Executive Review
This paper provides an illustration of the organizational
relevance of human resources and the role that
expatriates do and must play in regard to positively
enhancing the performance of the human resources
within a given company so as to ensure maximum
productivity. The paper will also shed much-needed
light on the some of the inevitably problematic
issues that spring forth in accompaniment to some
of the expatriate-related organizational essentials.
Introduction
The organizational entity represents one of the
most relevant factions of the present day global
society. This, moreover, is something that is
made especially more apparent when considering
it in light of the exceptional degree to which
we tend to depend upon various products and commodities
that are the manufactured produce of respectively
particular firms and companies. From the clothes
we wear and a substantial portion of the foods
we eat, to the automobiles and technological gadgets
that we utilize; all are available to us within
the particular market (s) for these items. And
taking it even further, it would be relevant to
here acknowledge that even such things as education,
travel and various other services such as these
are provided to us via the operations of a particular
firm or company. Tale into consideration, for
instance, the numerous companies that provide
clients with quick transits to overseas locations
via airplanes, such as Emirates Airways, Thai
Airways and Egypt Air.
Such firms that are categorically classified upon
the pretext of their business being conducted
upon intangible rather than tangible goods; they
are referred to as being operational within the
services rather than the goods segment of the
collective organizational sector. However, in
spite of the fact that organizations operating
within the goods and the services sectors tend
to have a significant number of fundamental differences
between them, one of the things that stands true
in the case of both is the underlying essentiality
for there to be sufficient human resources within.
Considering the overseas relevance of Human resources
& Globalization
This is since it is would be ultimately problematic
for a company to carry out its various operational
necessities without a preferable headcount in
concern to the human resources or labor within
it’s structure. This, moreover, is something
that is emphasized even more strongly when considering
it in light of the fact that it is the labor,
within a particular organization, that is exclusively
responsible for supervising and managing such
areas as customer services etc. Thus speaking
and taking into the consideration the fundamental
relevance that human resources yield over a firm
or company; another of the things that inevitably
comes to light is that the issue of labor obtains
even more significant proportions when considering
a firm that is operating outside of it’s
geo-cultural boundaries and/or parameters. Contemplate,
for instance, an American firm that has established
a fully operational and independent franchisee
within Thailand. The first issue that will loom
over the company’s market fate will be that
of obtaining a human resource pool that is predominantly
comprised of natives from the given area, Thai
natives in this case.
This is since, as is obvious, hiring personnel
from a particularly respective local culture will
be of utmost advantageousness to ensuring that
organization develops a much-needed modicum of
comprehension regard the particularly respective,
local culture. In a changing global marketplace,
businesses now are not limited to their local
country to market and sell their product. In addition
to this, moreover, it is also obvious that it
is the responsibility of international HR managers,
in today's dynamic, global marketplace to identify,
cultivate, and develop the skills of the organization's
entire pool of human resources. It is of utmost
relevance to constantly be heedful of the fact
that an organization caught unprepared to move
quickly in response to changing global strategies
will likely miss out on numerous business opportunities.
This is one of the prime reasons due to which
the collective human resources of a particular
organizational entity be maximally prepared to
deal with any form of unforeseen environmental
obstructions. This, however, can turn out to be
a task of monumental complexity when it comes
to an organization that has established a branch
of its operations internationally or overseas.
This is where the role of the expatriates, or
the ‘Expats’ as they are being currently
referred to, comes in. Considering all that has
been covered in regard to the relevance of human
resources, and especially, the overseas relevance
of human resources, it is now time to take an
in depth look at the role of expatriates.
Product management, human resources& the
role of the expatriate (s)
Fundamentally, expatriates are essentially organizational
officials typically hailing form the respective
local culture of a particular company and ensuring
the company’s continued operational consistence
overseas. That is to say, for instance, that an
American manager in charge of ensuring the smooth
production and/or distribution of a particular
American product within a plant of the product
that is established in India would be considered
an expatriate so long as he or she is operationally
authoritative within a foreign region. Furthermore,
it would be crucial to here consider that, with
the current rate at which globalization appears
to be rising, which is a rather alarming one,
the need for well trained, effectual expatriates
is growing at a similarly alarming rate. The ability
of expatriate managers to succeed in culturally
diverse environments has a significant effect
on the success or failure of the organization's
various international operations. Thus speaking,
it is quite obvious by this point in the paper
is that expatriates are only staffing essentials
when it comes down to the question of ensuring
the consistence of the international operations
being conducted.
And it would also be noteworthy to here consider
that traditionally, especially for individuals
with limited domestic and personal ties, an expatriate
posting has been a mouthwatering prospect: overseas
allowance, free accommodation, independence at
work, an elevated position, perhaps a car and
driver, housemaid etc., etc. (Wood, 2004). It
must also be taken into account that the ensuring
of these exceptional organizational benefits,
in themselves, stand testimony to the essentiality
regarding the need for expatriates in the chain
of effectual product management within a business
scenario where globalization has become the norm.
However, things aren’t as simple as they
may seem; take into consideration, for instance,
the fact that expatriates are naught more than
conventional staff being stationed within a foreign
country, and thus, culture, so as to ensure that
standards as similar to those of the local plant,
back home, are being achieved.
Various issues that come forth in concern to
HR & the relative role of expatriates
That is to say that it is highly likely that expatriates,
as a result of the sudden and dramatic shift in
the surrounding features and parameters of the
external as well as internal organizational environment,
will find their organizational performance significantly
challenged or countered. And this, moreover, is
something that is further emphasized in as much
as the sentiment of Reyer Swaak, something of
a business guru whose vocalized opinion in concerned
to business ideology has earned him considerable
popularity with the Society for Human Resource
Management. ‘International human resources
professionals’ says Swaak ‘need to
be more courageous and gutsy’ (The Weekly
Telegraph, 2004). It would, however, be essential
to consider that one of the things that has long
tended to embody a rather significant obstacle
when it comes to the organizational/managerial
effectuality of a particular expatriate or expatriates
is the inevitable relocation phase. Employees
relocated to foreign shores obviously tend to
face various and numerous doubts uncertainties
in regard to various miscellanies that they wouldn’t
have even dreamt of giving a second though within
their native regions. When considering the impact
of such things as finding an apartment; signing
a lease; hooking up utilities; and opening a bank
account, it is barely surprising that on-the-job
productivity of relocated employees tends to diminish
for a variable period. This is something that
has long been a threat in as much as being capable
of placing in jeopardy the success of the transfer
itself (Management Centre Europe, 2004).
Differences in organizational cultures, the psychological
processes of cross-cultural transition, and country-specific
knowledge too, tend to be factors have a negativistic
impact upon the organizational/managerial efficacy
of Expats. As indicated before, the ability of
expatriate managers to succeed in culturally diverse
environments has a proportionate relationship
to the on the success or failure of the organization's
various international operations. A discontented
expatriate can lower the morale of the company
as well as cause irreparable damage to relations
with foreign partners, customers, and the host
country employees. Expatriate failure is a serious
problem generally resulting from the lack of familial
or situational readiness or cross-cultural adaptability
of expatriates and their accompanying families.
And while the financial burden of a failed expatriate
assignment can be staggering, the indirect costs
to an organization's global strategy can be beyond
devastating. And this is one of the main reasons
due to which it is critical for organizations
to begin to identify and develop their future
global leaders and prepare them for global deployment
in response to changing corporate needs.
This is a problem that has long been countered
in as much as the implementation of, and maximally
possible adherence to various employee preparatory
programs designed to effectually prepare employees
for dealing with particularly respective foreign
cultures. Various programs, lingual as well as
socio-psychological, have long been being designed
and evaluated, but without significant success.
This lack of success was particularly due to one
reason, the lack of strength within the managerial
panel of the human resource. This is something
that is better comprehended when considering that
typically, those responsible for hiring personnel
were also the ones given the task of relocating
them overseas. Indeed, in most companies their
human resources (HR) employees were the ones assigned
to manage international relocations. However,
as a result of the fact that companies lacked
in resources required to best manage the relocation
process, especially when it came to providing
on-going support at destination, this soon turned
out to be variable successful (HRZone, 2001).
Companies soon began to look ‘outside of
their own HR departments for assistance, hoping
to contain costs and improve services by way of
outsourcing (Management Centre Europe, 2004).
Solutions forged by the ever-evolving market
environment
Thus came forth the advent of the relocation company,
one that continues to grow in momentum contemporaneously.
This is something that has been of immense advantageousness
in as much as removing the pressure from the shoulders
of the already pressured, managerial panel of
the human resources department. As a result of
this, organizational entities contemporarily establishing
branches of their operations internationally or
overseas typically tend to entrust all of the
organizational necessities of such procedures
to relocation firms. Take into consideration,
for instance, that the most obvious solution in
concern to preferably ensuring the operational
consistency of a plant within a foreign culture
would be to have a number of local staff stationed
along respectively various points throughout the
corporate ladder. In order to effectually implement
this, however, it would initially be necessary
to ensure that the expatriate (s) in particular
is completely aware of the various organizational
features he/she is going to soon experience.
This is since it is quite apparent that these
characteristics that will tend to be alien to
him or her as a result of the external organizational
environment. This is something that is well handled
by relocations companies, primarily as a result
of the fact that they specialize in the field
of relocating employees to the particularly respective
foreign regions. As a result of this, they are
the ideal choice for ensuring that only the most
selective employees are sent to particular locations,
subsequently guaranteeing that there is minimal
diminishment in concern to on-the-job productivity.
Furthermore, in addition to ensuring that through
this ‘best man gets chosen’ strategy,
the company maximally benefits from the deployment
of agents overseas, the employment of relocation
companies also ensures that the HR department
of the firm is capable of effectually managing
the inevitable shits in organizational pattern.
Such changes would typically include the realignment,
repositioning and/or re-stratification of work
floor that will doubtlessly have been altered,
to a particular degree, as a result of the change
(s) inspired by the relocation process.
Crucial generalities considering expatriates
and human resources
Considering that expatriate failure is a issue
primarily emergent due to a lack of cross-cultural
adaptability of expatriates and their accompanying
families, it is of utmost that organizations make
sure that the employees that they deploying as
expatriates are fully aware of the situation they
are being put into. And in addition to this, it
is also extremely important to bear in mind that
employees being sent abroad as expatriates are
fully reassured that they are not, in any way,
being outsourced or put in the background of the
company. This is something that tend to have an
invariable negative impact upon both, the psychological
element of security and consequently, the overall
attentiveness and performance of an employee.
While there have been a number of the expatriate-related
issues recounted above, the paper has yet failed
to mention that another of the more apparent,
negativist elements of the expatriate relocation
process is that it tends to leave relocated employees
uncertain as to their position with the firm at
the end of the posting.
It is necessary that the employee(s) in particular
is given absolute reassurance in concern to the
company’s decision to carry out the relocation
process in concern to him or her. While this will
give the employee a boost of confidence in as
much as the ingraining of the preconception that
his or her value with the company remains untarnished,
it will also bestow upon the employee an added
sense of value. Increasing globalization means
that companies must increase their international
expertise. International expertise is gained at
considerable cost and if it is discarded or lost
due to inadequate retention considerations, this
is surely wasteful. That is why there is so much
stress being put into the issue of expertise or
labor, especially when it concerns these issues.
These days, given the high cost of keeping an
expatriate manager posted overseas and with the
‘availability in overseas locations of talented,
ambitious and educated local individuals with
language skills, overseas postings tend to be
two to three years on average and up to a maximum
of four to five years’ (Wood, 2004). This,
once again, stresses upon the necessity of there
being a strategy or program that is instrumental
in as much as ensuring that relocated employees
are sure of the continued consistence of their
original, local-destination posts.
Conclusions
Thus speaking and taking into account all that
has been said and discussed in concern to human
resources, expatriates and the link existing between
the two, one of the things that have been the
most apparent is that this is a crucial link indeed.
And while this is something that is only required
in the case of organizations seeking to expand
internationally, the current rates of globalization
appears to be indicating, with fervor, that this
is something that will soon provide a bottom line
of all business entities. Relocation services
for expatriates have evolved over time, from a
simple plane ticket and pat on the back to a sophisticated
industry. In a competitive global marketplace,
instituting a successful international relocation
program is increasingly essential to today's cost-conscious
and results-driven business.
This, moreover, is something that is laced with
even more urgency when considering the extent
of damages that an ineffectually implemented and
executed relocation strategy is adopted. As has
been indicated throughout a substantial portion
of this paper, for instance, it is apparent that
the relocation of company personnel to foreign
locations is something that tends to require an
exceptional deal of strategic contemplation. And
this is something that tends to make another thing
simultaneously apparent. Take into consideration,
for instance, that while it sometimes becomes
mandatory to hire personnel hailing from the particular
foreign culture; it is equably difficult to effectually
train these foreign personnel in the particularly
signatory, organizational ethics. This too, is
something that is best done by firms that specialize
in operationally perfecting the scope of a particular
organizations international or overseas extension
(s); relocations firms. It is quite apparent therefore;
speaking in the light of all that has been said
and discussed within the entirety of this paper,
has been the continuously evolving needs of the
typical expatiate.
Although the present increase in globalization
has made for an inevitable increase in the number
of expatriate postings worldwide, the prevailing
psychological trends have shifted from perceiving
an overseas posting as a privilege towards rendering
expatriate posting as a rather ominous decision
to be caught facing. And while this is something
that has been considerably managed by relocations
firms since the dawn of their existence, and is
being managed even better with the evolutionary
developments being integrated into such firms,
expatriate orientation continues to be one of
the most critical issues in concern to internationally
conducting businesses.
This being established, it would be relevant to
acknowledge that all in all, expatriates make
up one of the most vital organizational components
when it comes to establishing a branch of a particular
organization within an overseas location. And
while this is something that was initially apparent
primarily within the airline industry, the relentless
rise in the rate of globalization has integrated
this phenomenon into virtually all organizations
capable of marketing themselves abroad. It would
be conclusively apt to consider that, while expatriates
will continue to reflect an essential of international
business, relocation companies will undoubtedly
have to continue to develop their approaches so
as to meet the continuously morphing needs of
the expatiate.
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