International Assignments Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Assignments - Research Paper Example The specific issues covered in the study include expatriates, pre-departure training components, expatriates performance appraisal, selection and recruitment strategies for expatriates, staffing alternatives, importance of offering high-quality mentoring for expatriates and how to measure return on investment for international assignments. Pre-departure training is very crucial for workers who have been assigned an international mission to represent their companies (Harzing & Pinnington, 2010). The training equips the assignees with company’s objectives and personal coping mechanisms in the host country in order to avoid pre-mature return of the expatriates. It enables the expatriates to relate between host country and home country and establish the mechanisms for overcoming challenges that may arise as a result of differences between the two countries (Stahl et al., 2012). The company’s workers will have to be sensitized about the cultural differences between the home country and host country (Stahl et al., 2012). Various nations have different cultures that may affect the expatriates relate with business partners and citizens in the host country. Inadequate understanding of the  background  of the people in the host country can make the lives of the expatriates extremely difficult and can result to conflict due to what may be seen as interference or disrespect of culture of the people in the host country by the expatriates (Stahl et al., 2012). Therefore, pre-departure training aims at orienting the expatriates with information regarding the cultural values of the host country in order to alleviate culture shock as the expatriates take up their new jobs. The amount of training offered will depend on the prior exposure of the expatriates to particular of the country they  expect to operate  (Harzing & Pinnington, 2010). This entails  briefing the expatriates