FACTORS RELATED TO THE MANAGEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL STAFF POLICIES OF MULTINATIONAL HOTEL COMPANIES IN THAILAND. The purpose of this study was to investigate the international staffing policy of multinational hotel companies in Thailand, the importance of expatriate managers and the possibility of using Thai substitutes in these positions. The sample consisted of 3 executive-level expatriates and 4 HR managers who work and have at least 5 years of experience in multinational hotel companies.
The focus of this study is the international HR policies of multinational hotel companies in Thailand. Both the literature review and primary data will be used to further analyze, draw conclusions and provide recommendations for the employment of not only expatriates but locals in multinational hotel companies in Thailand.
LITERATURE REVIEW
- Definition of International Human Resource Management
- The EPG Model
- Ethnocentric
- Polycentric
- Geocentric
- Expatriate recruitment
- Expatriate Development
- Maturity of organizational management development
- International recruitment strategy
- International career progression policy
- International management competences
- Case study on the Hospitality Industry about International Management Development
- Conclusion
The main purpose of the EPG model is to understand and raise awareness of the company's specific focus. Ethnocentrism, the first dimension of the EPG model, is based on the attitude that the mother country (PCN) is better than other countries. The executives at both headquarters and subsidiaries express the company's national identity by merging the company with the nationality of the headquarters.
The importance of the ethnocentric concept is the policy of recruiting and training nationally-owned personnel for key positions around the world because they are seen as better communicators and collaborators with headquarters; moreover, nationals of the home country are easier to control. The second dimension of the EPG model is polycentrism, which is defined as the orientation of the host country. The models in Figure 2.1 are a staff recruitment process currently used by multinational hotel companies and consist of the current theoretical knowledge on the subject in combination with the research conducted.
From the figure, we can conclude that the management of the selection of employees of any nationality, local or foreign, should be based on the philosophy and agendas of the multinational hotel company. In addition to the study of the recruitment of expatriates to work in multinational hotels, the study of the development of expatriates in the organization is another important part of the literature review. First, set strategic directions, have long-term approaches that are important for the structure, size and direction of the company.
The second half focuses on being competencies, which support the active side of work and are concerned with how managers think and reason, and the beliefs and values that motivate them. Geocentrism is a world-oriented concept that focuses on an individual's ability to fit into the workplace, regardless of the candidate's nationality. Looking at figure 2.3, we can conclude that the international personnel policy starts with understanding the strategy of the organization, then chooses a strategy for recruiting employees for the organization, where the organization has a career development program to develop the competencies of its people internationally. .
METHODOLOGY
Primary Data Collection Method
Interview Method
- Sample Selection
- Development of open-ended questions
- Development of probing techniques
- Conduct the Interview
Open-ended questions allow the interlocutor the freedom to give answers according to his experience, facts and opinion. Which recruitment strategy (ethnocentric, polycentric or geocentric) do you use in your company to recruit people at the management level?. Please provide more details on why it is important that they are in these positions?.
In your opinion, do local residents have the potential to replace immigrants to work in those positions? The interview was conducted either as a personal interview or a telephone interview, so that after each question the interviewer could ask for examples and real reasons from the answer given to go into more detail. The final stage was to collect information from the interview responses and analyze the data by categorizing the response into the theme of factors to summarize it into conclusions.
Research Framework
DATA ANALYSIS
- Organization Strategy in IHRM
- Type of business
- International chain
- Management operation style
- Recruitment Strategy
- World orientation
- Major positions for expatriates
- Attitude
- Opportunity for Local people to replace the expatriate manager According to the comments of all the interviews, whether the Human Resources
- Career Development
- Cross cultural training
- Specialist development
- Potential management development
- International Management Competences
- Host country language skill
- Culture adaptation
- International perspective
Under this system, the property owner signs a management contract with the hotel management company. As a result, the entire management, including personnel management, falls under the responsibility of the hotel management company. The director of company E, a Malaysian expat, confirms this by saying that “we, under the management of a hotel management company, are the human resource of the hotel management chain company that focuses on staff care and development.
The selection of the management level will be in accordance with the hotel chain's policies.' For example, the HR manager of Hotel C provided information that “the parent company would select a German director from the head office to run the business in the local hotel building.” Sometimes, when selecting foreign employees, local hotel properties need someone with an agile, international and innovative vision to match the international growth of the hotel chain.
Expatriate director of Hotel E provides information that “the hotel only employs expats if they have specific skills, such as salespeople for the Chinese, Indian and Japanese markets, the people of that particular country will be there to take care of. In addition, the hotel also employs an authentic Japanese soba chef (Japanese noodles) from Japan, in keeping with the international service.” The hotel needs motivated people who are willing to learn new skills, inspire in the role they fill and, most importantly, have a service-oriented spirit.
In addition, candidates must have the attitude that is appropriate and promotes the hotel's appearance and strategy. In addition, Hotel D also has an international management development program for internal staff which she explains about this program that “the candidates must have a position that does not exceed the supervisor's position to be eligible for this program. In addition, not everyone working in the hotel will be able to communicate in English, such as the rank and file workers, so knowing Thai will help them understand this group of workers.
RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
Conclusion
The German company uses different strategies with different levels of management, while French companies use geocentric strategy as the main strategy, but in practice they prefer ethnocentric because of the nationalism of the headquarters. Multinational hotels in Thailand also use the geocentric strategy as their main recruitment strategy to find the most suitable people. Moreover, it can be concluded that foreign employees are very important for multinational hotel organizations because they can achieve corporate objectives and maintain important management standards for local properties, a finding that is compatible with that of Barber and Pittaway (2000).
However, there is support for the claim that Thais are able to work in jobs often held by expatriates, even if they need to develop their skills, competencies, confidence and motivation to work in these jobs. The recruitment strategy reflects the policy and needs of a hotel to hire people who are suitable for the job, regardless of the applicant's nationality, even though in practice some companies are more likely to favor people from their own country. In addition to the recruitment strategy, career development is also important for the organization to develop the professional capacity of staff; such as cross-cultural training program to help foreigners to adapt and behave appropriately in the new culture workplace; training to improve performance by training specific skills in the job; and the development of potential management program for the benefit of candidates interested in growing internationally.
Recommendation
- Carefully check the readiness of the potential manager
- Increase the potential of local people in order to succeed in multinational hotel management positions
- Development of a HRM system
The personal readiness of those who wish to serve as managers is an important factor for any multinational hotel. Hotels should start by recruiting the most suitable people to work because they don't want to waste time and money training their employees and then find them ineffective. Expatriates must be prepared to face a new culture and the problems associated with cross-cultural employment.
Obviously, not all foreigners can adapt to the new culture, but it is fortunate that Thai culture is not aggressive, so it is easier for foreigners to adapt. Also, it would be very helpful if local candidates are prepared for international experiences, as this is what multinational hotel companies are looking for. The interview data showed that Thais are able to work in positions traditionally occupied by foreigners, and therefore hotels should have policies that promote potential local people for these positions.
To be able to work in these positions, they need to develop the specific skills needed for the job and competencies such as communication, foreign language skills and leadership skills. The organizations will need to motivate and support potential local employees so that they are committed to growth at the management level of the multinational hotel business. This is because it is perceived that they can better communicate with head office managers.
Each hotel's management development program may differ from hotel to hotel, but it is an indispensable part for the development of potential candidates to expand their international experience, because it must meet the growth of the company at an international level and people's core values.
Limitations
However, an appropriate human resources policy should be implemented by first recruiting internal candidates so that employees become aware that they have the opportunity to succeed in this profession. When developing a manager with international experience, organizations should develop an HR management system as a core component of their organizational strategy and adopt a management development program. Therefore, the hotel must have programs in place to enhance the international experience of potential local candidates, including but not limited to management development programs that collaborate with other hotels abroad.
Create and develop cross-cultural management. Intercultural competence is a major factor for expatriates working in a culture whose culture is different from their own. In fact, cross-cultural training should not be limited to expatriate managers, but should involve other stakeholders such as local management and staff to get to know expatriates better. Finally, this study has the problem of interview questions, where a group of questions sent to the hotel to be investigated were rejected due to questions on sensitive topics that some hotels do not want to share their strategic information.
