Lunes, 29 de octubre de 2007
A portable life
Archivado en: Cross Cultural Management
Recommendations for global companies for effectively expatriating single-career couples, dual-career couples, and unmarried managers.
Overview
First, I will give some general recommendations for expatriating managers, then I will proceed to specify recommendations for expatriating single-career couples, dual-career couples, single, unmarried managers, and finally I will give some general conclusions to adopt policies inside the firm that could help to develop a more global company.
General recommendations for global management
First, I would like to explain some policies that I would implement inside a global firm:
•Having a corporate program in order to develop and reinforce an organizational culture oriented to be more global and innovative.
•Including into the strategic planning of the firm specific goals to become a more global firm, as well as communicating trough the whole company.
•Promoting a more cross cultural integration inside the firm, this way, employers would face multiculturalism, even locally, so employers would be more diverse and would more easy to acquire a diverse corporation.
•Promoting a climate of respect no matter what differences the employers have: cultural, religion, sexual orientation, gender, race, ethnicity, etcetera, in order to built a more diverse corporations that can deal with difference among cultures naturally.
•Creating strong teams with leaders from different countries and professions in order to develop a more global and creative vision.
•Being closer to the executives in order to know them better, with out judgment and giving them support, helping them to develop their global careers. A stronger group of executives would mean a stronger corporation.
•Designing a program for repatriated executives, to give training to others whose global career start, and taking advantage of their global experience inside the firm.
•Benchmarking inside the firm, in order to check the advances in this issue.
•Generating rotation, to acquire more expertise and take advantage of that.
•Building international networks to support the global policies of the firm among local offices in each country.
Recommendations for expatriating single-career couples
I think that expatriating this kind of couples involves a strong commitment from the partner of the future global executive. It means to support him or her, but also involves taking part of the definitive decision, since it will affect the whole dynamic of the entire family.
As we know, normally the member of the couple that contributes with the economical support for the family usually has more power than his or her counterpart. He or she provides food, housing, services, health, education, entertainment and all the needs of the members of the family.
Nevertheless, staying at home with children and dealing with home issues is also a big responsibility and a necessary job for the family which effort has to be taken into account, recognized and repay.
If I were a global manager offering a position abroad to one of my executives, I certainly would speak with both of them, the couple, exploring the reactions without judging in case of a rejecting.
But I also would impulse a strong campaign of organizational communication inside the firm to sensitize employers to develop a global career.
I think organizational culture in firms must tend to be more global and innovative and spread to all levels. Anyway, it seems globalization will stay for a long time.
Recommendations for expatriating dual-career couples
In this situation would be more difficult, since both members of the couple have genuine right to develop their careers. Specially if we think that women have become more demanded as leaders, as Adler says about women nowadays:
“What makes these women global leaders, rather than national leaders? Partially, it is the dynamics of twenty-first-century society that challenge us all, women and men, to think and to act within a global context. But for women, it is also the intersecting dynamics of time and place”(1).
Thinking about dual career couples involves thinking about marriage. I also think that one of the must important issues we have in the global era, is the persistence of the model of the marriage based on the concept of the monogamy, when this assumptions started to be questioned some decades before and threaten traditional values, which are social constructs.
Maybe the spread out of globalisation, would force to rethink new forms or relationships, and this would be a dramatic impact, but being a global citizen, involves movement and change.
Unfortunately, a global career for one of the both members of the couple means to the other to resign to his or her own professional project.
Unless one of the members of the couple decide to stay in local country and wait for the partner, which in turn, involves some risk. A risk for meeting new people, and start a new relationship. These risk are for both, not to mention children, whose life will certainly be affected.
If I were a global manager offering an assignment to one of my executives abroad, I would talk to him or her to explain the risk that entails this offer. I would prefer to talk with the truth, rather than later, feeling guilty to indirectly provoke a divorce.
The adult executive has to analyze and decide what to do. Each individual has the free will, to choose and make the most important decision in his or her life.
Again, I would impulse the global organizational culture, if the firm is capable to give a position for the partner, I would impulse that. But to be honest, I think this is really hard.
Another interesting option is having a portable life for the spouse of the executive, taking advantage of the ITC, with an e-bussines.
Recommendations for expatriating single, unmarried managers
It seems less complex for the single executive to accept an assignment abroad. Nevertheless, the success or failure of the task, it really would depend on the executive personality. They’re some individuals that are really linked to their family, specially here in Mexico, so I would certainly apply psychological test to explore possible consequences of sending him or her abroad. Because if he or she is, for instance, depressive, it would not be a good idea sending him or her.
I also talk to her or him to explain the aspects and possible consequences for their career.
Conclusions
I think that no matter what kind of career we are talking about, making decisions about accepting or not the offer for a global assignment must be a very difficult decision. Even if we have looking forward for that opportunity, and get happy for getting it, because the course of our decisions will certainly affect our live, our career, and our family life, even when we would be single or very young.
So In each case, as an expatriate, I will reflect very seriously on the consequences before accepting the assignment. As global manager, I would guarantee, as much as possible, the better conditions for my future global executives. Taking into account that the human executives resources at the firm are some of the most valuable resources that can make possible to consolidate the firm globally.
I would design a program for expatriating executives, men or women, single or married, regarding important issues before, during and after the assignment abroad, in order to take advantage of his or her experience and retribution for having taken the risk abroad. In some way, global executives will experience a venture similar to Christopher Columbus one when boarding his boats from Europe to America. A rewarded executive would retribute to the firm with his or her best.
References
(1) Adler, Nancy. International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. Cincinnati, Ohio. South-western. 2002.
