ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to consider the expatriate experience, primarily from the perspective of an international assignment through an organization. The chapter looks at expatriates and their families and the challenges they face, and how companies can help ensure these assignments are successful. Specifically, the chapter will:
Provide a sense of the size of the expatriate population worldwide, and delineate those expatriates that are the focus in the chapter;
Consider some of the specific challenges encountered by expatriates because of their families as well as the cross-national differences expatriates and their families experience when moving from one country to another;
Introduce the idea of expatriate failure, the cost of failure, and the reasons for failure, and how companies can be proactive in order to avoid failure among expatriates;
Examine the phenomenon of culture shock and the stages of culture shock, and consider the need for expatriate adjustment to deal with culture shock, and how companies can promote and support adjustment;
Identify and explain a variety of factors that contribute to effective adjustment;
Pay particular attention to issues relating to the spouse and family and how they affect failure/success, with an emphasis on the need to include the spouse and family throughout the expatriation process;
Consider a variety of training methods for expatriates and their families, and explore ways in which companies can ensure training is matched to needs, and that the benefits of training outweigh the costs;
Briefly outline the need to address repatriation as part of the expatriation process;
Discuss the special needs of dual career couples in the expatriation process, including the role and needs of male spouses in these assignments;
280Outline some newer concerns based on sexual orientation and special needs, and the challenges these pose for international assignments, because of varying attitudes and infrastructure around the world.
