HR Selection Criteria for Trinidad and Tobago: The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Understanding
Empirical data points to the fact that globalisation is increasing: in 2000, world trade in goods and services reached 25% of world GDP (Govidarajan & Gupta 2000). In the process of becoming global, the staffing of foreign subsidiaries is playing a paramount role (Briscoe and Schuler 2004, Scullion and Collings 2005). Multinational enterprises (MNEs) can staff their foreign subsidiaries with parent country nationals (PCNs), host country nationals (HCNs) and third country nationals (TCNs) (Dowling et al 2008). Historically, the use of PCNs has been emphasised mainly due to the fact that the company looks to PCNs to implement its strategic agenda (Dowling et al 2008). However, the use of PCNs is risky due to under-performance, premature return and high costs (Harris and Brewster 1999, Scullion and Collings, 2005). That is why MNEs are now more actively exploring ways to effectively utilize TCNs and HCNs (Harvey et al. 2001, Scullion and Collings 2005, Tarique et al 2006). This paper analyses the cultural implications of staffing a new subsidiary in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad Tobago. The challenge of selecting local and third party national staff is considered in light of the need of cross-cultural sensitivity.
- Selection Criteria for TCNs and HCNs – A Review
Research into HCNs and TCNs is historically limited (Tarique et al 2006, Dowling et al 2008). HCNs are generally recognized as having two core competencies: (1) familiarity with the cultural, economic, political and legal environment of the host country, and (2) ability to respond effectively to the host country’s requirements (Tarique et al 2006). HCNs are usually much cheaper than PCNs but their main downside is lack of knowledge or adherence to the corporate strategy. This can be compensated, as Tarique et al (2006) suggest, through ‘socialisation’ at the company’s headquarters. By comparison to HCNs, TCNs are more expensive, but still cheaper than PCNs. However, TCNs suffer from lack of familiarity both with the host country’s culture and the MNE corporate culture (Tarique et al 2006).
Selection can be defined as “the progress of gathering information for the purposes of evaluating and deciding who should be employed in particular jobs” (Dowling et al 2008, p. 109). There are extensive studies into the selection criteria for deploying PCNs (i.e. Dowling et al 2008, Phillips 1992). Selection criteria include technical skills, cross-cultural suitability, family requirements, country requirements and others (Dowling et al 2008). It must be noted that most criteria are developed around North American biases (Harris and Brewster 1999). Such criteria appear to be extrapolated unto TCNs under the generic heading of “expatriates” (for instance, Beaverstock 2004, Dowling et al 2008, Harris and Brewster 1999). However, this approach betrays the perpetuation of a North American ‘host country’ bias. In reality, sourcing third-country national staff is a much more complex issue that involves in-depth cross-cultural aspects.
Selection criteria for HCNs have not been the subject of major treatment in management literature. This may be explained by the fact that HCN recruitment is expected to vary from country to country and to be culturally sensitive. Therefore, criteria should emerge from a thorough understanding of the country’s culture rather than vice versa.
- The Cross Cultural Approach
In recent years, research and studies have increasingly criticised the pervasive Western intellectual framework (Berry 2001, Gergen 1979, Elkin 2007, Markus and Kitayama 1998). Researchers have become aware of the fact that culture, defined as “the expectation that different people will possess different values, beliefs and motives” (Kim 2001, p.5) is a major factor behind the formulation of worldviews. The Western viewpoint, pervasive in most management courses, books and journals, is but one of the possible cultural perspectives. Recent research has revealed that the Western worldview is rooted in Cartesian concepts, which can be characterized as individualistic, objective and rational. By comparison, the traditional non-Western culture is inderdependent, subjective and relational (Markus and Kitayama 1991).
The development of management as a distinct social science can be easily traced to the Western concepts of “scientific management” as developed by Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol and others (Elkin 2007). They promoted the so-called “assembly line” management, where people were regarded as resources rather than human beings. Despite 20th century developments, Elkin 2007 shows that this is still the ethos of business organisations today. For instance, recruitment analyses how the employee fits with the organisation’s goals not vice versa (Hornal 1993). Consequently, employees are supposed to be units of work, tools that the company can use, not real human beings. This vision, however, stands in contrast with a predominantly non-Western view according to which human beings define themselves in relationship with others. These different perspectives should alert any manager to the fact that certain individual behaviours toward conflict, communication, consistency or consensus are culturally given, as Kim (2001) points out.
There have been numerous attempts of categorising different types of culture. One of the earliest and most famous ones is Hofstede’s division of cultures based on power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity (1980). Markus and Kitayama (1991) separated cultures into two self-schemata: independent and interdependent. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2001) identified four types of cultural attitudes in the workplace, i.e. equality – hierarchy or orientation to person – orientation to task. Triandis (2002) also differentiated between horizontal and vertical individualism and horizontal and vertical collectivism. Though these categories are useful, it must also be remembered that culture is a much more flowing and flexible notion, and that each country must be understood in its own context. In this sense, the importance of cross-cultural training has hence been emphasized in recent years (Scullion and Collings 2005).
- The Cultural and Socio-Economic Framework of Trinidad-Tobago
Trinidad-Tobago is a former British colony in the Caribbean, close to the South American mainland. Caribbean cultures are characterized by strong multiculturalism, being an original fusion of various religious and ethnic traditions that is commonly referred to as Creolisation (CountryWatch 2008). The islands are now populated by descendents of Africans, East Indians, British, Dutch, French, Chinese, native Taino and Spanish. These peoples have intermarried amongst themselves creating an eclectic interracial mixture. According to Rex Nettleford, the typical Caribbean person is “part African, part European, part Asian, part Native American but totally Caribbean” (LaRose 2008). Caribbean people are usually proud of their mixed roots (Braithwaite 1953). The new civilisation’s ethos is the Carifesta, which is a paradoxical manifestation of order and disorder (Banyan 1983, LaRose 2008).
An overview of Caribbean cultural approaches reveals a substratum of non-Western culture (usually black African or East Indian) to which a distinctly European (British, Dutch or French) cultural flavour has been added. Additional influences from Latin America (CountryWatch 2008) or other cultures are mixed in this powerful and creative blend. Crowley (1957, p. 823) writes: “A Trinidadian feels no inconsistency in being a British citizen, a Negro in appearance, a Spaniard in name, a Roman Catholic at church, an obeah (magic) practitioner in private, a Hindu at lunch, a Chinese at dinner, a Portuguese at work, and a Colored at the polls”.
Amongst the other Caribbean nations, Trinidad-Tobago has been labelled “the cultural capital” of the region (CountryWatch 2008). As Klass (1957, p. 857) has pointed out, “The favorite description of Trinidad is a cosmopolitan melting pot within which many ethnic strains are blending, contributing the best elements of their various heritages to what might be termed the culture trait pool shared by the total society”.
Given this unified Caribbean consciousness, it is natural that economically and socially, most Caribbean nations face similar challenges. Consequently, most analyses tend to consider them under the same framework (i.e. Cowell and Blanche 2002, World Bank 2005). Thus, assessments of the region have found education expenditures to be rather high – about 5% in 1989 (Cowell and Blanche 2002). However, higher education enrolment has been very low (World Bank 2005). This is due to stringent examinations, high tuition costs and insufficient higher education schools (Cowell and Blanche 2002, World Bank 2005). Health problems, exacerbated by a low health spending, have included high HIV rates and increased drug use (Cowell and Blanche 2002). Unemployment is high amongst uneducated males and females (Cowell and Blanche 2002, World Bank 2005). Worker protection is good, commanded by a historically powerful trade union movement (Cowell and Blanche 2002). However, the trade unions are currently in decline due to the forces of globalisation (Cowell and Blanche 2002). There is a tendency of flexibilisation and informalisation of labour markets through non-regular forms of employment (Cowell and Blanche 2002). However, private sector development suffers from the unequal competition of the public sector, which is still the largest employer in many Caribbean countries, and which provides high wages (World Bank 2005). The high level of taxation in all Caribbean countries is considered by international investors as a weakness in the overall investment climate (World Bank 2005).
Amongst the Caribbean countries, Trinidad-Tobago distinguishes itself as one of the most developed. The Human Development Index of the UN places Trinidad in the “high development” bracket, currently at number 54 (CountryWatch 2008). Trinidad is the most industralised country of the region, benefiting from major resources of oil. Since 1994, Trinidad and Tobago has experienced rapid economic growth, mainly based on the energy and services sectors (CountryWatch 2008). However, Trinidad also suffers from the main problems plaguing the region, such as high but inefficient public sector employment, high crime rates, insufficient skilled labour and high taxes.
- Selection Criteria for HCNs in Trinidad-Tobago
As mentioned under point A, HCNs should be selected in relation with a cultural understanding of the host country. To do this, cross-cultural training (CCT) is advised (Dowling et al 2008). One of the ways to achieve CCT within an organization is by seeking outside knowledge sources. In this sense, Hamel et al (1998) recommend alliances as a way of accessing a market and building competitive advantage. Jackson (2003), Chang and Rosensweig (2001) show that alliances can provide country-specific knowledge. In this sense, a strategic alliance with a local consultant can enable the efficient drawing of selection criteria. As another related solution, the hiring of local staff can also be achieved through local agents that can be reimbursed through a fee for services rendered, a partnership with a local company that can provide expertise, or through a merger & acquisition process (Howes & Tah 2004). Letting a local partner company establish selection criteria can avoid setting culturally insensitive hiring policies in the market.
While this paper argues for the profound immersing in local culture before drawing final selection criteria, in light of the initial research into Caribbean and Trinidadian culture, some general selection guidelines are hereby set. The analysis takes into account that the local staff to be employed should in time accede to middle management or even top management positions in the Trinidad subsidiary.
- Managerial and Technical Skills – it is advisable that the hired staff should exhibit potential or actual leadership skills. In the multicultural context of Trinidad, it is important that the new employees have an understanding and ideally participation in the Caribbean multicultural identity.
- Multicultural Background – As observed above, Trinidadians pride themselves in being racially and ethnically intermixed. It would hence be a matter of cultural sensitivity to avoid choosing staff only or mainly from one racial background. In this sense, the “Creole” values the society embraces should reflect in the company’s recruitment policy.
- Education – the higher education institutions boast high standards; however, the quality premium has historically impeded many lower-class Trinidadians from attending tertiary education (CountryWatch 2008). Moreover, higher education has been criticized from being disconnected to workplace skills by focusing too much on memorisation (Cowell and Blanche 2002). While ideally the hired staff should have higher education degrees, the company should consider analysing applicants by other criteria as well as education. In this sense, a training programme that would enable less skilled employees to enhance their IT or managerial skills could be considered.
- Unionised vs Non-Unionised Workers. Many Western companies currently shun unionised workers, mainly due to the history of adversarial industrial relations in the country (Cowell and Blanche 2002). However, the company must consider that unions are an integral and culturally significant part of Trinidadian life, and have long had important political power. A policy toward hiring non-unionised workers could alter the company’s reception in the country. In this sense, the company must keep in mind the negative image ISPAT India created in Trinidad when it tried to de-unionise its steel plant (Cowell and Blanche 2002). The company must also consider that labour laws are very strict in regards to requirements of collective bargaining and social dialogue (Cowell and Blanche 2002). A culturally sensitive hiring policy would be open towards unions as a manifestation of the collectivistic side of Trinidadian culture.
- Equal Employment Policies. It is not advised that the company discriminate on gender or age. Gender discrimination is part of law, while age discrimination is not (Cowell and Blanche 2002). However, Trinidadian population is ageing, with an expected 10% of it being over 65 by 2020 (Cowell and Blanche 2002). In this sense, the company must consider that, as Doering (1983) observed, older workers are less likely to quit, value work more and are more committed.
- Long-Term Unemployment. The company must carefully assess applications that involve long-term unemployment. Unemployment amongst the uneducated is rather high (World Bank 2005) and may not be a reflection of any individual fault. However, crime rates, particularly amongst unemployed young males are rampant and individual cases must be ascertained before a decision is made.
- Permanent vs Contractual Employment. Contractual employment has increased in Trinidad due to inflexible labour policies (Cowell and Blanche 2002). However, contractual employment is not regarded favourably in a country where the public sector hires permanently and with high wages. Therefore, in order to attract excellent employees, the company should consider hiring permanently, or offering initial contractual jobs with the promise of permanent work if successful.
In addition, the company must consider attracting bright employees thorough an ethical wage policy, private health insurance in a country with major health problems and training programmes that would compensate workplace skills. The company should also consider socialisation of staff at the corporate headquarters (Tarique et al 2006). In time, local staff should be allowed to participate in corporate strategy formulation.
- Selection of TCNs
Hiring TCNs should be regarded with the same cultural sensitivity as HCN employment. As mentioned under point A, the tendency of ‘lumping together’ expatriates does not reflect the reality that TCNs may have a very different culture than that of PCNs.
The need of TCNs in a new subsidiary must be carefully assessed. This is linked to several factors that affect both the subsidiary and the company. TCNs are essentially intermediaries, or a middle category between HCNs and PCNs (Tarique et al 2006). Consequently, there must be a reason why TCNs are preferred to both categories. To recall, HCNs have the advantage of locality, cultural understanding, and low cost, while PCNs have the advantage of strategic knowledge. For instance, hiring TCNs just because they are lower cost does not justify hiring them as opposite to a HCN. It can be argued that TCNs can belong to the
”global manager” category, exhibiting transnational experience, cultural sensitivity or global managerial leadership, in line with Bartlett and Ghoshal (1998) and Mendenhall et al’s (2007) visions. However, the transplant of unclear “global strategies” into local thinking may be culturally unacceptable and may encounter resistance. In the context of Trinidad, it must be noted that the nation is proud of its Caribbean roots and generally adversarial to foreigners (Cowell and Blanche 2002). While some of the traits of Caribbean culture can be deemed as European (Klass 1957), in practice whatever smacks of colonialism or cultural supremacy will be rejected. In this sense, the resistance of Trinidadian steel workers to both Austrian / German leadership and Indian managers should be carefully taken into account (Cowell and Blanche 2002).
In this light, the paper proposes the following selection criteria for TCNs:
- Internal Hiring. The TCN should not be an independent and ambiguously positioned “global manager”, but an employee of the company that is proven to be loyal and aware of the strategic goals of the organisation. In this sense, the company would gain both lower costing and strategic influence in the subsidiary.
- Nationality. TCNs should be carefully selected to account for Trinidadian cultural sensitivity. For instance, the hiring of Indian or African workers might be problematic for some employees (Cowell and Blanche 2002). While the British culture is part of the Trinidadian legacy, there is a risk that a British manager may be regarded as a “colonial” master. The cultural sensitivity of the Trinidadians must be gauged carefully prior to assigning any TCN to a power position in the subsidiary.
- Managerial / Technical Skills – As usual, managerial or technical skills should be a part of the TCN hiring process. The majority of decisions are made based on technical skills (Dowling et al 2008). However, this should be a secondary factor to nationality.
- Family Requirements – as with PCNs, the family is a key factor in the success of a mission. This is particularly true for families in the West, where often both spouses have a career. Unfortunately, only about 11% of interviews involve the partner (Dowling et al 2008). However, the support of the husband / wife is paramount in an agreement to expatriate, as well as for the success of the mission. Therefore, it is suggested that interviewing should be done with the participation of the spouse, and his/her concerns should be taken into account.
- Soft Skills – Another criterion id ‘soft skills’ such as adaptability, relationship skills, cultural empathy and motivation. However, it is hard to quantify these as ‘discrete’ criteria, and psychometric tests are not advised due to cultural bias (Scullion 1994).
An important aspect of the hiring of TCNs is that the deployment should be thought of as temporary. A permanent TCN employment may be undesirable for both reasons of corporate costs and of fostering discontent amongst the subsidiary workers. In this case, TCN repatriation issues should be considered (Scullion and Collings 2005).
- Conclusions
This paper has hopefully shown that a company must employ cross-cultural sensitivity when planning to expand in a different country. Cultural understanding is not only desirable, but paramount in achieving success of an overseas operation. In Trinidad’s case, comprehending both Caribbean culture and Trinidad’s idiosyncrasies can avoid problems like that encountered by ISPAT India or even complete failure. Cross-cultural sensitivity implies a flexible and country-oriented recruitment and selection policy, which would emphasize the hiring of nationals rather than PCNs or TCNs. Where PCNs and TCNs are considered, the cultural impact on the country must be taken into account as well. As Bartlett and Ghoshal (1998) point out, a dynamic balance must be achieved between globalisation (global standards) and localisation (host country adaptation).
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