Expatriate Failure and Globalization in International Management

This report discusses the reasons for expatriate failure in cultural adjustment and the impact of globalization on international business. It also provides strategies for maximizing expatriate success and highlights the importance of business ethics in a global economy.

INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
a) Expatriate failure with regard to cultural adjustment.............................................................3
b) Globalization and international business.................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
A multinational organization deal with various kinds of transactions and trades at
international level for enhancing their opportunities of entering into new foreign market for
expansion of business (Erogul and Rahman, 2017). When a multinational organization operates
at international level or globally then roles and responsibilities of human resource department
increases and is seen as a major determinant of success or failure of an organization. This report
will lay emphasis upon evidence about expatriate failure, factors that maximise expatriate
success and factors that contribute to the notion of a globalised economy.
TASK
a) Expatriate failure with regard to cultural adjustment
Expatriate failure can be defined as different kinds of issues that results in preventing
return on investment from an expatriate like underperformance, early return and many more.
Expatriate failure rate for internal organizations might vary on the basis of destination and
industry. There are various kinds of reasons that Cleary helps in explaining reasons of expatriate
failure. There are two main reasons of expatriate failure:
 Cultural shock: the ability of an employee to adjust in new and different culture helps an
organization in achieving expatriate success. When expatriates start an international
assignment in host country, they and their families need to adjust in new culture. It is known
as culture shock (Yussuf, 2018). It is important for employees to have skills so that they can
adjust in new culture otherwise they can struggle in adjusting themselves in new and
completely different environment and culture. This cultural shock can one of the main
reasons of success or failure of an international assignment. Many times, a good start is often
misinterpreted as a sign a success. It is important to understand that cultural shock has
various phases and good experience at the starting is quite common. Facing difficulties in
cross cultural adjustments can result in premature returns of expatriates and can result in
failure.
 Family: Another factor that can result in failure of expatriates is their families. Multinational
organizations often ignore family members of expatriate as family members of expatriates
have a significant impact upon their success or failure (Guttormsen, Francesco and Chapman,
2018). If spouse or children of expatriates fail to adult in the new culture then it can have
3

direct impact upon overall performance of employees as they will not be able to focus upon
their work and on completing assignment.
These two are the main reason that ca result in expatriate failure due to cultural
adjustments. It is important for multinational companies to focus upon these factors of cultural
adjustment because ignoring these factors can result in increasing changes of failure of
expatriates.
There are various kinds of factors that can be focused upon by multinational
organizations in order to enhance overall expatriate success. International human resource
management need to analyse and work upon several factors in order to ensure success of
expatriates. Focusing upon several factors can help international organizations in overcoming
culture shock of the expatriate and their family members.
 Sending right people: It is important for companies to analyse whether employee chosen for
international project is culturally flexible, enthusiastic in communication and has a
cosmopolitan outlook (DeNisi and Sonesh, 2016). HR should focus upon looking for people
who would love to interact with different culture people. Employees who are willing to adapt
local language and local norms for international clients are correct employees who ca be
selected for international projects. Such employees are right people for international project
and can easily adjust in new cultural environment.
 Expat training: Providing a holistic expat pre-assignment training to employees can help in
increasing success chances of expatriate. Or projects or assignments that have a probability
of lasting for more than a year, in such project’s employee should be provided with an
appropriate training in which training about local language, information on healthcare and
family support will be provided.
 Expat Support: HR should also focus upon providing local support to expatriate so that thy
can easily adjust in new culture and environment (Onday, 2016). Employees working on
international project should also be continuously updated about home country projects and
assignment and what’s going on currently. This helps them to remain in loop and prepare
them for their return once the assignment or project ends. HR should also focus upon
conducing survey from time to time in order to analyse satisfaction of expatriates and their
family members in adjusting new culture and environment. This helps them in analysing
4

issues or problems faced by employees and their family members so that any kind of serious
issue or problems can be tackled by them immediately.
 Repatriation plan: Firms should focus upon developing a repartition plan for employees after
completing the project successfully in a serious manner. This helps the employees to return
to their home office and re-join their work in the company against (Onday, 2016). It is
important especially if objectives of company have changed over that time duration or time
period.
 Healthcare facility: expatriate should also be provided with healthcare plan for that particular
time period who are working on foreign assignments in order to enhance their physical and
mental wellbeing. This not only helps the employee in working stress free but also provides
them with a confidence that they have a kind of local support even if it is in form of
healthcare for them as well as for their families.
These are some of the main factors that can maximize success of expatriates and also
helps them in overcoming cultural shock in an easy and appropriate manner. These factors can
also help international human resource management of a multinational organization in
overcoming challenges of managing diverse workforce that can further help them in achieving
their pre-defined goals and objectives (Onday, 2016). It helps the firm and their diverse
workforce including expatriates so that they can adopt themselves in new working environment.
Focusing upon these factors also help Human resource management in more efficient execution
that can further help them in encouraging their diverse workforce and motivating them which can
eventually help them in increasing success changes of international project.
b) Globalization and international business
Globalization aims to benefit the individual economies around the world by making market
more efficient, increasing competition, limiting the official conflicts and spreading wealth in
more economical manner. Globalization is been defined as growing interdependence of world
economics. The process has two main features:
Firstly, the globalization in not an end result but it is continuing process which keeps growing
and gathering pace. Secondly their idea of globalization lead to world economies becoming
more dependent upon each other.
factors
Factor which are contributing to the notion of global economy are such as
5

The rise of information and communication technology
The move from telephonic communication and satellite digital communication have
result in immense increase of flowing information from one place to another place. This also
have result in time and space compression as employee sitting in differ companies’ offices can
have proper communication (DeNisi and Sonesh, 2016). Due to this companies are getting up the
knowledge regarding what is happening all around world and its respective effect on business.
This is show of grippling events of past decade have been infolded in real time in form of global
audience.
Economic factors
The global economy is post industrial as products and service are much more
information such as computer software, information services rather than actual tangible and
physical goods such as food, clothing or cars. On other hand, role of transportation corporation is
particular important as companies are producing more than one country tends to have oriented in
global market and global products. Global commodity changes have increasing globalised with
worldwide network extending with least profitable aspects of production. Production is much
more flexible as companies is hiring people on short term contracts around seeking the cheaper
labour cost as increase global economic competition.
Political changes
The political issues of the country are making globalization more channelized as per
political bosses. The regional trade with proper understanding and agreements have marked
proper determination with scope of globalization. In addition, technological develop to are of
production, product mix helping out firm to have expansion of operation. The hiring of services
and procurement tends to have strong influence in globalization process.
Ethical awareness in international policies
In the era of globalization, the qualitative growth of company has clear dependence on their
ethical behaviour, strategies, policies and relationship maintenance outside business area. it is
the major obligation for company to create environment at workplace which properly inculcates
day today productivity (Onday, 2016). Business ethics have been recognized as important area of
discussion taking charge of social responsibilities welfare of the employees. Ethics are
principles, value and belief which help in making decision between right and wrong. They tend
to fall into three categories such as Value, social outreach, code and compliance. While working
6

globally there is needed to have inclusion of ethics which make respecting in differences
between co workers, honest communication in workplace an trust .
The important key point company tends to remember while preparation of international
policies -
While preparing the international policies company should be clearly aware important
note as developing company policy should articulate set of core values on the basis of global
policies and decision-making aspect. There is need to have shared values such as honesty,
dignity, responsibility, and respect for others.
Train the international employees to ask up with their queries taking up in mind the cultural
sensitiveness and flexibility of core values (Payne and Askeland, 2016). In addition, the internal
expansion, company should be awre of legal protections supported by ethical leadership.
Hence the firm have need to develop balanced approach for policy which need flexibility or
imagination. companies should develop an approach flexible but robust with guiding employees
for excising responsivities and make good professional judgements.
The global business environment has been constantly managing with having different
clients and co-workers among diverse perspectives on ethics and proper behaviours accustomed.
The company should no longer assumer their own values and ethics as only the right way to
approach business relationships with other countries. There is need for organization to
appreciate their difference in cultures and understanding employee better and scale business at
global level.
Virtual team
Global team are game changer by having the potentiality to reap the business benefits working
with culturally diverse perspective together. Global team helps out in the managing wide net for
searching higher talents (Latan and et.al.,2017). Cross border teams will be allowing to search
out best approach to take any profitable decision for business,
In addition, cross border teams have potentiality to work for 24/7 hour as software team in
Boston can hand over a project to colleagues in Mumbai at the end of the Boston day. Global
virtual team tends to have proper maximization of talent and resources with virtual tea work
boosting business product along with streamlining collaboration with integrated team
communication tools.
7

On the other hand, there are several challenges company tends to face while handing global
virtual teams such as-
 Cultural difference and verbal communication as virtual team never meet each other
which later on fin out to major reason for afflicts and ineffective communication (Vayena
and et.al.,2018).
 Without face to face interaction, it is turning out difficult to build trustworthy relational
ship. This later on turned out to be low team morale, face more conflicts and suffer from
lost productivity.
 Technology have been double edge swords as sometimes create major difficulties and
interruption such as audio lag, downed connections, loss of cell service, or unexpected
software updates are bound to waste time and frustrate team members.
CONCLUSION
From the above file as, cultural shock can one of the main reasons of success or failure of
an international assignment. It is important for multinational companies to focus upon factors in
overcoming culture shock of the expatriate and their family members. Firms should focus upon
developing a repartition plan for employees after completing the project successfully in a serious
manner. Business ethics have been recognized as important area of discussion taking charge of
social responsibilities welfare of the employees. The company should no longer assumer their
own values and ethics as only the right way to approach business relationships
8

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Erogul, M.S. and Rahman, A., 2017. The impact of family adjustment in expatriate
success. Journal of International Business and Economy. 18(1). pp.1-23.
Yussuf, O.A., 2018. Major factors affecting the expatriate success: The case of Malaysian
expatriates. International Journal of Management and Human Resources. 6(1). pp.111-
142.
Guttormsen, D.S., Francesco, A.M. and Chapman, M.K., 2018. Revisiting the expatriate failure
concept: A qualitative study of Scandinavian expatriates in Hong Kong. Scandinavian
Journal of Management. 34(2). pp.117-128.
DeNisi, A.S. and Sonesh, S., 2016. Success and failure in international assignments. Journal of
Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research.
Onday, O., 2016. Global Workforce Diversity Management and the Challenge of Managing
Diversity: Situation on World and in Turkey. Global Journal of Human Resource
Management. 4(1). pp.31-51.
Payne, M. and Askeland, G.A., 2016. Globalization and international social work: Postmodern
change and challenge. Routledge.
Latan, H. and et.al.,2017. Ethical awareness, ethical judgment, andwhistleblowing: A moderated
mediation analysis. Partial Least Squares Path Modeling: Basic Concepts,
Methodological Issues and Applications, pp.311-337.
Vayena, E . and et.al.,2018. Digital health: meeting the ethical and policy challenges. Swiss
medical weekly, 148, p.w14571.
Online
4 Benefits of Global Virtual Teams—And 4 Challenges. 2019 [online]. Available through.
https://www.rw-3.com/blog/4-benefits-of-global-virtual-teams-and-4-challenges
Adapting Tuckman’s Model for Global Virtual Teams.2017. [online]. Available through.<
https://blog.insynctraining.com/adapting-tuckmans-model-for-global-virtual-teams>
9

10

11

12