Family and International Assignment Policy
What Is Your Critical Evaluation of Colgate-Palmolive’s International Assignment Policy? What Are Its Strengths And Weaknesses? Colgate-Palmolive’s (C-P) international assignment policy was designed to standardize entitlements for the expatriate managers. It covered tax equalization, goods and services, housing, the actual move and settling in, sale or rental of the principle residence, relocation allowances, living expenses, education, vacation, leave, post allowance and smooth transitions (Rosenzweig, 1994). The assignment policy was progressive, permitting applicants a 5 day pre-acceptance tour. The language courses at the company’s expense were paramount. Overall, the company sought to address both the expatriate and his family’s quality of life. I subscribe to the motto: “a happy wife makes a happy life”, thus I would agree that the policy was comprehensive and supported the aforementioned and motto. Strengths included “financial parity” and the overall family and spouse assistance program. However, the greatest strength was C-P’s willingness to improve the policy and orientations based on surveys (Rosenzweig, 1994, p. 7). The only weakness I can surmise is that such a policy does not support a local indigenous applicant.
What Should Colgate-Palmolive Do About the Growing Issue of Dual-Career Families? C-P has two courses of action (COA). Do not hire or address dual-career families or succumb and make the overseas assignments attractive to dual-career families. COA one would limit their candidate pool. One C-P human resource manager (HRM) stated: “the frequency of dual-career families among C-P’s young managers was a reflection of their high quality: ‘We tend to attract people who have been to graduate school and who often met their spouses at graduate school. Both spouses are educated professionals and both tend to want to pursue their careers’” (Rosenzweig, 1994, p. 9). Thus COA two would support a larger qualified candidate
What Should Colgate-Palmolive Do About the Growing Issue of Dual-Career Families? C-P has two courses of action (COA). Do not hire or address dual-career families or succumb and make the overseas assignments attractive to dual-career families. COA one would limit their candidate pool. One C-P human resource manager (HRM) stated: “the frequency of dual-career families among C-P’s young managers was a reflection of their high quality: ‘We tend to attract people who have been to graduate school and who often met their spouses at graduate school. Both spouses are educated professionals and both tend to want to pursue their careers’” (Rosenzweig, 1994, p. 9). Thus COA two would support a larger qualified candidate
References: Rosenzweig, P. M. (1994). Colgate-Palmolive: Managing International Careers. Harvard Business School, 1-21.