Expatriate Innocence

Expatriate Innocence Abroad

[Name of Instructor]

Expatriate Innocence Abroad

Introduction

The paper reflects upon the experience of Carol Williams, an employee of London-based pharmaceutical firm, who was transferred to work in Tokyo, Japan. Carol finds the business and social culture, of Japan, to be very different from her home country. The paper strives to explore the facts of given case study, which influences effective expatriate work assignments. The paper also sheds light on the training needs of employees, with international work assignments, which aids them in developing cultural awareness and effective business practices. The envisioned purpose of this paper is to summarize the case study and to present a framework of the international human resources practices of the company, and to suggest ways for improving things for future expatriate assignments.

Answer 1

Expatriate workers are considered as a sustainable means for exercising control over any firm's foreign endeavours. They tend to impact the overall organizational performance, directly (Harvey & Moeller, 2009, pp. 275-296).

Adjustment Experience of Carol Williams

Pleased to work on the international assignment in Japan, Carol did not have time to prepare for her future endeavours in Japan. She had to relocate, to Japan, in three weeks in order to meet some critical target business deadlines (Vance & Paik, 2006). Carol was caught by surprise when she came to know that there won't be any formal pre-departure preparation or training to prepare for her future assignments in Japan. She was only asked to continue her work the way she used to do and to learn about activities in Japan for her spare time in the evenings, through surfing online. The first month of Carol seemed to her as an extended vacation and she managed to learn the basic Japanese. However, she felt very tired and listless as she feel discouraged and resented, by the all-male Japanese local businessmen, who resent her entrance in their business circles. She started spending more and more time in her apartment until she met a Canadian woman, who was living and working in Japan for the past four years. Carol found herself in a great spirits on the invitation of the woman to attend a meeting next week.

Adjustment Experience of Clarence Mitchell

Clarence was also moved to Japan, along with his family, to work on an international assignment. He moved to Japan with his wife and children, only nine months earlier than Carol. It was believed that Clarence was making a genuine progress in his international assignments, but could not manage to adjust in Japan due to the difficulty faced by his family. Clarence showed an excellent performance during his past fourteen years with the firm, but eventually threatened to leave the firm, if not moved back to the London headquarters. The repatriation of Clarence had a great impact on his career that he eventually left the firm, in which he genuinely progressed for the past fourteen years, and started working for a major competitor.

Effectiveness of Carol William's Firm

Carol William was not effectively prepared to deal with the ...