An HR Architectures Approach To Understanding New Forms Of International Staffing

The narrow focus on physical location vis-Ã -vis the MNC headquarters as the defining variable for conceptualising an MNCs workforce in terms of host country nationals, parent country nationals and third country nationals has masked the complex array of issues facing organizations in global labor markets. In reality, organizations use a variety of approaches to allocate human capital, and often use these forms simultaneously (Davis-Blake & Uzzi, 1993). Reconceptualizing a MNC workforce as a whole is used as a starting point to develop a new theoretical framework will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of an MNCs HR architecture. In turn, this will lead to a more meaningful understanding of the use of the many types of employees within a MNC and how these employees co-exist in various combinations. This framework suggests a complexity for the MNC staffing choices that is overly simplified by the extant exclusive focus on HR practices as they apply to expatriation as the only mode of international transfer.