Expatriation
1. Introduction: Globalisation and Expatriation As corporations and other organisations are increasingly turning to globalisation as a strategy for strengthening their market shares and profits, expatriation has become a critical issue in organisations if they are to succeed in international markets (Shim and Paprock, 2002). Success in today's international climate demands highly specialised global business managers (Barlett and Ghoshal, 1992), an adequate number of expatriate employees who can implement the organisation’s strategies in host countries (Shim and Paprock, 2002). In today's global economy, having a workforce that is fluent in the ways of the world isn't a luxury, it's a competitive necessity (Black and Gregersen, 1999). International assignees are therefore viewed by top management as keys to the firm’s future performance (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1988). 2. The Organisation and the Assignment Linkin Resources, a multinational enterprise (MNE) in the electronics industry based in the UK and with subsidiaries already operating successfully in America, Europe, Australia, Middle East and Japan, is ready to increase substantially its operations in the Asian market by following a newly business strategy. The Senior Management Board is appointing sales and marketing manager Alexander Manning for this overseas assignment. He’s been already approached by his boss about heading up the company’s Far East marketing operations, position which would basically offer him greater responsibility, decision-making authority, job autonomy and a substantial increase in salary. He has been communicated that this assignment would take place within four months and it would represent a springboard to his career growth within the firm. He has also been promised more decision-making power and recognition on his return. Senior executives at the top management of the company have been studying carefully this assignment, which could guide Linkin Resources to a leading position to face the Chinese and other Asian markets - “the chopstick culture” -, followers of the Japanese style-management (Ma, 1998), leaving them the gates of a huge market wide open. This assignment comes in a crucial moment and is seen by the organisation as vital to the future of the their international operations and development. Therefore every effort will be done in order to turn it into a success. 3. Selection of expatriate Expatriate Profile Alexander Manning, 37, is an enthusiastic young manager in whom the company has deposited lots of expectations. Linkin Resources hired him 5 years ago and within a year he had already completed successfully a 6-month assignment in the German subsidiary located in Frankfurt, the European "cash cow" for the organisation. He is married with Cristine, a French schoolteacher in Newcastle, where the couple dwell happily with their two children Mark and Julie, aged 7 and 5 respectively. Before getting married, the couple lived in France and Germany, where they worked for some years. Selection The International Human Resource Department of the organisation, responsible for staffing international activities (Torbiörn, 1997), selected Alexander Manning for this assignment after keeping a strong track record with different expatriates using a variety of tools ranging from casual observation to formal testing. Alexander showed the strongest cultural sensitivity coupled with excellent both managerial and technical know-how (Black and Gregersen, 1999). Moreover, Alexander's domestic track record is regarded as an example of hard work and commitment into the organisation (Brewster and Scullion, 1997). The selection procedure also included an appraisal of Cristine's likelihood to succeed overseas (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1988). Other strong reasons for selecting Alexander were his and Cristine's previous experience abroad together with the willingness and disposition they showed from the first moment towards this assignment in Japan. Appendix A shows the range of attributes and characteristics that the organisation was seeking in the candidate for this specific assignment. Job description The Japanese subsidiary based in Tokyo remains the youngest of the lot for the company and with only three years since its opening it is marching pretty well, but not entirely as it was planned.