A) Role of Eric 1) Summarize your thoughts on the problems at hand, alternate solutions and your strategy on how to proceed at the forthcoming meeting? A) The major problem that at are at hand which the Eric is facing are: * Dealing with Fred: Fred is the old employee at the Texmark and since his assignment to India Fed has been this had been a major concern to Eric. His assignment to India has exceeded more than the designated period. His initial assignment was supposed to be for 18 months but it has been exceeded for more than 3 years. * Solution in dealing with Fred: Since the Eric has already sighted the major concern with Fred is that his unwillingness to train and transfer his responsibility to local engineers and his inability to work with the regulator is the major problem with Fred. Hence this situation can be better dealt by Eric personally supervising Fred and assigning him task with a limited dead line to each task. * Global expansion: The second major issue with Eric is the issue of the rising global presence of the company, as the company could not solve the expatriate issue. Hence company is facing a hard time when it’s needed to be established and to be made as a global company. As the main part of the strategy is dependent upon repatriation policy, where the growing numbers of repatriates are not meaning fully responding the debriefing and career counseling sessions. Hence this repatriation issue is affecting the long-term strategy development of the companies expatriate issue. * Solution of Global expansion: The repatriation issue is affecting the policy makers for the fast expanding company and to train its employee and must be handled with greater care where the solution to this could be in which each repatriate can be given a daily questionnaire that when the employee is at the assignment can fill it up further could write the daily difficulties faced in the assignment and suggestions to improve it. Hence probably by this the company can overcome the loopholes in its policy and address the issue of expatriate for a fast global expansion of the company. * Developing Chinese Operation: The Chinese operation is the major issue in the point of concern for the expansion in Asia. As many of the expatriates are facing the difficulty in Pre Departure Activity to the country hence there is a urgent need to address this situation. * Solution for Chinese Operation: The possible solution for the Chinese operation is to develop a regional center in Asia Pacific region as the main issue as can be understood is the cultural difficulties the expatriates are facing. Hence the regional center can train the HCN for their respective countries and relocate them to China as well as India to carter the faster demand of the professionals in Asia as the companies main focal point for expansion is in Asia and through this the cultural difficulties can be overcome and Pre Departure Activity that are difficult for the TCN can be possible be handled well by the regional center. * Cost Cutting: The major issue that is possible on the forthcoming meeting agenda is the cost cutting issue. As an possible demand by Juanita Roberto’s that is figured out by Eric the cost cutting needs to be addressed. Since the company is spending a significant figure in the expatriate training hence the solution to this is essential. * Solution to the cost cutting issue: The solution that can be suggested to this issue is the shortening of the pre departure activity and since according to past feedback as Eric has received the ‘Interviews and conversation’ can be removed from the pre departure activity hence there by cutting the significant cost.
-The strategy for the forthcoming meeting can be proceeded as: - * Firstly Eric can explain the counterparts the companies on going progress as of his current problems faced and the planning of the international assignments. * Secondly Eric should ask the director and 4 members of executive career development for their concerns, requirement and Grievances. * If the cost cutting measures are emphasized by the meeting team and there by saving cost solution as suggested above could be suggested and hope fully convincing the meeting team. * Beside the cost cutting measure the issue of repatriation that is a ‘problem’ as signaled by the management that can possible be resolved by the solution as suggested above can be discussed in the meeting. * Thirdly Eric can brief the meeting team with Freds condition and the possible solution that could be resulted out in the meeting earlier that day. 2) How will your proposal solve the problems you have defined? A) Firstly the problems such as dealing with Fred can be addressed as suggested above by Eric personally supervising Fred and assigning him task with a limited dead line to each task. Hence this would allow Fred to be more accountable for each of tasks. The mistakes as done by Fred till now could be avoided as Fred was possibly unable to plan is objectives hence this would be a great beneficiary for him.
Secondly as the issue of global expansion of the company needs to be resolved for training of expatriates the policies dealing with the issue needs to be changed hence to get this in place Eric must solve the repatriation issue that can be done by giving a daily questionnaire that when the employee is at the assignment can fill it up further could write the daily difficulties faced in the assignment and suggestions to improve it. Hence this would give the policy maker (Eric) greater knowledge of ongoing situation on ground and as policy can be designed more accurately to cut cost and possibly involving more TCN movements.
Thirdly the issue of the Chinese operations where the language courses are a greater problem hence could be addressed by setting up an regional center can train the HCN for their respective countries and relocate them to China. This would help better understanding in work culture and would resolve the issue as faced now by Eric.
Fourthly the issue of cost cutting as a possible demand by Juanita Roberto can be addressed by removing the ‘Interviews and conversation’ from the pre departure activity as from the feed back its not providing any essential benefits to the expatriates and hence the cost can be cutted. 3) How can you defend your solution from budgetary concern? In what way is your approach both a solution to the problems of expatriates at the Tex mark and a good economic investment? A) As the solution suggested to the problems above the issue of budget is addressed in the solution as the issue of Fred can be seen the solution suggested is to supervise Fred rather than replace him with an another professional because training a new professional would raise the budget secondly the issue of repatriation can be addressed by better feedback from the expatriates there by setting up policy for efficient training and ultimately cost cutting Thirdly the Chinese operation can be handled by setting up an regional center and there by sending an expatriate from Texas and training them with Pre departure activities can be avoided there by again leading to lower budget. Fourthly the removal of ‘Interviews and conversation’ can be a further budgetary measure.
The approach as above can be justified as good solution to the problem of expatriates and a good economic investment in terms as it cuts cost and the approach in the case of Fred as can be seen is not to replace some one with him but rather it is to guide him. The reason is for this approach is that the Fred is old in the company and had a great experience in handling the situation as his first assignment to Scotland can be seen there for it’s a cost cutting measure by avoiding replacement and solving the problem of arranging a new expatriate. Further the solution of handling the Chinese operation can be seen the solution as to set up a regional operation center for training of HCN for that operation rather than sending the expats from San Antonio there by avoiding extra expenditure on training. While the regional center can cater in better understanding of the culture unlike the culture clash before further the training in the region is feasible as family of the employ can stay at home and due to close proximity the employee can travel occasionally till the training ends there by saving cost for relocation. Hence as seen above the solution suggested is the solution to the problems of expatriates at the Tex mark and a good economic investment.