Schlagwort-Archive: Culture

Do you have to go abroad?

Looking to the future of work, global mobility is often highlighted, besides new technical, social and legal aspects. The actual potentials for Germans cannot be found in the available data *1), because

  • the total number of outward migration between 1991 and 2012 increased only by 20%,
  • 80% of the outward migration consists of foreigners,
  • the outward migration includes also the members of the expats as well as other emigrants, and
  • not all expatriates are included in the statistics.

Based on the available data it is difficult to decide, whether one should agree to work abroad.

Migration

The more global an enterprise, the larger is the probability that one should consider the opportunity of an international assignment. You can use the following questions, in order to find out your readiness.

  • What is the status of your career?
    The flatter structures abroad enable a closer cooperation with top managers. Thus, the probability increases that following the assignment your career will accelerate. Which career goals are supported by your foreign assignment? Or does an international mission offer you the opportunity to leave your current role? Are there reasons that could influence your career negatively?
  • How do you deal with culture?
    Within assignments overseas you meet completely new cultures – languages, business manners, and lifestyles. The ability to adjust is an important condition for a stress-free, successful sojourn. Are you interested in other lifestyles and languages? Or do you have trouble with alien cultures?
  • How does the international assignment impact your private environment?
    Although the business environment is changing for the employee, in principle, the daily routines are continuing as usual. For the family members it is more difficult. On the one hand, they are pulled out of their previous everyday life. On the other hand, they have to fight for the new environment. Did you find out the opinion of your partner concerning a foreign assignment? What about your children? How important are friends for you? Or are there private reasons to go, e.g. thirst for adventure, divorce? What are other private arguments against it?
  • Which professional advantages offer an international assignment?
    In your usual context, you have a proven network and you know the procedures. Abroad you have to set up yourself within very short time, so that you can obtain results and to reach your professional goals in the two to five years of the assignment. Do you like new technical tasks? Are you interested in more responsibility? What financial advantage does the assignment has to offer? Which professional disadvantages do you see?
  • Do you expect an improved social status?
    As Expat you receive private amenities that are above the standards of the homeland – apartment, car, insurances. Additionally, foreigners have in the countries of destination often a special, social status. Which aspects have to be fulfilled, in order to accept an international assignment? What speaks against it?
  • Are there other influence factors?
    The individual reasons can go beyond the previous ones. Which aspects have also to be fulfilled, so that you accept to go abroad – privately, professionally? Are there other KO criteria?

It is recommended to note all aspects that speak for and against an international assignment. You should walk through these questions before you get into negotiations with your company, in order to provide a decisive impression – whether you want to go or not. Discuss it with your family and friends. It is particularly helpful to contact colleagues, who are/were already abroad, perhaps even in your destination country.

Bottom line: You do not have to go abroad. Since a foreign assignment is a great decision that has a large impact on you and your family, you should analyze the aspects from all perspectives. There are companies that offer the possibility to visit the country in advance. For some people it is helpful in order to make the decision. For others these short impressions are not sufficient to make the decision about a long-term engagement. In any case, it is important that the entire family is committed. Otherwise, during your stay, you will have additional problems that will be hard to solve.

*1) I couldn’t find statistics of German enterprises that show the actual situation. Indications can only be derived from the statistic yearbook of the Federal Statistical Office Germany (only in German) http://ow.ly/FuRSv .

Evaporates the public opinion?

We all have our look at the conditions of the world. Currently http://ow.ly/GeMxx billions of people lives in the world. Unfortunately it is difficult from the perspective of political and economical decision makers to deal appropriately with this incredible number of views. For this reason, one considers the view points of groups, e.g. government, enterprise, lobby and other groups of interests. A universal point of view is the public opinion that represents the majority of the society. These attitudes and behaviors are detected through representative surveys. Whereas in former times people were shaped by common upbringing, education, books and mass media, today an enormous amount of channels and institutions stand equal side by side. As a consequence everyone seeks heaven in his own fashion. Does the public opinion still exist? Or does the public opinion evaporates as a practical tool from the public discourses?

WirsinddasVolk

If the commonalities of a society dissolve, the resilience is at risk, …

  • … because common sense is no longer seizable
    In the past, people were influenced with news by common channels, e.g. the local daily papers as well as the public radio and TV stations. This created a common state of knowledge and convictions. With the emergence of special-interest channels and the Internet today everyone is in the position to select ones sources. Thus, the commonalities get lost. Each perspective is cultivated and evolves in its respective direction. Therefore a common sense of the smaller groups emerges. The large, social common sense is lost thereby.
  • … because culture dissolves more and more
    Through the advancing fragmentation of the society it becomes more difficult to recognize the core elements of culture (more here: http://www.memecon.com/cultural-aspects.html). Languages, actions, attitudes, experiences and the identity are increasingly scattered across different groups. Over time incompatible groups evolve that are in competition with each other. In order to come to a common direction, for all parties’ acceptable compromises have to be concluded. The call for a common culture becomes stronger.
  • … because social cohesion disappears
    As a consequence, people orient themselves increasingly towards their group. This leads to a developing delimitation from others and a stronger emotional binding to the values of the own group. The existing energy for the common tasks is consumed in favor of petty disputes. The general problems remain unresolved and the societal commonalities get lost.
  • … because the large parties dissolve
    Even the Grand Coalition of Germany represents only 48% of all voters, considering a polling of 71,5% http://ow.ly/GeSHe. The CDU/CSU (18.3 million voters) received together just little more votes than the non-voters (17.6 million). Democracy created itself rules, in order to remain functional with such circumstances. The consequences are more and more parties and ever more populists.
  • … because the basis for governmental decisions evaporates
    With the political voting results, the parties govern without the support of the majority of the voters. This leads to a rising discontent and more public demonstrations. The new culture of protest is practiced by all segments of the population. The malicious way that the established parties show the various activists understanding is an indication for their lack of ideas of how to grapple with these groups.

The gaps that arise create the room for groups that promise to the public, what they want to hear. Populist forces already exploited in the twentieth century the weakness of many small parties. The consequences were horrifying. Without an extensive consent between the citizens that becomes visible in a convincing public opinion, we spin into an undesirable, well-known direction. Did decision makers learn something from it? Which measures do they take? Do we have to accept that history repeats itself? And afterwards again nobody knew something?
In the meantime the public opinion becomes so little meaningful that on its basis only a few commonalities can be found – except for the xenophobic developments.

P.S.: The same mechanisms can be found in corporations within their framework of the Corporate Identity.