Assignment Purpose: Reasons for Using AE Managers

In line with the research questions, the interviewer aimed to find out about the nature and use of expatriate assignments within the current MNC context. One of the key objectives was to understand why AE managers were assigned to foreign subsidiaries, in order to understand the

83| P a g e extent to which Edstrom and Galbraith's 1977 framework still adequately captured the functions that expatriate managers currently perform. Hence, interviewees were first questioned about why AE managers were assigned to foreign subsidiaries. To gain such knowledge, it was important to interview not only AE managers, but also the individual who was charged with the organisation of such assignments, and hence possessed specialist knowledge of the subject. So, prior to speaking with the AE managers based within EngCo, the HRD, or R1, who had responsibility for global mobility in ManCo's UK headquarters, and who provided access to the AE managers in EngCo, was first interviewed. The main reasons for using international management assignments as indicated by interviewees are identified in table 5 below. When asked about the purposes of assigning managers to overseas subsidiaries, the seven interviewees listed a variety of reasons.

Table 6. Main reasons using international management assignments in ManCo

Within the UK location, EngCo, the type of international assignments used included a mixture of long-term and short-term assignments. While the longer-term assignees were deemed to be expatriates, employees on shorter term assignments (less than one year) were referred to as International Service Employees (ISEs). The HRD, R1, indicated, however, that the preference was more towards longer term assignments, which were typically for a minimum of two years and lasting up five years depending on the role of the assignee. When asked about why ManCo sent expatriate managers to EngCo, R1 made it clear that international assignments were typically used for more than one reason at a time. He stated that the majority of expatriate managers sent to this location were assigned within one specific business division which concentrated on the

Assignment Purpose R1 (HRD) R2 (Marketing) R3 (Finance) R4 (Marketing) R5 (Finance) R6 (IT) R7 (MD) Knowledge Transfer

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84| P a g e manufacturing of building products, and the reasons for assignment to this business and the UK location in general were for knowledge transfer and management development. However, he stated that the primary reason was knowledge transfer, stating that these individuals were assigned to foreign locations mainly because of their specialist skills. About this, he stated:

“They are here to predominantly because of the skills that they possess. ManCo’s approach to the IA [international assignment] programme is that it needs to be something that is going to be of benefit both to the individual and the company so from an individual’s point of view personally, how are they going to benefit from the experience”

- R1, HRD (EngCo)

Here he highlighted the dual purpose of such assignments, pointing out that while assigned managers were sent in order to transfer specialist skills, their other professional priorities could not be separated from this role. He stressed that it was important that both the individual manager and the organisation gained value from the assignment. It was also stated that the majority of those individuals assigned at a middle management level were coming over to the UK primarily for their own personal development, while more senior level managers were assigned because they had a specific skill or expertise to transfer. Regarding the assignment length, short-term assignments would typically be used for knowledge transfer, particularly with regard to transferring expertise on, for example, the assembly of a specific product. Conversely, while the longer-term assignments were also used for knowledge transfer, the nature of this knowledge transfer process was more strategic in nature, and typically involved the transfer of tacit expertise to the location. The process of such knowledge transfer will be discussed in the following section on the AE managers’ role mandates. About the current group of AE managers within EngCo, R1 stated:

“Yes most of them are senior managers as well. So the general manager here he’s a Dutch national who is on an assignment. The Head of Finance…Uh we’ve got senior managers in product support, marketing, engineering, so as I say a wide variety of disciplines, and again it has to be on the basis that they are actually adding value to us…They are an important part of it [achieving strategic objectives] because one of the things that ManCo wants to really push as a priority is the global nature of the company… because we are a

85| P a g e Luckily, many of the managers referred to above by the HRD agreed to be interviewed, and when asked about the purpose of their assignment, they corroborated the reasons outlined by R1. With regard to knowledge transfer, all six AE managers, including the general manager (GM) of the plant, indicated that managers were assigned within EngCo in order to transfer a specific skill-set or experience. R2, one of the senior marketing managers mentioned by R1, stated that he was indeed assigned for knowledge transfer reasons. As a commercial tele-handler within EngCo’s marketing division, his primary mandate was to transfer his specific skills and expertise to that location. In saying this, however, he also emphasized the developmental benefits of the assignment for managers. About this, he commented:

“Typically people who are going to be selected to go on a foreign assignment, it’s based on what they know what their skills are so they can bring that particular set of skills to the job. But then also it’s developmentally it gives you exposure to other markets”

- R2, Marketing

(EngCo)

Other managers also stated that in addition to their various knowledge transfer mandates, their assignment fulfilled several other purposes. When asked about the purpose of their assignment, the majority of AE managers interviewed agreed that they were sent to the UK location for knowledge transfer and management development purposes. With regards to knowledge transfer, AE managers indicated that they were sent for a multitude of knowledge-related reasons. While some managers stated it was because of a lack of knowledge on a particular product line or company IT system, others indicated that it was because of a shortage of specific professional skills within in the UK. Some of these managers also identified control as another main reason for being sent to the UK. For example, R3 was assigned as the financial comptroller for the unit not only because of his functional and professional expertise, but also to oversee local operations. He explained that he operated at a very senior level and that his primary objective was to ensure that the financial practices within EngCo were directly aligned with those practices established by ManCo’s US headquarters. He too commented about the duality of his expatriate role:

“It’s good to have that knowledge of US accounting practices and policies so that you may be able to help the team here who may not know those things and how they work. It’s really

86| P a g e two-fold I think…[also] making sure the integrity and the quality of the numbers we report and the financial results that we report are robust and strong.”

-R2, Finance (EngCo)

Another manager whose primary expatriate roles were related to knowledge transfer and control was R7, the GM of EngCo. This interviewee had been with the company for twenty-three years, and, with his engineering background, had previously run other ManCo factories across the globe. In addition to running EngCo, he was at the time also in charge of another manufacturing plant located in North-East England, as well as a factory in India. When asked why he was sent on assignment to EngCo, he stated that it was because of his accumulated experience of running various global operations. With regard to being assigned to the specific UK location, he explained that EngCo was of particular strategic importance within ManCo, primarily because of its size, and as a result it was important to ensure that it was appropriately aligned. About this, he commented:

“It’s fully aligned to the strategy. Strategically it has a critical piece in the puzzle if you want to explain it like that…There might not be more than ten factories in the world that are this size so it’s probably one of the top ten factories in ManCo in size.”

-R7, GM (EngCo)

He went on to explain that within manufacturing facilities like EngCo, expatriate managers often made up a very small population, and that they typically operated at a senior level and could be found in functional support roles such as marketing and finance. Indeed, four out of six AE managers interviewed were within these two departments. There was also an AE manager, R6, assigned within EngCo’s IT department at middle management level. This manager explained that he was sent to the UK location for a range of organisational, personal and professional reasons. With regard to organisational reasons, he stated that he was assigned to EngCo in order to coordinate the subsidiary’s existing IT protocols and bring these in line with ManCo’s headquarter IT systems that were being rolled out across the globe. Whilst doing this he was also expected to develop as a manager through autonomously leading a group of twenty-eight IT employees in

87| P a g e various projects. Finally, it was also his mandate to disseminate knowledge about the new IT systems being installed and teach local employees how to use these systems. More about what these roles entailed will be explained in the following section on assignment role mandates. Concerning his personal and professional reasons, R6 also explained that his UK assignment, which was also his first role abroad, was very much linked to his professional development. For this role, he was selected through ManCo’s talent management system, which identified the company’s top performers and future leaders. Hence, to further enhance his professional development, he was chosen for the role in EngCo. However, like previous managers and as indicated by his other expatriate roles, he reiterated that ManCo was keen on ensuring that both the company and the employee gained from using the particular expatriate role. R3, the financial comptroller in EngCo, expressed a similar view:

“This is an investment that ManCo is making in you so you need to be able to add value overseas not only gain the experience that you gain. So if they make the investment in you then you have to add value to where you’re going”

–R3, Finance (EngCo)

The majority of the AE managers interviewed also indicated that they were selected through the company’s talent management system, which aimed to identify those individuals who could not only benefit from an international management assignment, but that whose time on such an assignment would also be of benefit to the firm rather than simply an expense.

The above section has outlined the main reasons, as stated by interviewees within EngCo, for the use of international management assignments within ManCo. Interviewees have indicated that AE managers were sent to this UK location in order to transfer knowledge, for management development purposes, and for purposes of coordination and control. The following section will concentrate on what these various roles entailed and how AE managers undertook them within EngCo. As indicated by interviewees, AE managers in ManCo performed several functions at once. Below, the functions and processes identified in each of the roles, according to managers, will be explored in more detail.

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