THE OVERSEAS TRANSFER

Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
The Overseas Transfer
What problems had Pat not anticipated when he took the assignment?
Pat Marek was an exceptional employee because of his ability to create a good rapport with the management, the peers, and the subordinate. However, when he accepted the foreign assignment in Haiti, a French-speaking country, Pat had not anticipated that language diversity could affect his productivity and the relationship with the Haitians (Schuster and Tenzer 5). The information presented in the text proves that Pat was unable to communicate with the employees because his understanding of the language was based on textbooks rather than conversational French. Therefore, Pat developed a negative attitude towards the employees because he was unable to maintain interpersonal relationships and share information with them (Schuster and Tenzer 6).
How could the company have assisted Pat to reduce the difficulties that he confronted?
Firstly, the corporation could have helped minimize the troubles experienced by Pat through training on the language, local customs, and culture of the people in Haiti (Schuster and Tenzer 21). For example, the managers should have informed Pat that the employees speak Haitian Creole; a mix of French and their native language. More, the training would have increased Pat’s mastery of the language and minimized the problems resulting from the dialect issues (Schuster and Tenzer 21). Secondly, moving to a foreign country is stressful due to the language barrier and culture shock problems.

Thereby, the company could have trained Pat on stress management to increase his ability to adjust to the new environment.
Do you believe the situation that Pat confronted is typical of an American going to a foreign assignment?
Yes, I think that the majority of the Americans who take overseas assignments fail to allocate a significant amount of time in mastering the language of the foreign country. Training on the language and local dialects is overlooked, but it is a necessary factor in the success of any assignment (Schuster and Tenzer 21). Similar to Pat, the majority of the Americans possess the competencies needed for successful overseas assignments. However, due to inadequate preparation and the inability to communicate with the local staff, their productivity is minimized, they are categorized as outsiders, and they suffer from stress (Schuster and Tenzer 16). Therefore, the expatriates should make communication skills and intercultural competencies a priority.

Works Cited
Schuster, Tassilo, and Helene Tenzer. “Language barriers in different forms of international assignments.” (2014): 5-21