James was transferred by his company to go work in Hong Kong for six months. His headquarters in Dallas, Texas, assured him that he would be back home in six months after he had completed setting up the new office in Hong Kong and trained his replacement. Though initially reluctant, he spoke to his wife, and they together decided that this was a great career opportunity and would also serve as a second honeymoon since they had been married for just six months.

Roughly five months into his stay in Hong Kong, James received a request from his boss at the head office, urging him to extend his stay by another six months since the company had decided to expand its operations in Hong Kong, and they felt that he was most suited for the task. James agreed readily since he and his wife had begun to make friends there and did not want to get uprooted too soon. Over the next six months, James worked very diligently, especially since he wanted to make sure he left the operations in very good shape for his replacement. Much to his surprise, at the end of the year, he received another request from HQ to extend his stay by another year. By the end of two years, James was starting to get a little homesick and irritated at the repeated requests for him to extend his stay. He was really ready to head back, but he had done such a good job in HK, that the Divisional Vice-President flew down to Hong Kong and convinced him to move to Mumbai, India, for another two years. James and Anne had started to enjoy living in Asia, so they agreed somewhat reluctantly since the move to India also came with a hefty pay increase and numerous benefits.

Fifteen years, five Asian countries, and three kids later, James and Anne decided it was time to head back home - primarily because they wanted their children to experience living in their 'home' country. He wrote back to head office requesting a transfer back to Dallas, but all his requests were met with silence or the cursory 'we will get back to you.' On further inquiry, he discovered that all the people involved in his transfer decision had been transferred themselves or had left the company. The new people were not sure how to handle James' request, so they simply ignored his request or tried to buy time. As a result, his performance started to suffer, and he began to wonder if he should simply quit and join a competitor in Mumbai or go back home and force the top management team to address his situation.

Case Study Questions

1. In your opinion, how common is James' situation? How should the company have handled the initial promise to bring him back home after a specified period of time?
2. If James does leave the company and join a competitor, who should be held responsible for the loss of 'intellectual capital?'
3. If you were James, how would you handle this situation?