A l v a h H. C h a p m a n Jr.C H A P M A N

Graduate School of BusinessFlorida International University

Adapting to a Boundaryless World: A Blueprint for Global Executives

Juan I. Sanchez, Ph.D..

International Human Resource Management Strategies

Ethnocentric: Hire primarily home-country nationals (i.e., expatriates) for high-level foreign positions.

Polycentric: hire Host-countrynationals because they are best equipped to deal with local markets.

Geocentric: hire best qualified home-country, host-country, or third-country national for the job.

Are expatriates an extinct species?

Many corporations are reducing their number of expatriates and increasing their number of local executives, but…Fewer trips may be scheduled, but they may last for longer periods of time, creating “virtual expatriates.”

Good-bye expatriate,hello global executive

Local executives need continuous coaching from home-country nationals, especially during start-ups.Home-country executives also need information that can be obtained only through face-to-face interaction with local executives.

E-mail, teleconferencing, and other modern forms of communication are shaped by culture and require even more cultural sensitivity than face-to-face interactions.

“An international assignment is not only a physical adventure in a more or less remote land, but also a psychological adventure that requires the willingness to revise deeply held beliefs concerning one’s own identity.”

Sanchez, Spector, & Cooper (2000). Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 14(2), page 105.

“Perhaps the most challenging of all transformations is the ability to develop a dual identification.”

Sanchez, Spector, & Cooper (2000). Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 14(2), page 105.

Being an American and identifying with the Mexican culture are opposite poles of the same continuum:

Ineffective thinking…

AmericanMexican

Internal conflict

Unacculturated to host (high stress)

Bicultural (low stress)

Alienated to both cultures (high stress)

Reacculturated to host (medium stress)

Identification with parent culture

High

Low

Low High

Developing dual identification

Loves U.S., doesn’t care about Mexico

Loves both U.S. and Mexico

Doesn’t care about either U.S. or Mexico

Loves Mexico, doesn’t care about the U.S.

Example: U.S. executive representing U.S. company in Mexico

Identification with The U.S.

Identification with host cultureIdentification with Mexico

How does one form a dual identification over time?Stage Primary

stressorsExecutive response

Employer response

Selection of global executive

Cross-cultural un-readiness. Technical vs. personality competence

Self (and family)-evaluation of readiness

Facilitate self-assessment

Selection of Global Executives

Mr. Techie

Mr. Smoothie

Ms. Congeniality

Mr. Know-It-All

Ms. Go-Getter

How does one form a dual identification over time?Stage Primary

stressorsExecutive response

Employer response

Assignment acceptance

Unrealistic evaluation of stressors; hurried timeframe

Think of assignment as a growth opportunity.Do not make unwarranted assumptions of cultural competence.

Do not make hard-to-keep promises. Clarify expectations.Pre-departure training.

How does one form a dual identification over time?

Stage Primary stressors

Executive response

Employer response

Arrival Cultural shock. Feelings of lack of fit and differential treatment.

Do not construe identification with the host and parent cultures as mutually exclusive. Seek social support.

Post-arrival training.Facilitate integration in global executive network.

Novice Cultural blunders. Ambiguity due to inability to decipher situations.

Observe locals’ coping responses. Do not simply replicate responses that worked at home.

Provide follow-up coaching.

How does one form a dual identification over time?

Stage Primary stressors

Executive response

Employer response

Transitional Rejection of host or parent culture.

Form and maintain attachments with both cultures.

Promote culturally sensitive policies at host country. Access to family and friends.

Mastery Frustration with boundary spanning role.

Internalize and enjoy walking between two cultures.

Reinforce rather than punish dual identification by defining common goals.

How does one form a dual identification over time?

Stage Primary stressors

Executive response

Employer response

Repatriation Disappointment with unfulfilled expectations. Sense of isolation.Loss of autonomy.

Re-evaluate assignment as a personal and professional growth opportunity.

Arrange pre-repatriation briefings and interviews.Schedule post-repatriation support meetings.

Host cultureArrival

Transitional

Mastery

Successful evolution of parent and host culture identification

Identification

Time inassignment

Parent culture