Yes, we're still on a global economic roller coaster (who said the world is flat?), with good and bad news from the U.S., Europe and Asia causing markets to shoot up and down weekly or even daily. But, at the end of the ride, it still looks like we'll all be doing much more rather than less global business.
Case in point: For i4cp's recent member-driven Global Mobility Practices study, we asked if companies are anticipating more or fewer international assignments over the next 18 months. Almost 9 out of 10 said they expected more (46%) or about the same number (43%) of international assignments.
So much for the idea that the age of the expatriate is dead. Some observers predicted that as global companies hired more locals to fill positions, there would be a subsequent decrease in the number of international assignments. After all, expats tend to be expensive to compensate and are sometimes tricky to manage.
