Virginia Cathro

Desperate housewives – social and professional isolation of German expatriated spouses

The spouses of expatriates have repeatedly been identified as a major component in the equation for success of international assignments. Their commitment, cooperation and contribution to the emotional, physical and mental well-being of the expats facilitate the successful completion of corporate missions across cultural and national borders. Yet, for spouses to be this positive influence on the expat, several requirements need to be met, such as a chance to maintain a sense of identity and self-worth through the possible continuation of their own careers as well as either the maintenance of old or creation of new social support networks for the duration of the corporate mission. This requires a strategic international human resource management (IHRM) effort of assigning companies that goes beyond the immediate needs of ordinary relocations. This research report answers questions about how traditional global players in Germany deal with these issues. The results draw a rather dark picture as the IHRM strategies of these German corporations display a severe lack of support to find employment either on or after the assignment and show little effort to facilitate the (re-)creation of a social support network. Consequences and future research questions are delineated.

Home alone and often unprepared – intercultural communication training for expatriated partners in German MNCs

This article reports the results of a study of partners who accompany the expatriated representatives of multinational corporations (MNCs) on overseas missions and identifies that they are mostly home alone and often unprepared. Following a review of the literature on issues related to expatriated partners, in particular intercultural communication training (ICT), the article presents the findings of empirical research conducted in Germany on current ICT trends for expatriated partners. The study identifies the ICT methods German MNCs use to support these partners before and during international assignments. The authors surveyed 141 German expatriated partners who went on overseas missions to 36 countries. The results of this research project indicate that traditional ICT is only provided to the minority of partners in German MNCs, follows no predictable time pattern, and is mostly perceived as rather useless by participants. Particular attention is paid, however, to the target culture in the ICT design. Non-traditional ICT methods, such as Look-&-See Trips, are rather generously taken advantage of.

Virtual Teams and International Business Teaching and Learning: The Case of the Global Enterprise Experience (GEE)

The increasing importance of global virtual teams in business is reflected in the classroom by the increased adoption of activities that facilitate real-time cross-cultural interaction. This article documents the experience of students from two Colombian universities who participated in a collaborative international project using virtual teams as part of the international business (IB) curriculum. The data reveals that in spite of challenges associated with time zone differences, technology limitations, and trust issues, the vast majority of students perceived that the use of virtual teams as a teaching tool facilitates cultural understanding and IB-relevant learning. The findings of this research suggest that online experiential exercises can be an effective approach in teaching and in the development of virtual collaboration skills.

Assessing reflection: Understanding skill development through reflective learning journals

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to suggest ways in which business educators can interact successfully with reflective learning journals (RLJs). Specifically, the research was interested in how students used RLJs and how educators assessed these RLJs. Design/methodology/approach In total, 31 RLJs, submitted as part of an international communication course involving a global virtual team exercise, were analysed. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes discussed by participants, while content analysis, based upon Kolb’s learning cycle, was used to assess the depth of student reflection. Findings Students appear to have engaged with depth and understanding and were able to articulate their skill level, but there was variance in their reflective ability across different skills. Practical implications An interpretation of Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle as a method to assist educators to assess RLJs is presented. Specifically, educators need to provide more guidance to students to enhance their ability to reflect. The authors suggest that a rubric based on Kolb could fulfil this objective. Originality/value This study responds to the call for more research examining depth of reflection (Lien et al., 2012); it also offers contribution to the variety of models characterising reflective depth (Ash and Clayton, 2009; Chamberlain, 2012; Lien et al., 2012) drawn from experiential learning in the form of written RLJs.

Adult third culture kids’ suitability as expatriates

Purpose Understanding expatriate performance, suitability, selection and development have long been identified as critical to international human resource management (IHRM). The authors explore how adult third culture kids (ATCKs) see themselves in regard to their future capacity to successfully engage in international assignments. This paper aims to confirm research suggesting ATCKs may indeed be invaluable to international organisations but that organisations might re-evaluate the form of IHRM support offered. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews with a small sample of ATCKs are used in an exploratory qualitative study. Findings The ATCKs see themselves as a genuine source of exceptionally capable, expatriate talent on the basis of their prior international experience in childhood and the capacity to socio-culturally adapt in a chameleon-like manner. This paper confirms research suggesting ATCKs may indeed be invaluable to international organisations but that organisations might re-evaluate the form of IHRM support offered. However, the flip-side of these self-perceptions is that they may appear rootless and restless, may be self-centred rather than organisationally oriented, and may voluntarily isolate themselves from more traditional expatriates instead opting to immerse themselves in the local host country scene. Research limitations/implications The findings are based on a small sample, and future research embracing a range of methodologies is envisaged. Practical implications The findings offer insights for practitioners and researchers, and ATCKs with reference to the selection of international assignment and performance management of ATCKs. Originality/value While some scholars have suggested that ATCKs may be ideal expatriate talent, the findings give focus to what might retain this talent in an organisation and suggests a future research agenda.

A Decade of Global Enterprise Experiences

The Global Enterprise Experience (GEE) is an international business competition that develops tertiary student skills in managing across cultures, time zones, worldviews and levels of wealth and poverty. It builds a mindset for creating successful business ventures that tackle social and environmental issues. Participants are placed in teams of eight, with members drawn from around the world. Teams compete, not countries. They have three weeks to develop a six-page business concept proposal on a profitable product or service that addresses a social or environmental challenge — the challenge changes each year with topics like fostering women’s development, addressing the United Nations Millennium Goals and enabling environmental sustainability (see www.geebiz.org).

Developing wisdom in future managers: encouraging practical wisdom via voluntary engagement during undergraduate business education

Employers report that despite knowledge, graduating students are initially unable to act wisely in the workplace. They lack practical wisdom or phronesis (Aristotles term). We contribute an exploration of the role of university education in encouraging this practical wisdom to develop. Through increased voluntary student engagement students moved from demonstrating knowledge of theory towards showing a context-specific practical wisdom. The additional voluntary activities had greater engagement and reflection with formative feedback. Those who voluntarily engaged were the more successful of the students by the programme end. Activities and assessments were designed to focus on practical wisdom. University learning designers should find ways to increase student engagement, feedback and reflection in their programmes so as to develop practical wisdom. We set a tentative research agenda to carry out more work on the role of engagement, activities to encourage voluntary engagement and how to measure practical wisdom.

The e-mentoring of expatriates: mapping existing research domains and new opportunities

Considerable research has been undertaken into the role of mentoring and also of expatriation, with attention being paid to mentoring expatriates. Given the growth of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and the rise of the techno savvy Generation Y, it is surprising that very little has been written about the e-mentoring of expatriates. This paper begins to develop a framework for possible research in the domain created where mentoring, CMC and the management of expatriates intersect. It presents a review of the literature, draws together a theoretical framework and suggests research directions for future empirical examination.