Search results

In Chapter 1, Susan Shortland (2011) examined theories and models that could be used to explain female expatriate participation with a view to identifying the most promising theoretical lenses for future research. Her study took as its basis, issues, evidence and explanations from both the ‘women in management’ and ‘women expatriates’ literature to identify four main theoretical domains: family issues, assignee characteristics, host and home country norms, and institutional factors. Findings revealed that the most promising explanations of women's low expatriate participation were identified as being linked to occupational gender stereotyping and sex roles in employment, women's reduced social capital and patriarchal attitudes towards their identity and homemaker roles. These were reinforced by institutional isomorphic behaviour through which organisations mimic each other's human resource practices.

Purpose –– The purpose of this chapter is to test the managerial decision-making knowledge of Mexican administrators managing maquiladora plants, or ‘twin plants’, in the effort to devise a practical skill set assessment.

Design/methodology/approach –– A sample of Mexican maquiladora managers was studied along dimensions of gender, experience, proximity to parent firm and upward mobility in order to assess the managers' level of ‘managerial intelligence’, where the constructs of tacit knowledge and intuition were used as proxies for managerial intelligence.

Findings –– While managerial decision-making may be classified as special forms of knowledge, assessment of this knowledge as forms of tacit ‘knowing’ did not prove successful.

Research limitations/implications –– Due to limitations of time and money in conjunction with the characteristically low response rate on surveys in Mexico, the sample was rather limited given the number and size of ‘twin plants’ and not wholly random. Thus, future research will need to address these shortcomings.

Originality/value –– This chapter is an effort to fill a gap in the literature regarding measures of tacit knowledge and the effort to elucidate the operation and management of plants in Mexico's maquiladora industry.

Purpose — The purpose of this chapter is to provide knowledge and insights gained into Canadian expatriates' perspectives of living and working in Indonesia and to enhance the reader's understanding of the lived experience of being immersed in another culture.

Methodology — A descriptive phenomenological qualitative method was employed, which uncovered paradoxes that were lived by Canadian expatriate managers.

Findings — The following paradoxes are presented using participants' words and lived experiences of the authors: powerful-powerless, understanding-not understanding, being supported-not supported, belonging-not belonging and freedom-restriction.

Research limitations — While the qualitative findings may not be ‘generalisable’ according to a quantitative viewpoint, they are certainly applicable to others' experiences as demonstrated by the authors' description of their own experiences.

Practical implications — Enhanced understanding of this lived experience will spark improved expatriation strategies and lead directly to significant improvement in the overall performance of international organisations because an effective expatriate will be more capable of facilitating the two-way sharing and blending of the local and exogenous knowledge, therefore fulfilling a key role in knowledge transfer.

Social implications –– The importance of being open to others' lived experiences and supporting others who are immersed in another culture has universal appeal from a social perspective.

Originality/value of chapter — This is a unique research chapter describing research findings and joining participants' words and experiences with the authors' experiences. As well it is hoped that readers will relate to the paradoxes.

Purpose — The purpose of this chapter is to give a framework to the issues that need to be addressed with the advent of the global economy and the realisation that the only lasting competitive advantage is an organisation's ability to effectively exploit intellectual capital. Excellent companies build learning organisations systematically, but in their haste, many firms underestimate the importance of cultural, technological, executive and learning imperatives that permeate dynamic, knowledge-based environments. Learning is a dynamic process between the needs of the individual, its leader, operational environment and the demands of the organisation.

Methodology — An initial quantitative study of 101 successful multinational companies with manufacturing facilities in Ireland the findings from which were reinforced by five case studies randomly selected from the ten firms identified from the quantitative research actively developing towards becoming learning organisations.

Findings — The findings of the quantitative and qualitative research are undertaken in the development of the learning imperatives presented in the body of the chapter under: Host Location, Culture Shock, Cross-Cultural Understanding, New Technology, Intellectual Capital, Dissatisfaction with the Traditional Management Paradigm, Nature of Global Business, Executive Challenge of Multinational Assignments, Learning Imperatives in Dynamic Multinational Environments.

Research implications — The research spanned 18 years and has relevance for all organisations irrespective of size operating in culturally diverse environments or simply planning to expand their operations.

Social implications — Are many and varied; however, this chapter, due to word constraints, only examines nine key attributes from the 35 identified. Nevertheless, every one of them will resonate to a greater or lesser extent with leaders from every walk of life.

Originality — The research work outlined in this chapter constituted an important element of the author's doctoral thesis, and its primary value is in the manner in which it simplifies complex issues that consciously or unconsciously affect groups or individuals in their respective working environments.