Case: Andrew Robinson goes to Taiwan

(Source: Dowling & Welch (2004). International human resource management: Managing people in a
multinational context (4th ed). London: Thomson)

Andrew has been working as a software developer for 10 years and has recently joined the
subsidiary of a major multinational telecommunications equipment supplier in Sydney, called
Telequip Australia. Andrew was born in Australia, has studied at an Australian University, does
not speak a foreign language and has never worked abroad. He has outstanding technical skills
as a software programmer and troubleshooter.
For 6 months, Andrew worked on the network management system for a customer within
Australia. However, recently Telequip signed a contract with a Taiwanese telecommunications
carrier, Taicom. Because of the many different requirements of telecom operators, the network
system would require extensive adaptation and new features to be developed, so initial estimates
were that the contract would require 6 months of development before Taicom would have the
new system up and running.
Andrew was asked to join the Taiwanese project and agreed. All the development work would
be done in Australia, with just a single Australian manager (Jonathan) being sent to Taipei on
a full-time basis. The most senior manager on the project, Malcolm, would be based in
Australia, but would spend half his time in Taipei. Andrew knew that it was likely he would
have to make a few short trips to Taipei to install and test software. He joined the project in
November and in January was on the plane to Taipei for a 4-week visit. His initial weeks on the
project had been very positive and he felt that the technical aspects of the project were on track.
The small development team in Australia had been making process and hitting deadlines. Yet,
Taicom’s view was very different as they were not happy with the progress: the system was
frequently down, and even when it was running, it was incapable of handling the promised load.
One day, Andrew’s wife rang him during office hours to say that they had exceeded their limit
on their credit card and she had not been able to use it. Andrew realized that his hotel had
pushed the amount of the card to its limit. “Couldn’t Telequip have given you a company credit
card to use while you are over there?” his wife said. “I’m afraid that’s not how they work. They
will reimburse me when I get back home and hand over my receipts. It could be worse, one of
my colleagues has shown up here without a credit card at all. A couple of others had space on
their cards so his hotel bill and expenses have been shared between them.”
Andrew returned to Sydney after his 4-week stay and went back to work as normal. In April,
Malcom approached Andrew and asked if he would be prepared to go to Taipei for a more
extended period of time. Taicom was complaining that they didn’t have any visibility over the
project since the work was being done in Australia, so Malcolm was convinced that Telequip
needed more people on the ground in Taipei. Andrew pointed out that he had just bought a
house and needed to be in Australia for the settlement and to move, but Malcom felt confident
that he would be back in time and assured Andrew that he could put together an attractive
financial incentive for the short-term assignment. Specifically, he would still be paid his usual
salary, but was entitled to an additional daily stipend, which would be paid at the end of the
month straight into his bank account in Australia.
When arriving in Taipei, Andrew checked into a hotel, but he was expected to find alternative
(cheaper) accommodation. Telequip did not provide him with assistance in finding an
apartment, however. Andrew didn’t want to remain at the hotel, but as a foreigner speaking no
Chinese and without knowledge of the city, how was he going to find anything else? And how
was he going to find the time to hunt for an apartment when he was spending such long hours
at the office?
April turned into May and Andrew began to realize that he was not going to make it back to
Australia in time for the move into his new house. His wife said she understood and would
manage on her own, but he knew she was upset and was finding it hard to cope. As May turned
into June, Andrew’s 60-day assignment was approaching its end and his wife was making plans
for his return. Again, however, she was to be disappointed. He was asked to extend his
assignment for another 2 months. He contemplated saying no, but feared for his future in the
company if he refused the extension. He told Malcolm he needed 10 days off in Australia first
as he really needed a break before coming back for another 2 months.
Andrew packed his bags and went home, eagerly looking forward to relax and unwind.
However, his wife had made other plans. She wanted him to move furniture, unpack boxes, fill
out their tax returns, go shopping for a new table, etc. At one point, he burst out: “look, you
have no idea how much stress I have been under, I just want a bit of time to do nothing”. His
wife snapped back “And do you think life has been a holiday for me? I still had to keep working,
yet somehow manage buying the new house, move, and unpack. And now you’re about to
disappear again. You can’t leave me to do everything. You just don’t understand what it’s been
like back here. I need your help and now’s the only time I can get it.”
The HR manager also wanted to catch up with him in Australia. She informed him that the daily
stipend he received earlier from Malcom was considerably above company guidelines and
would be reduced to acceptable standards. She promised to send him a letter explaining the new
daily stipend, but the letter did not arrive in time for his departure. She also told him to call an
accountancy firm to check if he needed to declare and pay any taxes in Taiwan.
His 10-day interlude was soon over and Andrew returned to Taipei. In mid-August, 6 weeks
into Andrew’s 2-month assignment, senior management in Australia announced that Taicom
pulled out of the project as they were highly dissatisfied with the work done so far. Telequip
instructed its staff in Taipei to shut the system down, pack up and return home as soon as
possible. All of them wondered if they would have jobs to return to. All felt defeated and
dispirited after now having nothing to show for their months of effort.
Back in Sydney, Andrew’s wife was excited at his return. “I hope this time you are back for
good”, she said when they met at Sydney airport. “It’s truly amazing, you know. Telequip is
such a large company that operates all over the world and has so much international experience.
So why is it they couldn’t manage to run this project in Taiwan?”

Questions
• What are the issues Andrew encountered in his international assignment? Make a list.
• What could Telequip have done differently to ancipate/solve these issues?