Expatriate American Managers

Expatriate American managers working in such locations as Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East face multiple challenges that must be met and overcome if they and their companies are to succeed in the global marketplace. The core competencies and attributes needed are presented in the following table.

The 21st-Century Expatriate Manager Profile

Skills Managerial Implications

Core Skills

Multidimensional Extensive multi-product, multi-,

Perspective industry multi-functional, multi-

company, multi-country, and multi-

environment experience

Proficiency in Track record in successfully

Line Management operating strategic business unit(s)

and a series of major overseas

Prudent Decision- Competence and proven track record in

Making Skills making the right strategic decisions

Resourcefulness Skillful in getting self

known and accepted in the host

Ability as a Team Adept in bringing a diverse

Builder working group together to accomplish

major mission and objective of the

organization

Related Essays

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managers. Joinson (1998) views this situation as representing both an opportunity and a challenge for human resource professionals who are generally responsible for training as well as expatriate recruitment and placement. However, many human resource professionals are not well prepared for their responsibilities in this area. Their own lack of cross-cultural knowledge can inhibit their capacity to select or identify managers capable of working overseas. Joinson (1998) asserts that human resource professionals should be given opportunities to become familiar with the foreign assignments that they must fill from among a company's workers. In developing training programs, human resource professionals must obtain the assistance of host country citizens. Witt (2000) described international business as potentially a "social minefield" for American managers because Americans tend to be far less formal than their counterparts in other cultures. Indeed, in many countries, status, courtesy, and etiquette are of greater significance than they are in the United States. American managers, accustomed to more casual business and social contexts, may be negatively perceived by their foreign counterparts. Many failures can be avoided by

Category: Business - E