International Management: Challenges and Solutions for Expatriate Management

This report discusses the challenges faced by expatriates and the solutions for expatriate management. It covers topics such as resourcing, expatriate preparation and training, cross-cultural training, and repatriation. The report also emphasizes the importance of developing a positive attitude towards the host country and learning the language to communicate effectively.

RUNNING HEAD: International Management 0
International Management

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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Research Methodology..........................................................................................................................2
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................6
References.............................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The advancement in the communication technology both in terms of accessibility and
functionality has increased trend for the expatriate management. The key driver behind
expatriate management is the need of MNCs to control and coordinate operations effectively.
It ensures that the organizations perform smoothly across the globe. The requisite of
transmitting knowledge and emerging international management has increased. In this
context, the expatriates have become an important part of the international management. An
expatriate is a person who lives outside the country on a temporary basis. This term is often
used for the professionals, skilled workers and the artists who are having positions outside
their native country. These persons are positioned independently or sent abroad by their
companies, universities, employers or governments.
According to Vance and McNulty, 2014, the expats usually earn more than they would earn
at home. The expatriates are also provided benefits such as relocation assistance and housing
allowance (Vance and McNulty, 2014). Living as an expatriate provides an opportunity for
the career advancement and business exposure. They are also offered with higher
compensation. The problem is faced by the managers in selecting the best individual. The
expatriates also face challenges in settling down in the new country. There are some
measures which are required to be undertaken by the expatriates before leaving for the host
country. The individuals can learn the language of the host country and consult with the
expatriates about the challenges faced by them. There are repatriate courses which can be
used by the expatriates when they return home. It helps them to re-adapt the work
environment and culture of the home country. They are provided knowledge on the political,
social and economic changes as well as the information on the changes taking place in the
business environment.
Research Methodology
As the global market is continued to expand, there has been steady advancement in
organizations conveying employees to work overseas. The overseas assignments take out
employees from the regular practices and home. The newly moved expatriates adapt to the
assigned environments and overwhelmed with different social and cultural standards or
customs. It involves challenges such as monetary and career-related costs of failing to prosper
an overseas assignment.

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As per Cole and Nesbeth, 2014, effective management of the expatriation process is
continued to be an significant issue for the human resource managers due to 2 motives (Cole
and Nesbeth, 2014). One is the cost linked with sending employees on expat projects are
substantial. For instance, the average organization expends around $300,000 per expat
annually. According to Tung, 2016, the expatriates’ projects last for 3-4 years, companies’
investment usually exceeds $1 million per expat. It is expectable that organizations attain a
sufficient return on the considerable investment (Tung, 2016). Secondly, poor expat
adjustment remains a substantial problematic for many organizations in spite of the
conducting research to help organizations in better managing the expatriate process. For
instance, 15-40% of U.S. expatriates fail to thorough their foreign projects and remaining is
considered ineffective by their organizations. Due to these problems, the organizations have
increased efforts to categorize and choose most qualified employees for the expatriate
projects. As per Silbiger and Pines, 2014, the organizations have modified their selection
process and standards in order to pick over out unqualified employees who lack the necessary
skills to be active in overseas projects (Silbiger and Pines, 2014). Although this approach is
going to help the possibility that highly capable employees are sent abroad and it may have
unintentional significance as well. In this case, the organizations can end up choosing the
overqualified staff for the overseas job. It also indicates that employees may be sent foreign
for the tasks that do not fully exploit skills and abilities.
As per the Von Borell de Araujo, Teixeira, da Cruz and Malini, 2014, the framework and
solutions which helps individuals to settle in the home country are resourcing, expatriate
preparation and training and cross-cultural training (Von Borell de Araujo, Teixeira, da Cruz
and Malini, 2014). There is quite a difference between working in the foreign environment
than working in the domestic one. It has been observed that the managers do not pay much
consideration while picking employees for the international project. There are some factors
which contribute to resourcing the employees such as the advanced level of performance has
to be attained in the different environment which comprises communication with diverse
culture and languages. The necessities for the overseas assignments are intricate than the
domestic ones. Another challenge is faced because of the dearth of information about the
performance of the employees in an international project. Besides, higher performance in the
domestic region does not always lead to the higher performance in the overseas environment.
Sometimes, there is high pressure on the managers at the time of assigning an assignment to
the employee which does not consequence in the best selection for the project. The managers

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also reflect the family situation of the employees as it is a great influence in their decision of
accepting and rejecting overseas assignments. This challenge goes along with attaining house
and working license in the particular country. It leads to the lots of complications in the
expatriate families when the spouse is not able to get a work. According to Maley, and
Moeller, 2014, the culture variances between the host and the home country also have a role
when it comes to the selection of the exact employees (Maley, and Moeller, 2014). It has
been noticed that there is always more chances for the females to be accepted than the males
depending on the domestic and overseas assignments. The employees are chosen for the
overseas assignments also have to expend time in the places which are threatening their lives.
The overseas workers being kept as a prisoner in the Iraq, Nigeria, and Afghanistan are the
best example of this situation. All of them are not able to escape or get freedom from their
abductors. Some chases are met in which the bodies of the sufferers are found after some
time of kidnapping them (Caligiuri and Bücker, 2014).
After evaluating all the aspects inducing resourcing of the expatriates, the human resources
have made their choice. The subsequent step to be taken in the deliberation is the preparation
and training of the expatriates. This process has an important role in the success of the
overseas assignments. Then also the international companies underrate this process.
According to Mahajan, and Toh, 2014, the factors inducing the training depending on the
expats and their personal features like the culture of the host country and how does the
company observe the project in link with the objectives of the company (Mahajan, and Toh,
2014). The expatriates work in the new country with completely different cultural
characteristics. The cross-cultural training is one of the significant measures of the
preparation.
It increases the job performance by simplifying adjustments to the host country. It also
reduces the incorrect attributes of the behavior, increases understanding of the culture and
reduces stereotype thinking. It also declines the social ambiguity which can result as culture
shock. It advances cross-cultural competencies and leads to the attainment of the objectives
more successfully. As per Lauring, Selmer and Jacobsen, 2014, the cross-cultural training
programs differ considerably in content, length, and concentration depending on the
company. It is required to provide an explanation about culture to the assignees that how it is
in general and how it differs (Lauring, Selmer and Jacobsen, 2014). It contributes in the
successful intercultural communication. There are some other sources which provide
information about the foreign country such as convention with an individual who is known to

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the host country can be effective. The discussion with the prior expatriate can help a lot to
other expatriates during their stay and successful completion of the projects. The language
also has an significant role in understanding the culture of the host country. The assignees can
be provided with language courses. The course takes place either before parting or during
their stay in the host nation. It is helpful in communicating and understanding native
colleagues (Reiche, Lee and Quintanilla, 2014).
As per Jayasekara and Takahashi, 2014, the expatriate management is essential not just when
they leave for a new country but also when they arrive back. The process of coming back and
the return of the individual’s home entry after living overseas for a substantial period of time
are known as repatriation (Jayasekara and Takahashi, 2014). The repatriates have to alter the
time to the home country, work and start the collaborating again. It is not easy for most
expatriates to come back and adapt own’s culture. It has been noticed that it is easy for most
of the expatriates to live overseas and adjusting to their own home. The repatriates experience
a reverse culture shock. They are in the high mood after their arrival home and everything
seems perfect. Everything is monitored by a low mood and nothing as it used to be. After a
passage of time, they feel neither overexcited nor nervous nut they feel normal. The
frameworks and solutions are selected for the expatriates and help them settle down in the
new country and help them to re-adapt when they come back to the home country (Zhu,
Wanberg, Harrison and Diehn, 2016).
The employees are offered a repatriation course when they arrive home. According to
Dickmann, and Cerdin, 2014, it is a significant way to make returnees and their families
about the encounters they are coming to face with their rearrangement (Dickmann, and
Cerdin, 2014). The counseling sessions, group discussions, seminars, social get-together have
a role in informing repatriates and their relatives about the challenges they are going to face
after re-entry. The content of the repatriation courses differs expressively according to the
desires and demands of the individuals. Although, most of the repatriates suffer from out of
mind syndrome and out of sight so they are provided with some mutual traits. As per Li and
Jackson, 2015 the reverse culture shock deals with the changes and readjustment to the home
country. The psychosomatic and emotional symptoms of feeling like immigrants in their own
country and evolving coping plans have an important role in the course (Li and Jackson,
2015). The information is provided on the political, social and the economic changes. They
are also provided with the cost of living, health service, personal security, public utilities,
law, and order. The business environment information such as law and company policy, new

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products and services of the company, trends, and developments, acquisitions, the
introduction of the executives to the would-be colleagues are provided in detail when the
plans are different than the overseas company. The employee benefit plans and services, the
introduction of the executives and supporting staff is also provided (Baruch, Altman and
Tung, 2016). The financial planning is reviewed such as taxation, investment, insurance, and
pensions. The information is offered for the school children’s education such as national
curriculum, examinations, admission process, standards, and the university entrance. The
issues of the spouse are resolved such as job search and CVs. It includes finding occupation,
guidance for writing CVs, skills apprising course and job search support (McNulty and
Vance, 2017).
According to the views of Caligiuri and Bonache, 2016, difficulty is faced by the repatriates
as a process of version. It is prejudiced by the expectations of the expatriates and the
perception of the company’s about international assignments (Caligiuri and Bonache, 2016).
The expatriates take easily to approach when they return to the home; they do not feel any
need of professional help with the repatriation. They feel that everything will be the same as
they left. They found themselves more efficient, courteous and financially stable. If such
expectations of the repatriates are meet then only their job commitment increases and
turnover rate decreases. It helps in saving the cost of the company of losing a key employee.
The repatriates feel work-related changes such as losing control on authority and status due to
their international assignments. The job should the chance for the employees to preserve
trustworthiness within the organization. The employees are also required to add a
contribution to the company in order to keep their image unharmed. Not only work but the
society has also changed during the international assignments. The repatriates face problems
of housing, the job of the spouse and schooling for the children (Martins and Tomé, 2014).
The expatriates also rent out the house during their stay to the abroad. When they return
home then they have to buy the house.
Conclusion
The expatriates are required to develop a encouraging attitude towards the atmosphere of the
host country where the international assignment is undertaken. The learning language is a
advantageous factor in understanding the culture of the foreign country. The expats are
prerequisite to gain knowledge in order to communicate effectively. When the expatriates
come back home then they are suggested to keep in touch with their family and friends

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instead of suffering from the out-of-sight and out-of-mind syndrome. In the above report, a
framework is suggested to select the best individual by the managers. The framework helps
individuals to settle down in the host country. The framework provided also helps individuals
to readapt the culture and work environment when they arrive back to the home country.

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References
Baruch, Y., Altman, Y. and Tung, R.L., 2016. Career mobility in a global era: Advances in
managing expatriation and repatriation. The Academy of Management Annals, 10(1), pp.841-
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Caligiuri, P. and Bonache, J., 2016. Evolving and enduring challenges in global
mobility. Journal of World Business, 51(1), pp.127-141.
Caligiuri, P. and Bücker, J.J.L.E., 2014. Selection for international assignments. Collings,
DG; Wood, GT; Caligiuri, PM (ed.), The Routledge Companion to International Human
Resource Management, pp.275-288.
Cole, N. and Nesbeth, K., 2014. Why do international assignments fail? Expatriate families
speak. International Studies of Management & Organization, 44(3), pp.66-79.
Dickmann, M. and Cerdin, J.L., 2014. Boundaryless career drivers–exploring macro-
contextual factors in location decisions. Journal of Global Mobility, 2(1), pp.26-52.
Jayasekara, P. and Takahashi, Y., 2014. Improving post-assignment behavioral outcomes of
expatriates: A Sri Lankan perspective. Journal of Global Mobility, 2(3), pp.298-316.
Lauring, J., Selmer, J. and Jacobsen, J.K.S., 2014. Business or pleasure? Blurring relocation
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Li, N. and Jackson, M.H., 2015. Global relocation: an examination of the corporate influence
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International Limited.

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