Do MBAs want international careers?

DO MBAs

WANT

INTERNATIONAL

NANCY McGill

CAREERS?

J. ADLER University

ABSTRACT Although they saw more advantages to domestic than international careers, eighty-four percent of the 1129 graduating MBAs surveyed stated that they would like an international assignment at some time during their careers, MBAs attending international schools showed the most interest followed by Canadian MBAs. American MBAs displayed the least interest in pursuing international careers. International assignments were seen as offering more job satisfaction whereas domestic assignments were seen as offering more organizational recognition and a more satiJfying personal life. Consistent with their views of the differences between international and domestic jobs, the MBA? primary reasons for accepting international jobs were cross-cultural experience, the type of work, and higher salary and benefits. MBAs rejected foreign assignments because they were perceived to be bad for the spouse and family, in a bad location, or to cause a potentially negative career impact.

Ideally, it seems, (a multinational manager) should have the stamina of an Olympic runner, the mental agility of an Einstein, the conversational skill of a professor of languages, the detachment of a judge, the tact of a diplomat, and the perseverance of an Egyptian pyramid builder. (and) That’s not all. If they are going to measure up to the demands of living and working in a foreign country they should also have a feeling for the culture; their moral judgement should not be too rigid; they should be able to merge with the local environment with chameleon-like ease; and they should show no signs of prejudice:\Thomas Aitken (1970) The demand continues to increase for managers who are sophisticated in international business. Comporations and government agencies need managers to work domestically on international projects and overseas on expatriate assignments. Some scholars have predicted that the international arena will become so important that organizations will not consid-

Requests for reprints should be sent to Nancy J. Adler, Faculty University,

1001 ouest, rue Sherbrooke,

Montreal,

Quebec,

Canada,

of Management, H3A IGS.

McGill

This research is supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of the Canadian Government. The author would like to thank 9. Shaffer for the creative ideas and research assistance which went into the formulation and conducting of this study. i_The male pronoun “he” has been changed female expatriate managers.

in the quote

277

to “they”

to include

male and

278

Nunc_v J. Adiet

er managers for top executive positions unless they have had overseas experience (Brown, 1981). Organizations need internationally sophisticated and skilled managers for their worldwide operations. North American companies are competing with foreign companies for top managers. British, French, German, Scandinavian and Japanese companies among others are actively searching for managers to help run their American subsidiaries (Perham, 1977). Traditionally, international managers have been attracted to overseas work by the financial rewards, responsibility, challenge, and independence, as well as the unique lifestyle. But circumstances change. During the 197Os, a weakened U.S. dollar, inflation, and additional taxes made financial packages less attractive for Americans. Dual-career marriages added complications to transfer decisions as well as exacerbating the financial situation: expatriate salary increases rarely made-up for the effect of reducing a two income family to a single salary. Stories of expatriates whose careers were side-tracked while abroad made many managers hesitant to follow the international route (Adler, 198 1; Heenan, 1970; Howard, 1974; Murray, 1973; Smith, 1975). Given the continued demand and potentially diminishing interest in international assignments, what can we predict for the next decade? Will multinational corporations and international organizations remain able to attract sufficient numbers of young managers? Are today’s management students interested in international work? What do they see as the advantages and disadvantages of overseas assignments? This article reports on a study designed to address these questions.

BACKGROUND

The Importance of International Business Increases The United States. There has been a remarkable increase in foreign business by American firms. As the U.S. economy faltered in the 197Os, multinational enterprises emphasized overseas business (Buckeley, 1979). Over the past decade, foreign direct investment continued to grow at ten percent per year on a base of $164 billion dollars (Cook, 1979). This base probably controls approximately $500 billion in total foretgn assets. Most major U.S. corporations hold surprisingly large proportions of foreign asset investments when compared to their total investments. They derive an equal or even greater proportion of their total profits from foreign earned profits. For the top five United States corporations-Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Ford, and General Motors-almost half (46%) of both their total assets and their total operating profits are foreign. Similarly foreign sales, excluding exports, constitute over $1 billion annually for more than

International

seventy largest ally at of $16 billion. stitute

Careers

279

U.S. companies and over $5 billion annually for eleven of the companies. Like other industries, banking has grown internationa rapid pace. In 1968, 106 U.S. national banks held overseas assets billion; by 1973, they had $83 billion; and by 1977, they had $162 The United States’ picture is clear: international operations cona significant and growing portion of overall operations.

Canada. Like the United States, international

business plays a dominant role in the Canadian economy. Nearly one-quarter of all the goods that Canadians consume are imported from other countries. Canada exports a similarly large percent of its gross national product. Foreign-owned companies have made direct investments (involving participation in control and management) to the extent that foreigners own more than half of Canada’s manufacturing capacity. At the same time, Canadian owned companies control over $11 billion of other countries’ productive assets (Dhawan, Etemad, &Wright, 1981).

Who Have Been the Expatriate Managers? Traditionally, who have been overseas executives? According to Gonzalez and Neghandi’s (1967) study of 1161 expatriates in forty countries, typical American international executives are about 31 years old when they first go overseas, stay at least three years on each foreign assignment, and have three such assignments during their career. Overseas executives are significantly younger than their domestic counterparts; with few exceptions, they are men. Twenty-one percent are married to foreign wives. International executives come from a higher socio-economic background than their domestic counterparts. Typical expatriates rise rapidly in their career and stay longer with one company: 41% had worked for only one firm, 25% had worked for only two firms, and 87% remained with the same firm after accepting their first overseas assignment. Overseas executives are better educated than their domestic counterparts: 81% have graduated from college as compared with 57% to 69% of their domestic colleagues. International executives have a less specialized education than do domestic executives: more graduate in liberal arts and fewer in business and engineering. The majority do not view an international assignment as an end in itself, but rather, as a strategy for career advancement.

Management Students and International Careers Why would today’s young managers accept international assignments? For the job challenge? The adventure? The status? Why would young managers turn down an overseas assignment? To discover why the next generation’s managers might accept or reject international assignments

and careers, I surveyed graduating MBA students from top management schools in the United States, Canada, and Europe to determine their level of interest in international careers, their reasons for accepting or rejecting such assignments, and their assessment of international versus domestic opportunities. METHODOLOGY Sample. Seven top management schools participated in the study’: two traditional Canadian MBA programs (McGill University and the University of Western Ontario); three traditional American MBA programs (The Tuck School at Darmouth, UCLA, and a large Midwestern school’); and two international management programs (The American Graduate School of International Management [AGSIM] in Arizona and the Institut Europeen d’Administration des Affaires [INSEAD] in France).’ To be certain that the majority had begun to seriously consider career options, students were only included if they were within six months of graduating. Questionnaire. Based on a review of the literature and a pilot study conducted at McGill in 1980/81, a questionnaire was developed listing the more common reasons for accepting and rejecting international assignments. Participants rated the importance of each reason with respect to their own career plans on seven-point Likkert-scaled items. The questionnaire included open-ended questions to assure that no important reasons were overlooked in the more structured part of the questionnaire.

Data Collection.’ One week prior to distributing the questionnaire, a letter describing the importance of the study and requesting participation was sent to the MBAs. A brief news article with the same message also appeared in the student newspaper. Questionnaires were then distributed in class or through student mailboxes accompanied by a cover letter signed by a prominent professor from the school. Follow-up letters were

‘All descriptions of American MBAs refer to American students at UCLA, Dartmouth, and the Midwestern school. All students (American, French, and other nationalitier) at the two international schools (AGSIM and INSEAD) are referred to as international. While the Canadian and American programs are traditional two year MBA programs, the two intcrnational programs are one year each, with AGSIM confirring a Masters in International Management, rather than the more common MBA degree. ‘The Midwestern to as Midwestern

school has asked to remain anonymous

and therefore

will only be referred

‘Special thanks to the following people for their support and assistance in data collection: M. Jelinek (Dartmouth), R. Moran (AGSIM). A. M. Spataru and D. Eiteman (UCLA), J. DiStefano (Western Ontario), and D. Nees (INSEAD).

Internutional

Careers

281

distributed five-days later thanking those who had participated and encouraging the remaining students to return the questionnaire. At McGill, the questionnaires were collected in class whereas at the other schools they were collected through centralized mailboxes. All questionnaires were anonymous. The response rates varied with the method of distribution, from a high of 95% at McGill, to approximately two-thirds (60%) at AGSIM, and one-third at UCLA (36%) and INSEAD (3 1070).

RESULTS

Who Are the Graduating MBAs? As shown in Table 1, the full-time MBAs from the seven schools who responded to the questionnaire appeared more similar than different in their background characteristics. The graduating MBAs were young (average age 26.5 years), most were single (68.2%), approximately a third were women (32070), and most were studying for a management degree in the country in which they were born, held citizenship, and had received their undergraduate education. The most common undergraduate degrees were in business and economics (33.8%) and engineering (10.8%), while the most common management concentrations were in finance (43.5%) and marketing (28.5%). Forty-one percent had an international focus in their MBA. Whereas 38% had no work experience at all, the majority had worked for a short time (approximately two years) prior to entering the MBA program. The MBAs did not have extensive international experience. While most had travelled in foreign countries (84.2%), over a third (36.1%) had never lived abroad. Similarly, only a third (33.1%) of the MBAs’ parents had worked internationally. Few of the MBAs’ friends were foreign nationals. As might be expected, MBAs at international schools (AGSIM and INSEAD) had more overseas experience and represented a broader range of nationalities than those at domestic schools. On average, Canadian MBAs had more international experience than their American counterparts.

Do Management Students Want International Careers? The management students showed an interest in pursuing the international aspects of their careers. As shown in Table 2, four out of five students (84.2%) indicated a desire for an international assignment at some time during their careers. Just under half seriously considered pursuing an international career (46.9%) or wanted to have a career with a series of foreign assignments (43.7%). More than a third of the students wanted to travel extensively as a part of their jobs (38.1070). One-third wanted their first job after graduation to be in a foreign country (33.1 Vo).

Countrtes

Engmeering

(o/o)

BusinesslEconomlcs

MAJOR

French

COLLEGE

(%)

(%)

English

NATIVE LANGUAGE

Total

(%)

(o/o)

USA

Canada

AGE GENDER (% female) MARITAL STATUS Smgle p/o) BIRTHPLACE

Characterlstlcs

(Q/o) 15 7 17 1

144

2.8

31 4

84 5

24 6

15

1.4

49.2

27

0.5

80 3

59.2

72.9

55 1

26.7 25.4

26.2

76

Ontario

Western

31.4

n=ll6

McGill

Canadian

11.8

32.6

2.1

84.0

19

81.9

0

60.1

39.6

27.4

144

UCLA

TYPE

0

22.4

32.8

0

89.6

6

15 1

30.2

0

94.3

6

88.7

0 92 5

69 8

24.5

25 1

56

Dartmouth

SCHOOL:

71 6

164

25.9

67

MIdwestern

American

OF MANAGEMENT

3.4

37.8

17

72.3

54

68.4

07

70 7

34.5

40.8

30.3

27 3

26.0

28

5.2

13

64.9

13.0

28.2

77

591 26.2

INSEAD

InternatIonal

AGSIM

Characteristics of Graduating MBAs

TABLE 1

16.1

25.4

160

63.0

33

5.7

64.6

67.5

29.9

26.4

194

Canada

15.0

32.2

1.1

88.7

25

86.5

0

64.3

31.5

26.6

267

USA

77

36.9

4.7

67.4

63

61 1

0.7

70.0

32.8

26.5

668

bona1

Interna-

Summary

10.8

33 6

58

71 7

70

57.6

0.7

68.2

32 0

26 5

1129

Total

MBA SPECIALITY International (o/o) Finance p/o) Marketing (O/O) Policy (%) Accountmg (%) WORK EXPERIENCE (years) Percent with none: OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE Percent with none: Travel Lived Studied Worked PARENT(S) WITH OVERSEAS WORK EXPERIENCE (W) FOREIGN FRIENDS Percent with less than half foreign EXPECTED SALARY 10 YEARS AFTER MBA Average ($) % over $100,000 32.8

99.3

32.4

91.5

65,528 4.2

22.3

68.6

61,565 3.7

100,866 20.1

17.4 49.3 66.0 71.5

15.0 60.6 71.8 70.4

11.0 51.7 59.3 75.4

6 63 27 7 20 3.1 20.1

19 44 27 29 4 2.8 35.2

31 58 47 12 6 2.2 44.9

95,307 19.2

74,661 8.5

56,818 3.8

63.7

33.4

28.0

96.2

15.9 22.7 37.1 64.3

61 33 32 4 6 2.1 44.5

15.1 60.4 67.9 77.4

14 55 23 32 4 1.6 37.7

98.5

23.9

23.9 70.1 71.6 71.6

13 48 17 37 7 1.9 46.3

81,544 14.7

42.9

50.7

13.0 18.2 36.4 28.6

28 53 31 38 4 4.6 7.8

63,376 4.4

76.7

29.7

13.4 54.1 63.4 73.2

24.2 48.4 24.7 20.5 12.4 2.2 41.8

93,153 16.4

99.2

29.9

18.0 57.7 68.5 73.0

9.7 57.3 24.0 25.3 13.4 2.5 29.6

59,508 5.0

61.2

35.4

19.3 22.2 37.0 60.2

56.9 34.7 30.2 21 .o 6.0 2.4 40.3

68,085 7.7

71 .o

33.1

15.8 36.1 49.0 65.5

41.2 43.5 28.5 22.7 9.1 2.4 38.0

Average agreement with statement on 7 point scale’ I want an international assignment at some time in my career I am seriously considering pursuing an international career I want an international career which would have a series of foreign assignments I would like to travel internationally more than 40% of the time 6.5 5.9 5.5 5.0

4.1 3.9 3.3

AGSIM 591

5.9

Total n=1129

4.2

4.8

5.2

6.0

INSEAD 77

4.3

4.2

4.1

5.8

3.4

3.6

4.1

5.8

Western Ontario 76

Canada

and Careers

McGill 118

Assignments

International

MBAs’ Interest in International

TABLE 2

3.0

3.0

3.5

5.9

Dartmouth 56

3.2

3.1

3.4

5.7

Midwestern 67

United States

3.3

3.3

3.3

5.6

UCLA 144

4.8

43.7

33.1 49.2

58.5 74.0

63.9 72.4 64.4

41.3

66.2

64.5

77.6

5.5 5.1

21.4 49.5

54.2

47.0

43.6

al.4

2.9 4.4

*Note: Items measured on 7-point Likert scales, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly

38.1

more than

40% of the time I want my first job to be in foreign country Interest-in-International Management Index (Average of 5 items; Cronbach Alpha= 65)

a series of foreign assignments I would like to travel internationally

74.7

80.3

46.9

tional career I want an international

career which would have

92.4

5.5

84.2

3.4 4.1

Percent agreement with each statement I want an international assigment at sometime in my career I am seriously considering pursuing an interna-

I want my first job to be in foreign country Interest-in-International Management Index (Average of 5 items; Cronbach Alpha= 65)

agree (7).

25.7 45.6

31.1

38.9

47.3

85.1

3.3 4.0

12.5 33.9

17.9

23.2

32.1

83.9

2.2 3.5

20.9 37.0

25.4

25.4

32.8

80.6

2.8 3.6

20.1 37.8

32.6

30.6

27.8

77.8

2.6 3.6

Nancy J. Adler

286

TABLE 3 Advantages

of Domestic

Versus International

Careers International

Domestic or International

Advantages

Total n=1129

AGSIM 591

INSEAD 77

I

% 65.4

r( 6.1

% 88.8

P 5.5

% 72.7

I

63.0

5.3

71 .o

5.9

87.0

I/D D

47.6 38.9

5.1 5.4

64.1 73.0

4.6 4.4

50.6 46.8

personal life Succeed faster Greater recognition

D D

33.0 30.3

4.8 4.8

50.9 50.0

4.9 4.5

55.8 42.9

for work International

I

46.4

5.3

53.0

5.0

52.6

More interesting professional Earn a higher

life

salary Greater status More satisfying

v.

Domestic (Overall Preference Index) Where:

R is the mean on a scale going from 1 (domestic) to 7 (international). o/o is the percent seeing more advantages in international than domestic sponses 5, 6, 7). I means more advantages seen in an international career. D means more advantages seen in a domestic career.

(re-

It appears that while many management students profess an interest in international management, fewer desire a foreign assignment “right now”. As also shown in Table 2, a five-item index was created measuring MBAs’ overall interest in international assignments and careers (Cronbath alpha= .85). Not surprisingly, students at the two international schools showed the most interest (AGSIM X = 5.54 and INSEAD X = 5.14); followed by students at the two Canadian schools (McGill X= 4.38 and Western Ontario X = 4.04); with students at the three American schools indicating the least interest (Midwestern X=3.64; UCLA X = 3.62; and Dartmouth X = 3.52). The management students compared the advantages of international versus domestic careers. As shown in Table 3, most students believe that an international career leads to a more interesting professional life (65.4%) and to a higher salary (63.0%) than a domestic career. By contrast, many students believe that a domestic career leads to slightly greater status (47.6%), a more satisfying personal life (38.9%), more rapid career advancement (33.0%), and greater recognition for their work

International

Careers

287

TABLE 3 (continued)

Canada

United States Western Ontario 76

McGill 118

Dartmouth 56

Midwestern 67

UCLA 144

R

%

x

R

%

x

%

R

%

4.9

60.2

4.9

60.6

4.7

54.7

4.8

63.6

4.7

57.0

4.5

51.7

4.8

62.0

4.9

62.3

4.5

54.5

4.5

52.8

4.3 3.9

49.2 39.0

4.5 3.6

52.1 35.4

4.2 3.6

34.0 26.4

4.2 3.5

45.5 25.8

4.0 3.5

38.0 25.9

3.6 3.8

24.6 21.2

3.5 3.9

la.3 21.1

3.8 3.8

32.1 28.3

3.7 3.8

30.3 30.3

3.5 3.6

19.3 18.6

4.2

41 .o

4.2

41.6

4.2

39.6

4.1

41.7

4.0

35.3

%

(30.3%) than would an international career. Thus, the management students see the benefits of an international assignment as: greater challenge and responsibility, more interesting work, and better financial rewards. Averaging the six individual comparisons created a summary index of the international-versus-domestic differences (Cronbach alpha = .82). The index revealed that management students at the international schools see relatively more benefits from international careers than do students attending either Canadian or American schools. More than half of the students at INSEAD and AGSIM (53%) see greater advantages from an international than a domestic career whereas substantially fewer Canadian (41 Vo) and American (39%) MBAs see such advantages.

Why Would Tomorrow’s Managers Accept Foreign Assignments? In responding to an open-ended question, the single most frequently listed reason for accepting foreign assignments was opportunity for crosscultural and personal growth experiences. As shown in Table 4, over 50% of the management students wrote that they wanted to see other cultures, travel, learn new languages, and gain a greater understanding of another way of life. The opportunities for personal growth, expanding their horizons, and broadening their backgrounds through exposure to other cultures attracted them. The second most frequently mentioned reason was the job itself. Forty

TABLE 4 Reasons Leading MBAs to Accept

International

Assignments

1129 graduating management students gave 1867 reasons for accepting foreign assignments, averaging 1.65 reasons per student. The most frequently mentioned reasons were: MBAs citing reason Percent Number 52.2%

589

40.2%

454

27.70/o

313

20.7%

243

15.90/o

180

10.9%

123

3.5%

40

2.6%

29

Reason for accepting

an international

assignment

Cross-cultural Experience and Personal Growth. More than half of the MBAs wanted to see other cultures, travel, learn new languages, and gain a greater understanding into other ways of life. Opportunities for personal growth, expanding their horizons, and broadening their backgrounds attracted them. Job. Forty percent of the MBAs saw the job and type of work overseas as more interesting and challenging, as having more opportunities, responsibilities, and chances to make useful or meaningful contributions, and as having more power, autonomy, and status than domestic jobs. Money. More than a quarter of the MBAs saw the opportunity to earn a higher salary, obtain more fringe benefits, and save more money for future purchases. Career Advancement. A fifth of the MBAs saw the overseas assignment as increasing their potential for career advancement, primarily due to the increased exposure and opportunities compared with domestic positions. Some believed that the overseas position would lead to future domestic promotions. Location. One in six MBAs required that the foreign assignment be in a “good location.” Descriptions of a “good location” included a politically stable country with good climate, social conditions, and living conditions, which was safe. Positive characteristics also included English speaking countries, countries that were similar to their own home country. Some would only move to specific countries or areas of the world, and would not accept a foreign assignment to “any location.” Satisfying Life. Eleven percent of the MBAs looked forward to greater personal freedom, more fun, excitement, and adventure, more variety and less routine, a change, and an overall higher quality of life overseas than they believe they could have domestically. Spouse and Family. A few MBAs saw the foreign location as more attractive if it provided a good situation for the spouse (usually meaning a job) and family (including good education and health facilities for the children), and if the spouse was willing to go. Shortterm. A few MBAs preferred foreign assigments that were limited to a short duration. Other. A few MBAs stated that they would only be attracted to foreign assignments if no domestic jobs were available (7 MBAs), if the country respected female managers (5 MBAs), if they could take advantage of personal business opportunities (4 MBAs), and if they were single (3 MBAs).

International

Careers

289

percent of the students see international jobs, compared with available domestic jobs, as providing more interesting and challenging work, as allowing for more autonomy, power, status, and responsibility, and as providing for more meaningful contributions to the company and society. Money is the third most frequently mentioned reason. Twenty-seven percent of the management students believe they would earn a higher salary and more fringe benefits in international than in domestic management. The fourth reason is career advancement. One student in five sees expatriate positions as increasing their company-wide exposure and thus their potential for promotion. The fifth reason is a good location. Almost sixteen percent of the students said that they would be more willing to accept a foreign assignment if it was in a politically stable country with a good climate, good social and living conditions, few threats to personal safety, and an English speaking population. The future managers find themselves most attracted to countries that are similar to their own country and that are economically developed. The sixth reason is the more satisfying international lifestyle. Eleven percent look forward to a change, to less routine, and to more fun, adventure, excitement, variety, personal freedom, and a higher quality of life than they think they would have in their home country.

Why Would Tomorrow’s Managers Reject a Foreign Assignment? The management students identified reasons for turning down foreign assignments. They listed their own reasons and stated their agreement or disagreement with twenty-four of the most common reasons managers give for turning down expatriate positions. As shown in Table 5, seven major categories of student reasons emerged for rejecting overseas assignments. The single most frequently mentioned reason is a bad location. Almost 60% of the future managers said they would turn down an assignment if the host country is too politically unstable, too “uncivilized”, too dangerous, too hostile’towards expatriates, or has too much potential for war and public violence. The second most frequently mentioned reason is the type of job and the potentially negative career impact. One-third of the students would turn down an overseas assignment if the job is unchallenging or boring. Similarly, a third of the students saw foreign assignments as bad longterm career strategies. They feared the higher risk of job failure overseas and the possible damage to their careers caused by extended isolation from the domestic company. They feared being “lost” at re-entry and forgotten at times of promotion. The third reason, also mentioned by one-third of the future managers, is concern about the spouse and family. They viewed dual-career mar-

Nancy J. Adler

290

TABLE Reasons

Leading

MBAs to Reject

5 International

Assignments

1129 graduating management students gave 2308 reasons for turning down foreign assignments, averaging approximately two reasons per person. The most frequently mentioned reasons were: MBAs citing reason Percent Number 58.5%

660

34.6%

391

33.4%

377

22.9%

258

19.4%

219

13.8%

156

Reason for rejecting

an international

assignment

Location. Almost two-thirds of the MBAs believed they would turn down a foreign assignment if the country was seen as too politically unstable, “uncivilized”, dangerous, hostile toward expatriates, or if it had extreme poverty, or a high potential for war or violence. Job and Career. More than a third of the MBAs would turn down an assignment if the job itself was boring, unchallenging, or otherwise professionally uninteresting. Beyond the job itself, many MBAs did not see the foreign assignment as a good longterm career strategy. They saw a high risk of job failure overseas. They feared the negative impact on their career of being isolated from the domestic company, displaced from the company hierarchy, and therefore “lost” at re-entry and forgotten at times of domestic job promotion. Spouse and Family. A third of the MBAs would reject assignments if the country had inadequate medical or educational facilities, if their children were at the wrong age to move (especially if they were teenagers), or if it might lead to too much marital strain or, potentially, to family breakdown. MBAs saw dual-career marriages as a major problem. They were prepared to reject a foreign assignment if their spouse was unwilling to move or found it impossible to locate a position that would further his or her career. Money. Almost a quarter of the MBAs would turn down a foreign assignment if the salary and benefits package was inadequate to compensate them for the disruption and additional problems caused by moving and living overseas. MBAs usually saw expatriate salary and benefits packages as adequate if they were substantially more generous than equivalent domestic packages. Unpleasant Life Overseas. Four out of five MBAs stated that they did not want too much change in their way of life. These MBAs neither wanted to learn a new language nor adjust to a new culture. Some rejected the isolation, loneliness, fear, and uncertainty that is a part of living overseas. Others stated that they would turn down an assignment if it placed too many restrictions on their personal life, such as a lack of physical and intellectual freedom, recreational facilities, or access to other people. Disruption of Home Country Life. One MBA in seven stated that they had no interest in leaving their home country because (Table 5 continues

on page 84-30-15)

291

rnternution~~ Careers

TABLE 5 (continued)

MBAs citing reason Percent

5.8%

Number

65

Reason for rejecting an international

assignment

they would miss their roots. These MBAs neither wanted to disrupt their personal and social life nor renege on personal commitments to parents, family, and friends, Contract too long. Fewer than ten percent of the MBAs said they would accept a short assignment, but not a long assignment. Other reasons. Other reasons given for rejecting a foreign assignment included: a country not accepting women (45 MBAs), candidate presently having a good domestic position f33 MBAs), the MBA holding opinions incompatible with the company’s international policies, products, or marketing strategy (28 MBAs), or the foreign position involving too much travel (22 MElAs).

riages as a major problem, especially if the spouse is unable to find a suitable foreign position. They cited increased strain on their marriage as a problem along with potentially inadequate educational and medical facilities for children. Money is the fourth most frequently mentioned reason. Nearly onequarter of the management students said they would reject an assignment if the salary and benefits package is inadequate to compensate them for the disruption and additional problems caused by moving and living overseas. The fifth reason is the potentially unpleasant lifestyle overseas. Nearly one student in five did not want to introduce too much change into his or her life, learn a new language, adjust to a new culture, or subject him or herself to the isolation, loneliness, fear, and uncertainty associated with living overseas. Similarly, one student in seven rejected the idea of a foreign assignment because it would disrupt current, enjoyable home country life. Other reasons identified by some, but not most, students were; the contract being too long, the host country not accepting female managers, the assignment involving too much travel, or unacceptable policies of the home company toward the host country. Using a list of reasons most commonly mentioned by experienced managers for rejecting foreign assignments, management students agreed most strongly with four of the twenty-four reasons. As shown on Table 6, approximately sixty percent do not want to live in the Middle East (66%) or Africa (54.5(FJo),nor in a politically unstable part of the world, but 60.8% do want to live in their home country. For Canadians and Ameri-

I do not want to live in the Middle East. I like living in my home country. I do not want to be exposed to the political instability in some parts of the world. I do not want to live in Africa. I want my children to be educated in my home country. My spouse would not want to interrupt his or her career. I would be exposed to more personal danger in a foreign country. I would be more socially isolated and lonely in a foreign country. Foreign assignments put too much strain on a marriage. I do not want to live in Asia. I do not want to live in Latin or South America.

Reasons (Means*)

4.9

4.6 4.8

4.4 4.2

4.0

4.0

3.7

3.7

4.1 3.9

4.6 4.8

4.6 3.4

4.3

3.7

3.8

4.0

3.9 3.9

Western Ontario 76

4.9

McGill n=118

Canada

Importance

-

3.7 4.0

3.7

4.4

4.2

4.1

4.6 4.2

5.3 4.8

5.3

Dartmouth 56

4.0

4.2

4.2 4.3

3.9 4.2

3.6

4.0

4.1

4.0

4.2

4.8 4.2

4.8 4.4 3.3

5.6 4.9

5.1

5.3 5.1

5.4

Midwestern 67

UCLA 144

Reasons for Rejecting

United States

of Twenty-four

TABLE 6

3.1 3.0

3.2

2.8

3.3

3.2

3.0 2.7

3.6

2.9

3.0

3.7

4.3 3.9

4.0 3.5

4.2 4.1

3.9 3.2

4.6

INSEAD 77

4.6

AGSIM 591

International

4.0 3.9

3.9

4.0 4.2

3.7

4.1

4.1

3.8

3.7

4.0

4.8 4.3

5.4 4.9

5.2

USA 267 ____-

3.0 2.9

3.2

2.8

3.2

3.2

3.9 3.2

4.1 4.0

4.6

International 668

Summary

4.2

4.6 3.7

4.6 4.8

4.9

Canada 194

a Foreign Assignment I___ -

3.7 3.7

3.7

3.7

3.7

3.9

4.5 3.9

4.8 4.6

5.0

Weighted Total 1129

S

‘Note.

1.6 1.5

1.3 1.4

1.7

1.5

1.8

1.7

being strongly disagree and “7”

2.4

2.0

2.0

2.1

2.0

2.5

3.0 2.7

2.3

3.3 3.3

2.2 2.1

1.9

3.3

2.9 3.3

3.5

3.4 3.1

3.2

2.7 2.5

2.7

3.0 2.7

2.2 2.2 1 .o 1.8

1.6 2.0 1.5 2.1 1.8

1.7 1.6 1.4 1.9 1.6

2.1 1.9 2.1 1.3

being strongly agree.

1.5

1.6

2.3

2.1 1.5

2.4

2.2

1.5

2.2

1.6

3.1

3.0

3.6

2.4

2.8

3.7

3.4

3.2

3.1

3.6

3.0

3.3

3.5

3.8

3.3

3.0

2.5

3.7

3.5

4.2

1.8 1.8

2.2 1.9

2.1 2.5

3.3 3.3

2.7 3.3

2.3

3.2

3.3

2.3

3.6

3.5

2.3

3.2

3.0

2.1

3.5

3.2

Means are on 7-point Likert scales, with “1”

International jobs involve too much travel. When you are on a foreign assignment you become “invisible” to the company and tend to be forgotten for promotions. My spouse would not want to move to a foreign country. It would be difficult to come back home after having lived and worked for a long time in a foreign country. It is not good to move children. If I live in a foreign country, my children will not gain a sense of national identity. I do not want to adjust to another culture. I do not want to live in any foreign location. I do not want to live in Europe. I will lose my sense of identity, my roots. I do not want to learn another language. I do not want to live in my home country. I do not want to live in North America.

3.2 3.1

3.0 3.0

2.7 3.2

2.7 2.5

3.5 2.9

1.5

1.4

2.2

2.0 1.9

2.2

2.3

3.0 2.8

1.6

1.9

1.6

1.7

1.9

2.0 2.0

1.7 1.7 1.4

2.1

1.6

2.1

3.3

3.1

3.5

1.5

3.4

2.5

3.7

294

Nancy J. Adler

cans, two additional reasons emerge as particularly important. Almost half of the Canadian and American MBAs do not want to live in Asia (43%) nor interrupt their spouse’s career (46% USA; 52% Canada). Moreover, approximately half of the Americans do not want to live in Latin or South America (49070), become socially isolated or lonely (52%), or have their children educated outside of the United States (47%). Eight major clusters of reasons for rejecting foreign assignments emerged from a factor analysis of the responses to the 24 reasons. The eight clusters confirm the categories described in the previous section. As shown in Table 7, the major reasons, listed in descending order of importance to the MBAs, are:

Spouse and Family Problems. Some MBAs reject moves they see as bad for their spouse or children.

Bad Location. Some MBAs reject assignments located in bad areas, generally meaning in a developing country or a country that is culturally quite dissimilar from the MBAs’ home country. Examples given include countries in Latin and South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. TABLE 7 Factor Analysis:

Major Reasons for Rejecting Extent Agreement

a Foreign Assignment

with Reason

Canada 194

United States 267

International 668

Cronbach Alpha

Items in Index

4.245 3.936

4.529 4.331

4.496 4.505

4.057 3.597

.79472 .79815

6 4

Personal Danger (i.e. political instability, isolation, and danger)

3.718

4.098

4.352

3.352

.71050

3

Re-entry Problems Desire to Stay Home Lose National Identity (both for self and kids)

3.134 3.066 1.819

3.162 3.387 2.241

3.152 3.749 1.893

3.119 23.700 1.668

.50929 .56562 -

2 2

No Cross-Cultural Adaptation (including language learning)

1.745

2.065

2.226

1.460

.73428

2

Not a Familiar Location (i.e. North America, Europe, Home country)

1.712

1.844

1.623

1.710

.67153

3

Major Reasons (Factors) Bad Bad Latin Asia,

Total n=1129

for Spouse and Family Location (including and South America, Africa, Mideast)

Where strongest

agreement

is 7 and strongest

disagreement

is

1

1

International

Careers

295

Personal Danger. Some MBAs reject assignments

if they view living in the foreign country as too personally dangerous, primarily due to political instability, social isolation, and physical danger for the individual and the family.

Re-entry Problems. Some MBAs cite the potential

difficulties in personally and professionally readjusting to their home country after completing a foreign assignment as a reason for rejection. Desire to Stay Home. Some MBAs like their home country and stated that they did not want to live in any foreign country or travel very much.

Loss of Identity. Some MBAs fear losing their personal identity

or national

while overseas.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation. eign culture

and learning

Some MBAs reject adapting a foreign language.

to a for-

Not a Familiar or Developed Country. Some MBAs would reject assignments that were in dissimilar or unfamiliar cultures. Examples include assignments not located in North America, Europe, or the MBAs’ home country.

Which Management Students Are Most Interested in International Careers? A discriminant analysis between MBAs displaying most (X INTz 5) and least (XINTs3) interest in international careers (see Table 2) revealed that the two groups differ in their background characteristics and attitudes towards working abroad. The most interested students are slightly younger, more frequently single, and specializing in international management. They are from families in which at least one parent has travelled overseas for work, more likely to have lived overseas, and speak more languages. Moreover, the most interested students have less desire to live in their home country and less concern about living in a “bad” foreign location or encountering personal danger. They express a greater willingness to adapt to foreign cultures and learn foreign languages, less fear of loosing their national identity, and less concern about potential negative impacts on their spouse and family. On only one dimension do the most international students show more concern than their less international colleagues: re-entry. Management students who display most interest in international careers show the greatest awareness of and concern about the potential career and personal problems they will face when returning home.

296

Nuncy

J.

Adlet

Are men and women equally interested in international careers? Yes. Although fewer than 3% of the current North American, expatriate managers are women (Adler, 1984b), male and female management students express an equal willingness to accept international assignments and pursue international careers (Adler, 1984a). In fact, women feel less strongly, than do men, about a number of the negative aspects of international assignments. Although equally interested, both male and female management students believe that companies offer fewer opportunities for women than men in international management; both believe that companies offer fewer opportunities for women in international than in domestic management. Over eighty percent of the students believe that foreigners’ prejudice against women in management is the primary problem facing expatriate women; over seventy percent label the home company’s reluctance to select women for foreign assignments and the difficulties faced by dual-career couples in international transfers as the second and third most important barriers. While more barriers may exist for women than for men, today’s organizations will clearly be able to select international managers from an equally interested group of male and female management students. DISCUSSION Do MBAs want international careers? Yes, under certain conditions. Whereas most graduating management students see more advantages in domestic than international careers, eighty-four percent would like to have an international assignment at some time during their career. Significantly fewer (33%) would like their first job after graduation to be in a foreign country. Based on this bias of wanting an international assignment at some time but “not now,” one wonders if later on in their careers, they might also say “yes, sometime, but not now.” Are American MBAs equally as interested in international careers as their Canadian and European counterparts? No. From all perspectives, Americans express less interest in pursuing foreign assignments and international careers than do students graduating from Canadian and international management schools. Recently, many U.S. government leaders have strongly criticized the apparent parochialism of Americans. For example, in The Tongue Tied American, U.S. Congressman Paul Simon deplored the shocking state of foreign language illiteracy in the United States and emphasized the heavy price Americans are paying for it diplomatically, commercially, economically, and culturally. His message was a “shocking indictment of the complacent, potentially catastrophic monolingual arrogance of . . (The United States) as a whole, from top government leaders to the man in the street” (Tinsley, in Merchant, 1983). Unfortunately, this same parochialism appears to exist within the ranks of today’s graduating MBAs.

International Careers

297

MBAs consistently see international work as offering greater job satisfaction while domestic work offers greater organizational recognition and a more satisfying private life for the employee, spouse, and family. Management students will accept foreign positions for (a) the cross-cultural experience and an opportunity for personal growth, (b) the job itself, and (c) the higher salary and financial benefits. They claim they will reject foreign assignments due to (a) the negative impact on spouse and family, (b) the personal danger and inconvenience of living in a “bad” location, and (c) the potentially detrimental effect on career advancement while overseas and also when returning home. The students’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of living and working overseas appear consistent with much of the research on managers. Experienced expatriates frequently describe the advantages of increased personal growth opportunities and the inherently more interesting, challenging, and responsible work overseas (Adler, 1981), as well as traditionally generous salaries and benefits packages. Tomorrow’s managers show a greater awareness than their predecesors of the disadvantages of international careers on their private lives and careers. Research has shown that the major cause of failure on foreign assignments, often leading to early return, is dissatisfaction of the spouse (Tung, 1979). Baker (1975) found that nearly half of the 300 companies he surveyed had brought families home early due to the inability of the spouse to adapt. With the increasing prevalence of dual-career couples, the issue of the impact of the foreign assignment on the spouse and family will increase, not decrease. Today’s management students appear to be well aware of the problems related to the spouse and family. Potentially negative impacts of international assignments on employees’ careers have also become more widely recognized. In the past, most potential expatriates believed that an overseas assignment would help their career; the majority returned to discover that it had hindered it (Adler, 1981). Returning employees all too frequently discovered that home country jobs were at a substantially lower level of responsibility and authority than were overseas positions or, more dramatically, that there was no job at all to return to. Meanwhile, they discovered that domestic colleagues had been promoted while their own careers had plateaued. Today’s management students appear considerably more aware of the hazards of going overseas and successfully returning home than were the managers of five, ten, and fifteen years ago. Consequently, they are less likely to accept a foreign assignment that could jeopardize their career. RECOMMENDATIONS If multinational organizations continue to send managers abroad, what should they be doing to attract the best qualified candidates? First, they should recognize that most management students are interested in

298

Nancy J. Adler

working overseas under the right conditions. Second, they should recognize that most students are familiar with expatriate benefits both in terms of the job-more interesting and challenging work accompanied by greater responsibility and authority-and in terms of money. Diminishing either the quality of the overseas assignment or salary and benefits packages would not go unnoticed. Third, organizations should attempt to diminish the potential disadvantages of expatriate positions. Specifically, they should recognize that they are not transferring an employee, but in most cases, a couple or family. Non-working spouses should be given assistance in adjusting to new cultures and in creating a meaningful life overseas. With dual-career couples, thr spouse should be assisted in securing a work permit and suitable employment. This may involve the company in many services provided by executive search, resume preparation, and career planning consultants, along with those more traditionally provided by cross-culturai training firms. The era of strictly needing the spouse’s acquiescence prior to an international transfer is over. Organizations must begin to create better methods for managing international career paths. Expatriate employees not only need to know that there will be a job for them on returning home but also that the organization will reward them with substantial recognition for their overseas accomplishments in terms of visability and appropriate promotions. If the organizational cfimate remains such that employees perceive everything exciting to be happening at home, as has been the case in many organizations, expatriates will believe that they have no chance to gain recognition for their accomplishments or to be promoted. Organizations should assure candidates for international positions that their overseas contributions will be recognized and their careers enhanced by successfully completing a foreign assignment. If organizations ameliorate the negative consequences of international work on the expatriate’s spouse and career, they will find this decade’s management students interested and willing to accept foreign assignments and pursue international careers. REFERENCES ADLER,

N. J. (1981). Re-entry:

Managing

cross-cultural

transitions.

Group and

Organization Studies, 6, 341-356. ADLER, myths

N. J. (1984a). Women do not want international careers: And other about international management. O~gan~~at~onaf Dynamics, 13, (21,

66-79.

ADLER,

N. J. (1984b). Women in international

management:

Where are they?

Cah”ornia Management Review, 26 (4), 78-89. AITKEN, T. (1973). The Multinational Man: The Role of the Manager Abroad. New York: Halstead Press. As published in “What it takes to work abroad”. international Management, October 1970. (Note: The male pronoun “he” has

International

Careers

299

been changed in the quote to “they” to include male and female expatriate managers.) BAKER, J. C. (1975). An analysis of how the U.S. multinational company considers the wife of American expatriate managers. Academy of Management Proceedings, 35, 258-260. BAKER, J. C., & IVANCEVICH, J. M. (1971). The assignment of American executives abroad: systematic, haphazard or chaotic? California Management Review, 13, 39-44. BROWN, L. K. (1981, December 28). For women in business, no room in the middle. New York Times, p. B18. BUCKELEY, W. M. (1979, December 11). Looking abroad: As U.S. economy falters, MNE’s put increased stress on overseas business. Wall Street Journal, p. 48. CLAGUE, L., & KRUPP, N. B. (1978). International personnel: the repatriation problem. The Personnel Administrator, Vol. 23 (No. 4), 29-33. COOK, J. (1979, June 25). A game any number can play. Forbes, 123 (13), 49-62. DHAWAN, K. C., ETEMAD, H., & WRIGHT, R. W. (1981) International business: A Canadian perspective. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley. GONZALEZ, R. F., & NEGHANDI, A. R. (1967). The United States overseas executive: His orientations and career patterns. East Lansing: Graduate School of Business Administration, Michigan State University. HARVEY, M. C. (1982). The other side of foreign assignments: dealing with the repatriation dilemma. The Columbiu Journul of World Business, 17, 53-59. HEENAN, D. (1970). The corporate expatriate: Assignment to ambiguity. Columbia Journal of World Business, 5,49-54. HILL, R. (1979). Overseas and overlooked? International Munugement. August, 20-2 1. How to ease re-entry after overseas duty. Business Week, June 11, 1979, 82-83. HOWARD, C. (1974). The returning overseas executive: Culture shock in reverse. Human Resources Management, 13 (2), 22-26. KENDALL, D. W. Repatriation: an ending and a beginning. Business Horizons, November-December 1981, 21-25. MURRAY, A. (1973). International personnel repatriation: Cultural shock in reverse. MSU Business Topics, 21 (2), 59-66. PERHAM, J. C. (1977). The boom in executive jobs. Dun’s Review, 11, (5), 80-81.

SIMON, P. (1980). The tongue tied American: confronting the foreign language crisis. New York: Continuum Publishing Corp. SMITH, L. (1975). The hazards of coming home. Dun’s Review, October, 71-73. TINSLEY, R. L. (1983). As quoted in Merchant, V. V., Book Review: The Tongue Tied American: Confronting the Foreign Language Crisis. International Psychologist, 24, (1). TUNG, R. L. (1979). U.S. multinationals: A study of their selection and training for overseas assignments. Academy of Management Proceedings, 39, 298-301.

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Nancy J. Adler

ABSTRACT

TRANSLATIONS

M&me s'ilscroie+ qu'unecarri&reh 1'kchellenationaleest plus avantageuse qu une carrike internationale, 84% des 1129 finissants interrog&adu MBA ont prkendu so&miter affectation a 1'itrangerdurantleur carriere. Cettep&f&en: 6tG la plus mars&e chez les &udiants d' institutions suivis des Qtudiants canadiens. r&s 6tudiants Lxn+res, amkicains du MBA ont manifest&le moins d' attrait pour une carri&re interrbationale. On croit qu' une affectation'a 1' &ranger offreplus de satisfaction professionnelle; par contre, les affectations nationalespermettentune meilleure visibili& $ans 1 entreprise et une vie iv& mieux remplie. conformgnent a oette perceptfon des diffzr rencesentre einploisnationaux et &rangers, les etkiiants du MBA motiventl'acceptationd' un travail outre-frontike principalementpar la rencontre de nouvelles cultures, la naturede la &he, et de meilleurs salaireset conditions d'emploi. 11s refusentles affectations 'a 1'Qranger lorsqu'ils pensentqrfellesne ~rwiendrontpas 'aleur conjoint et 2 leur fanille, que le site d emploiest "hostile," ou que les corkquencessur le plan de carrierepourraientGtre d&favorables. (Author-supplied abstract)

Aiincuandouna carrerada&stiCa pudierarepresentar mas ventajas que una carrera international,el84% de la muestra de 1129 estudiantesde ackninistracion de empresasa nivel de maestria (MBA)demostr6inter& en asunirun puestointernational en algun mane&o durantesu carrera. Este inter& fue mas acentuadoen 10s M3As en escuelasinternacionales en primerlugar, sequidos par estudiantescanadienses. Los norteamericanos fueron10s menos interesadosen una carrera international. A 10s puestos internationalesse les consider6oxnoel mediopara obtener una satisfacionen el trabafo, mientrasque a 10s puestosdrsriktico axno la psibitidad de oferecer ni5s reconocimientode tipo organizational y una vida personal mSs satisfactoria. Consistente con las differentesopiniones sobre trabajos domesticose internacionales, las motivaciones principales para fueronla experienciacultural, ace@ar u1 puestointernational el t&o de trabajo, sueldosm'isatractivos y las prestaciones. Los estudiantes de adninistracion rechazaron la idea de puestos internationalsen un Trial" lugar, por el impact0negativo que pudieran representarpara su carrera y la fanilia. (Authorsuppliedabstract)