Americans find mixed blessings in Asian job assignments

28th March 1997

The overseas job assignment in Asia is starting to lose its allure for American executives. With globalization going mad, companies are dispatching executives like lambs to the slaughter with the absolute minimum of preparation and strategic integration. Far from being a ticket to promotion back home, overseas job assignments are more likely to become a ticket to oblivion.

The reasons would be well known to many members of this forum. First of all, overseas organizations usually know very little of the business culture of the region before they send their people over. Secondly, the rush to build a base in Asia means that planning is given short shrift. Thirdly, and critically, most US and European companies have no idea how to run a regional office. Many head office managers often see the regional office as a threat and minimize the chances of it succeeding by a variety of means including withholding of information. For a regional office to succeed, no matter how painful, it must have a high degree of autonomy and fast access to company information. Finally, companies overestimate the costs of setting up in Asia, and the long term investment that is called for.

Some of the reasons behind this are outlined in a short but useful article in Fortune magazine entitled That overseas job could ruin your career.

It seems that those who send their people over here have limited overseas experience themselves, and a staggering number of repatriated expatriates leave their job shortly after returning!

Some tips from our own partners on successful expatriate employment is available here, and of course, you could do much worse than scanning the forum articles and columns weekly for much information on business practices and culture as part of your preparation.