MNC
E – Commerce Group
SUMMARY OF
JOURNAL
Group Member
1. Ji Wen Wen
104393
2. Rozainah Bt. Zainal Abidin
111877
3. Fatin Nashiah Bt. Salahuddin
113358
4. Nadzirah Bt. Zainal Abidin
113515
5. Faizal Farhan
115236
6. Zeng Xu
122535
7. Xiao Qiao
122584
8. Wu Yang
122578
9. Budi Kurniawan
130833
Submit To
Pn. Nor Balqis Binti Badrolhisham
April, 01, 2010
JOURNAL
1:
COMPENSATION
STRATEGY
IN
TRANSNATIONAL
CORPORATION
Compensation systems have been created to attract and retain employees and motivate
them to increase their effort and output towards the achievement of organizational goals. For
transnational corporations, the use of the expatriate employees is seen to have strategic value,
as expatriate are more likely than local employee to have knowledge of global operations and
identify with corporate objectives, expatriate are means of exerting strategic control and
expatriate assignment provide international expertise to employees.
The purpose of compensation systems and strategy should facilitate the achievemant
of organizational objectives and to be effective must be alignment with the strategic plan and
be cost-effective in terms of input or output ratio that firms can pay it. Compensation should
be correlated with some measure of organizational goal achievement whether it is increased
productivity, profitability, employee retention or any other organizational strategic objective.
The success global corporations are influenced by the quality of their international
employees. Some corporations use a combination of strategies to compensate expatriate and
third country nationals by giving the higest salary by comparison of two or more approaches
like the highest of headqurters, home country, or host country and balance sheet approaches.
There are four approaches that is ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric and geocentric. The
ethnocentric based on complexity organization have complex in home country and simple in
subsidiaries compared to polycentric that have varied and independent compared to
regiocentric that have highly interdependent on a regional basis compared to geocentric that
have increasingly complex and highly interdependent on a worldwide basis. The ethnocentric
based on the authority decision making is high in headquarter compared to the polycentric is
relatively low in headquarters compared to regiocentric is high regional headquarters and or
high collaboration among subsidiaries compared to geocentric is collaboration of
headquarters and subsidiaries around the world. The ethnocentric based on reward and
punishment incentives is high in headquarters and low in subsidiaries compared to
polycentric is wide variation that can be high or low reward for sudsidiary performance
compared to regiocentric that is reward for contribution to regional objectives compared to
geocentric reward to international and local executives for reaching local and worldwide
objectives. The ethnocentric based on the communication information flow is high volume of
orders, commands, advice to subsidiary compared to polycentriclittle to and from
headquatersand little among subsidiary compared to regiocentric that have little to and from
corporate headquaters but may be high to and from regional headquarters and among
countries compared to geocentric that is both ways and among subsidiaries around the world.
The ethnocentric based on geographical identification is nationality of owner compared to
polycentric is nationality of host country compared to regiocentric that is regional company
compared to geocentric is truly worldwide company but identifying with national interests.
The ethnocentric based on perpetuation that apply people of home country developed for key
positions everywhere in the world compared to the polycentric that apply people of local
nationality developed for key positionsin their own country compared to the regiocentric that
is regional people developed for key positions anywhere in region compared to the geocentric
that apply the best people everywhere in the world developed for key positions everywhere in
the world.
Based on the current expatriate compensation strategy there is typical adjustment to
basic salary including assignment premiun or incentive, cost of living allowance, housing
allowance, tax equalization, and long and short terms performance incentives. For the
assignment premiun or incentive that is typically percentage of salary that is paid to the
expatriate to compensate for the inconvenience associated with global assignment and as an
incentive to accept those assignments. For the cost of living allowance that is to compensate
the expatriate for the differential cost of a market bundle of goods. For the housing allowance
that is to reimburse the expatriate for the increased cost of the housing in the foreign location.
For the tax equalization is to make easier for the expatriate in paying the host and home tax
country. For the long and short terms performance incentives is to reward above standard
performance to facilitate the achievement of the organizational objectives both at the
corporate and local level. In additional, other allowance is provided for expatriate such as
accruing directly to the expatriate, dual carreer couples, irrespective of marital status, present
additional issues and futher expenses for the firms. There are weaknesses of current
expatriate compensation strategy are the bereaucracy associated with transnational because
many multinational corporation do not take into account local market conditions in attempt to
globalize, the current expatriate compensation system does not meet the basic purpose that is
do not facilitate attracting, retaining and motivating the employees into international services,
the cost to expatriate the employees become more higher in time being, there is also
discriminate against the third country nationals and almost always discriminate against local
or host country nationals, overcompensation in terms of balance sheet allowance adds
unnecessary costs to the firm’s compensation budget and discourages the mobility of those
being overcompensated.
For the proposal for alternative strategies suggest that traditional approach to
compensating expatriate employees may be stale, expensive and does not meet the basic
requirement of an effective compensation strategy because it usually does not facilitate the
accomplishment of the organizational goals, nor does it attract and retain the best and
brightest employees. The balance sheets that have been developed were more likely to
constitute high-risk assignment. The paradigm shift from the concept of expatriate
compensation to the concept transpatriate compensation is needed. The transpatriate is an
employee of a corporation who is not stationed in the headquarter country of the corporation.
A transpatriate may be citizen or the home country or of another, including the host country.
Transpatriate also include those employee formerly labelled as expatriate, third country
nationals, and may be even include host country nationals. The concept of transpatriate is a
necessary paradigm shift associate with the movement to transnational corporationand is in
alignment with increasing the globalization of markets and operations. A transpatriate is a
citizen of the world and accept foreign assignment as a normal course of career development.
In fact, transpatriate may spend most of their careers in assignment in countries other than
that of their citizenship or of the headquarters country of their employer. The corporate
movement to transnationalism is a purposeful business strategy being pursued by many firms.
But, research indicates that human resource management strategies are lagging significantly
behind the corporate strategic plans which include compensation strategy that must be
brought into alignment to facilitate this movement toward a transnational position and the
associate strategic goals. The pressures of the globalization are increasingly encouraging
businesses to adopt a global mind-set that not only reacting to and matching local conditions
companies with a global perspective shift to finding how they can best use compensation and
rewards to compete on a worldwide basis. This paradigm shift requires the creation of a new
strategy with respect to compensation, one that includes both a linkage to compensation
levels of the host country and possibly to that of a larger global transpatriate compensation
structure with a primary emphasis on the local wage market. The strategy must be one that
cost-effectively attract and retains the best and the brightest into transpatriate careers in order
to facilitate the achievement of transnational organizational objectives. For those that are less
attractive, a global transpatriate market rate might have to be applied. The reason for this is
the expectation among transpatriate that a successful career requires mobility into multiple
positions in multiple locations with differential compensation rates. With a switch to the
transpatriate paradigm, the emphasis for the employee turns to getting the correct boxes
checked in a global rather than national environment. As the concept of transpatriate
compensation is implemented, the strategies discussed in the case study, coalesce into a
single strategy. Effectively, the compensation based on host country rates and the appropriate
compensation based on a global transpatriate market rate becomes the same amount.
The implication of futher research, compensation must support and facilitate the
achievement of organizational goals. This could be more effective by doing investigating the
relationsip of the of a firm’s compensation strategy with respect to its overseas employees
and certain outcomes. There are four important linkages between compensation strategy and
the organizational goals. The first ares of interest is that of the impact of the compensation
strategy on those most directly affected. Second is a globalized, largely host country,
compensation system impact on compensation cost for employees who posted in foreign
country. Third is a relationship between an organization’s compensation strategy and the
achievement of organizational strategic goals. Finally are differences in organizational
performance linked to their compensation strategy and overall is cultural perspective with
respect to the employees assigned to foreign posts study.
As the conclusion, from multinational to transnational there should be include
appropriate changes in culture and strategic thinking. The overall strategic direction of the
corporation must be alignment with the plans at corporate, business unit and the functional
departments. The human resource is critical aspect to change parallel with the strategic
direction include compensation of those employees who are working in foreign assignment
and suggested to rethinking of the concept of expatriate employment and a paradigm shift to
the concept of transpatriate employment and employees. The transpatriate must be
understood the culture and strategic goals of the transnational corporation.
JOURNAL 2: THE COMPLEXITIES OF EXPATRIATE ADAPTATION
The process of cross-cultural adaptation is complex because of its internal and
external dynamics and, the number of relevant variables. As the writer wrote at his journal,
there are a lot of researchers wrote something about cross-culture. In 1908, Georg Simmel
wrote a classic essay which part of it has been analyzed the dynamics of cross-cultural
adaptation, and defined adaptation as a degree which is fit between individuals and
environment. He also stated adaptation as something we can imagine as three different types:
behaviors, cognitions and emotions. As a generally, adaptation looks like the process as a one
that follows a U-curve.
History of the U-curve
First of all you need to know two things before you know directly what they call Ucurve. First you have to know U-shaped which adjustment process in a study of Norwegian
Fulbright grantees spending time in the United States. To be able to access people that you
are new to them, you need to think very well about their culture and behavior, then after
awhile of been new to the will be able to understand them. The second thing you need to
know is “cultural Shock” which is the second stage of adaptation process. Normally six
month or more than that will make you to feel comfortable to that environment. Lysgaard
found the U-curve of adaptation by dividing the time been stayed somewhere that you were
new to it: starting from six months, from six to eighteen month, eighteen month and above.
Complexity as a new paradigm
Traditional researches assume that everything is imaginable as long as you have
information. An exact imagination of something could be impossible. In the 1960s, many
fields advanced or less, but now looks absolutely different with the way it was that time.
What are “chaos” and “complexity”?
Chaos is the antithesis of linearity and stability. The later imagination in principle, the
former is not. The history of a non-chaotic system provides the information to exactly
imagine its future looks. The history of a chaotic system does not, but it may provide some
information about future looks. This is one of the areas where chaos theory may provide a
key to coping better with chaotic systems.
Complexity come into two types: combinatorial and dynamic. Combinatorial
complexity causes number of possibilities encountered. Dynamic complexity comes from
feedback the number of loops.
Chaos and complexity theory depends on a number of key concepts, some of which
have had their place in science for a long time, such as irreversibility. Others, such as the
“strange attractor” or “border through fluctuations,” are new and specific to chaos and
complexity theory.
Key concepts of chaos and complexity theory
Irreversibility
Chaotic systems, as definition, never reach the exact same point again. That is means
any change system’s style, will cause to come out with new different way of looking.
Irreversibility is a feature dictated by the second law of thermodynamics, which states
that the universe and any isolated system within moves towards increasing randomness and
disorder, i.e. it increases in entropy.
Sensitivity to initial conditions and the “butterfly effect”
Sensitivity to initial conditions means that a very small variation in the starting point
may lead to a significant change in overall development. A very small variation in initial
language skills of an expatriate may lead to differences in how local relationships develop,
ultimately leading to a large difference in overall effectiveness.
So any point of system’s history could become a new starting point for analysis in
order to study how the small change will affects in the system’s future. In a chaotic system a
minute change may lead to completely unimaginable large-scale consequences.
Strange attractor
Non-chaotic systems converge on a predictable pattern. Equilibrium behaves as an
attractor for non-equilibrium states in a closed system. For cross-cultural adaptation the
question arises whether it might be possible to define a strange attractor, perhaps not a curve
but a space that circumscribes adaptation outcomes. Though this would not allow
predictability of individual adaptation paths, it might lead to a better understanding of the
dynamics of adaptation.
Order through fluctuations
Becoming systems behave differently than systems of simple equations. They have
mechanisms to renew themselves and to control the renewal process in a way that preserves
theirmeta-structural integrity; they are autopoietic.
What does chaos and complexity theory have to contribute to social science?
In the past few years, the social scientists started to look after the chaos theory for
their help of making sense of complexity theory that they study and finally they make sure
themselves to the fact that their subject matter in inherently unimaginable.
There are two types to use of chaos theory in social science. The first type, there are
mathematically focused applications such as those represented in the volume used chaos
theory to explore long-term economic dynamics. The second type may face the risk of
blurring the issues that always exists when metaphors and analogies are applied.
What can a complexity view add to the understanding and management of adaptation?
The clearest point is that linear relationships and strict predictability are not an option.
In order to develop additional points, I shall first try to capture existing knowledge about
expatriate adaptation in terms of chaos and complexity theory. Second, I shall discuss what
guidance this gives for research and, finally, what advice for practitioners may result from
this.
Bifurcation
Adaptation skills of the people have to be having to be match with what they believe
to those who is not living their home to be success. Each additional challenge could be
viewed as adding a positive feedback loop increasing the overall difficulty of adaptation.
Personal skills and characteristics as well as some of your social contact will be combined as
an environment challenge.
Sensitivity to initial conditions and the “butterfly effect”
The recognition of sensitivity to initial conditions as important is reflected by the
sheer number of studies dealing with their impact. This is and has been the key focus for
researchers and managers of expatriates. Most efforts are concentrated on the period before
departure and immediately after arrival abroad. In a way, expatriates are seen as selfcontained systems that, once set up, function on their own.
Order through fluctuations
This concept has many potential applications for adaptation research as well as
management in general. The main thrust of adaptation research goes towards stable
adaptation and performance. Internal fluctuations are seen as noise that needs to be
minimized and not as an essential ingredient in the meta-stability of living entities. External
fluctuations, likewise, are regarded as a problem: one that needs to be managed, proactively
to one’s advantage if possible, but is something to cope with rather than something that has
the potential to be positive just as often as it is negative.
A way forward?
Adaptation trajectory at any time. The cumulative effect of unfavorable interactions
may lead to radical changes that come as a surprise for most bystanders. Clearly, much more
investigation is necessary to develop a consistent complexity-oriented view of adaptation.
Research implications
The earlier overview of adaptation research showed an abundance of studies trying to
categorize and assess the influence of initial conditions and to find ways to “stack the deck”
in favor of successful adaptation.
Do action research
Most research on expatriate adaptation uses a traditional approach that strictly
separates the researcher as the uninvolved collector of data from the research subjects as the
ones who provide the data. The goal is prediction. A whole literature exists in the social
sciences those points out the weaknesses of this research paradigm, which is based on the
natural sciences.
Create “sensing” tools
In recognition of the need for active intervention by researchers, there is a need for the
development of “sensors” that allow quick assessment of adaptation states, for example a
short questionnaire to assess the current state of adaptation that can be administered via the
internet. Such tools can provide comparison points for simulation studies and, further down
the line, perhaps help to detect intervention points and support research on intervention
effectiveness.
Develop simulation models
Expatriate adaptation research has identified scores of variables that influence the
process. A sophisticated simulation model might help in discovering a strange attractor of
adaptation. It may also help in planning the preparation and support of expatriates.
Apply a mixture of hard and soft complexity-based research
A final issue is whether adaptation research should follow the quantitativemathematical or the qualitative-metaphorical route when applying chaos and complexity
concepts. Based on the current state of empirical adaptation research and the data sets
discussed in the literature it seems that simulation studies and the metaphorical approach are
the ones open at present.
Chaos and complexity concepts have something to contribute to cross-cultural
adaptation research, though the final test of usefulness is whether there are real-life benefits
to be derived.
Implications for management practice
The most important implication is that support should be provided well into the
assignment. Both the notion of bifurcation and the idea of a butterfly effect support such a
conclusion. The concept of sensitivity to initial conditions confirms the relevance of
expatriate selection and preparation. But active management must not stop there. Gibran’s
arrow metaphor must yield to one that draws attention to the importance of continued
monitoring and engagement.
The more important an assignment of the first kind is the more support should be
available to deal with arising problems as early as possible. In the end, the whole process
should be guided by the idea of a dynamic sharing of responsibility for the duration of the
assignment, where the weight is distributed according to the purpose of the assignment.
Conclusion
The author did say that the current approaches need to replace by chaos and
complexity theory, but he suggested extending the current theories by another theories.
JOURNAL 3: INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS
Since most literature on international performance appraisal is derived from Western
MNCs, it is questionable whether the Western theories are equally powerful when applied to
other national contexts. This study develops the Chinese international performance appraisal
model by exploring performance appraisal policies and practices and the associated factors in
Chinese MNCs. It reveals that Chinese MNCs adopt different approaches towards different
groups, particularly different nationalities and managerial status. The Chinese international
performance appraisals are a mix of home and local appraisal systems, and a mix of
traditional Chinese personnel management and modern Western HRM concepts. Moreover,
Chinese international performance appraisal policies and practices are affected by various
host-contextual and firm-specific factors, and there is also an interplay between international
performance and other international human resource management activities.
Performance Appraisal Rating Factors
Adaptability Efficiency with which employee works under stress and responds
to change.

Receptive to change/new ideas

Shows poise and/or courtesy in tough situations

Demonstrates ability to modify behavioral style and approach to goal

Assertiveness/Motivation

Degree to which the employee pursues goals with commitment and takes pride in
accomplishment

Takes initiative eagerly

Demonstrates orientation to achieve results

Behavior reflects a desire to excel on the job

Works steadily and actively

Demonstrates self-confidence and positive attitude towards self and others

Attendance
The extent to which the employee can be depended upon to be available for work and to
fulfill position responsibilities.

Reports to work on time

Communicates schedule changes promptly to supervisor

Maintains regular attendance

Communication
The extent to which the employee effectively listens, conveys and receives ideas, information
and direction.

Seeks to clarify and confirm the accuracy of their understanding of unfamiliar or vague
terms and instructions

Makes oral and written communication clear and easy to understand

Assesses and takes steps to improve ability to communicate (written and verbal) so ideas
and consultations are conveyed with precision and efficiency

Creativity
Extent to which employee generates workable and innovative ideas, concepts and techniques.

Attempts to simplify and/or improve procedures and techniques

Initiates new and creative ideas or procedures to enhance the department or organization

Looks for new solutions to old problems

Customer

Focus
The degree to which the employee takes the initiative to meet internal and external customer
needs in a timely and courteous manner.

Examines customer requests to properly identify and resolve customer concerns

Supports customer service efforts through program design, implementation, recovery and
follow-up

The globalization of business is making it more important than ever to understand how
multinational enterprises (MNEs) can operate more effectively. A major component of this
understanding appears to be the field of human resource management, and in particular, the
field of international human resource management (Brewster, 1991; Hendry, 1992; Desatnick
& Bennett, 1978; Dowling, 1986; Dowling & Schuler, 1990; Evans, 1986; Laurent, 1986;
Tung, 1984). The trend over the past few years has been to identify the linkage of human
resource management with strategy and offer an understanding of how single country or
domestic human resource management can facilitate organizational understanding and
effectiveness (Wright and McMhan, 1992). In this article we attempt to extend this line of
work into the international arena. We do this by offering a framework of strategic
international human resource management (SIHRM). Anchoring SIHRM in the strategic
components of MNEs, namely their interunit linkages and internal operations, strategic
aspects of international human resource management are described, Using several theoretical
bases, numerous propositions are offered. These propositions reflect the single and multiple
influence of the strategic components of MNEs and several exogenous and endogenous
factors on SIHR. The intention is to offer a framework that can serve both academics and
practitioners in furthering our understanding of strategic international human resource
management.
CONCLUSION:
This article briefly interpreted about the international performance appraisal through
literature review which associated with international human resource management. The
article yet attaches with the IHRM practise in chinese contexts. And the article states that
performance appraisal also include economic,political and social organization factors.
It should be cautious that the degree of the effect of intervening factors and other IHRM
activities on international performance appraisal may vary to other national contexts.
JOURNAL 4: A CONTINGENCY MODEL TO PROMOTE THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF EXPATRIATE TRAINING
In recent years, the training of expatriates has been recognized as one of the key
elements for the success of business globalization. It is suggested that international
management experience and competence are required for firms to manage overseas
marketplaces. Expatriates play central roles as controllers, coordinators and knowledge
transfers within multinational and global firms. However, there is a lack of competent
expatriates within companies. Thus, training becomes an important way to promote the
competence of expatriates. While the issue of training and development of employees for
domestic firms has been widely discussed, the evaluation of the effectiveness of training and
development for overseas expatriates has remained largely ignored.
Furthermore, according to the contingency theory of human resource training, the fit
between teaching (training) and learning is critical to achieving better expatriate training
effectiveness, including satisfaction, commitment, and involvement of expatriates in work
places.
Finally, although the training of expatriates has been regarded as one of the key
elements for the success of business globalization, few studies have focused on the
interrelationships among expatriate competence, training mode, learning style, and expatriate
training on the effectiveness of expatriate training.
As mentioned above, the first purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive
model that encompassed the relationships among expatriate characteristics, complexity of
expatriate task assignment, perceived cross-cultural differences, expatriate training, and
expatriate training effectiveness. The second purpose of this study was to evaluate the
influences of the contingency fit between learning styles and teaching methods on the
relationships between expatriate training and training effectiveness.
A competence perspective of expatriate training: The selection of expatriates has long
been a focus of MNC human resource management. Early studies attempted to identify
personal characteristics of expatriates as the selection criteria for their overseas assignment
ten selection criteria were key for expatriates:
(1) Ability to adapt;
(2) Technical competence;
(3) Spouse and family adaptability;
(4) Human relations skill;
(5) Desire to serve overseas;
(6) Previous overseas experience;
(7) Understanding of host country culture;
(8) Academic qualifications;
(9) Knowledge of language of the host country;
(10) Understanding of home country culture.
Further studies have identified the following personality characteristics as key criteria for the
selection of expatriates:

extroversion;

agreeableness;

conscientiousness;

emotional stability;

Openness and intellect.
A task perspective of expatriate training: The relationships between characteristics of
expatriate assignments and the needs of expatriate training are major concerns in the training
literature. Thus, overseas assignments always required managers to adopt a broader range of
management skills:

The fit between expatriate and other job associates, the degree of homogeneity
between the foreign subsidiary and Parent Corporation may be important. The more
similar the composition and functioning of the foreign to the parent, the more positive
the expatriate’s attitudes are likely to be.
A culture perspective of expatriate training: Harvey and Novicevic (2001) suggested that
effective expatriates should be able to capture the dynamic environment of the host country
and to integrate the tacit knowledge of the host company. Thus, the training of expatriates
before their departure was essential.
Learning style and teaching modes as moderators of training performance: Learning
style consisted of how information was processed, as well as how it was perceived. Learning
is the acquisition of knowledge. In Chinese culture, learning is defined as “studying as well
as practicing constantly.” For a business manager or trainer, an understanding of the learning
process was one of the most important issues for management or training. Understanding the
learning style of employees could help trainers to deliver appropriate and effective learning
materials.
It is thus evident that the learning style of expatriates can be a very important variable in the
delivery of training, and this should be addressed in their training. Learning style analysis has
become a critical element in the expatriate training process. The analysis of the learning
styles of the expatriates is useful in identifying what kinds of training modes should be
offered before and after their departure. To enhance the effectiveness of training, trainers
should deliver materials in particular teaching modes to fit the interests of the various
learning style of the learners.
It was suggested that three major factors, including the characteristics of expatriates, the task
assignment of expatriates, and the perceived cross-cultural differences between host country
and home country, could impact the perceived need for expatriate training.
Participation: The data were collected over a three month period from mid-October 2004 to
mid-January 2005. A systematic sampling method was adopted to select the survey samples.
About 200 expatriates from 2,010 foreign firms in Taiwan, and another 200 expatriates from
5,870 foreign firms in China were identified.
Instrumentation: Survey questionnaire items were designed based on the review of the
literature and the purpose of this study.
The influences of expatriate characteristics and the task assignment on perceived need
for expatriate training: Since, the dependent variables (perceived need for expatriate
training) consisted of three dimensions: need for communication related training (DF1), need
for cultural related training (DF2), and need for job related training (DF3), this study created
a composite score for the need for expatriate training (DF = DF1 t DF2 t DF3).
The influences of cross-cultural differences on the perceived need for expatriate
training. Moderating effects of learning and teaching on training effectiveness. Many
academics and practitioners have recognized the importance of training to increase the
capability and adaptability of expatriates in their work in overseas marketplaces. Further
studies have reported that learning styles and cross-cultural differences could moderate the
effectiveness of expatriation training. However, empirical validations of these research issues
have been limited. The results of this study revealed that expatriates’ perceived need for
expatriation training were significantly and negatively related to their characteristics,
including personal competence and adaptability. Expatriates’ perceived need for expatriation
training was significantly and positively related to the complexity of the task assignment and
capability of host country managers. The moderating effects of the fit between learning style
and teaching modes on expatriate training effectiveness were also viable. However, since the
selected samples were limited to expatriates in Taiwan and in China, the ability to generalize
to an entire population is severely limited.
JOURNAL 5: Where Do American Women Face Their Biggest Obstacle to Expatriate
Career Success? Back In their Own Backyard
From the abstract we know the purpose of this study is Businesses today increasingly
are recognizing the need for expanding their strategic planning horizons to include the global
market. Key to success will be their ability to mobilize and utilize their human resource talent
to the fullest extent in formulating and implementing new global business strategies. This
imperative is particularly true because the number of skilled, educated workers in many labor
markets, particularly in developed countries, is decreasing at the same time that the demand
for them increases. Such a phenomenon has several implications for multinational
corporations (MNCs) that need to recruit the most qualified managers to effectively compete
on a global scale.
First, while the demand for US expatriate managers continues to increase with the
globalization of industries in the 90’s, social changes such as the increase in dual-career and
single-parent families make it more difficult for employees to accept overseas assignments.
Accordingly, to deal with the decreasing supply of well-educated and skilled employees,
MNCs need to broaden their recruitment areas by hiring people from outside their traditional
labor pool.
Second, from the perspective of talent maximization, organizations cannot afford the
opportunity cost of limiting their pool of talented human resources by excluding particular
groups of employees due to personal characteristics, such as gender and ethnic background,
which may be shown to be irrelevant to job performance success in the global marketplace.
Furthermore, with an increasing premium being placed on previous foreign business
experience in considering employees for advancement and executive promotion, individuals
who are unfairly denied these important career enhancing foreign business opportunities may
begin to seek legal redress at an increasing rate. This specter of litigation represents an
additional and unnecessary cost to organizations as they attempt to survive in an intensely
competitive global marketplace.
The most commonly cited reasons for selecting males over females for international
assignment have included:
(1) The presence of heavy cultural restrictions on the role of women in business in the
international setting,
(2) The predominance of males in international business interactions,
(3) Greater qualifications of males for international assignment, and
(4) The relative inability of females to adapt to the challenging requirements of foreign
assignments, and in particular the greater vulnerability of females to the aggressive nature of
the foreign business assignment dominated by males.
In a nutshell, these reasons imply that women not only have to overcome a gender
disadvantage, but they also have to deal with the status as foreigners. However, recent field
research involving interviews of Western women in expatriate assignments located in several
different foreign countries purports that, contrary to common but unfounded perceptions
about female expatriates, these women often have great success in performing their foreign
assignments. In many cases they may even hold distinct advantages over their male
counterparts.
Another important reason for the reportedly high success rate of female expatriates is
that in actuality they are not necessarily subject to the traditional gender-based restrictions in
business interactions and involvement that are prescribed by the predominant culture of the
host country or business region. Qualitative field studies involving interviews with women in
different foreign assignments, including countries such as Japan where considerable male
dominance exists in business circle, have failed to identify culturally-driven obstacles to their
international business success that would support a preference of males over females.
Nevertheless, Western female expatriates have frequently indicated that the biggest
obstacle that they faced in their expatriate career lies in the initial low performance
expectations held by their home country managers at company headquarters. These managers
are often skeptical of the likelihood of success of female candidates, and thus very reluctant
to select them for foreign assignment.
As I mention above, and based on the above field evidence, it was predicted in this
study that the actual international business environment would be more favorable to female
expatriates than what would be suggested by the perceptions of managers from their own
home country. As suggested before, foreign businessperson perceptions, in this case German
and Mexican, could be used to represent the actual degree of favorability of the general
German and Mexican business environments to female American expatriates, and which can
be compared with the corresponding perceptions held by American managers. Evidence of a
groundless selection bias would be found where American manager perceptions about the
probability of female American expatriate successes are less favorable than actually exists in
foreign business environments. Specifically, based on the above female expatriate field
evidence, the following two hypotheses were posed for this study:
 H1: Business managers in the assigned countries would not hold American women to
their own countries’ culturally-driven norms and expectations that restrict female
involvement in business interactions.
 H2: American managers at corporate headquarters tend to hold lower expectations
about the potential career success of American female expatriates in overseas
assignments than do business managers in the assigned countries.
A survey assessing perceptions about the effectiveness of female American managers
in foreign assignments was given to three different groups of business managers in the U.S.,
Mexico, and Germany. The US sample came from managers in the Western states. The
survey forms were distributed both through direct contact with individual managers and with
company representatives who disseminated the surveys within their companies. The
companies and businesspersons were contacted in the course of our professional business
travel, and through our networks of business contacts, both domestic and abroad. Although
our sample was not achieved through a purely random sampling process, we achieved an
equivalent broad representation of industries and company sizes within each country in our
overall sample.
Several practical implications can be drawn from our research results:
First, as these research findings corroborate the reported unfounded bias against
American females as expatriate candidates, a more impartial selection process needs to be
established to effectively mobilize scarce talented human resources for the global market. Of
course, apart from the detection of significant differences in their perceptions among the three
sample groups, the overall level of mean scores below the neutral point of 4 suggests that
American managers in general, whether male or female, are receptive to prospect of
American female expatiates. Accordingly, American firms are expected to increase the use of
female managers for their overseas operations as they develop into transnational firms
characterized by highly integrated, worldwide operations with diverse workforces.
Nevertheless, relatively speaking, our American managers tend to reflect a less favorable
perception about American female expatriate viability compared to their foreign counterparts,
and American firms would be wise to do as much as possible to root out unwarranted and
unjustified perceptions that can impede effectiveness in global workforce deployment.
Second, as the existing literature emphasizes flexibility and cultural empathy as
among the major success-linked attributes for evaluating expatriate candidates, female
managers seem to be more prone to have those characteristics. However, surprisingly, the
current study recognized a significant difference between US and German respondents in
perceptions of American females’ ability to adjust to different cultural environments. As
indicated by the mean scores on item 4, US respondents’ perceptions about the adaptability of
female American managers were much less favorable than those of the German
businesspersons.
Third, with greater favorability toward American female expatriates being expressed
by American female managers, we note yet another possible manifestation of a glass ceiling
effect detrimental to female career opportunity and development. Organizations that are more
successful in promoting women to managerial ranks where expatriate assignment decisions
are made will likely have less female expatriate selection bias.
Fourth, MNCs need to provide more comprehensive support to facilitate the entry of
more women into the ranks of expatriate managers. The first step is to realize that foreign
business environments are much more receptive to American female expatriates than is
generally supposed by American managers at company headquarters. American managers
need to recognize that their likely well-intended but unfounded perceptions of female
expatriates represent likely the biggest obstacle to more effective human resource utilization.
Of course, MNCs also will need to invest in other supportive efforts such as childcare,
parental leave, and other benefit programs. In addition, given the increased number of dual
career couples, MNCs will have to render services to spouses of deployed female managers
to help them find jobs overseas.
Finally, to help counter an unfounded selection bias provider of international business
and management education should enhance their effectiveness by supplying more current and
valid information, as well as direct and vicarious international business experience in the
educational process. Those of us in academia are sometimes guilty of teaching and
perpetuating inaccuracies and stereotypes in management and business education.