Expatriate Managers Analysis of Expatriate Management Successes

Expatriate Managers Analysis of Expatriate Management Successes and Failures There are many factors that need to be considered when assigning a manager into an expatriate role. Of the many factors that most often lead to success, Emotional Intelligence (EI), transformational leadership, cultural awareness and the ability to adjust to a foreign culture and attain productivity and performance quickly (Baliga, Baker, 1985).

Ultimately the four major determinants of expatriate performance include technical skills and mastery, contextual and pro-social performance, contextual and managerial performance and expatriate-specific performance in a given nation or region (Claus, Lungu, Bhattacharjee, 2011). These four factors combined to anchor the performance analysis provided in this paper. Analysis of Success and Failure of U.S. Expatriate Managers The single greatest reason cited for failure of U.S.

expatriate managers is the motivation and vision of why assimilating into a new culture is relevant to their roles, and the emotional intelligence to change their management styles to reflect local cultural values (Jordan, Cartwright, 1998). The second most common reason is a sense of being out of control of the entire expatriate management role, with little control over autonomy, mastery and purpose of their jobs (Wong, 2005). This lack of autonomy, mastery and purpose leads to a lack of long-term motivation.

Conversely, when expatriate managers are given an exceptional high level of autonomy, see purpose in their role and are given the freedom to attain mastery of it, they flourish and find meaning in their work. With the two areas of lack assimilative social skills and a lack of long-term motivation anchoring the scale of why expatriate managers fail, the other end of the spectrum, why they succeed, is even more critical. Two competencies that can ensure success of an expatriate U.S.

manager include greater cultural cross-training through a series of shorter assignments focused on giving them experience in more comparable cultures to the U.S. And greater participation in liaison roles with international subsidiaries before actually moving to a foreign location to manage it (Yamazaki, Kayes, 2007). Both of these approaches concentrate on creating a mindset of cultural assimilation and tolerance of varying cultural dimensions significantly different than the one the manager is accustomed to working in.

Training programs that ensure managers gain insights into the cultural dimensions of the regions and nations they are going into is critical, as is training in the expatriate-specific performance areas of hiring, motivating and retaining staff over time as well (Yavas, Bodur, 1999). Getting trained on the areas of expatriate management from the standpoint of using the Hofstede Model fo Cultural Dimensions is critically important for any manager entering a foreign market or region.

The key aspects of any expatriate training program is the focus on making sure the manager is well-equipped with the necessary tools, frameworks and concepts to succeed in their overall role. This must be accomplished while at the same time on keeping the manager motivated with a strong sense of autonomy, mastery and purpose in their role so they will also succeed over the long-term. Synchronizing all these factors is critical to their success. References Baliga, G.M., & Baker, J.C. (1985).

Multinational corporate policies for expatriate managers: Selection, training, evaluation.