How to Solve Expatriate Posting Problems

How to solve expatriate posting problems when a manager is sent to a host country

In the 1990s, many exciting world-wide achievements have influenced the global business. Since then, a lot of companies have started to set up their subsidiaries in other countries. In this case, sending expatriates abroad becomes an effective method to connect headquarters with subsidiaries, to transfer skills and knowledge, and to develop managers themselves (Bonache and Fernàndez, 2007, p.106). According to statistics from the GMAC Global Relocation Service Survey Report in 2008, 30 to 40 million expatriates are living and working abroad (White et al., 2011, p.325). Thus, if a company wants to gain the maximum profit in the host country, expatriates play an important role. Successful expatriates can benefit both the company and the manager. On the other hand, if expatriates return to the home country before they finish the foreign task, companies will lose heavily. As Mead (1994, p.382) points out the loss of unsuccessful expatriates might between $250,000 to $ 1 million, and the average costs of sending a U.S. manager to other country might be evaluated about $300,000 per year. Templer (2010, p.1754) mentions "apart from considerable financial costs associated with setting up and relocating, failed assignments reduce firm productivity, business opportunities, market share, competitive position, and damage corporate image and reputation". Therefore, this essay will present the problems which an expatriate manager encounters in his or her living and working situation and provide possible solutions of each kind of problems, then evaluate those solutions.

Inadequate preparations for living abroad can lead to many problems for the expatriate manager and his or her family. Firstly, if the manager has children, education is a big problem. Few parents want to be separated from their children, so many managers would like to live with children overseas. However, due to various...