 In this topic, we are going to talk about selection criteria and we will be introducing a model of selection criteria which is used in international human resource management. Before we talk about the selection criteria, we will discuss what is the importance of selection and what is the importance of selection in the international context. In the domestic context, selection is also very important because you need to select the right appropriate candidate for filling a particular job position. But the importance of selection is enhanced in the international scenario because, number one, the cost of expatriate failure is very high than the failure of a domestic worker. So we discussed in the previous topics that when an expatriate fails in a particular assignment that could have a number of direct, indirect as well as individual costs for that person. So because the cost of expatriate failure is very high, that is why selection is very much important in the international context. Then second reason is the multi-faceted nature of international assignments. So selection is a very complicated process in the international scenario because you don't just need the person with the right skills, knowledge, skills and abilities pool set. You need a person with so many more extra and additional skills and abilities and you need to match the situation of the person with the situation of the international assignment. And this matchmaking is something which is much enhanced and made complex because of the international scenario involved in that. And due to that, selection is actually a two-way process because international assignment could be something which is so challenging. It's not going to be a one-way selection process that you select a person and that person would also be ready to select you or your organization. Meaning that the person may not be able to or ready to or would be willing to select the assignment that you are giving to that person for that international location. So selection is usually a two-way process in international selection scenario. And you need to make sure that the person that you are selecting for that international assignment is also a person who would be ready to select you as their employer for that international location as well. So that is the importance of selection in international scenario and that is why we need to develop a wider and more complex criteria for selecting in the international scenario. And therefore, we are going to look at a model of selection which identifies the important criteria for international selections. And so let's take a look at this model. So according to this model, the selection decision is based on two type of factors. You can see that one type of factors are the individual factors and the second type is the situational factors. Now the individual factors, they are concerned with the person who is being selected. So you will be looking at the individual capability of the person in these individual factors. So now let's discuss what these individual factors are. The number one factor which is on the individual factor side is the technical ability. Technical ability is the skill set of that person which is required to fulfill the technical requirements of the job. Second aspect is cross-cultural suitability, whether that person would be suitable in that cross-cultural context, whether that person is capable enough, flexible enough and is there similarity between the cross-cultural context. And then third is the family requirements which is very important again. If the family is not ready to move or they have certain limitations, then that is also going to be a difficult situation. Now when we look at the other aspect which is the situational factors, that is also going to affect your selection decision. And on these aspects, number one is the country-cultural requirements. Country-cultural requirements are the ones which are from the macro level. What does the country require? What the host government requires? And what are the cultural requirements? What kind of people you can send to that particular scenario? Then another important factor are the M&E requirements. What does the multinational require? What type of skill pool do they require? And the third important selection decision criteria is the language. Whether language is something which is a barrier or something which the person would be able to overcome very easily. So if there are language differences, then selection is going to be difficult. So all these six important factors on two criteria of individual and situational factors are important for selection decision in selecting an appropriate candidate for an international assignment.