Profile for a successful global manager
As organizations continue to view their markets more globally, they are finding it necessary to work, communicate, negotiate and interact effectively with people of different business practices, customs, language and values. The environment is such that misunderstandings between these people can result into mistakes which would cost the organizations dearly and they might also lead to failures in business. One of the key competences is therefore considered to be the understanding and acquisition of skills for managing the differences of cross-cultures. However, organizations do not only look at this when they are selecting international managers. This job needs individuals who can understand the way in which the organization procedures and systems operate as well as those who have effective functional skills (Leavitt, 1999).
Most organizations do not base their selection on the individuals who just have cross-cultural sensitivity. The reason is that this alone can not make an international manager to be successful in a global environment. International managers should be people who can cope with the many differing situations which come their way and manage through them effectively. An international manager is a person who comprehends the implications of cross-culture and understands his role at organizational and national level. Through acquisition of the suitable skills, such a person can make out the similarities and build on them while at the same try reconciling with the differences. They should be in a position to turn the two situations into their competitive advantage (Park, Young Mitchell, 1998).
Global managers have the responsibility to contribute to business growth. They also act in the capacity of organizational figureheads and country ambassadors. In this regard, it would be advantageous for such mangers to be in a position to communicate using the language of the country they are in. Such manages should also have attitude and age maturity and should be in a position to adopt diplomatic approaches to relationships in business. They should have the capability to combine enthusiasm and diplomacy so as to take care of their social lives (Xing, 1995).
International managers should be industry leaders and company experts. The industry knowledge would help them as they find their way in the local maze. Since the international business environment has many unplanned for situations, global managers should be people who can learn to cope fast. They should be in a position to improvise ideas when they find out that what they had planned for can not work in the country they are in. These call for innovativeness and creativity. Managing business internationally requires understanding the social, political and economic environments in the foreign country. Open mindedness is crucial if international managers are to effectively to do their work (Price, 2001).
Differences between expatriates and global managers
Expatriates are executives in positions of leadership involving worldwide assignments. On the other hand, global managers are executives with understanding and experience of worldwide business and are able to work across functional, organizational and cross cultural boundaries. While doing so, they have the ability to balance the concurrent demands of growth and profitability, especially in the short run. The expatriate is also known as the international manager and this definition is usually connected to the assignments location. On the other hand, a global managers definition is pegged on the frame of mind of the person.
The competences of expatriates include professional and technical skills in addition to clear managerial qualifications. They are usually be in a position to not only give motivation to all organization members to cooperate but also, they communicate confidence in their capability to find solutions when challenges and difficult situations arise. When unexpected changes occur, they are able to improvise and come up with workable solutions. They respond appropriately to the complex problems and as well as performing tasks effectively as members of teams. Research indicates that the people who end up being successful on international assignments are the ones who can learn from experience. Good expatriates show steady growth over a given period of time, seek for feedback and make use of it, respect the fact that people are different, are responsible enough to learn and change, have bias towards action, show readiness to learn, are adventurous and are curious about the way things work. They also have a business understanding of leadership style, process and strategy (Lenartowicz Roth, 2004).
On the other hand, global managers are people who are selected, developed and appointed into the wider
trans-national organization. Their chief characteristic is that they are able to give resolutions to contradictory and complex issues which are in the international environment. Global managers usually have global scale integration and efficiency, flexibility, national level responsiveness and the potential to learn on an international basis. Global managers are described to be individuals who are capable of conceptualizing the complex cultural and geopolitical forces as they affect business and are also capable of having international behaviours and leadership skills. They are capable of acting as change agents and have the talents, skills and energy to build and work efficiently with cross-cultural teams. They are described to be people with the capacity to envision complex environment, capacities to put up with stress, have pattern recognition, maintain organizational networks, be an inspiration to others and instil values are other characteristics of global managers (Jackson, 2004).
The expatriates and global managers have different roles in any international organizations. This means that the organizations have different expectations from them. However, a company which seeks to succeed in the international business should invest in both. Despite their differences, some of the characteristics of expatriates and global managers are similar. These factors are related to cultural awareness, family situation, leadership factors and relational abilities, technical and professional competences (Sizoo Serrie, 2004).
Cross-cultural management theory and cross-cultural communication
All communication has a cultural background. The way people have learnt to give and speak both verbal and non verbal messages come from the culture in which they grew up in. This means that people do not communicate the same way since their communication is affected by mood, individual personality and context which are also influenced by culture. All these are related to the cross cultural management theory and cross cultural communication. Cross cultural communication can be referred to a form of communication among people who belong to different cultural backgrounds. It is considered to be an interactive process whereby the communicators keep referring back to their own culture when they are in contact with other people. It is also a source misunderstanding which come from the different meanings communicated in a certain message whether it is done verbally or nonverbally. On the other hand, cross cultural management is organization which involves the process of considering and handling cultural differences between the management and the workforces (Alon, 2003). It focuses on making the communication in a company better in addition to improving the organizations international exchanges (Harrison, 1994).
The biggest challenge with these theories is that there is always a likelihood of miscommunication especially when the communicators have cultural differences. When it occurs, it may result into conflict or make the conflict that is already there worse. Theories demonstrate cross cultural communication by using four variables. The first variable is time and space which proposes that time is a chief difference which separate cultures and peoples ways of operating. Some cultures view time as being monochromic method which supports focusing on one interaction or event at a time. Other view it as having unlimited continuity with no restricting boundaries. Differences over the way people look at time during negotiations can lead to conflicts. For example, people in the west are very time conscious and a person who can not be like that is considered unreliable and irresponsible and this can make companies to lose deals as a result of not keeping time (Leavitt, 1999).
The second variable is fate and personal responsibility variable. This is the extent to which we consider ourselves to be masters of our situations or the extent to which we consider ourselves to be subjects to the things beyond our control. These perceptions are likely to cause conflicts in that if a person who is fatalistic in orientation is in negotiation with one who is driven by free will, they are likely to have communication failure. The third variable is face and face saving. These have to do with the image and respect one holds. A person who sees himself a self-determining person is likely to preserve his image with other people. They might therefore be required to exert control in different events and situations in order to achieve this. These people tend to confront the others they feel have wronged them and this might lead to conflicts (Maddox, 1993).
Lastly, we have nonverbal communication variable. During communication, people tend to look for nonverbal cues due to the ambiguity of the verbal messages. Peoples non verbal behavior is as a result of their cultural background. This determines what individuals consider to the appropriate and effective in communication. Since cultures are different, people who are products of culture might have a variety of gestures which mean the same thing. Physical appearances, touch, emotional expression, special relations, silence, posture among other non verbal cues are used differently by people of different cultures to mean different things. They might therefore be a source of conflict when communicating (Al-Deen, 1997).
The major theories of cross cultural communication and cross cultural management have their base on the work which has been done outlining differences between cultures. They are applicable in different fields of international business including marketing and management. The proponents of these theories claim that they are practical and have been applied in cross-cultural situations. The critics however feel that they are based on cultural concepts which were there in the 19th century and therefore they claim that they are not applicable in todays business world. Cross cultural management theory is supported by many and it is seen to be a form of knowledge. At the same time, cross cultural communication is seen to give opportunities to different perception and perspective, experiences and ideas when interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds (Frykenberg Low, 2003).
A case study
There are many organizations in America which spend a lot of money on lodging. The North American company knew that there were chances of reducing its lodging costs and the method they could use was to focus on the spending and selection in the hotel. In order to have more control of these costs the hotel started an initiative to refine and structure the program in the hotel. One of the primary issues to ensure that the program succeeded was to negotiate fixed rates with some of the hotel it could choose. The travel manager foresaw an obstacle which entailed gathering data to show to such hotels the extent to which the company spent on lodging within and with other hotels. The travel agency gave some data but it was found out that this data was not credible and could not be very useful when making the negotiations. For example, the travel agency did not get its information from actual transactions rather it got it from booked reservations. This shows that the information was incomplete and they therefore could not be used since they did not represent the actual spending of the hotel (Diners club international Ltd, (2010). This data obstacle was overcome by the combined efforts of the travel manager and Diners Club account manager. They used a global vision to overcome the problem and his means that they acted in the capacities of global managers.
The hotel, its operations, made use of a reporting tool which was already web-based to run entertainment policies and expenses as well as the overall travel expenses. These managers generated reporters containing reliable documentation of how the company spent. This global vision tool gave the hotel the actual transactions and the amounts spent on them. The data they got could be sorted out in many ways for example through date ranges, geographical areas, hotel chain and brand. The managers made detailed reports which assisted in the identification of the hotel properties and markets where most of its money was spent. They also determined the rate per room which the company was ready to pay at the said properties and armed with credible and clear data, contracts were negotiated based on these rates (Diners club international Ltd, (2010).
These managers used global mindset to shape guidelines which would be used in support of the new program as well as reinforcing workers compliance with such guidelines. The new policy persuaded the workers to make use of referred hotels or get a rate at a substitute hotel or charge a lower rate than the one negotiated by the company. Using a global mindset, the managers could now monitor the workers who used non preferred hotels. They could also get to know the ones who paid rates which were higher than the negotiated ones. Since the global mindset of the managers enabled the company to have the details it require in lowering its costs, it achieved so and this enabled it to increase its markets by thirty. The company has continued to expand and gain more partners and it has also boosted workers compliance and they have almost 100 preferred hotels bookings (Diners club international Ltd, (2010).
This case study shows the need of global managers to have a global mindset and vision. The company which had hotels in different countries was able to survive and go through the obstacle because the managers could think internationally. They were able to solve a problem in their hotels which were in many countries by using one tool and one solution. The results were a tremendous success and major expansions for the company. What the two managers used are characteristics of global managers.
Conclusion
Cross-cultural management and cross-cultural communication are very relevant in todays international business. This is because it is not practical to conduct international business in one way while doing business in different cultures. As a result, business relations are promoted when technical and sales personnel as well as the management is trained and made aware of the conflicts and difficulties they are likely to encounter in a cross-cultural environment. International business can be enhanced when global managers can anticipate the commonalities among cultures as well as reconciles with the differences.
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