According to Vance & Paik (2010) as new businesses start to venture beyond domestic countries borders and more international companies increase their international activities; increased global business opportunities present themselves plus more foreign assignments come up because businesses overseas need to be handled. This means that new troubles in international business arise. Organizational and individual challenges vegetation up because expertise must be provided to take care of these challenges which can only result from individuals. What this means is that people who are conversant with the father or mother company operations should be posted in foreign countries to work there. The development of business to global level is the eye-sight of every solo company and consequently expatriation and repatriation of employees is not really a new occurrence but it has been there and it's really expected to continue. However changes are expected in the foreseeable future on expatriation of employees credited to advancements in technology and the expenses associated with repatriation an expatriation. Increased use of telecommunication in international tasks, teleconferencing and short-term project minimizes expats and really helps to reduce the impacts of the international assignments to the employee's people.
Its becoming recognized that to remain competitive in the global market effectively managers, professionals and other experts need to develop global competencies, skills and experience beyond that may be offered in the local arena. The experts thus require new knowledge, skills and competencies that are global anticipated global competition being provided in the home market in this period that will require fast decision making, data evaluation and changes in technology. For this reason companies need expatriate and repatriate specialists to get vulnerability and experience in their domains so that they can as well have the ability manage local companies effectively and competitively in the market (Vance& Paik, 2010). Repatriating and expatriating techniques in businesses is thus expected to be a common practice in the 21st century. This subject matter is thus very relevant in the international business as it provide the human resource professionals and professionals with the data and the difficulties they are likely to come across as they extend their businesses internationally. It provides the theoretical knowledge that may be actualized in the event of business extension.
Theoretical review
While expatriation identifies posting of experts from the home company country to foreign country repatriation is the vice versa that the expatriated personnel must keep coming back home 1 day from other international assignment. The two processes can not thus be segregated. Research conclusions from Pricewaterhousecoopers LLP and Crane University of Management claim that expatriation and repatriation shouldn't be strictly divided into two separate stages but instead expatriation should be considered the start and repatriation as the completion of the same phase (Vladi, 2008). It's this combo that motivates companies to sustain their employees after repatriation. That is considered important because as the expatriates gain experience from their international project they become competitive and the new rising companies wish to seek the services of them, or in some instances the expats choose to stay in foreign country and take new jobs. It's thus very important to businesses to ensure that after they expatriate they repatriate to avoid deficits associated with expatriation and once the staff have experience they leave the company for other preferred careers in others.
Often repatriation is considered simpler exercise than expatriation. However, repatriates often experience problems comparable to those experienced in the initial cross cultural entry to overseas environment. This calls for readjusting into the home country environment both at the job as well as interacting again with the nationals. Since repatriation is considered relatively easier process very few organizations develop definitive change approaches for their returning managers. This phenomenon presents unanticipated difficulties to repatriates and their new individuals to the scope that repatriation is considered as a opposite or re-entry culture surprise. Repatriation is a challenge so that it keeps many going back employees from receiving a second abroad assignment. As a result the question that arises is whether repatriation and expatriation has benefits to an individual or not. The reasoning behind this is the fact that while a worker gains skills in foreign countries he misses trends at home country that are gained by local employees. At exactly the same time while repatriated managers struggle to settle back the domestic mangers continue to learn and gain more experience efficiently (Dotson, 2007).
From a cross cultural theory perspective when employers invest in the development of their own human capital by expatriating and repatriating, this means that they reward expats for the international competencies they acquire. As a result, better job performance is also compensated with higher level jobs and salaries. For instance in america experts who repatriated following the second world battle were better paid than those who continued to be abroad. This is interpreted that employees from international project are considered to are suffering from skills and competencies that aren't possessed by the home employees or by those who find themselves still abroad for their assignments. Expatriation is thus regarded as an on job training since expats are considered more knowledgeable, skilled and capable on the job hence privileges are added to such individuals in conditions of benefits, allowances or offers after they are repatriated to the parent or guardian country (Baugh & Sullivan, 2009). Regardless of this positive view of competency development and future a better job expatriates may sometimes get dissatisfied using their job or leave their employers all together especially on repatriation. This can be discussed by employer's failing to look over their workers well while abroad or employees fail to get the promotion they had expected on repatriation. Repatriation further reveals the employees with culture distress making their re-integration problematic. In case the repatriates do not gain what they expected on the return they will probably leave their organizations after short period of time and therefore their know-how doesn't help the mom company much as expected. For instance after ten years of service as CEO in Kenyan's leading mobile cell phone Company as an expatriate Michael Joseph opt to stay static in Kenya somewhat than return to mother or father company.
Although expatriation is considered to obtain positive influences on profession development of an individual some people believe that expatriation can be equated to demotion. A study was done by Derr & Oddou in 1991 on Finnish repatriates on the feelings on career development after repatriation and the responses confirmed that different thoughts on the topic. Some seen expatriation as promotion while others seen it as having no impact in their jobs development as shown in the stand below (Harris & Chris, 1999).
Career impact of the assignment
%
Positive
27
Neutral
63
Negative
10
Total
100
N
165
Table 1. Career impact of the international development expatriate experience among finish repatriates (adopted from Harris & Chris, 1999).
Yadav (2009 noticed that a third of the expatriates who go back home, leave their corporation within twelve months and nearly 50 % of these leave the organization within two years. This issue is vital because organizations spend big money on developing and sending expatriates and they neglect to utilize and learn from the international experience of expatriates. The repatriated employees mainly leave their organizations as a result of problems they face once thy go back home. These problems include: less personal budget and problems related with adjustment to home environment, for example on return from a global assignment as primary of an constituent university of St. Pauls university In Nigeria, Professor William Johannes could not take a coaching job in the key campus; instead he opted to visit in to private practice as media consultant in Nigeria.
While inducing employees for in foreign countries assignment business pay huge amounts in terms of perks which are withdrawn once such employees are repatriated making them struggling to retain the position they were used to when working overseas. In conditions of work employees abroad have versatility and responsibility which are different however when they gain home they find changes and sometimes believe that their experience abroad is not needed. At times they find their peers promoted more than them and they regret having attended work in foreign countries. Re-adjustments at home are also difficult because of different ethnicities at home and in the overseas country when where the expatriate did the trick for along time. For example an expatriate in USA discovers it difficult to make queue in banking hall to pay a invoice in India something that is not common in america (Misra & Yadav, 2009).
Case study of expatriation repatriation process
An American telecommunication multinational (AT&T) organizes an expatriation process where the employees are delivered to overseas countries. Before giving home the expatriates are counseled by psychologists on issues that may come up when on international task. For example the spouses gets jobs and find themselves and their children long term adapted to that new environment. Furthermore where the expatriates in overseas country are expected to contact professionals to inform them about the new experience. Through the assignment the company organizes mentor programs where the expatriates get connected with co-workers in their house country. The company also organizes periodical visits in the house office where they hang around and hold meetings to go over their new experience in foreign countries.
The expatriates go through preparation program for returning home where in fact the psychologist and a individuals tool representative visit expatriates family and prepare them for the go back by assisting to upgrade the expatiates continue, planning further job moves and organizing for moving household goods and arranging for universities and housing. After the expatriates profits home seminars are conducted to socialize the repatriates with the new environment at work. The business also gives bonus items to repatriates who stay static in the company half a year after their return (Klaff, 2002).
Analysis of the research study with regards to theory
The expatriation repatriation policy of the AT&T Company identifies that the process of repatriation is similarly challenging to expatriation process. The insurance policy doesn't presume that some may be relatively easier than the other. As it's evidenced in the analysis employees are properly psychologically well prepared before these are sent on foreign task and before they keep coming back home. Actually psychological services are available to them even when they are overseas. This sort of prep ensures the employees are socially ready to face up to the challenges ahead of them. On top of the internal services offered the company facilitates the socialization process of the employee once they returning home for occasion through the pleasant seminars and the privilege to appoint the individual to invest time with in the organization and exchange ideas on what targets expat acquired on return (Wilharzing & Truck, 2004).
The arrangements created by the company for its expats in foreign countries to provide basic needs such as enclosure and transport with their stuff makes things easier for the expats economically. The provision of bonuses to repatriates after six months also provides material benefits and ensures that they do not leave the company abruptly before the company advantages from the knowledge of such employees. This policy ensures that the expatriates are viewed well by the company and they are apt to be retained in the business even following the repatriation. Having talked about this following discussion will expound on the strategies that can be used to cope with problems associated with repatriation and expatriation (Wilharzing & Van, 2004).
Strategies to resolve problems of expatriation and repatriation
In order to solve these problems of expatriation and repatriation organizations should come up with different modification strategies to be able to absorb the repatriated employees satisfactorily. First organizations should enter in agreements with the employees before mailing them abroad. This sort of agreement should specify the period for which they will stick to foreign project and the job that they will be getting back on return (Tucholks et al, 2007). For instance the organization may assure the same job or a higher level job on come back of expatriates back home.
Secondly the business may make a higher level executive back home as the sponsor of the expatriate manager. Such a sponsor manages the expatriates' supervisor home career passions in a way that on repatriation the sponsor works in the business to ensure that there is suitable job for the repatriated staff. This helps in making sure repatriated managers aren't annoyed by the new responsibilities designated to them motivating those to leave the company. The dreams of the expats in career development are used to account even though they are on an international task (Tucholks et al. 2007).
The organization may also maintain regular communication with the expatriate managers and keep them alert to the improvements at the headquarters. In cases like this when the expatriates are in the home region, on leave or for long periods, then they try to involve themselves using short period jobs at the headquarters. This removes the strange feeling to be are aliens when expat profits after completion of the overseas project (Tucholks et. al. , 2007).
Fourthly, Van & Wliharzing (2007) recommends that expatriate professionals should discover opportunities for settling down and training through the non-public difficulties by providing them enough versatility in the original period of their job at home. For example in Monsanto, a US multinational organization, the expatriate mangers on returning home meet for three time at the job with colleagues of their choice, which goes on up to 90 days. The idea is that expatriate manager can discuss his intentional encounters and is also also able to adjust easily once more in the business at home.
Conclusion
Expatriation and repatriation of employees can't be separated as two different functions, but this is an individual process in that when one worker is expatriated there still possibilities of coming back home (Vladi, 2008). It should be noted that this process exist and will continue to be experienced even if changes are expected due to scientific advancements. These processes play important role in cross ethnic management of the companies especially anticipated the increased competition for business internationally. The firms that expatriate its employees should ensure that they are well looked after when abroad. This way they can be satisfied and inspired to continue to work in the company even after repatriation. This reduces the loss when repatriates leave the company before their experience is utilised. The process of expatriation and repatriation should be made easier by the effort of the organization and those of the individual by ensuring that all of them is ready for this and through mental health, material and cultural preparation. Though this technique has some problems it's inevitable in the international business and its own importance in cross cultural management cannot be overlooked.
Summary
The paper has discussed the problems of expatriation and repatriation of employees and suggests the solutions to such problems. In the release part the paper emphasize on the value of this theme in the international business. This shows that the rise of multinational companies and the ambition of most companies to extend international has necessitated for the expatriation of staff to mange businesses abroad. This is as consequence of companies requiring their workers to gain vulnerability in international management skills hence increasing their competitiveness both in home market and in the foreign n market segments.
The theoretical overview of the process of repatriation and expatriation has discovered that the procedure of expatriation and repatriation can't be separated as expatriation is the start of a process and repatriation the finish (Tonski, 2009) It has also outlined a few of the problems associated with the expatriation repatriation process such as repatriates leaving the mom company once they come back home as well as public and mental health problems associated with the process.
The case study of the AT&T expatriation and repatriation plan and its research in relation to the theory discovered that if the needs of expatriates are looked over there is little possibility of such expats leaving the company. In addition the paper has investigated the strategies which may be applied to solve the issues of the repatriation and expatriation. A few of these include prior contracts between the expats and the organization before giving for foreign project, organizing of expats for the international projects so when they plan repatriation, providing incentives that enable them to stay down easily in overseas lands and upon return and giving them obligations that ensure that the abilities gained abroad are needed in their new projects upon their go back. If these conditions are not examined expatriates have to leave the business to consider other careers where such activities will be used. Last however, not the least financial privileges and campaigns upon return are extremely important to solve the issues of the repatriates. To conclude the newspaper has observed these functions are in international business to stay and there is need to solve the problems associated with them since they are unavoidable in intercultural management of businesses.
