QUESTION 1:

Pre Departure Training are very important for people who will be sent for the
international assignment. To make sure people is already compatible with the company
objectives. If it is run well then it will reduce the probability of early return of the
expatriates and also keep the employee mindset true (for assignment not for vacation).
Pre Departure Training will conducted by company to train the people who will been
sent to the different country and make sure they can adjust with the new environment
and perform well.Pre Departure Training will conducted in the frameworks of cultural
awareness (in daily life and work life ), but the other factors also will be includes to
support their performance.
The main objectives of this pre departure training is to make the employee feels
comfortable stay in foreign country and to avoid or at least minimize the culture shock ,
to enable the employee to handle his/her obstacle and challenges . To help expatriates
adapt with communication practice and leadership style in host country. That's why this
pre departure training has been created for providing the employee with support to deal
with the cultural, personal, professional , and social challenges they would face during
the assignment .
The orientation and training that expatriates and their families receive before departure
have a major impact on the success of the overseas assignment. Three areas affect the
cross-cultural adjustment process: (a) work adjustment,(b) interaction adjustment, and
(c) general adjustment. Permeating all of those areas is the need for training in foreign
language and culture familiarization. Many firms have formal training programs for
expatriates and their families, and this training has been found to have a positive effect
on cross-cultural adjustment.Individuals selected to work outside the United States for
MNEs need answers to many specific questions about their host countries. Such areas
as political and historical forces, geographic and climatic conditions, and general living
conditions are topics frequently covered in the orientation and training sessions on the
culture of the host country. Expatriates and their families also must receive detailed,
country-specific training on customs in the host country. Such knowledge will greatly
ease their way in dealing with host-country counterparts. Training in such customs and
practices also should be part of the training programs for individuals who will not live
outside the home country but will travel to other countries for business purposes.
Once global employees arrive in the host country, they will need assistance in settling
in. Arrangements should be made for someone to meet them and assist them.
Obtaining housing, establishing bank accounts, obtaining drivers licenses, arranging for
admissions to schools for dependent children, and establishing a medical provider
relationship are all basics when relocating to a new city, internationally or not. But
differences in culture, language, and laws may complicate these activities in a foreign
country. The sooner the expatriates and their families can establish a normal life, the
better the adjustment will be, and the less likely that expatriate failure will occur.Career
planning and continued involvement of expatriates in corporate employee development
activities are essential. One of the greatest deterrents to accepting foreign assignments
is employees concern that they will be out of sight, out of mind. If they do not have

direct and regular contact with others at the corporate headquarters, many expatriates
experience anxiety about their continued career progression. Therefore, the
international experiences of expatriates must be seen as beneficial to the employer and
to the expatriates career.
One way to overcome problems in this area is for firms to invite the expatriates back for
regular interaction and development programs with other company managers and
professionals. Another useful approach is to establish a mentoring system. In this
system, an expatriate is matched with a corporate executive in the headquarters. This
executive talks with the expatriate frequently, ensures that the expatriates name is
submitted during promotion and development discussions at the headquarters, and
resolves any headquarters-based problems experienced by the expatriate.
QUESTION 2:
The work on an international assignment usually starts long before the assignee arrives
in the host country, and even before (and after) the training proper

Pre-program assessment and exploration. This includes An assessment of the

expatriates and family members background and prior international experience,
understanding of the host culture, specific goals/concerns, and personal tendencies
should shape a customized expat and family training session.Use of cultural intelligence
tools, such as Culture Wise, enables expatriates and family members to further assess
their personal tendencies against the cultural tendencies of the host country.

Expat and family training program. This stage is designed to increase the assignees
knowledge about the host country, society, values, business culture, and day-to-day
living. Completing such training should result in significantly reduced risk of cultural
misunderstandings and an enhanced cross-cultural experience. The number of
coaching sessions varies based on the assignments duration and family needs.

Host manager and team cultural briefing. This next stage is focused on the host
country manager and the team with whom the international assignee will be working,
and provides insight into the cultural values and norms of the assignee. Differences
regarding communication and management style will be identified, as well as different
expectations. Ideally, this is an in-person training program, but when that is not possible,

online tools can be helpful. The number of coaching sessions varies based on the
assignments duration and participants needs.

Project alignment meeting. After the expatriate and host organization have received
critical information, it is time for an exchange, either in person or via telephone or
videoconference. A project alignment meeting with the assignee and host manager
should be held to discuss cultural differences that might affect the success of the
assignment, tools and techniques to prevent misunderstandings, and mutual
expectations of the assignee and the manager. This meeting typically includes
discussions about timelines, reporting strategies, and setting milestones.

In-country coaching. As soon as the expatriate arrives in the host country, new and
unknown situations inevitably occur. Therefore, an assignee should receive face-to-face
or telephone coaching. A coach monitors the assignees process during the assignment
and captures experiences, case studies, and best practices. In some cases, a coach
observes the assignees activities, such as staff meetings, virtual meetings, and other
interactions between the assignee and team members. The number of coaching
sessions varies based on the assignments duration and participants needs.

Knowledge management process. Systematic and ongoing capture (and

dissemination) of relevant documentation and lessons learned from an expatriate
assignment is invaluable to the assignee, future expatriates, and the organization as a
whole. Knowledge management enables the organization to avoid repetitive
occurrences of known issues and over time, best practices and effective case studies
are developed. The number of coaching sessions varies based on the assignments
duration and participants needs.
Cross-Cultural Social Training
Your HR department must be prepared to offer social training for an employee assigned
to work abroad and that employees family. The trainer should familiarize the family with
local customs, taboos and expectations for social interactions. Everything from serving
meals for dinner guests to gift-giving etiquette may be different in the country where the
expatriate will work.

Cross-Cultural Business Training

The role of HR in business training involves thorough coverage of labor relations laws in
the host country, as well as effective leadership styles in the new culture. In addition, the
expatriate must learn about productivity standards, hiring practices, disciplinary
methods and local regulations in the new location. HR must research and cover all of
the important business topics that can affect the performance of the expatriate.
Security Training
Increased political tensions across the globe require the HR department to address
security issues. The expatriate deserves to know what local conditions could adversely
affect herself and her family. Such issues include the likelihood of kidnapping and
terrorism, as well as the implications of being arrested by local authorities and being
judged by local laws.
Remote Training
The HR department must plan for continued training of the expatriate as new products
and procedures move through the company. This training can take the form of live
meetings via computer, teleconferencing and web-based training. These types of
training will not only keep the expatriate up to date on company development and
progress, they will allow the HR department to receive feedback from the employee
regarding issues and further training that is needed.
QUESTION 3:
How can you minimize the challenges that your repatriate employees face after
returning from an overseas assignment? How can the knowledge they have learned
abroad be transferred and shared? These five steps can help.
Dealing with Reverse Culture Shock: Until fairly recently, the idea of offering training
to professionals who were coming home was considered odd. Repatriates were often
thrown back into their jobs with no discussion of their international assignments.
Research has shown that a home culture can seem strange after having spent a period
of time negotiating a new culture. Providing repatriates with an outlet to discuss their
feelings can be crucial to successful repatriation

Transferring knowledge: Sound repatriate training should include time for the
repatriate to discuss how to transfer the knowledge he or she has learned. This may
best be done on an informal, just-in-time basis during a special project, or during
meetings with the boss, or during special meetings of their team.

Mentoring expatriates: The repatriate can serve a key role in helping the organization
develop a global workforce by serving as a mentor to expatriates going to the same
country or part of the world. The information exchange between the repatriate and
expatriate can help ensure a positive experience for the expatriate by alerting him or her
to the challenges faced when working abroad.

Conducting repatriate forums: Organizing a group of repatriates who can share their
knowledge of international business during regularly scheduled presentations gives a
clear signal to all employees that global experience is valued. In addition, the
networking between repatriates can help your organization build a more satisfied global
workforce.

Providing career paths: The strain and uncertainty of the overseas assignment can be
reduced when the expatriate knows what career opportunities are available upon return.
This knowledge also can create a much smoother transition once the employee returns
home.To remain competitive globally, organizations need to make it clear to all
employees that global experiences are encouraged. One way to do that is through an
organizational design that promotes international assignments. Another way is to
provide repatriate training programs.Too often, repatriate professionals leave their
organizations because they feel that their knowledge is undervalued. These five steps
can help prevent this from occurring.

OVERVIEW CONCLUSION

12 action items that multinational organizations can take to make sure they
optimally manage their international assignments.
1. Take a fresh look at strategy vs. reality. Many expatriation programs grow
organically. In some cases, stated policies are undermined by serial exceptions
allowed to expatriates in different countries. Organizations should determine
whether they are operating by the rules. If exceptions have become the rule, it may
be time to review policies. Also, organizations should consider whether their

expatriate program is really part of the companys overall talent management

strategy. Has the mobility program grown in response to a perceived urgent need or
to develop top talent by giving them exposure outside their home country?
2. Divide and conquer. Treating globally mobile employees as a homogeneous
group that needs similar, robust compensation, benefits and support structures may
mean that organizations are providing too much in some cases. Organizations
should consider segmenting their expatriate population by type of assignee and type
of assignment. Introducing flexibility into expatriate compensation packages can
reduce investment in human capital without hurting corporate goals.
3. Consider local plus. Employers should look critically at why each expatriate is
working away from his or her home country. Are some employees on temporary
international assignments with the intention to repatriate them after the assignment
is over? Or are some employees locally hired foreigners or directly hired on one-way
or indefinite assignments? For the latter types, a more localized or local plus
package may be more appropriate than a traditional expatriate package based on
maintaining ties to a home country.
4. Mark your bench. Compensation and benefit levels change dynamically based on
many factors outside organizations control. Employers that have not benchmarked
their expatriate program and policies to see what the market is doing may be
wasting money by over-compensating or risking attrition by under-compensating.
Benchmarking can be based on assignment locations, type of assignee, or industry
practices.
5. Tend to family matters. Unhappy spouses, partners or children can make
expatriates lives so conflicted that they give up and return home before completing
their mission. Organizations should consider whether they are spending enough
energy on the front end preparing expatriates and their family members for life in
host countries. Importantly, stay in contact with them continually throughout the
assignment.
6. Make sure emergency exits are accessible. The political upheavals and natural
disasters of 2011 demonstrated ways expatriates and their families can be put in
sudden danger. Organizations should not wait until another disaster happens before
reviewing their emergency policies for expatriates, including swift evacuation.
7. Localize. Depending on the country, the sensitivity of the project and availability of
talent, organizations may find it makes sense to hire locally rather than to send an
expatriate from a home country. Or, they may be able to localize expatriated
employees by aligning their compensation and benefits package with local market
levels. Conversely, they may be relying too much on localization. Localizing an
expatriate may not always be appropriate and can cause potential business
disruption and unwanted attrition.

8. Consider your choice of cost of living adjustment (COLA). Organizations should

re-examine the assumptions made when choosing how to compute cost-of-living
allowances. Adjustments for cost-of-living differences in host countries can be done
in a number of ways. Choices depend on overall assumptions on employees
familiarity with host locations and cost elements already addressed in other
allowances or benefits. Changing the COLA index can be both cost effective and
realistic.
9. Equalize taxes, but do not go overboard. To minimize the financial impact of
income taxes on the assignee, most organizations adopt a tax equalization policy.
Doing so requires a surprising number of assumptions about hypothetical taxes.
Some employers have saved millions of dollars by auditing their tax equalization
policies and adjusting them to more equitable levels.
10. Make sure your housing policy is realistic. Expatriate housing is one of the
highest-cost components of almost every assignment. Organizations should take
time to establish appropriate, reasonable-cost rental guidelines for all assignment
locations and make sure these are clearly communicated in advance to potential
expatriates and the relocation firms that will help them find accommodation. If
possible, require top management approval for any exception requests.
11. Stay current with currency fluctuations and inflation. The global economic crisis
(and persistent inflation in some countries) has resulted in some gyrations in
currency exchange rates and purchasing power between home and host countries.
Organizations should examine their policies and adjust for such fluctuations. They
do not want to penalize expatriates for being on the wrong end of a big shift in
exchange rates or relative prices, yet they do not want to enrich them if rates move
in their favor.