The Overseas Transfer

In college, Pat Marek majored in industrial management and was considered by his teachers and peers to be a good all-around student. Pat not only took the required courses in business, but he also learned French. After graduation, Pat took an entry-level management training position with Tuborg International, a multinational corporation with offices and factories in numerous countries, including the United States. His first assignment was in a plant in Chicago. His supervisors quickly identified Pat for his ability to get the job done and still maintain good rapport with subordinates, peers, and superiors. In only three years, Pat had advanced from a manager trainee to the position of assistant plant superintendent.

After two years in this position, he was called into the plant manager's office one day and told that he had been identified as ready for a foreign assignment. The move would mean a promotion. The assignment was for a plant in Haiti, a predominantly French-speaking country; but Pat wasn't worried about living and working there. He was excited and wasted no time in making the necessary preparations for the new assignment.

Prior to arriving at the plant in Haiti, Pat took considerable time to review his French textbook exercises. He was surprised at how quickly the language came back to him. He thought that there wouldn't be any major difficulties in making the transition from Chicago to Haiti. However, Pat found, on arrival that the community where the plant was located did not speak the pure French that he had learned. There were many expressions that meant one thing to Pat but had an entirely different meaning to the employees of the plant.

When meeting with several of the employees a week after arriving, one of the workers said something to him that Pat interpreted as uncomplimentary. Actually, the employee had greeted him with a rather risqué expression but in a different tone than Pat had heard before. All of the other employees interpreted the expression to be merely a friendly greeting. Pat's disgust registered on his face.

As the days went by, this type of misunderstanding occurred a few more times, until the employees began to limit their conversations with him. In only one month, Pat managed to virtually isolate himself from the workers within the plant. He became disillusioned and thought about asking to be relieved from the assignment.

Questions

1. What problems had Pat not anticipated when he took the assignment?

2. How could the company have assisted Pat to reduce the difficulties that he encountered?

3. Do you believe the situation that Pat confronted is typical of an American going to a foreign assignment? Discuss.