Impact of Employees Turnover

A Conceptual Model of Expatriate Turnover Author(s): Earl Naumann Reviewed work(s): Source: Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 23, No. 3 (3rd Qtr. , 1992), pp. 499-531 Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/155094 . Accessed: 09/10/2012 02:27 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www. jstor. org/page/info/about/policies/terms. jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive.We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email  protected] org. . Palgrave Macmillan Journals is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of International Business Studies. http://www. jstor. org A CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER Earl Naumann* Boise State University Abstract. Many factorsmay contributeto the high rate of expatriate turnover experienced by U. S. ultinational corporations. The objective of this article is to present a comprehensive model of the expatriateturnoverprocessby identifyingthe key contributing factors and suggesting intermediate linkages and relationships. The model appears to have both managerial and theoretical implications. The majority of U. S. multinationalcorporations(MNCs) suffer from an abnormally igh turnover ateamongexpatriate anagers, articularly hen h r w m p t T compared o bothforeign-based NCsanddomesticoperations. he turnover M ate commonly falls in the 20%-50%range for expatriatetransfers[Black 1988; Black and Stephens 1989; Copelandand Griggs 1985; Mendenhall and Oddou 1985;Tung 1988;ZeiraandBanai 1985], althoughturnover ay m be as high as 70% for some firns, particularlyn less developed countries i [Desatnick and Bennett 1978; Lanier 1979]. The problem of expatriate i turnovers more evidentamongU. S. -basedMNCs thanamongforeign-based MNCs. Tung [1982] noted that turnoverrates among U. S. MNCs are two to three times higher than foreign MNCs. For example, Tung's research M ndicatedthatonly 3%of European NCs and 14%of JapaneseMNCs had turnoverrates greaterthan 10% of expatriatetransferswhile 76% of U. S. MNCs had turnoverrates exceeding that level. b t Althoughdirectcomparisons etweendomestic(U. S. ) andexpatriateurnover ratesaredifficult,expatriateurnover atesappear o be at leasttwice domestic t t r rates. â€Å"Expatriateturnover†or â€Å"expatriatefailure† typically includes all individualswho quit or transferback to the U. S. priorto the completionof theirexpectedforeignassignments. ome researchersontendthat†expatriate S c turnover†may also occur up to a year or more after repatriation[Adler 1986; Harvey 1989].Conversely,virtuallyall domestic studies of turnover refer to the separationof the emp loyee from the organizationwith the o o t T preponderancef the studiesconcentratingn voluntaryurnover. o illustrate, in McEvoy ndCascio's 1987]meta-analytic a reviewof turnoverndperformance, a [ *Earl Naumannis Professorof Marketingat Boise State University. He received his Ph. D. from ArizonaState University. The authorwould like to thankthe reviewersfor their effort and contributions hich helped signifiw cantly improvesome crudeideas. Received: September1990; Revised: February,June, September1991 & January1992; Accepted: February1992. 499 500JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 twenty-four studies involving 7,717 individuals were cited. External turnover rates varied from 3% to 106% annually with a median of 22%. However, the subjects in the studies were drawn from nineteen rather generic job s categories including aerospace employees, pharmaceutical cientists, engineers, navy enlisted personnel, nurses, bank tellers, and small business new hires, for examp le. None of the subjects are directly comparable to expatriate managers. If the assumption can be made that expatriate managers are more similar to individuals such as engineers, scientists, and exempt lectronic employees than to individuals such as nurses, enlisted personnel, or small business new hires, the â€Å"normal domestic† turnover rate is more likely to approximate 10% annually [McEvoy and Cascio 1987]. This figure is consistent with the average of 12% for 303 firms reported by Mercer [1988]. Further, turnover rates typically decline at higher organizational levels so managerial turnover rates are likely to be less than the overall average figure. Thus, while no empirical research exists that directly compares turnover, the expatriate turnover rate appears to be at least twice the domestic rate.The extreme expatriate turnover rate results in high direct and indirect costs to U. S. MNCs. The direct costs associated with each expatriate turnover are estimated to be be tween $55,000 and $150,000 [Copeland and Griggs 1985; Harvey 1985; Mendenhall, Dunbar and Oddou 1987; Misa and Fabricatore 1979; Zeira and Banai 1985]. Therefore, the aggregate direct costs for expatriate turnover for U. S. MNCs are quite high [Copeland and Griggs 1985]. Additionally, the indirect costs associated with expatriate turnover are estimated to be even greater [Harvey 1985].The indirect costs include items such as reduced productivity and efficiencies, lost sales, market share, competitive position, unstable corporate image, and tarnished corporate reputation. While turnover is costly in domestic operations, turnover is apparently even more costly and troublesome in overseas operations. Due to the relatively high frequency of expatriateturnoverand the associated costs, the international business literature has been punctuated with efforts to isolate the factors causing difficulty in cross-cultural-adjustment.The three areas receiving the greatestinteresthave been the sele ction of the â€Å"ideal† expatriate manager [Abe and Wiseman 1983; Church 1982; Mendenhall and Oddou 1985; Mendenhall, Dunbar and Oddou 1987; Tung 1982, 1988; Zeira and Banai 1985], the underdeveloped state of expatriation and cross-cultural training programs [Black 1988; Black and Mendenhall 1990; Brislin 1979; Mendenhall and Oddou 1985; Kohls 1985; Schwind 1985; Torbiorn 1982; Tung 1982, 1984], and the difficulties encountered by the expatriate's spouse and/or family [Black 1988; Black and Stephens 1989; Grain and Cooper 1981; Harvey 1985; Tung 1982].While these factors are undoubtedly contributors to the turnover problem, study of these variables in isolation or jointly is likely to result in very little advancement of the understanding of the expatriate turnover problem. The reason for the low probability of significant improvements flowing from this stream of research is that there are CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATE TURNOVER 501 t t manyothervariableshatinfluence heturn over rocess. pecifically, onceptual p S c a models of the domesticturnover rocesshave pursued more comprehensive p pproachthan that found in the international usiness literature,and these b r i modelshavebeen generally alidated y subsequent esearchn organizational v b behaviorand appliedpsychology. While there have been numerousattemptsto model the domestic turnover process, two turnovermodels have received the strongestsupportbased on the frequency of citations in subsequentliteratureand on the number of attemptsto empiricallyvalidatethe constructsandrelationships. he model T of Mobley, Griffeth,Handand Meglino [1979] suggestedthatcharacteristics of the organization,he individual, ndthe environmenthapean individual's t s perceptionsand satisfactionleading to the formationof intentionsto stay or quit. The Steers and Mowday [1981] model addedadditionalconstructs of job performancelevel, efforts to change the situation, and non-work influences. In addition, he SteersandMowdaymodel exp andedthe affective t responsesto the job to includejob satisfaction,organizational ommitment, c andjob involvement. The satisfaction,commitment,and involvementof an w t individual ould lead to the formation f intentions o stay or quit. Together, o these models have guided or influencedturnoverresearchfor a decade.In thattime, both models have generallystood the test of empiricalvalidation. Thus,it appearsthatconstructs entralto these models may be generalizable c to the internationalnvironment ndhelp explainexpatriateurnover. y using e a t B theoretical odelsfromthe areaof appliedpsychology,this approach ttempts m a to address the criticisms of the internationalliteraturefrequentlyvoiced [BlackandMendenhall 990;Kyi 1988;Newmann, hattandGutteridge 978]. B 1 1 These authors ave notedthatthe internationalusinessliterature ften is not h b o integratedinto a theoreticalframeworkand appearspiecemeal and ad hoc.The purposeof this articleis to presenta model of expatriate urnover ased t b o n constructs entralto the Mobley,et al. [1979] andthe Steersand Mowday c [1981]models. Additionally,he expatriateurnover odelattemptso integrate t t m t concepts from the international usiness literature here possible. By purb w suing a more comprehensive heoreticalapproach nd recognizingthe comt a plex interactiveand longitudinaleffects, an improvedunderstanding f the o expatriateturnoverprocess may result. This improvedunderstanding ay m contributeto the developmentof retentionstrategiesthat would reduce the high turnoverrate.Lee and Mowday [1987] provided several reasons for the value of comprehensive odelsof turnover. irst,comprehensive odels m F m identify and categorizethe variousfactorsthatpreviousresearchhad found to be important. Second, models provide directionfor empiricalresearch, thus imposing discipline on researchers nd reducingthe occurrenceof an a ad hoc researchagenda. Finally, models help managersthink heuristically about a broaderrange of causes of turnoverrather than concentratingon one or two factors. Therefore,the model of expatriateturnovermay be of value to both researchers nd practicingmanagers. 502 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 THE MODEL The basic rationale that underlies this model is that the fundamentalconcepts associated with the turnover process in domestic situations can be adapted to model the expatriate turnover process. Thus, the discussion of major constructs will summarize the existent body of research where possible although there is an absence of empirical studies of a variety of unique international factors. Also, the model of expatriate turnover is implicitly oriented toward middle to upper level managers.These organizational levels appear to be most commonly represented among expatriates [Tung 1981]. While many of the constructs will also apply to operatives, the propositions and discussions adopt a managerial orientation. The discussion of the model (Figure 1) will flow from the predicto rvariables through intermediate linkages to the turnover decision. The sequence of discussion is intended to follow the direction of predominant causality in this turnover model. Three categories of predictor variables have received general empirical support domestically as being important elements of the o mployee turnoverprocess:job/task characteristics, rganizationcharacteristics, three groups of variables collectively and worker characteristics. These influence an expatriate's degree of job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and involvement in the achievement of the organization's goals. These attitudes are formed with respect to the parent organization, and, since most expatriates are initially transfers from domestic positions, the attitudes have probably been formulated predominantly in a domestic environment.The expatriate's general satisfaction with, commitment to, and involvement in the organization may be moderated by perceptions of the career path resulting fr om the international assignment or by the overall level of cross-culturaladjustment. The expatriate's satisfaction, commitment, and involvement may also be moderated by the employee's family situation and the family's overall satisfaction with the international experience or by o the characteristics f the countryto which the expatriateis assigned.Collectively these factors will lead to the modification of satisfaction, commitment, and involvement with respect to the organization in the foreign assignment. Due to the developmental state of the international business literature and the small percentage of international human resource articles appearing in leading business journals [Black and Mendenhall 1990; Boyacigiller and Adler 1991; Rosenzweig and Singh 1991], the specific international variables influencing expatriateattitudes are largely unknown.However, these attitudes toward the organization in the foreign assignment may result in the expatriate clarifying the intent to change employers, stay with the same employer but transfer â€Å"home,† or stay in the international assignment. The expatriate's intentions may be modified by perceptions of both external and internal employment alternatives. The intentionsmay result in explicit search behavior, ultimately resulting in an initial turnover decision. The turnover decision, even if the choice is to stay, may result in changes in the employee's job CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER 03 0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0c U 0~~~~~~~0 0 .. 1 I=- I z0 LL †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ E 0 4) ll l la E L, k . ; ~~~~0 , 504 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 and career expectations and influence subsequent performance. A decision to leave may not be manifested for an extended time period and may result in other withdrawal cognitions. To assist in clarifying the expected relationships in the model, research propositions are presented after each discussion. The degree of detail in each propos ition is largely a reflection of the existent body of research.If research is available that suggests specific relationships and the direction of influence, the propositions are relatively detailed. If research is lacking and the expected relationships are based instead on intuitive reasoning, the propositions are stated very generally. Also, although this is a model of expatriate turnover, only a few of the propositions deal explicitly with turnover. The reason for this is that turnover is the behavioral outcome of a complex process and the propositions address the specific antecedent relationships among variables. Each of these variables will be addressed individually.However, clarifying the relatively ambiguous concept of â€Å"turnover† may be useful first. Turnover Turnover among domestic operations typically refers to the separation of the individual employee from the firm. This definition is too narrow for the international environment and must be broadened to include several other dimensions of turnover since expatriate turnover often involves transfers internal to the organization. Turnover may be categorized as external or internal, voluntary or involuntary, and functional or dysfunctional. External turnover occurs when an individual leaves an organization to seek employment elsewhere.While this type of turnoveris most common domestically, there is no research indicating the frequency of external turnover as a component of total expatriate turnover. By any measure, external turnover is costly and results in reduced short-term efficiency, at the very least. Internal turnover occurs when an individual changes positions but remains in the same firm. This situation is apparently more common in international operations than in domestic situations [Tung 1984]. Essentially this occurs when an expatriate manager is transferred back to the U. S. or another internationallocation.Research has indicated that many expatriate managers find the repatriation process much more stressful and frustrating than the initial expatriationand repatriationexperiences may be a cause of subsequent turnover [Adler 1980; Harvey 1989]. Also, many expatriates may develop an intention to quit while on foreign assignment and view the transfer â€Å"home† as simply an intermediate step to leaving the firm [Harvey 1989]. Turnover may also be voluntary or involuntary (from the employee's viewpoint). Voluntary turnover occurs when the employee quits or requests and receives a transfer.Involuntary turnover occurs when an employee is fired or transferred at the will of the organization. By integratingthese concepts, a four-celledmatrixcan be developed (Figure 2). The turnover models of Mobley, et al. [1979] and Steers and Mowday CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER 505 r [1981] and much of the subsequentdomesticturnover esearchin organizational behavior and applied psychology concentrateon cell 1, voluntary external turnover,and to a lesser degree, on cell 2, involuntaryexternal f turnover. The international usiness literature ocuses primarilyon cells 3 b i a and4, voluntary ndinvoluntarynternal urnover, ith little or no distinction. t e Very little discussionin the international usiness literature xists of cell 2, b involuntaryexternal turnover,or cell 1, voluntaryexternal turnover. The model presentedhere will apply generally to all four types of turnover. f While the model is conceptuallymost appropriateor both types of voluntary turnover,the model also has implicationsfor both types of involuntary w turnover. he implicationsor the varioustypes of turnover ill be addressed T f in subsequentsections of this article.Turnovermay also be conceptualizedas functionalor dysfunctionalto the firm. Functionalumoveris typicallyviewed as beneficialto the organization. t An example might be when a low-performingexpatriatequits or is fired, t thus creatingan opportunity o staff the position with a more capable indit vidual. Anotherexampleo f functional urnover ightbe the internaltransfer m and/or promotionof a high-performing xpatriate. There appearsto be a e dark side of functional turnoverthat may be easily overlooked. When a t â€Å"low performing†expatriate eaves the organization, he departure ay be l m he organization s a resultof the individual'snability o effectively a t viewedby i o make the cross-cultural djustment r as a result of spouse or family proba lems [Tung 1982]. However, it appearslikely that the cause of â€Å"low performance† may be mistakes made by the organizationin many cases. To illustrate,the selection criteriafor expatriatemanagersmay be inappropriate, expatriation raininginadequate or nonexistent),the job may be poorly t ( designed, the performanceexpectationsunreasonable,or the performance W appraisal rocessinadequate. hilethe expatriate ay be a â€Å"low performer,† p m he low performance ay be due to the organization'smismanagednternam i tional efforts,not the expatr iate'sncompetence. ennings[1985] noted that i J companies are often the cause of their high turnoverrates due to poor managementdevelopment and misuse of talented people. Failure by the t organization o use the skills developedin the international nvironment y e b a the expatriates apparently commonsourceof dissatisfactionmongrecently i a repatriated anagers [Harvey 1989]. If an expatriateis viewed as a low m t t perforner,identifying he causesof low performancesppears o be important. a oViewing the departure f a low perfonneras a good thing may, indeed, be very simplistic. Dysfunctionalturnoverdamagesthe firm in some way by having a valued employee quit or requestan early transfer. Dysfunctionalturnoveris most as commonly onceptualized beinginitiated y theemployee lthoughnvoluntary c b a i internaltransfersare also undoubtedly ysfunctionalin the short tenn. d The functional/dysfunctionalonceptualization ould apply to all four types c c of turnoverin Figure 2. The point to be made h ere is that not all turnover 506 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992FIGURE 2 Types of Turnover Voluntary (For the Employee) External (To the Organization) Involuntary (For the Employee) I Quit! You're Fired! 12 34 Internal (To the Organization) Transfer Me! You're Transferred! is bad; some turnover may actually be beneficial and afford the organization an opportunityto improve. However, since a significant portion of expatriate managers are initially â€Å"internal transfers† from a domestic assignment rather than â€Å"new hires,† the expatriates are likely to be high performers in the domestic environmentdue to the expatriateselection process.Specifically, a manager's â€Å"domestic track record† is often a major factor in the expatriate selection process [Mendenhall and Oddou 1987; Tung 1981]. Thus, it may be hypothesizedthat dysfunctionalturnoveris more common among expatriates than among domestic managers (i. e. , losing valued empl oyees). A further complication to the traditional approach to turnover research also t appearsnecessary regardingthe appropriate ime horizon. Turnovermay occur significantly after repatriation but be caused by the international experience or the repatriationprocess.An expatriatemanager may become disenchanted while on the international assignment and actually formulate an intention to quit [Adler 1986]. However, the expatriate may simply â€Å"gut it out† until b transferred ack to the U. S. , and a new job is found. Alternatively, a expatriate may become disenchanted with the organization due to events occurring during the repatriation process and subsequently leave the organization. However, turnover after repatriation introduces many issues not addressed in the expatriate turnover model presented here.Therefore, the discussion in this article is limited to turnover that occurs while an expatriate is actually on the foreign assignment. The model does adopt a decidedly tempo ral dimension, however. Steers and Mowday [1981] contend that the intention to quit is usually manifested behaviorally within a year and that the relationship between intention and turnover subsequently weakens. The reason that an extended time horizon is necessary in turnover studies is the existence of gradual changes in worker attitudesleading to behavioralchanges, a phenomenareferredto as â€Å"progression theory† [Rusbult, Farell, Rogers and Mainous 1988].Specifically, declining CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER 507 workerattitudesdo not instantlyresultin the formationof intentionsto quit. For example,an expatriate ay experiencelow levels of attitudes or several f m monthsbeforethinking boutquitting ndthenultimatelyormingthe intention a a f to quit. Likewise, an employee may have low levels of attitudes,but the t situationmay improve,resultingin an intention o stay with the organization. Since the expatriateturnover ate appearsto be roughlytwice the domestic r ate, a variety of unique internationalfactors apparentlycontributeto a gradualdeterioration f worker attitudesover a period of time for many o expatriates. anyexpatriates ay have positive attitudesinitiallybut graduM m ally develop more negative attitudes. Thus, a longitudinalperspective is t important o the model. t Regardlessof the type or timing of turnover, he ultimateturnoverdecision is precededby antecedent ariablesandintermediateinkages. The predictor v l variablesof job/task,organization, nd workercharacteristics re the initial a a startingpoint in many studies of employee turnover.Job/Task Characteristics Of the threebroadcategoriesof predictorvariables,job/taskcharacteristics have received the most researchattentiondomestically[Glisson and Durick 1988] while receiving very little attention internationally. eceiving the R strongest support as predictorsof employee attitudes are role ambiguity [Teely, French and Scott 1971; Lyons 1971; Abdel-Halim 1981; Bedeian and Armenakis 1981 ] and skill variety [Bartel 1982; Marsh and Manari 1977; Price and Mueller 1981; Dewar and Werbel 1979; Gerhart 1987; Glisson and Durick 1988; Blau and Boal 1989].Thus, the greaterthe role clarity and the more diverse the skills needed, the more likely the worker is to be satisfied,committed,and involved. Additionally,the characteristics of role conflict, task identity, and task significance have received support as predictor ariables. It appears,therefore, hatissues relatedto the specific v t task environmentcan influence the satisfaction,commitment,and involvement of workersat a variety of organizationalevels. l The uniquenessand dynamismof international nvironments ay lead both e m to more role ambiguity and task variety among expatriates.The volatile externalenvironment ay cause MNCs to have less clarityin theirposition m descriptionsas managersrequiremore flexibility to respond to changes. m Therefore, orerole ambiguity ay exist whichmay lead to reducedsatisfacm tion amongexpat riate anagers. owever,overseasassignments ftenrequire m H o managersto use a broaderrange of general managementskills than their domestic counterpartsCzinkota,Rivoli and Ronkainen1989; Edstromand [ Galbraith1977]. This implies that increasedtask varietywill contributeto a higher level of satisfaction among expatriatemanagers.Thus, job/task characteristics ay offset one anotherin theircontributiono an expatriate's m t workattitudes. Withone exception,these constructs enerallyhave not been g investigatedin the international nvironment. e 508 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 While most of the studies cited above utilized domestic U. S. subjects, Black [1988] found that role ambiguity, conflict, overload, and discretion were related to the cross-cultural adjustment of American expatriates in Japan. The direction of Black's findings was generally consistent with the domestic literature.A potentially importantconsideration in the international situation is the similarity of the domestic and foreign jobs performed by the expatriate [Dowling and Schuler 1990]. If the foreign job requirementsare quite similar to the domestic position previously held, the transition and work adjustment should be easier. If the domestic and foreign positions are highly divergent, the expatriate must adjust to both a new work environment as well as a new cultural and physical environment. Another job/task characteristic that may be of importance internationally is the concept of work grouphomogeneity. Althoughusing a domestic U.S. sample frame, O'Reilly, Caldwell, and Barnett [1989] found that aspects of work group homogeneity were related to the degree of social integration which was negatively related to turnover. Since foreign work groups in U. S. MNCs are often composed of U. S. expatriates, host country nationals, and third country nationals, a good deal of work group heterogeneity is likely to exist. This diversity is likely to inhibit the individual soci alization process and result in lower levels of cohesiveness. The lower level of social integration may contributeto reduced attitudesthat would ultimately lead to increasedturnover.Work group homogeneity may also be conceptualized on a broader, more macro level. In addition to the fit between the expatriate and other job associates, the degree of homogeneity between the foreign subsidiary and parent corporation may be important [Brittain and Freeman 1980; Lincoln, Olson and Hanada 1978]. The more similar the composition and functioning of the foreign work group to the parent, the more positive the expatriate's attitudes are likely to be. Milliman, Von Glinow and Nathan [1991] contend that MNCs attempt to apply isomorphism to foreign subsidiaries as a mechanism of control and continuity.Based on the literature that addressed job/task characteristics, both domestically and internationally, the following propositions were developed. Proposition 1 There is a positive relationshipbetwee n skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and task significance and expatriate satisfaction, commitment, and involvement. b Proposition 2 Thereis a negativerelationship etweenrole ambiguity and role conflict and expatriate satisfaction, commitment, and involvement. Proposition 3 The degree of similarity between the expatriate's domestic and foreign jobs is positively related to xpatriate atisfaction,commitment,and involvement. s CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER 509 Proposition4 There is a positive relationship between work group homogeneity and expatriate satisfaction, commitment,and involvement. OrganizationCharacteristics Behavioral, structural,and demographiccharacteristicsof organizations have received researchattentionas predictorsof satisfaction,commitment, and involvement. Behavioralissues such as participationn decisionmaking i have received strong support [Gladstein 1984; Glisson and Durick 1988; Millerand Monge 1986].Leadership onsideration as also receivedsupport c h [Morrisand Sherman1981;Batemanand Strasser1984; Glisson andDurick 1988; Blau and Boal 1989]. Dimensions of organizationstructuresuch as centralization Child 1972; Hage and Aiken 1969], differentiation Redding [ [ and Hicks 1983; Bimbaum and Wong 1985], and formalization[Redding andHicks 1983;Child1972;HageandAiken 1969]havealso beenempirically validatedas predictors f attitudes. emographic rganizationalactorssuch o D o f as organization ge, workgroupsize, andtype of industry ave receivedweak a h upportas predictive variables. Cotton and Tuttle's [1986] meta analytic review providesa more comprehensive eview of these variables,and their r findings indicated U. S. studies differed from non-U. S. studies in several ways. In U. S. studies, an employee's genderhad less impacton satisfaction and unions had more influence on turnover. Satisfactionwas less reliably tled to turnoverin non-U. S. firms. In the internationalnvironment varietyof othervariables ppear otentially e a a p A import ant. s Dowling and Schuler[1990] noted, a firm's structure, ontrol c echanisms, and human resource policies are linked to the evolutionary P processof globalization. ucik[1985] also notedthatthe evolutionary rocess p is continuousas organizationscontinuallyadapt to dynamic international environments. Although there are several organizationchange models, the concept of organizationlife cycles (OLC)has been applied internationally Adler and [ Ghadar1989; Milliman, Von Glinow and Nathan 1991]. As organizations progressfrom one stage to another fouror five stages are typicallyincluded) ( an MNC's strategy, structure,and human resource policies also need to change.Milliman, Von Glinow and Nathan [1991] noted that change is needed so that MNCs can optimizetheir â€Å"fit. † There is a need to optimize the externalfit of the foreign subsidiaryto the local environmentand the parent ompanyto the domesticenvironment. hereis also a need to optimize c T the internalfit between the parent and foreign subsidiary. Complicatingthe optimizationof both externaland internalfit is the need for flexibility due to environmental ifferencesand changes. For example,Black, Mendenhall d and Oddou [1991] noted that flexibility in the work environmentis related to aspects of cross-cultural djustment. illustratethe importance f these T a o concepts, when an organization becomes more experienced internationally, 510 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 the amount of role conflict and role ambiguity may be reduced as the a s organization trategically daptsmore effectivelyto the foreignenvironment. ( c m Also, the adaptation ay lead to a differentstructural onfiguration foreign sales agent versus foreign sales office versus vertically integratedforeign operation)that could enhance satisfaction,commitment,and involvement though improvedjob design. t uThe open systems approach sed by manyorganizationalheoryresearchers [Lawrenceand Lorsch 1967; Pfeffer and Salancik 1978; Thompson 1967] d clearly implies that the natureof the environment ictates the appropriate e w S structure. ince most researchers ould agreethatinternationalnvironments a t relative o the U. S. , thenmoreflexible,decentralized,utonomous aredynamic, T foreign structureswould be appropriate. his view of more decentralized foreignsubsidiariesis also consistentwith the trendtowardflatterstructures in the U. S. and with the trend of workerempowerment. Specifically, as a rganizations ttemptto become more innovativeand responsive,decisionl making authorityis often forced to lower organization evels. While these variablesare intuitivelylogical predictorsof satisfaction,commitment,and e involvementand may be relatedto a firm's multinational volution in the been very little empiricalinvestigationor international ontext, there has c validationof these constructs. h training ave receiveda good deal of attention a Expatriationnd cross-cultural D business literature. espite the rapidincreas ein world in the international o e tradeflows in the pasttwentyyearsandtherelated mergence f multinational f e corporations, xpatriation rainingfor managersin U. S. multinationalirms is still in its infancy. Specifically, in multinationalcorporations,training a programs re generallysuperficialand incompleteor nonexistent. In Tung's [1981] study, only 32% of respondingfirms had formalizedtrainingprot t grams. Furthermore,he focus of the formaltrainingprograms endedto be t c on environmental oncerns. Country-level rainingin cultureand language was uncommon. DunbarandEhrlich[1986] and Schwind[1985] also found t that the majorityof firms had no formalexpatriation rainingfor managers. i thatthe stateof expatriation rainingn U. S. multinational Tung [1981]suggests corporationsis a major reason for expatriateturnoverrates in U. S. firms a being two to threetimes the level of those in European nd Japanesefirms. That is, the resultof underdeveloped xpatriationrainingprograms ay be m t e that expatriate anagers xperiencevery high levels of initialrole amtbiguity m e f P s and conflict which in turnreduces workattitudes. roviding upport or this t position is Black and Mendenhall's[1990] review of cross-culturalraining i research. They noted that cross-culturalraining s positivelyrelatedto skill t a development, djustment,ndperformance. t c An additionalfactorthatmay be an important ontributoro turnoveris the c t conceptof corporate ulture. Organizationsypicallydevelopa predominant, identifiableculturealthoughit is rarelystatedexplicitly [Wilkinsand Ouchi 1983]. Also, an organization'sculture can vary across functional areas, CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER 511 operatingdivisions, or geographicallocations [Gregory1983; Wilkins and Ouchi 1983]. Since most expatriatemanagersare internaltransfersrather than new hires, the assumptionprobably can be safely made that most i xpatriates ave been socially integrated nto the parentfirm's predominant h culture. If the work gro up at the foreign location has developed a unique and differentcorporateculture,the expatriatemay experience adjustment c difficultiesdue to the divergent otporate ulture. pecifically,the expatriate's c S w valuesandorganizationaleliefs may be incongruent ith the local operation, b hence decreasedwork attitudesmay result. While this issue is conceptually similar to work group homogeneity, subunit corporateculture is a more p b training rograms. pervasiveconceptandcouldbe influenced y cross-cultural bProposition5 There is a significantrelationship etween dimena sions of a foreign subsidiary'sstructure nd expatriatesatisfaction,commitment,and involvement. t The moredecentralizedndautonomoushe foreign a subsidiary,the more positive the work attitudes. b Proposition 6 Thereis a positiverelationship etweenthe quality of expatriationrainingand expatriate atisfaction, t s commitment,and involvement. b Proposition 7 Thereis a positive relationship etween an organization'sstageof multination al evolution, articipation p in decisionmaking,leadershipconsideration,and s a expatriateatisfaction,ommitment,ndinvolvement. Proposition8 There is a positive relationshipbetween the similarity of a firn's predominantcorporateculture and local foreign corporatecultureand expatriate satisfaction,commitment,and involvement. Worker Characteristics o Empiricalinvestigationdomesticallyof characteristics f the workerhave o a c yielded mixed resultsas predictors f satisfaction, ommitment, nd involvement. Personality[Staw and Ross 1985; Staw, Bell and Clausen 1986], age [Dewar and Werbel 1979], being female [McNeely 1984], and job tenure [Coverdaleand Terborg1980] have received weak supportas predictorsof satisfaction.However, personality [Hulin and Blood 1968; Steers and Spencer 1977], marital status [Porterand Steers 1973], age [Morris and Sherman1981], tenurein the organization Stevens,Beyer and Trice 1978], [ and education[Steers 1977] have received strong supportas predictorsof commitm ent. Age, tenure, and maritalstatus (being married)are usually y w positivelyassociatedwith commitment hile yearsof education, earsin the samejob, and alternative mployment pportunitiesre negativelyassociated o a e with commitment. Althoughmicro level contingencytheory models would contend that individual characteristicswould be importantpredictorsof 12 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 attitudes in different work contexts, there is apparently little research that provides consistent direction in this area [Glisson and Durick 1988]. The level of performance of the employee is also a possible predictor of satisfaction, commitment, and involvement. Research has generally supported the contention that performance leads to satisfaction [Ivancevich 1978; Lawler and Porter 1967; Sheridanand Slocum 1975]. Therefore,an individual's performance level is generally thought to be positively associated with satisfaction, commitment, and involvement.In the international context, a variety of worker characteristics have been discussed or empirically investigated. Worker characteristics postulated as important to expatriates are technical competence [Hawes and Kealey 1981; Tung 1982], relational abilities [Tung 1982; Mendenhall and Oddou 1986], and stress reduction [Abe and Wiseman 1983; Hammer, Gundykunst and Wiseman 1978; Barrettand Bass 1976; Ratiu 1983]. Other possibly important workercharacteristics re personality[Torbiom 1982; Dapsin 1985; Mendenhall a and Oddou 1986] and tolerance for ambiguity [Hammer, Gundykunst and Wiseman 1978; Ratiu 1983].Another worker characteristicthat may be positively associated with intemational success is the individual's years of previous international experience [Black and Stephens 1989; Church 1982]. An individual who was unsuccessful in a previous international ssignmentwould likely limit subsequentinternational a assignments. Conversely, an individual who has experienced success internationally may be more re ceptive to subsequent international assignments. Thus, simple trial and errormay result in an expatriate's years of international experience being positively related to satisfaction, commitment, and involvement.Somewhat related to internationalexperience, particularlyin a specific country, is an expatriate's linguistic ability. The more fluent the expatriate in the language of the host country, the easier the social integration to both the work and general environment. Thus, linguistic ability should be positively related to work attitudes. Two other rather controversial types of worker characteristics exist, an expatriate's sex and marital status. The majority of expatriates are male, 97% in Adler's [1984] study, and most are married [Black 1988].Since most expatriatesare male, does the high turnoverrate caused by an expatriate's gender, coincidentally vary with it, or is it totally unrelated to it? Unfortunately, this topic has not been empirically investigated in an international environment. Thai and Cateora [1979] noted that being a woman expatriate can be a significant liability due to the culturalbias in some foreign countries (i. e. , in the Middle East, Latin America, and Japan). However, Adler [1984, 1986] and Adler and Izraeli [1988] contend that cultural bias against women in management often does not apply to expatriates.Cultural views of women are often restricted primarily to women of that country. A woman expatriateis usually viewed predominantlyas a foreigner,who also incidentally happens to be a woman. In some cases, being a woman was enough of a CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER 513 novelty to be viewed as a positive asset. As Adler and lzraeli [1988] noted, the overwhelming conclusion about women expatriatesis their scarcity. While there are more U. S. women managersand expatriates(as a percentage of the total workforce) thanin most countries,the proportion f women o anagersin almost all countriesis low due to the same general reasons: culturalsanctions, educationalbarriers,legal restrictions,corporateobstacles, and women's disinterestin pursuingmanagerialcareers. Due largely to the scarcity of women expatriates,there is no data that suggests that women would have more, or less, positive work attitudesthan men. Maritalstatus has also received researchattention,but with mixed results. i Some authors ontendthatbeing marrieds a stabilizing actorfor expatriates, f c while otherscontendthatspouse and family problemsare the leading cause of expatriate ailure[Tung 1984].While some MNCs develop cross-cultural f f i trainingprograms or an expatriate's pouse, the assumption s usuallymade s thatthe expatriate s male andthe spouse is female [Adlerand Izraeli 1988]. i t o Unfortunately, he literature f the impact of maritalstatus is scarce so no directionof relationshipcan be inferred. SteersandMowday[1981]contended hatworker xpectations ay be related t e m to subsequentattitudes. Their discussion focused on â€Å"met expect ations,† or the extent to which pre-employmentexpectations were subsequently fulfilled by job expenrences. n arguingfor realismin pre-employmentnterI i iews, Steersand Mowdayfelt that â€Å"met expectations† nd workerattitudes a were positively related. The same concept may apply internationally. f a I manager's pre-international xpectations differ greatly from subsequent e experiences,an expatriate'sattitudeswould likely decline. While expatriation trainingmay provide an opportunity or a realisticjob preview, other f techniquessuch as preview trips, may also help clarify expectations. Proposition9 Thereis a positive relationship etween an expab triate's tenure, organizationlevel, performance, yearsof previousinternationalxperience, inguise l tic ability,age, andrelational bilityand expatriate satisfaction,commitment,and involvement. Proposition10 Thereis a positiverelationship etweenthe degree b to whichan expatriates9sre-intemational p expectaaremetin subsequentnterna tional tions i experiences and satisfaction,commitment,and involvement. a T t C Satisfaction, ommitmen4nd Involvement owardhe ParentOrganization a i l Satisfaction,commitment, nd involvementare importantntermediateinkages between predictorvariablesand employee tumoverdecisions. Because of theirimportance, hese constructs ave receivedextensiveconceptualand t h empiricalattention. Models of employee turnover ave explicitly addressed h heirrole [Blau and Boal 1987; Bluedom 1982; Mobley, et al. 1979; Steers 514 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 and Mowday 1981; Price 1977]. Additionally, over one hundred empirical studies have validated these constructs and have indicated the strength and direction of intermediate linkages (see Miller and Monge [1986] and Cotton and Tuttle [1986] for meta analytic reviews). Therefore, only a brief definition and discussion of these variables will be presented here. Job satisfaction has been defined as â€Å"the positive emoti onal state resulting from the appraisalof one's job or job experiences† [Locke 1976].Organization commitment is defined as the worker's â€Å"strong belief in the organization's goals and values, a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, and a strong desire to remain a member of the organization† [Mowday, Porter and Steers 1982]. Job involvement is defined as â€Å"the extent to which an individual identifies psychologically with her/her job† [Blau 1985]. Although these constructs are related, each is distinct due to measurement of attitudes about the individual (satisfaction), the job (involvement), or the organization (commitment) [Blau and Boal 1987; Morrow 1983].For example, employees with high job satisfaction may feel positive about their jobs due to fulfillment of personal needs and values [Miller and Monge 1986]. For individuals with high levels of job involvement, the job is important to the worker's self-image [Kanungo 19 82]. Workers with a high level of organizational commitment feel positive about their employer, identify with the organization,and wish to maintain membership in it [Porter, Crampton and Smith 1976]. While these constructs are conceptually distinct, interactive effects have been shown to exist between commitment and involvement [Blau and Boal 1989], nd satisfaction and commitment [Glisson and Durick 1988] and satisfaction, commitment, and involvement [Lee and Mowday 1987]. However, satisfaction, commitment, and involvement generally complement one another as intermediate linkages between predictor variables and turnover [Blau and Boal 1987]. Attempts have been made to identify a causal orderingbetween these attitudinal variables. The implicit assumptionof these attemptsis thatsince satisfactioncan be formulated quickly, satisfaction leads to commitment and involvement which are more long lasting and enduring [Steers 1977; Stevens, Beyer and Trice 1978].Attempting to test this conten tion, Williams and Hazer [1986] found strong interaction between satisfaction and commitment but could not infer causality due to the cross-sectional nature of the data. However, Farkas and Tetrick [1989] used a longitudinal design but were unable to identify causal direction. They did identify that satisfaction and commitment are differentially related over time, and the relationship may be cyclical or reciprocal. Therefore, the model presented here assumes that these variables are strongly and positively related to one another, but does not assume any causal relationship.Since the majority of expatriates are internal transfers ratherthan new hires, the workers have probably achieved some degree of social integration into CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER 515 the organization. Accordingly,the argumentis made that expatriatesstart theirinternational ssignmentwith attitudesthatare reasonablywell formua lated. Also, as transfers,expatriates ay have reasonablypositive attitudes m initially. Althoughthereis no empiricalsupportfor this contention,it seems intuitivelylogical that a disgruntled mployee would be an unlikely candie t date for an internationalransfer.The situationfor new hires is more complex. While new hires apparently constitutea small portionof expatriates,new hires' attitudesare probably more formative than internaltransfers. Since new hires would have little i b t opportunityo achievesocial integrationntothe organization eforedeparting for the foreignassignment, he local foreignorganization ould be relatively t w i more importantn shapingworkattitudes. Also, pursuingthe logic of Steers and Mowday [1981], pre-employmentexpectations would be relatively more importantin shaping new hires' work attitudessince expectations w a regarding oththe organization ndthe foreignassignment ouldbe clarified. Whetherthe expatriateis an internaltransferor a new hire, the expatriate initially arrives in the foreign assignmentwith some level of satisfaction, b co mmitment nd involvement. dditionally, ased on the domesticresearch, a A these three attitudesare positively relatedto one another. Proposition 11 Thereis a positive elationshipmongan expatriate's r a satisfaction,commitment,and involvementwith respectto the organization. Attitudestowardthe Organizationin the Foreign AssignmentThe traditionalturnovermodels of Mobley, et al. [1979] and Steers and Mowday [1981] postulatethat satisfaction,commitment,and involvement collectively result in an employee formulatingintentions to stay in the organization r to quit. In the international ontext,an expatriate anager's o c m a family situation,the careerpathingperceptions,countrycharacteristics, nd the degree of cross-cultural djustment ppearto be moderatingvariables. a a Thus, the employees' attitudetowardthe parentorganization ay be modim fied to resultin attitudestowardthe organization n the foreign assignment. These attitudeswould still conceptuallyinclude satisfaction,commitment, and involve ment,but the constructswould be more directlyinfluencedby the international xperience. e Supportfor the changes in an expatriate'sattitudestowardthe organization in the international ontext is providedby Gregersonand Black [1990a]. c Their researchindicatedthat expatriatesare often differentiallycommitted to the organization nd local foreignoperations. urthermore,on-jobfactors a F n were significantly related to local commitment. These findings appearto f t and c rovide upportorthecontentionhatcountry haractenrstics an expatriate's s family situationwill affect the expatriate'ssatisfaction,commitment,and involvementwith respectto the organizationn the international ssignment. i a 516 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 Unfortunately,the concept of dual commitments, or dual attitudes in general, has received very little research attention internationally. Therefore, it is unknown whether attitudes toward the parent organization or attitudes toward the local f oreign organization would dominate in the formation of behavioral intentions.However, the model explicitly assumes that the expatriate's initial attitudes do not remain constant. As suggested by the high expatriate turnover rate, the expatriate's attitudes generally deteriorate due to a variety of unique internationalfactors. Some of the factors were discussed previously within the three categories of predictor variables. The remaining unique internationalfactors of family situation, country characteristics,career pathing, and cross-cultural adjustment appear quite important and will be addressed individually in the following sections.The assumption is made, however, that there is a â€Å"spill-over effect† between an expatriate's attitudes toward the parent organization (probably formulated domestically) and attitudes toward the international assignment. Expatriates with very positive attitudes toward the organization in general are also likely to have more positive attitude s internationally. Expatriates who possess lower levels of attitudes toward the organization in general are likely also to have lower levels of affective responses internationally.This explicitly assumes that each of the three attitudes can be formulated at a more macro level toward the organization in general or at a micro level that is more closely related to the foreign assignment. While the dual levels of commitment and satisfaction have been well identified in the domestic literature, it seems intuitively logical that the same could be said for job involvement. For some expatriates, attitudes toward the organization may remain positive while negative international attitudes may develop. Such a situation may result in an internal transfer.For other expatriates, initially positive attitudes toward the organization may deteriorate internationally leading to external turnover. Proposition 12 There is a positive relationship between job satisfaction,commitment,and involvement (with respect to the organization) and expatriate satisfaction, commitment, and involvement (with respect to the international assignment). Expatriate's Family While an employee's family situation may not be central to the domestic turnover process, the family situation is apparently a critically important oderatingvariable in the expatriateturnoverprocess. Harvey [1985] contends that the family situation may be the most important contributorto expatriate turnover. Supportfor Harvey's contentionis providedby Tung's [1982] research that indicated that two of three most frequently cited causes for expatriate failure were family related. Specifically, â€Å"the inability of the expatriate's family/spouse to adjust to a different physical or cultural environment† and CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATETURNOVER 517 â€Å"otherfamilyrelatedproblems†receivedstrongsupport. espitethe apparent D mportanceof the family, less than half of MNCs interviewthe spouse in the expatriate election p rocess [Black and Stephens1989; Tung 1981] and s expatriation rainingfor the family is very rare [Black and Stephens 1989]. t If a spouse or family memberis undergoingcultureshock or experiencing t difficulty in makingthe cross-cultural djustment, he morale,performance a and work attitudesof the expatriatemanagermay be adversely affected [Harvey 1985; Mendenhall,Dunbarand Oddou 1987; Tung 1982]. Since the majority of expatriatemanagers are male [Adler 1984], the greatest impact of a foreign relocationmay be experiencedby the wife [Gaylord 1979].The wife may experiencehigh levels of stress due to a disruptionof i children'seducation,loss of self-worthand identity,particularlyf she was previouslyemployed, lack of contactwith friends and relatives, and social or culturalostracism in the foreign country [Harvey 1985]. Furthermore, children are often resistantto moving, even domestically. The problems faced by childrenregarding ducation,linguisticdifferences,social relatione ships, and c ulturalvalues also can be the sourceof stress and conflict. Thus, the greaterthe numberof children,the more likely adjustment roblemsare p o occur. Also, older children such as teenagers are more likely to have t developedstrongpeer social relationships nddisrupting hose relationships a for an internationalransfer ay have negativeresults. Despite the apparent t m importanceof these variables,there is apparentlyittle empiricalinvestigal on expatriateturnover. tion of the impactof the family situation However,as noted by Black and Stephens[1989], the family situationis an e t intuitivelyimportant lementof the expatriate urnover rocess. They noted p t hatthereappearso be botha positiveandnegative†spillovereffect†between expatriatesand their spouses' perceptionsof an international ssignment. a w Specifically, expatriateand spouse adjustment ere significantlyand positively correlated, nd were relatedto the expatriate'sintentionto stay in the a foreign assignment. Even if an e xpatriatemanageris very positive about the foreign assignment, a transfer â€Å"home† may be the result of family dissatisfaction. Conversely,a positive family situationis likely to enhance an expatriate's attitudes and cross-culturaladjustment,and increase the probabilityof a successful foreign experience.Theredoes appearto be a potentialproblemin evaluatingthe impactof the spouse or family situationon turnover. Attributingexpatriateturnoverto the failure of the spouse to adjustmay be simplistic [Dowling and Welch 1988]. Expatriatesmay use their spouses as scapegoats,ratherthan admit theirown failuresto adjust. This may reducethe negativecareerimplications of an early transferhome. Likewise, top level corporateexecutives may attributeexpatriatefailure to the expatriate'sfamily ratherthan critically evaluatetheir own firm's expatriation rogramswhich may be deficient. p There are many dimensions of an expatriate'sfamily situation that may w oderate orkattitudes. nfortunately, ost of these variables ave received h m U little or no researchattention. Therefore,the following propositionhas been 518 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 stated very generally as a global measure of â€Å"family satisfaction,† which is undoubtedly a multifaceted concept. Proposition 13 The expatriate's family satisfaction with the international experience has a positive moderating influence on the expatriate's job satisfaction, commitment, and involvement with respect to the organization in the foreign assignment. The more ositive the expatriate's family attitudes, the more likely the expatriate is to develop positive work attitudes internationally. Proposition 14 The fewer the number of children that relocate with the expatriate, the more positive the expatriate's work attitudes. Proposition 15 The younger the children that relocate with the expatriate, the more positive the expatriate's work attitudes. CountryCharacteristics All foreign assignme nts are not created equal. Dramatic differences exist both between and within countries that can influence expatriates', and their families', cross-cultural adjustment and their subsequent attitudes.In many cultures, foreigners are viewed with distrust and skepticism. As a result, building social relationships with local nationals may be impossible. For example, few western women find the Arabic countries enjoyable due to the constrained role of women in those societies [Thai and Cateora 1979; Dowling and Schuler 1990]. As a result, some companies may prefer to select managers who are unmarried for foreign assignments in the belief that a single person will have fewer adjustments.However, many single male expatriates are socially ostracized, and they may have a more difficult social adjustment than a married couple who can provide each other mutual support. In addition to social and cultural factors, expatriates can experience dissatisfaction due to living conditions and health prob lems. A foreign oil company executive with extensive international experience expressed his preference for having Americans on international projects because they were always the first to get sick if a health problem existed. The Americans were his â€Å"miner's canary† that served as an early warning of potential health problems.Issues such as these have been referred to as â€Å"cultural toughness† and â€Å"cultural novelty† [Black and Stephens 1989; Mendenhall and Oddou 1985; Torbiorn 1982]. Cultural toughness describes the difficulty that a western expatriate would have adapting to certain cultures. For example, Torbiorn [1982] noted that western expatriates experienced higher levels of dissatisfaction with assignments in India, the Middle East, North Africa, CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF EXPATRIATE TURNOVER 519 East Africa, and Liberia. Thus, some cultures are very different from western cultures and are also very difficult to adjust to.Other countries may have a ve ry different culture, but are much easier to adapt to for expatriates and their families. The concept of culturaldifferences influencing the cross-cultural adjustment process is intuitively logical. However, there appears to be a lack of consensus regarding conceptualizations of this factor. For example, the terms â€Å"cultural toughness,† and â€Å"cultural novelty,† appearin the international business literature. Unfortunately, tightly developed definitions and consistent research operationalizations are generally lacking. Hofstede [1980] perationalized â€Å"cultural distance† along four indices of work-related values, but most researchershave used a broader,more macro level approach. Harbison and Myers [1959] conceptualized cultural differences in stages of economic development and the role of the firm in that process. Farmer and Richman [1980] conceptualizeddifferences along socio-cultural,legal-political, economic, and educational dimensions. Nath [1988] described behavioral differences that included cultural factors such as attitudes, beliefs, value systems, behavioral patterns, and management philosophies.Negandhi and Prasad [1971] evaluated differences in the task environment such as distributors, suppliers, employees, consumers, government, and community. Consensus regarding the appropriatedimensions to use in measuring cultural differences is lacking, but there is apparently strong support for the general concepts of cultural toughness, cultural novelty, and/or cultural distance. Each country presents the expatriate, and the expatriate's family, with a unique set of adjustmentproblems. The more divergent a foreign assignment and location from the home country environment, the greater the potential of experiencing culture shock.Indirectly supporting this contention was Beamish's [1985] finding that MNCs are more likely to be dissatisfied with the performance of operating units located in less developed countries that are likely to be â€Å"culturally tough. † The more â€Å"culturally tough† a foreign country, the more likely the expatriate's work attitudes will be negatively affected. Therefore, the following proposition was developed. Proposition 16 The culturaland environmentalsimilarity of home and host countries has a positive, moderating influence on expatriate satisfaction, commitment, and involvement (with respect to the international assignment).The more similar the foreign culture and environmentto the home environment, the more positive the impact on expatriate satisfaction, commitment, and involvement with respect to the organization in the foreign assignment. Career Pathing Research on the career value of foreign assignments in MNCs is inconsistent. The inconsistency may result from the fact that the human resources function constitutes the weakest link in the overall strategic planning process in 520 JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONALBUSINESS STUDIES, THIRD QUARTER 1992 most U. S. MNCs [L orange and Murphy 1983; Tung 1984].Thus, many foreign assignments appear haphazard rather than part of a planned process to develop certain managerial skills. As a result, international assignments appear to be avoided by some high performing managers due to potential negative career consequences [Adler 1980]. For example, Edstrom and Galbraith [1977] suggested that expatriates often viewed the purpose of their overseas assignment as development for future executive responsibility. However, Gonzalez and Negandhi [1966] found that about half of former expatriates were in low level positions fifteen years later.Howard [1973] and Harvey [1989] found that a good deal of uncertainty and conflict surrounded the expatriation and repatriation process and skills developed by expatriates were seldom used after their return home. These results led Mendenhall, Dunbar and Oddou [1987] to note that the â€Å"overseas assignment is a haphazard, ill-planned affair that is usually accompanied with vertical advancement. † They concluded that the impetus for overseas staffing seems to be more to meet immediate manpower needs than to create an integrated career development strategy for future corporate executives.This lack of career path clarity may cause expatriate managers to reevaluate their own career goals and the congruity of those goals with the organization. Since career counseling is very rare regarding international transfers, many expatriates are probably unaware of some career issues until they are actually on foreign assignment.

Culture & country Essay

There is no country today whose culture and values are so isolated from the mainstream of the world. The preservation of their thoughts and peculiarities as people has been, not just a social phenomenon, but a proof that no culture is so exact or perfect to any community on earth. Each is tailored-fit to that specific tribe, community, or people. The Philippines was colonized by the United States for more or less half a century. Many Filipinos today, act, think, and work like any American their age. Just consider the fashion and music people from these two nations enjoy. A closer look will reveal that Filipinos prefer the same type of music and clothing just as the same as any American. However, while cultural subjugation may be present, since US has largely dominated the thoughts of Filipinos, striking differences cannot be denied. On Family matters, Filipinos usually ask the permission of their parents before engaging in marriage. The groom’s family pays visit to the bride’s home to discuss matters regarding the wedding. Most of the time, the parents’ have their last say on almost all conceivable aspects of marriage. It is a truism, that Filipinos hold the idea that marriage is not just union of individuals but of families, as well. On the contrary, weddings, American style are commonly planned by the couples themselves and the parents have little or no influence at all in the preparation and ceremony itself. Furthermore, many of Filipino women today are still dependent to their spouses. Largely, their women are more patriarchal in orientation in terms of family life than their American counterparts. On the other hand, American women are more independent and self-actualized individuals, while Filipinos are very family-dependent people. As proof, they would usually live in one house or in one neighborhood together with the clan, very different from American families who usually live far from each other. This reveals the close-family ties of the Filipinos, compared to the independent-minded thoughts of the Americans. While this issue is so simple, the effect is profound and cannot be diminished. The family is a microcosm of the entire society and the mirror of the entire nation. It is where all social contexts are indexed and all values are reflected. Source: Shead, M. T. ed. (2006). Family Structure. retrived May 9, 2006, from Living in the Philippines. Website:http://www. livinginthephilippines. com/philculture/family. html

Antecedents and Consequences of Decline in Trade Union Density

'Trade Union Membership in Australia has Declined Significantly Since the 1980s.   As a result,  Unions are becoming an Irrelevant Actor in Australian Employment Relations'. Drawing on Academic Research and Commentary,   Provide a Response to this statement.   In framing your argument, Consider the Antecedents and Consequences of the Decline in Trade Union Membership and Trade Union Density. In reconnoitring the factors that led to the emergence and fall of industrial labour in Australia, the present paper contends that support for unions initially surfaced from a working class which was an outcome of the nation’s uncommon economic past. In the 20 th century the incorporation of systems of mandatory arbitration, formulated to mediate industrial disputes, strengthened the support for labour unions. In the year 1948, the support for unionism was at its pinnacle. A long process of its fall started as the working cadre constituency that had supplied its social anchor fragmented due to structural transformations in the economy. The collapse of arbitration post-1986 aggravated this declining pattern, as did a rise in unwarranted employment and anti-union tactics of the employers (Docherty, 2010). The present essay reviews the literature on the fall in union density in Australia. Germane studies are critically analysed and compared, and the review brings to light the co mplexity of the issue, the necessity to avoid simplistic responses, and makes recommendations regarding the areas of study that most likely augment the comprehension of the sharp decline in unionisation. As per the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures of 2000, the fall in union membership in the nation, despite the attempts made by the Australian Council of Trade Unions to prevent further decline. While it is apparent that there is a reduction in union density, it is critical to evaluate the reasons behind it and what are the unions doing for combating such downward trend. In striving to handle the issue, it is significant to understand the major objectives of the union that draws members and the antecedents of the decline (Abbott, MacKinnon and Fallon, 2016). Australian unions were set up in the initial half of the 19 th , with growth starting in the post gold-rush age. It is from then that the most rapid growth of the period appears to have been in the decade of the 1880s, wherein affluent economic conditions and a constricted labour market were drivers making for the development of unions. The main goal of a union is to enhance the well-being and promote the interests of its members. They were created to offset the higher financial power of the employers (Cooper et al., 2009). It has long been acknowledged that the dominance over the market by the employers could be countered by employees acting jointly and instituting organisations to negotiate on their part. The most crucial function performed by the union was to maximise the salaries and wages of its members. There are several reasons why employees might join a union. However, three factors are apparent. They are; sense the advantages of unionism surpass the likely costs; displeasure with financial aspects of their job; and an intention to impact those facets of the work environment via union means. Despite the evident benefits of the union, the membership of Australian union has declined. As emphasised by Kaufman, (2008) unionism harvested a core place in the Australian community between 1921 and mid-1950s. Even in the profundity of the Great Depression, the membership never plummeted below 42.5%. Moreover, with the recovery of the economy during World War II, it garnered unprecedented support. Times have significantly changed. Two decades ago 50% of all employees were part of the union. Currently, the rate of unionisation is only 23%. Even the public sector, which was once a mainstay of union power, has witnessed a sharp decline in the density. In the epoch of feminization, computerization and casualization, de-unionization is perhaps the most considerable change to have to strike the labour market over the years. A sign of fall in union strength is the rarity of strikes (Holland et al., 2011). The number of days lost to industrial conflicts is only one-fourth of its level during the early 1980s. To fathom the transition, Bashur and Oc, (2015) posit that it is helpful to discard two common elucidations for union decline briefly. The first is that the density decreased due to the increasing scepticism of workers toward it. In effect, attitude tends to reflect union power. When the membership increased during the 1970s, Australians were more likely to say, pollsters, that th ey believed unions had extreme strength and less likely to consent that unions had been a great thing for the country. Correspondingly, as they started waning during the 1990s, the portion of individuals who believed that unions carried too much power decreased steadily (Docherty, 2010). The second argument which is made is that de-unionization was an outcome of the fall in real wages which happened under the Accord. Yet as Leigh, (2011) points out in his study The Decline of an Institution, this statement means that unionisation must have fallen more during the 1980s (when there was a decline in real wage) than the 1990s (when there was a rise in real wages). However, the opposite is true – the most drastic decline in unionisation happened during the 1990s. If not the Accord and attitudes then what led to union density witnessing the downward trend? The fall narrows down to four major factors: changes to the laws regulating unions, higher product market rivalry, growing inequality, and structural changes in the labour market. The most substantial factor in de-unionization in Australia has been transitions in the legal system regulating the unions.   Hodder and Kretsos (2015) state that between 1990 and 1995, conformist governments in five out of six states brought into effect a legislation intended to prohibit mandatory unionisation, promoting individual bargaining, and introducing changes to non-award coverage easier. Paradoxically, this was similar to the process that took place in the 1920s, when a series of state Labour governments enforced law in favour of wage arbitration and mandatory unionism, resulting in an upsurge in union membership. During the later half of the 1980s, over 50% of the union members needed to be a union member as their employment condition. In the 1990s, not any longer bound to be a member, a huge proportion opted to give up their membership (Leigh, 2011). Expectedly, the unions that bore the biggest brunt were those that were highest dependent on mandatory union laws. The ne w law was enforced from 1996 when the then government virtually eliminated mandatory unionism and made it challenging for the unions to hire and strike. The second most significant driver of de-unionization has been increasing competition. Driven by microeconomic reforms, revived Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and tariff cuts, the market for purchasing most goods and services are now considerably more competitive than during the 1970s. When companies have an oligopoly or monopoly situation, it is convenient for them to pay higher salaries to their workers. Prices are greater in non-competitive markets, and in economics’ jargon, this produces â€Å"rents†. The employers then share such â€Å"rents† with employees (Grenfell, 2017). When monopolies are split, and the marketplaces become competitive, employers have to cut costs. This puts pressure on the companies to follow powerful anti-union strategies to minimise the wage bill. The third argument for declining union diversity is the increase in earnings inequality. To comprehend how this works, it is crucial to acknowledge that unions not only aim greater wages but also for higher pay compression (Heidecker, 2013). This happens through standardised wage schedules, and claims that ask for an equal increase for every worker. Less pay distribution within an organisation also renders it easy for unions to form, as employees are likely to have mutual cause with those who get similar salaries. Economists have in general focused on the manner in which de-unionization impacts inequality (Bray, Waring and Cooper, 2011). In Australia, Jeff Borland found that 30% of the rise in earnings disparity among permanent males between 1986 and 1994 can be elucidated by falling unionisation. However, the opposite can also be true. If disparity increased (owing to globalisation, technological change, or other factors), unions are likely to find it difficult to create an effectiv e coalition between highly-paid and low-paid employees. The probability of two employees both earning $20 per hour joining the union is higher than if one make $10 and the other $30 (Koukoulas, 2015). The last factor is structural labour market changes. Throughout the developed economies, unions have an easier time hiring in the public sector, the manufacturing sector, among permanent employees and in big companies. The emergence of the service sector, casualization of the labor force, downscaling of government and the surfacing of SMEs are all transformations that disadvantage unions (Forsyth et al., 2017). To examine the impact of the above-mentioned factors, Peetz, (2012) used a method called â€Å"shift-share analysis†, and concluded that they were responsible for nearly 50% of the fall during 1982-92, however, do not elucidate much of the decline since then. As the drop-in unionisation has been quicker in the 1990s as compared to the 1980s, this demotes structural changes to a minor role in describing the overall drop in unionisation in the last 37 years. Evidence propose that voting by union members is being done with their feet and that other systems are emerging to replace them. The proportion of companies with mutual consultative committees grew two times between 1990 and 1995, and the number of companies with ad-hoc employer-employee committees also increased considerably. Requirements that once only unions could meet are now addressed by new organisations (Davis, 2010). The macro and microeconomic impacts of the plummeting strength of unions have been debated by policymakers and economists. Nonetheless, the empirical evidence suggests that the effect of the drop on economic aggregates and company performance is not a devastating cause of concern. However, the relationship of falling union strength with increasing earning disparity and the minimising direct communication between employees and employers is potentially more troublesome (Kelty, 2011). For the period of 1995-2010, the coefficient estimate for the alteration in union strength is negative and insignificant statistically, proposing that transitions in union density were no longer connected to redistribution. It is reported by Toscano (2015) that union fall since the 1980s has been accompanied by alterations in the union members’ position in income diffusion. It is speculated that, since the position of an average union member has improved with a decline in density, union members are also no longer very supportive of redistributive policies and wage solidarity. Hence, the disparity issue might stay, but the role played unions is more controversial. Though companies in competitive labour markets might undersupply workers’ voice, but it does not mean that independent unionism is the solution, either from an employee standpoint, or the practicable interest of strengthening productivity. In fact, many researchers have identified that the drop in union voice has been coupled with a substantial growth in non-union voice, such that the total exposure of voice mechanisms has been stable and high (Furze et al., 2011). In short, Australian workers have selected non-union voice over no voice at all. In addition to this evaluating voice regimes, non-union voice overshadows union voice for a series of perceived result indicators – financial performance, productivity, and industrial relations climate – if not turnover. This provides credibility to the con cept that management has a motivation of investing in non-union voice, although such positive scene is muddled by comparisons between voice types (Schaper, 2014).    With the waning of unions, today’s labour markets of Australia are closer to the theoretical models of competitive markets than they were during the 1970s. This is mainly because of a succession of legal changes that have rendered it difficult for unions to organise, but also owing to higher competition in the markets, growing wage disparity and alterations in the composition of the workforce. It is extremely unlikely that any of these alterations will be inversed. More Australians are now employed in sectors that have always had less union strength. Employment in conventionally powerful union sectors like the public sector and the manufacturing sector are being substituted by jobs in service industries and community-based establishments that have low union density. Permanent employees are being substituted by casual and part-time workers, and such types of employment have lower rates of union membership. More of the labor force has become contractors, self-employed or employe d in small businesses and do not perceive union membership as important. Abbott, K., MacKinnon, B and Fallon, P. 2016. Understanding employment relations. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Addison, T. J. 2014. The consequences of trade union power erosion. IZA World of Labor. Bashur, M and Oc, B. 2015.   When voice matters: A multilevel review of the impact of voice in organisations.   Journal of Management, 41(5): 1530-54. Bray, M., Waring, P. and Cooper, R. 2011. Employment Relations: Theory and Practice. Sydney: McGraw-Hill. Cooper, R., Ellem, B., Briggs, C., and Broek, D. 2009. Anti-unionism, employer strategy, and the Australian State, 1996–2005. Labor Studies Journal, 34(3): 339–62. Davis, M. 2010. Unions face fight on a new front. (September 22, Sydney). Accessed March 29, 2017. Docherty, C. J. 2010. The A to Z of Australia. Rowman & Littlefield. Forsyth, A., Howe, J., Gahan, P. and Landau, I. 2017. Establishing the Right to Bargain Collectively in Australia and the UK: Are Majority Support Determinations under Australia’s Fair Work Act a More Effective Form of Union Recognition? Industrial Law Journal. Furze, B., Savy, P., Brym, J. R. and Lie, J. 2011. Sociology in Today’s World. Cengage Learning. Grenfell, O. 2017. Australian report highlights collapse of union membership. 19 January. World Socialist Website. . Viewed 29 March 2017.   Heidecker, P. 2013. Four Reasons For The Decline In Union Membership. 24 April. Clean Link. . Viewed 29 March 2017. Hodder, A. and Kretsos, L. 2015. Young Workers and Trade Unions: A Global View. Springer. Holland, P., Pyman, A., Cooper, B and Teicher, J.   2011.   Employee voice and job satisfaction in Australia:   The centrality of direct voice.   Human Resource Management, 50(1): 95-111. Kaufman, B. 2008. Paradigms in industrial relations: original, modern and versions in-between.   British Journal of Industrial Relations, 46(2): 314-339. Kelty, W. 2011. The introduction of enterprise bargaining – a retrospective: Opening address. Enterprise Bargaining in Australia Workshop, Melbourne, Melbourne Law School. Koukoulas, S. 2015. The decline of union membership. 26 November. The Adelaide Review, . Viewed 29 March 2017. Leigh, A. 2011. The Decline of an Institution. Australian Financial Review: 21. Peetz, D. 2012. THE IMPACTS AND NON-IMPACTS ON UNIONS OF ENTERPRISE BARGAINING.   Labor and Industry, 22(3): 237-254. Schaper, T. M. 2014. A brief history of small business in Australia, 1970-2010. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, 3(2): pp.222-236. Toscano, N. 2015. Trade union membership hits record low. (October 27, Sydney). Accessed March 29, 2017.

A Pregnant Woman's Right Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Pregnant Woman's Right - Case Study Example This can include to punish those pregnant women who are indulge in authorized behaviours like doing smoking and drinking that can cause harm to the foetus (Russell, 2006). Under this law, without the consent of the pregnant women, few of the hospitals in American states are regularly testing their urine for drugs. This act of the hospitals has put the mothers in constant inconvenience as they complain that this violates the constitutional right to privacy. Therefore, if the hospitals do not stop this act, these women, because of their addiction, will stay away from their health care advisors. Thus, the fear of being in jail will put both the mother and their baby in a great danger. Moreover, the thought of punishment will make the women lose their trust in healthcare providers; especially since after the doctors have moved their focus to ‘punish’ the addicted mother instead of doing their treatment. As a heath care administrator I have seen that because of the fear of pe rsecution, some of addict mothers look for late-term abortions instead of delivering a baby with the signs of drug abuse (Cline, 2011). Through this, mothers can expose their babies towards the potential risk of getting affected. Another way by which the mothers can expose their babies to risk is multiple births. In this process, mothers use fertility drugs to have babies.

Look under my guidelines file Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Look under my guidelines file - Essay Example Here are five great advertisers’ capturing tricks that will amaze you. First, have you ever wondered why advertisers place the products and objects being promoted on the right hand of the promoting artists? I bet you have never realized this fact. What this achieve is the power to identify with. Majority of people in the world, as so is in every random population, are right-handed. Having the object being promoted, say a new drink, held in the right-hand makes the advertisement easy to identify with for a large portion of the population. It makes the audience feel that they can also comfortably do the same. This is as opposed to having them imagine a drink in their non-predominant hand. Try to imagine a popular drink advertisement with the product in your left hand. It feels awkward, doesn’t it? Buying is all about decision. Whether planned or impulsive, decisions arise from a attraction of the mind. One great trick that elicit decision is emotions. Advertisers bring out the emotional attraction in advertisements through the use of color. Different colors call for different emotions. When it is red, excitement and happiness is expected. When blue, serenity and some level of seriousness is expected. Similarly, when it is green, healthy and freshness are the audience’s expectations. Think of an advertisement for fresh vegetables done in brown. It seems wrong from the start. Advertisers know what you perceive to be right and expected. They will use this to their advantage and you will find yourself buying the product. Advertisers are also known to create simple threats that are rather innocent per se. For instance, a basic product may be labeled ‘must have’. To create the threat aspect, a limited offer of reduced price is imposed. A label like â€Å"For Today Only† will be embedded to ensure instant purchase by all those who see the advertisement. However, have you ever gone back to a store that had a â€Å"For Today Only†

Personal project for class project management Essay

Personal project for class project management - Essay Example This provides our graduates who are not soccer talented to holistically compete favourably in the competitive society. The modality for enrolment of the children is very elaborate and it encourages diversity in all aspects since children are enrolled using a formulae that represents the face of the world. Of importance is that the enrolment is gender sensitive. The institution prides itself for being non prejudice in any form with a clear understanding that a peaceful world or society brings out the best in everyone (Cynthia 17) We have different centres world over. In the North America we are based in Canada, in South America in Brazil, in Africa there are three centres-in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, and in Asia the centres are in China and India. However the main administrative office is based in London in the United Kingdom ( Posner Center Para 4) Our values dictate all our tasks ranging from strategic planning, enrolment of children and recruitment of both volunteers and technical professionalexperts, and programmes created. Discipline, honesty, diversity, and professionalism are some of the epicentre of our values. As the notion goes that education without character is a clever devil special emphasis ison discipline (Cynthia 17) Recruitment of staff based on meritocracy with indicative credentials of exhibiting honesty, leadership and professionalism. In addition, Creation of well stratified leadership structure with responsibility accorded to each echelon.Second, coming up with clear projects each year and ensuring these projects are completed within the set time schedule. Compulsoryprojects must conform to the rules and regulations as well as legal requirements of the member countries. In addition, any project carried by the institution must align with the mission, vision, objectives and values as stipulated by the club.Third, each year’s fiscal budget elaborately spelt with emergence and

Parthenon, Acropolis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Parthenon, Acropolis - Essay Example The construction of the building began under rules and orders from Pericles to illustrate the wealth, mighty and exuberance of the Athenian authority in managing their issues. The structure derived its name from a cult effigy of Athena Parthenos that is normally in the eastern room of the structure. The elegant and magnificent design was erected of ivory and entailed gold and was initially sculptured by a renowned sculptor and designer Phidias during his hey days. The sculptor derived his skills from the intense faith and beliefs the Greek dedicated most buildings and structures to gods. For instance, the Acropolis based structure as it was dedicated to Athena to be grateful the Goddess for their continuous prosperity and success (Peter et al., 254). The construction and finishing of the Parthenon were lastly finished around 432 BC. Significantly, the structure proved to the world the domination and supremacy of Athens. This is because, during that time structure illustrated development of regions (Korina et al., 78). The cosmic preponderance of the money applied on the construction was collected from the established Delian League funds. The league was an accord between the Greek various states in league designed against the Persian Empire, which was enormously controlling the close by territories (Clair, 84). To create a favorable environment for the erection of the building two years prior to the beginning of construction of the Parthenon, the larger Athenians struck a peace accord with their adversaries the Persians ending the war. From there, the League continued with its existence and afterwards the league stopped assuming the roles of mutual defense on Persia but became a portion of the Athenian larger Empire. The theory w as properly reinforced after the Athens decided to move the Leagues reserves from the Pan-Hellenic haven at Delos to the Parthenon called Opisthodomos room. The piecework was highly magnificent construction to look at

American government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American government - Essay Example Age is another factor where the young tend not to vote considering perhaps that their voting would not make a difference showing a lack of understanding or trust in the system. Older voters, over the age of 45, tend to vote more as an age group. More recently, statistics have shown that citizens over the age of 60 have voted more than in the past (Cummings and Wise 328). Religion plays a role in voter participation as religious groups tend to reach out to their communities in organized action (Cummings and Wise 328). Finally, another socioeconomic factor is behavior of marginalized groups, who like religious groups, would gravitate towards community based campaigns. Also, a number of marginalized groups may feel disenfranchised and not participate in voting at all (Hay 20). Objectivity and bias in the press and the Court’s protection of its freedom: Objectivity in reporting means that the reporter strips away any personal bias and produces a report which is based on facts, is convincing, espouses human values, presents a fair context and has views from all parties concerned. In practice, however, it is easier said than done. When the founder of Christian Broadcasting Network, CBN, Pat Robertson, lost in his bid to win Republican nomination for presidential candidate in 1988, he came back to his network and accused the â€Å"liberal media establishment† of â€Å"masking their basic bias† while claiming objectivity (Vaughn 98). CBN is a network that appeals to the Christian right and conservative political agenda. The â€Å"establishment† he referred to were the three major networks considered liberal, ABC, CBS and NBC. So which side was biased ? It seems the answer lies in what the reader or viewer himself believes in but it is still important for a journalist associated with any organization to have made an attempt to be objective (Hachten XV). On another

A personal evaluation of knowledge and its practical application borne Essay

A personal evaluation of knowledge and its practical application borne of this insight - Essay Example Not everyone in the organisation maintains the same cultural characteristics or sustains the same learning styles, which can conflict the process of effective knowledge transfer and knowledge sense-making. Having identified the role of the self in knowledge management, this paper describes personal understandings of the self gleaned through the curriculum and attempts to apply these lessons, using theories of knowledge management as a template, to my personal role as a future KM facilitator, manager or human resource practitioner. Understanding of the intrinsic self The knowledge management process begins with effective communications processes. Knowledge, whether tacit or explicit, cannot be productively categorised, shared or transformed into practical and useful information without finding some variety of shared meaning within the communities of practice model. Knowledge is neither created, transformed or disseminated within a proverbial vacuum, meaning that knowledge management p ractices will not be successful without direct interaction with diverse organisational actors. This fact requires development of a knowledge culture in which a set of shared meanings or symbols is present throughout the organisational structure, something that can be significantly conflicted by differing cultural values, unique learning styles with individuals, or patterns of ethnocentrism, a type of cultural conflict, that conflicts decoding of knowledge communications. Stover (2004) supports the importance of engagement with others in the organisation to facilitate knowledge transfer, iterating that knowledge conversion can only occur through direct interaction with others. Hence, I learned the importance about understanding my own, inherent learning styles and how this impacts personality, worldview, willingness to engage with others socially and interpersonally, and even how the decoding process in communications would occur. Having completed Kolb’s Learning Styles Invent ory, I discovered that I maintain intrinsic characteristics that are aligned with the Converger. The Converger profile is largely unemotional, maintains narrow interests, and appreciates active experimentation to make the abstract into concrete understandings through practical application of deductive reasoning (Smith 2001). The Converger is, inherently, less interested in abstractions that occur during the socialisation process, thus there is less emphasis on people and more on the scientific approach to problem-solving by legitimately applying theory to experience to make evaluations. The Converger would theoretically be the least social profile among Kolb’s four learning styles. Now, it has been established that effective knowledge management requires interventions with other organisational actors in order to make knowledge transfer productive and relevant to the organisation and its strategic objectives. However, having learned that I maintain much more pragmatic and sens ible characteristics (far and above a social leaning), I realised that knowledge management could be conflicted by having an in-borne preference for self-motivated experimentation whilst others in the organisation might fit Diverger profiles that are more concerned with embracing culture and the social condition.

Hagar in The Stone Angel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hagar in The Stone Angel - Essay Example On various occasions the hero of a tragedy is given opportunities to overcome his mistakes. Many modern writers have extended the category of a tragic hero and have included a common man who is equally capable of becoming a tragic hero. Hagar, in The Stone Angel is one such example. Hagar is a common woman with self-made dignity. She has a misstep, a tragic flaw, which is her unconquerable pride. As she says â€Å"Pride was my wilderness and the demon that led me there was fear... [I was] never free, for I carried my chains within me, and they spread out from me and shackled all I touched.† Her pride became the cause of her failed relationships with her father, brothers and sons. On various occasions Lawrence makes us understand her proud nature. She would not pretend to be her mother to console her dying brother. The incident ruined her relationship with her brother Matt. Her proud nature became the cause of her poor relationship with her husband. She felt too proud to show her emotions towards her husband. She refused to let John and Arlene stay in her house for the night. She refused to cry at the death of Arlene. â€Å"I shoved her [matrons] arms away.  Ã‚  I straightened my spine... I wouldnt cry in front of strangers, whatever it cost me†. The realization, that her pride came in the way of her son’s happiness, came to her very late. Hagar refused to adjust herself to the circumstances. She would not shift to the nursing home and instead told Doris and Marvin to move out of the house. Her stubborn nature came in the way of her happiness. It led her to her destruction. The tragedy of Hagar is that she refuses to change. Although Hagar and King Lear appear similar in their journey to self-discovery, a major difference becomes evident in the after effects of their epiphanies. Lear is redeemed after his epiphany and pushes away his pride. He reconciles with his daughter and is sent to jail, which does not matter

Career Paper ( Preschool Teacher) Essay Example for Free

Career Paper ( Preschool Teacher) Essay History Preschool is something very important for toddlers. Preschools were established in Europe around the late 1800s. They were later introduced to the United States in the 1920s. According to the Encyclopedia of careers and vocational guidance 9th edition preschools expanded rapidly in the united states during the 1960s. Job Description Preschool teachers usually instruct children usually until they reach the age of five. They conduct activities designed to develop social, physical, and intellectual skills needed for primary school. During an interview I was told many things on the subject. You need a lot of patience said Esther Rodriguez a preschool teacher. There are many tasks needed to be done. While researching I came across plenty of information on the internet, Echoices says that some typical tasks are planning individual and group activities, and monitor activities to prevent accidents and conflicts between children. Nature of Work Preschool teachers play a very important role in the development of children. In the Encyclopedia of careers and vocational guidance 9th edition states that a preschool teachers primary responsibility in the social development and health of each child. Preschool teachers design activities that build on the childrens native abilities and help them develop skills and characteristics that will help them grow. What children learn and experience during their early years can shape their views of themselves and the world. Preschool teachers introduce children to math, language arts, science, and social studies. These subjects are taught using games, music, artwork, films, books, computers, and other tools to teach basic skills. The majority of children need adjusting when they first go to preschool it being their first time away from home and their parents. Because young children look up to adults and learn through examples, its important that the teachers are good role models. Education, training, qualifications, and work experience Licensing requirements for preschool teachers vary by state. Some states require a bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education and others require certification by a nationally recognized authority. The child development associate (CDA) credential which is the most common type of certification. It requires a mix of classroom training and experience working with children. This comes along with an independent of an individuals competence. The Encyclopedia of careers and vocational guidance 11th edition shares some requirements. In high school you should take child development, home economics, and other classes that involve you with child care. It also says youll also need a fundamental understanding of the general subjects youll be introducing to preschool students, so take English, science, and math. Dont forget art, music, and drama for creative skills. Florida Earnings 2003 Statewide average annual earnings $20,405 Statewide average hourly earnings $9. 81 Statewide entry level annual earnings $14,560 Statewide entry level hourly earnings $7. 00 Statewide experienced level annual earnings $22,090 Statewide experienced level hourly earnings $10. 62 Miami Earnings 2003 Average annual earnings $23,150 /hourly $11. 13 Entry level annual earnings $14,435 / hourly $6. 94 Experienced level annual earnings $27,414/ hourly $13. 18.