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Chapter 10 Q’s 1. What steps can the company’s IHRM department take to maximize the effectiveness of the expatriate’s assignment and the long-term benefit to the company? The steps that an IHRM department can take to maximize the effectiveness of the expatriate’s assignment and create a long term benefit to the company are to necessitate plans for retention of expatriates during and after their assignments. Support programs for expatriates should include information from and contact with the home organization, as well as career guidance and support after the overseas assignment.
The company need to: 1). Maximize long -term retention and use of international cadre through career management so that the company can develop a top management team with global experience. 2). Develop effective global management teams. 3). Understand, value, and promote the role of women in international management in order to maximize those underutilized resources. 4). Work with the host-country labor relations system to effect strategic implementation and employee productivity 2. Discuss the role of reverse culture shock in the repatriation process. What can companies do to avoid this problem?
What kinds of skills do managers learn from a foreign assignment, and how can the company benefit from them? What is the role of repatriation in the company’s global competitive situation? Management of the reentry phase of the career cycle is as vital as management of the cross-cultural entry and training. Many expatriates and their families have a difficult time readjusting to their old culture and its different behavioral expectations. The longer the person is away, the more difficult it is for them to reintegrate into the organization and get back into the swing of things.
The family may have lost social contacts or jobs and feel out of step with their contemporaries. There may be feelings of alienation from what was perceived as home. A mentor- program is perhaps the best method for companies to use in avoiding the reverse culture problem. There are four general sets of skills that are likely to be learned abroad: management rather than technical skills; tolerance for ambiguity; multiple perspectives; and, ability to work with and manage others. Two of those skills, tolerance for ambiguity and multiple perspectives seem best suited too verse as assignments.
Few companies have the diversity in-house that an employee would encounter overseas. This in-depth immersion into cultural diversity requires a major adjustment on the part of the expatriate manager. In the home country, managers may be able to succeed without making this adjustment. In an overseas assignment, there is no option managers adjust or they fail. Managers in foreign assignments are usually given much broader responsibilities than they have experienced in their home country. After completing an international assignment, repatriation to the home country presents major challenges as well.
Despite the challenges of international careers, more and more CEOs assert that international experience is an essential feature of a high-performance career. 3. What are the reasons for the small numbers of American female expatriates? What more can companies do to use women and minorities as a resource for international management? The reason for small numbers of American female expatriates is that women and minorities represent an underutilized resource in international management. A major reason for this situation is the assumption that culturally based biases may the limit the opportunities and success of females and minorities.
It has been proposed that female expatriates’ acceptance by host nationals may, be predicted by the values and beliefs of the host nationals towards women at work. One, women do not seek international assignments; and, two, host-country nationals refuse to transact business with women. A major reason for small numbers of female expatriates is the assumption that culturally bases bias may limit the opportunities and success of female managers and employees 4. What is a virtual global management team? How often do the members interact? Discuss the advantages and the challenges faced by these teams.
Give some suggestions as to how to maximize the effectiveness of virtual teams across borders. A virtual global management team is “not only separated by time and space, but differ in national, cultural, and linguistic attributes. Global team members “differ in their functionality, which adds complexity to group dynamics. ” Global virtual teams can be formed quickly and are agile by their nature. The disadvantages that exist are from communication difficulties, and a lack of physical contact. Virtual teams are often also “remote” – they are spread across more than one location.
Virtual Global Management Teams have a working relationship with colleagues in many locations, without the need for as many meetings as traditionally needed. To maximize the effectiveness of virtual teams across boarders human resources around the world requires attention to the many categories and combinations of people, including expatriates, host-country managers, third country nationals, female resources, global teams, and local employees. They can help organizations decrease their response time to changes in today’s hyper-competitive markets by taking advantage of virtual networks and utilizing all resources whether local or not.