1. International Assignments Intercultural Competence and Selection

2. Dialogues Near the Family Sharon:So, Fatima, you’ll be graduating in May. Congratulations. Fatima: Thank you. Sharon: Do you have a job lined up? Fatima: Yes. I’ll be working for the Central Bank. Sharon: Good for you. Have you found a place to live yet? Fatima: Actually, the bank’s very near my parents’ place. Sharon: That’s nice. So you’ll be living quite near them.

3. Dialogues Vacancy Horst:Have you finished writing that job advertisement yet? Luigi: Not quite. Horst: Don’t take too long. Filling that vacancy is a priority. Luigi: I agree. Actually, I think I know of a possible candidate. Horst: You do? Who? Luigi: She’s my youngest niece. Marta. A nice girl. Horst: Great! Tell her to apply.

4. Causes for Misunderstandings Lack of knowledge in own and foreign behaviour patterns, values and attitudes Unawareness of the impact culture has on our behaviour Generalizing own norms on other norm system Denial of other rules, believe in dominant position Ethnocentric thinking and wrong attributions

5. Intercultural Sensitivity Sensitivity to the importance of cultural differences and to the points of view of people in other cultures (Bhawuk & Brislin, 1992) Ability to recognise multiple perspectives of an event or behaviour, the ability to take into account norms and values that differ from one’s own, and the ability to empathise with people from a different culture (Van der Zee & Brinkmann, 2002)

6. Intercultural Competence Intercultural competence means: Respecting and valuing cultural specifics and differences Tolerance Mutual understanding Empathy Sensitizing common values, norms and similarities Experiencing new enriching and enlarging possibilities of (working) behaviour Establishing common cross-cultural experiences and knowledge of action

7. Correspondingly intercultural competence excludes: Lack of intercultural and cultural knowledge Feelings of dominance and superiority Ethnocentrism Prejudices Destructive national and cultural stereotypes Fear of foreign cultural behaviour  Issue of knowledge, attitudes and motivation

8. Transfer of knowledge and skills Improving communication Personnel development Representing common organisational policies Developing local managers Reasons for Expatriation

9. Taxomony of International Personnel Selection Situations

10. Organisational Strategies Ethnocentric Polycentric Regiocentric Geocentric

11. Profile of the Model Cross-cultural Collaborator

12. Indicators of Successful Assignments Fulfilling the assignment - effectiveness - contentment, psychological well-being Dealing with the specific challenges of international assignments - specific motivation - no increased level of stress - culturally sensitive behaviour Socio-cultural adaptation - effective communication - cultural and intercultural knowledge - positive relationships with members of the host culture

13. International Assignments Selection Preparation Assignment Reintegration

14. Selection Practices used by organizations to select the right people for a job Selection methods –Cultural differences Culturally diverse workforce Multinational organizations Adaptation of tests & internationalisation of test procedures Bias in test material, procedure and interpretation

15. Selection Process Source of figure: Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw (2003), Figure 7.1 Measure applicants’ qualifications –Use good measures: reliable & valid Select which applicant to hire Evaluation of process

16. Selection criteria Work qualifications - technical competence and expertise - management skills - work motivation Specific skills - motivation - language - intercultural experience Intercultural competence - empathy - tolerance for ambiguity

17. Types of Selection Methods Interviews (structured, unstructured) Psychological testing –Mental ability (IQ) –Personality –Integrity (honesty) –Projective tests –Graphology Work sample tests CV, application blanks Biographical info (biodata, life histories) Reference checks Assessment Centres (AC)

18. Intercultural Assessment Centre Criteria and Exercises

19. Validity of Selection Tools

20. Differences Across Cultures Substantial differences across Western, industrialized nations –Interviews & CV’s important everywhere –Graphology important in France –AC (UK, Germany, NL, less in France & Belgium) –Testing (France, Belgium, less in Germany & UK) –Personality tests widespread in NZ

21. How Can These Differences Be Explained? Ryan et al. (1999): –Sample of 959 organizations in 20 countries Measures: –Number of methods used –Extent of methods used –Number of verification methods (check credibility & employee record through various means) –Extent of verification methods –Number interviews –Number of (psychological) tests & extent Cultural variables: power distance (PD) & uncertainty avoidance (UA)

22. Results More variance due to organizational differences than national differences –Variance explained by national differences between 5% and 43% UA & PD explained some of this variation: –High PD: more interviews; peers less likely to be involved in interviews –High UA: less verification (stick to tried & tested, no trust in employer references & group/panel interviews; reliance on biodata, job trials, one-on-one interviews) –High UA: more testing, more extensively used –Explained variance between 0% and 9%

23. Favourability perceptions

24. Some more general (implicit) problems Highly relevant in a NZ context Scientific testing –What is our criterion (what kind of people with what kind of capabilities do we try to hire)? Do we get the people we need? Do we get the skills we need? What are our tests like??? Do they measure ‘things’ in a cultural appropriate way? What are our test procedures like? Are they culturally appropriate?

25. Importance of Procedural Justice Dimensions in Favourability Reactions

26. Difficulties of International Personnel Selection Reliability and validity of assessment tools Lack of job, institution, and culture analysis Lack of integrated process The need to assess spouse and family Lack of follow-up monitoring and research Predicting adjustment versus effectiveness The reality of the individual

27. A Model for an Integrated International Selection Process Establishing the profile of skills and knowledge Planning and implementing the selection procedures Training and monitoring the overseas performance

28. Conclusions Culture influences process of recruitment and selection (attitudes, purpose, perceived fairness, methods) Selection tools for international assignments: - biographic questionnaires - realistic job preview - intercultural assessment centres Training and support is necessary for all phases of international assignments (pre-departure, sojourn, post-sojourn)