Page | 1

The contributory factors that employees may consider before deciding to accept or decline
an international assignment.

[Writer]

[Institute]

[Date]
 Page | 2

Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Discussion ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
International Human Resource Management (IHRM) .............................................................................. 3
Concept of National Culture and Its Implications for IHRM Practice ...................................................... 3
Specific Human Resource Management Processes and Practices ............................................................ 4
Before the International Assignment ........................................................................................................ 4
Recruitment and Selection .................................................................................................................... 4
Learning, Training and Development ................................................................................................... 5
During the International Assignment ........................................................................................................ 6
Adjustment ............................................................................................................................................ 6
After the International Assignment: Repatriation ..................................................................................... 7
Reward and Compensation Systems ..................................................................................................... 7
Performance Management .................................................................................................................... 8
Implications for the MNCs ....................................................................................................................... 8
Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 9
References ................................................................................................................................................... 10
 Page | 3

The contributory factors that employees may consider before deciding to accept or decline
an international assignment.

Introduction
HR managers contribute well to business both personally and professionally, and to make sure
their contribution, they need certain competencies to get success in the international ground.
International Human Resource Management (IHRM) as an academic study field and business
discipline is in its early stages; however, it is very real and steadfastly established.

The key aim and purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate some major contributory factors
that employees may take into their consideration before reaching to a decision to accept or
decline an international assignment. In this regard, the notion of national culture and its
implications for IHRM practice, along with some specific HRM processes and practices in the
international countries will be discussed. Besides these, the paper will also evaluate the value and
challenges of cross-cultural collaboration.

Discussion

International Human Resource Management (IHRM)

The definition of IHRM is that it is based on some distinct processes and functional activities
that are focused on appealing, developing, and maintaining the human resources of a
multinational corporation (MNC) (Dowling 2008). Therefore, it is a sum total of the diverse
HRM systems, functions and practices using for the management of employees in a
multinationalorganisation.

Concept of National Culture and Its Implications for IHRM Practice

Besides controversies, a broader consensus has been found that national culture integrates a
variety of shared values, beliefs and assumptions that are rooted in the very core of society
(Budhwar and Sparrow 2002; Khilji 2003).

Across the world, the values of cultural patterns are highly diverse, and thus, geographical
boundaries do not matter in the business operations. Organisations operating internationally and
globally need to realise this diversity and its consequent implications for IHRM (Wakabayashi
 Page | 4

and Takeuchi 2003). The influence of national culture is in a variety of aspects of IHRM policies
and practices, such as resource administration and allocation, leadership approach, employee
performance appraisal, strategic decision-making, management of employee relations, and so on
(Edwards and Kuruvilla 2005). HRM policies and practices at the international level refer to the
cultural artefacts, through which the culture’s beliefs, norms and values are reflected upon which
MNCs are based (Edwards and Kuruvilla 2005).

There are many MNCs that have chosen the transferral of traditional practices from the home
country to the host one (Almond 2011). However, their lack of 'contextualisation' leads to limited
acceptance (Dewettinck and Remue 2011). The contextualisation of management practices is
important because the concept of ‘one size fits all’is now irrelevant (Dewettinck and Remue
2011). The extent to which an international firm distinguishes its HRM related policies to fit the
specific cultural context of its associates is directly linkedto itsimprovedperformance (Brewster
et al 2007).HRM policies consisting with cultural norms of a nation' have been exhibited in
heightened employee motivation, self-efficacy and enhanced performance of the firm (Wright
and van de Voorde 2009). It is important that the external environment (national culture) and
internal strategic policies and practices (HRM policies) are similar, but a misfit will lead to
business failures (Wright and van de Voorde 2009). Thus, to compete globally, MNCs need to
understand these affiliations and modify their HRM practices to make them as per the norms and
values of the host country.

Specific Human Resource Management Processes and Practices

There are many contributory factors in terms of HRM practices that an employee as an expatriate
may consider before deciding to accept or decline an international project. So, development of a
comprehensive strategy how to manage expatriates well is given priority by the European and
other international countries. Black (1999) has identified some key generic IHRM functions to
manage people which are as followed:

Before the International Assignment

Recruitment and Selection

In international assignments or projects, many companies existing in European and other
international countries prefer those having technical and managerial skills along with presumed
 Page | 5

capability of producing solution to a short-term problem. Nevertheless, they frequently overlook

the HR department to get their support. Instead of this, they only prefer a narrow range of
potential people. It means that they ignore the candidates’ capability and their families to adapt
to a new cultural pattern (Black 1999).

There are some key motives of MNCs in the United Kingdom and other international countries,
such as means of organisational management and development, control and coordination,
inadequate or less qualified/skilled people from local country, and a need to share knowledge for
international projects (Collings and Gunnigle 2007). These all lead to the need for recruitment
and selection. However, this trend has shifted towards considering expatriate projects as
unappealing, through which the selection process is made more about detecting people who have
the strong dedication to go instead of preferring the well-skilled people from a large number of
applicants (Budhwar and Florkowski 2002). Consequently, the process of selection might
become less important in this situation.

Learning, Training and Development

This another contributory factor for employees to accept or decline international projects. The
nature of international projects is quite complex as compared with domestic assignments because
an expatriate has to cross the home country’s borders and to make adjustment in a different
culture. Thus, there is much importance of learning, development and training.

To make sure success, abasic criterion is its workforce’s capability ofcomprehending and
accepting other cultural environments (Collings and Gunnigle 2007). Thus, after selecting a
candidate for an expatriate position in a European country, such as Germany or France,
professional cross-cultural and language training and learning is viewed as the next highly
crucial and critical phase in making sure the best performance and success of expatriateacross
borders, which further needs to be evaluated by comparative performance management
approach.

Cross-cultural training and learning is important because a precise expectation among individual
expatriates is provided by it, henceleading to a greater opportunity for their anticipationsand
needsto be fulfilled (Zakaria 2000). It means that having precise expectations can have quite
favourable impacts on the cross-cultural adaptation, and that the custom-made and pertinent pre-
 Page | 6

departure cross-cultural training can form these expectations. According to Black (1999), cross-
cultural learning, training and developmenthave the potential to boost performance of managers
working globally to manage multicultural teams, while enhancing their adjustment to a new
cultural environment.

However, little effects of cross-cultural training and learning approachhave been found on wide-
ranging, interactional or work-setting expatriate adjustment (Puck, Kittler and Wright 2008).
Nevertheless, a major impact of fluency in the foreign language has been found by them. Cross-
cultural training before assigning the international assignment implies that a possible implication
for IHRM practise is that potential candidates for these assignments may attend sequential
training sessions (Puck, Kittler and Wright 2008), which has also been supported by Budhwar
and Florkowski (2002) as they maintain that empirical studies do not support this by reporting
that pre-departure training has the potential to train the international managers very well.

To get successful results from the international projects, considering the employee’s family
members or spouse as an equally supportive team is imperative. The significance of proper
training all members of the family for their very different roles and responsibilities is indeed
obvious, asabsolute gratification and adjustment of the employee’s family member or spouse has
a considerable impact on their overall performance across the borders (Caligiuri 2006).

During the International Assignment

Adjustment
The U-Curve theory associated with adjustment is mostcommonly used model (Downes and
Thomas 2000). There are many empirical studies support this theory; nevertheless, a variety of
issues preclude them from acknowledging this model as a helpful factor. Several research works
did not present statistical data tests statistically insignificant results. Although this theory as
model is the adjustment’s description over time, just a few research works were longitudinal. So,
the results have been made generalise and problematic by lacking of reliable methodological
consistency in several studies.

For MNCs, to be effective in managing expatriates this theory needs to be made as a theoretical
model of how and why people promote from one phase to another, instead of an account of
adjustment stages.
 Page | 7

Throughout the phase of culture shock the expatriate has to experience some significant
dimensions abroad, which are adjustment to work, in general, with interaction and psychology
(Vaiman and Andersen 2009). Festing and Maletzky (2011) also supported this by grouping
adjustment into the dimensions including work domains, psychological and socio-cultural. This
has also been supported by Black (1999) by maintaining some associated but separate facets
related to adjustment, which integrate work adjustment, adjustment to collaboration with
nationals of the host-country, and adjustment to the generic non-work atmosphere. The
contributory elements that have impact on adjustment before the assignment are associated with
a prevenient adjustment, which is shaped by precise anticipations and training. The factors
affecting post-adjustment is more grouped into somedistinctfactors, which are associated with
the expatriate, the job, the company, and the issues of non-work.

The spouse and family adjustment and work-life balance are also vital factors influencing the
expatriate’s adjustment. Inadequate spouse or family adjustment and work-life balanceare only
major causes for individuals declining their international projects early (Black 1999). It means
that just as with the IHRM practice of selection and training, considering the expatriate, spouse
and family adjustment is imperative. Black (1999) and Vaiman and Andersen (2009)also found
that these crucial adjustments are frequently home alone and unprepared and that the MNCs do
not facilitate them well.

After the International Assignment: Repatriation

The creation and application of supportive IHRM strategies and practices did have an influence
on the way repatriates feel satisfaction, such as pre-defined promised recognition, reward and
compensation (Selmer, 2001).

Reward and Compensation Systems

There are many key domains of management among the theorists affecting the retention of talent
in the organisation. The key area, among others, is reward and compensation systems. A reward
system can be both intrinsic and extrinsic in nature. MNCs can use reward systems as a tool to
raise employee engagement, participation, commitment, skills, and congruence and it is
extremely cost-effective approach used nu IHRM (Brewster and Mayrhofer 2011). With people
having better control on their incentives and compensations, this can not only encourage them
but they will be able to boost their self-esteem and self-worth (). Performance-related pay is an
 Page | 8

individualised payment approach reflecting performance of an individual. These approaches may

ascertain the overall progression flow and rate through a company (Brewster and Mayrhofer
2011)

A MNC needs to take some repatriation initiatives, including clearly defining the IHRM
strategies, developing an expert team, targeting individuals who are at high-risk, managing their
needs with precise information, developing sources of home-country information, establishing
the familiar work environment, developing competitive compensation and reward, and so on
(Black 1999).

Performance Management
Failed international projects can be big loss and very costly to a MNC. A consistent, thorough
and detailed performance management of an expatriate employee via appraisal or assessment, as
well as evaluation of the overall operation, is crucial and critical to obtain the positive outcomes
in an international assignment. Problematic issues like criteria for and timing of performance
appraisals, promotions and extrasneed to be considered and decided on before the expatriates are
selected for an international project.

Implications for the MNCs

There are some implications for MNCs when they deal with the challenges of cross-cultural
collaboration to lead and manage effective multicultural teams. The costs are major implication
related to failed international projects and the expatriate’s replacement, inadequate interaction
and relationships with customer and suppliers existing abroad, and high staff turnover following
repatriation (Black 1999). The latter issue is most commonly faced by MNCs currently in
European and other international countries.

It has been established that most expatriates leave immediately following repatriation and it
suggests that MNCs lose the talent due to inadequate IHRM policies and practices, such as
inadequate compensation plan and poor performance management and appraisal (Tohand
Denisi2003). It is simply idealistic to imagine that every single solution presented by researchers
has completely escaped organisations’ notice (Collings, Scullionand Morley2007). Nevertheless,
just a few studies recommend the solutions are producing positive outcomes; dissatisfaction due
 Page | 9

to poor compensation and reward policies continue, and high employee turnover cost also exists
(Toh and Denisi 2003).

Conclusion and Recommendations

If IHRM of MNCs disregards the process of managing cross-cultural expatriates on international
projects, it would lead to the heavy loss to the companies, which ultimately results in strong
resistance toward international projects. It means that only a fewer employees will be available.
As a result, this situation would also result in higher rates of failure.

It is recommended to IHRM experts that they need to professionally pay strong attention to all
the stages, mentioned earlier. Besides this, the IHRM personnel also need to realise and
understand that expatriate individuals as managers are very crucial to professionally manage the
cross-cultural collaboration by managing multicultural teams abroad. The trained and skilled
expatriate managers are also very important for the company’s present and future financial
conditions. As the expatriate managers are the strategic resource for international assignments, it
is crucial for the company’s IHRM personnel to develop a comprehensive strategic policies and
practices, mentioned earlier, to make sure success in the international assignments.
 Page | 10

References
Almond, P. (2011). The sub-national embeddedness of international HRM. Human
Relations, 64(4), pp.531-551.

Black, B. (1999). National culture and high commitment management. Employee

Relations, 21(4), pp.389-404.

Brewster, C. and Mayrhofer, W. (2011).Comparative human resource

management. International human resource management, 3, pp.47-78.

Brewster, C., Sparrow, P., Vernon, G. and Houldsworth, E. (2007). International human
resource management. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Budhwar, P.S. and Florkowski, G.W. (2002). International human resource management: review
and critique. International Journal of Management Reviews, 4(1), pp.41-70.

Budhwar, P.S. and Sparrow, P.R. (2002). An integrative framework for understanding cross-
national human resource management practices. Human Resource Management
Review, 12(3), pp.377-403.

Caligiuri, P.M. (2006). Performance measurement in a cross-national context. Performance

measurement: Current perspectives and future challenges, pp.227-244.

Collings, D.G. and Gunnigle, P. (2007). International human resource management in the 21st
century: emerging themes and contemporary debates. Human Resource management
journal, 17(4), pp.309-319.

Collings, D.G., Scullion, H. and Morley, M.J. (2007). Changing patterns of global staffing
in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate
assignment and emerging alternatives. Journal of World Business, 42(2), pp.198-213.

Dewettinck, K. and Remue, J. (2011).Contextualizing HRM in comparative research: The role of

the Cranet network. Human Resource Management Review, 21(1), pp.37-49.

Dowling, P. (2008). International human resource management: Managing people in a

multinational context. Cengage Learning.
 Page | 11

Downes, M. and Thomas, A.S. (2000). Knowledge transfer through expatriation: The U-curve
approach to overseas staffing. Journal of Managerial Issues, pp.131-149.

Edwards, T. and Kuruvilla, S. (2005). International HRM: national business systems,

organizational politics and the international division of labour in MNCs. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(1), pp.1-21.

Festing, M. and Maletzky, M. (2011). Cross-cultural leadership adjustment—A multilevel

framework based on the theory of structuration. Human Resource Management
Review, 21(3), pp.186-200.

Khilji, S.E. (2003). To Adapt or Not to Adapt'Exploring the Role of National Culture in HRM-A
Study of Pakistan. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 3(1), pp.109-
132.

Puck, J.F., Kittler, M.G. and Wright, C. (2008). Does it really work? Re-assessing the impact of
pre-departure cross-cultural training on expatriate adjustment. The International Journal
of Human Resource Management, 19(12), pp.2182-2197.

Selmer, J. (2001). Adjustment of western European vs North American expatriate managers in

China. Personnel Review, 30(1), pp.6-21.

Toh, S.M. and Denisi, A.S. (2003).Host country national reactions to expatriate pay
policies: A model and implications. Academy of Management Review, 28(4), pp.606-
621.

Vaiman, V. and Andersen, T. (2009).The vital liaison role of host country nationals in MNC
knowledge management. Human Resource Management, 48(4), pp.649-659.

Wakabayashi, M. and Takeuchi, N. (2003). Cross-cultural Comparisons of HRM Styles: Based

on Japanese Companies, Japanese Subsidiaries in Bangladesh and Bangladesh
Companies1. Global Business Review, 4(1), pp.77-98.

Wright, P.A.T.R.I.C.K. and van de Voorde, K.A.R.I.N.A. (2009). Multilevel issues in IHRM:
mean differences, explained variance, and moderated relationships. Handbook of
 Page | 12

international human resource management: integrating people, process, and context,

pp.29-40.

Zakaria, N. (2000). The effects of cross-cultural training on the acculturation process of the
global workforce. International Journal of Manpower, 21(6), pp.492-510.