Jamieson (1997) suggests that Australia's ability to identify and capture the considerable opportunities which will continue to emerge in the Asian region will play a significant role in determining our place in the new global economy. As Australia's economic development is very much linked with Asia, more and more Australian expatriates and business people need to deal with Asian counterparts. Australian business organisations therefore need to analyse the particular country's political-economic situation, and cultural values, and educate people in cross-cultural differences before they go abroad. This is a main ingredient for successful business relations, negotiation, communication and the development of trust. Minter (2008) argues that the managers are transplanted to international business culture with little or no training and the major tool used in the selection method is the interview process and consequent judgmental impressions made by those screening the candidate.

Instruction

Using both literature and research data (existing survey research):

1. Conceptualize and highlight issues surrounding selection and preparation of Australian Managers for cross border assignments.

2. Raise questions about the criteria used for selection of managers and the essential preparation methods employed by the international firms.

3. Address some of the causes of the current situation of premature return of expatriates, including a discussion of the importance of selection criteria and cross cultural training and their effectiveness.

4. Suggest many future research questions to further understand how the wrong selection and preparation could flop cross border assignments.