HRM for MBA Students
Lecture 11
HRM in international companies
Learning outcomes
• An understanding of:
– the different approaches to HRM that may be
possible in multinational companies (MNCs)
– Hofstede’s concept of dimensions of culture
and what these can tell us about managing
people in the interface between national and
organisational culture
– the complexity inherent in selecting, preparing
and supporting personnel for expatriate
assignments
International human resource
management (IHRM)
The process of employing and developing
people in international organisations which
operate … globally
Armstrong (2003)
Approaches to IHRM
•
•
•
•
Ethnocentric
Polycentric
Regiocentric
Geocentric
Perlmutter (1969)
National cultures (Hofstede)
• Basic dimensions of the differences
between national cultures
– Power-distance
– Uncertainty avoidance
– Individualism/collectivism
– Masculinity/femininity (or quantity of life
versus quality of life )
– Long-term versus short-term orientation
•
http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
Trust and leadership (Tayeb)
• Trust
– The level of trust in other people’s good
intentions varies widely between cultures
– Managers will only delegate power to
subordinates whom they trust
• Do they have the required knowledge and
competence to do the task?
• Will they put the company's interests first?
Leadership
• Leadership
– Preference for leadership styles varies across
cultures
• People in cultures which have low tolerance for
ambiguity and risk-taking tend to prefer major
decisions to be taken by their leaders (‘benevolent
autocrats’)
• Those in cultures with a higher tolerance for
ambiguity prefer to participate in decisions
Selecting expatriates
• Personality traits
– Ability to tolerate ambiguity; behavioural flexibility; ability to be
non-judgmental; level of cultural empathy and ethnocentrism
• Interpersonal skills
• Motivational state
– Belief in mission; congruence of assignment with career path;
interest in overseas experience; interest in host-country culture;
willingness to learn new behaviour patterns and attitudes
• Family situation
– Willingness of partner to live overseas; adaptability and
supportiveness of partner; stability of relationship with partner
• Language skills
– Host-country language ability
Expatriate re-entry
• General cultural readjustment
– Feelings of cultural and social loss
– Children may experience difficulties in
readjusting to school
– There may be unexpected financial difficulties
in reverting to domestic salary levels
– All these can result in marital strain
Expatriate re-entry
(Cont.)
• Job readjustment
– Returning expatriates may feel isolated from changes
which have occurred during their foreign assignment
– They may feel that they have fallen behind with new
technology
– They may feel that they have missed promotion
opportunities
– If they enjoyed a higher level of authority and
responsibility while on their foreign assignment, they
may find it difficult to go back to their former role
– All these difficulties mean that many returning
expatriates are vulnerable to feelings of demotivation
and are more likely to accept offers from other
organisations
Criteria for successful expatriate
reintegration
• Returning expatriates should:
– perform at a level and quality expected by their
managers
– exhibit a reasonable level of job satisfaction with the
new position
– be able to use the skills developed during the foreign
assignment
– be able to maintain a career progression comparable
to cohorts who did not go abroad
– remain with the employer for a reasonable period of
time after returning
– avoid dysfunctional levels of stress during re-entry.
Factors for successful
expatriate reintegration
• The similarity of the international and
domestic assignments
• The amount of change in the home
organisation
• The nature and personality of the
expatriate
• The support available to the returning
expatriate
• The career planning system of the
organisation