 In this topic we are going to talk about one of the issues of staff selection in the international scenario and this particular issue is myth of the global manager. Usually it is considered that a global manager or an international manager would have a standard personality, that person would have a standard set of requirements, that person would have a standard understanding about cultural and national issues and the diversity issues that are present in different parts of the world. So this is a kind of a myth about the global manager and there are four myths that are commonly held about this particular global manager context which become an issue in staff selection of people in the international context. So the myth number one is that there is a universal approach to management. It is believed that anybody who is hired in a management position and is sent to an international location, there is a universal approach of management. People have only one way to manage it, like you read in your management books that there are four activities of management, planning, leading, coordinating and controlling. So if you go anywhere, you have to do these four activities and these four activities can be done in the same standard. The management ways, management activities and management techniques, they are different in different parts of the world. Sometimes you need to, and that is something which is affected by the national culture and the dimensions of national culture which vary from one place to the other. For example, if the culture is individualistic, there would be a different way to manage the people. Similarly, we discussed the leadership skills of a person and we talked about the inherent generic leadership skills and leadership actions and behaviors and then there are specific manifestations that the leader's intentions are the same, he wants the success of his followers and organization, but how does he present them, it is different in every society and culture so there isn't a universal approach to management, so this is kind of a myth. But on the other hand, the flip side of the coin is that there is a kind of convergence because of a general management literature which is being applied globally. So you know that the books of management are read globally and the same books and the paradigms are taught and discussed, but cultural amalgamation is definitely there and although there is convergence, this is something that we discussed that management practices, they are going towards convergence but there is always a flavor of cultural differences in those management practices. So this needs to be when you are selecting people in an international scenario, you need to understand and a person who is being selected needs to understand that there isn't a universal approach to management. The second myth, myth number two is that people can acquire multicultural adaptability and behaviors. This is another myth that everybody is capable enough that they can adapt and be flexible to the cultural differences. Sometimes certain people, they are more flexible towards and then there are certain nationalities who are more flexible towards understanding and adapting to new and different behaviors and cultures. For example, in previous topics we discussed that German people, they are more ready and willing to adapt to new techniques and new styles of behavior even if they are in a position with their own ways, with their own traditional ways. But there are certain nationalities in which people, they are not ready to be flexible and given to the cultural changes and differences. So it is not a universal fact that people will be able to acquire multicultural adaptability and behaviors. People are limited their personalities, by their backgrounds, by their exposures, by their experiences. So it is when you are selecting people for an international location, you need to evaluate this fact that whether this person is going to be adaptable to the cultural differences and cultural shocks. This is myth number two which creates an issue for international selection. Now myth number three is that there are common characteristics shared by successful international managers. So this is another myth that if a one person has been successful in an American scenario or in a European scenario, that person is going to be successful in an Arabian scenario as well. Well, because the cultures are completely different from each other, a person who may be adaptable in one scenario may not be adaptable in another scenario. So there are no standard or shared characteristics of successful international managers for each location, for each nationality, for each culture, you need to select person who is adaptable for that particular culture. So it is possible that one person who is adaptable to one culture may not be adaptable to another one. So this myth if you stick to that as a human resource manager in an international context, if you stick to this myth, you are going to make wrong decisions. And then myth number four is there are no impediments to mobility, that people will be ready to be mobile, people will move from one place to the other. If you are able to select a very potential and a skillful person for a particular position, that person you appoint that person, that person is going to just pack his bags and move to the next to the location you want to send them. And there is no problem of mobility because there is a sense and impression that well because there is globalization and it is so easy to travel, it is so easy to communicate, it is so easy to keep in touch and be connected. So people will not be hesitant to move from one place to the other, but this is another myth because people are very much hesitant to change their locations because of their so many responsibilities, then people have attachment with certain places, they are attached to their homes, to their families, to their parents, to their relatives, friends, social circle and all these things. So it's something which this myth that there are no impediments, there is no obstacle in mobility, it is a myth which is wrong and people who are being selected for international locations, they must be evaluated, their readiness should be evaluated and even their families readiness should be evaluated, whether they are ready to let them go or whether they are ready to move with them or some similar issues like that. So this myth, if you keep this myth that you can select any type of person for an international location or international assignment, that is something which is going to be a wrong decision on your part. So this is another myth which creates issues for international recruitment and selection. So these myths of the global manager impression, they are an issue for international selection and recruitment.