Introduction
Globalization has necessitated the need for expatriate assignments with businesses operating internationally. However, for an organization to succeed in its international ventures, there is an overarching need for the development of robust human resources (HR) strategies, as the workforce is one of the most important assets for any company. A manager with the capacity to operate across various cultures and achieve the set objectives confers a competitive advantage to the organization. Additionally, managers should be in a position to negotiate the many challenges posed by cross-cultural leadership and overcome barriers to working with a diverse workforce.
Therefore, companies should be prepared to offer extensive training to their expatriate managers before starting their assignments abroad. Such training and support should continue throughout the period of the managers’ work in the foreign country. Without proper training and support, expatriates are likely to underperform or leave their assignments prematurely due to the challenges associated with cross-cultural adaptation.
This paper discusses how the human resources management (HRM) department could prepare and support an expatriate worker for an overseas work assignment in Qatar. The discussion relies on a hypothetical case of Melissa Lamont, a 40-year-old senior female manager from the USA, who has been given a three-year international assignment to work in a corporation in Qatar as the deputy manager of the business and economics team with 50 journalists of different nationalities.
Melissa does not have prior international work experience, but she has worked with the organization for 10 years, based in New York. The paper starts by discussing the work environment that Melissa will encounter in Qatar to highlight the challenges that should be addressed and examine the nature of training that she should be given before undertaking her assignment and during her stay in the country based on HRM practices.
Working in Qatar
Qatar is a peninsular Arab country and part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and thus it differs significantly from western countries across most cultural values (Rodriguez & Scurry 2014). It is important to understand the underlying cultural values in the Qatari work environment to identify the various challenges that Mellissa is likely to face and how to address them comprehensively through HR best practices. One of the ways to look at this issue is through Hofstede’s theory on five national culture dimensions – power distance, individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity-femininity, and long-term orientation (Hofstede 2001). These dimensions would give a clear picture of what Mellissa is likely to encounter in Qatar in terms of culture.
Power distance is the extent to which members in organizations and institutions within a country, especially the less powerful, accept the unequal distribution of power. According to Al Dulaimi and Sailan (2011), Qatar scores highly on this dimension implying that people in this country accept a hierarchical order with everybody occupying his or her place in this order. As such, the leader expects to be told what to do with a benevolent autocrat being the ideal leader. With centralized power, subordinates are expected to obey their manager, who in turn makes all the major decisions. Therefore, Mellissa should be aware of this cultural dimension and learn how to apply it in her day-to-day interaction with her team members.
On individualism, Qatar scores low thus making it a collectivistic society. As such, people belong to in-groups, where loyalty is paramount to the extent that it overrules the majority of other rules and regulations in a society. Consequently, everyone in a team takes responsibility for fellow teammates. Additionally, management is mainly focused on managing groups as opposed to individuals. In this case, Mellissa is expected to have a strong team of individuals working towards a common goal.
A study conducted by Al Dulaimi and Sailan (2011) showed that Qatar scores moderately on the masculinity index. In masculine societies, people live to work characterized by competitiveness and willingness to make tough decisions. On the other hand, in feminine societies, individuals work to live, and thus the focus is on building teams and fostering collaboration both within and outside an organization. The Qatari society leans toward femininity, and thus Mellissa should be aware that her team would be focused on the quality of work, resolve conflicts through negotiation, and prefer fewer working hours (Al Dulaimi & Sailan 2011). Any form of training for Mellissa should be elaborate on this dimension, as it would play a significant role in the success or failure of the business and economics team.
The uncertainty avoidance dimension measures the extent to which members of a society in a given culture are threatened by unfamiliar situations, and thus they try as much as possible to avoid such scenarios. Qatar scores high on this dimension, and thus people here prefer avoiding unpredictability. Unorthodox behaviors are not tolerated as rules and regulations define how individuals should conduct themselves. According to Al Dulaimi and Sailan (2011, p. 733), individuals in Qatar “would have a preference for loyalty to their employers, value longer employment durations, be more task-oriented, and value more highly formalized management structures.” This understanding would guide Mellissa’s decision-making process on how to deal with her team members.
Finally, the long-term orientation dimension refers to the “fostering of virtue oriented towards future rewards, in particular, perseverance and thrift (Hofstede 2001, p. 359). In other words, this dimension measures how societies balance their past and future. In the study by Al Dulaimi and Sailan (2011, p. 733), Qatar scored 41 on this dimension meaning managers “focus more on short-term results, on the bottom line, and separate family and work life.” This information is crucial specifically given that Mellissa is expected to move together with her family (husband and two children). The information presented in the analysis of Qatar through the lenses of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions would help Mellissa’s company in designing the best-suited training program for her before she leaves for her assignment abroad.
HRM Practices to Support Mellissa
Training Mellissa for the Qatari Assignment
Mellissa should be given cross-cultural training (CCT) to facilitate her adjustment to the new work environment. In their work, Wilkinson, Redman, and Dundon (2017) emphasize the importance of training as an integral aspect of HRM for successful organizations. As such, Mellissa should be psychologically prepared and have the requisite understanding of working in a different culture. According to Tahir and Ertek (2018, p. 53), expatriate manager adjustments involve three variables – “work adjustment, that consists of duties, administration and execution, ‘relational adjustment’, that incorporates dealing with people from the host nation, and ‘general adjustment’ that includes the social life environment in an overseas country.” Focusing on these factors would prepare Mellissa at personal, organizational, and contextual levels by focusing on the differences that exist between the US and Qatar.
The best approach to training Mellissa would be sequential CCT in the quest to improve her understanding of suitable and acceptable work practices in Qatar. The training should be dynamic and structured in sequential and logical phases starting from the pre-departure phase and continuing during the post-arrival period to ensure that she transitions successfully. After settling in Qatar, other HRM practices such as employee motivation, reward, and performance management should continue for her long-term support as an important company asset. Sequential CCT would offer Mellissa regular and structured learning opportunities to alter her frame of reference, which is mainly based on the US culture, and raise her awareness about the cultural expectations in Qatar.
Pre-departure CCT
During the ethnocentric stage before departing for Qatar, Mellissa would not be prepared psychologically for her new assignment overseas. As Puck, Kittler, and Wright (2008) posit, this scenario is caused by the lack of a common frame of reference that could be used to relate the various aspects of the foreign culture. Therefore, training during this period should focus on structural information obtained from familiar local settings. The CCT contents should have a didactic introduction to what Mellissa expects during the adaptation process coupled with focusing on both constructive and ordinary stages that have to be faced after getting to Qatar and undergoing the anticipated culture shock.
This stage of training would be ideal to introduce Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for Qatar and let Mellissa gain an in-depth understanding of the prevalent cultural practices in the region. Ultimately, the pre-departure CCT would allow Mellissa to challenge her embedded ethnocentrism, especially given that she has never worked in a foreign environment. A thorough CCT would ensure that the candidate does not suffer from disillusionment once she assumes her new post in Qatar. Even though what is presented in theory could differ from what occurs on the ground, she would have an idea of what to expect.
CCT upon Arrival (Ethnocentric Stage)
Upon arrival in Qatar, Mellissa would have a rough time adjusting and socializing with her new teammates and the environment in general. Therefore, she should attend post-arrival training whereby she would share her experiences and worries regarding her new task. Much of what is done during this training would depend on Mellissa’s feedback to allow her trainers to tailor sessions that address the pertinent underlying issues ultimately enhancing the quality of the CCT offered. According to Tahir and Ertek (2018, p. 57), this form of training would help expatriates “assimilate to their new surroundings and improve their understanding of the new cultural environment.” In other words, this training would lower the probability of Mellissa leaning towards ethnocentrism by narrowing the gap in cultural differences between the US and Qatar.
Specifically, this stage of CCT would highlight the differences and similarities between the US and Qatar. The objective is to lower Mellissa’s overdependence on opinions based on her home country and enhance her openness towards the host nation. Additionally, given that much of this training would be based on her continuous feedback of what she has experienced, it would present an ideal opportunity to tailor fact-oriented sessions to address the major concerns and ramifications of daily living in Qatar coupled with discussing how to effectively deal with the emerging issues.
Training during the Cultural Shock Stage
Mellissa is bound to experience culture shock upon arriving in Qatar. Naeem, Nadeem, and Khan (2015) argue that culture shock or culture fatigue is an experience that people undergo when in foreign cultures mainly related to the general uncertainty surrounding what is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of behavior. During this training period, the operating frame of reference would seek to promote different behaviors in the new culture.
This stage of training would reveal discrepancies between what Mellissa understands as acceptable and what exactly is acceptable in Qatar thus allowing her to shape her global perspective. It is expected that at this point, Mellissa’s confidence in handling the Qatari culture would still be low because she would not have enough information and tools to organize the various components of this culture into a logical frame of reference.
As such, training would address real cross-cultural encounters to model new behaviors that are in line with the local culture. During this CCT stage, Mellissa would learn how to identify and interpret different nuances of the Qatari culture. In the end, this stage would arm Mellissa with the necessary range of social skills through both experiential and didactic training by allowing her to take the appropriate actions in different scenarios through role-playing, simulations, and exercises.
CCT during the Conformist Stage
After spending some time in Qatar, Mellissa would start to view herself as part of the local organization by conforming to the socially approved norms, which could be termed as the conformist stage of her transition. Tahir and Ertek (2018) argue that inasmuch as new behaviors have been formed by adapting to the new culture, an individual does not have the required skills and confidence to address all day-to-day occurrences in the workplace. As such, training would help Mellissa learn on the job by doing what other people are doing. She would be allowed to interact with other managers from Qatar to ultimately consolidate cross-cultural skills in her behavioral pattern.
However, the CCT offered to Mellissa would not seek to make her a “native” or mirror the Qatari norms and values. The objective is to make improve her awareness of cross-cultural management and let her apply her experience and knowledge in leadership, as she deems necessary. In other words, CCT would expand Mellissa’s behavior repertoire and ability to adapt to different cultural settings.
Additionally, Mellissa’s family – husband and children, would be given the necessary support as they transition to their new lives in the country, because as Harrison and Michailova (2011, p. 630) argue, the expatriate’s “spouse and family’s ability to adjust to the host country is important to consider because it is a key factor for expatriates’ adjustment in the new country.” If Mellissa’s family is unhappy, she will not transition easily into her new work environment, which could ultimately affect her performance.
Other HRM Practices to Support Mellissa
Apart from the comprehensive CCT program designed to support Mellissa as she transitions to Qatar, the HR department should focus on other best practices to motivate and improve her performance. First, the organization should come up with the appropriate compensation package for Mellissa by using a banding system to determine her pay level through a localized compensation strategy. The company should offer Mellissa a total reward package that combines both benefits and compensation. As such, she would understand that the company values her contribution to its overall success. Additionally, the HR department should ensure compensation transparency.
A study conducted by PayScale found that the majority of workers do not know how their pay compares to rates in the market, which leads to the perception of underpayment (Perez 2017). Therefore, the HR department should communicate clearly and be transparent to inform Mellissa about how her pay compares to the rest of the managers in the region and across the industry.
Additionally, the HR department could focus on what motivates Mellissa and incentivize her performance using the same. Motivation could be either intrinsic, extrinsic, or both depending on the company’s understanding of Mellissa. Given that she has worked for the organization for 10 years, the HR department should be in a position to know how to motivate Mellissa best. Similarly, various benefits could be tailored into the compensation package to ensure that she is motivated to work hard.
As part of employee retention practices, the HR department could address issues to do with job security for Mellissa (Cloutier et al. 2015). If she is assured of her job security, she is likely to focus on her long-term contribution to the organization. Finally, the HR department should be involved in other areas such as housing, moving belongings, the possibility of Mellissa visiting the US during her stay in Qatar, schooling for her children, and a job for her husband. Ultimately, by getting this kind of support, Mellissa is likely to transition quickly to her new work environment and start delivering results for the company.
Conclusion
Expatriate work has become a common phenomenon in the modern globalized economy whereby companies are expanding internationally to remain competitive and profitable. CTT programs would play a central part in ensuring that Mellissa transitions easily to Qatar to start her new assignment. By understanding Hofstede’s cultural dimension for Qatar through training, Mellissa would be in a position to know how to best manage her new team of 50 individuals drawn from a diverse workforce. Apart from training, the HR department should employ other practices, such as giving reasonable remuneration and other associated benefits and rewards. Ultimately, the success of Mellissa in transitioning to Qatar and delivering results as expected would significantly depend on the kind of support she receives from the HR department.
List of References
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Harrison, E.C. and Michailova, S. (2012) ‘Working in the Middle East: Western female expatriates’ experiences in the United Arab Emirates, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(4), pp.625-644.
Hofstede, G. (2001), Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions,and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Naeem, A., Nadeem, A.B. and Khan, I.U. (2015) ‘Culture shock and its effects on expatriates’, Global Advanced Research Journal of Management and Business Studies, 4(6), pp.248-258.
Perez, T. (2017) ‘Most people (still) have no idea whether they’re paid fairly’, PayScale. Web.
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