Commentary: How a Cultural Focus Can Help Keep Expatriates Happy Available to Purchase

Many organizations are requiring upper level executives to have international experience before they are offered higher level executive positions. To effectively compete on a global scale, firms must make optimal use of their technical expertise and staff their operations with managers who have a global mindset. These managers must identify with the organizations global objectives and strategies and are able to develop collaborative transnational networks. With the expansion of global trade and the need to have managers in newly industrialized nations such as China or Russia the number of Americans working abroad (expatriates) has expanded from 80,000 in 1989 to 113,000 in 1992. In 2000 there are over 3 million Americans living or working abroad. Other countries have had similar increases in the growing numbers of expatriates. Expatriate turnover is affected by job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Job satisfaction is a result of the degree of fit between the employee and the organizational environment. Adjustment to living and working in a foreign culture is the biggest problem for most expatriates. If the expatriate does not fit into the culture then the adjustment will not easily be made and the employee will tend to withdraw from the assignment and possibly the company. This not only costs money, but also time to train the expatriate and train the replacement. Depending on industry the failure rate of expatriates is as high as 40%. Firms continue to use expatriates to facilitate entry into new markets, to develop international management competencies and for control and expertise.