Having just returned from our annual family skiing trip I have been reminded of how important it is to conserve and restore your energy resources. A few consecutive, full days of skiing can easily sap your physical energy. But we all know that our mental energy is a finite resource as well. And sometimes it […]
Older expatriates: When maturity becomes an advantage
Common sense would suggest that these days, younger people are more globally minded than before. It is argued that Generation X and Y employees are much more open to living abroad, more adventurous and internationally oriented compared to previous generations. Thus, when considering international assignments as ‘going global’ experiences, shouldn’t younger expatriates be more suitable and successful in terms of cross-cultural adjustment and communication than older professionals?
Becoming more global or more homesick?
Globalization, internalization and cosmopolitanism are some of the terms that could be used to characterize the picture of the 21st century. In turn, he typical person of the 21st century is expected to be open-minded, culturally intelligent, excited for change, quick to adjust, and feel ‘at home’ wherever he or she resides. From being citizens of our hometowns, cities or countries, we are expected to become world citizens, or globalists. But are we really living up to these expectations?
How to balance the biggest relocation challenges
Given the current economically challenging times, the notion of costs being the number one concern of international assignments is to be expected. However, apart from this finding, the Cartus 2012 Biggest Challenges survey points to a number of other key challenges and suggests that relocation managers are in constant strive for balancing these competing issues.
Exploring different expat generations
Referring to the workforce in general, the ‘Boomers’ ‘Xers’ and ‘Ys’ are familiar terms that reflect popular beliefs of significant differences among employee generations. However, contrary to the popular press, scholarly publications tend to discard such generational stereotyping. Yet, what about expatriates?
Top management in global companies: To relocate or not to relocate, that is the question
Let’s assume a business headquartered in a European country. Following market internationalization the company expanded to the US and set up subsidiaries there. In the following years, the US operations grow and the business focus increasingly shifts from Europe to the US, creating a bigger need for being close to major customers and stakeholders that now reside in the US. Given this scenario, what could be done?
A closer step towards understanding ROI: Introduction of a recent framework
Several empirical and theoretical researches continuously report on the lack of knowledge and understanding within the field of assessing value of international assignments. A recent article by Australian scholars McNulty and De Cieri (2011) contribute to our limited knowledge by presenting a framework of expatriate ROI from the perspective of long-term assignments.
Differences in expat generations: Fact or fiction?
The existence of generational differences with regard to various aspects of life has been debated for many years. Likewise, in terms of the workforce, it has been common to distinguish between Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. Relating this discussion to the expatriate population, it is interesting to consider whether there are significant differences across expat generations. What do you think?
The new world order: Returning to the ‘tribe grouping’ approach
Looking at the world development in broad terms has always been of interest from economic, political and demographic points of view; and such mappings of the world order has always been largely based on different country groupings. a recently published report by The Legatum Institute termed ‘The New World Order’ attempts to present the emerging world order from the so-called tribal grouping perspective.
Cultural intelligence: A skill you can’t do without in today’s multicultural world
In addition to intelligence quotient (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ), nowadays, we also speak about a third type of intelligence, namely ‘CQ’ or cultural intelligence. Leaders of The Cultural Intelligence Center, argue that in today’s increasingly global and diverse environment CQ is a skill that is absolutely necessary for working effectively in culturally diverse situations. Take a look at the strategies for developing this skill.
Follow-up on biculturals: Why are people with multiple cultural backgrounds beneficial for organizations?
What is the practical contribution of bi- or multicultural employees to global organizations? A recent article by Fitzsimmons et al. (2011) describes how multicultural individuals contribute to five key activities in global business — international teams, intercultural negotiations, international assignments, mergers and acquisitions, global leadership and ethics.
Staffing with inpatriate managers: A recent study on the role of interpersonal trust
Inpatriates are seen as a viable staffing alternative in global organizations. Specifically, inpatriate managers are a valuable source of facilitating change and bringing differences to global decision-making processes. However, to do so inpatriate managers need to become part of the HQ management team, which will require them to be perceived as trustworthy. Take a look at the review of a recent article on the topic.
Biculturals – an emerging demographic in organizations
With globalization on the rise, the role of individuals in mediating and communicating between and within different cultures becomes very important for international organizations. In light of such context, the scholars Brannen and Thomas (2010) highlight the topic of bicultural individuals, who are a growing yet unexplored demographic.
Expatriation and doing business abroad
When considering top destinations for expatriation, several surveys and rankings point to factors such as attractiveness of lifestyle, weather conditions, cost of living , and etc. However, in addition to these conditions the business environment of the foreign country is also playing a crucial role, especially for self-initiated expats who move on their own accounts to do business abroad.
Expat partner roles identified
A recent expatriate study by Finnish scholars Mäkelä, Känsälä and Suutari (2011) looked into the partner roles of expatriates and identified six different types, namely “supporting”, “flexible”, “determining”, “restricting”, “instrumental”, and “equal partner” roles.
Does the accompanying partner have a negative or a positive impact on the expatriate’s own experience?
About 80% of expatriates are accompanied by their partners during the assignment. Usually partners give up their jobs and go through their own relocation challenges, which naturally inlfuence also the assignee. However, despite these ‘extra’ problems for the expatriate him/herself, the majority still prefers to relocate with their partner. Why so?
International salary management: Some more evidence.
Lately several of my blog posts related to expatriate compensation systems; hence I thought that giving an overview of the most recent survey results on international salary management is an appropriate closure to the topic.
