The video shows an employee being relocated to Paris, France from New York with his family.
The employee was disappointed with his new position and found it difficult to stay in Paris.
Consequently, he terminated his contract and returned to New York (Piercy, 2014). This post
will be a discussion on the challenges of expatriates and some of the strategies to follow.
Was the employee being unreasonable in his requests? How did the HR team handle the
situation?
When we look at this case we need to outline some of the facts. The first is that the employee
was given six months as part of the employee assistance program. This program was aimed to
help him and his family learn French. He didn't capitalize on this opportunity hence, his family
didn't learn French. Additionally, he underestimated the difficulties of integrating into a new
culture.
This is partly the fault of the company because they should inform their expatriate of the
difficulties of moving to another country and assimilating into new cultures. Black & Gregersen,
(2016) indicates culture shock is one of the reasons for expatriates sent overseas from the United
Stated to return prematurely. Language training is not enough and the assistance program
should've been more thorough. Expatriate failure is primarily caused by an error in the selection
Additionally, most expatriate failure happens due to errors in selecting the right employee
(Harvey & Noviceivic 2001). The primary focus on technical skills will cloud the decision-
making. Hence, the firm and the HR department should take responsibility. However, they have
understood their mistakes and provided him with a position that's lower but with the same salary.
Additionally, they have provided him with a similar position in other locations. This is
considered a fair compensation provided by HR taking all the factors into consideration
Given what you know about the challenges of expatriates, was there anything that the
company should have done for this employee and/or his family?
There are several things the company should have done to support the employee and his family.
To start with they should press on the importance of employee assistance programs considering
the challenge they will face. The training should include cultural intelligence, emotional
The employee was disappointed with his new position and found it difficult to stay in Paris.
Consequently, he terminated his contract and returned to New York (Piercy, 2014). This post
will be a discussion on the challenges of expatriates and some of the strategies to follow.
Was the employee being unreasonable in his requests? How did the HR team handle the
situation?
When we look at this case we need to outline some of the facts. The first is that the employee
was given six months as part of the employee assistance program. This program was aimed to
help him and his family learn French. He didn't capitalize on this opportunity hence, his family
didn't learn French. Additionally, he underestimated the difficulties of integrating into a new
culture.
This is partly the fault of the company because they should inform their expatriate of the
difficulties of moving to another country and assimilating into new cultures. Black & Gregersen,
(2016) indicates culture shock is one of the reasons for expatriates sent overseas from the United
Stated to return prematurely. Language training is not enough and the assistance program
should've been more thorough. Expatriate failure is primarily caused by an error in the selection
Additionally, most expatriate failure happens due to errors in selecting the right employee
(Harvey & Noviceivic 2001). The primary focus on technical skills will cloud the decision-
making. Hence, the firm and the HR department should take responsibility. However, they have
understood their mistakes and provided him with a position that's lower but with the same salary.
Additionally, they have provided him with a similar position in other locations. This is
considered a fair compensation provided by HR taking all the factors into consideration
Given what you know about the challenges of expatriates, was there anything that the
company should have done for this employee and/or his family?
There are several things the company should have done to support the employee and his family.
To start with they should press on the importance of employee assistance programs considering
the challenge they will face. The training should include cultural intelligence, emotional
