WHAT ORGANIZATION DO TO SUPPORT SUCCESSFUL RECRUITMENT, SELECTION DEPLOYMENT AND RETENTION OF STAFF SENT OVERSEA
Table of Contents
Expatriate Support and Cross-Culture adjustment 3
Organizational Support Theory. 5
The U-curve adjustment Framework. 5
Hofstede’s Culture Dimensions. 6
3.0 Integration of Theory and Practice. 7
Selecting Expatriates for Oversea Assignment 8
Pre-assignment Training and Orientation. 9
Including the Whole family. 10
Introduction
Today, companies are challenged to expand their business internationally. For this reason, there is an increased need to employs staff to handle the oversea assignments. Some organizations in the international arena fail to offer the appropriate support to the expatriates. Employing expertise for oversea assignments can be a promising way to take advantage of the global economy. However, these assignments can be expensive, and therefore the organization should do everything possible to support personnel to optimize the potential benefits (Nas, 2011). There has been increased pressure to attract and retain expertise at a global level. Although going on an oversea assignment can be the desire of an employee, it can also be a stressful journey that need support to adjust. The organization should not only focus not only on the physical movement but also on the overall process from recruitment, selection, deployment, and retention of the employee. The success of an oversea assignment depends on many different factors. This paper aims to explore things an organization can do to support staff sent on oversea assignments by critically evaluating previous literature and theories. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
This paper will have four sections. The first section will cover the introduction of the topic on international management regarding oversee assignment. The second section discusses the theoretical framework of international human resource management practices based on previous researches comments. This section will also consider theoretical developments and highlight primary debates to bring a clear understanding of how an organization can ensure the success of staff on oversea assignment. The third part of the paper will discuss the integration of theories and practices built on the foundation of reviewed literature in section two. In this second section, the paper will present a critical analysis of practices by organizations to support expatriates. Finally, the last part offers a summary of the major points covered by the essay.
2.0 Analytical Framework
Expatriate Support and Cross-Culture adjustment
An organization needs to provide various forms of support to staff assigned oversea assignment. Black (1988) developed a cross-culture adjustment framework developed, which included dimensions such as general adjustment, work, and interaction adjustment. According to him, general adjustment is related to factors like living conditions, facilities, and transport. Interaction adjustment associates to level socialization with the host nation while work of comfort of the employee with factors related to work. Bhaskar-Shrinivas, et al. (2005) meta-analysis stated that at more than 51 studies have applied the Black’s framework as their conceptual baseline. Expatriate adjustment in the host country has, in many cases, been regarded as an effort for them to make the immediate surrounding more predictable. According to Shaffer et al. (2006), if an expatriate is unable to adjust well to the new surrounding could result to withdrawal symptoms which could threaten the new staff oversea assignment leading to poor performance.
The organization should provide support to reduce the problem of relocation and entry problems of expatriates together with their families. Previous research by Caligiuri et al. (2001) identified selection and training as an area that requires more support practice by an organization. Other researchers Haslberger and Brewster (2009) identified a career, logistic, and repatriation as more areas for support. A comprehensive support package can also effectively ensure a psychological connection of the organization and the employees creating a strong commitment by the expatriate towards the assignment as a result.
Evidence from Solomon (1995) suggests that the failure of an expatriate is mostly because of the firm overemphasis on selection on bases technical skills rather than cross-culture competence. Sensitivity to culture is likely to influence a significant part of expatriate adjustment and performance. However, there are research studies that have included a cross-culture element of cross-culture adjustment. There are various literature with highlights of the critical role an organization play in preparing staff sent for oversea assignment. Most multinational organizations underestimate the critical role human resource play concerning the selection and training of staff for an oversea task (Deresky, 2017). The expatriate may stereotype the culture of the host nation with their own experience in case accurate information is not offered to them. According to Reiche, Kraimer, and Harzing (2011), how an expatriate perceives the supportive practice of the organization has been associated with positive adjustment in the host nation.
Organization support has a significant influence on the success of staff on an oversea assignment. Staffs assigned for oversea assignments encounter diverse economic, legal, and cultural working environments. Cultural factor has a significant impact on a multinational organization (Miroshnik, 2002). A study by Okpara (2016) revealed that most expatriates fail at oversea assignments because they have difficulties coping with external cultural factors. Although different scholarly materials have given a different explanation for the concept of culture, Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov (2010) defined it as a design of mind that differentiates a group of people from one another. The inclusion of cross-culture concept in the management of an organization is essential to the effectiveness of staff in an oversea assignment. This would help the organization place the expatriate in a country they are most compatible.
Organizational Support Theory
In 1986, Eisenberger and colleagues came up with an organizational support theory drawn on the concept of Perceived Organizational theory, which is one of the commonly cited for the relationship between employee and organization (Eisenberger at el, 2001). The theory refers to perceptions of the level to which staff is appreciated, and their wellbeing is taken care of. Previous studies focused mainly on organizational support in totality, but later studies have focused on a broader view of corporate support (Takeuchi et al., 2009). According to the theory, human beings tend to associate an organization with human-like traits.
Eisenberger et al. (2001) defined perceived organizational support (POS) as global employees’ belief that the organization values their contribution. This then implies that POS is not concerned with the actual support offered by an organization to the employees, but only the perception of it. A study done by Okpara (2016) pointed out that the perception of an expatriate of the support they get from the organization are of more value than the actual existence of any support practice when looking at career support outcome. Research by Montes et al. indicated a strong relationship between supportive leadership practices encourages teamwork cohesion.
The U-curve adjustment Framework
This is a framework that gives a phase that an expatriate passes through while adjusting to the host country. The employee goes through a continuous U-shaped process with stages like a honeymoon period, culture shock, attempt adjustment, and lastly, the mastery period. For instance, the honeymoon period everything is new and exciting to the expatriate just at it would be to a tourist. As the assignment continues, the cultural shock stage intervenes. This stage requires an adequate coping response. The expatriate start experiencing the difference between what he/she was used to back home and what is new in the host country. The individual should develop his/her culture intelligence and learn or fail to adapt. According to Thomas and Inkson (2009), individuals who become accustomed to the culture of the host country can move finally to the mastery stage. The U shape theory is essential to show that expatriate has different experience at different stages with the oversea assignment.
Hofstede’s Culture Dimensions
Early researchers like Hofstede (2011) tried to point out that, indeed, culture influences organizations and international management studies. This is a framework used to understand the difference in culture across countries and find out how business is carried out across different cultures. Previous research has tried to provide a clear picture of culture by looking at it in different dimensions. The various dimensions represent separate preferences for state of affairs over another, which differentiate countries from one another. However, no dimension option is perceived as the most desirable. Lowe (2001) stated that the idea of culture as used in many research is founded on the principles of supremacy of unrealism and objectivity of macro-comparative analysis. For instance, when talking about the west, it is mostly with awareness of the physical location. Critical cross-culture researcher, Jackson (2014), acknowledged that there is a broader imbalance of pore wherein these interactions come up rather than focusing on emic and etic perspective.
Researcher Fisher and Härtel (2003) adopted De Cier and Dowling’s (1998) framework that offers a description of how international management of human resources should be undertaken. They believed factors outside the organization influence the effectiveness of an employee’s attitude. They applied the framework to examine the intercultural effectiveness of western expatriates operating in Thailand. The results of their study indicated that western culture and western managers were very different from the culture and manager in Thailand.
Mentoring Expatriates
Mentoring of expatriates has become popular both in practice and in research. In the international setting, mentoring should be given more attention since it has a significant contribution to the retention of staff assigned in oversea assignment. According to Downes, Thomas, and Singley (2002), mentoring programs can offer support to expatriates as they undergo stress and anxiety brought about from being away from their home country. Moreover, mentoring can assist in developing an employee’s ability to direct a different diverse workforce and interact successfully with foreign culture.
3.0 Integration of Theory and Practice
Expatriate Support
The social exchange theory suggests that employees’ commitment and contribution of employees to the organization is influenced by the perception they have toward the organization’s commitment to them. The employees view benefits and rewards provided by the firm as a form of such obligations. In the context of expatriates, comprehensive support is seen as such commitment (Guzzo, Noonan, and Elron, 1994). Implementation of international support suggests an essential commitment of an organization to the staff assigned an oversea assignment with would reciprocate by them showing more commitment to the organization. Provision of support by the organization not only minimizes the problem and employee is likely to encounter in the host country but also influence them to work hard on the assignment.
Social Cognitive Theory
This theory shows that learning is a process that is influenced by observational and experience (Wood and Bandura, 1989). In applying the principles of this theory to expatriates cross-culture training, the staff observe both appropriate and inappropriate behavior of the host Country. The expatriates can base their practice by observing behavior in a structured environment. Thus, they would have the skills necessary appropriately interaction in the host country. Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between human behavior and the surrounding environment.
Environment
Person Behavior
(Including cognition) (Focal behavior)
Figure 1. Model of social cognitive theory adapted from Bandura (1986).
In many ways, expatriates have benefited from extensive theoretical attention given the various theory development in international assignment literature. One of the ways in which theoretical integration can be achieved is to explicitly test the boundary condition of a specific theory and conceptualize under which settings alternative theoretical arguments may hold. Institutional approaches conceptualize organization are under pressure to line with institutionalized belief about culture (Senge, 2013)
An oversea assignment has a complicated factor to consider and, therefore, the recruitment process. According to Thoo and Kaliannan (2013), selecting an expatriate has high performance at assignments in their home country. Relocation to a foreign country with a peculiar culture and is not an easy decision. It is, therefore, important for an organization to consider training requirements before the selected staff is sent on an oversea assignment.
An organization should offer pre-assignment training and orientation to staff to enhance their performance and cross-culture adjustment skills. Training involves changing the behavior and attitude of the employee to increase the chances of attaining the goals of the assignment. It is always a concern wheatear the skills and capability of the assigned staff will handle the task (Abdullah and Jin, 2015).
Selecting Expatriates for Oversea Assignment
The selection of the right staff is an essential step for an organization to ensure that they get the right person for the assignment. Morley and Flynn (2003), the study suggested that poor selection contributes to the failure of an expatriate in the form of premature re-entry or underperformance on the assignment. There is a need for more emphasis on technical skills and cross-culture skills (Harvey et al., 2012). A wholesome selection should consider factors such as personal competence language and cross-culture for the expatriates and their families. Both theoretical and practices suggest that in the stage, it is vital for the organization to give information to assist a candidate in making realistic decisions on whether the assignment is right for them.
Many empirical studies have indicated technical competency and personality as primary criteria considered by most organizations in the selection of staff (.Sparrow, Brewster & Harris, 2004). A research by Sameer and Vrinda (2011) stated out that 78 percent of expatriate had not undertaken any selection test, 12 percent said they had a test on cultural-related knowledge in the host country while it was only 5 percent of the correspondent who had undergone aptitude test. Most international human resource management practitioner recommends organization to establish a selection body consisting of top managers and supervisors who have worked closely with the expatriate. According to Liu and Lee (2009), managers and supervisors are more likely to detect any potential problem because they are familiar with the expatriate concerned.
As discussed in the analytical framework, there are multidimensional challenges faced by expatriates while at an oversea assignment. Internal factors such as personal psychographics and external support factors determine the success of an expatriate in handling oversea assignment. An organization should create a selection process that aligns the work demands of expatriate assignments with their psychographics.
Pre-assignment Training and Orientation
After the selection has been made, the organization should undertake training to enhance the selected expatriate’s job performance as well as their cross-cultural adjustment skills. However, many organizations rarely offer pre-assignment training because they might consider then unproductive and expensive (Collings, Scullion, and Dowling, 2009). The orientation program should entail details of their role during the assignment, details on the new culture, ethic as well as religious factors. An organization can help expatriates in social integration with the new culture. This is done through supporting local based expatriate social and cultural clubs. Also, the organization can encourage the social interaction of local employees with expatriate employees.
Cross Culture Training
There exist a variety of theoretical framework developed to explain how cross-culture training of expatriate is essential before they are sent for oversea assignment. These training programs are an opportunity for the staff to introduce them to the importance of culture and sensitize them to cultural differences. It has been shown that the failure of expatriate and premature return could be reduced by emphasizing more on cross-culture training of the expatriate before going for an oversea assignment (Nas, 2011). Expatriates not only face challenges related to changes in the work environment but also meet a range of cultural, personal, and lifestyle changes that influence their success on an overseas assignment. Therefore the organization should explore should research more on factors associated with the cross-culture adjustment process.
Expatriate mentoring
While mentoring of staff has been researched extensively in the domestic workplace, research attention on expatriates mentoring in the international setting has been offered to help expatriates successes in their international assignment. In most cases, expatriates are accompanied by their families according to research (Haslberger and Brewster 2008). Most of these couples face challenges of adjusting to the new culture. The expatriate losses their social support network of the family, friends, and peers in the home country. According to Mol et al. (2005), family, cohesion, and family adaptability are important aspects of the success of an expatriate in an oversea assignment.
Including the Whole family
While an expatriate benefits from the structure and a sense of purpose, offered by working in the new environment, the spouse is often left feeling lost and having difficulties to adjust. Problems relating to spouse or family members’ inability to adapt have been associated with early repatriation in some cases (Deresky, 2017). Therefore, an organization should consider supporting family members during the expatriation process. For instance, the organizing may arrange for cultural training or home-finding trip for the whole family. Additionally, the organization should prepare the retuning families of the challenges they are likely to encounter while getting back to their home country.
As organizations use oversea assignments to develop global talents, there is a need to assure the expatriate that such an assignment will be an asset to their career advancement. Therefore, planning for repatriation is an essential aspect of reassuring the employee of their previous position in the organization. This, in return, would help them have full concentration on work as well as life in the host nation (Florkowski and Fogel 1999). Additional support such as the company mentor in both subsidiary and home office would also be of benefit to the expatriate and would assist in their adjustment process. Finally, the organization should be proactive in offering family-related support as it would influence the expatriate’s attitude toward the oversea assignment.
4.0 Conclusion
Moving to another country to live for a while is challenging enough, and therefore expatriates need all the support of the organization. The essay reviewed the main theoretical bases that the researchers have used when studying organizational support to staff assigned for oversea assignments. There seem to exist a lot of various opinions regarding cross-culture effective training-this variety of views can be identified in the realm of a theoretical framework and empirical analysis. Both theory and empirical evidence have suggested that cross-culture training plays a significant role in the success of an expatriate and cultural adjustment; various other factors have a positive impact as well. A smooth adjustment to a new culture can positively impact an expatriate’s performance while on an oversea assignment. Moreover, the researchers have uncovered different areas like general career, family, and remuneration, which organizations need to offer support in ensuring that staff are successful on an oversea assignment. Organizations provide mentoring programs to help expatriate adjust to the surrounding of the host country. However, more research on expatriate supporting practice and cultural intelligence would help refine the preexisting cross-culture adjustment and outcome.
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