Free «Foreign Merchandise Investment» Essay Sample

Globalization is now a significant trend in the business arena; companies are increasingly seeking to enter global markets. As a result, businesses intending to invest abroad have turned to expatriating employees who are familiar with the given company’s policies and objectives (Adekola & Sergi, 2007). The concept of expatriation goes along with that of repatriation because sending employees out of their country means that they will have to return after the assignment completion. Expatriating employees face many challenges; for instance, they are bound to face a cultural shock, a language barrier, and some technical challenges (Adekola & Sergi, 2007). Below, actors are considered, as well as discussing interventions to be taken when expatriating workers from a US company to a Romanian firm.

After selection of employees to be expatriated to Romania (manager, engineer, and accountant), pre-departure training has to be conducted. The training will be designed and aimed at enhancing the employees’ overall adjustment ability and working performance in Romania. Pre-departure training offers an expatriate a smooth transition to the Romanian environment. As a result, employees are effectively trained upon arrival in Romania. Elements of such training include training on cultural awareness, language instructions, preliminary visits, and assistance with practical and technical day-to-day issues (Herod, 2009). Cultural awareness is very critical for expatriates operating in foreign nations. Cultural training for the three workers will lead to efficient communication and better understanding of the Romanian people. The cultural training awareness will also enable the workers to be more aware of the Romanian culture. As a result, this will help trainees to absorb the cultural shock quickly, as well as assisting them in creating more realistic expectations. In terms of dimensions of the cultural awareness training, the employees will be trained on negotiation styles, social relations, communication, and family lifestyle adjustment.

Preliminary visits will have to be offered to the three employees and their families prior to the Romanian assignment. This visit will also enable the three experts to experience the Romanian environment as it will provide first-hand information on the country’s market, economy, and government. Further, in order to ensure that the manager, the engineer, and the accountant will be useful in assigned duties, language training will be an integral pre-departure training element. This is necessary with respect to the fact that English is not an official language in Romania. Romanian language training will be particularly helpful for the manager since he or she will probably manage some Romanian workers. A leader can only be effective if he or she communicates effectively with subordinates (Adekola & Sergi, 2007).

Another critical component of the pre-departure training will be practical assistance and training, which will involve providing information that will be helpful in the relocation of the three employees to Romania. Providing practical information will ensure that the employees feel included in the adaptation process. If the expatriates and their families are left to fend for themselves, they may develop a negative response towards the host country’s culture (Adekola & Sergi, 2007). This may consequently contribute to a perceived violation or breach of the psychological contract. For that reason, providing practical assistance and training to the employees will assist in relieving any pressure or anxiety that may exist, as well as overcoming any negative feelings that they may have towards Romania.

Normally, there is a high rate of turnover upon the return of expatriates because they gain valuable international experience, which makes them highly demanded (Herod, 2009). The company will develop a repatriation strategy that will ensure that the employees feel most comfortable upon return to their home country. Therefore, in preparation for the return, the company will help with physical relocation, housing arrangements, school selection for expatriates’ children, and facilitating readjustment to the home country. Further, in order to ensure that the repatriation process is efficient, the three employees will have an agreement with the company outlining their roles upon return to the United States. It will aid in eliminating ambiguity. After the completion of the assignment in Romania, the company will offer training seminars that will assist the three employees and their families in readjusting to the home lifestyle. Financial counseling and orientation concerning home company’s changes will also be made available.

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Considering that Romania is a member state of the European Union, expatriate workers should get pay in accordance with the labor policies of the European Union (Herod, 2009). The company’s policies on salaries and allowances will also be taken into consideration, especially when formulating these employees’ remittances in Romania. In addition, the company will provide an increment to the expatriates’ annual salaries in order to compensate for the hardships in Romania. Some of these increments will include the cost of living allowance and assignment incentive (money paid to compensate for the inconvenience of working in a foreign state). The housing allowance will be in accordance with the cost of housing in Romania. Tax protection will also be offered to the employees. This protection will compensate for a difference in taxes that they pay in the US and that they have to pay in total while in Romania, i.e. both home and foreign countries’ taxes.