Designs for The Expatriate Community - Case Study Example

Motivations for Expatriation - Royal Dutch Shell Plc Experience Suggested Expatriation Explained: Case study: Royal Dutch Shell Plc Experience 1.0 Background of the Study It is the age of globalization. Today as companies and businesses grow, they have to move out of the local to the global business market where unique challenges and opportunities are necessarily encountered. The changing business environment and its varying demands have to be continuously explored, comprehended and addressed. It is clear that to succeed; modern organizations need to focus on developing strategies that could effectively respond to the different threats posed by internal and external competition. It is critical for companies to be able to expand and establish centers in foreign lands and be able to direct operations effectively from the headquarters. Thus, international strategy is the direction that companies seek to pursue, and these strategies must be geared primarily towards the achievement of the business goals. Sending home-country managers abroad or internationalization of people is one of these strategies adopted by organizations working at the international level. This strategy known as expatriation is not a new phenomenon but has only recently taken the corporate world by storm making expatriate managers the norm. Expatriate managers play an important role in managing the parent firm's foreign subsidiaries. Expatriate managers are crucial to the process of globalization as they are the parent company's or headquarters' reliable representative posted overseas to effectively implement corporate strategies. As they gain in experience, country-specific knowledge, inter-cultural skills and global perspective, they become valuable assets for the parent company becoming seasoned players on the global stage. The converse of this where by international managers from their overseas assignments are transferred to the home- market is known as inpatriation. Selmer (1995) maintains that expatriation and inpatriation are the leading strategies where personnel are appointed at international postings. Line managers and technical personnel are the most common positions as subjects of expatriation and inpatriation (p. 3). While both expatriates and inpatriates are seemingly at opposite ends of the spectrum, they have some important common requirements: inter-culture skills, country-specific or local knowledge and so on. Of the two internationalizing strategies, expatriation is the older one and the prime focus of this research. Shell is one of the companies that foster a high level of expatriation (Cameron, 2002). Shell is proud of its long history of expatriate employment as well as the considerable number of its expatriate staff. Shell understandably, sees expatriate employment as fundamental to the nature of the company. Shell believes strongly that expatriate staff, at every one of its centers, contributes greatly to the growth and success of the company especially in combination with the skills and expertise of the local staff. In 2004, the company launched the New Generation Expatriation program to facilitate and accommodate the changing needs of the business, needs of staff and their families including partners' careers. The program acknowledges the high value Shell places on its expatriate staff and their families and tries to meet diverse requirements as far as possible. Having an impressive number on the expatriate rolls, Shell is in a position to move critical skills to places where they are required and develop careers which will supply Shell with globally competent leaders (Hofmeister, 2004). 2.0 Rationale It is imperative for organizations to identify and train their expatriate staff and leaders in preparation for global deployment. Especially since the ability of expatriate managers to succeed on foreign shores has a direct impact on the company's performance in the global market. While the expatriation strategy has significant advantages and the expatriate manager is a 'seasoned player' there are some disadvantages too. However, the benefits that accompany expatriate working and living conditions seem to outweigh the risks. Thus, family alienation, stresses of living in an unfamiliar cultural milieu often pale against the advantages of professional challenges successfully met, monetary benefits as well as the authority that possibly comes along with being the representative of the parent company in a foreign land. The rationale behind this study is to identify the reasons that compel people to accept expatriate appointments. The prime motivators that govern the choice of expatriate employment have not been investigated in much detail yet. This study, therefore, attempts to fill this perceived gap in our knowledge base employing a methodology detailed under the head 'research methodology'. Shell is also known for its reliability in terms of expatriate employment. How Shell as a company and as a brand contributes to the motivation to choose expatriation is likewise unexplored. This dissertation aims at providing a deeper understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of an expatriate employment with particular emphasis on the factors that prove to be the chief decision determinants when making a choice for an expatriate appointment. The data and information generated during the course of this research is envisaged as a useful information source that could be the basis of future plans or designs for the expatriate community that will strategically position the expat community in a more value-creating schema. Shell International BV is specifically expected to benefit through the results of this study as it could help them assess their expatriation employment strategies and adjust them for the better. Additionally, key issues could be identified to help improve implementation of strategy The study is also significant for students of the MBA program as it could serve as useful reference for future research on expatriation implementation and management. Human resource management (HRM) especially in global concerns has become an important focus of top management attention. The results of this research are expected to boost HRM research towards evolving viable human resource management strategies for putting together multicultural management teams. 3.0 Statement of the Problem The primary purpose of this research is to investigate the perceived advantages of expatriate assignments by potential expatriates. Establishing the importance of expatriates in the future business success of companies in the global market, this study will attempt to identify how employees benefit from expatriation. What are their perceived advantages in terms of authority wielded, professional gain and financial gain In other words, what are their expectations of an expatriate assignment Do certain companies enjoy a 'brand value' that spurs the motivation to sign on Conversely which are the possible factors that could deter an individual from accepting an expatriate assignment Or what are the perceived disadvantages of expatriate appointments Does location of posting or gender of expatriate affect such decisions 4.0 Aims and Objectives of the Study This research aims to establish the factors that motivate employees or aspiring employees into accepting expatriate assignments. It is proposed to achieve the broad aim stated above through the following specific objectives: To identify the expectations of expatriates from the work environment To identify the expectations of expatriates from the employer To identify the expectations of the expatriates from the host community/ country To identify the advantages of expatriate employment as perceived by the expatriates To identify disadvantages of expatriate employment as perceived by the expatriates To identify the chief reasons for accepting expatriate employment To identify the chief reasons that act as deterrents to accepting expatriate employment To investigate demographic and geographical predictors of accepting expatriate assignments To investigate if firms have 'brand value' with respect to expatriate employment. Results for the above would allow the following conclusions to be drawn: It is expected that factors that play a key role in determining whether a person accepts an expatriate employment or not would be established A set of construct predictors of success could be drawn up from the study that would help identify character traits and attributes essential in a person to succeed as an expatriate. This could be then employed in drawing up a character profile that includes personality factors and core behavioral competencies that would be useful in selecting a winning expat manager. 5.0 Chapters Overview Chapter I: The first chapter of the study will set out the background to the proposed research and the rationale behind it. The problem shall be stated and the aims and objectives of the study specified along with tentative conclusions. Chapter II: The second chapter will present a detailed literature review for the study. Chapter III: The third chapter will deal with the methods and procedures that will be used in the study. Chapter IV: The fourth chapter will present tabulated results of the study along with their specific interpretations. Chapter V: Finally, the fifth chapter will present the analysis of findings and conclusion of the study. This dissertation will be presented as a text document. Data charts which will graphically represent the project's results will be included. Pie charts and network charts will also be needed to illustrate some of the analyzed data. This cannot be confirmed, however, until the research data has been analyzed. Read More