ABSTRACT
International assignments have long since represented a critical mechanism by which organizations that operate on a global scale can effectively manage and develop their global operations. However, the landscape of global mobility has altered significantly over the past several decades and the topography of global staffing is far more heterogeneous in the contemporary multinational enterprise (MNE) than has previously been the case in the past. This has important implications for the study and practice of international human resource management (IHRM). Organizations have physically relocated managers to foreign locations where business operations are based since approximately 1900 bc. The expansion in the variety of assignment types available and utilized by organizations presents certain implications for the HR function. The global mobility landscape is far from homogenous, which has consequences for both practitioners and scholars in the area. In this reading we have highlighted the changing topography of global mobility approaches in international organizations.
