The Key Aspects of Effective Performance Management of Expatriates
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The Key Aspects of Effective Performance Management of ExpatriatesIntroductionAlong with economic globalizing, multi-national enterprises emerge in large number, and many potential markets like China spring up. To expand new market share, many multi-national enterprises send experienced employees to the aimed country who are the so-called expatriates and play a critical role in developing effective overseas management. Due to different culture, legislate, business convention, expatriates always run into a stone wall, and find it difficult to perform well and effectively. Poor performance of expatriates leads to large loss of organization, including losing market share, damaging the enterprise reputation, reducing the retention and the attraction of expatriating（Fisher & Härtel, 2003）. So realize what is the key aspects of effective performance management of expatriates is important. This essay will firstly talk about expatriate and cross-culture briefly. Following this, it will illustrate issues about and solution to selecting parent country employees and women. After that it will state how culture shock influence the performance of expatriates, and how to solve it by providing pre-departure training using a cross-cultural training model and an example. Then it will illustrate some issues met in host country, and in-country support needed to solve the problem. Finally it will look at other important aspects, including compensation and repatriate.Expatriate and Cross-cultureExpatriate refers to the employees who are assigned to work in a country where they are not a citizen (Anderson, et al., 2001).With economic globalizing, multinational enterprises have sprung up, and expatriates play a vital role in expanding new market in cross-culture (Downes et al., 2007). However, many of multinational companies do not benefit from expatriating, according to comparing expatriate failure rates of companies in America, Japan and Europe by Tung (1981).As Fisher & Härtel (2003) illustrate expatriates performing poorly in their overseas assignments significantly enhance the cost of enterprising, reduce company reputation, and destroy relationships with host country nationals, and so on. Hence, effectively managing expatriates’performance is extraordinarily important for multinational enterprises.As is stated above, an expatriate works in a foreign country and maybe in a different culture and the difference may lead to many problems and poor performance. According to five-dimensional model (Hofstede, 1984), culture can be divided into five dimensions including uncertainty avoidance index, individualism versus collectivism, power distance, masculine versus femininity, long versus short term orientation. In every dimension, every country has its own characterize. So the experience, value, approach that once worked smoothly in home country may work roughly, or even do not work in the host-country at all. For instant, an expatriate manager from China, a high power distance countries where people with higher education and graduating from famous universities are usually preferred, may find his colleagues in low power distance countries focus more on individual's overall quality and performance, rather than education. Similarly, an expatriate manager from America, a low uncertainty avoidance country where people generally show a relaxed attitude to life and spirit of innovation, the turnover is high, and employees are relatively disposable. All in all, it is common to get restrictions from laws or organizational codes of conduct that are opposite to that of the host culture, and it is difficult even for the experienced expatriates to perform well in foreign cultures that was significantly different from their own (Cassiday, 2005).SelectionSelecting parent country nationals to international assignment has advantages, like assuring that the subsidiary will comply with multi-national enterprise objective, policies and so forth, facilitating the organizational control and coordination, spreading organizational culture. However, it is not the perfect way. The promotion opportunity is limited, in comparison to common employees. Since the culture in host country culture cannot be the same as that in home country, even the experienced and successful expatriates need time to adapt to the new setting, letting alone the inexperienced expatriates. To maintain the original living standard of expatriates, the compensation usually do not lower than the original ones, and some extra benefits will be offered, resulting in the higher compensation than that of the host country colleagues and sense of injustice.So how can companies effectively and successfully select parent country nationals to the international assignment? Companies are advised to offer pre-departure training for expatriates to better adapt to the new setting and develop a systemic compensation plan for expatriates.Besides the issues about selecting parent country nationals to the international assignment, there are many barriers about selecting women to overseas assignment, including external and internal barriers.External barriers come from outside the female employees themselves. Some managers are reluctant to select females and some even have traditional thought or stereotype about women that have a negative impact on decision. Hence, women still face the barriers of selection in expatriating. It seems that many companies may still select under the dual standards: they may refer to married women as a liability rather than an asset. Despite the significant gains women have made in management in the US, women are still left out and neglected in international assignments (Black & Gregersen, 1999). So, enterprises are strongly recommended to view women equally and follow the same standard of selecting regardless of gender, which will attract more dual career couples, and successfully select great expatriates who are female and perform more effectively (Culpan & Wright, 2002).Hence, companies are strongly recommended to follow the same selection norm regardless of gender. On the one hand it will improve the work commitment and the job satisfaction which is a critical part of factors influencing one’s job performance of female expatriates. On the other hand, it will attract more dual career couples to take part in the overseas task.Culture in host country influences the decision too. Even if the organization and selectors have no discrimination towards women, the host country may are in a gender discriminatory cultural environment. According to the study by Culpan and Wright (2002), working in a gender discriminatory environment in the host country where women feel less acceptable and respective they get poorer performance, in comparison to those in the contrary situation. Hence, companies should take account of whether the gender discrimination exists in the host country.Due to the individual factors from women, some barriers are caused by women themselves. Some women are less willing to relocate, because of their own feminine characteristics or their kids and family. Some set obstacles themselves via following the old fashionable gender-based role models. Companies can take measure to help women get ride of this internal barriers, like offering chance to go aboard with their family.Training and DevelopmentWhen assigned abroad, expatriates usually need to adapt themselves to the new culture and environment, namely, expatriate adjustment which refers to expatriates’psychological adaption in the new environment and the self-adaptability of expatriates to environment is used for adjusting their behaviour (Black & Gregersen, 1988). However, most of them will feel anxiety and lost for not being adapted to the new settings, and fall into culture shock. As the well known cultural anthropologist Kalvero Oberg (1960) found, when people loss their familiar social intercourse signals or symbols, they may fall into the mental state of psychological anxiety disorder, which is firstly named as culture shock. People with culture shock go through five stages: honeymoon stage, disintegration stage, reintegration stage, autonomy stage and interdependence stage (Winkelman, 1994). At honeymoon stage, expatriates fell excited about the new environment and work positively. But they will encounter many troubles then, and feel upset and disappointed, and then step into the disintegration stage. In this stage, expatriates deliberately avoid communicating and having contact with host country nationals and colleagues, even resist various new environment and values, resulting in perform poorly and work with less passion (Winkelman, 1994). If possible and fortunate, they can step into the following stages, and perform much better.To help expatriates reduce the impact of culture shock, step into the latter three stages earlier and perform well aboard, pre-departure training is a wonderful tool for parent country enterprises to use.According to the Mendenhall, Dunbar and Oddou cross-cultural training model（see Figure.2）, different lengths of expatriating correspond to different length of training and level of rigor. If assigned for one month or less, expatriates should be given less than one-week training. At this low rigor level, information-giving approach should be adopted, including area and cultural briefings, relevant film or books or video, using of interpreters, and survival-level language training. If assigned for two to twelve months, expatriates should be given one to four-week training. At this moderate rigor level, affective approach should be adopted, with the main contents and methods of cultural assimilator training, role-playing, critical incident, stress reduction training, moderate language training. If assigned for one to three years, expatriates should be given one to two-month training. At this high rigor level, immersion approach should be adopted, consisting of assessment centre, field experiments, simulations, sensitivity training, and extensive language training (Mendenhall, at el., 1987). This is a great model for enterprises to follow.Figure.1Tung (1981) divided the content of expatriate training into five aspects: environment, culture, language, sensitiveness and practice. This is corresponding to the above model by and large. It is necessary to conduct training according to the practical needs, different personality and characterize of expatriate.Besides cultural awareness training and language instruction, the two basic pre-departure training contents, many multi-national enterprises provide preliminary visits. Namely, an expatriate are given an opportunity to go to the host country to feel the culture, value, work and living conditions personally together with his or her family.Since 2004, Nokia offer the candidates one-week preliminary visits together with their spouses or families to feel the cultural and living environment, and learn if they are suitable for the new settings. Not only do the candidates preliminarily have a general idea about the host country, but the company can also learn if they are suitable for the assignment. This can prevent costly mistake resulting from improperly selection.In-country SupportEven thought almost perfect pre-departure training has been provided, expatriates will run into a stone wall during the assignment aboard, and culture shock can not be eliminated thoroughly. The foreign business, conventional and managerial environment and organizational culture can be really distinct from the original ones, so there always are some tough issues they can not handle smoothly, which strongly influence their performance and psychological feelings. Even the experienced expatriates who have been proven successful in international tasks still express a demand for more cultural understanding (Cassiday, 2005).In-country support generally can be a valuable investment and tool to help the expatriates to better fulfillment the assignment. Because it on the one hand enhancethe intellectual and intercultural competence and the performance of expatriates, and on the other hand increases the integral effectiveness of the organizations in return.According to Cassiday’s (2005) in-country model(see Figure.2), logistic support, intercultural education, cultural informants and career coach in-country, and developing international team help expatriates perform better and effectively. Multinational corporations should give expatriate a hand in time to help them struggle with setbacks, and then give them specific suggestions to the problems. It is a good idea to provide a chance for expatriate to consult a professional company. Information offered in-country help expatriates reduce the feeling of puzzlement and home silk, and give visions and strategies for better performance in the new environment. The home organization can offer regular debriefing chance and regular communication to learn the work progress, trouble, demand. The information in debriefing and communication reflect what logistical and educational support they need. A coach or mentor looking out for an expatriate overall career help them work better now with less confusion about the repatriate career. And the organization can also benefit from this by using the expatriate’s intercultural experience and competence. The support from home organization can be a commitment during the challenging times, which results in effective performance of expatriate, and improve the expatriate loyalty to the company.Figure.2Besides, some companies offer expatriates chances to go aboard with their spouses or families. To help expatriates reduce the feeling of loneliness and home sick, Royal Dutch Shell provides career counselor for an expatriate and his or her partner, and information network of numerous centers is accessible to the spouse to look for a new job. The Chinese Ocean Shipping Group Company (a global top 500 company in China) offer housing to expatriates and their families. These supports express the human care from organization and can decrease the psychological issues which help them better fulfill the task.Other Important Aspects of Effective Performance Management of Expatriates Average living standard in host country is generally lower than that in parent country, but if the compensation remains the same as with that of the employees in host country, or say lower than original one, the attraction will certainly decrease dramatically. Since the assignment aboard is tougher, and challenges are much more, the original compensation can not make up their extra efforts. In order to maintain thestandard of living of an expatriate in the parent country and make up the extra effortand so forth, a Foreign Service allowance, hardship allowance, resettlement relocation allowance and other benefits can be provided (Roth & O'Donnell, 1996).Besides the compensation, future repatriate is also an important factor. Since people have a longer term vision, the career development like repatriate and re-entry support in the future are more cared. Expatriates need time to adapting to the parent country setting, and may meet the reverse culture shock when repatriated. Besides, because of the attribute of expatriating the career of expatriates are limited. Companies can offer re-entry support for expatriates to better adapt to parent country situation and help plan their career. The perceived support and care from organization can improve the expatriate performance, so this is a key part too.ConclusionTo sum up, multi-national companies send experienced employees to host country to help them exploit new market, and spread their advanced knowledge and managerial skills. However, the conflict brought by different cultures significantly and often negatively influences the performance of expatriates. It in return has a bad impact on company and cost the company a lot. So taking measures to improve the performance of expatriates is imperative. Selecting employees in the parent country has both strong and weak point. Women in selection of overseas assignment have many obstacles from external environment and self-established obstacles. To diminish the culture shock expatriates will encounter, pre-departure training is important. Enterprises can pay attention to the cross-cultural training model, meaning that different length of training and approach of training should be taken, based on the length of expatriating. What is more, besides the linguistic and cultural training, preliminary visits can be provided. Though pre-departure training is offered, expatriates will still meet some more troubles. So companies need to provide some frequent communication, consultancy, help from other expatriates, and other relevant training and development to help expatriates work smoothly. To maintain expatriates’ original living conditions and increase the attraction of expatriating, oversea special allowance should be provided. Companies are supposed to care more about expatriates’career development and reverse culture shock in repatriating.ReferenceAnderson, N. Ones, DS. Sinangil, HK & Viswesvaran, C. 2001. 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