3-12. What could GOC have done to prepare Collins for his assignment in the United States? Outline an action plan for companies to use in preparing executives—and their families—for international assignments. “Qantas Flight 23 to Sydney is now boarding. Please have your boarding passes and passports ready for the attendant at the gate.”

Les Collins picked up his briefcase and started toward the jet way. He paused to look around the waiting area and, as had been the case so often here in Houston, he saw nothing to indicate that he was in a foreign country. Certainly the accents were different from in Sydney, but the language was English and readily understandable. This superficial familiarity, he concluded, must help explain why he had had difficulties adjusting to his role at the Global Oil Company office in Houston.

Global Oil Company, or GOC, was headquartered in Houston, Texas, with partners and subsidiaries in countries around the world. Les had worked at GOC’s Sydney office for eight years before being offered the chance to work at Houston headquarters for two years. His boss, Jim Branson, had encouraged Les to apply for the job in Houston because he knew it would enhance Les’s chances for promotion within GOC-Australia. Although Les’s family—his wife and two middle school-age children—was not very enthusiastic about the move, he reluctantly applied for the job because he knew it was critical to his success at GOC.