Case Study Monsantos Repatriation Program

Case Study Monsantos Repatriation ProgramMonsanto is a globular provider of agri pagan products with revenues in excess of $4 billion and 10,000 employees. At any one clock time, the follow pull up stakes sop up 100 mid(prenominal) and juicyer- take aim managers on extended postings afield. Two thirds of these be Ameri send away(p)s who ar being affix foreign, while the remainder argon exotic subjects being employed in the United States. At Monsanto, managing comports and their repatriation begins with a rigorous selection process and intensifier cross-cultural training, both for the managers and for their families. As at many separate b every-shaped companies, the idea is to build an planetaryly minded cadre of extremely worthy managers who allow for lead the administration in the future.One of the strongest features of this design is that employees and their direct and receiving managers, or sponsors, create an agreement roughly how this assignment wi ll check let on into the firms business objectives. The focus is on why employees ar going oversea to do the subscriber line, and what their contribution to Monsanto will be when they redeem. Sponsoring managers argon expected to be explicit al nigh the kind of job opportunities the be take overs will have at once they sacrifice family.Once they arrive back in their post verdant, comport managers meet with cross-cultural trainers during question sessions. They are in addition given the prospect to showcase their contracts to their peers, subordinates, and superiors in special information exchanges. However Monsantos repatriation program foc customs on to a greater extent(prenominal) than just business it similarly attends to the familys reentry. Monsanto has found that difficulties with repatriation oft have more to do with personal and family- tie in issues than with forge- cogitate issues. But the personal questions obviously appropriate an employees on-th e-job executing, so it is Coperni cannister for the decomposenership to pay attention to much(prenominal) issues.This is why Monsanto offers move employees an opportunity to work through personal difficulties. astir(predicate) triad months aft(prenominal) they father al-Qaida, ostracizes meet for three hours at work with some(prenominal) colleagues of their choice. The debriefing session is a conversation aided by a trained facilitator who has an outline to serve easily the expatriate cover both the important aspects of the repatriation. The debriefing allows the employee to share important experiences and to enlighten managers, colleagues and friends round his or her expertness so a nonher(prenominal)s within the organization dismiss practice session almost of the globular experience. According to one participant, It sounds silly, but its such a agitated time in the familys life , you dont have time to sit owing(p) deal and take stock of whats happening . Youre going through the move, transitioning to a sensitive job, a new ho pulmonary tuberculosis, the children whitethorn be going to a new school. This is a kind of oasis a time to talk and put your feelings on the table. Ap get uply, it works since the program was introduced in the early 1990s, the attrition rate among deceaseing expatriates has dropped sharply.Questionsa. Why does Monsanto ask to assume expatriates for their US Operations?b. Why How does the repatriation course of instruction of Monsanto is helping hack attrition order?a. Why does Monsanto convey to recruit expatriates for their US Operations?INTRODUCTIONThe serviceman economy is moving off from the traditional economic system, where national markets were considered as distinct entities which were isolated from distributively other by trade barriers, barriers of distance, time and coating towards a innovational economic system, where the national markets are merging into one huge global market. In many industries it is no longer meaningful to talk more or less the Ameri cornerstone market, the German Market or the Japanese market. Therefore, as the instruction in the international business environment are forcing companies to ideate of the world as one vast market, the companies are being forced to aim up their manufacturing and marketing facilities in opposite external countries in battle array to do business globally. Ford Motors, for instance, has production plants in 38 countries and gross revenue outlets in over 200 countries (Ford 1997 Annual report, www.ford.com). In this regard, there are in todays world a silence increasing number of people, who are sent by companies on outside(prenominal) assignments for a longer or shorter period of time and it is those people that we in this paper will call forth to as expatriatesExpatriates play a discover office staff in the globalisation of many companies. The parent association often depends on expatriates to transmit the mettle values to employees in the overseas location besides of course putting in firm systems and processes. In short, expatriates assume a significant righteousness for shade building. B insufficiency and Gregersen, have given an excellent account of the issues conf employ in the management of expatriates. well-nigh companies struggle with their expatriate programmes. Some expatriates indemnification early because of job dissatisfaction others check to exit upto expectations and a few dedicate by and by completing an overseas assignment to join competitors. Successful companies calculate to follow three practices religiously.While managing international assignments, they focus on intimacy creation and global leadership development. Other considerations are given slight importance.While assigning people for overseas postings, they look for people whose technical foul skills are matched or exceeded by their cross cultural abilities.Finally, companies wit h a lucky expatriate programme cognize how to end an assignment and put the experience of the executives to faithful use, when they return by and by an overseas stint.Global companies after selecting the candidates place them on the jobs in various countries, including the home country of the employees. But, the employees of the global companies are also primed(p) in opposed countries. Even those employees who are placed initially in their home countries are sometimes farered to various remote countries. Thus, the employees of global companies mostly work and live in distant countries and their family phalluss also live in contrasted countries. Employees and their family members on the job(p) and/or living in foreign countries, are called expatriates in the foreign country.Expatriates are those living or working in a foreign country. The parent country nationals working in foreign subsidiary and third country nationals are expatriates. rangy no of expatriates normally have readjustment problems with the working civilization of the company, countrys culture, laws, and so on some expatriates adjust themselves easily, while some others face severe problems of adjusting. such(prenominal) employees about their assignments and return to home country by terminusinating their work contracts. Thus, the major problem with expatriates is adjustment in the new international environment.Expatriate is a person who leaves his country to work and live in a foreign country. Generally, expatriates are the nationals from the other countries than the forces and the MNCs parent country, i.e. expatriates are the third country nationals.The unavail cogency of the required skills and talents takes the organisation to source talent from other countries. The procedures and processes of recruiting and selecting the military man resources are never uniform even within a oneness organisation. The procedures vary according to the post, the skill set required, the natu re of work etcetera More of it is seen in the case of recruitment of expatriates. The recruitment and selection procedures and considerations are drastically different for expatriates than that of the domestic employees. Recruitment of expatriates conducts greater time, monetary resources and other indirect equals. Improper recruitment and selection can cause the expatriates to return hastily or a decline in their performance.A match between job (its requirements) and people can reduce the stiffness of other human resource activities and can affect the performance of the employees as salutary as the organisation.Recruiting expatriates require special considerations and skills to select the best person for the job. barely for a few expatriate selection policies, the expatriate selection cadence is widely distributedly organisation and nation specific. The recruiters for recruiting the expatriates should be carefully selected and trained. The recruitment strategies for expatr iates should be aligned with requirements of the job. The interviews of expatriates are designed in a manner to valuate their Adaptability to the new cultureIntercultural interactionFlexibilityProfessional expertise knightly international work experienceTolerance and open-mindednessFamily situationLanguage abilityAttitude and motivationEmpathy towards local cultureA few researches in this field also suggest that women are morale liable(predicate) to be successful in certain positions as expatriates as they are more sensitive towards new culture and people. Recruitment of expatriates should be followed by cultural and sensitivity training, and language training.Allegiance to parent firmLow empty agentsNatives eminentHearts at homeDual citizensLow postgraduateAllegiance to local operationMonsanto, the US chemicals manufacturer, starts work on suitable assignments for returning expatriates salutary in advance. The company not only arranges for debriefing on their return, but also id entifies suitable jobs based on the expatriates skills and organisational ineluctably.To sum up, the challenge for global companies is to develop a cadre of expatriates who will function as dual citizens, with a balanced allegiance to the central office and the country subsidiary. Creating such a cadre would involve careful selection processes, cross cultural training in the lead and after overseas assignments, swell planned line of achievement systems that lead to clearly defined job expectations and well cin one caseived repatriation programmes.NEED OF EXPATRIATES FOR MONSANTOExpatriate is a person who leaves his country to work and live in a foreign country. Generally, expatriates are the nationals from the other countries than the host and the MNCs parent country, i.e. expatriates are the third country nationals.From the HR-literature we know that expatriates are dissever into three types PCNs (Parent Country Nationals) HCNs (Host Country Nationals) and TCNs (Third Countr y Nationals)., we will focus on the different roles of these expatriates by point of departure in the following four general draw neares to international staffingEthnocentric plan of attack Because of a lack of qualified HCNs, PCNs involve all key positions in the foreign operation, which means that the subsidiary is highly dependent on the main office decisions. Some drawbacks from this approach could be express promotion opportunities for HCNs, income gaps between PCNs and HCNs, and that PCNs cannot be involved in local matters.Polycentric Approach In this approach HCNs occupy positions in the foreign subsidiary. Some transfers of HCNs to home base also take place. The approach eliminates the language barriers, and typically HCNs are little expensive. Some drawbacks from this approach could be communication problems between headquarter and subsidiary and moderate flight opportunities for HCNs as they cannot be promoted to headquarter.Geocentric Approach In this approach t he best people are selected for key positions regardless of their nationality. Nationality is not interpreted into account and a worldwide integration of employees takes place. In this approach an international police squad of managers is developed. Some drawbacks from this approach may be relate to situations, where host political sciences prefer employment of locals because of i.e. labor issues.Regiocentric Approach Here a companys international business is divided into international geographic regions (i.e. the European Union). The staff can only transfer within these regions.MONSANTO needs expatriates because of the following understandings-Expatriates first enter the picture when corporations have strong incentives to internalize activities. Typical, enterprises will engage in the type of internalization most suitable for the factor combination, market situations and government policies which they face When it is more profitable for this company to exploit its ownership adv antages in another country itself rather than to sell or license them.When a firm desires to extinguish bilateral monopoly because of market imperfections that is, when some markets incurs lower cost through hierarchical co-ordination (FDI) than through co-ordination by market prices then the need to use expatriates becomes evident. When an enterprise has location and ownership specific resource endowments and draws the need to internalize these because of market imperfections then the expatriate is born.The expatriate will likely be used to take out the imperfections of the market by being the liaison for the organization to that market. Having a manger that knows and understands headquarters desires and pauperizations is therefore of great importance when investing and operation in foreign markets.Securing transfer of engine room/filling positions, as companies send the expatriates abroad in order to transfer their technology to the foreign subsidiary. I.e. in countries where q ualified people are not available, companies send the PCNs to fill out the positions. This is mostly used by multinational and international firms.Securing the headquarter control, where the companies can exercise this control by using the PCNs in their foreign subsidiaries. In such situations firms try to incorporate the headquarters culture into the foreign trading operations, which in some cases may create cultural problems. oddly MNCs tend to demand administrative and financial control in their foreign operations.Opportunity for international experience/ management development, as several firms find international experience highly important before promoting their employees. Foreign transfers are here important in order to learn foreign cultures and environments. In such situations qualified HCNs are available but managers are still transferred to foreign subsidiaries to acquire association and skills.Securing organizational development, which also is called the Geocentric ap proach. This role is performed only by the best people at the best places without nationality barriers. Transfers can take place from headquarter to subsidiary, from subsidiary to headquarter, or from subsidiary to subsidiary. Nationality of employees does not matter in this situation, as the objective of this staffing strategy is to get to know about different cultures, create international networks, decentralization, and interaction between managers of different nationalities. In general, this strategy is mostly followed by larger global companies.Expatriates are amenable for transferring new technologies and penetrating new markets in foreign subsidiaries. Organizations opening a new production facility or branches in a foreign country will send an expatriate to facilitate entry into the new markets. PCNs are commonly sent out to initiate operations in fresh markets in countries with no qualified people to carry out the firms mandate. These PCNs render their expertise in the vit al global market within the new markets. Mostly, a firm will send a team of expatriates to work together effectively and penetrate the new market.Companies may want to exercise control over foreign subsidiaries by integrating the headquarters culture in foreign operations. This might be achieved by send PCNs who have been with the company for some time. These expatriates have to promote a mixing of inter-organizational skills and interpersonal skills, commonly used in the headquarters, to different employees in the subsidiaries. Most organizations with operations in foreign countries are quite successful and use expatriates to oversee financial and administrative functions.Expatriates have the opportunity to learn the foreign environment and culture during foreign assignments. This international experience and expansive knowledge gained by expatriates can be used to develop products that suit a specific culture, ensuring the firm remains competitive in the global market. The PCNs m ay be sent to foreign subsidiaries before they are promoted, so that they can learn the skills and knowledge to operate within a diverse environment. This foreign exposure helps expatriates develop international management competencies.Expatriates are sent to foreign countries where they can locate valuable resources and expertise, learn best practices and transfer all these assets to the company operations in the host country. Expatriates may gain expertise from different cultures, providing the company with learning opportunity from a diverse staff. Expatriates help the organization in forming international networks, creating a global market for products. They also promote decentralization of the organization by taking control of the various foreign operations.b. Why How does the repatriation programme of Monsanto is helping reduce attrition rates?INTRODUCTIONA largely overlooked but critically important issue in the training and development of expatriate managers is to prepare t hem for reentry into their home-country organization. Repatriation should be seen as the final link in an integrated, circular process that connects favorable selection and cross-cultural training of expatriate managers with completion of their term abroad and reintegration into their national organization. However, instead of having employees come home to share their knowledge and advance other high-performing managers to take the same international career track, expatriates too often face a different scenario.Often when they return home after a stint abroad-where they have typically been autonomous, well-compensated, and celebrated as a big fish in a little pond-they face an organization that doesnt know what they have done for the last few years, doesnt know how to use their new knowledge, and doesnt particularly care. In the worst cases, reentering employees have to scrounge for jobs, or firms will create standby positions that dont use the expatriates skills and capabilities and fail to make the most of the business investment the firm has made in that individual. Research illustrates the extremity of this problem. According to one study of repatriated employees, 60 to 70 percent didnt know what their position would be when they returned home. Also, 60 percent said their organizations were vague about repatriation, about their new roles, and about their future career progression within the company 77 percent of those surveyed took jobs at a lower level in their home organization than in their international assignments.Not surprising, 15 percent of returning expatriates leave their firms within a year of arriving home, and 40 percent leave within three years. The key to solving this problem is good human resource planning. Just as the HRM function needs to develop good selection and training programs for its expatriates, it also needs to develop good programs for reintegrating expatriates back into work life within their home-country organization, for p reparing them for changes in their sensual and professional landscape, and for utilizing the knowledge they acquired while abroad. kernel OF REPATRIATIONRepatriation, or re-entry, is the transition from a foreign country back to ones own after working overseas for a significant period of time. According to Black, Gregersen, and Mendenhall (1999) this last stage of the conveyance process has been neglected to some extent since the process of relocation to the home country and home organization has been assumed to be a unreserved matter for expatriates. However, repatriation problems are complex both for the company and the expatriate because they involve the challenges of personal re-entry and professional re-entry at the same time (Linehan and Scullion, 2002). Hodgetts and Luthans (2001), claim that for most expatriates, the return to the home country occurs within five years after leaving the home country. Furthermore, Dowling, et al. (1994) suggests that the repatriation proces s consists of different phases in which the expatriate and the company face different roles. The authors describe the repatriation process in four related phases. These are a) preparation, b) physical relocation, c) transition, and d) readjustment. The first stage, preparation, involves the development of plans for the future both for the company and the expatriate. In this stage the expatriate can gather information about the new position that will be offered in the home organization. supplying is followed by physical relocation of the expatriate. This stage refers to removing personal effects intermission ties with colleagues, and traveling to the country where the home organization is located. In this stage the company can offer comprehensive and personalized relocation assistance to reduce the amount of anxiety the repatriate may feel. Transition, the third step in the repatriation process, is the settling into temporary accommodations as well as making arrangements for admini strative tasks. This makes the process of re-entry to the home organization smoother. Readjustment, the last step, involves coping with reverse culture violate and career demands that are followed by the re-entry. (Ibid)According to Paik, et al. (2002), the process of an expatriates re-entry to the home organization is a complex interaction of several job-related factors, socio- cultural factors and family factors. The job-related factors generally address the relationship between the expatriate and the home office and issues related to the repatriates career progression after returning to the home country. Many repatriates return to an organization that does not know what they have accomplished overseas and how to use the repatriates experience appropriately. The socio-cultural factors are related to the repatriates ability to adjust and reintegrate into the home country culture. Sufficient cross-cultural preparation is needed to prepare the expatriate for working in another cult ure as well as for preparing the expatriate for working in the home organization upon return. Finally, the family factors address the touch of reintegration on the spouse and children. The cultural impingement that the family may experience can affect the repatriates ability to resume their responsibilities at the home office. One of the key transitional activities is to involve targeted communication concerning the expectation of the home office towards the return of the repatriate and his or her family. (Ibid) Suutari and Brewster, (2003) claim that for the employee, career progression is often the reason to accept an assignment abroad. As a consequence the re-entry position is frequently linked with whether the new position matches the repatriates career expectations. Although international assignments are seen as a key tool for developing international managers the positive corporation between an expatriation assignment and career development has been questioned. The authors further enjoin that there is a gloomy picture with organizations losing a lot of happy and experienced international staff at or shortly after repatriation. The fall-out rate is often a result of dissatisfaction among repatriates whose careers are blighted by their negative experience and who have to rebuild their careers elsewhere. (Ibid) However, according to Linehan and Scullion (2002) the costs of losing repatriates are significant because they are valuable and expensive human resources who are open(a) of understanding the workings of both corporate headquarters and overseas operations in addition they are responsible for critical co-ordination and control functions.MEANING OF REPATRITION PROGRAMMEBlack, et al, underline the importance of having a well-defined repatriation program in order to accomplish successful repatriation and to conquer the problems companies and employees face. However, Dowling, et al (1999) present a study by Harvey that state that only 31 percent of U.S companies have a program for repatriation. The three most frequent mentioned reasons for not having a program was a lack of knowledge about how to develop a program, the costs of training repatriates, and no perceived need by sack up management of having a program. (Ibid) Yongsun (2002), claims that in order for organizations to fully exploit the knowledge and skills of returning expatriates it is critical for the company to manage the repatriation process. Different theories and approaches of how a repatriation program can be developed exist in the literature. (Ibid) According to Jassawalla, et al (2004), a retrofit program at the end of the expatriates assignment makes myopic repatriation. Vermond (2001) suggests that the repatriation process should start as early as possible in an expatriates assignment, and should be continued after the expatriates return to the home country. The repatriation program as an ongoing process, have developed a theoretical model of how an effe ctive repatriation program can look like. In this model the authors have divided the repatriation process in three stages. This model identifies the key action go taken prior to departure, during the assignment, and after the repatriates return that appear to determine the organizational and individual outcomes. (ibid) However, the outcomes of these actions will not be discussed as mentioned in the delimitations in chapter one. As previously mentioned, companies and expatriates face different problems in the repatriation process. These problems affect the stages in the repatriation program developed differently. Therefore some problems are mentioned in several stages in order to justify different actions that can be taken in order to conquer the problems that either the company or the expatriate/repatriate face.Repatriation ProgramPrior to the expatriatesdepartureDuring the expatriates stayAfter the expatriates returnChoosing new assignments in thehome office-Quality of interactio n withsponsorsThe sponsor has a stake in therepatriates personal long-termcareer. The duties of a sponsor accept searching for positions thatmay suit the repatriate and try toensure that the repatriates skillswill be used upon return.Using the procedures designed toreorient the repatriate to the homeoffice Task clarityExpectations on the expatriateThe deadlines of the taskHow the performance will beevaluated-Career counsellingThe reasons for sending themanager overseasThe receiptss of the overseasassignment for the firm and themanagerThe managers career optionsupon return Formal policies for repatriationRepatriation policies should imply actions to be takenduring the pre-visit, visit andpost visit.-Perception of keep backwhile on assignmentRelated to issues included in therelocation package such asfinancial compensation, support tothe spouse and children to aid intheir adjustment to the foreignenvironment. Nature and oftenness ofcommunicationThis factor is related to thefrequency of communicationbetween the home office and theexpatriate while he or she isabroad. Who is responsible for thecontact and how the contact ismaintained are considered.-Perceptions of support uponreturnReceiving credit and recognitionfor the foreign assignmentUtilizing their new perspectives intheir new jobAdjusting to the differences in jobrelated factors of their new jobcompared to the foreign assignmentAlthough a lengthy discussion of underlying reasons for expatriate failure is unfortunately out of scope for this article, it can be argued that companies benefit from managing this repatriation process in order to exploit the knowledge and skills of returning expatriates. (3) High attrition rates have been found to be primarily related to organizations difficulties to effectively reposition their repatriated employees. This observation is a strong argument to stress repatriation management in HR departments. (4) Organizations may experience difficulties in conclusion candidates fo r expatriate positions when potential candidates see what will happen to expatriates once they return. (5) Ogberg, who coined the term culture shock in 1960, also considered a reverse culture shock that expatriates experience when returning home. Proper preparation for this future shock may prepare expatriates for the transition to domestic work and family settings. (5) Research in 2005 showed that repatriation adjustment was the strongest predictor of intent to leave the organization (Lee Liu, 2005).Retention and career management, therefore, should be central to planning expatriate positions. Positions should be gradually more challenging in order to challenge valuable employees and be part of a long term career path. Long term career planning foresees in building on previous assignments assigning repatriates unchallenging positions once back home may be regarded as an invitation to apply for positions elsewhere. break down expatriate management will therefore consider repatriat ion arrangements as good practice.In reality, however, organizations often seem to have forgotten who these expatriates are. HR departments fail to build on expatriates skills and experience because they do not know well what they have accomplished during the years. Expatriates experience frustration once their expatriate benefits and lieu will be lost upon repatriation. They will have to get used to normal levels of pay and taxation again. Their children will have to attend national curriculum schools, private school tuition fees will not be covered upon return to the home country. Establishing a mutual understanding and a clear definition of successful repatriation could help repatriates establish correct expectations before returning home. A proper preparation towards the end of expatriate assignments may ease the transition and avoid costly turnover for the organization. An ongoing lack of attention to repatriation management will likely continue to fuel high attrition rates.Av oiding Reverse Culture ShockWhile we often think of culture shock as a factor during a familys comer to a new country, dont underestimate the role that reverse culture shock can play when the assignment ends. After a period of time spent away from their home culture, family members may have trouble readjusting to the formerly familiar environment. This culture shock can affect any member of the family, but children are known to have the most difficulty readjusting. For example, friends and love ones while they may have stayed in touch during the time away will have moved on to new interests and p