Companies that decide to expand internationally generally depend on HR managers to hire adequate staff for the expansion. Hr managers find this responsibility to be a major challenge. According to Bohlander & Snell (2007), there are three ways a company can staff its international site. The first is a company may decide to send people already with the home company. These employees are called expatriates or home-country nationals. The second is, the company may choose to hire native locals from the host country to manage an international site, and these employees are called host-country nationals. The last or third is, a company may decide to hire people from other countries outside the home country or the host country, these employees are called third-country nationals. All three sources of international workers provide advantages and disadvantages. Many companies elect to staff overseas facilities using all three sources, although there are some companies that prefer one source or another instead of all three.
Differences in cultures can also pose problems for companies expanding internationally. HR managers must research these various cultures and adjust hiring and management accordingly. An example of cultural difference could be some cultures only allow males or females for certain positions. If an American company hires based on equality as it does in America and places a female in a position that international culture deems for a male it can cause trouble for the company from the start. Not all cultures recognize equal rights.
Communication may have been a barrier for companies expanding internationally in the past but Bohlander & Snell, (2007) tells us that telecommunications and travel have made human resources job of matching international employees with a company much easier by allowing easier communications with international employees.
If a company chooses to send expatriate or home-country national...