A Local Foreign Manager is Best for Managing Foreign Subsidiaries

A global manager is associated with success as an international executive. Dimensions included in this are: general intelligence, business knowledge, interpersonal skills, commitment, courage, cross-cultural competencies, and the ability to learn from experience. My potential for success as a global manager would be on the cusp of being relatively high. In today’s global economy, being a manager often means being a global manager. But, unfortunately, not all managers are able to transfer their skills smoothly from domestic environments to global ones. I believe that I have the ability to accomplish this on a consistent basis.

“The set of norms, behaviors, beliefs and customs that exist within the population of a sovereign nation. International companies develop management and other practices in accordance with the national culture they are operating in” (BusinessDictionary.com, 2017)

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines culture as “the beliefs, customs, art etc. of a particular society, group, place or time” (Culture, n.d.). Cultural norms vary around the globe, which can make the global business

1- Based on the definition of Ricky W. Griffin, Michael W. Pustay in their book international business a managerial perspective in chapter four they defined culture in saying, culture is the collection of attitudes, beliefs, values, customs, and behaviors that distinguish one society from another. A society’s culture decides the rules that govern how firms operate in the society. many characteristics of culture are worth noting for their relevance to international business.

Culture can be described as a set of beliefs, customs, and arts, of a particular group, society, place, or time (Merriam-webster:culture). The combined characteristics of a group or gender can define them as a nation or a country. Every country possesses their own individual and unique contributors to form their respected culture. Culture takes shape from past, current, and future thoughts and believes of its citizens. The culture of a country lies within observations in their traditions, way of life, and values.

Globalization of business has had a large impact on the field of management. Those seeking management roles in large, multinational corporations must have a different set of skills than in previous generations. In his article “Globalization on the Homefront”, Harold Torrence (n.d.) wrote, “As a direct result [of globalization], management teams are racing to develop the skills and competencies needed to comprehend and appreciate an onslaught of values, assumptions, beliefs and traditions that are fundamentally different from their own.”

While trying to establish international operations, companies are faced with

Managers are responsible for using resources, including personnel, to ensure a company’s success by meeting its overall goals and objectives. This alone can be a challenge, but when operations cross national borders, it can be particularly difficult. Mangers face unpredictable and sometimes hostile environments in areas they often know little about. In their book “Management Across Cultures,” Richard Steers, Carlos Sanchez-Runde, and Luciara Nardon discuss ten specific people related challenges managers face that can mean the difference between success and failure in the global market (Steers, Sanchez-Runde, & Nardon, 2010).

“The set of norms, behaviors, beliefs and customs that exist within the population of a sovereign nation. International companies develop management and other practices in accordance with the national culture they are operating in”

A country’s national culture dictates almost everything that is done on a daily basis within that specific country. Everything from the way people eat, the way they speak and the holidays they celebrate are all dictated by these established beliefs and traditions. Culture can be described as “the characteristic way of behaving and believing, that a group of people have developed over time and share in common” (Tarique). This can be easily

In doing business so many times an organization must think globally. This might be done to increase sales and/or profits or to lower labor costs. In either case problems can occur due to ethical and cultural barriers in global expansion. In this paper I will attempt to show some of what a global organization and a cultural issue that affects their interactions outside the United States by identifying and comparing some of these cultural differences.

Organization wants to achieve the objectives of sustained growth and increased profitability, organization must constant innovation its product or service, also need to carry out some plans to expand its business to enable an organization to have a better development. Organization expands its business cannot be confined to the domestic market must also move abroad, which effectively allows an organization closer to the global market and broadening the scope of business and profitability. However, business expansion is not as easy in this global environment, globalization has not only changed the enterprise competitive landscape also influence the way leaders conduct business (Caligiuri, 2006). Furthermore, with globalization, global leadership in terms of cultural knowledge needed to become more acute and require more advanced level of cognitive ability on the complexity of managing the demand of multiple cultures while completing managerial tasks (Caligiuri, 2006, Grosse, 2011). Therefore, the development of global management skills is very important for the global organizations and managers. Only effective in developing global management skills can help the organization reduce the risk of international business

According to the works of Chaney & Martin (2011) and Harris & Moran (2000), they agree that international management skills are in need for the increasing scope of international trades and investments. A large number of multinational companies have expanded their businesses through both developed and developing countries. Some of the business invest directly and others are partnership arrangements and strategic alliances with domestic operations. Their studies show that independent entrepreneurs and small businesses have started investing and competing in the world marketplace. Thus, to acquire corporations’ objectives, there is exceedingly a necessity for the development of strategic framework for cross-cultural management and communication in the current competitive global market. Chaney & Martin (2011) also noted that, cultural awareness and cultural differences are strongly important to the multinational corporations’ success. A good understanding of the culture where business is implemented can make international managers productive and effective.

The world offers significant business opportunities for every company, however, opportunities are accompanied by significant challenges for managers. Managing global operations across diverse cultures and markets represents a big challenge and opportunity for companies. To compete in the global market and be successful, companies must learn the strategies, policies, norms and technology necessary to conduct international business. The opportunities for global expansion are numerous, and attaining success is a matter of developing the right strategy to win local markets and its consumers.

* Project-level: ‘article team’consists of relatively junior managers from the commercial & technical functions--resp. product policies, annual sales plans & budgets