International HRM Issues for Expatriates: A Case Study Report

This report examines the human resource management (HRM) issues faced by expatriates, focusing on challenges like language barriers, cultural differences, and standardization of HRM practices. The research is based on an interview with an HR officer from Woolworths, Australia, who worked in China. The report analyzes the impact of these issues on productivity, discusses international performance management, and explores the cultural context of HRM. It critically evaluates these issues and provides recommendations for addressing them, including talent management, career management, and cultural integration strategies. The report highlights key findings related to career management, repatriation, and the need for flexible corporate policies. The study also emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations, diversity, and inclusion in managing expatriates. Finally, it analyzes the core and augmented skills required for expatriates and provides recommendations for successful international assignments.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human resource management issues for expatriates
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Executive summary
Expatriation plays an important role in improving the expansion of an organization in the
different markets. However, in this relation, there are significant issues that are being faced
by an expatriate relating to the language barriers, cultural differences and HRM standardized
practices. The research specifically delved into the issues relating to expatriation while
conducting an interview with an HR officer of Woolworths, working in China. Therefore, the
purpose of undertaking the research is to develop cognition on the expatriation related
concerns through conduction of an interview.

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Table of contents
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................3
Developing cognition on the issues with expatriation through interview..............................3
Methodology..............................................................................................................................4
Standardisation of the HRM practices...................................................................................4
International performance management.................................................................................5
Cultural context of HRM.......................................................................................................5
Discussion..................................................................................................................................6
Analysis of the issues.............................................................................................................6
Findings......................................................................................................................................8
Critical evaluation of the issues.............................................................................................8
Recommendations for addressing the issues............................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Human resource management is one of the crucial aspects of business, which helps in
effective handling of the resources for accomplishing the targets. The focus in this context is
on management of the staffs (human resource), who occupy the central position in the
business. They are the ones, who contribute in enhancement of the productivity through the
practical application of the learnt skills (Tung 2016). Monitoring and controlling the
performance of the staffs is assistance in terms of making estimates about the direction to
which the business would head in the future financial years. Expatriates contribute in
expansion of the scope and arena of the business through outsourcing of the data to the
external environment. This report attempts to shed light on the potential human resource
management issues for expatriates. Moreover, the research will also conduct an interview
session with Steven Ruffle, the HR officer of Woolworths, Australia. The interview would
analyse the different issues that was encountered by the manager while working as an
expatriate in China. Analysis and evaluation is conducted for measuring the extent to which
these issues affect the productivity of Woolworths.
Literature Review
Developing cognition on the issues with expatriation through interview
Expatriation is a strategy adopted by the companies like Woolworths for expanding
the scope and arena of the market share. The major objective of this strategy is to provide
international career enhancement opportunities to the employees. In this connection, the
interview that was conducted with Steven Ruffle, the HR officer of Woolworths, Australia.
The interview disclosed the different issues that were faced by the manager while operating
in a completely different organizational scenario in China. It has been noted during the
interview that the concerns related to skills transfer affected competency levels of Ruffle

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while meeting the professional needs, demands and requirements of the specialized officers
in the Chinese context. According to Fee and McGrath-Champ (2017), the duration of stay in
the foreign countries can be temporary or permanent according to the nature of the business.
Companies like Woolworths levies the expectations of knowledge of the language along with
socio-cultural and economic differences in case of the expatriates.
Methodology
The interview reflected on the issues that were faced by Ruffle while operating in the
Chinese context for the expansion project of the concerned organization. Mostly, technical
abilities, cross-cultural suitability, proficiency in languages and knowledge transfer were the
major hindrances that were encountered by Ruffle. Again the differences between the
standardization of HRM practices and the language barriers affected the adaptability of the
expatriate while operating as per the organizational objectives. Along with this, Noe et al.
(2017) states that the other criterions of selection are personality traits, adjustability skills,
environmental variables and family condition.
Standardisation of the HRM practices
Standardisation of the HRM practices evokes mutual understanding among the staffs
regarding accomplishing the identified and specified and objectives. The essential attributes
in this aspect are consistency, transparency and alignment. Localisation of the HRM practices
results in the enhancement of the cultural values, norms and traditions. Legislations,
governmental policies and education systems are the agents, which supports in
standardisation and globalisation of the practices. In this context, Dowling, Festing and Engle
(2013) is of the view that the major requirements are strategy, structure, corporate culture and
firm size along with maturity. On the contrary, localization relates to the requirements of the
parameters of culture and institute.

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International performance management
Revision of the selection and recruitment policies is one of the means, which
transcends the business from the internal environment to the external. Studying the domestic
market condition seems to be effective for formulating appropriate expansion policies. The
approaches of ethnocentric, polycentric and parent country national reflects the bread and
butter of human resource management. Assessment, agenda and planning helps in effective
handling of the assets and liabilities. The exposed performance is reviewed on the basis of the
identified goals and objectives (Fee and McGrath-Champ 2017). One of the challenges
related to performance management in MNE is consideration of performance management
challenges as control mechanism. The other constraints in the direction is that of non-
comparable data, which aggravates the complexities in mapping the position in the
competitive ambience of the market.
Mergers and acquisitions are one of the forms, which expands the scope and arena of
the business. The emphasis needs to be on the strategic and financial goals along with cultural
implications. Proper management techniques towards inheritance of the mergers and
acquisitions in the cultural differences adds value to the assets. In case of management of the
expatriate roles, agent of direct control is exerted according to the provided power and
authority. In this case, Dowling, Festing and Engle (2013) relates the dimension of
individualism as proposed by Hofestede. Corporate approaches towards staffing is considered
to broaden the localisation practices, considering the current labour market condition. In this
case, scientific management theory stated by Frederick Taylor can be correlated.
Cultural context of HRM
The cultural context of HRM relates to the debate between the best practice and best
fit. The global model of HRM is considered for delving deeper into the appropriate and
relevant aspects, which can be applied into the current business practices. Globalized

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orientation contradicts the dominant orientation reflecting the approach and the arguments
towards executing the HRM practices. Lauring, Selmer and Kubovcikova (2019) is of the
view that cultural differences are mandatory to be considered before the formulation of the
decisions. Orientation of HR practices lack transfer across the boundaries, which requires
dominance according to the required power and authority. According to the geocentric
approaches, the ability is more than the nationality. However, nationality is crucial, which
enhances the culture and the associated elements.
Discussion
Analysis of the issues
Talent management and development initiatives reflects the measures of brands like
Woolworths to calculate the return on investments. In case of the expatriates, there is absence
of proper strategies, which aggravates the complexities towards demarcating the expectations
of the expatriates and driving the business accordingly. This is mostly the case with the
relocation, which delays the return of the expatriates into the home country. In such a
situation, the expatriates think of permanently settling in the host country, as the prospects are
flexible in terms of attaining career enhancement. According to the arguments of Harzing,
Pudelko and Sebastian (2016), most of the expatriates experience improper career
management strategies and approaches, resulting in switch overs. This situation results in the
loss for the companies in terms of maintaining the market position in the competitive
ambience of the market.
Al Ariss and Sidani (2016) is of the view that incapabilities towards promotion of the
expatriates adversely affects the calculation of the return on investments. Within this,
mention can be made of the corporate policies, lacking flexibility in terms of demarcating the
tenure for which the expatriates would stay in the host country. This issue is a major concern

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for managing the career of the expatriates. The rules of the package are not exercised
properly, which puts the future career of the expatriates at stake (Sparrow, Brewster and
Chung 2016). In most of the other cases, the failure also results from the incompetencies
towards management of stress towards finding new career opportunities. Relocating to the
host countries results in difficult job market, loss of the job prospects, absence of job
satisfaction and others. All of these aspects generates depression within the expatriates
regarding investing their skills in the services of the brands.
Settling in the host country also has separate series of issues like cost of living,
partners, employment status and others. Apart from this, McNulty and Brewster (2018)
highlights that failure towards catering to the cultural settlement needs of the expatriates is
also a matter of serious concern in terms of the performance management. Here, the main
focus is on training, which adds an interrogative parameter to the dimension of culture in the
process of recruitment and selection of the expatriates. As a result of this, the expatriates are
deprived of the cultural integration. This aspect is a serious challenge, depicting the conflict
between the cultural norms and the individual thought process of the expatriates
(Ramaswami, Carter and Dreher 2016). Simultaneously, it is also a battle between the culture
of the home and host country.
Language barriers is one of an important aspect in case of expatriation. If the skill and
knowledge transfer is not proper, then travelling across borders is a challenging issue.
Breaches of the psychological contract is unethical, which nullifies expatiation. In this
context, ethical code of conduct is vital, in which diversity and inclusion are two of the
essential parameters. Karunarathne and Froese (2018) states that with the increase in the non-
traditional expatriates, most of the companies have failed to embrace the changes and shifts
in the global policies. Poor representation of the minority groups is also an issue towards
globalizing the operations. Along with this, mention can be made of the inconsistency in the

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policies for the communities is an obstacle towards diversifying the workplace culture (Wang
and Varma 2019).
Findings
Critical evaluation of the issues
Globalization is needed in terms of expanding the scope and arena of the business.
Bader, Reade and Froese (2019) is of the view that cross borders and virtual teams are
accounted as an important parameters in the managerial responsibilities. International
assignments and projects are introduced, where the expatriates are send to the foreign
countries for temporary or permanent period. This is accompanied with the consideration of
the increasing foreign direct investments.
The variables of domestic and international reflects the internal and external
environment of the organizations. Relocation and orientation are the concepts, which assists
in embracing new culture. International staffing strategies are formulated for management of
the nationals in the home country, Host County and the third country (Pokharel 2016).
Expatriates are accounted as the home country nationals, who are sent to the foreign countries
with projects and assignments.

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Fig: Changes in the staffing policies
(Source: Meyer and Xin 2018)
In case of the expatriates, the core skills, which are used for measurement are that of
core skills and augmented skills. Core skills relate to the skills of problem solving, self-
organizational and evaluative skills, which contributes to the company’s success. On the
contrary, augmented skills are the skills, which enhances and upgrades the managerial skills,
competencies and abilities. In this case, calculation of the failure rate is conducted for
assessing the market position. In this analysis, the main focus is on the assessment of the
reasons of failure, which compels the expatriates to adopt early departure from the host
countries (McNulty and Brewster 2017). As a matter of specification, the causes of expatriate
failure are as follows:
 Family settlement problems
 Cost of living
 Adjustability issues
 Poor performance management issues

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 Other prospective offers
 Repatriation issues
Manapova, Mukhtаrovа and Chernov (2016) highlights that family settlement issues
degrades the work life balance. If there is no satisfaction in the personal and the professional
life, it evokes dissatisfaction among the staffs towards the lifestyle. This is the stage, where
there is a need for relocation into the other countries. The purpose in this context is
representing the home countries for fulfilling the assignments and projects, however, it turns
into the push factor compelling the expatriates to make plans for relocating into this host
country (Bader, Schuster and Bader 2016). This is not the end of the troubles, as it gives rise
to series of related problems, which includes language barriers, searching for properties at
cheaper rates and others. Adjustability issues are high, which is often negative, which results
in worsened health conditions due to change in the lifestyle.
The managers controlling the performance of the expatriates are provided with
incentives, which acts as their empowerment. These incentives are flexible, as it suffices the
need of paying the rents, security deposits, health and safety issues, taxes and others. In case
of the expatriate, the compensation systems are used for luring them towards the international
projects and assignments (Suutari, Brewster and Dickmann 2018). This is an initiative of
globalizing the operations into the foreign markets through the means of the career
enhancement plans. These compensation systems are of two types: home based pay and
balance sheet approach and host based pay. Home based pay relates to the compensatory
practices in the home country. Balance sheet approach is used for mapping the power and
authority of the expatriate in the home country. This is inclusive of the base pay, cost of
living allowances, incentive premiums and assistance programs (Lauring, Selmer and
Kubovcikova 2019).

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In case of the host based pay, it is considered to be equal to the salary earned by the
expatriates. Localization strategies are formulated for mapping the feasibility of the pay
packages according to the economy of the host country (Suutari et al. 2018). Apart from this,
the pay also includes medical expenses, personal security and education expenditures.
Cultural differences in the learning and teaching styles is separate for the staffs, which
requires additional resources. Timely evaluation of the resources and capabilities is needed in
terms of averting inadequacies at the actual time of conducting the assignments and projects
for enhancing the productivity (Posthuma et al. 2019).
Recommendations for addressing the issues
 Strategic alliance with EU would be assistance in terms of gaining an insight into the
latest legislations relating to globalization. However, evaluation is mandatory in terms
of ensuring that competitive policies are fair and transparent enough for maintaining
the stability in the relationship with the competitors.
 In case of hiring international staffs, the requirements of work permit, visa,
apprenticeship of the training programs would be mandatory.
 Creation of transnational teams would be beneficial in terms of diversifying the
workplace culture.
 The managers need to map the selection criteria for hiring the right expatriate. For
this, revision of the selection and recruitment policies would be an innovative step.
 The compensation for the managers can be revised frequently for ensuring that it
covers all of the parameters of rent, education, healthcare and safety. Increasing the
frequency of performance appraisal for the managers would act assistance in
conducting evaluation for the home and the host country situations. Adjustments are
also needed in the criterions for performance management. Feedbacks are also
important in terms of assessing whether the propositions are effective in terms of the

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accomplished goals and objectives. Debriefing interviews are also to be conducted,
which would enhance the awareness of the brands towards the issues, which the
expatriates are facing in the foreign countries. The interview methods need to be
transparent and accessible, so that the receivers get easy access to the organizations.
 Initiatives are to be taken in terms of improvising the assignments on return on
investments. This aspect needs to include career planning skills, communication
objectives, monitoring mechanisms, cross cultural training, intranet, web based
cultural training among others.
 Information search about the culture of the host county would be effective before
making the plans for sending the expatriates into the foreign countries. This research
can include the score of the cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede.
Conclusion
Expatriates are send to foreign countries for representing the brands. The duration of
stay in the foreign countries is either temporary or permanent, depending on the nature of the
business. When the expatriates reach the foreign countries, they experience lot of issues like
language barriers, high standards of living, lifestyle, cultural norms and others. These issues
adds an interrogative parameter into the security issues both in the home and the host country.
Herein lays the effectiveness of the contemporary foreign policies, which caters to the
cultural competencies. Awareness about the cultural differences is necessary before
formulating the decisions to undertake international assignments. Consideration of the ethical
code of conduct would be effective step in this direction for standardizing the human resource
management practices.

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