Question

Explain the challenges of managing expatriates and propose effective ways of managing expatriates through specific HR practices. Be sure to include at least TWO different HR practices.

Answer 1

Expatriates are the people who doesn't live in their native countries. Hiring and havung expatriates would essentially give a company the opportunity to reach excellence but on the other hand having them makes the arrival of lots of challenges as well which are as follows:

1. Language Barriers: The most basic challenge that would arise for having a person out from the another country would be obviously the language barriers. These barriers exists because many countries have thier own languages which makes people hard to communicate.

2. Cultural Barriers: Another barrier that would arise is the difference of culture. You can't expect an American to easily blend up in an Indian organisation at their country. He would be having so many cultural problems like the difference of norms, values and eating habits that would eventually make his behaviour and even his productivity affected for the organisation.

3. Cost: At last, one major barrier would be the cost analysis. The cost of having the employee, training them and keeping them and if it didn't work out, to effectively find another employee who would take the place would require cost for the organisation to fill the vacant seat and again affects the operational working.

To effectively make these challenges go away, the possible solutions are:

1. Training and Development: One way to achieve the barriers of cost and language could be training and developmental programs. Effective training programs should be made within the organisation to help and assist the people in knowing the culture, the language and providing them with the helpful resources that would help them to develop themselves within this change. It would have long term benefits for the organisation.

2. Organisational Culture: Another policy that could be effectively designed to make the employee comfortable and blend would be establishing a healthy and living organisational culture. Culture where the communication is effective, diversity is respected, inclusion exists and thus the integration of all the departments and efforts are arriving would make the employee satisfied and happy with the organisation and would make a good change in its production abilities too.