In: Accounting
[A senior engineer from a European electronics company] was sent to Saudi Arabia on a four-year assignment, at a cost to his employer of about $4 million. During those four years, he learnt fluent Arabic, gained new technical skills, and made friends with important businesspeople in the Saudi community. But upon returning home, the man was shocked to find himself frequently scolded that ‘the way things were done in Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with the way we do things at headquarters’. Worse, he was kept waiting almost nine months for a permanent assignment which, when it came, gave him less authority than he had had abroad. Not surprisingly, the engineer left to join a direct competitor a few months later and ended up using the knowledge and skills he had acquired in Saudi Arabia against his former employer.
What are the main issues of this case?
What recommendations would you give for these issues?
Main issues are:-
1. The company is not enteraining any new skill set, which thier employee has gained when they are in saudi, even company has spent $4million on his employee and this is not a small amount which the amount usually spent on employee.
2. Moreover, the amount company has spent is NOT on a regular employee, but on someone special, on which company has faith on him taking in mind his past performance in the company.
3. The company is very rigid about implementing some new plan which his employee has learnt when he is on feild in saudi.
4. This scenario can cause a lower moral in amongt other employees who might have in touch the person who has gone to saudi.
5. As the new employee is switching over in other company and that too a competitor, chances that his ideas work, and the former company might not a lead runner in the competition.
Recommendations:-
The former company should open to new ideas, when some employees tell them to get their moral high, it increase his self confidence and he will that he is working for his own company.
Companny image in market will also gets enhanced if they give the information that they are starting to work in a newer way, it will increase the confidence of the shareholder, chances that the share prices might gets increased.