The operation of a multinational organization in affiliate regions might prove difficult. This is especially so when it comes to choosing employees to assign to work within these regions. Many scholars disagree on whether it would prove advantageous to recruit natives to work in their own country or to recruit personnel from foreign countries. Discussed below are reasons why recruiting a Honduran citizen to work in the Japan branch of an international company might either impact the company in a positive or negative manner (Heinecke, 2011).
Honduran citizens are fluent in Spanish. Despite their language barrier, the cultural practices present in their country based in South America differ slightly from the Japanese cultural practices. Sociologists advance that both the Honduran and Japanese cultures are collectivist in nature. Meaning, there exists a sense of community among the citizens, which differs considerably from most Western countries whereby their cultures are more individualistic in nature. This might prove to be beneficial to an international company recruiting personnel to work in the Japan branch. This is because the slight cultural differences prevent the experience of cultural shock by the employees. Therefore, a new Honduran recruit adapts to their new place quickly without cultural chock interfering with their productivity (Cooke, 2003).
However, sending a Honduran citizen instead of recruiting a native to work in the Japan branch might also impact the organization negatively. This is because of the existence of a language barrier, which affects communication processes. As a result, an organization might suffer from low productivity (Cooke, 2003).
In conclusion, multinational companies’ exposure to risks generated by the employment of non-natives in their affiliate branches significantly reduces by the employment of natives within these regions. Most of these companies expect business to continue running as usual in all their branches. Therefore, they avoid risks which might prove costly to the entire organization’s operations (Alkhafaji, 1995).
References
Alkhafaji, A. F. (1995). Competitive Global Management: Principles and Strategies. New York: St. Lucie Press.
Cooke, W. N. (2003). Multinational Companies and Global Human Resource Strategies. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Heinecke, P. (2011). Success Factors of Regional Strategies for Multinational Corporations. California: Springer.
