Expatriation is the process through which highly skilled personnel is imported to help in improving the efficiency of production, in various productive enterprises. Following the advancement in technology and modernization, firms have started using expatriation as a control mechanism when they grow and expand internally. As it has been revealed, the use of expatriation is commonly practiced in multinational companies where their operations involve various countries (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
In this regard, firms use techniques in incorporating expatriates in their production; as a control mechanism when they expand internally in their level of production. Certainly, large firms like multinational companies use expatriates in deciding the innovations and inventions to be incorporated in the firms so as to reach the expectations of their clients. More specifically, firms use expatriation as core decision makers in the course of action the firms would take; as this would result into the meeting of global standards of the commodities produced by such firms (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
Generally, the strategy that firms use expatriation as a control mechanism when they expand internally is through organizing in-service trainings for them, so as to increase their efficiencies.
The process of selecting expatriates for companies in one of the major challenges that many companies may face; as it requires consideration of various factors. More specifically, the companies ought to consider various predictors of performance on their process of selecting the most competitive expatriates to employ (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
First, expatriates would be chosen on the basis of their previous performance in other related firms. It is important to note that, the educational level of the expatriates would also be considered which would give them further credentials to work for the company. Further, the expatriates’ personal initiatives in innovation and inventions as far as business activities are concerned would also be considered. In this case, the selection method to be applied in the choosing of such expatriates may be through interviews and afterward follow-ups in the previously worked firms by such expatriates. (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
Perhaps, the selection of expatriates to work in top positions by companies would require the consideration of the expatriates’ prior experiences in related firms, and their level of academic achievements.
Following the current technologically oriented society, expatriates need to be trained so as to equip them with better skills in their specific activities making them more efficient and effective. As it has been revealed, the regular training of employees would make them more effective as it would regularly review their abilities and prowess various managerial skills (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
On this basis, the most effective cross-cultural training would be through in-service training so as to monitor the progress of the expatriates before they are fully indulged in high positions in the firms. More precisely, in-service training programs would provide employers with an overview of the reliability of the expatriates being incorporated in the firm (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
Generally, the in-service training would be the most effective cross-cultural training approach for expatriates as it would always update the expatriates with the most current management techniques.
Nevertheless, various factors have been revealed to contribute towards the repatriation problems in process of expatriate employees. On this basis firms ought to understand the various repercussions associated with repartition of expatriate employees in order to create coherence in their operations (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
In this regard, one of the major factors that may contribute to the repatriation problems is the lack of competence in the running of various activities entrusted to them by their employer companies. More specifically, the lack of efficiency by various expatriates in their activities may usually result into their repatriation. In this case, a resource manger would be faced with a challenge of repatriating expatriates who have been so closely involved in the improvement of the firm in various aspects (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
It has been revealed that, the lack of competence and efficiency by expatriates is the major cause of repatriation problems by expatriates working in various companies; especially at the top positions.
The balance sheet is one of the major tools that managers use in evaluating the general performance of the businesses they manage. In this respect therefore, the use of the balance sheet approach to determine the compensation of expatriates would be of great importance. It has to be noted that, the use of the balance sheet approach especially in multinational firms always provides a base for determining the compensation for expatriates (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
It can be argued that, the balance sheet displays the level of current assets and liabilities in which the current liabilities of the company has to exceed the current liabilities for good performing company. On this basis therefore, the exceeding of the current assets over the current liabilities would provide for the determination of the compensation of expatriates (Harzing & Ruyssevedt, 2004).
Generally, expatriates have been of great significance in firms by providing highly skilled labor and techniques in the production process of the companies. In this sense therefore, the use of balance sheet in providing a base to determine their compensation would be very crucial.
Reference list
Harzing, A. & Ruyssevedt, J. (2004). International Human Resource Management. New York: Prentice Hall Publishers.