| Course | MHRM 6751 Global and Cultural Effectiveness |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 8 |
| Paper type | Repatriation memo |
| Length | About 560 words, 4 pages |
| Format | Memo, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | MS in Human Resource Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MHRM 6751 Week 8
Memorandum
To: Engineering Director, Ostrander Engineering, Pittsburgh
From: HR Business Partner, International
Date: July 6, 2026
Re: Repatriation plan for the design office lead
Why Plan Now
Candidate A has led the design office for six months and will return to Pittsburgh in eighteen. The firm has not yet decided what she comes home to. That is the most common point at which international assignments fail, after the assignment itself has succeeded. Kraimer et al. (2016), reviewing four decades of research, found that a large share of returning expatriates quit soon after coming home, frequently because the job waiting for them ignored the skills they had built overseas. Lazarova and Caligiuri (2001) found that repatriates who saw strong organizational support for their return, including career planning and a clear role, were less likely to intend to leave. Planning now gives the firm time to create the role rather than find a vacancy at the last minute.
The Role Waiting for Her
By her return, Candidate A will have hired and developed a team of local engineers, managed a client relationship in another legal and cultural setting and coordinated design work across three time zones. A return to her previous role as a senior structural engineer would waste all three. I recommend that the engineering director commit now to a new role: associate principal for international delivery, responsible for the firm's work with the design office and for any future international projects. The role should carry a promotion and be announced internally by month twelve, so she knows during the assignment what she is working toward.
How What She Learned Reaches the Firm
Without a plan, what she learned will stay with her. Lessons such as why the public dashboard failed, or how local engineers prefer to receive design comments, are exactly what the firm will need when it sends its next engineer abroad.
Table 1
Knowledge Transfer Plan
| When | Activity | Who benefits | |
|---|---|---|
| Months 12 to 18 | Quarterly written notes on what has worked and what has not at the design office | Engineering leadership; future office leads | |
| Month 18 | Two-day handover with her successor in the host country | The design office | |
| First month home | Presentation to Pittsburgh project leads on working with the design office | Headquarters project teams | |
| First year home | Mentor for the next engineer posted abroad | Future expatriates | |
Composite organization.
The Reverse Culture Shock to Expect
Sussman (2000) found that returning home can be harder than going abroad, because people expect home to feel familiar and are surprised when it does not. Candidate A may find that Pittsburgh colleagues show little interest in her experience, that decisions she made alone abroad now require several approvals and that her pre-assignment network has moved on. Her colleagues should expect that she will compare headquarters practices with what she saw abroad, sometimes unfavorably.
Three steps will help, none of them expensive. A month-twenty conversation with HR about what to expect on return. A light first month home, without project deadlines, to reconnect. And a check-in at three and six months to ask how the return is going.
What I Ask You to Decide
Approve the associate principal role in principle now, with the announcement at month twelve, and the knowledge transfer plan above. I will bring a draft role description to our August meeting.
References
Kraimer, M., Bolino, M., & Mead, B. (2016). Themes in expatriate and repatriate research over four decades: What do we know and what do we still need to learn? Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3, 83-109. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062437
Lazarova, M., & Caligiuri, P. (2001). Retaining repatriates: The role of organizational support practices. Journal of World Business, 36(4), 389-401. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-9516(01)00063-3
Sussman, N. M. (2000). The dynamic nature of cultural identity throughout cultural transitions: Why home is not so sweet. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4(4), 355-373. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0404_5
MHRM 6751 Week 8 instructions, in plain terms
Week 8 asks you to plan an expatriate's return well before it happens. Explain why early planning matters, using research on repatriate retention. Define a return role based on what the person will have learned abroad, not on what happens to be vacant. Plan how their knowledge will reach the organization, with dates and audiences. Prepare the person and their colleagues for reverse culture shock, with specific steps. End by stating exactly what you need the decision maker to approve, and when. Two pages plus a dated transfer table give the decision maker everything needed to approve the plan in a single meeting.
How this MHRM 6751 Week 8 example is built
The memo opens by explaining that the firm has not yet decided what Candidate A comes home to, citing Kraimer and colleagues and Lazarova and Caligiuri. A section defines the associate principal role and its announcement date. A knowledge transfer table lists four activities from month twelve to her first year home. A short paragraph explains why lessons such as the dashboard episode need a route into the firm. A section on reverse culture shock cites Sussman, describes what she and her colleagues may notice and proposes three steps. A closing section asks for approval and promises a draft role description. The memo names the month by which each step must happen, letting anyone track progress month by month while the posting runs.
Where the marks sit in the MHRM 6751 Week 8 rubric
Repatriation memos are graded on foresight and specificity. Explaining why planning starts early, with evidence, earns credit. A return role defined by what the person learned abroad is weighted heavily, since a generic return is the most common cause of repatriate turnover. A dated knowledge transfer plan shows the organization intends to benefit from the assignment. Specific preparation for reverse culture shock, including colleagues' role, demonstrates understanding. A clear request to the decision maker closes the memo. Memos that leave the return role undecided, or treat repatriation as an administrative move, receive lower marks. Respectful attention to colleagues who stayed home, not only to the returning expatriate, is valued.
Common MHRM 6751 Week 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them
List what your expatriate will have learned by the time they return: skills, relationships and knowledge of a market. Then look at the roles available at home and ask which would use those things. If none would, consider creating one. Plan how what they learned will be shared, with dates and audiences. Think about what will feel strange when they come back, both for them and for colleagues who stayed. Finally, write down what you need approved now. Many organizations start planning the return in the last few months, when the useful options have closed. If you are planning a return, send us the assignment details. Two pages is usually right.
Get a MHRM 6751 Week 8 example written to your instructions
Forward the repatriation memo prompt and rubric, with the assignee and posting your section describes or the sample's office lead as a stand-in. A memo planning the return role, the knowledge transfer and support for reverse culture shock is delivered in 24 to 48 hours, the first one without cost. No actual engineer's return is being planned here; the office lead is a composite.
More MHRM 6751 papers and MS in Human Resource Management samples
- MHRM 6751 Week 1: Offer Letter Discussion Post
- MHRM 6751 Week 2: Host Country Labor Market Brief
- MHRM 6751 Week 3: Performance Appraisal Comparison
- MHRM 6751 Week 4: GLOBE and Trompenaars Analysis
- MHRM 6751 Week 5: Time-Off Policy Adaptation
- MHRM 6751 Week 6: Generalization Peer Replies
- MHRM 6751 Week 7: Expatriate Selection Brief
- MHRM 6751 Week 9: Virtual Team Norms Memo
- MHRM 6751 Week 10: Closed Overseas Office Case Study
- MHRM 6751 Week 11: Global HR Final Paper
- MHRM 6701 Week 8: Board Approval Memo
- MHRM 6601 Week 8: Compensation Cost Memo
- MHRM 6101 Week 8: Selection Ethics Memo
MHRM 6751 Week 8 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MHRM 6751 Week 8 sample paper?
The repatriation memo and its transfer plan are shown below at no charge.
Why does the MHRM 6751 Week 8 memo start planning eighteen months ahead?
Because many repatriates leave soon after returning when their new roles ignore what they learned.
What role is proposed for the returning engineer?
Associate principal for international delivery, announced by month twelve.
How will her knowledge reach the firm?
Through quarterly notes, a handover, a presentation to project leads and mentoring the next expatriate.
What is reverse culture shock?
The surprise of finding home less familiar than expected after time abroad.