MANAGING EXPATRIATE FOR AN INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENT
Referring to the case study, there are gaps identified in the Kline & Associate international human resources management practices in terms of expatiate management. Before sending an employee to an international assignment there are certain skills an employee must acquire and it is the duty for the HRM of the firm to prepare the employee for any international assignment. However this was not done by Kline & and Associate before sending Fred Bailey to Tokyo which caused the culture shock and the challenges faced by Fred and his family in Japan. Firms use a variety of HR practices to manage their expatriates (Mendenhall et al., 1987; Brewster and Scullion, 1997). As successful expatriate assignments are indispensable to MNCs for strategy implementation, researchers and practitioners alike are interested in determining how to facilitate the success of expatriates’ assignments (Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998; Dowling and Welch, 2004; Scullion and Collings, 2006).
However, MNCs differ on the extent to which these practices are used in managing expatriates (Tung, 1982; Kopp, 1994; Peterson et al., 1996; Scullion and Starkey, 2000) and how effectively they are designed (Mendenhall et al., 1987). According to Adler and Ghadar (1990), expatriate management practices, namely who the firm considers as possible expatriates, how the firm selects and trains them, what criteria the firm uses to assess their performance, and what impact the international experience has on the careers of expatriates, should all fit the external environment in which the MNC operates and its strategic intent. Adler and Ghadar have stated that ‘the central issue for MNCs is not to identify the best international policy per se, but rather to find the best fit between the firm’s external environment, its overall strategy, and its HR policy and implementation’.
The Process of Managing Expatriates
It is very important to develop a basic framework for the discussion of how to manage expatriates on global or international assignments use people management to effectively move and manage people in global assignments (Black et al. 1999). They identify a Global Assignment Success cycle to conceptualize the term people management through. They view people management as a set of activities instead of a function of a specific department. This means that each activity builds upon the others as the process becomes an integrated package. They identify five generic functions of managing people: Recruiting/selecting (getting the right people), training (helping people to do the right thing), appraising (determining how people are doing), and rewarding (encouraging the right things that people do), and developing (doing things right for people). This is more or less in line with most other researchers who identify at least four stages; selection, training (and development), adjustment and repatriation (Konopaske & Ivancevich, 2004; Forster, 2000). Some researchers extend this and also include other stages such as compensation, appraisal, and retaining (Harvey & Moeller, 2009; Dowling & Welch, 2005; Briscoe, Schuler, & Claus, 2009). No matter how many specific phases the process is divided into the process of managing and supporting expatriates on international assignments can be divided into three broader phases; before the assignment, during the assignment and after the assignment. The phase before the assignment would usually contain identification, selection, training and development, and compensation. The argument for putting compensation in the phase before the assignment is that it is typically agreed upon before the expatriate go on the assignment. During the assignment stages such as adjustment, integration, appraisal and rewarding are important while focus after the assignment should be on repatriation and retaining. Therefore Kline &Associate have to go through these stages such as selection and recruitment and pre-departure training which are very important before sending Fred and his family for a long period of assignment. These stages are chosen since it seems like they have the highest impact on the success or failure of the process.
Before the Assignment
This phase contains selection and training of the expatriate. The time before the assignment can vary, sometimes the international assignment arises because of problems that have to be fixed quickly, other times it is a process that expands over several months or years such as the case of and Kline and Associate sending Fred Bailey for three years assignment in Japan which culture is totally different from U.S. No matter how long the time horizon is the company should pay attention to the selection and training stages in the process of managing expatriates.

Selection and recruitment
Some international assignments arise because of a problem in a subsidiary. When this is the case, many companies have a strong desire to fix the problem as fast as possible, resulting in an obsession with the technical and managerial qualifications of the candidates and their presumed ability to solve the short-term problem. This process, however, ignores the human resource department and their ability to help. They only consider a narrow range of potential candidates. This process also overlooks the ability of the candidates and their families to adjust to and function effectively in a new cultural environment. This technically oriented selection process can easily result in costly premature returns or ineffective performance throughout the assignment (Black et al., 1999). Most often, however, companies have motives such as means of management development and organizational development, control and coordination, insufficient qualified local country nationals, and a need to transfer know-how for international assignments (Scullion & Collings, 2006; Torbiörn, 1994). This triggers the need for recruitment and selection.
In recent years the trend has moved towards viewing expatriate assignments as unattractive. This makes the selection process more about finding people who are willing to go rather than selecting the best candidate from a large pool of applicants (Selmer, 2001). If this is the case the selection process might become less important. However, even though there might only be a slight number of potential candidates there will presumably always be a need for some kind of selection, for which reason this stage is described and discussed here. According to Forster (2000), one of the main reasons put forward for a purported high failure rate among expatriate employees is the inadequate selection criteria used by many multinational corporations. Others state that selection can influence the adjustment; if you choose the right people they are more likely to adjust to the foreign culture and environment and thereby succeed in the international assignment. This is essential for the company making selection of great importance (Anderson, 2005). This means that developing appropriate selection criteria has become a critical SIHRM issue. A GMAC-GRS survey from 2002 even found that locating suitable candidates is the top relocation challenge facing companies (Dowling & Welch, 2005). When companies send people on international assignments they want the highest possible return on investment. For this to be possible, according to Black et al. (1999), companies need to integrate strategy into the selection process of global and international employees. Furthermore, when a company increases its global reach and moves through various stages of globalization, it needs to pay more attention to the selection process, which becomes increasingly important.
Researchers have identified several factors that should be considered in the selection of successful international managers. These factors include, among others: strategic factors, conflict resolution skills, leadership skills, communication skills, social skills, flexibility and stability, technical ability, cross-cultural suitability, family requirements, MNE requirements, language, and gender-related factors (Black et al., 1999; Dowling & Welch, 2005; Anderson, 2005). Most of these criteria can be divided into technical competence/skills, interpersonal competence/skills, domestic circumstances and cultural circumstances. Many researchers (Black et al., 1999; Scullion & Collings, 2006; Dowling & Welch, 2005) come to the conclusion that the selection stage is of great importance for the international assignment to be a success for which reason companies should pay attention to this stage and make is as effective and optimal as possible.
After the company has decided which selection criteria are most appropriate and relevant, it needs to determine how to evaluate candidates effectively on those criteria. There is a wide range of selection tools available; however, most companies tend to rely on a very limited range (Black et al.,1999). Some of the most used selection methods are: biographical and background data, work samples and interviews. These methods each have their strengths and weaknesses for which reason a combination of selection methods would be optimal to use in selecting the right candidate (Black et al., 1999; Gertsen, 1990; Scullion & Collings, 2006). Harris and Brewster (1999) are questioning the selection process and they show that the expatriate selection is often an ad-hoc process. They suggest that the selection process can be started through a casual conversation about an assignment between executives chatting around the coffee machine.
Another thing to consider is who should evaluate the candidates. Most often, only one individual, the line-manger with the overall responsibility for the international unit, makes the decision, although others may also be involved in the selection process. The human resources department is often underutilized; it often plays an after-the-fact role. If companies want to become more strategic in their selection process, they need to learn how to incorporate human resources departments’ knowledge with that of the line managers in home and host countries (Black et al., 1999). Sending an expatriate to a foreign country often involves sending a whole family. This implies that when a candidate is being evaluated for an international assignment, the selection process needs to look at the candidates managerial skills and experience as well as the candidate’s family. Research and experience have shown that the success of an international assignment is highly dependent on the attitudes of a manager’s family at the time the offer is made to relocate and the ability of the family to adjust during the global assignment. The company needs to recognize the role of the entire family unit in determining whether the manager will accept the offer, adapt successfully to life and work in the foreign location, and complete the assignment. This is achieved by evaluating the candidate from a systems perspective that includes family as an integral part (Black et al., 1999).
Selection criteria: prescriptions for good practice
The first major study in this area was carried out by Tung (1981). Based on a review of the literature on the selection of personnel for assignments abroad, she identified four groups of variables that contribute to success or failure on the job and hence should be used to guide selection:
• Technical competence on the job: As in the selection and placement of personnel in domestic operations, this factor is one of the primary determinants of success. It may be even more important for assignments abroad because the individual is located at some distance from the HQ, often the hub of technical expertise, and cannot consult as readily with his/her peers and superiors on matters related to the job.
• Personal traits or relational abilities: This refers to the ability of the individual to deal effectively with his/her superiors, peers, subordinates, business associates and clients. In assignments abroad, this variable greatly influences the probability of successful performance. This factor is not limited to simple knowledge of another culture. The crucial element is the ability to live and work with people whose value systems, beliefs, customs, manners and ways of conducting business may greatly differ from one’s own.
• Ability to cope with environmental variables: In domestic operations the ability to identify and cope with environmental constraints, such as governments, unions, competitors and customers, is crucial to effective performance. This same requirement is no less valid in assignments abroad, but the political, legal and socioeconomic structures which constitute the macro-environment in the host country may be very different from the systems with which the expatriate is familiar. This poses problems of adjustment. The expatriate has to understand these systems and operate within them.
• Family situation: This refers to the ability of the expatriate’s family (the partner in particular) to adjust to living in a foreign environment. Researchers and practitioners are becoming increasingly cognizant of the importance of this factor to effective performance abroad. The situation often becomes even more complex if the partner (male or female) has had to give up a job or even a career to accompany his or her partner abroad.
A second important contribution is the study by Mendenhall and Oddou (1985) According to them, there is insufficient knowledge about the relevant dimensions in expatriate acculturation, leading to the use of inappropriate selection procedures. They distinguish four dimensions as components of the expatriate adjustment process:
• The self-orientation dimension: activities and attributes that serve to strengthen the expatriate’s self-esteem, self-confidence, and mental hygiene.
• The other’s orientation dimension: activities and attributes that enhance the expatriate’s ability to interact effectively with host nationals.
• The perceptual dimension: the ability to understand why foreigners behave the way they do, the ability to make correct attributions about the reasons or causes of host nationals’ behavior.
• The cultural toughness dimension: this dimension can modify the importance of the first three dimensions. In culturally tough countries (countries that are culturally very different from the home country), the first three dimensions become even more important than in culturally similar countries.
The expatriate selection process should focus explicitly on the strengths and weaknesses of the applicant on the above-mentioned dimensions.
Pre-departure Training
International assignments are often more complex than domestic assignments since they involve going to another country and a different culture. This is where training is helpful; it can prepare the expatriate going on the international assignment. A fundamental criterion for a company’s success is its employees’ ability to understand, appreciate and adapt to other cultures and to develop a global mindset (Scullion & Collings, 2006). Researchers also suggest that it is essential to ensure that international assignees are adequately trained as so to maximize the benefits that are to be gained from the international career move both in terms of advancing the individual’s career but also in terms of adding value to the organization (Scullion & Collings, 2006). Therefore, once an employee has been selected for an expatriate position, training is considered to be the next critical step in attempting to ensure the expatriate’s effectiveness and success abroad, particularly where the destination country is considered culturally tough and very different from the domestic culture. Most studies involve the training stage in the process of managing expatriates on international assignments leading people to think that training is of great importance. However, there seem to be contradictions in the literature about the effect of cross-cultural training.
Cross cultural training
As mentioned earlier, expatriates are more successful when their organizations train them to prepare for their life and work abroad. Lack of training is a major cause of expatriate failure. The most important aspect of expatriate training is cross-cultural training (CCT). Such training prepares an expatriate to live and work in a different culture because coping with a new environment is much more challenging than dealing with a new job. A variety of training methodologies is available for CCT. In Table 1, we outline some of the popular ones and give a brief description of each. Cultural Briefings | Explain the major aspects of the host country culture, including customs, traditions, everyday behaviors. | Area Briefings | Explain the history, geography, economy, politics and other general information about the host country and region. | Cases | Portray a real life situation in business or personal life to illustrate some aspect of living or working in the host culture. | Role Playing | Allows the trainee to act out a situation that he or she might face in living or working in the host country. | Culture Assimilator | Provides a written set of situations that the trainee might encounter in living or working in the host country. | Field Experiences | Provide an opportunity for the trainee to go to the host country or another unfamiliar culture to experience living and working there for a short time. |

A study conducted by Caligiuri, Phillips, Lazarova, Tarique, and Bürgi (2001) found that cross-cultural training was valuable to the extent it provides accurate expectations among expatriates and therefore creates greater possibility for their expectations to be met or surpassed. The study suggests that the more tailored and relevant the pre-departure cross-cultural training, the more expectations were either met or positively exceeded. The study shows that having accurate expectations, in turn, positively affects cross-cultural adjustment, and that accurate expectations can be formed by tailored and relevant pre-departure cross-cultural training. Black et al. (1999) states that cross-cultural training programs enhance global managers job performance, adjustment to their new cultures and cross-cultural managerial skills. Bennett, Aston, and Colquhoun (2000) also found that if cross-cultural training is competently managed and well executed it can be a key intervention in promoting assignment success, averting failure, and increasing the return on investment for all parties involved: the employee, the family members, and the company that sends them abroad. Other studies do, however, find contradictory results. A study conducted by Puck, Kittler, and Wright (2008) found that cross-cultural training has little if any effect on general, interactional or work-setting expatriate adjustment. They did however find a significant impact of foreign language competence. This study focused on pre-departure cross-cultural training which means that a possible implication for practice is that future expatriates may receive sequential training or post-arrival training as mentioned earlier. Selmer, Torbiörn, and De Leon (1998) support this finding and states that it is not clear from empirical studies that pre-departure training can provide international managers with the necessary qualities.
. And it seems like that companies do not pay that much attention to cross-cultural training. Gertsen (1990) found that although most personnel managers claim that training is important, not very much is actually done in this respect. Only about 20 per cent of the companies surveyed offer any kind of formal pre-departure training. The reasons mentioned for not offering training can be grouped into three main types: inappropriateness of training cost of investment, and time constraints. Some of the reasons stated by the Danish companies in the research by Gertsen (1990) include that they send to few employees abroad to make it worthwhile, they only send people abroad if they already have international experience; therefore, they do not need training, they only send their employees to countries that are culturally so much like Denmark that training is unnecessary, they cannot afford it, and they do not have time for training (Gertsen, 1990).In the past, US multinationals have been reluctant to provide even a basic level of pre-departure training, however, this is slowly changing.
Managing spouse/partner preparation and adjustment
For the international assignment to be successful, as with the selection process, it is critical that the family unit be regarded as a mutually supportive team. The importance of training all family members for their new roles and responsibilities is clear, since satisfaction of the employee’s partner/spouse and family has a significant impact on employee’s effectiveness overseas (Bennett et al., 2000; Kupka, Everett, & Cathro, 2008). From this it is difficult to determine if cross-cultural training have an impact on adjustment and thereby the success of the expatriate. To address these problems, Adler (1991) suggests the need to develop for the spouse, “a meaningful portable life”. That is, development of a programme that ensures attention for the spouse/partner that goes well beyond a superficial involvement in the foreign scene. Given that the spouse/partner, when accompanying an expatriate abroad, has, in most circumstances left something quite significant in the form of a lifelong career and/or social relationships behind, involvement in the overseas environment beyond mere shopping and restaurant excursions would seem critical to spouse/partner adjustment and the ultimate success of an overseas assignment. The importance of this phenomena is emphasized by Stephens and Black (1991, p. 462), who suggest that between 16 per cent and 40 per cent of expatriate failure has been attributed to the failure of the spouse/partner to adjust. In addition, studies in a variety of cultural settings, for example Black and Stephens (1989), Black et al. (1992), Brewster and Hegewisch (1994) Di Cieri et al. (1991), Dowling et al. (1994), Forster (1992; 1994), Guzzo et al. (1994) and Tung (1987) have identified “lack of spouse/partner adjustment” as a critical factor in expatriate assignment failure. Indeed Black, et al. (1992, p. 129) have argued: “that by contrast to what is known about the adjustment of expatriates, very little is known about the specific factors that affect the cross-cultural adjustment of spouses”. While Dowling et al. (1994) argue that the reasons suggested for spouse/partner failure are too superficial with more informed reasons needed.
Developing an awareness of spouse/partner preparation and adjustment: Spouse/partner preparation and adjustment problems have been discussed previously in the literature, with Adler (1991. pp. 266-72) noting that overseas assignments are, “harder for the spouse than the expatriate”, with the spouse in most circumstances experiencing, “excessive culture shock as well as feelings of frustration and loneliness”. Reasons for this are varied, and are evidenced in the need for the spouse/partner to deal with a variety of cultural adjustment and personal problems beyond the support agendas normally made available for the expatriate. These would include, but are not restricted to, dealing with a stifled career, managing family life disruptions, coping with a lack of organizational support and dealing with a lack of adequate preparation for the experience. Survival under such circumstances often means having to cope with:
(1) Long-term separation from family and loved ones;
(2) A lack of appropriate communication links with home and within the new culture; and
(3) An inadequate program to assist in developing an appropriate lifestyle while overseas.
As a result, the spouse/partner experiences an inability to create what Adler (1991, pp. 272-3) has described as, “a meaningful portable life”. The results are evidenced in boredom and culture shock with too many returning home resulting in costly administrative procedures. In this respect, Harvey (1985) argues that much of the discussion and research, if not practice, with respect to overseas assignments has occurred as if the expatriate operates in isolation, without an accompanying spouse, family or indeed friends. However, research based in a variety of settings, including North American (Adler, 1991; Black, 1988; Black and Gregersen, 1991; Black and Stephens, 1989; Guzzo et al., 1994 and Tung, 1987), Australian (Di Cieri et al., 1991; Fish, 1995 and Welch, 1990) as well as European (Brewster and Hegewisch, 1994; Forster et al., 1996) confirms there is a critical relationship between the ability of the spouse/partner to adjust and the success of an overseas assignment. To illustrate this point Black and Gregersen (1991, p. 472) argue that:
Although the international assignment may seem to the expatriate to be an important career move and hold the promise of more responsibility, higher compensation and greater job autonomy; to the spouse it is often a sudden interruption of the spouse’s own career and long term social relationships. Consequently, the spouse may not always be as excited as the expatriate about accepting the overseas assignment. Indeed Brewster and Hegewisch (1994), Forster (1992), Forster and Johnsen (1996) and Munton and Forster (1993) in significant European studies argue very strongly that the influence of non-work variables such as spouse and family adjustment and ultimate adaptation to foreign settings needs to be taken seriously if offshore appointments are to be the success they were originally planned to be. In fact, Forster and Johnsen (1996, p. 182) quoting the earlier work of Munton and Forster (1993) emphasize that: the main factors affecting an employee’s willingness to relocate were not primarily job-related concerns but were concerned with non-work factors such as the negative influence job transfers might have on family life and social networks; the effects that these can have on spouses’ employment and career prospects and their effects on children being uprooted from peer groups and familiar surroundings.
Adler (1991), Brewster and Hegewisch (1994) and Forster and Johnsen (1996) add to such concerns and suggest that while the expatriate has continuity in their career and children go off to school, albeit in different environments, the spouse/partner has potentially lost both structure and continuity to their existence. This is particularly so when the spouse/partner has been required to give up a career and move to a culturally distant environment where important social relationships may be difficult to establish and indeed in many instances have been left behind. Guzzo, et al. (1994) in an important American study point to lack of attention as impacting significantly on the “psychological contract” in that those going overseas perceived their situation as of “out-of-sight, out-of mind” resulting in a lack of effective attention to personal and family needs.

Expatriate stress cost to both organization and to the individual. Hence, both organizations and the expatriates need to manage stress for organizational and individual well-being. One of the best strategies that can be adopted by the organization may be choosing the right person for the foreign assignment. There exist differences in the effectiveness of coping strategies used across different countries. Expatriates can be active participants in their own adjustment processes, and their adjustment to new cultures rests as much on what they do to help themselves and as on what companies do to assist them. The coping strategies of expatriates stress can be classified into two types, organizational coping strategies and individual coping strategies.
Organizational Coping Strategies
The failure of an expatriate can be disastrous to the organizations. In order to make the expatriate assignment successful, organizations have to adopt some strategies and help in declining stress among expatriates. The very nature of the expatriate selection process (e.g., different candidate pools for different situations) has significant implications for training, compensation, and other Human Resource Management policies and practices integrated together form effective high performance work practices (Huselid, 1995; Huselid, et.al. 1997) for global managers. Following are some of the strategies which organizations can implement to overcome the expatriate stress.
(1) Promoting interaction with the host country nationals: Interpersonal contacts with the host country nationals teach the expatriate how to behave and act during the assignment. Thus, when expatriate is sent for the assignment to the host country, he will be better adjusted and will be less frustrated by the cultural difference compared to the expatriates who are isolated and who have less communication with the host country nationals (Hanvey, 1979; Selmer, 1999). (2) Not letting the expatriates discouraged in the early days of the assignment: Early decline in satisfaction and discouragement of the expatriate leads to loss of confidence and ability to succeed in the assignment. According to Lazarus and Folkman (1984), expatriate if stays in unhappy stage is less likely that he/she will ever adjust. Therefore, it is essential to help expatriates to manage stress in the early stages of their assignment to avoid discouragement.
(3) Helping hand from HR professionals: HR professionals having an intimate knowledge of host countries, their customs, language, cost of living, education alternatives and spouse employment opportunities, etc., can help the expatriates in overcoming the problems in the host country. Swank (1995) found that Ford uses international human resource teams with local representatives, to conduct assessments and prepare expatriates for their overseas assignments.
(4) Testing the personality of the expatriate: Expatriate agreeableness, indication of collaboration, sincerity, respect and empathy for others, may promote showing tolerance and patience as well as solving problems responsibly. Conscientiousness and emotional stability may show expatriate tolerance to stress. Intellectual openness shows the cultural acceptance, flexibility to the culture and open-mindedness. Therefore the personality of the expatriate has to be tested before selecting him or her for the assignment.
(5) Selection of the candidates: Selecting candidates with professional competence, and who is a low risk for being able to adjust to another culture is another important issue. Screening candidates for expatriate assignments so as to care enough to send only the best qualified both in the job requirements, and in their being able to adjust to the host culture. Stone (1991) gave the following criteria used by the companies for expatriate selection: ability to adapt, technical competence, spouse and family adaptability, human relations skill, desire to serve overseas, previous overseas experience, understanding of host country culture, academic qualifications, Knowledge of language of country and understanding of company culture.
(6) Pre-assignment orientation: Pre-assignment orientation for the expatriate is essential. Aeppel (1996) found that European companies such as British Petroleum, ABB Unilever, Volkswagen and Bayer AG operate regional assessment centers comprising both host country representatives and specialists to select and orient expatriates.
(7) Organizational Training strategies to cope with expatriates stress: Psychologists have proposed two approaches to cope with expatriate stress: Symptom-focused strategies and problem-focused strategies (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984; Folkman and Lazarus, 1980). Symptom focused strategies are used to diminish emotional distress by attending to behavior and expression, physiological disturbance, subjective distress, or all these. Problem-focused coping strategies are efforts to take constructive action to change the situation creating the stress and address the problem and minimize the anxiety and distress (Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, DeLongis and Gruen, 1986). Expatriates who use the problem-focused coping strategy will be able to cope better with the stress than the symptom-focused coping strategy. Hence expatriates should be trained in using the constructive coping strategy. Figure 2 explains the two types of strategies, which an organization may adopt in its training module.
(a) Pre-departure training programs: Pre-departure training programs administered by the parent company can ease the transition of the expatriates and facilitate expatriate adjustment to amenities, general living conditions and social interactions (Yavas and Bodur, 1999). Expatriate should undergo the following training programs and counseling sessions before leaving the parent country: * Knowing and exploring the expectations, concerns of each member in the family * Managing relationships across globe * Briefing the culture of the host country * Teaching effective communication styles * Providing insight of stress management strategies * Teaching expatriate how to work in teams and to manage conflicts
(b) Cross-cultural training before and after arrival in the foreign country: Imparting cultural training to the expatriate before and after arrival to the foreign country fosters an appreciation for the host country’s culture. This workshop helps in providing basic information about the host country and parent country organizations. However, this training should focus on challenges before expatriates in adjusting to the host culture like steps one can take to progress through the process of cultural adjustment, careful examination of culture shock and how expatriates can deal with it effectively.
(c) Language Training: Despite the prevalence of English, an exclusive reliance on the same diminishes an expatriate manager’s ability to interact with host country nationals. Knowledge and fluency in local language enable expatriate to understand and communicate effectively. Expatriate should be definitely trained in the foreign languages in view of the future need.
(d) Practical Training: Practical training is aimed at helping the expatriate and his/her family ease themselves into day-to-day life in the host country.
(e) Job training and Strategic training: Job training helps the expatriate in new operational skills or supervisory skills that are needed in foreign assignment and strategic training helps in giving a big picture of the global business strategy of the organization (Fisher et.al. 2005).
(f) Training local supervisors: Companies which are successful in assimilating non-natives into their workforces provide training not only to the expatriates but also to their local supervisors (John and Roberts, 1996).
(g) Management Development Programs: Management development programs can be designed to increase the overall skill levels of expatriates through a mix of ongoing management education and rotations of expatriates through a number of jobs within the firm to give them varied experience. Management development programs can be often used as a strategic tool to build a strong unifying culture and informal management network which support transnational and global strategy.
(h) Coaching and Mentoring: Coaching and mentoring expatriates is a vital organization coping strategy (Jacob, 2004; Edward, 2000). Coach has to know the expatriates desired outcomes and help in improving the level of performance. In the process, undeveloped potential of the expatriate will be assessed. In order to make expatriates well anchored in the broader organization, and to prevent professional isolation each expatriate can be assigned to a mentor who periodically touches base and provide information about the events at the home country and the head office, as well as advice expatriate in career development.
(8) Organizational support at the new locale: The host country organization should provide the necessary support to the expatriate emotionally, physically and psychologically.
(9) Repatriation programs: A largely overlooked but critical and important issue in the training and development of expatriates is to prepare them for re-entry into their home country organization. To help expatriates focus their energies on their foreign assignments, organizations need to create repatriation programs as well. The Human Resource Management function should develop a good program for re-integrating expatriates back into work life within their home country organization. And can also utilize the knowledge expatriate had acquired while abroad.
(10) Coaching on career progression: Expatriate training programs should include career implications and repatriation concerns. The parent company should clearly explain the expatriates the career value of the foreign assignment and discuss the career track following the repatriation. Expatriates should be made aware of where an international assignment fits into their overall career pattern. If the expatriate thinks that the international assignment is a signal of important change in their career he/she may be highly motivated, committed, more involved and may work wholeheartedly in their new role and this can further help the expatriate to take initiatives in the host country leading to effective performance (Selmer, 1995; Naumann, 1992).
(11) Knowing the family circumstances: Thorough knowledge about the expatriate family circumstances, commitments, and family adjustment capabilities by the parent country organization is essential before selecting and sending the expatriate for the foreign assignment, which will help in reduction of the failure in the assignments. (12) Keeping Expatriates well connected with the parent country: The parent country organization should accept some responsibility for ensuring that the expatriate families are happy in the host country and the expatriates themselves should remain well connected to the parent country organization.
(13) Proper compensation practices: Equalizing expatriate pay on a global basis to reduce the substantial difference in the pay. Substantial differences exist in the compensation of expatriates at the same level in various countries. These differences in compensation practices create dissatisfaction and distress in the expatriates. The firm should pay executives in different countries according to the prevailing standards in each country, or should equalize pay on a global basis.

The international assignment process
The international assignment process is commonly considered to encompass distinct phases, the pre-assignment stage (selection and preparation), the actual assignment and the post-assignment stage referred to as repatriation (Bonache, Brewster, & Suutari, 2001).
Preparation
In order to prepare individuals, who have been selected for an international posting, and facilitate their adjustment to the foreign culture, diverse cross-cultural training programs have been developed (Harris & Brewster, 1999b; Harvey & Miceli, 1999; Tung, 1981; see also Parkinson & Morley, 2006). The content and focus of these programs are contingent upon factors such as
• The individual’s cultural background,
• Culture-specific features of the host-country environment,
• The individual’s degree of contact with the host environment,
• The assignment length,
• The individual’s family situation, and
• The individual’s language skills.
The effectiveness of cross-cultural training has been examined by Deshpande and Viswesvaran (1992) who undertook a meta-analysis to demonstrate a positive effect of training on a number of assignment-related outcome variables. Others have argued that predeparture training assists transferees in developing accurate expectations towards the assignment which enhances their effectiveness abroad (Black, Mendenhall, & Oddou, 1991). More recently, Mendenhall and Stahl (2000) have called for additional training measures, specifically highlighting the importance of in-country, real time training, global mindset training and CD-ROM/internet-based training. However, research also suggests that a gap remains between individual training needs and the actual training offered by MNCs (Harris & Brewster, 1999b), with the provision of language courses and general information on the hostcountry context often remaining the only instruments. All too often assignees are also expected to take responsibility for their own training and preparation.

A study from 1984 found that only 25 percent of US multinationals offered extensive Pre-departure training programs and a 1989 study found that only 13 percent indicated that they would offer expatriates a pre-departure program. A 2002 study found that cross-cultural training of at least1 day’s duration was provided by 64 percent of responding companies. Only 13 per cent in the survey always provided expatriates with access to cultural awareness courses, although a further 47 percent provided briefings for culturally challenging postings (Dowling & Welch, 2005). A survey from 1995 showed that about 62 per cent of US companies offer some type of cross-cultural preparation, but it also found that on average, those who receive training get less than a day of it (Black et al., 1999).
These different findings show that cross-cultural training might not be given the attention it should and that companies might not be aware of its importance. Even though there is contradiction in the literature about the impact of cross-cultural training it seems to be of some importance and should not be ignored.
Power distance
This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal, it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. It has to do with the fact that a society’s inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. The United States score low on this dimension (40) which underscores the American premise of “liberty and justice for all.” This is also evidenced by the focus on equal rights in all aspects of American society and government. Within American organizations, hierarchy is established for convenience, superiors are always accessible and managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise. Both managers and employees expect to be consulted and information is shared frequently. At the same time, communication is informal, direct and participative.
Whereas, Japan is a mildly hierarchical society, Japanese are always conscious of their hierarchical position in any social setting and act accordingly. However, it is not as hierarchical as most of the other Asian cultures. Some foreigners experience Japan as extremely hierarchical because of their business experience of painstakingly slow decision making process: all the decisions must be confirmed by each hierarchical layer and finally by the top management in Tokyo. Paradoxically, the exact example of their slow decision making process shows that in Japanese society there is no one top guy who can take decision like in more hierarchical societies. Another example of not so high power distance is that Japan has always been a meritocratic society. There is a strong notion in the Japanese education system that everybody is born equal and anyone can get ahead and become anything if he (yes, it is still he) works hard enough.
Individualism
The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty. Japan scores 46 on the Individualism dimension. Certainly Japanese society shows many of the characteristics of a collectivistic society: such as putting harmony of group above the expression of individual opinions and people has a strong sense of shame for losing face. However, it is not as collectivistic as most of her Asian neighbors. The most popular explanation for this is that Japanese society does not have extended family system which forms a base of more collectivistic societies such as China and Korea. Japan has been a paternalistic society and the family name and asset was inherited from father to the eldest son. The younger siblings had to leave home and make their own living with their core families. One seemingly paradoxal example is that Japanese are famous for their loyalty to their companies, while Chinese seem to job hop more easily. However, company loyalty is something which people have chosen for themselves, which is an individualistic thing to do. You could say that the Japanese in-group is situational. While in more collectivistic culture, people are loyal to their inner group by birth, such as their extended family and their local community. Japanese are experienced as collectivistic by Western standards and experienced as individualistic by Asian standards. They are more private and reserved than most other Asians.
While The United States, with a score of 91 on this dimension, is a highly individualistic culture. This translates into a loosely-knit society in which the expectation is that people look after themselves and their immediate families. There is also a high degree of geographical mobility in the United States and most Americans are accustomed to doing business with, or interacting, with strangers. Consequently, Americans are not shy about approaching their prospective counterparts in order to obtain or seek information. In the business world, employees are expected to be self-reliant and display initiative. Also, within the exchange-based world of work, hiring and promotion decisions are based on merit or evidence of what one has done or can do.
Masculinity/Femininity
A high score (masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organizational behavior.
A low score (feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine).
At 95, Japan is one of the most masculine societies in the world. However, in combination with their mild collectivism, you do not see assertive and competitive individual behaviors which we often associate with masculine culture. What you see is a severe competition between groups. From very young age at kindergartens, children learn to compete on sports day for their groups (traditionally red team against white team). In corporate Japan, you see that employees are most motivated when they are fighting in a winning team against their competitors. What you also see as an expression of masculinity in Japan is the drive for excellence and perfection in their material production (monodukuri) and in material services (hotels and restaurants) and presentation (gift wrapping and food presentation) in every aspect of life. Notorious Japanese workaholism is another expression of their masculinity. It is still hard for women to climb up the corporate ladders in Japan with their masculine norm of hard and long working hours.
While the United States score 62 on this dimension and is considered a “masculine” society. Behavior in school, work, and play are based on the shared values that people should “strive to be the best they can be” and that “the winner takes all”. As a result, Americans will tend to display and talk freely about their “successes” and achievements in life, here again, another basis for hiring and promotion decisions in the workplace. Typically, Americans “live to work” so that they can earn monetary rewards and attain higher status based on how good one can be. Conflicts are resolved at the individual level and the goal is to win.
Uncertainty avoidance
The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the UAI score. Japan is one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries on earth. This is often attributed to the fact that Japan is constantly threatened by natural disasters from earthquakes, tsunamis (this is a Japanese word used internationally), typhoons to volcano eruptions. Under these circumstances Japanese learned to prepare themselves for any uncertain situation. This goes not only for the emergency plan and precautions for sudden natural disasters but also for every other aspects of society. You could say that in Japan anything you do is prescribed for maximum predictability. From cradle to grave, life is highly ritualized and you have a lot of ceremonies. For example, there is opening and closing ceremonies of every school year which are conducted almost exactly the same way everywhere in Japan. At weddings, funerals and other important social events, what people wear and how people should behave are prescribed in great detail in etiquette books. School teachers and public servants are reluctant to do things without precedence. In corporate Japan, a lot of time and effort is put into feasibility studies and all the risk factors must be worked out before any project can start. Managers ask for all the detailed facts and figures before taking any decision. This high need for uncertainty avoidance is one of the reasons why changes are so difficult to realize in Japan.
While The US scores 46 on this dimension and therefore, American society is what one would describe as “uncertainty accepting.” Consequently, there is a larger degree of acceptance for new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try something new or different, whether it pertains to technology, business practices, or foodstuffs. Americans tend to be more tolerant of ideas or opinions from anyone and allow the freedom of expression. At the same time, Americans do not require a lot of rules and are less emotionally expressive than higher-scoring cultures.
Long-term orientation
The long term orientation dimension is closely related to the teachings of Confucius and can be interpreted as dealing with society’s search for virtue, the extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of view. The United States scores 29 on this dimension and is a short-term oriented culture. As a result, it is a culture focused on traditions and fulfilling social obligations. Given this perspective, American businesses measure their performance on a short-term basis, with profit and loss statements being issued on a quarterly basis. This also drives individuals to strive for quick results within the work place. There is also a need to have the “absolute truth” in all matters.
While At 80 Japan scores as one of the long term oriented societies. Japanese see their life as a very short moment in a long history of mankind. From this perspective, some kind of fatalism is not strange to the Japanese. You do your best in your life time and that is all what you can do. Notion of the one and only almighty God is not familiar to Japanese. People live their lives guided by virtues and practical good examples. In corporate Japan, you see long term orientation in the constantly high rate of investment in R&D even in economically difficult times, higher own capital rate, priority to steady growth of market share rather than to a quarterly profit, and so on. They all serve the durability of the companies. The idea behind it is that the companies are not here to make money every quarter for the shareholders, but to serve the stake holders and society at large for many generations to come (e.g. Matsuhista).

As it is understood IHRM International HRM (IHRM) is the process of procuring, allocating, and effectively utilizing human resource strategies in a multinational corporation, while balancing the integration and differentiation of HR activities in foreign locations, on the other hand IHRM is synonymous with expatriate management. However, in order for Kline & associate to improve in its international human resource practices in terms of expatriate management, therefore the following strategy or strategies should be implemented.
The phase theory strategy
Employing the phase theory in terms of expatriate management: Phase theory was first discussed by Bales and Strodtbeck in (1951) and was based on the early work of Dewey in (1910) Bales and Strodtbeck indicated that the phase theorem is "the idea that problem solver go through certain phases or phases in the process of solving problems, or that the problem' solving would be more effective if some prescribed order were followed which are related to expatiate success or failure, such as expatriate selection, training' or socio-cultural adjustment.
The phase theory framework

The first phase of the framework, the planning phase, is linked to all other phases to ensure that each subsequent phase is well planned and organized. The last phase of the framework is the program assessment phase which is also linked to all other phases in the life cycle. Program assessments provide feedback (through a feedback loop) concerning effectiveness, successes and failures of practices at various phases of the life cycle. Feedback loops also exist between adjacent phases. For instance, following the expatriate selection phase, the IHRM of Kline & Associate has to move on to the training phases, providing training to the selected employee or employees and their families. However, during the training process, IHRM of Kline & Associate may determine that one or more of the selected employees are not appropriate for the assignment (for instance, they may have extraordinary difficulty in cultural adjustment). As a result, the IHRM of Kline & Associate can revisit the selection phase to find new employee or employees for the international assignment (s). If this theory is implemented in the Kline & Associate IHRM practices it can minimized the culture shock which expatriates experiences in international assignments such as Fred Bailey current situation in Japan.
Spouse/partner preparation (anticipatory adjustment)
Given the above problems, it becomes critical to gain a more informed understanding of the preparation factors (anticipatory adjustment) that will facilitate spouse/partner adjustment. The central benefit to be derived from such an understanding is to ensure that “anticipatory adjustment” (pre-departure awareness that is in line with the reality of a new environment) is handled with the appropriate care to ensure as small a difference as possible between what the spouse/partner expects and what actually occurs. Certainly the principle objective of such attention is the reduction of uncertainty and the development of an awareness that reflects an understanding of, “what to do or what not to do”, and “when to do it or when not to do it” (Black and Gregersen, 1991) Traditional problems however, are reflected in the fact that very few organizations provide either adequate or effective training for an accompanying spouse/partner. For example, only 10 per cent of spouses/partners involved in a study reported by Black and Gregersen (1991) received any preparation training from the firm and those that did receive training, tended to receive material at a low level of rigour involving only basic environmental briefings. The studies of Brewster and Hegewisch in Europe (1994) and Forster (1992) in Europe and Di Cieri, et al. (1991), Fish (1995) and Welch (1990) in Australia would also confirm this lack of attention. Also, this may support the view expressed earlier, that management would prefer not to intrude on the personal lives of family members. However, it would also suggest that typically, organizations see little benefit in this exercise, and thus are failing to give serious consideration to a critical aspect of overseas assignment success and consequently, effective human resource management practice.

An ethnocentric company assumes that the host country will be unable to supply skilled labor. Although it will recruit local people for low-level positions, an ethnocentric company will reserve skilled positions and managerial roles for employees from its home country. During the recruitment and selection process, an ethnocentric company risks imposing cultural norms from its home country. It may struggle to find suitable employees because it seeks qualifications that are not undertaken in the host country or insists that low-level employees speak a second language to enable them to communicate with expatriate managers.
In general comparison, Nakamura (1964) debates the variances in thinking styles between the East which includes Japan, Tibet, India, and China and the West. He argues that Easterners relies on instinctual sense, whereas Westerners relies on logical sense. Specifically referring to the Japan culture, Nakamura claims that the Japanese way of articulating things intents at creating emotive and instinctive pleas instead of being rationally right. Constantly on Nakamura’s line of argumentation, Mizutani (1981) highlights the probability that the Japan culture lack the habit of expressing substances in a severe way or articulating factual relationship logically, based on his anecdotic attest. Becker (1988) argues the Easterners like China and Japan lack the norm of argumentations and he points it primarily to their languages, Confucianism, and histories.
Going far beyond such broad debate of East and West (Japan and U.S) differences in argumentation expressions, Okabe’s (1983) opinion is intuitive in that it recognizes distinctive dissimilarities in oratorical choosing amongst the United States and Japan. In detail, he employed Robert L. Scott’s (1969) rhetorical nuclear theories in communicating. With regards to dissimilarities in argumentative methods, Okabe upholds that the Japan culture prefers the use of point like or dotted and climactic structure, heading directly to the conclusion, while the U.S. culture prefers the use of linear or problem solving and anti-climactic structure, stresses the paces up to the conclusion. He elucidates that such dissimilarities are attributed to the cultural suppositions differences between the two societies (Japan and U.S). That is, Japan cultural suppositions are based on vertical social relationships, interdependent, homogeneous and make the society’s communication passive, whereas cultural suppositions of the United States are based on horizontal social relationships, independent, heterogeneous and make the society’s communication active. Okabe claims that these dissimilarities are possible to influence communicating and thinking styles. Therefore Fred Baily as a global manager have to understand these cultural differences between Japan and his home country U.S and have to develop a global mindset.
Employee Development
The development of employees is another IHRM practice of Kline and Associate. Fred Bailey was offer a career advancement opportunity to become a partner in the firm if he again comes out successful in the international assignment. Again the firm practices to develop staffs through international assignment in which individual employee gains international experiences that aids in their career progression, in turn the firm will develop stock of knowledge, skills and abilities for the future growth. This is supported by a body of literature that international assignments are normally viewed as positive by both individuals and organizations for the development of global career competencies (Stahl et al., 2004).
7.2 Flexibility to learn
Fred should carefully observe, individually find out and learn the principles lying beneath manners of the host-country nationals which at first may appear to be strange. This relates to such actions as whether to bow or shake hands with the one you meet, etc. By learning to appreciate the cultural rules of the host-country and the ability to interact with the HCNs (culturally intelligent) will enable him to adjust to the Japan culture and to come out successfully in the assignment. This is supported by Thomas& Inkson, (2009) argumentation that cultural intelligence is the ability to interact effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds. A culturally intelligent person suspends judgment until information beyond the other person’s ethnicity becomes available.
7.3 Build a strong relationship with the locals
Managing in a global environment means the management people who are detached not only by distances and time but also by language, social, and cultural differences. The focal challenge here how to integrate and organize these persons in methods that will guarantee success. Fred Bailey as a global manager has to build a strong liaison and have frequent communication and interaction with his subordinates in the Tokyo office. Again Fred Bailey also needs to be sensitive, respect and understand the cultural norms in the view of the Hofstede cultural dimensions such as the power distance, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term-orientation. People from different cultures tend to misunderstand each other's behaviors or stereotype people from other countries. It is essential to recognize the discrepancies between cultures in order to work together effectively.
The failure of global economic margins, prompt changes, movement of diverse employees and the economic inter-dependence of nations is what are commonly acknowledged as Globalization. Murray and Murray (1986) argues that this phenomenon impose arduous challenges on everybody particularly mangers to reevaluate their competences and get prepared to manage globally.

High inflation in the last few years has become an important feature of GCC economy. Average inflation in GCC increased to above 6% in 2007 (Sturm et al., 2008) and further increased to double digit figures in 2008 (Saif, 2008).

Stahl, G. & Cerdin, J.-L. (2004) Global careers in French and German multinational corporations. The Journal of Management Development, 23(9):885 – 902.