Unlocking inhibitors to women’s expatriate careers: can job-related training provide a key?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine what job-related training interventions female expatriates seek and can access in order to build necessary knowledge and skills to progress into further career-enhancing expatriate positions. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a cross-sectional qualitative research approach, drawing upon semi-structured interviews in respect of organisational training practice with 26 current female expatriates and nine Human Resource, International Assignments and Training Managers in two oil and gas exploration firms. Findings Budgets, time and travel restrictions, and competitive business pressures constrain on-the-job training provision for expatriates. Assignees require specific knowledge and skills ahead of appointment to subsequent expatriate positions. HR personnel believe training provides appropriate knowledge and capability development supporting women expatriates’ career ambitions. Women assignees view training available within their current roles as insufficient or irrelevant to building human capital for future expatriate posts. Research limitations/implications Longitudinal research across a wider spectrum of industries is needed to help understand the effects of training interventions on women’s access to future career-enhancing expatriation and senior management/leadership positions. Practical implications Organisations should ensure relevant technical skills training, clear responsibility for training provision, transparent and fair training allocation, positive communication regarding human capital outcomes, and an inclusive culture that promotes expatriate gender diversity. Originality/value Set within the framework of human capital theory, this study identifies the challenges that female expatriates experience when seeking relevant job-related training to further their expatriate careers. It identifies clear mismatches between the views of HR and female assignees in relation to the value of job-related training offered and women’s access to it

“Robin Hook”: The developmental effects of Somali piracy

Copyright @ 2011 Brunel UniversityNaval counter-piracy measures off Somalia have failed to change the incentives for pirates, raising calls for land-based approaches that may involve replacing piracy as a source of income. This paper evaluates the effects of piracy on the Somali economy to establish which (domestic) groups benefit from ransom monies. Given the paucity of economic data on Somalia, we evaluate province-level market data, nightlight emissions and high resolution satellite imagery. We show that significant amounts of ransom monies are spent within Somalia. The impacts appear to be spread widely, benefiting the working poor and pastoralists and offsetting the food price shock of 2008 in the pirate provinces. Pirates appear to invest their money principally in the main cities of Garowe and Bosasso rather than in the backward coastal communities

The Business of Piracy in Somalia

Piracy off the Horn of Africa has grown substantially in recent years: 217 ships reported being attacked by Somali pirates during 2009. Although less than one percent of ships transiting the Gulf of Aden in 2009 suffered attacks, Somali piracy creates considerable economic costs and distortions. Some ships now routinely avoid the region and the estimated additional costs of specialty marine risk insurance for ships using the Gulf of Aden trade route were estimated to be in the region of US$ 400mn for 2009. International naval forces (including missions from the EU and NATO) are present in the Gulf of Aden to ensure the delivery of food aid to displaced people in Somalia, to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden and to deter pirates from operating in the region. In our research we show that the naval presence has prevented an explosion of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, but does not appear to have had a significant deterrent effect on pirates. Some ship owners gamble that they will not be attacked and do not co-operate with the navy, thereby providing easy targets for pirates. In the meantime pirates' risk of injury, detention and trial in encounters with the navies remains relatively low. In any case sea-based naval operations will have limited success as long as Somalia remains a failed state. However, we show that partial improvements in local stability and governance are likely to increase pirate attacks. Therefore the most promising solution of the piracy problem would be to establish and fund a Somali coastguard. This would enforce both anti-piracy laws and stop illegal fishing off the coast of Somalia, providing new opportunities for economic for Somalia's coastal communities.Piracy, Underdevelopment, State infrastructure

"Robin Hook": The Developmental Effects of Somali Piracy

Naval counter-piracy measures off Somalia have failed to change the incentives for pirates, raising calls for land-based approaches that may involve replacing piracy as a source of income. This paper evaluates the effects of piracy on the Somali economy to establish which (domestic) groups benefit from ransom monies. Given the paucity of economic data on Somalia, we evaluate province-level market data, nightlight emissions and high resolution satellite imagery. We show that significant amounts of ransom monies are spent within Somalia. The impacts appear to be spread widely, benefiting the working poor and pastoralists and offsetting the food price shock of 2008 in the pirate provinces. Pirates appear to invest their money principally in the main cities of Garowe and Bosasso rather than in the backward coastal communities.Somalia, piracy, cash transfers, economic development, remote sensing, satellite imaging

The Role of Politics and Institutions in LDC Currency Devaluations

This paper examines political, institutional and economic determinants of exchange rate performance in less developed countries in the 1990s. It models exchange rate depreciations as two separate processes, firstly a process determining whether a currency is devalued and secondly a process determining the size of devaluation. The paper utilizes the most recent political and institutional data as well as a new index of central bank governor turnover in the 1990s to examine the relative importance of political and economic factors. While institutional and political factors dominate the probability of devaluation, the size of devaluations is mainly governed by economic factors.exchange rate systems; less developed countries; speculative attack; fundamentals; institutions

Does Television Terrify Tourists? Effects of US Television News on Demand for Tourism in Israel

In this paper we analyze a time series measuring the monthly flow of US tourists to Israel over the period 1997-2006. We pay particular attention to the response of tourists to variations in the intensity the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, drawing a distinction between actual conflict intensity and the intensity with which the conflict is reported in the US television media. We find that different dimensions of the conflict affect tourists in different ways. For some (but not all) dimensions of the conflict, reported intensity matters more than actual intensity

Monetary policy in the Franc zone: Country-level credit policy

This extract is taken from the author's original manuscript and has not been reviewed or edited. The definitive version of this extract may be found in the work Macroeconomic Policy in the Franc Zone edited by D Fielding which can be purchased from www.palgrave.co

The pirates of Somalia: Coastguards of anarchy

This paper analyses the underlying factors driving piracy off the coast of Somalia and examines the effectiveness of the international naval anti-piracy mission with respect to its declared aims. We show that while the navies perform well with respect to their short-term aims, they failed to contain the escalation of the piracy problem through 2009: pirates have been diverted from the Gulf of Aden into the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Evidence from domestic conditions in Somalia suggests that economic development and greater stability might in fact aid pirates

Role models: expatriate gender diversity pipeline or pipe-dream?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which – and how – female expatriate role models support women to take up expatriate assignments in the male-dominated oil and gas industry. Design/methodology/approach – The research uses data from a census survey of female expatriates supported by semi-structured interviews with a stratified sample of the survey respondents, triangulated with interviews with human resource (HR) professionals and analysis of organizational policy relevant to expatriation. Findings – Potential assignees value the information that women role models can provide on living in challenging, masculine locations. Role models are particularly important to women undertaking unaccompanied assignments and also when assignment periods exceed traditional lengths. Current female expatriates do not view themselves as role models, despite HR professionals recognizing their value in inspiring women’s expatriation. Research limitations/implications – This research was set in a sector with very few female expatriate role models. Further research is needed to understand the influence of role models on women’s expatriation in different sectors and organizations with greater female role model representation. Practical implications – Training for current assignees, time to be set aside within work duties and communications links to enable current and returned female expatriates to connect with potential assignees are needed to widen expatriate gender diversity. Originality/value – This research contributes to theory by linking the importance of role models to women’s career stages. It proposes a new theoretical contribution by linking role model importance to the types of assignments women undertake. Practical suggestions for organizations are given to widen expatriate gender diversity via support for role models

Female expatriates’ motivations and challenges: the case of oil and gas

Purpose This case study is designed as a teaching exercise and this paper aims to highlight the key issues for organisations’ expatriating women within masculine industry sectors and/or into challenging international environments. Design/methodology/approach This case study draws together key published findings relating to women’s expatriation in the oil and gas exploration and production sector. It demonstrates a triangulated research design, drawing upon organisational policy from two oil and gas firms, semi-structured interviews with 14 human resource professionals and 26 female expatriates, as well as from 71 female assignees’ questionnaire responses. Findings Career and financial drivers underpin women’s motivations for accepting organisationally assigned expatriation. Women expatriates engage in satisficing and career compromise. The main challenges women face in masculine industries include access to expatriate roles because of limited female networks, family concerns, managing working time and work-life balance and coping with loneliness. Research limitations/implications The oil and gas case findings are based on a cross-sectional research design. The majority of female expatriates undertook long-term assignments; limited numbers engaged in flexpatriation. Practical implications While organisational policy supporting expatriation does not usually address gendered expatriate concerns specifically, inclusion of interventions that are identified by women as helpful to their expatriate participation can assist in increasing expatriate gender diversity. Originality/value This oil and gas research case brings together and presents a summary of the motivations, problems and challenges faced by women in male-dominated expatriate environments, together with relevant theoretical approaches and organisational interventions to help us understand and increase expatriate gender diversity