Motivation paper self assessment . I have included in the previous Assignment

Motivation paper self assessment . I have included in the previous order with you the self assessment questions pages - Assignment Example Therefore, managers should learn to listen to their employees and adjust their goals with respect to what matters most to them. An employee would want to be in command whenever he/she is working in a group. On the other side, the manager should not assume that all employees have all the training, tools and support they required. He should check out from them personally to find out. Good pay would make one feel much motivated (Daft et al. 4). The manager should communicate well thereby offering training sessions, newsletters, memos and regular meetings so as to present their vision. They should make sure that employees participate by asking questions and get answers. The last aspect to ensure a successful motivation is by ensuring that the manager awards every achievement of the employee with respect to their dominant needs. All efforts should be acknowledged and awarded. Mistakes should be corrected in a friendly manner. Humans have some set of motivation system that is unrelated to rewards. We need motivation to achieve certain desires. The fulfillment of one dominant need leads to the desire to fulfill the next one. Such needs like physiological needs, safety and the need of love, as well as esteem may affect management in the sense that, the fulfillment one particular need seeks to fulfill the next need. In this situation, the achievement needs may serve a greater purpose for success. As an employee, one would mostly value the lifestyle benefits. The employee places a higher priority to the rewards that are directed to their lifestyle benefits such as a discount on their health insurance as well as in cars. An employee would work well for improvement is such areas as their capabilities, their behaviors and attitudes. Such information can be useful to the managers in understanding the type of lifestyle benefits that they would offer to their employees for their awards so that they can feel motivated and

Challenges international students face Essay Example for Free

Challenges international students face Essay Introduction: This report has been written to lay out the difficulties, those international students face in their desire to pursue further education in the United Kingdom. The challenges that are outlined in this report are by no means limited to the areas chosen. The justification for writing this report lays in the fact that firstly there is a need to sustain and increase the number of students that actually come into the United Kingdom for their studies, as this makes an income for the government (Michele Schweisfurth, 2009). The  second is that the quality of education being offered is the United Kingdom is being improved by the diversity of international students. The International students, who are studying at University College Birmingham (UCB) average in the 1100 students range and from 65 different countries, meaning there is a wide range of challenges involved in studying in the UK. Thus, this report was written to investigate the challenges faced and discuss those complications, to suggest possible solutions to make the transition period smoother. The four main areas that will be covered are teaching styles, financial difficulties, language problems and the weather in the United Kingdom. The report has 3 sections; Firstly, methodology to explain the methods which are used, secondly, finding and analysing data and finally, conclusions and recommendation for international students. Methodology: This report uses both primary and secondary sources. The primary research was carried out by the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed in a way which made it easy to analyse and less time consuming than other methods (Bell, 2005). The questions were of a specific nature, ensuring the sample gained was relative, as primary research, and allowed the author to research the specific areas selected. Denscombe (2007) states that a questionnaire, includes the fact and opinions of participants. 12 questions were asked, this is to reduce the time taken for respondents and does not allow them to be bored, as Denscombe, (2007, p.163) says â€Å"The questions will not be irritating or annoying for the respondents to answer†, this ensure that the respondents answer accurately and do not answer hastily, in order to finish the questionnaire swiftly. The target set by the university in terms of questionnaires to collate was 30, this allows the author to collate a relative sam ple, in terms of the amount of responses. Therefore I printed and handed out a total of 45 copies, using a random sampling distribution method and collated 30. For the most part, the questions asked were of a closed nature as they are easier to answer as they are not of a personal nature and have limited response choices (Tomas, 2009). There were a small number of closed questions which then followed with an open question, such as how does the weather affect your daily life, this allows further probing into the main issues, and to allow respondents to give their personal  reflective views. The questionnaire was tested by my peers to check its comprehension and grammar, it was found to be mostly comprehensive although some questions were amended to make them more specific and the correction of small grammatical errors. The secondary research was in the form of 6 academic journal articles, as directed by the University. The importance of secondary research is it is un-biased and can be very useful in supporting the author’s findings. They have all been utilised within my four main topics except the weather, as there is no information within them about this topic. The sources themselves are in depth and have covered some a wide array of issues with international students. The sources are current, valid and support authors opinions and they are readily available on the UCB online library, allowing access whenever it is needed. Findings and Research: English Language: Learning the native country’s language is higher on the list of priorities of international students, who wish to gain academic success. Andrade (2006) says even if it is over a short period of time, this positive motivation enables them to progress not only academically but also with the native culture. As a whole communication skills will be improved considerably (Zhang Mi, 2010), who mention, that acquiring English language focuses on four skills; Firstly, speaking, which is the ability to discuss, present and interact in lectures. Secondly, listening, that there is an understanding of the lecturer and the subject matter is comprehendible Third, reading, both with a good level of comprehension and a good level of speed. Fourth, writing, being able to take notes from lectures and then compose essays. The International students will expect that some complex situations may arise after their arrival to the UK that will resolve with time. For example, the bar chart (see figure 1, p.7) illustrates the result derived from question 5, that speed is the main problem relating to language skills, in addition Schweisfurth Gu (2009) did a survey to discover how many international students are apprehensive of speaking the natives language, before they leave for that country, the results showed that less than 10% were confident with their language skill level, which only slightly rose after the students settled, especially in the areas of discussion and answering questions from  the lecturers. Ramachandran (2011) argues, that even with additional English training or achieving a higher score in IELTS/ TOEFL, does not help them with problems in a learning environment, since they were instructed by a non-native speaker or not in a similar environment. Once students gained speed in conversing will they have the confidence of the host language, the confidence with the language would have most likely prevented difficult situations occurring, and thus reducing stress levels for the student. In contrast, Zhang Mi (2010) cite that speaking is the most difficult skill for example; participating in class discussions or performing oral presentations within the first year, but that improves with the support from lecturers and peers, this is supported by the primary research which showed speaking was time after time one of the main responses given by respondents, as shown in figure 2. In addition, there is a 75% decrease over time of overseas students, who feel participating in discussions was useful for improving skill level (Schweisfurth Gu, 2009). In addition, Ramachandran (2011) records some additional studies in language skills, that shows that those students who are equipped with an advanced level in the skills, have fewer troubles, as they have already studied in their local provision, but their scope to progress any further in their country is limited. However after collecting the data from question 4, the results clearly show that writing is the most difficult skill for international students from UCB (see figure 2, p.7). Zhang Mi (2010) also found similar results that writing was the most difficult skill and it did not seem to improve significantly over time. Figure 1. The Main Language Barrier Figure 2. Most Difficult English Language Skill Financial Difficulties: In addition to the wide array of issues international students face, they also have the added pressure of the soaring costs of living (Smith Khawaja, 2011). The bBritish currency is fairly expensive, in comparison to the international students home currency, so understandably this is a major concern for them, not surprisingly the results for question 8 (figure 3,  p.9) show that less than 10% percent of the students find that the living cost are not expensive, these students were from affluent countries. Whereas just over 90% percent of students believe living in the United Kingdom is too expensive. Schweisfurth and Gu (2009) also validate that approximately 69% of students worried about finances before arrival, the results of the questionnaire clearly show this. Schweisfurth Gu (2009) state university fees in the UK are double what they would cost in comparison to their home country, and that 59% of international students make it to the end of the first term, the other 41% disco ntinued their studies due to financial pressures and returned home. Ramachandran (2011) recommends that the teaching team inform all students of the specific details of their programme and any other matters that would be helpful in managing their finances. For example renting an apartment that is not near the University because it is cheaper, but not factoring in the additional transport costs. However, most international students would prefer to live closer to the university and this is shown in the higher accommodation costs (figure 4, p.9) where a small amount of students are paying more than  £600 each month for accommodation, maybe for a number of reasons, either very close to the university or in a city centre location. So, the author found from question 9 that if students pay more in the rent, they will are more likely to be living closer to the university. Ramachandran (2011) mentions that students can reduce transport costs by living close to the university as well as other resources, such as the internet being available. Figure 3. Percentage of students who find the cost of living high Figure 4. Accommodation Costs Weather in the UK: The colder weather can be a culture shock for the international student, in comparison to their home countries weather, which will most definitely by warmer than the weather in the UK. Essentially, within the secondary research, there was no mention of this topic. As many international student come from hot climates, they would be an expectation that they would not like the weather in the UK, however, they were asked about liking weather in  question 10 and the results show that more than half do like the weather in the UK (see figure 5, p.11). Linking this onto question 11, where participants were asked if the weather affected their daily life, the results showed that three quarters of respondents answered yes to this question (see figure 6 p.11). International students may come from a climate where the seasons do not change as frequently as the UK’s. This then in turn affects things such as wardrobe issues, meaning having to purchase different clothes for different seasons. These are some of the responses for the question in hand: â€Å"It is cold, I cannot go for a run and the wind is also very strong† â€Å"I always have to carry an umbrella every day in my bag† On the whole the participants found that they preferred to stay at home, when the weather was cold, and it had an effect on their mood. Figure 5. Students who like the weather in the UK Figure 6. Does the weather affect you Teaching Style: The Teaching style, here in the UK, is very different to the teaching styles many of the international students are used to ;( see figure 7 pg.13) this can be in an already stressful time, something which the students struggle to adapt to, alongside other issues already cited. Smith et al (2010) found students found it difficult to adjust to the interactive teaching style and critical thinking approach within the UK, and also Students find lack of respect from home students to teaching staff unnerving, as in their home countries, teaching staff get the upmost respect. Narayanan T.Ramachandran (2011) many academic staff wonders why international students prefer to talk to them in private instead of raising academic issues in the class. When academic staff refuses to see students who attempt to meet them outside their office hours and without prior appointment, students may feel insulted or start believing that the staff are not forthcoming Ramsay et al. (1999) found that student’s difficulties understanding lectures  in terms of vocabulary and speed, and with tutors who spoke too fast or gave too little input. In home countries teaching styles will differ, something the international student will have to get to grips with sooner rather than later, further findings found international students dislike group work (Sarkodie-Mensah, 1998), referring back to the primary research it would appear the results were (see figure 8 pg.13) that within the sample listening to lectures was the most difficult, followed by discussions and seminar and finally note taking. This would support the secondary research statement. Amongst other issues found, it was cited that Professors did not recognise the emotional and psychological problems experienced and identified by international students such as stress, homesickness, isolation and finances, all of which are potentially detrimental to learning, Robertson et al (2000), it would appear that all the issues ultimately impact on the students learning and should be taken into consideration within at least the first year of study. (Figure 7) Is the teaching style in the UK, different to that of your country Figure 7. Is the teaching style in the UK, different to that of your country Figure 8. Teaching Method found difficult Conclusions and recommendations: In conclusion it was clearly notable that the main language barriers were speaking, however this was only a main issue at the start of the learning programme and it would then improve with time and support from teaching staff, but the real issue to be noted is that writing skills took a lot longer and only improved slightly, but with a noted effort. In the UK the cost of living is expensive however it should be fully researched in terms of what support they are entitled to and a realistic budget should be put in place, should they need to they can also work part time, which will not only help improve their English skills, encourage new friendships and stop them from getting homesick. With regards to the weather, it clearly showed that most the students did not mind the weather in the UK however it did impact on their daily life, and they had to adapt in terms of clothing. The author would like to recommend that students understand the UK has seasons and pack their wardrobe to this effect, as to not waste money on adjusting to the  climate on arrival. In terms of teaching style, there were some real issues notes here, students were struggling with the vast array of teaching methods and did not feel confident in lectures, discussion or note taking all of which have a direct impact on learning, the author suggests having some small group sessions introducing students to those methods, so they can raise any issues they find, rather than it go unnoticed. In summary the author advises for international student to research all aspects of studying in the UK, to be well prepared on arrival. Learners should also note that if they set goals, that all the hard work they pu t in will be worthwhile, upon successful completion. (2,437 words) References: Andrade, M. S. (2006) International Students in English-speaking universities: Adjustment factors. Journal of Research in International Education. Vol. 5, No.2, pp.131-154 Bell, J. (2005) Doing your Research Project, Fourth Edition. Open University Press, Maidenhead. Denscombe, M. (7007) The Good Research Guide, Third Edition. Open University Press, Maidenhead. Ramachandran, N. T. (2011) Enhancing international students’ experiences: An imperative agenda for universities in the UK. Journal of Research in International Education. Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 201-220 Schweisfurth, M. and Gu, Q. (2009) Exploring the Experiences of international students in the UK higher education: possibilities and limits of interculturality in university life. Intercultural Education. Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 463-473 Smith, R. A. and Khawaja, N. G. (2011) A review of the acculturation experiences of international student. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Vol. 35, No. 6, pp.699-713

MNE Selection Techniques for International Assignments

MNE Selection Techniques for International Assignments Chapter1 Introduction The world has become the global village and globalization has become an important tool for the organizations to be successful in this rapidly changing world. So the coordination between different cultures and people with different backgrounds is increasing in a different multinational organization day by day. So it is very important to study that how the organizations deal with the multicultural set ups within an organization. During the past few decades the rapid changes in economic, social and political environment of the world has led organizations towards the globalization. According to Harvey Novicevic the increasing international activities and global competition resulted in increase in globalization. The process of recruitment and selection has always been very important in any organization. According to Dowling (1999) hiring and placing people in positions where they can perform effectively for the benefit of the organization is the goal of most organizations whether they are domestic or international. Heraty et al (1997) suggested that, in these new changing global condition increasingly, many organizations are transforming jobs into new structures which are more likely based on self directed work teams, made up of empowered individuals with the diverse background are replacing traditional specialized workers. So in this new challenging environment competition is increasing day by day and organizations need such personalities who can adjust themselves with the change. Burack and Singh (1995) also suggested that firms need adaptable people who can rapidly adjust themselves to the changing environment. So the people who are ready to change with the environmental changes always give advantage to the organization, and these kinds of people are very fruitful for the organization. According to ones and Viswesvaran (1997) in this rapidly changing world where the change is taking place every minute the organizations have been sending their members to other parts of the world to complete their assignments. According to Aycan and Kanungo expatriate is an employee of a business or government which is sent abroad to accomplish their organizational goals for temporary period which is more than six months and less than five years. International assignments not only give benefit to the individual expatriate but it also give the competitive advantage to the organization in the global environment. For many organizations sending of expatriate to the other countries to gain competitive advantage in global environment is the part of their overall human resource plan. (Caligiuri Lazarova, 2001). So keeping in view the importance of an expatriate the selection process of an expatriate is also very important step for an organization. According to Dowling the failure of expatriate is due to the selection error. This tells that selection plays an important role for a successful expatriate. So with the changing world it is need to have such staff who can adjust itself with the change. In this paper an effort is being made to give the importance of selection techniques for expatriates within a multinational organization. 1.1 Key purpose of study The world is globalizing day by day and now it is also called global village and specifically UK has become one of the biggest multicultural countries and there are a lot of multinational organizations working in UK With the changing world more of MNEs are sending their expatriates in other parts of the world to accomplish their goals and to gain competitive advantage in global world. As the selection is the most important step for any organization to choose its expatriate and it is always important for MNE’s to choose or select the right person for the given task. In fact an expatriate failure is often result of a selection error, and often compounded by in effective expatriate management policies. (Dowling Welch Schuler, 1999). The key purpose of this study is to show the importance of selection techniques for a MNE when selecting an expatriate for an international assignment. 1.2 Aims The aim of this study is to explore the proper selection techniques which can improve the performance of an expatriate and help him to retain. 1.3 Objectives: To outline the factors that influences the selection of expatriates. To examine different selection methods used for expatriate selection. To discuss in detail, issues of cross cultural variation in selection process of expatriates. 1.4 Hypothesis The hypothesis which is developed for this study is stated as below Without doing proper selection of expatriate much will be poor for the company and result in loss of company. 1.5 Theory an overview There has been a lot of work done on selection techniques of expatriates in last couple of decades. Selection is the most important part of the success of any expatriate, and if the selection is not according to the needs of organization then the failure chances of expatriate. Dowling says that redirecting future performance potential when hiring or promoting staff is challenging at the best time but if operating in foreign environment certainly adds other level of uncertainty. So if the process of selection is beholds specific importance within a domestic organisation then it must have some extra importance while choosing an international staff. 1.6 Selection The selection is kind of prediction of the organization’s peoples or decision makers keeping in view the profile of the candidate for the particular job (Hackett, 1991). The selection is a complete process of analyzing and viewing the profile of the employee and then selecting for the required job. Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to desler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 1.7 Methods of Selection: There are various selection techniques available, and for the selection procedure all of these depending on the situation and culture of the organization. Some of these selection methods are given below. Interviews Tests Assessment centres (Beardwell and Holden, 2001) So the above mentioned procedures are used by different organizations depending upon the nature of job and the normal practice they use within the organization. 1.8 Approaches for the Multinational There are four approaches for the recruitment and selection in any multinational organization. These four approaches are given as follows. Ethnocentric: It is the type of the recruitment approach in which all the key positions and top management is filled by the nationals of the parent company. According to this approach all the top management decisions and the key strategies of the companies is made by the parent country headquarters. Polycentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which the host country fills all the key positions in the subsidiary. Each subsidiary is treated as the separate national entity. But all the key financial decisions are taken by the parent country headquarter. Regiocentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which regional talent is preferred. For example if the person is required on for the development of any product then the person who will be recruited will be from the host country. Geocentric: This is the kind of approach where the persons are recruited without seen any race, religion or region. This approach is international based and is getting in practice in most of the developed countries like UK, USA etc. 1.9 Methods of international selection The different methods of selection for the expatriate selection which most of the multinational organizations use is as follows Psychometric Tests Assessment Centres Coffee Machine System 1.10 Selection of an Expatriarate The selection of expatriate is a bit different from the local selection of a local manager. For the selection of an international manager there are a lot of extra factors which needs to be considered by the selectors. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going. (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 1.11 Factors involve in selection of an Expatriate. According to Dowling and Welch the factor involve to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process are as Country-cultural requirement Language MNE requirements Technical Ability Cross Cultural Suitability Family Requirements (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999) So keeping in view all the above mentioned factors an expatriate should be selected by a multinational organization. 1.12 Culture: (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down form one generation to the next.’’ 1.13 Corporate culture Corporate culture includes the behavioral patterns, concept, values, ceremonies and rituals that take place in the organization. It gives the members of the organization meaning as well as the internal rule of behavior when these values and beliefs customs’ rules and ceremony are accepted shared and circulated throughout the organization. (Trompenaars Turner 1997, pg 157-181) 1.14 Why consider culture? Adjusting in a new culture is always difficult and it causes problems for both expatriate and family members, therefore it is important for an International HR to look for the similarities of the two cultures in order to deal with the challenges in the business world key activity. dowling, welch,schuler, 1998 pg 132 Recent research shows that the expatriates who are unable to cope with the challenges find it difficult to adjust and incur costly implications. (Caligiuri, 1997, pg: 45-67). The factor of culture is very important for an expatriate selection process and HR managers will have to select such expatriate who is adjustable with the different cultured people and work with them for the cultural dimension Hofstede and Trompenaars cultural dimensions are given as follows 1.15 Hofstede’s four dimensions (1967-1973): Gooderham Nordhang (2003). ‘Culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partially shared with people who live or lived within the same environment, which is where it was learned. It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.’ Hofstede surveyed 116,000 IBM employees in 40 different nations about their preferences in the work environment. The analysis revealed the results creating 4 dimensions: Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent to which a society expects and accepts a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Masculinity-Femininity: Masculine societies value assertiveness, competitiveness and materialism as opposed to the feminine values of relationships and the quality of life. 1.16 Trompenaars’ cultural dimensions: Trompenaars concluded four cultural dimensions that relate to the question of inter-personal relationships and work-related values Gooderham Nordhang (2003). Universalism vs. Particularism Communitarism vs. Individualism: Specific vs. diffuse Achievement vs. ascription: So these four dimensions of Trompenar also affect the selection process of an expatriate for international assignments. 1.17 Strategic choices in expatriate selection: Organizations normally have some strategic choices while selection of an expatriate. These strategic choices are mentioned below. Internal recruitment versus external recruitment Individuals versus teams Technical qualification versus other selection criteria Extrinsic rewards versus intrinsic rewards. Chapter 2 Literature Review: In this chapter researcher tried to discuss all the related studies which are done in past and are available in literature. A lot of work has been done in the literature on the topic of selection. Before proceeding to the actual topic it is necessary to look at the different methods of selection which an organization uses and see that what are the different techniques and criteria which are used for the selection of staff. 2.1 Selection: Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to Dessler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 2.2 Expatriate selection: According to (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999, pg: 154) Multinationals take great care in their selection process, however predicting future performance potential of the concerned staff is challenging at the best of times especially operating in foreign environments adds another level of uncertainty. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 2.3 Importance of an Expatriates and International Assignments: The world is globalizing very rapidly and change has become necessary for the organization to survive and to gain competitive advantage internationally. According to Harris and Brewster, 1999. The rapidly globalizing world has increased the need for the international assignments and many of the organizations started considering international management experience for the top management. So the international assignments are becoming an important part for the success of an organization to gain competitive advantage. As discussed by Chen, Tzeng Tang, 2005 that organizations internationalize their operation to gain success and to increase its market value internationally and for this purpose an organization needs effective expatriate who can perform its task properly. In this new era the importance of expatriate has increased because expatriates are the ones who can give an organization proper international exposure and make the organization successful. 2.4 Selection Process: One of the most studied areas for the expatriate selection is the selection process of the expatriate. The selection of expatriate has always been difficult procedure for the multinational organizations. Swaak quotes one HR executive who said. â€Å"My job is to find people in a hurry.† So this system is highly crisis-oriented and unsophisticated. Swaak , 1995. Further confirming the problems for the nature of the selection process Still and Smith (1997) report the results of Australian research, which shows that there were a number of different ways through which expatriates were selected. They studied that the most impressive and important form of selection or evaluation of the expatriate was recommendation of the person by the line manager including chief executive officer or specialist persons. Mostly expatriates in the multinational organizations in a knee-jerk reaction to the need to fill a new or unexpected vacancies overseas. Actually there are well informed intercultural trainers or a good HR professional who selects the expatriates but basically it is HR department within multinational organization who selects the expatriate finally. Managements choose the most technical and competent candidates which makes the expatriates successful internationally. (Shilling, 1993 pg 58). 2.5 Types of selection Process: Psychometric Tests Assessment Centers Coffee machine system 2.5.1 Psychometric Tests: According to Passmore, 2008 Psychometrics are the widely used testing method for the selection of the employee and personal development. The psychological test is always important for the selection of the employee especially for the selection of an international manager. According to the validity of psychological tests is disputed. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) the psychologists the variation between the different natured job test is very small (Schmidt and Hunter , 1998). According to a survey done by The Graduate Recruitment in 2007 two third or about 67 percent of 219 respondents surveyed said that the results of psychometric test had some influence on recruiting and selection decisions, and 24 percent said that it has strong influence, and only 2 percent said that these test does not have any influence. So the above figure shows the importance of psychometric tests. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) psychological assessment increasingly involves the application of tests in different cultural contexts, either in a single country or different countries. Now a day the demand of cross cultural assessment test is increasing due to the increasing factor of globalization to gain competitive advantage in international market. According to Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985 one of the important option for evaluating the selection process is the use of psychological tests and evaluation dvices. There are number of instruments available to measure the stress level of an individual. Figure: 2.1 (Source: article by Jonathan Passmore, Bread and butter â€Å"How to use psychometrics for coaching†) In figure 2.1 the real importance of psychometric test is shown. Psychometric tests are reliable that the selected person will be the one on whom one can rely. And obviously these kinds of tests are valid for any kind of job. The most important point in this test is that it does not include any biasness and the selectors cannot show the biasness while selecting on the basis of psychometric tests. These tests are also standard for different jobs. So all the above mentioned qualities and factors involve in the psychometric tests. In other words one can say that almost all the abilities present in an individual’s mind can be noticed, and the end result will always ends up in the right selection of expatriate. 2.5.2 Assessment Centre: As the assessment centers are considered to be one of the best selection techniques so according to Sparow and Brewster assessment centers will be the best idea as a selection technique to assess the competency of international managers. This is rarely the case, however. According to sparrow (1999) Even where assessment centers are used to select the managers in international settings, the key cross cultural assessment centers seems to be to design the assessment process so that it is very adaptable to local environment in which it will be operated. So there is need of cross culture assessment centers in which international managers can be assessed accordingly with the changing environment. Krause and Gebert (2003) have done study on international literature on the conception, operation and evaluation of assessment centers. He examined 281 German firms whose language was German and he compares them with the previously studied firms of United States of America. Study showed that both the American and German firms use the assessment centers but the purpose of some of them was different from the basics. For example the competencies assessed for job analysis might be identified through the use of interviews with job incumbents in 79% of US firms and only 39% of German firms. Most of the German firms rely on interviews for the selection of international managers or expatriates. so the assessment centers are considered to be an important process for expatriate selection. 2.5.3 Coffee Machine System This system was the idea of Harris and Brewster (1999) the key findings of the study show the reality of the selection process for expatriate selection in the organizations. In many organizations the selection process falls under what we call ‘coffee machine system’ and this system is the most common form of expatriate selection. What happens is that the senior line manager is standing by the coffee machine when he/she is joined by the colleague: ‘How’s it going?’ ‘Oh, you know, overworked and underpaid.’ Actually Jimmy in Mumbai has just fallen ill and is being flown home. I don’t know who I can choose to work over there at very short notice of time. It is driving me crazy. ‘Have you met Simon on the fifth floor?’ he is working in the same line of work. He is very good and bright and looks like going a long way. He was telling me that he and his wife had great holiday in Goa a couple of years ago. He seems to like India. Could be worthy to speak to him. Hey, thanks I will check and speak to him. ‘No problem. They don’t seem to be able to improve this coffee though, do they?’ What happen in the organization next is that the manger will take some decision and will have informal discussion with his seniors about Simon and then that man will be called and interviewed and selected for the required position. Accordingly HR department and financial department will be involved in the process and the formal and systematic process will be started. This method is rarely used in the organizations in particular cases when there is an urgent need to fill the position of expatriate. 2.6 Niche Assessments According to Bolt (2008 ) Many assessment venders specialize in certain niches and offer off-the-shelf products to meet clients’ testing needs. However, vendors can find such persons or individuals for the company who can fit in the organizations new environment and can coop with the new organization’s culture. Testing is the most important part of the application process of the candidate because testing gives the good idea of the individual’s abilities and competencies. 2.7 Factors involved in selection Process: There are number of factors which affect the performance of expatriate. Dowling, Welch, Schuler, (1999) recognised some of the important and most affective factors and these are the factors which involved to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process. All the factors are shown in a model below. Cross-cultural Suitability MMNE requirements SELECTION DECISION FFamily requirements LLanguage TTechnical Ability CCountry-cultural requirement Figure: 2.2 Source: (Factors in expatriate selection, pg 77 Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999). Figure 2.2 shows the factors which are required for an expatriate each of the above mentioned factors is discussed in detail below. 2.7.1 Technical Ability: According to Hays, 1971 All expatriates are assigned abroad to complete some task weather its building a dam, running some business, or teaching it all depends on the personal technical ability to perform that task. Obviously it is important to consider the individuals’ personal ability to perform the required task assigned to the expatriate. So in selection it is another important area which needs to look at. Different research findings show that the multinational organization give a lot of importance to the technical abilities of the individuals going abroad for international assignments at the time of their selection. According to Harvey and Novicevic,(2001) that technical and functional expertise has been the primary criterion for selecting expatriate managers for assignments. Hixon found that the selection was based on technical ability and willingness to reside abroad. If the individual is selected without keeping in view its technical ability. It can create the big problems for the multinational organizations to complete its related task or assignment. Reinforcing the emphasis on technical skills is the relative ease with which the multinational may assess the potential candidate’s potential, since technical and managerial competence can be determined on the basis of past performance of the individual who is going to be selected as expatriate. In fact domestic selection cannot be equal to the international selection but person can be selected on the basis of past domestic records which he has performed domestically as the basic criteria is always the same in all the multinational organizations so on the basis of past abilities there should not be any problem for the organizations to select the expatriates. This approach is also found by Foster and Johnsen,(1996) who report the results of the research into the expatriate selection practices for the newly internationalized UK organizations which shows that organizations keep in view the technical skills, and previous domestic records while selecting expatriate for international assignments. 2.7.2 Cross Cultural Suitability: The environment and the culture where an expatriate is going is an important factor for an expatriate. So the selectors of the expatriates should always consider the factor of culture for the expatriate. Although these factors does not guarantee for an expatriate for his successes but if these factors are not considered it can lead it towards the failure of expatriate. If the culture is considered then it is always important to study the Hofsted’s dimensions for cross culture and Trompenaar’s dimensions so these researches are explained in detail as follows. 2.7.3 Culture: Culture is always important for any expatriate selection, so it is very necessary for HR managers and selectors to keep the factor of culture in view while selecting expatriate for international assignments. There have been a lot of studies on culture and there are a lot of different definitions of culture some of them are given below. (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next.’’ The life style of people living in the society is called culture it includes the social, economical, political, religious, life style of the individuals in the country. According to Drennan, 1992 â€Å"whatever is going around is called culture.† Culture is the way of life of a group of people. There are obvious differences between the different cultures such as language, dress, religion, beliefs, and behaviours of the people, and there are also implicit differences between the two cultures such as in values, assumptions about how things should be. so these different degrees of explicitness are often called the culture.(ScullionLinehan,2005). So the culture is very important factor for the selection of expatriate because the individuals move from one culture to another culture for the completion of their assignment. 2.7.4 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Greet Hofstede’s culture’s consequences (1980, 2001) explores the differences in thinking and social action at the country level between members of 50 nations and three regions. Hofstede originally used IBM employees’ answers to company attitude survey conducted twice, around 1968 and 1972. The survey generated more than 116,000 questionnaires with the number of respondents used in the analysis being approximately 30,000 in 1969 and 41000 in 1973. Hofstede identified and validated four cultural dimensions from respondents patterned answers. For each dimension, he presented possible origins as well as predictors and consequences for management behavior. Hofsted’s four dimensions are as follows Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism versus Collectivism Masculinity versus Femininity Another dimension which is fifth dimension presented by Michael Bond is Long term versus Short term Orientation was subsequently developed from a research to accommodate non-western orientations and has been adopted from the Chinese Culture Connection study. Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent to which a society expects and accepts a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. It refers to the relationship between supervisors and subordinates. It reflects the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. In organisations an illustration of a high power distance score is generally represented as a highly vertical hierarchical pyramid. Subordinates are often told or ordered about a particular task but they are not normally entitled to discuss the decision made by the top management so basically the meaning of power distance is that higher the person in hierarchy the more difficult will be this person to approach. So there are some barriers for that person to see their top management. The barriers can be of different ways like the person barriers or the employee is not allowed to see the top manager or they are not allowed to attend the high managerial level meetings in which decisions are made. So basically power distance shows the distance between a supervisor and his employee. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. According to Hofsted the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. He argued that high uncertainty avoidance is expressed for example by a company’s need for regulations which tends to minimize in the behaviour of its employees. Company rules are such thing which cannot be broken by the employees even if he think that breaking the rule is in company’s best interest in such sort of environment the work stress is more and uncertainty avoidance is high. On the other hands if the employees are less affected by uncertainty is called low uncertainty avoidance. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Hofsted ask the IBM individuals that how important is to keep in view his work goals rather than the organisation. If there is preferred work goals stress dependence on organisation. For example good physical working condition, good ventilation enough space individualism in the work place can be seen. Collectivism can be seen in preference of collective organis MNE Selection Techniques for International Assignments MNE Selection Techniques for International Assignments Chapter1 Introduction The world has become the global village and globalization has become an important tool for the organizations to be successful in this rapidly changing world. So the coordination between different cultures and people with different backgrounds is increasing in a different multinational organization day by day. So it is very important to study that how the organizations deal with the multicultural set ups within an organization. During the past few decades the rapid changes in economic, social and political environment of the world has led organizations towards the globalization. According to Harvey Novicevic the increasing international activities and global competition resulted in increase in globalization. The process of recruitment and selection has always been very important in any organization. According to Dowling (1999) hiring and placing people in positions where they can perform effectively for the benefit of the organization is the goal of most organizations whether they are domestic or international. Heraty et al (1997) suggested that, in these new changing global condition increasingly, many organizations are transforming jobs into new structures which are more likely based on self directed work teams, made up of empowered individuals with the diverse background are replacing traditional specialized workers. So in this new challenging environment competition is increasing day by day and organizations need such personalities who can adjust themselves with the change. Burack and Singh (1995) also suggested that firms need adaptable people who can rapidly adjust themselves to the changing environment. So the people who are ready to change with the environmental changes always give advantage to the organization, and these kinds of people are very fruitful for the organization. According to ones and Viswesvaran (1997) in this rapidly changing world where the change is taking place every minute the organizations have been sending their members to other parts of the world to complete their assignments. According to Aycan and Kanungo expatriate is an employee of a business or government which is sent abroad to accomplish their organizational goals for temporary period which is more than six months and less than five years. International assignments not only give benefit to the individual expatriate but it also give the competitive advantage to the organization in the global environment. For many organizations sending of expatriate to the other countries to gain competitive advantage in global environment is the part of their overall human resource plan. (Caligiuri Lazarova, 2001). So keeping in view the importance of an expatriate the selection process of an expatriate is also very important step for an organization. According to Dowling the failure of expatriate is due to the selection error. This tells that selection plays an important role for a successful expatriate. So with the changing world it is need to have such staff who can adjust itself with the change. In this paper an effort is being made to give the importance of selection techniques for expatriates within a multinational organization. 1.1 Key purpose of study The world is globalizing day by day and now it is also called global village and specifically UK has become one of the biggest multicultural countries and there are a lot of multinational organizations working in UK With the changing world more of MNEs are sending their expatriates in other parts of the world to accomplish their goals and to gain competitive advantage in global world. As the selection is the most important step for any organization to choose its expatriate and it is always important for MNE’s to choose or select the right person for the given task. In fact an expatriate failure is often result of a selection error, and often compounded by in effective expatriate management policies. (Dowling Welch Schuler, 1999). The key purpose of this study is to show the importance of selection techniques for a MNE when selecting an expatriate for an international assignment. 1.2 Aims The aim of this study is to explore the proper selection techniques which can improve the performance of an expatriate and help him to retain. 1.3 Objectives: To outline the factors that influences the selection of expatriates. To examine different selection methods used for expatriate selection. To discuss in detail, issues of cross cultural variation in selection process of expatriates. 1.4 Hypothesis The hypothesis which is developed for this study is stated as below Without doing proper selection of expatriate much will be poor for the company and result in loss of company. 1.5 Theory an overview There has been a lot of work done on selection techniques of expatriates in last couple of decades. Selection is the most important part of the success of any expatriate, and if the selection is not according to the needs of organization then the failure chances of expatriate. Dowling says that redirecting future performance potential when hiring or promoting staff is challenging at the best time but if operating in foreign environment certainly adds other level of uncertainty. So if the process of selection is beholds specific importance within a domestic organisation then it must have some extra importance while choosing an international staff. 1.6 Selection The selection is kind of prediction of the organization’s peoples or decision makers keeping in view the profile of the candidate for the particular job (Hackett, 1991). The selection is a complete process of analyzing and viewing the profile of the employee and then selecting for the required job. Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to desler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 1.7 Methods of Selection: There are various selection techniques available, and for the selection procedure all of these depending on the situation and culture of the organization. Some of these selection methods are given below. Interviews Tests Assessment centres (Beardwell and Holden, 2001) So the above mentioned procedures are used by different organizations depending upon the nature of job and the normal practice they use within the organization. 1.8 Approaches for the Multinational There are four approaches for the recruitment and selection in any multinational organization. These four approaches are given as follows. Ethnocentric: It is the type of the recruitment approach in which all the key positions and top management is filled by the nationals of the parent company. According to this approach all the top management decisions and the key strategies of the companies is made by the parent country headquarters. Polycentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which the host country fills all the key positions in the subsidiary. Each subsidiary is treated as the separate national entity. But all the key financial decisions are taken by the parent country headquarter. Regiocentric: It is the type of recruitment approach in which regional talent is preferred. For example if the person is required on for the development of any product then the person who will be recruited will be from the host country. Geocentric: This is the kind of approach where the persons are recruited without seen any race, religion or region. This approach is international based and is getting in practice in most of the developed countries like UK, USA etc. 1.9 Methods of international selection The different methods of selection for the expatriate selection which most of the multinational organizations use is as follows Psychometric Tests Assessment Centres Coffee Machine System 1.10 Selection of an Expatriarate The selection of expatriate is a bit different from the local selection of a local manager. For the selection of an international manager there are a lot of extra factors which needs to be considered by the selectors. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going. (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 1.11 Factors involve in selection of an Expatriate. According to Dowling and Welch the factor involve to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process are as Country-cultural requirement Language MNE requirements Technical Ability Cross Cultural Suitability Family Requirements (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999) So keeping in view all the above mentioned factors an expatriate should be selected by a multinational organization. 1.12 Culture: (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down form one generation to the next.’’ 1.13 Corporate culture Corporate culture includes the behavioral patterns, concept, values, ceremonies and rituals that take place in the organization. It gives the members of the organization meaning as well as the internal rule of behavior when these values and beliefs customs’ rules and ceremony are accepted shared and circulated throughout the organization. (Trompenaars Turner 1997, pg 157-181) 1.14 Why consider culture? Adjusting in a new culture is always difficult and it causes problems for both expatriate and family members, therefore it is important for an International HR to look for the similarities of the two cultures in order to deal with the challenges in the business world key activity. dowling, welch,schuler, 1998 pg 132 Recent research shows that the expatriates who are unable to cope with the challenges find it difficult to adjust and incur costly implications. (Caligiuri, 1997, pg: 45-67). The factor of culture is very important for an expatriate selection process and HR managers will have to select such expatriate who is adjustable with the different cultured people and work with them for the cultural dimension Hofstede and Trompenaars cultural dimensions are given as follows 1.15 Hofstede’s four dimensions (1967-1973): Gooderham Nordhang (2003). ‘Culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partially shared with people who live or lived within the same environment, which is where it was learned. It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.’ Hofstede surveyed 116,000 IBM employees in 40 different nations about their preferences in the work environment. The analysis revealed the results creating 4 dimensions: Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent to which a society expects and accepts a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Masculinity-Femininity: Masculine societies value assertiveness, competitiveness and materialism as opposed to the feminine values of relationships and the quality of life. 1.16 Trompenaars’ cultural dimensions: Trompenaars concluded four cultural dimensions that relate to the question of inter-personal relationships and work-related values Gooderham Nordhang (2003). Universalism vs. Particularism Communitarism vs. Individualism: Specific vs. diffuse Achievement vs. ascription: So these four dimensions of Trompenar also affect the selection process of an expatriate for international assignments. 1.17 Strategic choices in expatriate selection: Organizations normally have some strategic choices while selection of an expatriate. These strategic choices are mentioned below. Internal recruitment versus external recruitment Individuals versus teams Technical qualification versus other selection criteria Extrinsic rewards versus intrinsic rewards. Chapter 2 Literature Review: In this chapter researcher tried to discuss all the related studies which are done in past and are available in literature. A lot of work has been done in the literature on the topic of selection. Before proceeding to the actual topic it is necessary to look at the different methods of selection which an organization uses and see that what are the different techniques and criteria which are used for the selection of staff. 2.1 Selection: Moore (2006) discussed this as the selection is the whole process which includes choosing the right candidate for the position from those persons who have been recruited. This involves testing and evaluating the skills of an individual is required for the particular job. According to Dessler (2000) the selection is the process in which the recruited individual is whittled down by using screening tools like assessment centers, interviews, and different tests. 2.2 Expatriate selection: According to (Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999, pg: 154) Multinationals take great care in their selection process, however predicting future performance potential of the concerned staff is challenging at the best of times especially operating in foreign environments adds another level of uncertainty. The expatriate selection process results in higher cost to the multinationals including relocation process, allowance and accommodation apart from the training costs. (Hailey 2000, pg; 90). During the expatriate selection process, 02 conflicting forces operate within the expatriate’s mind. One that pulls the employee into moving to the new place, the other tends to stop him from going (Baruch 2005, pg 129). 2.3 Importance of an Expatriates and International Assignments: The world is globalizing very rapidly and change has become necessary for the organization to survive and to gain competitive advantage internationally. According to Harris and Brewster, 1999. The rapidly globalizing world has increased the need for the international assignments and many of the organizations started considering international management experience for the top management. So the international assignments are becoming an important part for the success of an organization to gain competitive advantage. As discussed by Chen, Tzeng Tang, 2005 that organizations internationalize their operation to gain success and to increase its market value internationally and for this purpose an organization needs effective expatriate who can perform its task properly. In this new era the importance of expatriate has increased because expatriates are the ones who can give an organization proper international exposure and make the organization successful. 2.4 Selection Process: One of the most studied areas for the expatriate selection is the selection process of the expatriate. The selection of expatriate has always been difficult procedure for the multinational organizations. Swaak quotes one HR executive who said. â€Å"My job is to find people in a hurry.† So this system is highly crisis-oriented and unsophisticated. Swaak , 1995. Further confirming the problems for the nature of the selection process Still and Smith (1997) report the results of Australian research, which shows that there were a number of different ways through which expatriates were selected. They studied that the most impressive and important form of selection or evaluation of the expatriate was recommendation of the person by the line manager including chief executive officer or specialist persons. Mostly expatriates in the multinational organizations in a knee-jerk reaction to the need to fill a new or unexpected vacancies overseas. Actually there are well informed intercultural trainers or a good HR professional who selects the expatriates but basically it is HR department within multinational organization who selects the expatriate finally. Managements choose the most technical and competent candidates which makes the expatriates successful internationally. (Shilling, 1993 pg 58). 2.5 Types of selection Process: Psychometric Tests Assessment Centers Coffee machine system 2.5.1 Psychometric Tests: According to Passmore, 2008 Psychometrics are the widely used testing method for the selection of the employee and personal development. The psychological test is always important for the selection of the employee especially for the selection of an international manager. According to the validity of psychological tests is disputed. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) the psychologists the variation between the different natured job test is very small (Schmidt and Hunter , 1998). According to a survey done by The Graduate Recruitment in 2007 two third or about 67 percent of 219 respondents surveyed said that the results of psychometric test had some influence on recruiting and selection decisions, and 24 percent said that it has strong influence, and only 2 percent said that these test does not have any influence. So the above figure shows the importance of psychometric tests. According to Sparow and Brewster (2007) psychological assessment increasingly involves the application of tests in different cultural contexts, either in a single country or different countries. Now a day the demand of cross cultural assessment test is increasing due to the increasing factor of globalization to gain competitive advantage in international market. According to Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985 one of the important option for evaluating the selection process is the use of psychological tests and evaluation dvices. There are number of instruments available to measure the stress level of an individual. Figure: 2.1 (Source: article by Jonathan Passmore, Bread and butter â€Å"How to use psychometrics for coaching†) In figure 2.1 the real importance of psychometric test is shown. Psychometric tests are reliable that the selected person will be the one on whom one can rely. And obviously these kinds of tests are valid for any kind of job. The most important point in this test is that it does not include any biasness and the selectors cannot show the biasness while selecting on the basis of psychometric tests. These tests are also standard for different jobs. So all the above mentioned qualities and factors involve in the psychometric tests. In other words one can say that almost all the abilities present in an individual’s mind can be noticed, and the end result will always ends up in the right selection of expatriate. 2.5.2 Assessment Centre: As the assessment centers are considered to be one of the best selection techniques so according to Sparow and Brewster assessment centers will be the best idea as a selection technique to assess the competency of international managers. This is rarely the case, however. According to sparrow (1999) Even where assessment centers are used to select the managers in international settings, the key cross cultural assessment centers seems to be to design the assessment process so that it is very adaptable to local environment in which it will be operated. So there is need of cross culture assessment centers in which international managers can be assessed accordingly with the changing environment. Krause and Gebert (2003) have done study on international literature on the conception, operation and evaluation of assessment centers. He examined 281 German firms whose language was German and he compares them with the previously studied firms of United States of America. Study showed that both the American and German firms use the assessment centers but the purpose of some of them was different from the basics. For example the competencies assessed for job analysis might be identified through the use of interviews with job incumbents in 79% of US firms and only 39% of German firms. Most of the German firms rely on interviews for the selection of international managers or expatriates. so the assessment centers are considered to be an important process for expatriate selection. 2.5.3 Coffee Machine System This system was the idea of Harris and Brewster (1999) the key findings of the study show the reality of the selection process for expatriate selection in the organizations. In many organizations the selection process falls under what we call ‘coffee machine system’ and this system is the most common form of expatriate selection. What happens is that the senior line manager is standing by the coffee machine when he/she is joined by the colleague: ‘How’s it going?’ ‘Oh, you know, overworked and underpaid.’ Actually Jimmy in Mumbai has just fallen ill and is being flown home. I don’t know who I can choose to work over there at very short notice of time. It is driving me crazy. ‘Have you met Simon on the fifth floor?’ he is working in the same line of work. He is very good and bright and looks like going a long way. He was telling me that he and his wife had great holiday in Goa a couple of years ago. He seems to like India. Could be worthy to speak to him. Hey, thanks I will check and speak to him. ‘No problem. They don’t seem to be able to improve this coffee though, do they?’ What happen in the organization next is that the manger will take some decision and will have informal discussion with his seniors about Simon and then that man will be called and interviewed and selected for the required position. Accordingly HR department and financial department will be involved in the process and the formal and systematic process will be started. This method is rarely used in the organizations in particular cases when there is an urgent need to fill the position of expatriate. 2.6 Niche Assessments According to Bolt (2008 ) Many assessment venders specialize in certain niches and offer off-the-shelf products to meet clients’ testing needs. However, vendors can find such persons or individuals for the company who can fit in the organizations new environment and can coop with the new organization’s culture. Testing is the most important part of the application process of the candidate because testing gives the good idea of the individual’s abilities and competencies. 2.7 Factors involved in selection Process: There are number of factors which affect the performance of expatriate. Dowling, Welch, Schuler, (1999) recognised some of the important and most affective factors and these are the factors which involved to determine an appropriate expatriate selection process. All the factors are shown in a model below. Cross-cultural Suitability MMNE requirements SELECTION DECISION FFamily requirements LLanguage TTechnical Ability CCountry-cultural requirement Figure: 2.2 Source: (Factors in expatriate selection, pg 77 Dowling, Welch, Schuler, 1999). Figure 2.2 shows the factors which are required for an expatriate each of the above mentioned factors is discussed in detail below. 2.7.1 Technical Ability: According to Hays, 1971 All expatriates are assigned abroad to complete some task weather its building a dam, running some business, or teaching it all depends on the personal technical ability to perform that task. Obviously it is important to consider the individuals’ personal ability to perform the required task assigned to the expatriate. So in selection it is another important area which needs to look at. Different research findings show that the multinational organization give a lot of importance to the technical abilities of the individuals going abroad for international assignments at the time of their selection. According to Harvey and Novicevic,(2001) that technical and functional expertise has been the primary criterion for selecting expatriate managers for assignments. Hixon found that the selection was based on technical ability and willingness to reside abroad. If the individual is selected without keeping in view its technical ability. It can create the big problems for the multinational organizations to complete its related task or assignment. Reinforcing the emphasis on technical skills is the relative ease with which the multinational may assess the potential candidate’s potential, since technical and managerial competence can be determined on the basis of past performance of the individual who is going to be selected as expatriate. In fact domestic selection cannot be equal to the international selection but person can be selected on the basis of past domestic records which he has performed domestically as the basic criteria is always the same in all the multinational organizations so on the basis of past abilities there should not be any problem for the organizations to select the expatriates. This approach is also found by Foster and Johnsen,(1996) who report the results of the research into the expatriate selection practices for the newly internationalized UK organizations which shows that organizations keep in view the technical skills, and previous domestic records while selecting expatriate for international assignments. 2.7.2 Cross Cultural Suitability: The environment and the culture where an expatriate is going is an important factor for an expatriate. So the selectors of the expatriates should always consider the factor of culture for the expatriate. Although these factors does not guarantee for an expatriate for his successes but if these factors are not considered it can lead it towards the failure of expatriate. If the culture is considered then it is always important to study the Hofsted’s dimensions for cross culture and Trompenaar’s dimensions so these researches are explained in detail as follows. 2.7.3 Culture: Culture is always important for any expatriate selection, so it is very necessary for HR managers and selectors to keep the factor of culture in view while selecting expatriate for international assignments. There have been a lot of studies on culture and there are a lot of different definitions of culture some of them are given below. (Kluckholn Strodtbeck 1952) define culture as, â€Å"a set of basic assumptions-shared solutions to universal problems of external adaptation (and internal integration- which have evolved over time and are handed down from one generation to the next.’’ The life style of people living in the society is called culture it includes the social, economical, political, religious, life style of the individuals in the country. According to Drennan, 1992 â€Å"whatever is going around is called culture.† Culture is the way of life of a group of people. There are obvious differences between the different cultures such as language, dress, religion, beliefs, and behaviours of the people, and there are also implicit differences between the two cultures such as in values, assumptions about how things should be. so these different degrees of explicitness are often called the culture.(ScullionLinehan,2005). So the culture is very important factor for the selection of expatriate because the individuals move from one culture to another culture for the completion of their assignment. 2.7.4 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Greet Hofstede’s culture’s consequences (1980, 2001) explores the differences in thinking and social action at the country level between members of 50 nations and three regions. Hofstede originally used IBM employees’ answers to company attitude survey conducted twice, around 1968 and 1972. The survey generated more than 116,000 questionnaires with the number of respondents used in the analysis being approximately 30,000 in 1969 and 41000 in 1973. Hofstede identified and validated four cultural dimensions from respondents patterned answers. For each dimension, he presented possible origins as well as predictors and consequences for management behavior. Hofsted’s four dimensions are as follows Power Distance Uncertainty Avoidance Individualism versus Collectivism Masculinity versus Femininity Another dimension which is fifth dimension presented by Michael Bond is Long term versus Short term Orientation was subsequently developed from a research to accommodate non-western orientations and has been adopted from the Chinese Culture Connection study. Power distance: The dimension indicates the extent to which a society expects and accepts a high degree of inequality in institutions and organizations. It refers to the relationship between supervisors and subordinates. It reflects the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. In organisations an illustration of a high power distance score is generally represented as a highly vertical hierarchical pyramid. Subordinates are often told or ordered about a particular task but they are not normally entitled to discuss the decision made by the top management so basically the meaning of power distance is that higher the person in hierarchy the more difficult will be this person to approach. So there are some barriers for that person to see their top management. The barriers can be of different ways like the person barriers or the employee is not allowed to see the top manager or they are not allowed to attend the high managerial level meetings in which decisions are made. So basically power distance shows the distance between a supervisor and his employee. Uncertainty avoidance: This refers to the degree to which a society prefers predictability, security and stability. According to Hofsted the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. He argued that high uncertainty avoidance is expressed for example by a company’s need for regulations which tends to minimize in the behaviour of its employees. Company rules are such thing which cannot be broken by the employees even if he think that breaking the rule is in company’s best interest in such sort of environment the work stress is more and uncertainty avoidance is high. On the other hands if the employees are less affected by uncertainty is called low uncertainty avoidance. Individualism-Collectivism: this dimension relates to the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families rather than being bound to some wider collectively such as extended family. Hofsted ask the IBM individuals that how important is to keep in view his work goals rather than the organisation. If there is preferred work goals stress dependence on organisation. For example good physical working condition, good ventilation enough space individualism in the work place can be seen. Collectivism can be seen in preference of collective organis

Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice.org Essay -- Computers Software Techno

Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice.org According to Microsoft.com, a new version of Microsoft Office 2003 will normally cost anywhere between $400 - $500, depending on which version you get. While Microsoft also has a $150 â€Å"Student and Teacher Edition† which is the same at the $400 Standard Edition, most people do not qualify for that version, and even for those that do, $150 can still be a lot of money, especially for a student, and $400 is much more than most people would want to spend simply to type a document occasionally. These prices seem even more extreme in light of the fact that there are many free alternatives to Microsoft Office. One of the most popular and well known alternatives is OpenOffice.org, which is usually called just OpenOffice or OO. I am going to be discussing whether OO really is comparable to Microsoft Office for the average user. I'm am not going to try to show that OO is a better office suite than Office, because if you ignore the money issue, Office really is an ex cellent collection of programs that have set the standard for office suites in general. All I am going to be looking at is whether OO really has the most of the same capabilities as Office, and is comparable in it's ease of use as well. The word processor is probably the most important application to look at when comparing the two suites. Microsoft's word processor is called Word, and OO's is called Writer. These two programs are very similar in what they are able to do, and it's hard to tell much difference between the two at first glance. If a user is accustomed to Word, Writer has a very familiar look to it, and so a user new to Writer should have no problem jumping right into the program without havin... ...slide at all. That is not to say that Impress is incapable of creating custom animations, it is just that it has troubles displaying the animations from a PowerPoint file. Since the animations could be a big part of a presentation, trying to transfer PowerPoint files over to Impress files can be a lot of work. If the user does not have to transfer files, and can instead create them from scratch in Impress, there is little difference between the two programs capabilities. As we've seen, although there are some big differences between OpenOffice.org and Microsoft Office, both offer the same basic functionality to casual users who might not use some of the more complex features. Coupled with the fact that OpenOffice.org is free, and Microsoft Office can cost anywhere from $150 - $500, it seems clear that OpenOffice.org is a good choice for most people.

History of Western Civilization Essay

Civilizations of societies started long before the times Jesus in the Middle East especially in the ancient Greek and Roman Empires. In the 18th century most European countries followed the suit and underwent changes from pre- industrialized to industrialized nations characterized by social and economic changes. There were a lot of technological innovations which led to increased energy production and thus large scale production of most products with ease. Industrialization has over the years been linked to some factors which enhance fast changes for instance cheap skilled labor, political stability, presence of raw materials and available markets of the products produced. Industrial revolution was experienced in England to the northwest and the midlands. People used to make their own furniture, clothes and equipments until industrialization took over whereby they could buy goods already made from the industries. History of Western Civilization England underwent several civilizations in which there was increased agricultural output (Agrarian revolution) which led to increased population density and eventually led to the industrial revolution. New techniques were initiated and allowed farmers to produce more yield than there before. As time passed machines and other equipments were produced by skilled personnel who sold them to those who were specialized in agriculture. The business to make machines and other related equipments boomed and led formation of a class of people who worked in the industries as they expanded. These machines were very advantageous because they substituted the human job since it did not involve a lot of work and therefore people did not get tired fast. Those who worked in the industries earned more than those who were specialized on agriculture. Most of these industries were located in the urban centers and they would obtain their raw materials from the farmers in the country side. Industrialization in England led to numerous increases in population leading to less arable land and therefore some of the people migrated to other countries where they introduced the new techniques for agriculture and industry (Landes, 1969). However, most of the skilled personnel were not allowed to immigrate to the England’s new colonies so that England would remain superior in technological advances. Industrialization in England was characterized by many factors which made this country to be first to be industrialized. Agrarian, commercial and cottage revolutions greatly enhanced the fast social and economic changes in this country leading to a lot of extra money which facilitated the improvement of infrastructure. The industries spread all over England and Europe and since the number of workers were reducing as a result of immigration to England colonies, they resulted in taking people from the countries that were still not in the process of social and economic change especially in Africa and made them to work in their farms and industries as slaves. As more and more industries were built the private sector was also changing as money for expansion and setting up of more industries was needed. This led to the emergence of banks and other financial institutions which financed all these industrialization activities. These institutions gave loans to people to expand and introduce more industries and then repay later with the profits obtained. At around this time of industrialization most people used wood as a source of energy for the industries. The number of industries increased enormously and therefore the number of trees reduced drastically and made the people to think of alternative source of energy. They came up with coal which was used in the industries as an alternative and could be even used in homes. The coal mines were usually flooded with water at times and a method of pumping water out of the mines was innovated but the coal would not generate power. This method was not embraced and therefore coal was not a lasting solution and more innovations needed to be initiated for instance in the textile industry. Textile industry in England was the first industry to be mechanized and utilized wool which obtained from large scale sheep farms in the country. Weaving was usually done in cottages by skilled people after which the yarn was taken to the industries where it would be made in to clothes. England by then conquered many colonies where they would grow cotton in addition to importing cotton and used to substitute the wool. At around 1773 John Kay introduced a machine he named the flying shuttle which made it possible for a person to easily weave. In the textile industry machines that utilized water for energy were introduced. This machinery could reduce the cost of production and at the same time increase the rate of production. These measures were taken when the cost of production started to sky rocket reducing the profits of the merchants and the merchants did not want to raise the goods prices in a quest to maintain their customers. Transportation in England was favored by the fact that it had many rivers and natural harbors which greatly reduced transportation costs because rivers covered most areas and therefore goods could be transported to most parts of the country. Canals were also built on rivers which were not naturally navigable and also facilitated easy transportation of raw materials from farms in England and from distant colonies and transportation of finished products from the industries to the consumers. Tram ways which were pulled by horses were also used especially when transporting goods inland until when trains were made and used instead because they relatively faster. Due to the limitation of the road transport some people decided to borrow loans from the financial institutions ton repair them and then use toll fees to repay the loans. This would also ensure easy transportation of goods in areas where the rivers and coastline was far away. Improvement of roads led to introduction of stage coaches which would transport even people from one area to another. Transport was boosted with the introduction and improvement of railway. The first type of railway was wooden and did not last long until when iron plates were put on top of the wood and the railway became more durable. Another factor that facilitated faster industrialization of England is its isolation from the European mainland. This helped this country to evade the wars that were occurring at this time for instance the Napoleon war. They concentrated more on development and industrialization of their country till the wars were over. After the war the British took advantage of selling their products to the other European countries and the Americas at relatively cheap prices thereby making a lot of profits. The private sector with the government support also helped a lot by offering loans to people for expansion and initiation of new industries and for the repair of roads which enhanced faster movement of goods between places. Conclusion Civilization of England in many ways has influenced the modern world with only improvement of the machineries that were made during the period of industrialization. The support from the government and relative stability of the country made it to develop even faster without any worries of attacks during the war of Napoleon in the mainland. Advancements in technology led to improvement and construction of new transport systems and infrastructure which also facilitated movement of raw materials and finished products to the several destinations within England and other countries. Civilization in England led to migration of people to the urban centers where they would be able to obtain jobs in the urban centers. This situation is the same even in the modern days where especially young people move to the towns and cities in search of better jobs in the industries. References Jackson, S. Western Civilization: A Brief History. 4th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2007. Jacob, F. The Development of Western Civilization : A study in Ethical, Economic and Political Kenneth, P. Steven, T. The world that trade created: society, culture, and the world economy, 1400- the present. 2nd Edition. M. E Sharpe, 1999. Richard, B. Society and Economy in Modern Britain 1700-1850. Routledge, 1991. Evolution. The University of Chicago Press, 1906. Roy, P. David, L. The Cambridge History of Science: Eighteenth-century science. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Free Essays on Typical Americans

DIALECT (TYPICAL AMERICANS) Dialects in this novel generate serious amount of emotion for readers who know Chinese culture well. Gish Jen ¡Ã‚ ¦s technique of translating Chinese dialogue with increasing amounts of English language thrown in, helps to put us in Helen and Ralph' minds as they journey between languages, cultures, and ways of thinking. The dialects have gained insight for non-Chinese and acquaintance of Chinese. For instance, in China, a person ¡Ã‚ ¦s character is believed written on face and palms. That is why humans are born with unique appearances and fingerprints. Those experts who read one ¡Ã‚ ¦s character and fate by looking at their hands are called sheng xi. On the other hand, feng shui, literally means wind and water. It is an ancient Chinese study of the natural environment. Feng shui can determine the best or most favorable location for anyone and assist that person to avoid their worst or least desirable location in any environment. Throughout ancient China, classical feng shui was a closely guarded discipline used as a tool to ensure the good health, wealth, and power of the imperial dynasties.  ¡Ã‚ §Ralph and Helen joked about hiring a feng shui expert to determine a propitious day for the grand opening. ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Pg. 237) Only Chinese expression can bring out the ideas of the traditional Chinese knowledge.  ¡Ã‚ §Do you know that saying, about a wife ¡Ã‚ ¦s ankle? Being tied to her husband ¡Ã‚ ¦s? ¡Ã‚ ¨ (pg.65) Helen is talking about an old Chinese myth about  ¡Ã‚ §red strings ¡Ã‚ ¨. Once upon a time, there was an old man called Moon Old living on Moon. Moon Old is one of the gods in Chinese myths. His red strings determine love. By tying his red strings between the ankles of two persons, their destinies become intertwined as well; the effect is that they will be repeatedly meeting each other wherever they may travel. The string will never vanish after the connection is made. Nothi... Free Essays on Typical Americans Free Essays on Typical Americans DIALECT (TYPICAL AMERICANS) Dialects in this novel generate serious amount of emotion for readers who know Chinese culture well. Gish Jen ¡Ã‚ ¦s technique of translating Chinese dialogue with increasing amounts of English language thrown in, helps to put us in Helen and Ralph' minds as they journey between languages, cultures, and ways of thinking. The dialects have gained insight for non-Chinese and acquaintance of Chinese. For instance, in China, a person ¡Ã‚ ¦s character is believed written on face and palms. That is why humans are born with unique appearances and fingerprints. Those experts who read one ¡Ã‚ ¦s character and fate by looking at their hands are called sheng xi. On the other hand, feng shui, literally means wind and water. It is an ancient Chinese study of the natural environment. Feng shui can determine the best or most favorable location for anyone and assist that person to avoid their worst or least desirable location in any environment. Throughout ancient China, classical feng shui was a closely guarded discipline used as a tool to ensure the good health, wealth, and power of the imperial dynasties.  ¡Ã‚ §Ralph and Helen joked about hiring a feng shui expert to determine a propitious day for the grand opening. ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Pg. 237) Only Chinese expression can bring out the ideas of the traditional Chinese knowledge.  ¡Ã‚ §Do you know that saying, about a wife ¡Ã‚ ¦s ankle? Being tied to her husband ¡Ã‚ ¦s? ¡Ã‚ ¨ (pg.65) Helen is talking about an old Chinese myth about  ¡Ã‚ §red strings ¡Ã‚ ¨. Once upon a time, there was an old man called Moon Old living on Moon. Moon Old is one of the gods in Chinese myths. His red strings determine love. By tying his red strings between the ankles of two persons, their destinies become intertwined as well; the effect is that they will be repeatedly meeting each other wherever they may travel. The string will never vanish after the connection is made. Nothi...