Global Mindset and International HR in Brazilian Multinational Companies in the Segment of Heavy Construction

Abstract

The main goal of this work was to study the global mindset and international human resources policies in two Brazilian heavy construction companies. The questions that guided the research were: what determines global mindset and how to sustain it? Do Brazilian multinationals recognize the global mindset as a strategic factor for business and adopt human resource policies to develop it? What is the managers’ vision about these processes? The article examines the most important theoretical references on the global mindset and international human resources processes; then, we explicit methodological procedures of the research, which focuses on two companies, selected from the Brazilian transnational ranking conducted by Fundação Dom Cabral. The results of the study revealed that, although the examined companies have great experience in global operations, they did not adopt consistent international human resources policies that could facilitate the development and maintenance of global mindset of its directors. The comparative analysis of the testimonies pointed out that the managers of the two companies were at different stages in terms of global mindset: at Camargo Corrêa, ethnocentric orientation predominates; at Norberto Odebrecht, regiocentric or polycentric orientation predominates. Although the findings of this study cannot be generalized, since it is a case study, their greater contributions are derived from an original study of Brazilian managers’ global mindset, and the discovery of still incipient role of international human resource policies in the development of this global mindset.