Due to global market competition, to increase business advantage and to reduce the producing cost, more and more companies branch in overseas countries. Therefore, it¡¦s important if the dispatched personnel could follow the policy of the company and create business advantage. Overseas personnel have to face different culture and people. How they adapt to multi-culture would be effected by their personality, background, and experience. If overseas personnel could adapt to multi-culture well would lead to good operation of business policy. Therefore, do the Overseas personnel s have sharp observation on their entrepreneurship, how could they Risk-taking, their determination and locus of control when an enterprise choose Overseas personnel. In the past, Scholars mainly study Personality Traits tocross-cultural adjustment or Personality Traits to entrepreneurship¡¦s effect. However, is overseas personnel¡¦s adaption to the new culture, work, and life effecting their Innovativeness¡BRisk-taking and Proactiveness This research will study the relations between Overseas personnel¡¦s personality, cross-cultural adjustment, and entrepreneurship by using questionnaire. After the empirical research, the findings as follow: 1. Overseas personnel¡¦s personality has significant positive effect on cross-cultural adjustment. 2. Overseas personnel¡¦s personality has some positive effect on entrepreneurship. 3. Overseas personnel¡¦s personality has mediating effect between through personality and entrepreneurship. 4. The correlations between Overseas personnel¡¦s multi-culture adaption and entrepreneurship is partly positive. 5. Overseas personnel¡¦s background has great effect on their personality is partly proofed to be positive. 6. Overseas personnel¡¦s background has great effect on their cross-cultural adjustment is partly proofed to be positive. 7. Overseas personnel¡¦s background has great effect on their entrepreneurship is partly proofed to be positive.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of cultural distance in cross-cultural adjustment of inpatriates. Furthermore, it investigates the role  of organizational and social support in cross-cultural adjustment. Method In order to achieve the purpose of this study a qualitative method of data gathering was chosen. A case study was conducted in Sandvik Sweden in Gävle, and personal interviews were done with the Indian inpatriates and other representatives involved in international assignment. Findings The cultural distance between Sweden and Indian  directly affect the concept of teamwork in Sandvik-Sweden and Sanvik-India. To understand the cultural background and  motive of  inpatriates is important  in designing organizational support that facilitates anticipatory and in-country adjustment processes. The existence of a recognized socializing way at headquarter eases to interact and develop interpersonal relationship, which facilitate the adjustment process of inpatriates through  referral made from known sources. Implication and suggestion for the future This study can assist multinational companies that are interested in the Cross- cultural adjustment process of inpatriates. We suggest for additional investigations in different organizational setup about the same subject matter to compare new results with the current findings. Future researchers can also investigate the impact of repatriation of inpatriates’ in cross- cultural adjustment. / Masters Thesis

The primary emphasis in the field of expatriate adjustment has focused on the experiences of the person working overseas on assignment. Research that includes the experiences of the accompanying partner of the working expatriate frequently positions this person as an antecedent to the working partner's adjustment process. Understanding the adjustment process from the accompanying partner's perspective is underrepresented in the literature. In this qualitative research project eight expatriate couples were interviewed to examine in detail their experiences of adjusting overseas on assignment in order to identify the critical adjustment factors, the resources that are available to assist the adjustment process, and what personal characteristics aid a successful intercultural experience while living overseas. Recommendations are provided for both the employer and the accompanying partner to assist the adjustment process.

Abstract Due to a decline in the number of domestic students in many New Zealand and other foreign Western countries' universities, there is more recruitment of international students. In New Zealand universities, beside the increase in the number of other foreign international students, the number of Muslim international students and especially Muslim women students has increased in the past few years. This is due to internationalisation of New Zealand education and the economic benefits which international students provide to New Zealand economy. The reason for undertaking this study is because as a Muslim women and a student myself, I wanted to investigate the adjustment problems of the increased number of Muslim women international students at the University of Waikato. This is because, it would provide information to researchers, theoreticians and policy developers regarding adjustment issues that might be specific to Muslim women. Unfortunately, this area is under researched; hence this study could assist in filling the vacuum in this area. The literature so far has discussed the adjustment issues of international students in general and from the literature there seems to be two main dominant areas where international students suffer adjustment problems. These two areas are the academic environment of the university and the socio-cultural environment of the university. The academic environment has many elements to which many international students are believed to face adjustment problems such as adjusting to the 'study shock'. On the other hand, in the socio-cultural environment, students are believed to face adjustment problem to the culture shock. However, there are many flaws in the existing literature which results in its weakness and hence the need for this study. In order to discuss the adjustment issues of Muslim women international students' one has to examine the educational background of these students. It is important to also examine the religious and cultural backgrounds of these students because religious beliefs and practices combined with their cultural background have an impact on their adjustment into the foreign academic and socio-cultural iii environment. Islam strongly encourages the acquisition of education for women. Looking at the history of Muslim women, one can find great scholars who achieved enormously from their right to education. However today there is great tension in the Islamic world regarding women's education which makes this issue very complex. This is due to the different interpretations of the Islamic scholars of the verses of the Quran, and Muslim people cultural and tribal codes. Therefore, many Islamic countries have taken different approaches to the education of their female population that is from very conservative to liberal ones. The qualitative approach used in this chapter helped in understanding the perspectives and world views of the respondents which would have not been possible otherwise. The confidentiality and anonymity of the respondents was catered for before conducting the interviews and pseudo names are used in this study to refer to the respondents of this study. This study is however limited in that the time constrain did not allow me to do a longitudinal study in order to discover the many un answered questions or ambiguous sentences. This study has revealed four major themes which were identified through this research as being specifically important to the adjustment of Muslim women international students. These women did not view their adjustment as a huge shift instead for them it required more of gentle shift in their adjustment. The similarities in the academic environment of the international students and that of New Zealand universities made the adjustment to the academic environment even smoother. There are also other positive adjustments these international students make while in New Zealand universities. They are more independent and are able to communicate in English language which for most international students seems to be main reason for coming to Western universities. There is need for the staff and students to understand the religious and cultural beliefs of these international students so that they can help them in the adjustment process. There is also increased need for the universities and policy developers to provide help and support for the international students. iv There are many issues that seemed to need further exploration which this study has not managed to find out. The research needs to be done to discuss the huge emotional or psychological impact on the international students' due to teachers' and local students' lack of knowledge of their religious and cultural beliefs. The researchers also need to investigate how this change in the personality and thinking of women impacts on them when they go back to their home countries. In theorisation, there is need to theorise the adjustments of students who belong to other religious and cultural groups and how it might impact their adjustment process. For the practitioners, there is need to investigate the role of the staff and institutes to clearly identify to the role of staff in how they could make international students transaction to the university smoother.

<p>En ökad handel med Kina har inneburit att fler svenskar arbetar och bor där tillfälligt. Det betyder att det finns intresse att undersöka kulturella skillnader för att underlätta anpassningar vid arbete och fritid. Åtta personer med erfarenhet av att arbeta och leva i Kina intervjuades. Resultatet visade på betydande skillnader i kommunikation, tidsuppfattning, organisation, relationer och socialt beteende. Kommunikationssvårigheter fanns både under arbete och vid fritid vilket berodde på språket i sig samt olika kommunikationsstilar. Den hierarkiska organisationen bidrog till att saker tog längre tid, men goda relationerna upplevdes minska tidsåtgången. Socialt beteende skiljde sig till exempel vid bordskick. För att motverka skillnaderna underlättar ett gott tålamod samt en kulturell förståelse och acceptans. Resultatet diskuteras utifrån skillnaderna i de kulturella samhällsvärderingarna.</p>

En ökad handel med Kina har inneburit att fler svenskar arbetar och bor där tillfälligt. Det betyder att det finns intresse att undersöka kulturella skillnader för att underlätta anpassningar vid arbete och fritid. Åtta personer med erfarenhet av att arbeta och leva i Kina intervjuades. Resultatet visade på betydande skillnader i kommunikation, tidsuppfattning, organisation, relationer och socialt beteende. Kommunikationssvårigheter fanns både under arbete och vid fritid vilket berodde på språket i sig samt olika kommunikationsstilar. Den hierarkiska organisationen bidrog till att saker tog längre tid, men goda relationerna upplevdes minska tidsåtgången. Socialt beteende skiljde sig till exempel vid bordskick. För att motverka skillnaderna underlättar ett gott tålamod samt en kulturell förståelse och acceptans. Resultatet diskuteras utifrån skillnaderna i de kulturella samhällsvärderingarna.

Global mobility of labor across national and cultural boundaries is increasing steadily as a trend for most contemporary large organizations. Working with people from different cultures, professionals or ethnic backgrounds may cause cultural impacts among organization, peers and subordinates. It is imperative for multinational companies to attract, select, develop, and retain expatriates via effective intercultural management. Moreover, it would facilitate the global economy while well-adjusted expatriates on their global assignments. If expatriate possess some special personality traits and cultural sensitivity to deal with the challenges in different cultures, it would develop their ability to adapt effectively across different cultures. Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is needed to manage the stress of culture shock and the consequent frustration and confusion that typically result from clashes of cultural differences (Ang, Earley & Tan, 2006). This study is to examine the how affiliating CQ and personality traits relate to expatriate cross-cultural adjustment. Data are collected from mailing and internet-based questionnaires. There are two types of respondents: Taiwanese expatriates in foreign countries and foreign expatriates stationed in Taiwan. 230 valid questionnaires were gathered and input into the analysis. By statistical analysis, we conclude major results as follows: 1. The personality trait of expatriate is positively related to cultural intelligence: Expatriates who possess the personality trait of Extraversion were related to all three facets of CQ (Cognitive CQ, Physical CQ and Motivational CQ). Based on this study, Extraversion is recommended for use in expatriate selection system. 2. The cultural intelligence of expatriate is positively related to cross-cultural adjustment: Cognitive CQ and Physical CQ are an individual¡¦s lead to better performance in adapting to General Adjustment and Work Adjustment. 3. A moderating effect of CQ on the relationship between personality trait and cross-cultural adjustment: This is encouraged to assess potential expatriates for these personality traits and cultural intelligence in assignment preview. 4. The personality traits of expatriate is negatively related to cross-cultural adjustment 5. The influence of expatriate¡¦s personal characteristics was partly supported.

This study investigates expatriate English teachers’ cross-cultural adjustment in Taiwan. Cross-cultural adjustment theories and the differences between Chinese and Western culture are reviewed. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected in order to develop the framework for the study. The process was examined across three facets of adjustment: general, working and interaction with host nation. The study was based on the framework of Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991) and develops an empirical cross-cultural adjustment model for native English- speaking expatriates who work in Taiwan as English teachers. The framework was successfully implemented by means of questionnaire and interview data and a literature review. The key findings of this study are: 1. Expatriate English teachers’ job satisfaction, age, previous crosscultural experience and their motivation for or purpose in coming to Taiwan are the key factors which affect their intention to stay in Taiwan. 2. Expatriate English teachers’ Mandarin or Taiwanese language ability has significant effects on their daily activities and social life outside work in terms of general adjustment. 3. Cross-cultural training for expatriate teachers could improve their living conditions in Taiwan in terms of general adjustment. 4. Expatriate teachers who possessed an undergraduate degree had more difficulties in their relationship with school management. 5. The total time expatriate teachers had spent living in Taiwan had some effect on their job satisfaction and adjustment in relation to interacting with the Taiwanese. Based on the empirical findings of this study, some recommendations for language education institutions and Westerners who are working or planning to work as English teachers in Taiwan are as follows: 1. Those who are planning to go to Taiwan to work as English teachers should receive some cross-cultural training and gain basic Mandarin or Taiwanese language skills before departure. An undergraduate degree is the basic qualification but an English teaching certificate or higher degree is strongly recommended. 2. English language education institutions should offer expatriate teachers cross-cultural training which includes basic local language skills, general information about living and working in Taiwan and the differences in the education system, teaching methodology and management style between Taiwanese and Western cultures. 3. When recruiting expatriate teachers, it is recommended that English language education institutions should avoid those who are including a trip to Taiwan as part of wider Asian travel and who are likely to stay in Taiwan for a relatively short time.

Multinational business is in a constant search for opportunities. The present globalizationprocesses that the world is immersed in, supported by technological, social, economic and culturaladvances, is allowing markets to interact in new ways. In that manner, markets with lower previousrelevance for European companies are emerging as promising markets for the upcoming years,as it is the case for Africa. Even though trading and business connections between Europe andAfrica has existed centuries ago, the economical predictions for European business in Africaappear more promising than ever. This new set of business opportunities towards the African markets, come together with a newset of challenges. Africa’s characteristic heterogeneity presents an issue for the replication of thesame techniques of leadership, communication and way of structure used in Europe, or morespecific, in Sweden. This research study places its focus on Swedish companies with employeeson international assignments between Sweden and different African markets. In order to help tounderstand how to improve the performance of the expatriates, the researchers analyzed whatvariables affect cross-cultural adjustment. As a starting point served the Framework ofInternational Adjustment by Black, Mendehall and Oddou (1991). The findings show that the model of International Adjustment of Black, et al., (1991) is still mostlyvalid. Nonetheless, through the data analysis, researchers identified several issues discordantwith the previous mentioned model. Therefore, an updated framework was developed,aggregating the identified differences and improvements to the original framework. In the sameway, researchers formulate a set of recommendations for the companies aiming to improve thecross-cultural adjustment of their expatriates.

Research has documented cultural adjustment as an important issue influencing international students and other sojourners in their success abroad (Foster, 1962; Lysgaard, 1955; Oberg, 1960; Smalley, 1963). Few studies, however, have investigated particular variables influencing the cultural adjustment process of ESL learners enrolled in intensive English programs (IEPs). This mixed method study was designed to better understand the individual complexity of IEP learners' cultural adjustment by looking for patterns of variables that aid or hinder these students' experiences. Using the Culture Shock Questionnaire (CSQ), Index of Social Sojourners Support Survey (ISSS), and language-specific focus groups, this study investigated the individual cultural adjustment experiences of Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish-speaking students enrolled in an intensive English program attached to a large private university in the United States. Statistically significant results were found when comparing students' demographic variables with the survey results. Students who identified themselves as having high levels of social support were more likely to experience low levels of culture shock. While, female students were more likely to experience higher levels of culture shock compared to male students. Additionally, qualitative data gathered from the open-ended survey questions and focus groups revealed three common variables that appeared to aid as well as hinder the students' cultural adjustment process: social support, self, and environment. Findings from this research have implications for the development of cultural adjustment training materials which might aid ESL students attending intensive English programs in the United States in their cultural adjustment process.