Expatriate Managers: Powerful Or Powerless?

This presentation will focus on expatriate managers for whom successful cross-cultural adjustment is imperative in overall effectiveness during overseas postings. Unfortunately, employers often blame the individual when assignments fail rather than taking responsibility themselves (Deresky 2002; Hodgetts & Luthans 2006; Swaak 1995; Tung 1987). A study of Canadians employed in international non-government organizations in Indonesia will be presented. This research focussed on describing the lived experience of these managers using their own words. Written descriptions were analyzed/synthesized using Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method (Giorgi 1975; 1985; Giorgi & Giorgi 2003). One of the research findings was the paradoxical feelings of powerfulness/powerlessness as experienced by the participants. Intriguingly, the expatriate manager’s position as foreigner (readily identified through ‘observable differences’), brings power and status, but also feelings of being powerless in certain situations. At the same time, awareness of one’s ‘minority status’ in combination with the large cultural differences between Canadians and Indonesians provides a potent and challenging lived experience for the expatriates (Mendenhall & Wiley 1994). The new knowledge uncovered may result in alterations of present international human resource management practices and strategies in relation to expatriation, thereby improving the performance of expatriates and organizations

A Study Of Indonesian Host Country Nationals' Perspectives: What Expatriates Should Know

Expatriates live many paradoxical experiences while being immersed in another culture (Russell, 2006; Osland & Osland, 2006; Russell & Dickie, 2007; Russell & Aquino-Russell, 2010; 2011). This led us to wonder what it might be like for host country nationals (HCNs) to work with expatriates in their own country. There is literature describing the changing of business, communication, and cultural practices so that expatriates can be more successful and more culturally congruent (Selmer, 2000; Banuta-Gomez, 2002; Montagliani & Giacalone, 1998; Hawkins, 1983; Peppas, 2004), but is this really happening from the HCN’s perspectives? This study focused on describing the lived experience of Indonesian employees using their own words. Written descriptions were analyzed/synthesized using Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method (Giorgi, 1975; 1985; 2009; Giorgi & Giorgi, 2003). The central finding points to a ‘disconnect’ between two worlds and paradoxical ways of being for Indonesians while working for Western-based organizations at home. The new knowledge may enhance knowledge for managers which could in turn alter management practices in relation to valuing HCNs for their contributions to Western organizations

Indonesian Host Country Nationals: Feeling Respected Yet Not Respected

Having completed research on the expatriate experience in Indonesia (Russell, 2006; Russell & Dickie, 2007; Russell & Aquino-Russell, 2010, 2011) we wondered what it might be like for Indonesian host country nationals (HCNs) to work with western organizations in Indonesia since there is a significant lack of literature based on the perspective of HCNs (Templar, 2010). Although not from the HCN perspective, we found literature about HCNs in relation to knowledge management (Vance, Vaiman, & Andersen, 2009; Massingham, 2010), empowerment and team participation (Zhang & Begley, 2011), remuneration policies (Mahajan, 2011), career development and promotability (Vo, 2009; Herrmann & Werbel, 2007), and relationship building (Varma, Pichler, & Budhwar, 2011). These realities spurred on our current phenomenological research which focused on describing the lived experience of Indonesian HCNs using their own words and meanings. Data descriptions were collected and analyzed using Giorgi’s (2009; Giorgi & Giorgi, 2003) descriptive phenomenological method. One of the important findings pointed to HCNs living the paradox of feeling respected-not respected while working in western organizations located at home in Indonesia

Paradoxical Experiences Of Expatriate Managers In Indonesia

Although adjusting to a foreign culture is not easy, being immersed in another culture is an experience lived by a growing number of persons in the globalized world. It is intriguing that organizations often blame the individual when expatriate assignments fail (Deresky, 2002; Hodgetts, Luthans, & Doh, 2006) rather than recognizing that others may lack understanding of what it is like to be immersed in another culture. A study of Canadian expatriate managers who have worked for non-government organizations (NGOs) in Indonesia is presented. The research focused on interpreting the lived experience of expatriate managers using their own words and meanings. Written descriptions from participants were obtained and analyzed/synthesized using Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method (Giorgi & Giorgi, 2003). The central finding is that individuals experience paradoxical ways of being when immersed, living and working, in another culture. The enhanced understanding obtained may result in alterations to present human resource management practices and strategies utilized in facilitating and supporting expatriate assignments and, thus, benefit expatriate managers and organizations alike

Is There a Role for Benefit-Cost Analysis in Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulation?

Benefit-cost analysis has a potentially important role to play in helping inform regulatory decision-making, although it should not be the sole basis for such decision-making. This paper offers eight principles on the appropriate use of benefit-cost analysis.Environment, Health and Safety, Regulatory Reform

Benefit-Cost Analysis in Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulation: A Statement of Principles

Benefit-cost analysis can play a very important role in legislative and regulatory policy debates on improving the environment, health, and safety. It can help illustrate the tradeoffs that are inherent in public policymaking as well as make those tradeoffs more transparent. It can also help agencies set regulatory priorities. Benefit-cost analysis should be used to help decisionmakers reach a decision. Contrary to the views of some, benefit-cost analysis is neither necessary nor sufficient for designing sensible public policy. If properly done, it can be very helpful to agencies in the decisionmaking process. Decisionmakers should not be precluded from considering the economic benefits and costs of different policies in the development of regulations. Laws that prohibit costs or other factors from being considered in administrative decisionmaking are inimical to good public policy. Currently, several of the most important regulatory statutes have been interpreted to imply such prohibitions. Benefit-cost analysis should be required for all major regulatory decisions, but agency heads should not be bound by a strict benefit-cost test. Instead, they should be required to consider available benefit-cost analyses and to justify the reasons for their decision in the event that the expected costs of a regulation far exceed the expected benefits. Agencies should be encouraged to use economic analysis to help set regulatory priorities. Economic analyses prepared in support of particularly important decisions should be subjected to peer review both inside and outside government. Benefits and costs of proposed major regulations should be quantified wherever possible. Best estimates should be presented along with a description of the uncertainties. Not all benefits or costs can be easily quantified, much less translated into dollar terms. Nevertheless, even qualitative descriptions of the pros and cons associated with a contemplated action can be helpful. Care should be taken to ensure that quantitative factors do not dominate important qualitative factors in decisionmaking. The Office of Management and Budget, or some other coordinating agency, should establish guidelines that agencies should follow in conducting benefit-cost analyses. Those guidelines should specify default values for the discount rate and certain types of benefits and costs, such as the value of a small reduction in mortality risk. In addition, agencies should present their results using a standard format, which summarizes the key results and highlights major uncertainties.

Expanding shells of shocked neutral hydrogen around compact HII regions

By comparing radial velocities of radio bright compact HII regions with their HI absorption profiles, we discovered expanding shells of neutral hydrogen around them. These shells are revealed by absorption of the radio continuum emission from the HII regions at velocities indicating greater distances than the observed radial velocity. We believe that these shells are shock zones at the outer edge of the expanding ionized region. Additionally we found evidence for a velocity inversion inside the Perseus arm caused by a spiral shock, which results in a deep absorption line in the spectra of compact HII regions behind it.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures. accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic