1. What steps can the company’s IHRM department take to maximize the effectiveness of the expatriate’s assignment and the long-term benefit to the company?
The steps that an IHRM department can take to maximize the effectiveness of the expatriate’s assignment and create a long term benefit to the company are to necessitate plans for retention of expatriates during and after their assignments. Support programs for expatriates should include information from and contact with the home organization, as well as career guidance and support after the overseas assignment. The company need to:
1). Maximize long -term retention and use of international cadre through career management so that the company can develop a top management team with global experience.
2). Develop effective global management teams.
3). Understand, value, and promote the role of women in international management in order to maximize those underutilized resources.
4). Work with the host-country labor relations system to effect strategic implementation and employee productivity
2. Discuss the role of reverse culture shock in the repatriation process. What can companies do to avoid this problem? What kinds of skills do managers learn from a foreign assignment, and how can the company benefit from them? What is the role of repatriation in the company’s global competitive situation?
Management of the reentry phase of the career cycle is as vital as management of the cross-cultural entry and training. Many expatriates and their families have a difficult time readjusting to their old culture and its different behavioral expectations. The longer the person is away, the more difficult it is for them to reintegrate into the organization and get back into the swing of things. The family may have lost social contacts or jobs and feel out of step with their contemporaries. There may be feelings of alienation from what was perceived as home. A mentor- program is perhaps the best method