LOCAL AND EXPATRIATE WORKERS: SIMILAR BUT NOT THE SAME (A STUDY CASE ON COMPENSATION IN PAXOCEAN GRAHA TRISAKA INDUSTRI BATAM)

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to find out the company’s reason to employ expatriate workers (EW), the ways in determining compensation for local workers (LW) and expatriate workers (EW), the compensation given to LW and EW, the motivation and performance of LW and EW in working. This study was qualitative case study approach. Documentation and interview were the technique in collecting the data. The key informants were five persons from the management, LW, and EW. Data analysis used was data reduction, display, and conclusion while to test the validity of data it used credibility and transferability test. This study found that the company hired EW because the company adopted ethnocentric approach which is the lack of highly qualified LW especially in technology was to be one of the foundations of the PaxOcean GTI employing EW. In determining compensation for LW, the company adopted job evaluation method and for EW, it adopted balance-sheet approach. Both LW and EW got financial and nonfinancial compensation. However, there was little difference in those components. Compensation was not the main cause for LW and EW to work. Seeking for experience was the greatest motivation of LW that is similar with Maslow’s Theory whereas the responsibility and actualization of company goals were the motivation of EW that similar with McClelland’s Theory. The performance of them was good and it was also influenced by non-financial compensation they get from the company. Keywords: