There is a whole process that expatriates have to go through in order to get accustomed and become successful in the country they have been placed in. To get accustomed to the new country they have been placed in you will go through logistical, cultural, relationship-building, and preparation phase training. These opportunities will lead to expatriates becoming successful in their assignments. Without these training phases, expatriates will have a harder time in completing their assignment successfully and building/maintaining the relationships that they make (O’Byrne, 2018).
Expatriates are employees that get sent abroad to do work for the company that employs them. The process of being an expatriate can last anywhere from six months to five years. There are also self-initiated expatriates also known as a foreign worker. The self-initiated expatriates voluntarily go to a foreign country and look for work (Mendenhall, 2018).
Sending employees to overseas assignments is a huge risk in the world of business. Annually, U.S. based companies lose roughly six billion U.S. dollars on failed overseas assignment (O’Byrne, 2018). Some people may say that the expatriate experience ins a waste of a company’s money, but if the assignment is successful then the company can make a lot of money and great business connections across the globe. Either this expatriate will be successful and make the company money, or the company will lose money by the expatriate not meeting the assignment requirements. In order for a company to ensure the least amount of risk, they have to make sure they pick an employee that is not just willing to do the assignment but have prior technical skills in order for them to have a higher chance of being successful (Mendenhall, 2018). Both the article and the book talk about the potential risk and how companies overcome it by trying their best to hire an individual with the right qualities in the work place as well as their personal life. Expatriates should search for some type of cultural training before they enter their new country for work. If they seek out this training, getting accustomed to the new countries culture will make transitioning a lot easier.
All in all, the experience that an expatriate gains from the whole experience in a different country helps them grow in many ways as an individual. It is evident that being somewhat alone in a foreign country pushes expatriates to gain more perspective on global business as a whole. Any global business leader who is looking to grow personally by going past their cultural norms and gain new ways to work around problems that show up in business should take an expatriate experience if they have the opportunity.
References:
Mendenhall, M. E. (2018). Global Leadership: Research, Practice, and Development. New York, NY: Routledge.
O’Byrne, A. (2018). Nurture Connections to Enhance Expatriate Success. TD: Talent Development, 71(5), 38-42. Development,71(5), 38-42.
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