Drawing on the knowledge of returned expatriates for organizational learning: Case studies in German multinational companies

In order to explore the potential contributions that returned expatriates can make towards helping their organizations to better understand and manage culturally diverse and changing conditions, a pilot study was conducted in two German-based companies with a long tradition of international operations. The interviews generated insights not only into the four categories of knowledge used in the organizational learning literature (declarative, procedural, conditional, and axiomatic) but also into a fifth (relational). The analysis indicates that a large gap remains between individual and organizational learning. The barriers encountered by the expatriates in transforming their knowledge into an organizational property lie more in the absence of supportive factors and conditions than in the actual presence of impediments. The authors suggest that many of the problems encountered by returned expatriates are not limited to this specific subgroup but rather serve to highlight those experienced by other employees who seek to introduce new ideas and practices into an organization. The study therefore concludes not only with recommendations for improving expatriation processes, but also with suggestions for identifying the learning needs of an organization and for creating a supportive framework for organizational learning from all employees. -- International tätige Unternehmen investieren viel in die Entsendung von Führungskräften ins Ausland. Was und wie können Unternehmen von diesen Führungskräften nach ihrer Rückkehr lernen? Um dieser Frage nachzugehen, wurde eine Pilotstudie in zwei deutschen Unternehmen durchgeführt, die beide seit vielen Jahren international tätig sind. Die Interviews mit zurückgekehrten Expatriates und mit Personalmanagern dokumentieren eine Vielfalt von Wissen. Sie zeigen aber auch, daß die vier in der Literatur zu Organisationslernen zentralen Kategorien von Wissen (declarative, procedural, conditional und axiomatic) in der Literatur zum Organisationslernen nicht ausreichen, um diese Vielfalt zu erfassen. Eine fünfte Kategorie muß ergänzend hinzugefügt werden: relational knowledge. Die Untersuchung zeigt, daß zwischen dem vielfältigen individuellen Wissen und dem Wissen der Organisation eine große Lücke bleibt. Bei der Transformation ihres Individualwissens in organisatorisches Eigentum erleben die Expatriates wenig Unterstützung. Viele der von den Expatriates angesprochenen Probleme bei der Umsetzung von Wissen können als organisationstypisch angesehen werden. Die Autoren erarbeiten daher nicht nur Empfehlungen für eine auf Organisationslernen besser abgestimmte Gestaltung der Entsendungspolitik, sondern auch Vorschläge für die Feststellung der Lernbedürfnisse der jeweiligen Organisation sowie für die Schaffung eines lernfreundlichen Rahmens.

An Examination of Localization Success Factors of Chinese Big Four Accounting Firms

In May 2012, the Chinese government mandated that once the Big Four accounting (KPMG, PwC, Ernst & Young, and Deloitte) joint venture agreements expire, the firms must begin to localize most of the senior management. Although most of the Big Four firms employ many locals, there are more expatriate partners than Chinese counterparts. Because of this, the Big Four firms must quickly find qualified local senior management personnel. Amongst compliance and global regulatory issues, the Big Four firms must develop a strategy for localizing. Through a survey, this study aims to examine how expatriates and local Chinese managers perceive the effectiveness of the firm’s current localization plan. By analyzing external and internal forces that affect localization, I will make recommendations for the joint-venture accounting firms to plan, create, and execute a successful localization strategy

Tracking Report 2011 Pou Chen, Indonesia 070033435J

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.FLA_2011_Pou_Chen_TR_Indonesia_070033435J.pdf: 9 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Global Human Resource Metrics

[Excerpt] What is the logic underlying global human resources (HR) measurement in your organization? In your organization, do you measure the contribution of global HR programs to organizational performance? Do you know what is the most competitive employee mix, e.g., proportion of expatriates vs. local employees, for your business units? (How) do you measure the cost and value of the different types of international work performed by your employees? In the globalized economy, organizations increasingly derive value from human resources, or “talent” as we shall also use the term here (Boudreau, Ramstad & Dowling, in press). The strategic importance of the workforce makes decisions about talent critical to organizational success. Informed decisions about talent require a strategic approach to measurement. However, measures alone are not sufficient, for measures without logic can create information overload, and decision quality rests in substantial part on the quality of measurements. An important element of enhanced global competitiveness is a measurement model for talent that articulates the connections between people and success, as well as the context and boundary conditions that affect those connections. This chapter will propose a framework within which existing and potential global HR measures can be organized and understood. The framework reflects the premise that measures exist to support and enhance decisions, and that strategic decisions require a logical connection between decisions about resources, such as talent, and the key organizational outcomes affected by those decisions. Such a framework may provide a useful mental model for both designers and users of HR measures

The expatriate library director

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide library managers with information about what to expect if they are considering a post in another country. It challenges a suggestion that a senior manager's major value is their local network. Rather, the skills, experience, culture and attitude, as well as networks, can contribute to a successful career in another country. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an example of an Australian expatriate senior library manager who took up a post in the United Kingdom. It draws upon literature on cultural differences and knowledge transfer across international borders. Findings - The paper provides an example of a successful transfer of management knowledge to a new country, highlighting actions taken to form a new management team. Also provides practical advice on personal and social matters that have to be addressed for the relocation to be successful. Practical implications - Leadership, good management, and an awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural differences are required for a successful transfer of management knowledge. At a senior level, it is not so much about expertise in librarianship, but management and leadership that are important. Originality/value - The paper provides a positive example of an expatriate senior library manager moving to a new country. It will be of interest to anyone contemplating an international professional relocatio

Choosing to adjust : UK and Swedish expatriates in Sweden and the UK

School of Managemen

Providing surgical care in Somalia: A model of task shifting.

ABSTRACT

Globalisation of HR at Function Level: Exploring the Issues Through International Recruitment, Selection and Assessment Processes

Much of the debate around convergence-divergence is based around comparative analysis of HR systems. However, we need now to combine these insights with work in the field of IHRM on firm-level motivations to optimise, standardise and export HR models abroad. A series of the changes are being wrought on a range of IHRM functions – recruitment, global staffing, management development and careers, and rewards - by the process of globalisation highlighting the difference between globally standardised, optimised or localised HR processes. This paper reports on a study of firm-level developments in international recruitment, selection and assessment, drawing upon an analysis of four case studies each conducted in a different context. Organisations are building IHRM functions that are shifting from the management of expatriation towards supplementary services to the business aimed at facilitating the globalisation process, and this involves capitalising upon the fragmentation of international employees. As HR realigns itself in response to this process of within-function globalisation (building new alliances with other functions such as marketing and IS) the new activity streams that are being developed and the new roles and skills of the HR function carry important implications for the study of convergence and divergence of IHRM practice. Globalisation at firm level revolves around complexity, and this is evidenced in two ways: first, the range of theory that we have to draw upon, and the competing issues that surface depending on the level of analysis that is adopted; and second, the different picture that might emerge depending upon the level of analysis that is adopted. This paper shows that although the field of IHRM has traditionally drawn upon core theories such as the resource-based view of the firm, relational and social capital, and institutional theory, once the full range of resourcing options now open to IHRM functions are considered, it is evident that we need to incorporate both more micro theory, as well as insights from contingent fields in order to explain some of the new practices that are emerging

Culture : the international dimension.

School of Managemen

Virtual Teams: Work/Life Challenges - Keeping Remote Employees Engaged

Remotely located employees are quickly becoming a norm in the modern workplace in response to evidence that telecommuters save on costs and produce more efficiently. There are many intangible benefits also felt with the increasing prevalence of remote employees. Telecommuters are more satisfied with their work/life balance and report lower rates of job burnout. Though there are also many well-identified setbacks remotely located managers and employees may face. Employers see the most success with telecommuting by first recruiting the people best fit to fill these remote roles. However, the process of developing remote employees is a process that requires constant monitoring. The purpose of this paper is to identify the best practices being used by companies to keep remote employees engaged while simultaneously avoiding burnout