THE ROLE OF FAMILY IN INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS

Presented By:Boriana Gatcheva

Mark Lau

Milana Targan

Nancy Zhong

November 16, 2004

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• Quick Facts• Family Concerns• Recruitment & Selection• China• USA• Denmark• Training• Career Counseling• Allowances• Family Support• Performance Evaluation• Repatriation• Conclusion

QUICK FACTS

• 80% of midsize and large companies send personnel abroad– 45% plan to increase (Black & Gergersen, 1999)

• An average expatriation assignment = 2.7 years– With the cost being approximately $1 million per expatriate

(Business Wire, 1999)

• About 63% of all relocation offers are turned down because of spousal employment concerns

(Laabs, 1999)

• When accepted, over 60% fail because family members are unable to adjust to the move

(Lewis, 1998)

FAMILY CONCERNS

• Moving anxiety

• Leaving a career

• Not being able to work in the new location

• Language barriers

• Immersion in the new culture

• Child-care and schooling

• Housing

• Pets

• Relocation costs

• Economic and tax implications

• And much more…

RECRUITING STRATEGY

• GOAL: To attract and retain candidates

• Base Salary

• Hardship Premium

• COLA

• Host-Country Housing

• Educational Allowances

• Spousal Assistance

• Benefits

SELECTION

• Technical ability

• Cross-cultural suitability

• Family requirements

• Country/cultural requirements

• Company’s requirements

• Language abilities

CHINA-”ZhongGuo” the Center country – Middle Kingdom

FACTS ABOUT CURRENT CHINA

• Per capita GDP in 2003 $1,000• Massive cheap labor• Welcome foreign investors• China become a giant

manufacturer• Lack of environment

regulations• Air pollution• Deforestation for urbanization

- Lack of fresh water

• Polluted rivers• Widened gap poor and

wealthy• Unemployment• Homeless• Socially unjust• Corruptions and bribery• Crime increases

SOCIAL CUSTOMS

• Confucius reigns – pursue general harmony and orderly society– Well defined personal relationship

• Male head at home– Boss are superiors at work

• Respect elderly• Group decision – authority-directed steps

– Bureaucratic and hierarchical– School authorities decide your major

• Higher position with higher authority

SOCIAL CUSTOMS

• Chinese would be impressed and delighted if you know some Chinese characters and culture– Very friendly to foreigners

• Gift giving – An art to serve a purpose

GUANXI - POWERFUL ASSET

• Connections

• Top down social institutions

• Network of contacts and personal relationships

• Whom they do favors for and whom they ask for favors from

• Guanxi - Many business deals cut this way– Without it – nothing can accomplished

FAMILY VALUES

Work before family life• More wealth bring more glory to family, society and

the nation• Family-oriented

– Willing to self-sacrifice to support family

• One child policy – favor boys

WELL-TREATED FOREIGNERS

• Foreigners getting preferential treatments

• Moderns living quarters

• Quality meals

• Ready to learn from expatriates

• A simple pride from Chinese

CHANGING CHINA

• Improve the outlook – many beautification projects – cosmetic

• Build and repair highways – improve conditions

• Build up communication systems

• Getting ready for 2008 Olympic Games

RIGID POLITICAL POWER

• Social unrest - 58,000 incidents in 2003• Persistent government corruption• Seizure of farmland for development

and layoffs – privatization• Results – government control news

reporting and media information

USA OVERVIEW

• Mastery country- advance technology and strong military power

• Individualistic- “football” metaphors – An individual gets all the honor

• High pay CEO – highest in the world - average near 2 million per year

• “Low-Context” in communication - open and direct

USA OVERVIEW [con’t]

• Short-term oriented – monthly and quarterly profit reviews

• Contract-oriented

• Time as commodity – need to see results as efficiently as possible

• Family before work

• Lack of child care

WORKING TOGETHER

• Open mind

• Respect each other

• Learn and appreciate different culture and custom

• Be flexible

• Build up friendship and trust

DENMARK

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

Country Land Area (sq. km.)

Population (000)

GDP per

capita

Gov. type Languages Literacy

USA 9,161,923 293,027 $37,800

Federal Republic

English 97%

China 9,326,410 1,298,847

$5,000

Communist country

Mandarin 91%

DK 43,094 5,413 $31,100 Constitutional Monarchy

Danish and English

100%

DANISH CULTURE

• Law of Jante

• Career Success and Quality of Life

• Low Context vs. High Context• Cultural Dimension Scores: (Power Distance,

Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long-Term Orientation)

Country PD ID MA UA LT USA 40L 91H 62H 46L 29L China 80H 20L 50M 60M 118H DK 38L 80H 14L 53M 44M

LABOR MARKET

• Vacation Pay- 6 weeks

• Leave Policies– education leave (up to 1 year)– maternity leave (14 weeks)– parental leave (1 year per child)– paternity leave (10 days off)

• Employment Law

WORK- FAMILY BALANCE

• Social Life– Family interfaces– Corporate interfaces

• Transportation

• Childcare

PRE-DEPARTURE TRAINING

• Language Training

• Cultural Training

• Social Training

• Career Counseling

LANGUAGE TRAINING

• Classroom Training

• Web Based Training

• Continuing Language Training

CULTURAL AND SOCIAL TRAINING

• Classroom Training

• Web Based Training

• Preliminary Visit

CAREER COUNSELING

• Spouse

• Career Assistance

ALLOWANCES

• Education Allowance

• Home Leave Allowance

FAMILY SUPPORT

• Mentor

• Family Support Service

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

• Quarterly Review At Corporate Headquarters

• 5 Day Review Process

• Debriefing

• Briefing

• Counseling

REPATRIATION

• Counseling

• Debriefing

• Career Counseling

• Career Assistance

CONCLUSION

Because the expatriate is one of the most valuable resources for a diversifying, growing, global corporation, the organization should focus on an expatriate plan that also includes family friendly policies to minimize the stresses associated with having family members on an international assignment. And in doing so would maximize the corporation’s most valuable resource: The Expatriate.

THANK YOU!