Executives' perceptions of the importance of selected criteria when evaluating candidates for international business positions.

Tucker, Shirley H. ; Hart, Sara A. ; Muehsam, Mitchell J. 等

INTRODUCTION

While international business was addressed in the 1959 Gordon and Howell and Pierson reports, no concrete action was taken until 1974 when the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, now known as the International Association for Management Education, (AACSB) changed its accreditation standards to include a worldwide dimension in the curriculum. Then, in 1979, AACSB approved the addition of the international dimension in its core curriculum requirement (Nehrt, 1987).

Since the inclusion of the international business dimension in AACSB's standards, numerous articles have been written from the college of business frame of reference or have been discussed as if international coverage would be offered through the college of business curricula while many other publications approach the topic from academic disciplines outside the college of business such as geography, political science, law, sociology, and foreign language. The diversity of approaches in attempting to define and incorporate international business as well as the complexity of business environments of and within various cultures have caused this disparate approach and have resulted in international business education itself taking on a spiraling, overlapping effect.

In academia, the Academy of International Business (AIB), in an effort to trace the development of international business within schools of business, has sponsored research projects at five-year intervals. This research has primarily presented a profile of academia's response to international business. The first study, completed by Terpatra in 1969, sought to develop information on the nature and type of international business courses being offered. In 1974, the study conducted by Daniel and Radebaugh focused on placement of international business within degree programs as well as its placement within the school of business organizational structure. Grosse and Perritt, in 1980, sought to profile the development of the academic and organizational configuration of international business education. The 1986 study, by Thanopoulos and Vernon, addressed faculty and international business programs of AACSB member and AACSB non-member schools (Kujawa, 1987). The latest AIB study by Arpan, Folks, and Kwok (1993), in cooperation with the AACSB, surveyed over 1,275 business schools in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America to determine course and curriculum offerings.

In the 1980s, research studies became more directed toward the business executive. Generalizations from these findings, however, have been somewhat hindered by the myriad of research designs. The interpretation of research findings is complex because some surveys dealt with

(a) skills needed by business graduates going into international operations,

(b) skills needed by international managers,

(c) skills needed by workers (whether hired from another firm or promoted from within) for international positions,

(d) skills needed for entry level international positions, and

(e) skills needed for both domestic and international positions.

Additionally, surveys have been conducted of executives but limited to a particular country such as the United States or Canada, while other surveys have been international in nature involving a cross-section of countries.

Four studies conducted in the 1980s (Kobrin, 1984; Kohers, 1984; Beamish, 1988; Reynolds & Rice, 1988) surveyed business executives to identify factors essential for international business. Kobrin's survey of United States business executives, which was concerned with people being hired to work only in international operations, identified key components such as the need for functional and technical knowledge, country knowledge, knowledge of the industry and competitors, "people" and organizational abilities, knowledge of the company, and international experience. Kobrin (1984) stressed that adaptability or interpersonal traits, which are now being referred to as "soft skills," are essential skills. Furthermore, according to Kobrin's (1984) findings, the corporate world does not perceive education to be a significant factor in the development of international business expertise. Based upon his findings, experience, travel, and overseas assignments were considered the most important preparation (Kobrin, 1984, 38).

The 1984 Kohers study surveyed southeastern United States firms to determine their employment needs, opportunities, and expectations for graduates with an internationally oriented collegiate curriculum. Kohers' respondents gave the highest preference to the traditional business major with an international business orientation and proficiency in a foreign language (Kohers, 1985, 35).

The Beamish (1988) study, which addressed Canadian CEOs and corporate recruiters recruiting preferences for positions of international responsibility, identified the same underlying components as Kobrin. Respondents ranked adaptability, leadership, and interpersonal skills as the most important attributes which is in agreement with Kobrin's findings. However, Beamish's respondents also included communication skills as one of the most important attributes. In regard to recruiting practices, Beamish (1988) findings revealed that 73 percent of the corporate respondents recruit candidates with previous international experience for positions of international responsibility. Apparently, because international business skills are sought primarily at the post-experience level and not at entry level, international business skills are viewed as being needed and important, but complementary to regular business skills (Beamish, 1988, 35).

Reynolds and Rice (1988) surveyed United States firms engaged in international business in order to determine their preferences for educating international managers. They concluded, as did Kobrin and Beamish, that respondents generally valued overseas experience more than university education; additionally, they preferred a solid foundation in a functional area more than international education. Based upon Reynolds and Rice (1988) survey responses, when hiring university graduates it is not the job candidates' international education but their grounding in a technical/functional area that will enable them to learn the company's operations through domestic experience before sending them overseas. The importance of overseas experience combined with the importance of domestic experience indicates a strong vote of confidence for "experience." Reynolds and Rice (1988) state: "What does not seem justified, at this point, is a proliferation of courses with "international" in their titles, and curricula which are "international" at the expense of a thorough grounding in the fundamental disciplines of business administration" (Reynolds & Rice, 1988, 56).

There have been four significant studies conducted in the 1990s. The 1991 study by Ball and McCulloch surveyed CEOs of the major American multinational corporations to determine the importance of international business education for all business graduates. Respondents were asked the importance of selected international academic preparation. The Ball and McCulloch (1991) survey determined that 77% of the executives believe that employees will learn the international aspects of business on the job. Ball and McCulloch (1991) use a quote from one of the major automobile manufacturers to interpret their sometimes conflicting results:

"While we do not require international business training for our new college graduates, some familiarity with international business practices would be desirable in view of our ever expanding global markets" (Ball & McCulloch, 1991, 391).

Because of Kobrin's (1984) use of interpersonal skills as well as Beamish's (1988) inclusion of interpersonal and communication skills in their research projects, the Hart, Tucker, and Muehsam (1992) study surveyed CEOs representing U.S. and international corporations to determine the importance corporate executives place on identified components of international business. The findings provide an evaluation and resulting ranking of the importance corporate executives place on these same key variables when evaluating business graduates. Three factors, interpersonal skills, technical/functional skills, and communication skills, were consistently rated as the most important by both U.S. and foreign executives (Hart, Tucker & Muehsam, 1992, 260). Thus, the Hart, Tucker, and Muehsam (1992) study reenforces the Kobrin (1984) and Beamish (1988) studies on the value business executives place on interpersonal and communication skills. While this study supports the Kobrin and Beamish findings that the acquisition of technical/functional skills remains vital in the preparation for international business positions, the Hart, Tucker, and Muehsam (1992) findings indicate business executives perceive interpersonal and communication skills to be equally as important.

Another study by Tucker, Hart, and Muehsam (1993) indicated that corporate executives perceive a need for collegiate international business preparation; however, they do not believe that current collegiate offerings meet their needs, and they base this inadequacy on lack of corporate input between academia and the corporate world.

QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION AND DATA COLLECTION

Prior to the construction of the measurement instrument, a series of in-depth personal and telephone interviews were conducted with business executives to determine factors that contribute to success in international business. The corporations selected for the discovery phase of the research covered a wide spectrum of business interests including communications, service, energy, and manufacturing. The survey instrument was designed incorporating

(1) information gleaned from interviews in conjunction with components identified by Kobrin (1984) and Beamish (1988),

(2) data collected from an extensive topic review of the three top selling textbooks of the five AACSB common core areas, and

(3) information collected from an extensive literature review.

The resulting questionnaire was further defined via a series of pilot tests. The questionnaire was fashioned to allow for the creation of a socio-business profile of the respondents to determine discriminating factors that could influence an executive's perception concerning what contributes to success in international business. A five-point Likert scale was used to determine how executives rate various factors pertaining to success in international business roles.

Data collected for this study were garnered from questionnaires which were mailed to the chief executive officers of the top 600 corporations in international sales listed in Standard and Poor's Compustat PC Plus. The initial mail out was conducted in May, 1991; the follow-up in June. Of the 600 questionnaires distributed, 243 (23.8%) were returned of which 106 (17.7%) were useable. The data were then examined using basic descriptive statistics to include measure of central tendency and spread as well as frequencies, crosstabs, and contingency table analysis.

RESULTS

General Description of Respondents

The business executives surveyed represented a wide variety of business and personal backgrounds; 59% of the respondents have international work experience with two-thirds (66.7%) of these having spent two years or more in international work atmospheres. Thus, just under 40% of all respondents have over two years of experience in the international arena. With respect to multi-lingual capabilities, 34.6% of the business executives surveyed are fluent in at least one foreign language. The majority (56.2%) of the business executives represent corporations whose primary role is manufacturing and processing. Most of the remaining business executives are distributed among businesses directed toward technology, 10.5%; mining, oil, and gas, 9.5%; transportation, 6.7%; financial/banking, 5.7%; and retail, 2.9%. The remaining 8.5% of the executives were categorized as "Others."

FINDINGS

In an effort to better understand the criteria used in evaluating prospective employees for work in international business assignments, business executives were asked to indicate the level of importance they place on each of four criteria: an undergraduate business degree, a graduate business degree, past work experience, and interpersonal skills; ratings were completed on a five- point scale ranging from (5), "very important," to (1) "not important."

Table 1 shows that interpersonal skills were perceived as "very important" by 71.7% of the respondents; furthermore, all respondents gave interpersonal skills a rating of "important" or "very important" indicating the perceived importance of interpersonal skills for success in international business. Past work experience was rated "very important" by 59.4% and "important" by 30.2% of the respondents. Undergraduate business degrees and graduate business degrees were perceived as "very important" by 28.4% and 13.5%, respectively.

Previous studies such as the Kobrin (1984), Beamish (1989), and Reynolds and Rice (1988) have indicated the importance the business world places on past work experience versus undergraduate or graduate degrees.

While work experience was considered the most important criteria in hiring for international business assignments by both Kobrin and Beamish, both studies found that "people skills" or interpersonal skills were essential for success in the international arena. However, this study shows that the business world placed even more importance on interpersonal skills than on past work experience. This shift in evaluation criteria may be the result or combination of two factors:

(1) That executives are now realizing how essential interpersonal skills are for successful international performance and/or

(2) the limited availability of American managers with overseas experience.

Regardless of the reason, interpersonal skills was definitely considered the most important criteria when selecting employees for international business positions.

As displayed in Table 2, business executives were next asked to rate the importance of selected factors when evaluating current employees for an international assignment. These factors included interpersonal skills (adaptability, leadership, flexibility); communication skills (oral and written); technical/functional skills; knowledge of social, cultural, and business customs; foreign language fluency; and geographic and political awareness.

Again, interpersonal skills was considered the most important criteria with 65.7% respondents rating it "very important," and 98% rating it either "very important" or "important." Communication skills were perceived to be "very important" by 45.3% and "important" by 48.1%. Neither interpersonal nor communication skills were rated "not important" or of "little importance." In fact, interpersonal skills and communication skills were rated as either "very important" or "important" by at least 92% of the business executives.

Technical/functional skills was rated "very important" by 39% of the respondents and "important" by 40% of the respondents. Knowledge of social, cultural, and business customs was rated "important" by 49.1% and "very important" by 19.8%, with foreign language fluency and geographic and political awareness receiving somewhat diminished rating levels.

Historically, functional skills have been perceived as the dominant contributing factor for business career success. Although technical/functional skills are highly emphasized in the findings of this research, especially in the job selection process, technical/functional skill level ratings did not match the level of importance obtained by interpersonal and communication skills. While this is contradictory to the study conducted by Reynolds and Rice (1988), the Reynolds and Rice (1988) survey did include interpersonal or communication skills on their questionnaire, and, as one corporate executive stated in the exploratory stage of this study, "... one must possess technical expertise, but without the interpersonal and communication skills, the technical knowledge will not be utilized or prove successful."

As employed in the context of the international work environment, Table 3 displays business executives' rating of skills traditionally categorized as interpersonal--adaptability of the job candidate, adaptability of candidate's family, flexibility, leadership abilities, and high ethical and moral standards. In evaluating skills needed for international business success, adaptability (of the job candidate) was by far viewed as the most important. All executives considered adaptability to be "important" or "very important," with 78.1% rating adaptability of the job candidate as "very important." High ethical/moral standards had the second "very important" highest percentage with 59% of the respondents rating it "very important." Although, flexibility ranked second when combing percentages for "important" and "very important." Adaptability of the candidate's family ranked third with 92.3% considering it either "important" or "very important."

The arduous question now is "what will be the most valuable skills for international positions in the new millennium"? Arnold reports (McPherson, 1998) that regardless of their field or career, students stand a better chance of being hired if they possess strong communication skills. Review of 120 job descriptions appearing in the National Business Employment Weekly (published by The Wall Street Journal), enabled Arnold to conclude that almost every message read: The persons we seek must have strong oral and written communications. The need for communication skills was required for job candidates from chief financial officers to pet buyers.

Further, based upon survey results of 1,400 Chief Financial Officers, Messner (1999) reports that more than half of the CEOs indicated that information technology training would be their first priority in accounting professional development; however, respondents revealed that technology is creating another effect on the importance of interpersonal and communication skills. Current technology that allows workers to communicate more frequently, more rapidly, and with more people, will increase the need for communication skills, both oral and written. Messner (1999) goes one step further and states that in additional to basic technical skills, employees will need to be familiar with international standards and have well-developed interpersonal and communication skills.

Messner (1999) further states that "soft skills" will become increasingly important as businesses move toward increased use of self-directed work teams and company "big-picture" inputs. Lastly, Messner (1999) emphasizes the importance of international competencies and familiarity with language and cultures.

A research project by international staffing firm Office Team of 1,400 Chief Information Officers predicted that by 2005, the workplace's technology transformation will put a premium on technology competencies and put employees "people skills" to their greatest test. Their findings also indicate that interpersonal and communication skills could make or break a person's career success (Anonymous, 1999). Use of e-mail and such technologies as audio and video teleconferencing will require workers to communicate more effectively and articulately.

Additionally, a survey of CEOs by an international recruiting firm reported that talk may be cheap, but it is worth more than technical knowledge if applicants and employees want to get ahead in information technology. These findings are reinforced by a survey of 1,400 CIOs in the United States with 27% reporting interpersonal skills are the most important factor for reaching management levels in the information technology field (Solomon, 1999).

CONCLUSIONS

The following conclusions are based on the findings of this research:

1. This research indicates that 100% of CEO respondents perceive interpersonal skills to be the most important criteria when hiring for international business positions. This finding contradicts previous studies that reported past work experience as the most important criteria, although these studies were in agreement that "people skills" or interpersonal skills were essential.

2. This study substantiates that interpersonal skills (98.1%) and communication skills (93.4%) were perceived as being more important than Technical/functional skills (79%); Knowledge of Social, Cultural, and Business Customs (68.9%); Foreign Language Fluency (59.4%); and Geographic and Political Awareness (51.5%) in the evaluation of skills/knowledge required for success in international positions. These findings agree with an international recruiting firm's survey of CEOs reporting "talk may be cheap, but it's worth more than technical knowledge if one wants to get ahead" (Solomon, 1999).

3. When interpersonal was "exploded" into five specific qualities--adaptability of job candidate, flexibility, adaptability of candidate's family, leadership ability, and high ethical/moral standards--100% of CEO participants perceived adaptability of job candidate to be "important" or "very important." Over 90% of respondents rated all five of these characteristics as "important" or "very important." Colgate (Geber, 1992) supports these findings in its search for global managers by prioritizing "adaptability" above management or sales experience. Geber (1992) states, "skills can be developed. It's harder to develop 'adaptability'."

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Shirley H. Tucker, Sam Houston State University

Sara A. Hart, Sam Houston State University

Mitchell J. Muehsam, Sam Houston State University TABLE 1. EVALUATION OF SELECTED CRITERIA WHEN HIRING FOR IB POSITIONS Criteria 5 Very 4 3 2 1 Not Important Important Interpersonal Skills 71.7% 28.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% (n=106) Past Work Experience 59.4% 30.2% 9.4% 0.0% 0.9% (n=106) Undergraduate Business 28.4% 19.6% 28.4% 13.7% 9.8% Degree (n=102) Graduate Business 13.5% 24.0% 38.5% 19.2% 4.8% Degree (n=105) TABLE 2. EVALUATION OF SELECTED SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE FOR SUCCESS IN INTERNATIONAL POSITIONS Skill/Knowledge 5 Very 4 3 Important Interpersonal Skills (adaptability, 65.7% 32.4% 1.9% leadership, flexibility) (n=105) Communication Skills (oral & 45.3% 48.1% 6.6% written) (n=106) Technical/Functional Skills 39.0% 40.0% 19.0% (accounting, marketing, management, finance) (n=105) Knowledge of Social, Cultural, & 19.8% 49.1% 29.2% Business Customs (n=106) Foreign Language Fluency 22.6% 36.8% 26.4% (n=106) Geographic & Political 10.5% 41.0% 39.0% Awareness (n=105) Skill/Knowledge 2 1 Not Important Interpersonal Skills (adaptability, 0.0% 0.0% leadership, flexibility) (n=105) Communication Skills (oral & 0.0% 0.0% written) (n=106) Technical/Functional Skills 1.9% 0.0% (accounting, marketing, management, finance) (n=105) Knowledge of Social, Cultural, & 1.9% 0.0% Business Customs (n=106) Foreign Language Fluency 11.3% 2.8% (n=106) Geographic & Political 8.6% 1.0% Awareness (n=105) TABLE 3. EVALUATION OF SELECTED INTERPERSONAL SKILLS/QUALITIES FOR SUCCESS IN INTERNATIONAL POSITIONS Interpersonal Skill/Quality 5 Very 4 3 Important Adaptability 78.1% 21.9% 0.0% (job candidate) (n=105) Flexibility (n=105) 52.4% 40.0% 7.6% Adaptability 56.1% 36.2% 6.7% (candidate's family) (n=105) Leadership Ability (n=105) 50.5% 40.0% 9.5% High Ethical/Moral Standards 59.0% 31.4% 8.6% (n=105) Interpersonal Skill/Quality 2 1 Not Important Adaptability 0.0% 0.0% (job candidate) (n=105) Flexibility (n=105) 0.0% 0.0% Adaptability 1.0% 0.0% (candidate's family) (n=105) Leadership Ability (n=105) 0.0% 0.0% High Ethical/Moral Standards 1.0% 0.0% (n=105)