When it comes to choosing between working locally with a company as opposed to accepting a substantive promotion to move one’s family as the global manager in a new branch in Central America, there are evident benefits but also hidden risks. In the case of risks and negative differences, a new branch or position in Central America is less stable and reliable due to the fact that there is a higher chance for it to be closed off compared to the headquarters. It is stated that “firms are likely to divest foreign operations when they observe incongruent strategic directions leading to difficult coordination between headquarters and subsidiaries. These often cause misallocation and misapplication of corporate resources and create strategic overlaps” (Amankwah-Amoah & Osabutey, 2019, p. 44). In other words, working locally with the company is safer since the Central American division might fail due to the inability to capture the market, political instability, or other factors. Thus, the position comes with significantly reduced job security.
It is important to note that another problem with the option is a higher likelihood of poor working conditions and health. A study conducted on Latin American nations found that “workers in Chile (33.4% of women and 16.6% of men) and Central America (24.3% of women and 19.1% of men) were more likely to report poor self-perceived health” (Merino-Salazar et al., 2017, p. 432). Although these issues primarily affected local workers, the lack of workplace policies and standards makes it more likely that the working conditions will decrease for the manager as well. Poorer workplace safety and health might lead to more chances of controversies and disasters at the branch, for which the manager will be held responsible. In addition, since the offer will require moving the entire family to Central America, a spouse will most likely leave his or her job behind. This could mean that the total income of the household will decrease despite the pay increase and other perks.
However, in the case of the advantageous differences and positives, Central America has a substantially lower cost of living compared to the developed nations, such as the United States. In other words, the opportunity will practically double the big pay increase. The main reason is that not only will the existing compensation, which was suitable for more expensive US, increase, but the living costs will decrease. Therefore, such global managers will become richer or wealthier as a result of improved pay and purchasing power.
Moreover, since the offer results in a reduced cost of living and a higher salary, a global manager will be able to save or invest more because more money is available to do so. The investment and saving portfolio can grow at a much faster pace compared to working locally with the company. Thus, the financial situation in both the short-term and long-term improves drastically as a result. The offer also has many privileges and perks attached to it, such as a house, a car with a driver, and other benefits. These additions further substantiate the previously mentioned claims making the option highly appealing from a personal finance standpoint. Another major benefit is the opening of a greater opportunity to operate with more autonomy and progress in the career ladder since the Central American division’s success will depend on the global manager more.
References
Amankwah-Amoah, J., & Osabutey, E. L. C. (2019). New challenges and opportunities in the global marketplace: Learning from developed-country multinationals’ failures. International Studies of Management & Organization, 50(1), 43-56.
Merino-Salazar, P., Artazcoz, L., Cornelio, C., Iñiguez, M. J. I., Rojas, M., Martínez-Iñigo, D., … Benavides, F. G. (2017). Work and health in Latin America: Results from the working conditions surveys of Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Central America and Uruguay. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 74(6), 432–439.