Colgate-Palmolive: Managing International Careers Case Solution

2. Problem Statement

Colgate-Palmolive is a leading multinational corporation having operations in several countries. Its strategic plan of moving into a new country comprised of acquisition of local consumer products companies. If those products worked well in the environment, CP would expand as a foreign subsidiary. The success of these subsidiaries relied on talented expatriates. Also, the career progression in CP depended on international exposure. However, as families with the dual careers increase, the talented individuals have become more reluctant to accept offers for moving abroad. They were previously attracted because international experience meant progression in the company. However, the opportunity cost of their spouses moving was more than the benefits of expatriates.

3. Analysis

The problem identified, in this case, was that career progression at Colgate-Palmolive depended mostly on international experience. The management thought that international exposure meant an enhancement in the already present talent. However, the company did not have a developed expatriate program. The expatriates were given a fixed payment. In some countries, this payment was enough to fulfill all necessities and live comfortably. However, some countries were expensive, and the payment did not seem very attractive in this case. The purchasing power parity differences across countries were the reason for this problem. Such problems were resolved by the company by investing in the expatriate program and giving additional benefits of education and housing. Another problem that emerged as employment ratios of men and women started to equalize was the relocation of the entire family. The talented individuals were reluctant to move because their spouses had their careers. CP dealt with these issues by referring the spouses to other multinationals in the host country or granting seed money for the business.

However, after the 1990s, the 30-55 years age bracket of potential expatriates was experiencing difficulties with moving their spouses. The reason was that their spouses also had established careers and moving to another country meant that the family returned to a single income family. The established career persons could not leave their jobs and start an entrepreneurial venture in a foreign country.

4. Strategic Alternatives

There are three alternatives available to the company. Either they can overlook this issue and select people who are willing to move. They can invest further in the spouse assistance program and offer them the salary amount for a few months. Third, CP could minimize the expatriate experience as criteria for progression in the company.

The first alternative is to overlook the issue. The advantages are that the company would not have to invest further in the program. Secondly, the company would not have to expand the scope of the spouse assistance program. The company made recommendations to other firms and helping them gain a work permit in the host country. The expatriate might be moved to a new location in a few years, investing again in the spouse assistance program for finding a job in some other country.

The cons of this alternative are that the company might be missing on talent if talented employees so not accept moving to other countries. The talented employees might leave the company because they would not see any career progression in the company if they do not accept the expatriate position. The company would, therefore, lose out on its talent competitiveness.

The second alternative is to invest further in the program. The pros are that the company would not miss out on potential talent. The talented employees would not look for other opportunities because they would be offered career progression without having to compromise on family income. The people with experience in the company would be able to manage the foreign subsidiaries rather than operating it from their home country.
The cons of this alternative, however, are that the costs of moving people to other countries as expatriates would increase. Also, more progression means more, diverse international experience. More experience means investing in the spouse’s career again and again. It might be that some expatriates hesitate to be relocated more than once or twice to gain more experience because of resistance from the spouse’s end.

The third alternative is to change the company’s policy to make career progression possible without international experience. This would decrease the costs for the company that they invest in the expenses and spouse program. Also, it would make talent retention easier as talented employees would not leave the company because they cannot progress without international experience.

The cons, in this case, are that the foreign subsidiaries would not be able to be integrated with the global operations. The management in one subsidiary would be different from the management style in the other. The culture would be disintegrated, and the company would lose out on its essence. The upper management who would be promoted without any international experience would not have experienced different cultures, and they would not be very good at dealing and negotiating with people from other countries.

5. Recommended Action Plan

The analysis of the alternatives available to the company the spouse issue will always remain even with people who have been relocated to another subsidiary. The reason is that to progress further, the employee would have to gain more experience, therefore, would have to be relocated to other locations as well. The spouse would be able to develop their career in one new area, but relocating again and again would become problematic. Therefore, the company needs to loosen its policy of mandatory international experience for career progression. The international experience should be preferred, but not is necessary for progression in the company. The other reason for selecting this plan is that in the other two alternatives, the company was increasing its cost by investing in the spouse assistance program. Also, the alternative of overlooking this issue meant losing potential talent.

Since the disadvantage of the alternative to change the company policy is that the top managers would not be very experienced, the international experience can be such that it is short. This short expatriate program would mean that the employee is relocated for a year, with a month of a home visit in between. This would mean lesser costs for the company in relocating the entire family and resolve the spouse issue as well. The expatriate program should be developed such that the international visits are short. The managers would become experienced, and there would not be any spouse issues. The leave can be given midway of the program. The employee can also be often relocated this way with gaps in between of working at the home-country.