IHRM Portfolio Assessment For International Selection

Job specification

Discuss about the IHRM Portfolio Assessment for International Selection.

The Stairway Engineering has initiated an eight-year joint venture with a Russian government backed organisation to work on a proposed brand new railway network at Kamchatka in Siberia. The company needs to hire Quality Compliance manager within four weeks, as there is an urgent requirement to supervise the project (McEvoy and Buller 2013). The company will appoint a skilled individual who can fulfil the following criteria.

General idea of the project should be very clear to work on this joint venture. As the location of the proposed railway network is Siberia, company will prioritize those candidates who have prior experience of working in Siberia. Otherwise, candidates, coming with the experience of at least one international assignment will be considered more efficient for the designation. It will be helpful if the candidate comes with little knowledge on native language of Russia. Although, he/she should be comfortable communicating in English and excellent IT skill is essential for this job role.  The job role may demand to relocate to Russia for 3-4 months and the candidate should be travel-friendly. The ability to manage and develop relationship with the co-workers and the sound concept of professional regulations are necessary.

A quality compliance manager should have a clear understanding of the process and will be responsible for delivering regular numerical reports, information and feedbacks regarding the development of the project (Hu et al. 2012). The quality compliance team will be managed under his/her supervision. The job is to monitor the quality of the service, motivate, support and lead the team towards right direction in order to accomplish day-to-day target. The skill of managing resource and time is the most important criteria as well as framing the budget for investment.

Stairway Engineering Group has made a list of shortlisted candidates following the previously mentioned criteria. Three professionals have been chosen as eligible candidates for the designation of Quality Compliance Manager. Before discussing the profiles of the short listed candidates, it is important to discuss the selection process the company is following and which aspects will be evaluated in order to select the manager for an international project (Van den Brink, Fruytier and Thunnissen 2013). The world is transforming at a rapid pace by the effect of globalization and to survive under the circumstances, there is a tendency among the multinational companies to gain competitive advantage on the international platform. While recruiting an individual for a managerial post of an international assignment, international management experience is a basic thing companies look for. The job role performs a vital role to determine the organisation’s success and helps to gain international exposure. The motto of the management to select the most technically skilled and competent candidate who can make the expatriates successful at international ventures (Stavrou, Casper and Ierodiakonou 2015). Though there are some limitations regarding recruiting a female manager for a project overseas (Tatli, Vassilopoulou and Özbilgin 2013). A brief discussion over the abilities of the shortlisted candidates may assist to recruit the eligible candidate who can perfectly carry out the mentioned job role. While choosing the candidate the management mostly followed the framework of Harris and Brewster’s (1999) and according to this selection theory, to be eligible for an expatriate one should have cultural knowledge of the place he or she is moving to and a broader mind-set to adjust with the new atmosphere. This is possible only if the candidate is having prior experience of working in international projects. Moreover, Technical and analytical skills are taken as priority.

Analysis of shortlisted profiles

Peter Vert (46),  belongs to Tallinn, Estonia. He is currently working as a production engineer. He completed his education while his stay in France and Germany. He possesses 15 years of experience under this organisation and he led two successful international projects in Poland and France. The candidate has experience of working on more than one international projects. It can be expected that 15 years of total work experience will help him to handle this joint venture really well. Undoubtedly, he is one of the eligible candidates for these reasons. Yet, company should remember that he is living with his wife and daughter. Company may face issues with the expenses of relocation and he is unable to communicate in Russian language.

Daniel Koch (35), is from Germany yet his mother tongue is Russian. He received education from institutes of UK. Before joining Stairway, he used to work with an engineering company in UK as a quality supervisor.  Daniel has a plus point that he knows the native language of Russia. There is no extra expense of relocation as he is single. Though there is no doubt about efficiency, his working experience is not that impressive as far as the responsibility of this particular designation is concerned. In addition, he had not worked as a surveyor on any international projects.

Under Stairway group, Aline Jacques (32), has been working as a production engineer and she had analysed the technical issues of a joint venture previously. She has experience of working on the technologies, which have been decided to apply in this Russian project. She is married and a mother of two children. Although, she does not have much knowledge on Russian language, she acquires prior concept of those technologies to be used in this proposed joint venture with Russian organisation. It might help her to achieve the position of technical analyst. In the interview, she has impressed the recruiters with her understanding of corporate concerns and strategies. She is not comfortable with the relocation for a long span of time as she is having two children to take care of. However, she has no further issues to travel frequently.

The stairway engineering company finally has appointed the Quality Compliance manager and surprisingly, none of the shortlisted candidates has been chosen for the designation. George Connor was appointed for the job role and company did not disclose the recruitment process. As per the understanding of expatriate selection from Harris and Brewster’s (1999), this report will analyse the reason behind recruiting George Connor for this job role. The literal meaning of expatriate is a person who relocates to other country in order to work for his company (Cerdin and Brewster 2014). It takes huge monetary resource to appoint expatriates. Management should be cautions while appointing employees for international projects as it involves various indirect costs and delivering the quality service is essential as well (Hearn, Metcalfe and Piekkari 2012) (Andresen, Bergdolt and Margenfeld 2012). The management followed the traditional process while recruiting and the shortlisted candidates were eliminated after the evaluation according to the parameters set by the theory of Harris and Brewster’s (1999). They considered the following criteria to be eligible for the post.

• Technical knowledge- The chosen person must ensure that he/she has adequate technical knowledge to fulfil the requirement on the field. Besides, being a candidate, competencies, experience and ability to execute the assigned task properly should be the priority.  
• International work experience- The candidate should have prior experience of working on international projects. It will assist them to handle corporate issues in a foreign land efficiently.
• Cross-cultural suitability- The candidate must have knowledge of the culture and language of the new country where the project is about to start. In this particular case, George Connor had a detail understanding of the culture and environment of Russia. As he had more than 20 years of work experience on international projects, it would be easier for him to adapt with the new culture. Language is a vital factor, as the manager would deal with local workers. It should be adapted as soon as possible; at least familiarity with some native terms would help to communicate with the Russians.
• Attitude towards challenges- An expatriate is expected to be open-minded towards new culture and the nation. Efficiency would be judged on the ability to handle corporate challenges and he/she should be flexible with non-familiar work environment.

Analysis for selection process at Stairways engineering company

These factors influenced the management of Stairway engineering company while selecting an expatriate on the job role of Quality Compliance Manager (Vaiman, Haslberger and Vance 2015). Shortlisted candidates lagged behind for different issues based on the above-mentioned parameter. The management is looking forward to implement their technology to build up the railway network under the supervision of George, the Quality compliance manager.

The proposed location for the new railway network is the Kamchatka region of Russia. Russian government is collaborating with this organisation and being a part of this company, HLE is going to take over the project and had hired for the post of quality compliance manager. There is a brief outline of the location, where new the railway network is going to be constructed (Gvosdev and Marsh 2013).

• Brief overview of the location- Russia is the largest country in the world if the area is measured, having the population of 144 million as of December 2017. Russia holds the position of ninth most populous country across the world. As it covers a vast area, diversity can be spotted on a large scale around this country. Russian is the official language, which means it is important to have the ability to understand the language for the expatriate. Moscow, one of the largest cities of the world, is the capital of this country.
• Introduction to the Kamchatka region- Kamchatka is a peninsula, situated in Russia, covers a vast area in the Russian Far East. The Pacific Ocean and the sea of Okhotsk respectively make its eastern and western coastline. The climate of this region is mostly cold. The peninsula receives cold arctic winds from Siberia and for this reason it covers itself in snow from October to late May. In general, the region has a subarctic climate though one can experience polar climate in the higher altitudes. The temperature in summer likely to be 16’c and in winter the normal temperature lies between -8’c to -10’c. The expatriate should be that flexible to work under this environment and the management believed that George was capable of implementing their plan into reality.
• Russian business culture-It is difficult for foreign business organisations to make a business venture possible in Russia without any native connection. It is very essential to have patience while dealing with the Russians because they do not take decisions immediately; they tend to examine all the factors, which may influence the venture. Due to the cold temperature, people wear gloves and it is considered as a rude gesture if someone does not remove gloves while shaking hands. Maintaining direct eye contact and firm handshakes always leave a good impact while working on a business deal. Russians are particular about not using first names while addressing someone out of formality. Unlike other cultures, Russians are not fond of speaking loudly in public. They like foreigners with keen interest on their history and culture. They appreciate the urge of learning Russian language among the non-Russians, so to begin a good relationship with the Russian co-worker, one can at least try to speak in their language. Undoubtedly, he/she would receive immense co-operation from their end. Business professionals should not initiate a conversation regarding the political issues faced by the country to avoid conflict. While attending business meetings Russians often do not be on time just to check the patience of the negotiator though punctuality is appreciated in the sectors. As it is previously mentioned, one person needs to be very patient while negotiating with them. Dress code, maintained by them, is highly conservative and formal. There are some general body language factors, which are not appreciated by Russians. Informal gestures are not entertained like, addressing someone with the forefinger or placing hands in the pocket amidst of a formal gathering. The fact about business card is one can always have a Russian translation on the other side of it.

It had been partially confirmed from the management of HLE that the shortlisted female candidate, Aline Jacques, might join as a technical analyst in this project as well. However, the management is in a dilemma whether it would be a wise decision to assign her with this task (Skaggs, Stainback and Duncan 2012). International assignments bring the opportunity for the companies to achieve more exposure that is global. Hence, the demand for expatriate employees are increasing rapidly to handle the overseas operations efficiently. This pool of expatriates traditionally excludes woman candidates from the international projects because of some risk factors (Al Ariss, and Crowley-Henry 2013). Yet, to re-examine the fact companies have started to appoint female expatriates into their overseas assignments (Brandl, Mayrhofer and Reichel 2014). This initiative will be helpful to get over from the reluctant attitude of management towards female expatriates. As it is a tradition in corporate culture not to hire female candidates for international projects, the question occurs whether they can adjust in this atmosphere where there is scarcity of woman managers (Faucett, Corwyn and Poling 2013). The companies are reluctant to hire woman candidates because managers possess negative perception towards women working overseas and those factors use to hinder their participation though they have the similar potential like other male candidates. The management also considers their role as a homemaker and their physical security (Noguera, Alvarez and Urbano 2013). These are the factors, which discourage a company to hire woman candidates. Women should come forward and break all the stereotypes proving themselves as efficient as other candidates (Boserup, Tan and Toulmin 2013). A recent study has pointed out the success of business ventures with a foreign country, mostly depends on how the expatriates react towards the new culture after relocating to an unknown country. One of the most common traits of women is adjustment. They can adapt changes more quickly than men can and it is a universal fact that women are known for their capability of doing several tasks at the same time (Alfes et al. 2013). Most of the IHRM theories do not focus on the role of women in a managerial post so the management of Stairway engineering is seriously concerned whether their choice of technical analyst is the best or not. However, as per the interview results, management has developed a faith on her capability. It will not be a wrong decision if the higher authority will recruit her as a technical analyst.

Cultural report

Finally, after an elaborated interview session and discussion the management of Stairway engineering works has selected their Quality Compliance manager and technical analyst for their new international joint venture with the Russian government. In order to execute the whole programme within a scheduled period, management felt to organise a detail discussion session with the assignees. Along with George Connor, the compliance manager and Aline Jacques, the technical analyst, few members of the board of management will be present. Some of the Russian delegates have committed to attain the meeting, as it is more important for them to know how the upcoming railway network is going to be. There is an activity chart which will be followed on the induction day of the project. A guide will be provided by the company that how they can adjust with the Russian culture and  learn their language (Hubbard 2013).

9.00am- 10-00am	10-00am – 10:30 am	10.30 am-1.00pm	1.00pm- 2.00 pm	2.00pm- 3.30pm	3.30pm- 5.00pm
Induction	Refreshment	A timeline of the project will be framed after consulting with the professionals assigned for the job. Technical issues of the project will be discussed.	Lunch break	Brief overview of Russian culture and language will be provided. Employees will be introduced to Russian Business etiquettes as well.	A discussion on key issues faced by managers and female workers working on international assignments

References

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