Part 1: In this part, the reader would be able to understand the main differences and similarities between expatriate assignments and overseas experience, based on the text “Expatriate assignments and overseas experience – contrasting models of international human resource development” by: Kerr Inkson, Judith Pringle, Michael B. Arthur and Sean Barry.
In expatriate assignment, the company has the initiative to send an employee to another country where it is a subsidiary. The employee has to know the company`s strategies and also need to have the ability to live and work in an international environment. The employee accomplishes the expatriate assignment and returns to another position in the same company in the home country. This model allows an intra-company mobility of the employees, because the subsidiary in the foreign country is part of the company.
Image taken from: Getty Images
The expatriate assignment offers many benefits to the employee and to the company, because the employee can accomplishes a personal and career development, can transfer the knowledge (for example a new language) and the new skills to the subsidiary and after the return, to the home company.
But expatriates sometimes face some problems, like for example the fact that sometimes there is not any job waiting for the return of the expatriate; also during the expatriate process employees have difficulties with the culture and the relationship with the family in a new culture. In order to give solutions to the problems, the candidates are selected based on their capacity to adapt in other cultures, and not just because the technical experience, the company also apply psychological tests to the employee and the family, in addition the person is trained in cross-cultural behavior and finally, the employee have support and assistance in the career planning for the moment of repatriation.
In the other hand, the initiative for an overseas experience begins from the individual. Usually the individual travels with his or her own money, resign from work and is free to decide everything about this overseas experience. The person during the overseas experience needs to make payments, therefore sometimes accepts unskilled temporary jobs. After a period of months or years the person returns home with more individual knowledge and learning.
The benefits that offer an overseas experience are based on individual learning, pursuing personal objectives as expertise, self-confidence, flexibility, mobility and intra-company transfer skills. The increasing of inter-companies mobility has facilitated the growing of people choosing overseas experiences, because of collaborations between different companies or outsourcing businesses.
In conclusion, the increasing of inter-company and intra-company mobility due to inter-companies collaboration, outsourcing, subsidiaries businesses, allows the growing of overseas experiences and expatriate assignments. The decision of which should be chosen depends on the necessities of the individual or the individual and the company he or she is working for.
Part 2: According to the text: “Expatriate assignments and overseas experience – contrasting models of international human resource development” by: Kerr Inkson, Judith Pringle, Michael B. Arthur and Sean Barry; it would be explained one of the causes for expatriate assignment failure with three recommendations to address it.
Part 1 is focus on the concept and benefits of expatriate assignments and overseas experience. But in this part it would be explain one of the main problems that an expatriate face when going to another country and some recommendations that are solutions to the problem.
Expatriates and their families sometimes face some problems when they are in another country with an unknown culture that usually implicates differences in language, behavior, values, religion, and other essential parts of the culture.
The problems between the family and the expatriate can start in a new culture and also problems between the expatriate and his family with the community, or between the expatriate with the other employees.
The first recommendation is that the company or particularly the Human Resource department that is selecting the candidates that will be send to another country, need to analyze the candidates capacity to adapt in a new culture, and not just the technical experience, because an employee with high technical skills and without an adaptation capacity will have many problems in a country with a different culture.
The second recommendation is that it is important to take into account not only studying the possible expatriate but also studying and knowing the expatriate´s family capacity to adapt and their willingness to travel to another country. Therefore, the Human Resource department should apply psychological tests to the employee and the family.
In order to give a solution to this cultural problems here are three recommendations that if the company and the expatriate take into account, the problems can be face in a better way or can be avoided.
Part 2: According to the text: “Expatriate assignments and overseas experience – contrasting models of international human resource development” by: Kerr Inkson, Judith Pringle, Michael B. Arthur and Sean Barry; it would be explained one of the causes for expatriate assignment failure with three recommendations to address it.
Part 1 is focus on the concept and benefits of expatriate assignments and overseas experience. But in this part it would be explain one of the main problems that an expatriate face when going to another country and some recommendations that are solutions to the problem.
Expatriates and their families sometimes face some problems when they are in another country with an unknown culture that usually implicates differences in language, behavior, values, religion, and other essential parts of the culture.
The problems between the family and the expatriate can start in a new culture and also problems between the expatriate and his family with the community, or between the expatriate with the other employees.
Image taken from: Getty Images
The first recommendation is that the company or particularly the Human Resource department that is selecting the candidates that will be send to another country, need to analyze the candidates capacity to adapt in a new culture, and not just the technical experience, because an employee with high technical skills and without an adaptation capacity will have many problems in a country with a different culture.
The second recommendation is that it is important to take into account not only studying the possible expatriate but also studying and knowing the expatriate´s family capacity to adapt and their willingness to travel to another country. Therefore, the Human Resource department should apply psychological tests to the employee and the family.
In order to give a solution to this cultural problems here are three recommendations that if the company and the expatriate take into account, the problems can be face in a better way or can be avoided.
Image taken from: Getty Images
Finally, the third recommendation is that the employees that will accomplish a task in another country need to receive a special training in cross-cultural behavior in order to be prepare to travel to a new culture.
In conclusion, sometimes expatriate assignments failure because the change to a new culture is difficult, but if the company choose and train the right person and the family, the future problems in the new culture can be easily face or avoided.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Getty Images, “human family”, [Online] Permanent URL: http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&language=en-US&family=creative&assetType=image&p=human%20family#2. Last accessed: March 13, 2010
Inkson, Kerr et al. 1999. Expatriate assignments and overseas experience – contrasting models of international human resource development. Journal of World Business. 34: 351-368.
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