Assignments
Farimah is located in the home base of Quantum Technologies but regularly has meetings and conducts assignments with the subsidiary in Peru via zoom meetings. What type of assignment is this?
Virtual assignment
Kate is from a recruitment company in the US and has been sent to a branch in Paraguay. She has to change the way she interacts and communicates with others in this different society. What is the name for this process?
Cultural Adjustment
Joshua is completing an international assignment in one of his company’s subsidiaries in Cuba. Similarly, his main objective during this assignment is to instill his company’s corporate values, norms and beliefs.
What role is he exerting as an expatriate?
Agent of Socialization
An Indian expat has been working at a clothing company in Uganda. After 3 years of the expat working there, the local government seized this company without any compensation to the headquarters for their assets. What is this clothing company experiencing?
Nationalisation
Camila works for a renowned clothing company in Australia. Over the years, she has worked diligently and received numerous awards for her outstanding contributions to the company.
Consequently, her manager, Jake, has decided that Camila will be sent to one of the company’s subsidiaries in France to help resolve an issue with one of the company’s newest clothing lines. The duration of this international assignment is for 2 months.
What type of international assignment is Camila embarking on?
Short-term Assignment
Nate has been transferred to Korea from Germany (home-country). His manager debriefs their quarterly performance stats but the numbers do not seem to add up but no one corrects her. He tries to correct her in the middle of her presentation and everyone is shocked, giving him looks of disapproval. After the meeting, he scoffed “This would never happen in Germany because we are always honest. Why are people over here cowards?” This issue is an example of
Cultural Insensitivity
Leslie, a top HR manager, has been tasked with socialising her company’s acquired subsidiary in Japan to Headquarter expectations. While there, she has noted that employees are committed to their work and stay late hours. Initially, she was impressed and thought the Japanese employees were working overtime to impress their new boss. However, after 2 years of being there, she has realised that this is the norm, and thinks that this overwork cannot possibly be healthy or productive. What is the Japanese name for this overwork that happens to be a serious issue there?
Karoshi (Death by overwork)
Simira is working for a viable tech company in Canada. However, later, her manager informed her that she would be assigned to one of the company’s subsidiaries in Japan to assist with overseeing a project centred on developing a software. Additionally, he asserts that he chose Simira because he believes she has the required skill set to guarantee the project's viability. The international assignment is for a limited duration of 6 months to one year.
What type of international assignment is Simira embarking on?
Contractual Assignment
Mikaela was recently transferred back to her company’s home country, Switzerland from Saudi Arabia. However, ever since her repatriation, she is frequently sent as a representative to meetings in Saudi Arabia. What is Mikaela’s role?
Boundary Spanning
Andy’s financial consulting company has expanded their operations by opening a subsidiary in Kenya, where there is significant growth in this market. Seeing as consultancy requires heavy interaction with people, Andy has advised the company that they will be more successful in the Kenyan market if they hire Kenyan employees who understand the market and how people there approach finance. What expat approach to recruitment is this called?
Polycentric Approach
Sammy is completing an international assignment in one of her company’s subsidiaries in Dubai. Likewise, her main objective during her assignment is to exercise control over the subsidiary by ensuring subsidiary compliance through direct supervision. And to ensure that strategic objectives for local operations are achieved.
What role is she exerting as an expatriate?
Agent of Control