Harnessing Global Talents: Leveraging Host Country Nationals, Home Country Nationals, and Third-Country Nationals

Introduction

International firms employ a diverse team of workers for their domestic and overseas operations to tap into the best talents in the global market. As a result, these firms are likely to have host country nationals, home country nationals and third-country nationals working for the firms (Cooke et al. 71). In international human resource management, host country nationals are employees who are citizens of the country where a firm's subsidiary is located while home country nationals are workers who are citizens of the country where the headquarters of an organization are located (Van den Born and Peltokorpi 102). Third-country nationals are the citizens who are citizens of countries that neither have the headquarters or the subsidiary of the firms they work in. There are three approaches that guide multinational firms when identifying the right leaders. They include ethnocentric approach, polycentric approach, and geocentric approach.

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In the ethnocentric approach, firms prefer leaders who are home country nationals as they are able to fulfill the firms' mission, objectives, and mission well. The advantage of the ethnocentric approach is that there is minimal communication barrier between the subsidiaries and headquarters, the man firm can control the subsidiaries' operations well, the firms' cultures can be spread out to the subsidiaries through managerial control and there is good coordination in all branches (Mura et al. 116). However, host country nationals may lack the morale to work due to lack of managerial roles and some may seek employment in firms that recognize their potential. As a result, these firms may lose experienced and skilled workers.

In the polycentric approach, managers employed are host country nationals. They are preferred as they understand the local customers and markets hence can control the business effectively (Sekiguchi, Froese and Iguchi 89). It is also cost-effective to hire locals than expatriates. However, the managers may not be able to control operations fast when there host country nationals in some managerial roles due to the need to receive orders from the home country leaders.

In the geocentric approach, the managers are third-country nationals. The approach allows a firm to hire a skilled person for the required position hence acquiring the best skilled and talented worker (Mura et al. 115). It also minimizes instances of unfair treatment at work from favoritism as the leader does not know other workers from the host or home countries. However, the hiring process can be expensive as a firm has to have competitive rates to attract the best leader. There may also be cross-cultural clashes due to the leader and workers having different cultures.

The right manager that a firm can hire needs to meet the leadership needs within the firm. The best manager that Victoria Oilfield Equipment can choose is a host country national. He or she will have knowledge about the local market and how people handle the armed militant gangs in the country. As a result, he or she can handle any attacks by these groups better than a manager from a third country or the home country.

Selection of the Right Candidate

Henry Smith, Matthew Ohwueme and Juan Lopez are potential managers who can take up the leadership in the new facility of Victoria Oilfield Equipment in Nigeria. Based on the analysis above, it would be better to choose a host-country national who is well-versed with the oil industry to evade any political and security issues that can arise as the firm runs its operations. Matthew Ohwueme is, therefore, the right candidate. He is a Nigerian citizen hence a host-country national. He has also managed to work as a manager hence has leadership skills that are essential in the new job.

Interview

Below are interview questions for the three candidates likely to take up the managerial role in the new facility in Nigeria. They are questions that will be in the structured interview to distinguish the candidacy of the potential leaders for the leadership role in the new firm.

• What makes you fit for this job?
• What measures will you take as a leader to ensure that the new facility is safe from attacks from armed militant groups?

These questions are useful as they can enable the hiring team to understand the potential and experience the candidates have in regards to managing the new facility in Nigeria. As a result, the interviewers will identify the skills and competence of each of the candidates on managing the business and ensuring that the political and personnel issues that Victoria Oilfield Equipment is facing in the new market, Nigeria. Unstructured interview could also be important in this interview as it can enable the interviewers to understand the candidates better based on each of the candidate's perspective (Wethington and McDarby 3). It can also enable the candidates to have the opportunity and time to develop their responses and hence offer more insight to the researcher. Candidates can also explore their beliefs and interests without the confinement to pre-set questions. Therefore, it is best to have a structured and unstructured interview to thoroughly acquire all information from the candidates and identify the most skilled and competent for the position.

Works Cited

Cooke, Fang Lee, Geoffrey Wood, Meng Wang, and Alex Veen. "How far has international HRM travelled? A systematic review of literature on multinational corporations (2000-2014)." Human Resource Management Review 29.1 (2019): 59-75.Science Direct, doi:10.1016/j.hrmr.2018.05.001

Mura, Ladislav, Aleksandr Kljucnikov, Manuela Tvaronaviciene, and Armenia Androniceanu. "Development trends in human resource management in small and medium enterprises in the Visegrad Group." Acta Polytechnica Hungarica 14.7 (2017): 105-122, https://uni-obuda.hu/journal/Mura_Kljucnikov_Tvaronaviciene _Androniceanu_78.pdf.

Sekiguchi, Tomoki, Fabian Jintae Froese, and Chie Iguchi. "International human resource management of Japanese multinational corporations: Challenges and future directions." Asian Business & Management 15.2 (2016): 83-109. Springer Link, doi: 10.1057/abm.2016.5

Van den Born, Floor, and Vesa Peltokorpi. "Language policies and communication in multinational companies: Alignment with strategic orientation and human resource management practices." The Journal of Business Communication (1973)47.2 (2010): 97-118. Sage, doi:10.1177/0021943610364515

Wethington, Elaine, and Meghan L. McDarby. "Interview methods (structured, semistructured, unstructured)." The Encyclopedia of Adulthood and Aging (2015): 1-5. Wiley, doi:10.1002/9781118521373.wbeaa318