What cultural values seem to accommodate or reject traditional performance evaluation systems? Nokia, the Finnish-based world leader in the telecommunications industry, has exten¬ sive experience with sending and receiving people on foreign assignments, with about 1,200 expatriates on foreign assignment at any one time. Because of this, Nokia has had to learn how to manage the performance of this large group of employees who are so key to the success of the firm's global business. Nokia has developed a comprehen¬ sive performance management program that includes goal setting, performance appraisal and feedback, continuous training and development, and performance- related compensation. One thing that Nokia has learned is that the performance of its various types of expatriates, who are in varying types of assignments and situations, should be managed dissimilarly, even within the context of trying to apply a standard approach throughout its global operations.

Nokia has put in place what looks, on the surface, like a global, standardized performance management system, with the objective that all employees' performance is managed (to a great extent) the same. In terms of expatriates, however, it turns out that there are at least five different types of expatriates, including top managers, middle managers, business establishers, customer project employees, and R&D project personnel. For each of these groups, there are some common practices. For example, all expatriates know what is expected of them, how well they are performing, and what the opportunities are for them to develop new competencies in order to meet present and future job requirements.

Flowever, the various expatriate groups also experience some differences in how their performance is managed. These differences revolve around the following:

■ Whether and how performance goals are set, who sets them, and what types of goals are set.

■ How performance is evaluated and who conducts the evaluation.

■ Whether training and development plans are agreed upon with the expatriate.

■ Whether expatriates have the opportunity to attend training while on their foreign assignments.

■ What type and how clear the linkage is between expatriate performance and pay.