INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT, SELECTION AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICE

Introduction

Tucker International offers an Assessment Service designed to be used by companies to assess and develop their employees. Our assessments are taken by employees and their spouses. These people can either be employees considering or being considered for expatriate assignments outside one’s home country, or assignments that require working with other nationalities, but based at home.  This service is based on many years of empirical research on the critical factors of intercultural adjustment and success and how one's ability to achieve these factors can be assessed prior to an international assignment.

At the core of this service is the Overseas Assignment Inventory (OAI), a self-response instrument, and the accompanying supervisory International Candidate Evaluation (ICE).  These instruments assess:

• Motivations for seeking or accepting an international assignment
• Expectations about such an assignment
• Attitudes and attributes that contribute to intercultural adjustment

Our database includes thousands of people who have completed our assessments and been followed up later during their international assignments.  Individual profiles are created for respondents, and then compared to this database.

Over forty different nationalities are included in this database, so the service is used for people all over the world who are preparing for international assignments.  The OAI and ICE are available in English, French and German, and can be used in booklet form or by means of the internet at www.tuckerintl.com.

This Assessment Service is delivered directly by Dr. Michael F. Tucker, author of the OAI and ICE and director of the research and development activities that are the foundation of the service.  A consultative approach is used with clients to apply the service in very flexible ways, since each client organization has very different needs and circumstances. 

This Service represents a solid step forward in the application of objective, databased approaches to the challenge of assessment, selection and development for international assignment.  The benefits of proper assessment, selection and development include reducing the loss of corporate investments made on failed international assignments and avoiding the human costs of damaged self-concept and reputation of culturally maladjusted assignees.  But, perhaps most importantly, people who are well prepared for their international assignments are more trouble-free and productive, which gives their organizations a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Any reliable and valid assessment system for expatriates must start with a clear target - what it is that the assessment is trying to predict.  This is the "criterion problem" in personnel selection.  For example, in assessing first level management capabilities, a clear understanding of the factors that make up management performance at this level is the starting point.  For assessing international assignment capability, the target is an understanding of intercultural adjustment and expatriate success.

Intercultural Adjustment Success Among Expatriates

Six critical factors of intercultural adjustment and expatriate success emerged from many years of field research.  Time and again, in country after country, these factors have distinguished between those expatriates who were adapting well to life and work in their country of assignment and those who were not.

These factors are the criteria against which the OAI and ICE were developed and validated for expatriates.  The Motivations, Expectations, Attitudes and Attributes assessed are strongly related to these factors.  The higher that an individual scores on each OAI and ICE dimension, the greater the likelihood that these critical factors will be achieved during an expatriate assignment.

These six factors are described below.

ACCEPTANCE

Those who accept the culture of the country of assignment show respect for local customs and behavior patterns.  They do not criticize or make light of the culture, but accept it as different from their own but entirely natural for local people.

KNOWLEDGE

Successful expatriates are genuinely interested in their country of assignment.  They learn historical and contemporary information about the country and are able to engage in conversation with local people about subjects that are of interest to them.

AFFECT

Successful intercultural adjustment leads to very positive feelings of well being.  These feelings in turn are associated with a positive self-concept, and positive attitudes about the country and its people.

LIFESTYLE

Expatriates who adjust well lead a very active and rewarding lifestyle.  They are able to do some of the things that they enjoyed back home as well as engage in activities that are unique to their country of assignment.

INTERACTION

Successful adjusters engage themselves in the country of assignment, which means that they choose to be with local nationals not only on the job, but during their discretionary time as well.  They make local friendships that replace those left back home and that help support their new lifestyle.

COMMUNICATION

Intercultural adjustment is closely associated with intercultural communication.  This means learning the language as well as time, business and other constraints allow.  And, learning the non-verbal communication system of the local culture and using that system to demonstrate respect, acceptance and understanding.

The OAI and ICE Dimensions

MOTIVATIONS (OAI only)

A set of possible motivations is presented in the OAI, and the respondent indicates the strength of each motivation.  Scoring and analysis then focuses on the extent to which these motivations represent need systems that are:

• Positive, or forward looking rather than escaping from something
• Well balanced between job/career and personal development
• Sustaining in ways that can withstand the pressures of life and work overseas

Responses to the OAI have been factor analyzed to form multi-item scales.  These scales have demonstrated significant reliability coefficients and validity in predicting the six factors of intercultural adjustment and expatriate success.  These scales are described below:

EXPECTATIONS (OAI only)

Those who are realistic about what it will be like to live and work in another country, its associated difficulties, as well as the probable benefits, have a greater chance of success than those who have low expectations and do not look forward to the opportunity.  If one expects to succeed and looks forward to the assignment and country, while aware of the challenges, one is likely to adjust and adapt favorably to the new surroundings.

SOCIAL INTERPERSONAL STYLE

TRUST IN PEOPLE

Meaningful personal and professional relationships in another country will develop if expatriates can convey and encourage mutual trust among co-workers and business associates.

INTERPERSONAL INTEREST

SOCIAL ADAPTABILITY

This predictor pinpoints the ability to socialize comfortably with new people in new and unfamiliar social situations and to accept and be accepted by new groups of friends and acquaintances.  A loner or someone who feels comfortable only in a small, intimate group may feel lost in a new and unfamiliar setting.

WORLD VIEW

OPEN-MINDEDNESS (OAI only)

Open-minded individuals are receptive to different beliefs and ideas without feeling as if their own are being challenged or threatened.  Those with the attitude that their own or their country's way is inherently superior will face difficulties in accomplishing many tasks.

RESPECT FOR OTHER BELIEFS

The capacity to be non-judgmental of other people's religious and political beliefs is extremely important in another cultural environment.  Expatriates who demonstrate a willingness and ability to respect and be interested in the beliefs of other cultures are more likely to establish meaningful intercultural relationships.

TOLERANCE (OAI only)

APPROACH TO SITUATIONS

FLEXIBILITY

The ability to consider new ideas and to realize that there is more than one valid way to approach and solve a problem is necessary for effective intercultural adjustment.

PATIENCE

Expatriates need to understand that a "sense of time" means different things in different cultures, or else they may be paralyzed by frustration from unexpected delays.  Expatriates must remain patient when business protocol demands a seemingly roundabout decision-making process or way of doing business.

SENSE OF HUMOR

A good sense of humor is one of the most overlooked, yet important aspects of effective intercultural coping and adjustment.  The ability to bring humor into difficult or confusing situations, to laugh at and learn from one's own mistakes often helps to ease tensions and facilitates communication.

INITIATIVE

Those who succeed on international assignments are self-starters, meaning that they do not sit back and expect things to happen or rely on someone else to take care of things.

RISK TAKING

Life in a new country requires exploring new things and learning new ways of doing things.  The willingness to take risks, meet challenges and cope with change greatly enhances intercultural adjustment.

SELF DIRECTION (OAI only)

LOCUS OF CONTROL (OAI only)

Expatriates who believe that they can control, shape or direct the course of their lives are likely to exert more effort to make things work abroad.  Those who believe that things happen because of luck or fate often will feel helpless when confronted by new and changing life situations.

SPOUSE COMMUNICATION (OAI only)

When communication between couples is open and constructive, relationships often are enhanced and strengthened by the overseas experience.  At the same time, however, the unique stresses associated with adjusting to a new culture can be very difficult and damaging to weak or troubled relationships.

Example of an OAI Profile

An example of an OAI Profile for a candidate being considered for an assignment to Indonesia appears on the following page.  The blue band is the current data base.  Any score in this band is average, above it is a strength, and below is an area of concern.  Although having strengths in several OAI dimensions, this particular candidate would represent considerable risk for assignment to Indonesia because of scores below the norm in Trust in People, Flexibility, Patience, Social Adaptability, Sense of Humor and Interpersonal Interest.  These areas are important competencies needed to adapt to the Polychronic culture of Indonesia, where a soft approach to relationship building is necessary.

Characteristics of High Quality Intercultural Business Relations

Similar to the argument made earlier for expatriates, a reliable and valid assessment system for international assignees who are not expatriates must also start with a clear target – what it is that the assessment is trying to predict.  For non-expatriates, the target is the following nine characteristics of high quality intercultural business relations:

1. Non-domination by any parties
2. Strong effort for deep understanding
3. Learning from each other
4. Taking time to focus on process and communication
5. Showing respect for each other
6. Parties committed to Win/Win and outcome
7. Stereotypes of each other overcome
8. Trust developed among parties
9. Judgment of others’ approach withheld

International assignees who can achieve these characteristics contribute to intercultural synergy, rather than cultural dominance, in their work with people from other countries.

The non-expatriate OAI and ICE are designed to assess competencies that lead to these characteristics and resulting synergy.  These competencies are listed below.  They are defined in the same way as the OAI and ICE Dimensions were earlier for expatriates.

SOCIAL-INTERPERSONAL STYLE
Trust in People
Interpersonal Interest
Social Adaptability

WORLD VIEW
Open-mindedness (OAI only)
Respect for Other Beliefs

APPROACH TO SITUATIONS
Flexibility
Patience
Sense of Humor
Initiative
Risk Taking

SELF-DIRECTION
Locus of Control

Applications of the Assessment Service

There are three primary ways in which this service is applied for expatriates- selection among candidates for a specific international assignment; integration with a pre-departure, intercultural training program, and; as part of international career planning and development.  In all three cases, the employee and spouse complete an OAI, the employee’s supervisor complete the ICE, and these are forwarded to Tucker International for scoring, interpretation and preparation of a report.

Employee Selection

For use in selection, the OAI is combined with the Behavioral Interview technique.  An Assessment Report is prepared by Tucker International, based on responses to the OAI and ICE.  This report is used to conduct the behavioral interview with the employee and spouse.  An option that is frequently employed is for Tucker International to train and certify corporate human resource personnel to conduct these interviews.  In either case, the interview assesses strengths and risks according to the OAI and ICE dimensions.  An interview report is prepared, a selection decision is made, and feedback is given to the candidate couple.

It is important to point out that more than the OAI and ICE dimensions are included in this process.  The particular circumstances of the couple are reviewed and discussed, i.e., a dual career situation, dependent children and their schooling; older children and grandchildren; parents or grandparents who might be dependent on the couple; disabilities or exceptional abilities, etc.

Integration With Pre-Departure Training

International Career Planning and Development/Candidate Pools

Companies that have an international career planning and development process have a tremendous advantage in creating a pre-selected and prepared pool of candidates for international assignment.  The Tucker International Assessment service can play a key role in the process.

As in the selection application, Assessment Reports are prepared, but Assessment and Development Guides are also prepared.  A behavioral interview is conducted with the employee and spouse to explain and verify the scores.  The Guides are then further used either individually with the guidance of a corporate international career counselor, or in the context of a counseling or training program.  This type of program is conducted for groups of potential expatriates, and is designed to fit the specific circumstances of the client company. 

The results of either the individual or the group processes are employees and spouses who understand the requirements of an international assignment, know their own strengths, as well as areas in need of development, and have a plan to develop these areas and be prepared when the time comes for them to embark on their assignments.

Applications of the Non-Expatriate Service

The Non-expatriate OAI and ICE are used in the preparation of managers preparing for an international assignment or as part of executive and leadership development programs.  The instruments can be used independently, or they can be incorporated into a module for group training.  The module consists of an introductory session to present and discuss the characteristics of High Quality Intercultural Business Relations and the Competencies assessed in the OAI and ICE.  Participants are given feedback on their assessments by means of an Assessment and Development Guide, and are given instructions to complete an overnight assignment to create strategies in each OAI/ICE Competency.  The following day, participants work in small groups to discuss, produce and commit to a consolidated set of those strategies.