Introduction
In the contemporary corporate world, business organizations are increasingly expanding across national borders in order to meet their competitive requirements, availing the low cost and labor options, and to get the best talent from all over the world. However, from a multinational perspective, thinking about expansion usually begins with the concern of managing expatriates and their associated issues. This paper elucidates the case of our organization, which is expanding its business of selling undies/inner wears in the Romanian market. The business has initiated to invest with a local Romanian firm that will produce the product for both men and women.
Although the operations will be performed locally by the Romanian firm, our organization has decided to send a manager, engineer, and accountant to the firm so that the business operation remain unaffected and execute as per our defined business strategy. Nonetheless, the organization is concerned with the potential expatriate issues that may come across. Therefore, the organization has decided to undertake some pre and post-expatriation dealings that would not only enable employees managing and adjusting easily in the host country but would also help the organization to avoid prospective intercultural and expatriation issues, which could possibly harm the effectiveness and profitability of the buisness.
Discussion
In order to cope up with the situation of sending expatriate to Romania, the management has settled upon developing a comprehensive expatriate management strategy that will specifically focus on three major areas i.e. Pre-Posting Trainings of the Expats, Repatriation Planning, and Compensation Package. Each of these variables are defined in detail below;
Pre-Departure Trainings to the Expatriates
The first and the foremost factor to look after is the pre-assignment or pre-posting training of the expatriates. This is the most crucial component as this help the expats to manage their personal and professional shifts. The training would comprise of a number of sub-training sessions that will include cross-cultural management training, cross-cultural communication and language management, stress management, and host country social inclusion management options. All these trainings are extremely significant for every expat before their departure to the foreign country as failing to manage their issues could lead to adverse effects on business. Therefore, the management has decided to firstly train them to overcome the cross-cultural barriers, which may potentially include discrimination, bullying, workplace conflicts, grouping etc. They will also be trained for the cultural sensitivity and cultural awareness, which would lead them to avoid workplace issues related to this variable.
Secondly, they would be given a basic level training for the Romanian Language so that the expats can effectively communicate with the official, as well as, generally in socially (Ren et.al, 2016). Although, Romania has other spoken languages too like Bulgarian, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian, Romani, German etc. However, Romanian language is primary language in the country. They will also be giving lessons for managing stress, social inclusion, and family adjustment as this is very necessary to manage the work-life balancing concerns of the expats. They will also be trained to maintain consistent communication and report with the corporate office in home country as this will ensure them with the constant support they have at their back (Scheiblea, 2015).
Managing Repatriation
It is obvious that every foreign assignment has to end one day and expats have to return back to their home country; however, the process is not as simple as it may seem. Business organizations are usually required to develop a comprehensive Repatriation Plan exactly at the time of expatriation so that they can assure employees with the personal and professional stabilities. Repatriation is referred to a management process, which focuses on the social and professional inclusion of expats in their place of origin after they return from their foreign assignments. In order to handle the repatriation of the Romanian expats, the management has come up with some significant decisions. For instance, they will be assessed not only on the basis of their professional and technical skills but will also be evaluated for their personal and family abilities to adopt a new culture and social settings (Ren et. al, 2016).
Likewise, they will be explicitly explained the role of their expat assignment in their overall career. They will also be clearly briefed about the potential challenges that they might face as they come home and therefore, would be asked to stay connected. Additionally, they will be offered counseling and mentoring programs as per their individual needs. Last but not the least, they will be given the opportunity to avail home-leave in order to make a regular visit to reconnect with their colleagues, organizational environment, community, social circle, and their hometown. These endeavors would surely ensure reducing the repatriation challenges for the expatriates (Lin et. al, 2012).
Compensation Management
Compensation of the expatriates is the primary concern as it is the most significant factor to attract, motivate, and retain them. Organizations usually follow two major approaches to compensate expatriates i.e., ‘The Balance Sheet Approach’ and ‘Regional Rate/Ongoing Rate Approach’. We have decided to use a blend of the Balance Sheet and Regional Rate/Ongoing Rate Approach for compensating our expats as this will manage all the issues of expat remuneration. Using the pros of Balance Sheet Approach, we will focus on maintaining the similar living standards of our expats that they were having in the home country (Selmer, 2016). This would help them having the similar purchasing power in the host country and also maintain the same lifestyle. The major factors of choosing this approach is that it will enable us to harmonize the expat compensation with their colleagues in the home country. On the other hand, we will employ some factor of Ongoing Rate Approach as this will help us to balance expat compensation with their host country peers, managing the currency and lifestyle difference, and promoting workplace harmony in the host country (Welch & Björkman, 2015).
Conclusion
The paper discusses all the major factors that are associated with sending expatriates for foreign assignments. The above discussion includes all the major challenges that may come across their fruitful performance. It concludes that , expatriate issue can be effectively overcome by managing effective pre-posting training, repatriation program, and providing competitive compensation.
References
Lin, C. Y. Y., Lu, T. C., & Lin, H. W. (2012). A different perspective of expatriate management. Human Resource Management Review, 22(3), 189-207. Retrieved on May 14, 2016
Ren, H., Harrison, D. A., Shaffer, M. A., & Bhaskar-Shrinivas, P. (2016). Beyond adjustment: complex roles of personality and health-related strains in expatriate performance. European Journal of International Management,10(1), 54-77. Retrieved on May 14, 2016
Scheiblea, D. H. (2015). Expatriation as an Element of Diversity Management. Sociology, 5(5), 347-353. Retrieved on May 14, 2016
Selmer, J. (2016). The future of global mobility. Journal of Global Mobility,4(1). Retrieved on May 14, 2016
Welch, D., & Björkman, I. (2015). The place of international human resource management in international business. Management International Review,55(3), 303-322. Retrieved on May 14, 2016
