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Who Needs Expats? End of the Traveling Circus
- bongoman37 5y agoWhile the need for expats will come down, I don't think it is totally eliminated. Partly because when cultures are too different, trust becomes an issue. My wife works overseeing NGOs in places like India and a half-yearly or quarterly visit ensures that funds are being spent on activities they are claimed to be spent on. Just a random visit will ensure that toilets were constructed and they are usable and so on.
- LurkingPenguin 5y agoExpat here, although I have my own business and am not employed by someone else. The article makes some valid points. If an American investment bank in Shanghai only wants a bright number-cruncher with a top-tier MBA, it definitely doesn't need to import one from the US or Europe. There are plenty of MBAs in China who can be put through the investment bank grinder. But the article totally dismisses the factors of culture and foreign know-how. For some roles, having a well-educated local who speaks English (or a foreign language) isn't enough. Instead, some roles require highly specialized knowledge and experience that isn't common in the local market, and a way of thinking and doing things that is uncommon (or non-existent) in the local market. In other words, you bring in a foreigner because a foreign way of thinking and doing things is what is needed.
- codeisawesome 5y agoWhat are some examples?
- LurkingPenguin 5y agoWhere I live in East Asia, examples include executives at huge local and multinational high-tech companies (mainly hardware/manufacturing), highly-specialized engineers and people who do critical work on major projects relating to things like transportation and renewable energy.