CROSS CULTURE ISSUES IN MANAGING EXPARTRIATES IN MNC: AN EMPERICAL STUDY

Introduction
In recent years, business operations have become increasingly internationalized. This phenomenon has resulted in a greater number of managers being sent abroad. In fact, it is estimated that over 100,000 expatriates are relocated to work in the United States alone each year. From the companys perspective, the importance of a managers successful performance overseas cannot be underestimated. Nowadays, corporate earnings generated abroad account for more than 40% of company revenues. As global operations become strategically more important, so does the role of the managers in charge of these operations abroad. Now more than ever, there is a need to hire the most qualified and talented managerial staff to occupy international job posts. The growing internationalization of business operations has not been accompanied by an equally proportionate number of male and females occupying global positions. In fact, women continue to be grossly underrepresented in management positions abroad. In the late 1980s, women occupied less than 3% of international management positions. The situation seems to have improved at least moderately so in the past decade. A study of 225 expatriates from a variety of countries revealed that 11% of the respondents were female. More recently, Tungs (1997) study of 409 U.S. expatriates found that 13.9% of respondents Suplemento / Supplement were female. Despite these moderate improvements in the number of women occupying managerial posts abroad, there still exists a significant lack of female managers overseas. Indeed, the poor representation of expatriate women managers stand in marked contrast to the gains made by women in obtaining management positions in the domestic arena. A recent study conducted by the Families and Work Institute, a New York nonprofit consulting and research group, discovered that 39% of women in the U.S. hold executive, administrative and managerial positions, up 12% from 1977. The under-representation of women in international managerial positions is significant in three important regards. First, it is highly unethical to exclude women from consideration for international posts based on ones own perception that they might not be interested. Adlers (1986) study of one thousand graduating MBAs from top schools

in the U.S. proved that this perception is in fact erroneous. Her results indicated that male and female MBAs displayed equal interest in pursuing international careers. As India is developing nation and has tremendous potential to grow, many MNCs are trying their best to enter in Indian market. And hence many expatriates come in India these days. They bring FDI into the nation, which is better to the nation. We should welcome it by open hands. But indeed, there are many problems faced by foreign expatriate, who come long way from their home to work in India. And especially women expatriate, in this research project we are trying to trace that this problem do exist or not, and if yes to what extent. It is really difficult to overcome the problems faced in new country, along with home-sickness. With this research we will identify and try to provide solution for the same.

Background
International human resource management MNCs operate in a complex and uncertain environment, which creates a unique set of organisational, co-ordination and managerial issues for managers in MNCs and as a result the significance of people management are becoming more and more realized by managers in multinational firms, given that it may ensure profitability and capability of the business operations to succeed. The Role of Expatriates Human resources play an important part in developing and sustaining competitive advantage and expatriates are used in both short and long-term assignments. Expatriates are defined as people who live and work away from their home country, and are citizens of the counry where multinational corporations is headquartered. The tasks of the expatriates may be to acquire and transfer technology, manage a foreign subsidiary, fill a staffing need, maintaining communication and developglobal leadership competence. The Expatriation Cycle An important part of the IHRM approach is the decision of whether to use an expatriate for international assignment or employ a local. If the decision is to send an axpatriate, there are several steps that are significant and in need of discussion before the expatriate is sent to his or her mission. The stages constitute cycle and are shown below.

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY The internationalization of human resource management has increased the scope of traditional HRM. Today, HR practitioners not only manage people from their home country, but one that involve managing many diverse nationalities, with which the culture of staff and employees are already well-known or predicted. Companies start business within their country of origin and staff are hired from within that country. However, with the arrival of globalization and the shift from industrial to information technology, a new problem for HR practitioners emerged as employees become more diversified and hard to manage. Companies expand to other countries, or moreover participate in joint ventures or mergers and acquisitions. This move has many implications including the limited choice of hiring employees from the country which the company expanded. Basically, this gives HR practitioners a new challenge as they are faced with a diverse cross-cultural workforce that they are not yet familiar with. For instance, a UK or an American company expanded or having joint ventures in China would have to integrate their own HR practice in that country. However, the Chinese and Western managers have different beliefs and practices in terms of managing employees. Thus, a cross-cultural conflict might arise, which could affect the productivity and culture of the company as a whole, most especially in the branch they invested in China. Western expatriates might not be able to adapt with the Chinese way of working or any Asian way of working for that matter if they don't have proper training or knowledge about them. This gives the HR

team a huge responsibility in making sure that cross-cultural relationship within the company is going well. An HRM expatriate might have problems having the best local staff when they do not have enough knowledge about the foreign culture. Furthermore, productivity might also be affected if their way of human management is not compatible with the working nature of the local staff.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The study will address the following three key objectives:

1.

To determine the different cross-cultural training strategies of multinational companies in the UK that employs expatriates from other countries.

2.

To determine the advantages and disadvantages of their cross-cultural training programmes and determine which approaches are highly

recommendable. 3. To build theories of effective cross-cultural training programmes for international human resource managers.

CONTRIBUTION OF EXISTING LITERATURES Human Resource Management Human resource management (HRM) is known and accepted in the broadest sense of the term, as a form of management that includes "all management decisions and actions that affect the nature of the relationship between the organization and the employees its human resources" (Beer et al., 1984, p. 1). It is defined as the process of coordinating an organization's human resources, or employees, to meet organizational goals. As can be observed based on the definition, the tasks of those belonging in HRM can be complex as it involves all issues that encompasses employee and firm relationship. Believing that the most important asset of a business is the people in order to achieve sustained business success is the core philosophy of human resource management (HRM). Realizing this leads to a strategic management of people within the organization. Its philosophy is based on the simple belief that human resources are the most important asset in achieving and sustaining business success. This realization became the driving force behind the creation of human resource management resulting in organizations taking a strategic approach to the management of their people.

Human resource professionals basically deal with such areas as employee recruitment and selection, performance evaluation, compensation and benefits, professional

development, safety and health, forecasting, and labor relations, as well as management of diversity, job analysis and job design (Lipiec, 2001).

The Internationalization of HRM In the current age of global economy, worldwide interdependence of resources, markets and business competition thrives (Schermerhorn, 2001). The onset of globalisation has prompted businesses and its leaders to think and act globally to be able to gain competitive advantage. There are two opposing views: some view globalisation as an opportunity for limitless growth and prosperity for both developed and developing countries; while others see it as a threat to further the extent of inequality because of increased competition and the dominance of market forces seen in multinational companies (MNCs) (Johnson & Turner, 2003).

The implications of these changes in international business are far-reaching because of the emphasis on interdependence which prompts a discussion of the different collaborative arrangements between MNCs. As national boundaries have increasingly been blurred, it has become imperative that MNCs take advantage of forming collaborative arrangements or cooperative strategies which are believed to be a productive method to promote growth. This trend has affected even companies directly competing with each other as Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson (2003) has given the example of FedEx and the US Postal Service (USPS) forming an a seven-year alliance which benefits both companies.

One of the areas of business organization that is affected by the internationalization of business is the area of human resource management. Because business has become internationalized, the process and factors that make up the HRM concept have also become global. Thus, out of HRM, a new field has been formed that is International Human Resource Management or IHRM. The field of IHRM refers to the: "understanding, researching, applying and revising all human resource activities in their internal and external contexts as they impact the process of managing human resources in enterprises throughout the global environment to enhance the experience of multiple stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees, partners, suppliers, environment and society (Briscoe and Schuler, 2004, p,20).

Briscoe and Schuler (2004) explained that there are many forms of IHRM. These are: the operation of parent-country firms overseas; and the operation of foreign firms in the home country. The first one involves the situation of working as a parent-country HR professional in the main or regional headquarters of the traditional multinational enterprise (MNE). This may involve working as an expatriate HR manager in a foreign subsidiary of an MNE (Briscoe and Schuler, 2004). Typical headquarters IHRM responsibilities include selecting and preparing employees for and transferring them between the various country locations of the firm, determining and administering compensation and benefit packages for these international assignees, and establishing HRM policies and practices for the firm's foreign operations (Briscoe and Schuler, 2004).

On the other hand, the second situation involves the HR manager working at home in the foreign subsidiary of a foreign MNE (Briscoe and Schuler, 2004). The possibilities include: working for a home-country firm that has been purchased by a foreign firm and thus is now a foreign-owned firm; and working with a foreign headquarters (and, often, expatriate managers sent from the foreign - now parent - company) and typically will involve having to integrate into the local operations - the HR manager's home country - a philosophy and organizational culture and practices that are different and/or unfamiliar (Briscoe and Schuler, 2004).

The Need for Cross-Cultural Management The situations that IHR managers might face involve dealing with different people with different culture. Managing culture is one of the tasks that an international human resource manager has to deal with. Culture is defined as a set of beliefs and values widely shared in a specific society at a particular point in time (McGuire et al, 2002). Furthermore, culture encompasses a set of fundamental values that distinguishes one group from another (Hofstede and Bond, 1988) and these values can act as a strong determinant of managerial ideology that consequently affects both HR practice and performance (Laurent, 1983).

Culture is basically a combination of shared beliefs, social norms, organizational roles and values, emphasizing a cross-cultural socio-economic perspective in industrial and management research (Wang, 1993). One example is that the Eastern style of management is different from that of the West. The Chinese approach is usually based

from historical leaders and philosophical figures such as Confucius, Sun Tzu, Mencius and Han Fei (Satow and Wang, 1994), which involves anddepends on the connections, on circumstances, on the level of affinity (who you know and what family you come from). Here, there is no consistent legal framework and, even within the regulations that do exist, the exception is the rule rather than the rare occurrence. On the other hand, the management in America is objective and driven by data and rational models. Deployment of statistics and financial modelling is the key in decision-making and strategic planning. These differences alone can create problems. Chinese employees may not function well with the Western management style and vice-versa. Thus, foreign expatriates should obviously be trained, as making themselves familiar with the new culture can help them create the appropriate management style that will make employees in the country perform at their best.

Cultural Dimensions One of the ways to assess culture is to take heed of its value dimensions. As explained by Hofstede (1980), there are four cultural value dimensions: Large versus small power distance. Large power distance is the extent to which the members of a society accept that power in institutions and organisations is distributed unequally; while small power distance is the extent to which members of a society or organization accept that power is distributed fairly (Adler, 1997). Strong versus weak uncertainty avoidance. Strong uncertainty avoidance means the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity, which leads them to support beliefs promising certainty and to

maintain institutions protecting conformity; while weak uncertainty avoidance is the degree to which members tend to be relatively tolerant of uncertainty and ambiguity and require considerable autonomy and lower structure (Rodriguez, 1995). Individualism versus collectivism. Individualism is the preference for a loosely knit social framework in society; collectivism stands for a preference for a tightly knit social framework. Masculinity versus femininity. Masculinity is the preference for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material success; whilefemininity refers to a preference for relationships, modesty, caring for the weak and the quality of life. Related Studies Sadri and Lees (2001) stated that there are key elements to determine a positive culture. They are: the development of a corporate vision; the development of corporate values; valuing and maintaining communications with employees; adaptability; and perpetuation of the culture through tangible symbols, slogans, stories, or ceremonies that highlight corporate values. However, these positive characteristics can be easier said than achieved as the workplace involves different nationalities that do not share the same pattern of beliefs. An incompatible management approach brought and implemented by foreign expatriates can result in the development of a negative corporate culture. Expatriates who have poor performance in their cross-country assignments cost multinational enterprises (MNE's) billions of dollars, damage firm reputation, disrupt relationships with local nationals (Harvey, 1996; Welch and Welch, 1994), and often precise a cost on expatriates' psychological state (Solomon, 1996). Expatriates are proposed to gain

intercultural communication skills and, consequently, intercultural effectiveness through a cultural learning process.

Fischer and Hartel (2003) conducted a study that tries to determine comparatively how Thai and Western managers conceptualize intercultural effectiveness and to identify the extent to which perceptions of socio-biographical characteristics are important to Thai managers' perceptions of the effectiveness of a Western manager and vice versa. The qualitative study found that both considered religion, age and gender, nationality as important; while they have different views on the importance of stereotypes, linguistic abilities, intercultural abilities and identifying task and contextual performance.

Hutchings (2002) investigated the need for careful selection and in-post support of expatriates in China and argues that expatriates should be those who possess realistic predeparture expectations and cultural awareness and knowledge, and whom are provided with in-post support, including work-related skill development, mentoring and consultative groups. Through semi-structure interviews of Australian organizations in China, the research found that that expatriate selection is very much ad hoc in nature and that expatriate preparation and cross-cultural adaptability skills need to be improved in a number of important aspects. Hutchings (2002) suggested that "there is a clear need for expatriates to be fully briefed prior to being sent on overseas postings and that careful selection should be balanced with goal-setting, performance expectations, and awareness of socio-cultural limitations of operating from a business and social perspective in the host environment" (p.46).

INTRODUCTION OF MNC

A multinational corporation (MNC) or enterprise (MNE), is a or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has defined an MNC as a corporation that has its management headquarters in one country, known as the home country, and operates in several other countries, known as host countries. The Dutch East India Company was the second multinational corporation in the world (the first, the British East India Company, was founded two years earlier) and the first company to issue stock, and it was the largest of the early multinational companies. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasigovernmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies. Some multinational corporations are very big, with budgets that exceed some nations' GDPs. Multinational corporations can have a powerful influence in local economies, and even the world economy, and play an important role in international relations and globalisation.

1. Market imperfections
It may seem strange that a corporation can decide to do business in a different country, where it does not know the laws, local customs or business practices. Why is it not more efficient to combine assets of value overseas with local factors of production at lower costs by renting or selling them to local investors? One reason is that the use of the market for coordinating the behaviour of agents located in different countries is less efficient than coordinating them by a multinational enterprise as an institution. The additional costs caused by the entrance in foreign markets are of less interest for the local enterprise. According to Hymer, Kindleberger and Caves, the existence of MNCs is reasoned by structural market imperfections for final products. In Hymer's example, there are considered two firms as monopolists in their own market and isolated from competition by transportation costs and other tariff and non-tariff barriers. If these costs decrease, both are forced to competition; which will reduce their profits. The firms can maximize their joint income by a merger or acquisition, which will lower the competition in the shared market. Due to the transformation of two separated companies into one MNc the pecuniary externalities are going to be internalized. However, this does not mean that there is an improvement for the society. This could also be the case if there are few substitutes or limited licenses in a foreign market.The consolidation is often established by acquisition, merger or the vertical integration of the potential licensee into overseas manufacturing. This makes it easy for the MNE to

enforce price discrimination schemes in various countries. Therefore Hymer considered the emergence of multinational firms as "an (negative) instrument for restraining competition between firms of different nations. Market imperfections had been considered by Hymer as structural and caused by the deviations from perfect competition in the final product markets. Further reasons are originated from the control of proprietary technology and distribution systems, scale economies, privileged access to inputs and product differentiation. In the absence of these factors, market are fully efficient. The transaction costs theories of MNEs had been developed simultaneously and independently by McManus (1972), Buckley & Casson (1976) Brown (1976) and Hennart (1977, 1982). All these authors claimed that market imperfections are inherent conditions in markets and MNEs are institutions that try to bypass these imperfections. The imperfections in markets are natural as

the neoclasical assumptions like full knowledge and enforcement do not exist in real markets.

2. International power
Tax competition Multinational corporations are important factors in processes of globalisation. National and local governments often compete against one another to attract MNC facilities, with the expectation of increased tax revenue, employment, and economic activity. To compete, political entities may offer MNCs incentives such as tax

breaks,

pledges

of

governmental

assistance

or

subsidized

infrastructure, or lax international and labor regulations. These ways of attracting foreign investment may be criticized as a race to the bottom, a push towards greater autonomy for corporations, or both. On the other hand, economist Jagdish Bhagwati has argued that in countries with comparatively low labor costs and weak environmental and social protection, multinationals actually bring about a 'race to the top.' While multinationals will certainly see a low tax burden or low labor costs as an element of comparative advantage, Bhagwati disputes the existence of evidence suggesting that MNCs deliberately avail themselves of lax environmental regulation or poor labor standards. As Bhagwati has pointed out, MNC profits are tied to operational efficiency, which includes a high degree of

standardisation. Thus, MNCs are likely to adapt production processes in many of their operations to conform to the standards of the most rigorous jurisdiction in which they operate (this tends to be either the USA, Japan, or the EU). As for labor costs, while MNCs clearly pay workers in developing countries far below levels in countries where labor productivity is high (and accordingly, will adopt more laborintensive production processes), they also tend to pay a premium over local labor rates of 10 to 100 percent. Finally, depending on the nature of the MNC, investment in any country reflects a desire for a medium- to long-term return, as establishing plant, training workers, etc., can be costly. Once established in a jurisdiction, therefore, MNCs are potentially vulnerable to arbitrary government intervention such as expropriation, sudden contract renegotiation, the arbitrary

withdrawal or compulsory purchase of licenses, etc. Thus, both the negotiating power of MNCs and the 'race to the bottom' critique may be overstated, while understating the benefits (besides tax revenue) of MNCs becoming established in a jurisdiction. Market withdrawal Because of their size, multinationals can have a significant impact on government policy, primarily through the threat of market withdrawal. For example, in an effort to reduce health care costs, some countries have tried to force pharmaceutical companies to license their patented drugs to local competitors for a very low fee, thereby artificially lowering the price. When faced with that threat, multinational pharmaceutical firms have simply withdrawn from the market, which often leads to limited availability of advanced drugs. In these cases, governments have been forced to back down from their efforts. Similar corporate and government confrontations have occurred when governments tried to force MNCs to make their intellectual property public in an effort to gain technology for local entrepreneurs. When companies are faced with the option of losing a core competitive technological advantage or withdrawing from a national market, they may choose the latter. This withdrawal often causes governments to change policy. Countries that have been the most successful in this type of confrontation with multinational corporations are large countries such as United States and Brazil, which have viable indigenous market competitors.

 Lobbying Multinational corporate lobbying is directed at a range of issues of interest to businesses, from tariff structures to environmental

regulations. There is no unified MNC perspective on any of these issues. Companies that have invested heavily in pollution control mechanisms may lobby for very tough environmental standards in an effort to force non-compliant competitors into a weaker position. Corporations lobby tariffs to restrict competition of foreign industries. For every tariff category that one multinational wants to have reduced, there is another multinational that wants the tariff raised. Even within the U.S. auto industry, the fraction of a company's imported components will vary, so some firms favor tighter import restrictions, while others favor looser ones. Multinational corporations such as Wal-mart and McDonaldsbenefit from

government zoning laws, to create barriers to entry Many industries such as General Electric and Boeing lobby the government to receive subsidies to preserve their monopoly. Patents Many multinational corporations hold patents to prevent competitors from arising. For example, Adidas holds patents on shoe

designs,Siemens A.G. holds many patents on equipment and infrastructure and Microsoft benefits from software patents. The pharmaceutical companies lobby international agreements to enforce patent laws on others.

Culture-An Important Element for Multinational corporations

Culture is the set of values and beliefs shared by a group. This includes groups as small as social groups, and as large as a whole country. Since multinational companies operate in more than one country, they are exposed to many different cultures. Each culture has its own beliefs and values. To be successful in these foreign countries, multinational companies must have a global mindset, and be able to recognize and adapt to the differences.

Different methods of communication across different cultures

Communication is the process of conveying messages. Successful communication in the international business environment requires not only an understanding of language, but also the nonverbal aspects of communication that are part of any community. Different countries are going to have different ways of communicating. If certain executives of a company want to do business with people from different countries, they need to understand how to communicate clearly with them, without mistakenly doing something wrong. The most obvious way of communicating with different people is with words, and therefore, some executives learn how to speak the language spoken in the foreign country. This act can show that the executive is truly dedicated to the work, and that he is willing to do anything to complete the deal. Greeting rituals are sometimes overlooked, but they shouldnt be because they are more important in some parts of the world than others. In Japan, failure to show

respect by exchanging business cards can get negotiations off to a very bad start While in France, greetings are highly personal and individualas workers expect to be greeted individually(Schneider and Barsoux) Another form of communicating is through hand gestures. Often goes unnoticed, hand gestures are as important as words themselves because they too have meaning behind them. Cultures located in southern Europe and the Middle East employ a wide variety of gestures frequently with purposefulness. Some hand gestures have different meanings in different countries. For example, the hand gesture where the index finger and thumb touch and create a zero can mean different things in different places. In the US and UK, it means ok. In Russia it means zero. In Japan it refers to money. While in Brazil, it is viewed as an insult. Time is another communication system. In western cultures, people like to get to the point of the matter in business meetings and conversations. However, in other countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia, it is customary to converse first about unrelated matters before starting the business discussions for which the meeting was arranged. Barging straight into the business issue, without informal small talk at the beginning, may make them very uncomfortable and may ruin the negotiations. Seven Methods of managing across cultures (1) Hierarchy: "This refers to the way people view how much they defer to people in authority, whether they feel entitled to express themselves and how empowered they feel to take the initiative on matters before them. For example, Canada believes in egalitarianism, while nations like India, Japan, China, Germany, Mexico are highly hierarchical." (2) Group focus: This refers to whether people consider that accomplishment and responsibility are achieved through individual or group effort, and whether they tend to identify themselves as

individuals or members of a group. Canadians are individualists while Brazilians, Chinese, Mexicans and Japanese are group-focused. (3) Relationships: This is about whether trust and relationships are viewed as a prerequisite for working with someone. Canadians focus primarily on the transaction, rushing to deal, while the Chinese, Italians, and Spaniards, for example, focus on nurturing relationships first. (4) Communication styles: This covers matters like verbal and nonverbal expression, how directly or indirectly people speak, and whether brevity or detail is valued in communication. Israel, Denmark, Germany and Sweden use a direct style, while indirect

communication styles are the norm in China, United Arab Emirates, and Japan 5) Time orientation: This refers to the degree to which people believe adhere to schedules. United States, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland follow schedules while countries like Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates are unconcerned about schedules and deadlines. (6) Change tolerance: How people are comfortable with change, risk-taking and innovation. Along with Australians, Canadians are the most tolerant of change, while Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Mexico and Russia are change-averse. (7) Motivation: work/life balance: This characteristic examines whether people work to live or live to work. Canadians are driven by work and the status it provides although not as much as people in

China, Japan, and the U.S. while in Norway, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India and Mexico, family-work balance is treasured.

Advertisement in different countries

Another way for multinational companies to prove that they understand the specific market is through advertisement. Advertising products in different countries requires the companies to use specific methods of advertisement that is allowed by the tradition and culture of the country. For example, in western countries, sex appeal is used a lot in advertising many different products. It is used to grab attention of customers and is used to boost sales. This strategy however wont be successful in countries that are very religious like most Arabic countries where the dominant religion is Islam. In those countries people, especially girls, are mostly covered and so wont be wearing very revealing clothes. Therefore, ads that use sex appeal, like girls in bikinis for example, wont be used. One company that used proper advertisement was Procter and Gamble. Companies adjust

advertisements to the nationality of their clients. The Japanese prefers to buy shampoo which uses Japanese girls in its advertisements. Russian housewives prefer washing powder that uses Russian housewives instead of American housewives in its advertisements.

Adaptation To Foreign Market By Multinational Corporations

Companies that adapted to foreign market successfully
Just because a large company is very successful in one country, it doesnt mean that it will be successful in another country, especially if that country has a completely different culture. McDonalds is one of the largest companies in the world. However, it has adapted to the different cultures to make sure it is successful. In France, McDonald's added tablecloths and candles to improve the ambience at some eateries and introduced waiter service at certain outlets because they found that most Europeans prefer leisurely rather than fast food dining .In addition to space, McDonalds has changed its menus from one country to another, offering food that locals usually eat: in France, a burger has mustard and ciabatta rolls instead of regular buns. In Japan, fried egg burgers were offered.

Companies that failed to adapt to foreign culture

In many occasions, a lot of the larger companies think that because they are a large corporation, they can succeed anywhere without changing anything. This tactic proved wrong, as many companies have failed and were forced to shutdown foreign branches. The biggest example was When Wal-Mart expanded in Germany in 1997, it hoped that Germans, like Americans, would scoop up its low-priced

items. By July 2006, Wal-Mart had closed its German operations and absorbed $1 billion in losses. This was because they didnt adjust to the German culture where people preferred frequently specialty stores, not one-stop shops .Another example is Daimler AG, it failed in its acquisition of Chrysler because its disciplined, buttoned-down executives could never meld with their more freewheeling American counterparts.

Types of Multinational Corporations

Transnational Corporations
A Transnational Corporation (TNC) differs from a traditional MNC in that it does not identify itself with one national home. Whilst traditional MNCs are national companies with foreign subsidiaries, TNCs spread out their operations in many countries sustaining high levels of local responsiveness. An example of a TNC is Nestl who employ senior executives from many countries and try to make decisions from a global perspective rather than from one centralised

headquarters. However, the terms TNC and MNC are often used interchangeably. A study of Dutch multi-national corporations showed that foreign expansions best unfold sequentionally, consistent with the notions of organizational learning. Firms ought to diversify first into culturally (and less so geographically) nearby countries before they venture farther away. They do so more successfully if they also follow a learning process by mode ( e.g, greenfield based expansion versus acquisitions or equity joint ventures) or by level of ownership.

Micro-multinationals
Enabled by Internet based communication tools, a new breed of multinational companies is growing in numbers. These multinationals start operating in different countries from the very early stages. These companies are being called micro-multinationals. What differentiates micro-multinationals from the large MNCs is the fact that they are small businesses. Some of these micro-multinationals, particularly software development companies, have been hiring employees in multiple countries from the beginning of the Internet era. But more and more micro-multinationals are actively starting to market their products and services in various countries. Internet tools like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ebay and Amazon make it easier for the micromultinationals to reach potential customers in other countries. Service sector micro-multinationals, like Facebook, Alibaba etc. started as dispersed virtual businesses with employees, clients and resources located in various countries. Their rapid growth is a direct result of being able to use the internet, cheaper telephony and lower traveling costs to create unique business opportunities. Low cost SaaS (Software As A Service) suites make it easier for these companies to operate without a physical office. Hal Varian, Chief Economist at Google and a professor of information economics at U.C.Berkeley , said in April 2010, "Immigration today, thanks to the Web, means something very different than it used to mean. There's no longer a brain drain but brain circulation. People

now doing startups understand what opportunities are available to them around the world and work to harness it from a distance rather than move people from one place to another."

Role Of Multinational Corporations

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are huge industrial organizations having a wide network of branches and subsidiaries spread over a number of countries. The two main characteristics of MNCs are their large size and the fact that their worldwide activities are centrally controlled by the parent companies. Such a company may enter into joint venture with a company in another country. There may be agreement among companies of different countries in respect of division of production, market, etc. These companies are to be found in almost all the advanced countries, with the USA perhaps the biggest amongst them. Their operations extend beyond their own countries, and cover not only the advanced countries but also the LDCs. Many MNCs have annual sales volume in excess of the entire GNPs of the developing countries in which they operate. MNCs have great impact on the development process of the Underdeveloped countries. Let us discuss the arguments for and against the operation of MNCs in underdeveloped countries. Arguments for MNCs(The positive role): The MNCs play an important role in the economic development of underdeveloped countries.

1. Filling Savings Gap: The first important contribution of MNCs is its role in filling the resource gap between targeted or desired investment and domestically mobilized savings. For example, to achieve a 7% growth rate of national output if the required rate of saving is 21% but if the savings that can be domestically mobilised is only 16% then there is a saving gap of 5%. If the country can fill this gap with foreign direct investments from the MNCs, it will be in a better position to achieve its target rate of economic growth. 2. Filling Trade Gap: The second contribution relates to filling the foreign exchange or trade gap. An inflow of foreign capital can reduce or even remove the deficit in the balance of payments if the MNCs can generate a net positive flow of export earnings. 3. Filling Revenue Gap: The third important role of MNCs is filling the gap between targeted governmental tax revenues and locally raised taxes. By taxing MNC profits, LDC governments are able to mobilize public financial resources for development projects. 4. Filling Management/Technological Gap: Fourthly, Multinationals not only provide financial resources but they also supply a package of needed resources including management experience,

entrepreneurial abilities, and technological skills. These can be transferred to their local counterparts by means of training programs and the process of learning by doing.

Moreover,

MNCs

bring

with about

them

the

most

sophisticated while

technological

knowledge

production

processes

transferring modern machinery and equipment to capital poor LDCs. Such transfers of knowledge, skills, and technology are assumed to be both desirable and productive for the recipient country. 5.Other Beneficial Roles: The MNCs also bring several other benefits to the host country. (a) The domestic labour may benefit in the form of higher real wages. (b) The consumers benefits by way of lower prices and better quality products. (c) Investments by MNCs will also induce more domestic investment. For example, ancillary units can be set up to feed the main industries of the MNCs (d) MNCs expenditures on research and development(R&D), although limited is bound to benefit the host country. Apart from these there are indirect gains through the realization of external economies.

Arguments Against MNCs(The negative role): There are several arguments against MNCs which are discuss below.

1. Although MNCs provide capital, they may lower domestic savings and investment rates by stifling competition through exclusive production agreements with the host governments. MNCs often fail to reinvest much of their profits and also they may inhibit the expansion of indigenous firms.

2. . Although the initial impact of MNC investment is to improve the foreign exchange position of the recipient nation, its long-run impact may reduce foreign exchange earnings on both current and capital accounts. The current account may deteriorate as a result of substantial importation of intermediate and capital goods while the capital account may worsen because of the overseas repatriation of profits, interest, royalties, etc. 3. While MNCs do contribute to public revenue in the form of corporate taxes, their contribution is considerably less than it should be as a result of liberal tax concessions, excessive investment allowances, subsidies and tariff protection provided by the host government. 4. The management, entrepreneurial skills, technology, and overseas contacts provided by the MNCs may have little impact on developing local skills and resources. In fact, the development of these local skills may be inhibited by the MNCs by stifling the growth of indigenous entrepreneurship as a result of the MNCs dominance of local markets. 5. MNCs impact on development is very uneven. In many situations MNC activities reinforce dualistic economic structures and widens

income inequalities. They tend to promote the interests of some few modern-sector workers only. They also divert resources away from the production of consumer goods by producing luxurious goods demanded by the local elites. 6. MNCs typically produce inappropriate products and stimulate inappropriate consumption patterns through advertising and their monopolistic market power. Production is done with capital-intensive technique which is not useful for labour surplus economies. This would aggravate the unemployment problem in the host country. 7. The behaviour pattern of MNCs reveals that they do not engage in R & D activities in underdeveloped countries. However, these LDCs have to bear the bulk of their costs. 8. MNCs often use their economic power to influence government policies in directions unfavorable to development. The host government has to provide them special economic and political concessions in the form of excessive protection, lower tax, subsidized inputs, cheap provision of factory sites. As a result, the private profits of MNCs may exceed social benefits. 9. Multinationals may damage the host countries by suppressing domestic entrepreneurship through their superior knowledge,

worldwide contacts, and advertising skills. They drive out local competitors and inhibit the emergence of small-scale enterprises.

Literature Review
It is a widely commented that the rapid pace of globalisation has led to increased global activity and global competition. This global phenomenon has ultimately emphasized the critical importance of international human resource management (IHRM) and its aim to enable the Multinational company (MNC) to be successful on a global front as well as the ever-rising importance of global assignments The literature reveals that within the globalizing nature of our times, the very notion of an international assignment and international employee is changing and expanding, to one that looks beyond the concept of a traditional expatriate sent on assignment by their organisation, to a more diverse set of international employees. Collings, Scullion and Morely, (2007) call for a more strategic approach to be taken when it comes to staffing in the international context and they outline the new and old challenges of using traditional expatriates and highlight the many alternatives to using them. The more contemporary difficulties with using traditional expatriates can be seen with the emerging markets; requirements for expatriates such as visas and permits; Career issues (dual-career) as well as the impact that 9/11 has had on the international labour force (p 200). Other areas of concern according to Collings et al (2007) are the limited participation of women in international management, repatriation issues and weak international talent management systems (p.200-202). The paradoxical nature of this is twofold; even though there is a shortage of international managers there is still a shortage of women in international management and these shortages exist despite the evidence in recent research that indicates that female managers are successful in their global assignments (Tung, 2004). Given that the success of women on global assignments has been highlighted, Janssens, Cappellen and Zanoni (2006) point out that there continues to be a

lack of research in this area and argue that there should be more academic research conducted illustrating female success on a global front.

Methodology:The aim of the study is to learn about the professional women who live and work in India as opposed to building or testing theory. In attempting to better understand that influences female expatriates to take on international work experience, how their experiences effects the nature of their career concept and the extent to any issues of discrimination thy may face. Due to shortage of literature in this area an exploratory approach was considered most appropriate.

Research Design
In adherence to the research philosophy and theoretical framework, the design of this project will be qualitative rather than quantitative in nature. Studies of this sort may have been enriched if conducted as longitudinal inquiry, however, neither time, circumstance nor financial resources allowed for longitudinal approach.

Research Purpose
The purpose of research is to find out the different types of difficulties faced by women expatriates in India. Compared with their male counterparts living in same country. And also comparing it with other nations that similar problems exist there or not. Firstly to find that such kind of problems do exist or mere a thought. After identifying

problem trying to identify solutions to the problems. Such as making aware people about the negative consequences of it to the nation.

Research Approach
Research approach has been to select randomly few expatriates, male and female both. To know about their experience in India, how far did they succeeded to accommodate with the cultural and other different changes. Tried to identify their views regarding women expatriates position in India. Then comparing the extent to which women have been comfortable with cultural and different aspects of India.

Research Strategy
Framing questionnaire in such a format that more precise views could be fetched with less number of questions. Different types of questions so as to identify their experience in India. Thereafter to identify the crux of the research problem. Research questionnaire was in combined form with objective and subjective questions to be filled, and to trace the missed out points covered in subjective questions and to get the their views towards how they have been treated in India. And how womens experience has been different.

Data Collection
Data has been randomly collected by expatriates working with different organisations, from different countries. Because of their different background country there has been different in their approach in accommodating.

Sampling Strategy
The sampling strategy adopted in this study aimed to gain an insight into a particular population within a specific location. The sample was gathered through a

combination of sampling techniques that represent a non-probability, purposeful sampling strategy and does not claim to be representative of the total population of female manager expatriates.

Major Findings:
Amazed with the mixed response from different nationals working in India. Though, able to fetch the by observing and considering what relatively majority of expatriates think regarding the topic. Women expatriates face bit of problems and treated as celebrities while on other hand teased because of the same reason. But gradually with more and more women expatriates heading towards assignment in India. It is becoming common for Indians to resist the change and accept them as part of the society. As they are working hard to accommodate to Indian culture, likewise Indians are too slowly and gradually adopting them and have reduced responding surprisingly excited. Question wise analysis, 1. 60% of people think women expatriates does not face more difficulties than their male counterparts in India. 2. 60% of people think women are given less priority in management decisions. 3. 60% of people think women are not the best managers in the world. 4. Majority of people agree that men India does not want to be ruled by female bosses. 5. In India, society is more concerned if women expatriates live single. 6. In India, people respect women more. 7. In India, people are more helpful and supportive for female expatriates. 8. In India, people enjoy living and working in India. 9. Most of them accommodated with the cultural differences in India. 10. All of them enjoy cultural festivals in India.

11. Culturally women adjust better than male counterparts in India. 12. Males find it bit difficult to adjust in interaction with Indians whereas women are much better in creating repo. 13. In personal adjustment too males find it bit difficult to adjust as compared to female expatriates 14. Sample people believe that success of women expatriates depend on the personal attitude to adjust and accommodate with cultural and other changes rather than country they are working. 15. People believe India is favourable for women expatriates. As women are given respect and appreciation for their work. They believe India as overall favourable country as lot of expatriates enjoy their life here. But it more depends on the personal attitude towards adaptation and adjusting with Indian culture.

METHODOLOGY The research design to be used is the descriptive approach. This type of research presents facts concerning the nature and status of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study (Creswell, 1994). This also believes that the relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, effects that are being felt, or trends that are developing. (Best, 1970) Furthermore, such approach tries to describe present conditions, events or systems based on the impressions or reactions of the respondents of the research (Creswell, 1994).

Quantitative approach will be used in collecting data. Quantitative method is compatible with the study because it allows the research problem to be conducted in a very specific

and set terms (Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, 1992). Besides, a quantitative research plainly and distinctively specifies both the independent and the dependent variables under investigation (Matveev, 2002). It also follows resolutely the original set of research goals, arriving at more objective conclusions, testing hypothesis, determining the issues of causality and eliminates or minimises subjectivity of judgment (Kealey and Protheroe, 1996). Further, this method allows for longitudinal measures of subsequent performance of research subjects (Matveev, 2002). Finally, it provides achieving high levels of reliability of gathered data due to i.e. controlled observations, laboratory experiments, mass surveys, or other form of research manipulations (Balsley, 1970).

Data Collection The data for the study will be collected through survey. Survey is the chosen method to collect data because its function is to generalize results from a sample to a larger population. (Commonwealth of Learning, 2000) The primary purpose and advantage of surveys is generalization of the results (Commonwealth of Learning, 2000). Usually, surveys are interested in gathering data from many than in obtaining intensive, detailed information from a few individuals; therefore, it is seldom for a survey to consist of one or very few individuals (Commonwealth of Learning, 2000). Consequently, in designing a survey research study, one has to take into consideration the sample and the sampling procedure: the sample size should be adequate to allow generalization of the results, and the sampling procedure should also be such that small sub-groups within the population (such as landless farmers) are properly represented in the sample (Commonwealth of Learning, 2000). This is because errors in sampling procedures may not justify

generalization

of

the

results,

thus

lowering

the

value

of

the

survey

(Commonwealth of Learning, 2000).

A semi-structured questionnaire will be used to collect data.

This survey-questionnaire

will have two sections. The first part will intend to acquire the demographic profile of the respondents, while the other section will contain a set of attitude statements. The purpose of the set of attitude statements is to determine the level of agreement or disagreement using a five-point Likert scale. In the Likert technique, the degree of agreement or disagreement) is given a numerical value ranging from one to five, thus a total numerical value can be calculated from all the responses. (Underwood, 2004) The equivalent weights for the answers will be:

Range 4.50 5.00 3.50 4.00 2.50 3.49 1.50 2.49 0.00 1.49

Interpretation Strongly Disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly Agree

Sampling The respondents to be surveyed are MNCs in the UK that have joint ventures or direct investments in Asian countries such as China,Japan, or Southeast Asian nations. Potential respondents will be first chosen from the DTI list of MNCs, and then emails will be sent

for their approval on the survey. Questionnaires will also be submitted through emails and will also be returned to the researcher through emails.

The formula suggested by Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2003) will be used to determine the actual sample size required in the study. First, the total population of a particular online MBA school and a traditional MBA school will be acquired. The estimated total response rate will be estimated with the formula that was suggested: Total response rate = Total No. of Responses Total No. in Sample ineligible Then, the actual sample size will be calculated with the following formula: n = n X 100 Re% In the formula, n is the actual sample size required; n is the minimum sample size, and; re% is the estimated response rate expressed as a percentage. Systematic sampling will be used to calculate the valid number of respondents needed. A probability sampling approach was chosen to avoid the bias of non-probability sampling.

Data Analysis Data will be analyzed through percentage and mean analysis. SPSS software will be used to compute the data gathered. Determining the mean and percentage on the level of response of the respondents on the items in the Likert-type questionnaire will statistically show the relationship between lack of cross-cultural training and learning, and poor performance of the HRM expatriate.

Potential Limitations The study is limited only to MNC's headquartered in Europe that has expansions in mainland China. However, persuading companies to participate in the study may be difficult because it will involve setting up appointments with the managers of the company. Another potential limitation of the study is that respondents may not take the questionnaires seriously since it is only structured; meaning answer choices are already provided. So, in order to promote participation among respondents, the study's purpose will be clearly explained on the survey questionnaire. TIMEFRAME
5April PROPOSAL INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW RESEARCH DESIGN SURVEYQUESTIONNAIRE CONDUCTING THE SURVEY CONDUCTING 15May 1-June 25July 10-Aug 25-Sept 5-Oct 25-Nov

INTERVIEW DATA COLLECTION PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

FINAL ANALYSIS SUBMISSION OF PROJECT

Table 1: Timetable

Conclusion
Hereby, the research problem has proved that yes, there are many problems faced by women, still they are performing better than their male counterparts. And if we can remove those problems gradually by introducing more campaigns such as promoted by Amir Khan, for Stop teasing women tourist visiting India and helping to grow our GDP. Because there are only few people who decrease the prestige of the country. And in future women expatriate would be hesitated to enter in the nation. Hence, the research study recommends to promote more advertisement campaign, create the welcome approach for them and be helpful to them. And make India a better place to work for anyone independently.

Questionnaire
(Information collected will not be disclosed and used only for academics)

Please answer the following questions: Personal Details:First Name:- ...................... Last Name......................Middle Name................... HCN PCN TCN 20-27 F 28-35 35-45 Above 45 Married

Age:- Below 20 Gender:- M Nationality:British Other French

Marital Status:- Single

Swedish

US

Dutch

Italian

Please Specify........................

Specialization:-.................................... Position:- CEO Manager Non-managerial

Designation:- ............................. Work Orientation:- Income Career

Organization Details:Organization Name:-............................... Headquarters:-......................................... Type:- Branch Wholly owned subsidiary Joint Venture Representative Office

1. Do you believe expatriates face more difficulties in international assignment than male counterparts in India? Yes No

2. Did you ever experienced that woman are given less priority in managerial decisions? Yes No

3. Do you believe women are the best managers in the world? Yes No

For below Statements Rating scale is (1-Strongly agree, 2-Agree, 3-neutral, 4-Disagree, 5- Strongly Disagree)
In India, men do not want to be ruled by female bosses.

4. In India, society is more concerned if women expatriate lives single. 1 2 3 4 5

5. In India, people respect women more. 1 2 3 4 5

6. In India, people are supportive and helpful for female expatriates. 1 2 3 4 5

7. You enjoy living & working in India? 1 2 3 4 5

8. You easily accommodated with the cultural differences in India. 1 2 3 4 5

9. You enjoy cultural festivals celebrated in India. 1 2 3 4 5

10.Cultural Adjustment 1 2 3 4 5

11.Interaction Adjustment 1 2 3 4 5

12.Personal Adjustment 1 2 3 4 5

13.Do you believe success of women expatriates depend on the country they are assigned to? Why? expatriates Yes No

Do you believe India is favorable for Women expatriates? Why

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