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Question: Discuss about theInternational Human Resource Management for Multinational Enterprises. Answer: Introduction In a rapidly globalizing world, the human resource directors of the MNEs are inclined at sending their best managers and employees to manage assignments outside the home country. However, this process of expatriation comes with a few challenges. More than often the expatriates who relocate to a different country face challenges or cultural shock, that come along with the culturally different societal and corporate environment. This results in de-motivation of the employees that significantly lowers their performance in the host country. This paper takes into consideration a hypothetical situation for the purpose of determining the problems that might be faced by the HR directors and the expatriates of an MNE in the context of the expatriation process. The paper examines a situation where the HR director of an MNE has to send two expatriates from Poland to Santiago, Chile to manage assignments. The first section of the paper discusses the challenges that can be faced by the HR directo r before sending the expatriates to Chile. The second section of the paper provides a briefing for the Polish expatriates including recommendations and their justification that can help them to cope with the different culture of Chile and efficiently manage the assignments. Challenges to be Addressed before Sending Expatriates to Santiago As the human resource (HR) director of a multinational enterprise (MNE), one must bear in mind that in the face of a foreign environment, expatriates often face discomfort since working conditions are particularly different from the working conditions in the domestic environment (McEvoy and Buller 2013). Therefore, it is important for the managers to select candidates with utmost attention. The managers must keep in mind that when an employee provides high performance in the domestic working conditions, it cannot be taken for granted that the same employee will provide high performance in the face of foreign working conditions (Teixeira et al. 2017). This is mainly because the expatriates undergo a cultural shock from interacting with people and in conditions that are culturally different. Therefore, there remains a significant pressure on the managers to select the suitable employees who can cope up in a foreign working environment that is culturally different (Cerdin 2013). To this end can be explored a few challenges that the HR director at an MNE can face and should address before sending expatriates from Poland to Santiago. Communication Problem The first major challenge that should be addressed before sending expatriates to a foreign country is the difference in the communication language (Ferraro and Briody 2017). The official language of Poland is Polish even though the younger people can speak English to some extent (Mazur and Zaborek 2016). However, most of the communications related to business in Chile take place in the Spanish language. However, the people speak English to some extent. Despite that the people and businessmen find it respectful to communicate in the Spanish language (Rodriguez and Stewart 2017). Therefore, the manager must conduct programs to train and coach the expatriates into at least a communicative course in Spanish before sending them over from Poland to Santiago. The managers must engage the expatriates in cultural training before sending them to Santiago. This will help the expatriates overcome the major problem of communication in a culturally different and foreign working environment (Vojini ?, Mati? and Be?i? 2013). Unfamiliar Socio-Cultural Conditions The second challenge involves uprooting the expatriates from a familiar and comfortable environment to a totally different and unknown environment (McEvoy and Buller 2013). The managers must address the fact that relocating involves a huge change in the lifestyle that affects not only the professional but the social and emotional setting of the expatriates as well (McFarlin and Sweeney 2014). Therefore, the employees who are to be sent to Santiago from Poland require to adapt to the unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations that are new. The expatriates are expected to get out of their comfort zones and adjust to the new cultural settings of the host country (Gallon, Scheffer and Bitencourt 2014). This often induces within the expatriates a cultural shock that de-motivates them lowering their performance in unfamiliar working conditions (McFarlin and Sweeney 2014). Therefore, before relocating the Polish expatriates, the manger must conduct sessions to make the expatriates familiar of the cultural and social settings of Chile. Therapeutic and counseling sessions should also be initiated to help the expatriates deal with their nervous breakdowns before relocation to Chile (Vojini?, Mati? and Be?i? 2013). The manager must also provide for interactive session between the Polish expatriates and a few Chilean sponsors who can provide the expatriates positive information on Chile that would make the expatriates to look forward to relocating in Chile. These steps will help the Polish expatriates to avoid any surprise when they go over to Santiago and will decrease the degree of unfamiliar situations. As a result, the expatriates might feel less disoriented in the face of extreme changes and unfamiliar situations. Stress Due to Family and Personal Relationships The third challenge is a stress related one. The expatriates often undergo massive stress induced mainly from homesickness and insecurity. Moreover, much of the stress factor emerges from the family and personal relationships as well (Gallon, Scheffer and Bitencourt 2014). The prior stated challenges and the ways to mitigate them can help with the stress factor on the professional and social level. However, relocation does not just mean relocation of the self, but of the family as well (Teixeira et al. 2017). Therefore, if the family of the expatriates does not do well in the unfamiliar and culturally different scenarios both in the social and professional context, it causes for huge stress among the expatriates as well (Ahl and Zittoun 2018). Hence, it is a concern for the manager to provide amiable conditions for the family of the Polish expatriates before they are relocated to Chile. The first step to that would be arranging for a suitable abode at a suitable place for the Polish expatriates and their family. There must also be training programs for the family members of the Polish expatriates to help them get accustomed to the upcoming changes and the unfamiliar social and cultural conditions of Chile (Ahl and Zittoun 2018). Suitable career options for the spouses should be explained and made available. Information on better alternatives of the schools and educational institutions in Santiago should be made available to the Polish expatriates before they are relocated. Repatriation Planning A sense of insecurity often works among the expatriates who are sent overseas for assignments. The insecurity arises due to the lack of assurance of their importance in the organization of the home country (Beinrauch 2013). This insecurity often makes the employees unwilling in taking up the overseas assignments and even if they take them up, they lack motivation before they actually relocate (Gooderham, Gooderham and Grgaard 2013). Hence, it is important to take up initiatives in forming a repatriation plan before the Polish expatriates are sent to Santiago. The Polish expatriates must be convinced that they will be able to retain their old positions or better positions in the home country organization on returning from their international assignment. Before the process of relocation, each of the Polish expatriates can also be assigned a mentor who had previously been an expatriate preferably in Santiago as well (Baruch, Altman and Tung 2016). There can be counseling sessions held t o boost the confidence of the Polish expatriates and to get rid of their insecurities (Beinrauch 2013). This will help the expatriates in developing a sense of trust on the home country organization decreasing their sense of loss, which will in turn encourage them to take up assignments in the host country organization (Gooderham, Gooderham and Grgaard 2013). Briefing for the Expatriates Chile has much to offer when it comes to intercultural experience. However, relocating to Chile for a long period of time for the purpose of management of assignments on behalf of the MNC one works in can sometimes be disorienting due to the cultural difference between two nations (Fossats and Mayrhofer 2018). Poland and Chile vary in many aspects in context of the organizational and work cultures respective to each country. On relocation to Chile, the Polish expatriates can undergo a cultural shock that might divert them from their mission lowering their performance (Vojini?, Mati? and Be?i? 2013). Hence, it is important that the Polish expatriates are made familiar with the working and business customs that operate in Chile to prevent them from facing any surprise that might lower their motivation. Following are some recommendations that can help the Polish expatriates to manage their assignments in Chile without any difficulty in an environment that is culturally different. Recommendations with Justification The Polish businessmen, usually are formal and quiet to a moderate degree. They prefer a behavior that is reserved in the first meeting (Mazur and Zaborek 2016). However, in Chile, even though the atmosphere in the organizations are formal, they usually prefer developing a personal rapport first since, personal relationships bear importance in the business world of Chile (Rodriguez and Stewart 2017). Hence, it is advised that the Polish expatriates shred of their reserve nature before conducting any business communication with the businessmen and the employees in Chile. In Poland, it is not mandatory to conduct most business communication in person. Important business communication, information, and decision can be made through phone calls. In fact, communication over the phone is often considered important for the establishment of organizational relationship in Poland (Mazur and Zaborek 2016). However, in Chile, it is important that all business communication be made in person rather than over the phone or the fax. However, even though e-mail is a moderately acceptable mode of communication in Chile, it is not preferable (Rodriguez and Stewart 2017). Therefore, it is recommended that the expatriates from Poland conduct all important business communication with the Chileans in person and not via phone calls, fax or e-mails. Polish people are usually very punctual and consider punctuality with grave importance (Zator 2013). However, even though punctuality is highly expected and respected in the corporate culture of Chile, most of the Chilean people are usually and expectedly late for thirty minutes (Perrone 2017). Hence, the Polish expatriates should be more flexible in the context of their conservative nature regarding punctuality. Since it is expected and usual for the Chileans to be thirty minutes late in business activities, it is recommended that the Polish expatriates be a little patient regarding their conservative take on punctuality. During the conduction of a business meeting, the Polish people tend to be expressive in their emotions. That is to say that they do not step away from showing their emotions especially if they are frustrated, angry or irritated. They also believe that this attitude is straightforward and not offensive (Mazur and Zaborek 2016). On the contrary, the Chileans look out for amiable business behavior. That is, even if they support the expression of emotions in business negotiations, they are strictly against business behavior that is even slightly aggressive (Perrone 2017). Therefore, needless to say, the Polish expatriates must demonstrate a control over their aggressive emotional outbursts with the Chilean corporate executives in the face of any adverse business situations. The management and executive process in Poland is hierarchical. One needs to arrange meeting with the appropriate decision maker and not any subsidiary who reports to the executive managers. That is to state that the Polish people usually arrange direct meetings and communications with the corporate executives instead of approaching the subordinates or assistants of the executives first (Zator 2013). However, the corporate culture of Chile is fundamentally opposite in nature. The process of decision-making is usually centralized and is initiated at the top-most level even if the opinions and views of the other level are taken account. More importantly, in the Chilean business world, the secretaries or the assistants are the screeners for the executive managers (Perrone 2017). Hence, one needs to approach the secretary first before approaching a higher-level executive manager. Therefore, based from this fact, the Polish expatriates must approach any Chilean business executive through their secretaries or assistants first and not directly as opposed to the corporate custom in their home nation. During any business meeting the Polish people avoid any small talk and come down straight to the point. They find any conversation and pleasantries in the hours of business meetings are unnecessary, not required for and as confusing (Zator 2013). Though they take the initial minutes to greet each other, the pleasant unnecessary conversations are usually avoided by them. However, on the other hand, in the corporate culture of Chile, the executives do not like to be rushed or pressurized. They prefer a time for initiation before the business meetings can actually start. The Chileans usually favor some small talk and appreciates a getting-to-know gesture before the conduction of serious business meeting (Perrone 2017). It makes them more comfortable and makes them able to relate with the persons in interest. Therefore, it is advised that the Polish expatriates adapt to this custom of the Chilean businessmen for initiating pleasant conversations before the conduction of a serious busines s meeting. The Polish expatriates must demonstrate patience and interest when the Chileans initiate pleasant conversations before a business meeting is held. These above stated suggestions are recommended for the expatriates to be able to successfully manage the international assignments. Knowledge of the corporate culture and customs of Chile is important for the Polish expatriates for adapting to new and unknown business environment. The recommendations mentioned above will help the Polish expatriates to understand the dos and the donts in a new country like Chile where they will be relocated for the management of the international assignments of the MNE. This in turn will allow them to successfully manage the assignments avoiding any unforeseen surprise and without lowering their performance. Conclusion Looking at the above stated discussions it can be concluded that the HR director of the MNE can face challenges like communication problems, cultural shock pertaining to the different cultural and social environments of the host nation, stress related to the family and personal relationships on the context of relocating and insecurities associated with repatriation on the part of expatriates before they are sent from Poland to Chile. 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