Blog 9 CH 13

       Managing human resources globally is one of the most difficult elements when working globally. There are many decisions that go into staffing for international positions. Staffing refers to the human resource management activities that are associated with hiring employees and filling positions. In multinational enterprises there are two types of employees. Host-country nationals which are from the host country and often known as "locals," and expatriates which are individuals working in a foreign company. Expatriates come in two types parent-country nationals which come from the parent country of the MNE and work at its local subsidiary. and then third country nationals (TCNs) which come from either the parent country nor the host country.
     In Chapter 13 they go on to inform you that there are three approaches for making staffing decisions for top positions at subsidiaries. An ethnocentric approach emphasizes the norms and practices of the parent company. In contrast a poly centric approach is the opposite of an ethnocentric approach it focuses on the norms and practices of the host country. "When it Rome, do as the Romans do." The third and final approach is a geocentric approach which focuses on finding the most suitable managers who can be PCNs, HCNs, or TCNS. A geocentric approach is considered color-blind, the color of a manger's passport does not matter.

     Expatriation is leaving one's home country to work in another country. Only few of the selected expatriates within companies can play the challenging multidimensional roles effectively. Unfortunately, it is not surprising that expatriate failure rates are high. Expatriate failure can be defined in several ways including premature (earlier then expected) return,  unmet business objectives, and unfulfilled career development objectives. Expatriation can fail for a variety of reasons. The leading cause is the spouse and family's inability to adjust to life in a foreign country. In a different case such as Japanese MNEs the leading cause is the inability to cope with the larger scope of responsibilities overseas. It is usually a combination of work-related and personal-related problems that lead to expatriate failures.
   I myself, am unaware if I am capable of being an expatriate or not. I know within my major it usually is common for one to go and experience living overseas whether it be as an exchange student or expatriate, however I have not come to terms with it yet. I am an extremely family-oriented person and am unsure as to whether or not I would be capable of being away for so long. My family as well as my boyfriend are in my life everyday. I do not know if I am capable from one day to the next not seeing them or experiencing anything with them for who knows how long. I give a lot of credit to those people who are willing to travel overseas for employment opportunities.