Unfortunately, human resources experts say most expatriate workers leave ignorant about the adopted culture, with families that don't understand the challenges they'll face. Ironically, expats are unprepared in many cases to return to the states once their tour of duty is over. On this topic Newsletters IT Insights from META Group. The day an expatriate gets off the plane, he or she is not adjusted to the culture. It takes a process that happens at the emotional level.
Expatriate assignments offer special challenges for technology companies.
While other industries might send workers from a variety of departments and skill levels, high-tech firms typically target IT managers who can teach a new technology development and supervise an overseas staff of programmers or computer assemblers. Even though high-tech expatriates may be experienced managers, there's no guarantee that they can be successful in another culture. According to Scott, the biggest mistake companies make when choosing candidates for international assignments is to assume that a successful manager at home will be equally successful overseas. The survey's series of questions doesn't result in a thumbs up or down for potential overseas managers. Instead, the questions identify personality traits that are useful or problematic when facing the challenges of integrating into a foreign culture.