International assignments – expatriation
International assignments, including expatriation, have been argued to be an essential aspect of MNC operations. What are the main problems associated with expatriate assignments? What steps can MNCs take to ensure that these assignments are guided by and do not contradict their diversity management policies and practices? Please provide examples from MNCs to illustrate your answer, and cover more than one equality characteristic.
This question relates primarily to weeks 5 (migration and international assignments) and 4 (international diversity and well-being). Students should be careful to cover both parts of the question: what problems arise with expatriate assignments (including selection, handling of the assignment itself, and repatriation), and the degree to which these assignments are (or are not) consistent with MNCs’ equality and diversity policies and practices. Students should refer to at least two of the recognised equality characteristics, which according to UK law are: age, disability, race, sex, gender re-assignment, sexual orientation, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, and religion/belief. Aside from academic readings, you are encouraged to use particular company websites and other documents from relevant international organisations.
Suggested readings:
Adler, N (1984) ‘Women in international management: Where are they?’, California Management Review, 26(4), 78-89.
Berry, D.P. and Bell, M.P. (2012) ‘Expatriates’: Gender, Race and Class Distinctions in International Management’, Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 19 No. 1: 10-28.
Business in the Community (2017) Best Employers for Race, https://race.bitc.org.uk/awards-benchmarking/best-employers-race-list-2017
Caligiuri, P and Cascio, WF (1998) ‘Can we send her there? Maximizing the success of western women on global assignments’, Journal of World Business, 33(4), 394-416.
Caligiuri, P and Stroh, L (1995) ‘Multinational Corporation Management Strategies and International Human Resources practices: Bringing IHRM to the Bottom Line’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 6(3): 494 – 507.
Caligiuri, P, Joshi, A and Lazarova, M (1999) ‘Factors influencing the adjustment of women on global assignments’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10(2), 163-179.
Colgan, F.’ (2011) ‘Equality, diversity and corporate social responsibility: Sexual orientation in the UK private sector,’ Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, Vol. 30, No. 8, pp. 719 – 734.
Colgan, F, et al (2014) ‘Employment equality and diversity management in a Russian Context’, in Klarsfeld, A. Booysen, L. Ng, E. Roper, I. and Tatli, A. (eds.), International Handbook in Diversity Management at Work, Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, 2nd edition, chapter 12. 217 – 240.
Egan, M. L. and Bendick, M. (2003), Workforce diversity initiatives of U.S. multinational corporations in Europe. Thunderbird Int’l Bus Rev, 45: 701–727.
Eurobarometer (2015) Discrimination in the EU in 2015, available at: ww.equineteurope.org?Discrimination-in-the-EU-in-2015
Ferner, A., Almond, P. & Colling, T. (2005) ‘Institutional theory and the cross-national transfer of employment policy: the case of ‘workforce diversity’ in US MNCs’, Journal of International Business Studies, 36:3, 304-321.
Gedro, J , Mizzi, R, Rocco, T, and Van Loo J. (2013) ‘Going global: professional mobility and concerns for LGBT workers’, Human Resource Development International, 16 [3] 282-297
Harris, H (2002) ‘Think international manager, think male: why are women not selected for international management assignments? ‘ Thunderbird International Review, 44 (2) 175-203.
Harzing, A-W and Pinnington, A H (2011) International Human Resource Management, 3rd edition, London: Sage, chapter 15, ‘Women Leading and Managing Worldwide’, Adler (507 – 537); chapter 16, ‘Global Work Life Management in Multinational Corporations’, De Cieri and Bardoel (538 – 558) and chapter 18, ‘Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Diversity of Human Resources’, Cooke (583 – 624).
Heran,J and Piekkari, R (2005) ‘Gendered Leaderships and Leaderships on Gender Policy: National Context, Corporate Structures and Chief Human Resources Managers in Transnational Corporations’, Leadership, 1(4): 429-54.
Hunt, G. (2015) ‘Going global: International labour and sexual orientation discrimination,’ in Colgan, F. and Rumens, N. (eds.) Sexual Orientation at Work: Contemporary Issues and Perspectives, New York: Routledge, 228-244.
Kollen, T. (2016) (Ed.) Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations – Global Perspectives on LGBT Workforce Diversity, Springer: New York.
Lucas, R, Lupton, B, Mathieson, H (2006) Human Resource Management in an International Context, London : CIPD, Mor-Barak, M (2005) Managing Diversity: Towards a Globally Inclusive Workplace, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Mayrhofer, W and Scullion, H (2002) ‘All equal? The importance of context—empirical evidence about male and female expatriates from the German clothing industry’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 3(5): 815–36.
Mor Barak, M (2014) Managing Diversity: Towards a Globally Inclusive Workplace, Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Nishii, L and Özbilgin, MJ (2007) ‘Global diversity management: towards a conceptual framework’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18 (11): 1883 – 1894..
Ngo, H Y, Foley, S and Loi, R (2009) ‘Family-friendly work practices, organisational climate, and firm performance: A study of multinational corporations in Hong Kong’, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30: 665 – 80.
Olsen, J. and Martins, L. (2009) ‘The effects of expatriate demographic characteristics on adjustment: A social identity approach’, Human Resource Management, Vol. 48, No. 2: 311–328
Procknow, G. and Rocco, T. ‘The unheard, unseen and often forgotten: an examination of Disability in the HR Literature’, Human Resource Development Review Volume: 15 issue: 4, page(s): 379-403.
Punnett, BJ, Crocker, O and Stevens, M (1992) ‘The challenge for women expatriates and spouses: Some empirical evidence’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(3), 585-592.
Sipola, A and Smale, A (2007) ‘The global integration of diversity management: A longitudinal case study’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18 (11): 1895 – 916.
Stonewall (2017) Stonewall Top Global employers 2017, http://www.stonewall.org.uk/sites/default/files/stonewall_top_global_employers_2017.pdf
Stonewall (2017) Safe Travels: Global Mobility for LGBT Staff, http://www.stonewall.org.uk/sites/default/files/safe_travels_guide_2017.pdf
Stonewall (2017) Supporting Trans Staff in the Workplace, http://www.stonewall.org.uk/supporting-trans-staff-workplace
Stroh, L and Caligiuri, P (1998), “Increasing global effectiveness through effective people management”, in Journal of World Business, 33 [1]: 1 – 16.
United Nations (2018) How well is the UK performing on disability rights? https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/how-well-uk-performing-disability-rights
van Woerkom, M and de Reuver, R (2009) ‘Predicting excellent management performance in an international context: a study of the influence of multicultural personality on transformational leadership and performance’, in International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20 [10], October 2009, 2013 – 2029.
Westwood, RI and Leung, SM (1994) ‘The female expatriate manager experience: Coping with gender and culture’, International Studies of Management and Organization, 24, 64-85.
