Training expatriates - crucial components in preparing for overseas assignments E-Book

Norika Gölz

• Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2004

Beschreibung

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2003 in the subject Leadership and Human Resources - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Cooperative Education Mannheim (University of Cooperative Education), language: English, abstract: The increasing globalisation of the markets in our modern world creates more and more challenges for international companies. Through Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances or overseas subsidiaries they penetrate and begin to compete in foreign markets. As a result of the associated challenges, companies have understood that technical knowledge alone cannot count as appropriate prerequisites for global work-placement. Intercultural skills and international management qualities are increasingly sought after for management positions. As successful expatriations are good indicators of the availability and presence of these skills, they obtain all the more on importance. Failed overseas assignments are a financial and operational risk for companies and therefore, most companies have understood the importance of preparing their expatriates and their families for the different cultures, the different living conditions as well as the different leading aspects in the new country. This paper states the crucial components in preparing employees for overseas assignments and their importance for international businesses. It explains why companies send managers abroad, what kind of skills those expatriates have to establish in order to be successful and how culture influences the private as well as the working environment.

Leseprobe

Table of Content

1. Increasing Globalisation.

2. Expatriation

3. Reasons for Overseas Assignments.

4. When is the Overseas Assignment failed?

5. Culture.

5.1. Culture in General

5.2. Cultural Barriers in Communication.

5.3. The Cultural Aspect according to Hofstede

6. Training for Overseas Assignment.

6.1. Skills of Efficient Expatriates

6.2. Intercultural Training

6.2.1. Informative Training

6.2.2. Interactive Training.

6.2.3. Language Training.

6.2.4. Problems with Intercultural Training

7. Importance of the Family.

8. Integration in the Overseas Subsidiary

9. Reintegration

10. Limitation and Importance of Intercultural Training

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Training expatriates- crucial components in preparing for overseas assignments

1. Increasing Globalisation

The increasing globalisation of the markets in our modern world creates more and more challenges for many companies. With Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances or overseas subsidiaries they start to conquer foreign markets (Sangmoon et al. 2003:81).

Competent managers with enormous technical knowledge are not enough in these demanding times. Many companies have understood that with the increasing educational background of our modern society those technical skills cannot count as appropriate prerequisites for global workplaces (Krippl et al. 1993:159). More and more intercultural skills and international management qualities are searched for manager positions (Kepir Sinangil et al. 2001:424). As successful overseas assignments are good indicators of these skills, they obtain all the more on importance.

Companies are more and more forced and willing to send expatriates abroad to come up to the challenges of global markets. Already in the early 1980s, Adler surveyed multinational companies and found out that already 600 of them employed 13.338 expats. And this number increased considerably over in the last 20 years (Kepir Sinangil et al. 2001:424). Especially at the moment in uncertain economic times and unstable world events, it was very surprising for the Global Relocation Services to discover in their latest survey that more than three-in-four respondent companies said they anticipated their expatriate population would stay the same or even increase (Warren 2003).

Nevertheless it is very important not to underestimate the cultural differences of various countries. Just to send a qualified manager abroad and hope he will work as efficient as he did in the home country is in most cases not working and it will turn out to be a very expensive experiment for the