GRID SERVICES AND DISTRIBUTED NETWORKING

Grid Services and Distributed Networking

Grid Services and Distributed Networking

Introduction

From the organizational level perspective, there is a clear pattern of organizations sticking to career development frameworks based on traditional male career paths. Key features of such frameworks include chronological career timetables and a separation between work and family life. These policies rise several concerns for female expatriate, since they often have difficulties in following progressive, linear career models due to their characteristically interrupted career patterns (Styven, 2002). Females' tendency to choose a "job" instead of "career" may also preclude them from consideration, since organizations often identify potential international managers at an early stage within their organizational career (Harris, 1995). According to Selmer and Leung (2001), organizational career ladders show blockages for women at much earlier stages than men. This gender-based difference in domestic career experience might become even more pronounced in international assignments. Thus, there seems to be a corporate distrust of the ability of female expatriates.

There is also a considerable uncertainty regarding what an international manager should do and what qualifications are required for getting the job done. This uncertainty might be a disadvantage for women, since managers have a tendency to select others who are very similar to themselves in an attempt to ensure trustworthiness and predictability (Harris, 1995). Qualified female employees are overlooked because men make most of the decisions about whom to be sent aboard, and they hold many traditional view and stereotype about female managers in international assignment (as noted above, this view is derived from the socio-cultural valuation systems that everyone holds) (Stroh et al, 2002). Indeed, some studies have found that the criteria executive considers when deciding whether to promote a female manager are not so much about the female mangers' abilities and achievements, but on assumptions about their family life, responsibilities and future attentions.

Background

There are numerous studies in the HRM literature address the factors or barriers that prohibit female candidates to take international assignments. Most of these studies emphasis on factors that stem from the individual and organizational level, which are considered as the main causes of the low female expatriate rate. Some other studies look beyond these contexts, and have taken a global perspective by emphasizing on the history, culture, legal framework, political philosophy, social variables and business customs in each individual country (Adler, 1994). Thus, in order to better understand the factors that prohibit female expatriation, this section is further breakdown into three topics; namely, the socio-cultural level, organizational level and individual level.

The assumption behind this is that the bias and stereotypes against female candidates are stem from the values and norms that we have learnt from our past and precedents using the culture and social framework as vehicles. As such, these barriers have been established for a long period of time and have become part of our intrinsic valuation system that are difficult to change given a limited period of time and resources of the MNEs. With this aspect, factors that against female expatriate is not so ...