Issues in Worldwide’s Expatriate Program

A highly involved management from the home and host countries plays a part in reducing uncertainties associated with global mobility program and such participative efforts are assumed to have an effect on the productivity of the expatriate (Vance & Ring, 1994). Two-way communications must be established between the three involving countries and active sharing of information is crucial for the program to be successful. Ample time should be provided for Red to be culturally assimilated with the host countries and also for the latter to prepare for his arrival. The issue with the home country’s management was to allow Red to depart for his new assignment two weeks after he was appointed in his role without first establishing the necessary communication and giving him the opportunity for overseas exposure before the actual programme took place. Without any form of training in areas such as cross-cultural management, interpersonal communication and conflict management, the hasty decision was likely to cause him to be culturally shocked and disappointed that not everyone from the host countries were informed of his role and the purpose of the relocation.

The CEO of Worldwide Components aimed to introduce Chicago’s culture and processes in its subsidiaries so as to become an integrated global company. However, it is inevitable for global firms to face challenges in replicating practices among their geographically dispersed subsidiaries (Chambers, 2013). As much as Worldwide Components saw a need to align existing practices across the board, the application of policies, procedures and processes may not work well in other countries even though they might have a history of reaping positive results. This may be due to possible socio-cultural and political constraints within the countries concerned (Ananthram & Chan,