
develop managers
Determinants of staffing choices
21
choice between HCN - PCN
Differences between
traditional and short-term
assignments
23
truly international HRM require following steps
1. Recognize that one’s own HRM reflects home culture
assumptions and values.
2. Recognize that one’s own peculiar ways are neither
universally better nor worse than others - just different and
likely to exhibit strengths and weaknesses, particularly
abroad.
3. Recognize that organization’s foreign subsidiaries may prefer
other ways to manage people – ways that are neither
intrinsically better nor worse, but possibly more effective
locally.
4. Headquarters willingness to acknowledge cultural differences
and steps to make them discussable and therefore usable.
5. Build shared genuine belief that cross-cultural learning will
result in more creative and effective ways of managing
people.
World top ten non-financial
transnational corps., ranked only by
foreign assets
Discussion Questions
1. What are the main similarities and differences
between domestic and international HRM?
2. Define these terms: IHRM, PCN, HCN, and TCN.
3. Discuss two HR activities in which a MNE must
engage that would not be required in a domestic
environment.
4. Why is a greater degree of involvement in
employees’ personal lives inevitable in many
IHRM activities?
5. Discuss at least two of the variables that
moderate differences between domestic and
international HR practices
The end