Screening and selecting project managers for the middle east

Cross-cultural training is of prime importance if the expatriates are to adjust speedily to the new environment and do well in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Selecting the right people for the overseas job is important as the selected individuals need to have a desire and readiness to learn. Some researchers in this field referred to this as the "learning orientation" where people with high learning orientations like challenges and are ready to learn and people with low learning orientations like to play it safe and do not like challenges. The way the "right" people can be chosen for the overseas assignment is by pre-testing the employees. It is important that they are able to adapt to new and unfamiliar situations, many researchers believe that this characteristic is very important to success. The mistake a lot of companies make is that they select staff that have been successful in the home country without testing them. These companies fail to realise that these employees need additional qualities such as being able to adjust quickly to new and unfamiliar environments and have the desire to learn about new cultures as well as being willing to change. Using six case studies this paper will analyse the importance of selecting the right people. All six case studies are Australian international companies operating worldwide including the UAE.