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Solution
Question 15
The implementation of management for expatriates is not always positive in terms of the outcomes obtained. The varying outcomes are dependent on the organisations positioning and competition levels in their sectors. It is important to evaluate appropriateness of the expatriate personnel performance for understanding organisation best practice in their management. The effective management of expatriate personnel can be difficult and often results in disappointing results in practice for the following reasons;
Misalignment of Expectations
One main contributor to disappointing results for expatriate assignments is the misalignment of expatriates’ expectations to their organisations. The first steps into an assignment, as an expatriate, are often times full of assumptions about roles, work-life balance, and assimilation to a new work environment. This blurs the line between their expectations and what they feel the assignment is, which can only be disappointing and frustrating. Ellis et al. (2020) imply it is vital to have realistic expectations for expatriates and therefore a clear communication of job responsibilities, performance metrics and organisational culture. If the organisation does not provide the whole picture of what an expatriate will experience when being assigned into his new role then the likelihood of confusion and unhappiness will increase. For example, an expatriate may hope for being part of a collaborative environment but instead, they get placed in a hierarchy structure where their voices are not heard. Related discrepancies can negatively impacted job performance and morale, resulting in early returns, or the expatriate disengaging from their responsibilities (Bebenroth & Froese, 2020). This means companies must take steps to ensure that expatriates are given clear briefings prior to assignment that include real expectations of expatriates’ role and cultural environment. Providing clarity of the scope of the assignment and creating alignment of expectations, creates alignment of aspirations and expectations, hence improve expatriate success and reduce the likelihood of excessively disappointing results.
Cultural Differences
The other main problem associated with management of expatriate staff is cultural differences. There is a big gap between expatriate’s home culture and the context where they often can have trouble communication with people from different culture, follow social norms, or workplace rules. In these situations, there are psychological disorientation and frustration one being the feeling of culture shock that expatriates experience when coming into contact with practices that draw from such unfamiliar cultures. López-Duarte et al. (2020) report that expatriate success would require leverage on the individual´s cultural intelligence, being the ability to appropriately respond and adjust in the diverse cultural context that characterises the assignment. A lack of cultural awareness can result to misunderstanding of local social norms, which can harm relationships and reduce job satisfaction. In addition, different communication styles can lead to misunderstanding that creates conflict, and impairs team cohesion and productivity. That divide between culture can produce some disappointing results, such as early returns or under performance. Thus, organisations have to build a way to train and provide cultural resources to expatriates so they can adjust to their new environment (Uddin et al., 2019). When companies equip expatriate staff with the tools to understand the differences and navigate cultural spaces, the probability for successful expatriate assignment increases. The expatriates would be operating in their business environment achieve their successful operations.
Inadequate Support Systems
Another major problem is a lack support…..
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