Current State of Affairs
• After a very successful and impressive career in the United States, Ellen Moore received her MBA and joined her husband in Manama, Bahrain. Bahrain had many services, activities, and institutions geared toward different cultures, as one third of its residents were foreigners. Since 1970, the country had diversified its economy and had become a major business and financial center.
• As the main religion of the country, Islam pervaded every aspect of life in Bahrain. Although Bahrain was one of the most progressive countries in the Middle East, women were still held to more traditional roles. This had a great influence on working expatriate women as well.
• Moore particularly enjoyed the opportunity to teach that working as an expatriate afforded her. She believed one of her primary roles in Bahrain was to train nationals that would ultimately take over her position. Moore also found herself assisting and lobbying for the Bahraini women in her workplace.
• After two years as an expatriate manager at the offices of a large American financial firm, Moore had proven herself as a highly capable manager. Moore had shown that she was able to navigate the unique cultural demands faced by women in Bahrain. She did face challenges in this area, however, and was sometimes frustrated by the need to “wear her resume on her sleeve” (Ellement & Maznevski, 1990, p. 10) to gain respect from colleagues.
• Throughout her career, Moore had enjoyed challenging assignments. Now the general manager had offered her two positions: one as a manager of accounts control, and the other as a manager of ...