Assignment and management of expatriate workers

Assigning Expatriates

Unfortunately, there are a multitude of problems that multinational companies encounter when they attempt to send expatriates to assignments in Eastern Europe. The vast majority of these problems expressly pertain to cultural differences. Global and cultural differences are decidedly commonplace in executives from different nations (Nardon and Steers, 2007, p. 47). These differences apply when utilizing an expatriate from virtually anywhere in the world except from Eastern Europe, but particularly apply when sending individuals from Western Europe or from North America to Eastern Europe. Although there are a variety of problems, a significant amount of them can be rectified by means of adequate preparation on the part of both the individual expatriate as well as that of his or her organization.

Cultural differences frequently encountered when individuals from multinational companies go to work in Eastern Europe for an extended period of time include language barriers. Although most people throughout Europe know English and use it as a neutral language, there are some people who do not know it. Moreover, there are also a host of other languages that expatriates may encounter while working in the part o the world that individuals may prefer to converse in -- such as during social settings, for example -- that may hamper the progress an expatriate could otherwise make were he or she more familiar with such casual, conversational languages. There is a correlation between inadequate language preparation and an inability to create contacts and to even maintain professional relationships because of this issue (Suutari, 1998).

Additionally, cultural problems help to create difficulties in adapting to work-related climates for expatriates in Eastern Europe. Specifically, "a further differentiation of adaptation problems into three major groups was proposed by Suutari and Brewster: leadership styles, organization systems and communication" (Suutari, 1998). Therefore, the differences in culture contribute to different modes of communication (not just in terms of language but in terms of how it is used for different meanings), varied perceptions of model or effective leadership, as well as different explicit and implicit methods of appropriately organizing companies and allocating and utilizing their resources.

The solutions to the aforementioned problems are nearly as varied as those problems themselves. In terms of the language barrier, it always behooves expatriates to make an attempt to learn the native tongue in the particular country in which they will be stationed. Thorough preparation is required to accomplish this feat. It involves attempting to learn the language prior to joining the new country, as well as making continual efforts to study that language while one is living and working in that foreign land. Doing so may prove all the more difficult because expatriates are primarily supposed to be completing their job tasks. Learning the foreign language of the country that they are stationed in, however, will actually assist in this endeavor.

Once an individual is able to more fluently speak the langue of the country in which he is stationed, he or she may have a better opportunity to understand the cultural differences related to communication. Different words and phrases mean different things in different cultures. This particular cultural difference can be solved by a briefing of nuance related to communication by the organization that is employing the expatriate. Again, such lessons should be studied both prior to and during the expatriates work in the foreign country. In terms of accounting for cultural differences in leadership styles and organization, the best way for an expatriate to overcome such obstacles is to learn by experience. Moreover, he or she must keep an open mind, and be cognizant of the fact that because a particular approach or style of working and leadership worked in the past does not mean it will necessarily work in the present, foreign environment.

Ultimately, it is up to the multi-national corporation to consistently remind the expatriate of these facts. He or she must be open to accept the fact that by going to a new place with a different culture, he or she must be willing to learn and adapt his or her methods to those around them. The multinational organizations must prepare the expatriate for these cultural differences and perception by acquainting them to varying perceptions of behavior as they are received in a specific overseas location. They can help to educate such professionals by giving them literature that expounds on the differences between American and European ways of doing business, and which emphasizes the fact that in Europe a more formalized, bureaucratic style of leadership is chiefly used (Javidan et al., 2006, p. 79). Additionally, it is up to the multinational company to encourage the expatriate to utilize various forms of perception and styles that may be observed overseas.