Question

Business Communications: 2-3 Paragraph Response - What would be the hardest part of an overseas assignment for you and why? What would be the easiest part of an overseas assignment for you and why? Write this response in the form of a memo.

Answer 1

            According to me, the hardest part of an overseas assignment is to adapt to the foreign culture. I need to understand the culture and traditions in the foreign country because my gestures and facial expressions matter the most to the new people whom I would be acquainted with. I need to lead the employees in a diverse workforce in a foreign country. And this requires making a good impression. Even a small frown might lead to negativity of character in an expat assignment. You cannot be yourself in a foreign country because you need to live in a new culture. Living in a new culture requires sacrifices. You need to control yourself a great deal and respond and speak in terms of the foreign culture to gain more acceptability.

On the other hand, the easiest part of an overseas assignment is adapting to the employer’s norms. Since we get familiarity about the organizational culture when we are in the host country, the easiest thing in an overseas assignment is to get familiar about the policies, procedures, practices, organizational culture, etc. Since companies having global locations have a standard set of policies and procedures across the different locations, it is easy to adapt to them as it is already made familiar in the host country.