ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an attempt to study the expert-counterpart relationship in a more general, if somewhat abstracted manner, in an effort to generate an understanding of the nature of the relationship and to point to more systematic and comprehensive research needed to improve effectiveness of this system of training. In private industry, expert and counterpart often work for the same multinational corporation, although the expert is likely to work primarily in the "home country" division of the corporation and the counterpart in the "international" division. The experts carrying out the functional responsibilities of the role rather than teaching the counterpart what to do and/or carrying out the duties jointly. In some cases the donor organization or the parent company may be more convinced of the value of the counterpart system than is the host agency or subsidiary. A phenomenon which can disrupt the counterpart relationship is political or organizational unrest in the host agency or the government itself.
