Managers' Competencies in the Global Context - Essay Example

Name Course Name Instructor’s Name 8 April 2010 Executive summary This paper captures globalization. It explains the challenges that are faced by organizations that operate globally. It further explains the qualities that are vital for a global manager as well as recommending to the HR some of the qualities that would be vital for them to employ in these global organizations. Introduction Globalization refers to the integration of economies as well as the cultures of different nations. It also involves foreign direct investment and capital flows as well as the ability to transfer growth in technology from the highly developed nations to the less developed countries. It also involves migration, which is the movement of human labor, which is the entrepreneurial power. Its expansion is reflected when there is a reduction in barriers between national borders or a complete removal or scraping of these barriers. This allows the free flow of goods and services as well as the factors of production (Beerkens 2003). This means that the restrictions of trade are reduced between the nations allowing easier importing and exporting and thus easier international trade. Globalization is a continuous process that allows integration of societies and regions as well as cultures. This has mainly been through growth in trade as well as terms of communication. It is mainly politicians who engage in formulating policies that favor globalization and the main reason why they do this is to increase interdependence, which increases prosperity of nations (Navarro, Schmitt & Astudillo 2004). However though globalization is highly advocated for due to its great benefits, the environment in which it is to occur is complex and very dynamic. This is due to the fact that there are trade barriers between nations. There are also restrictions that any global firm has to cross before engaging in any global activity. The other factor that makes the environment complex is the cultural differences that occur across borders. This calls for great adaptation measures. It is dynamic because it expands to very wide areas and complex because a lot of research has to be carried out to overcome the social differences (Chortareas & Pelagidis 2004). Challenges of global Organization A global organization is an international alliance that draws its members from at least three countries. The members of such an organization are held together by an agreement that is formal. These organizations could be owned by the government like the United Nations while others are non-governmental organizations. An example of a non-governmental organization is Amnesty International (Beerkens 2003). An organization that is global faces various challenges, which are cultural, ethical, legal, or even economic. Such organizations create a greater interdependence among states but inevitably, they face challenges. These challenges involve such things as economic challenges. This is caused by high cost of operation. This arises because these organizations do trade across borders and a border always implies a greater cost. These extra costs could be imposed on these global organizations as tariffs by the government for the countries, which they operate in. Great and intensive research also has to be carried out before the organizations initiate the operations. These add the operational costs (Navarro, Schmitt & Astudillo 2004). The costs could also be in form of time costs due to delays along the borders. It also goes without saying that the distances involved are wide and there fore an inevitable extra cost is incurred by the organizations to cover these distances. Relative immobility of the factors of production is also a challenge that is faced by global organizations. This arises from the fact that across borders it is relatively harder to control the mobility of labor as well as of capital. Other challenges that would be faced by global organizations are culture differences (Nayyar, 2006). These normally result into culture shock to the people who find themselves in entirely new environments. It is also experienced by the inhabitants when the new people act in a very different style from what they would term as normal. Yet all this is caused by the diversity of the cultures across nations. This is further complicated by the fact that what one nation considers as ethical is considered as unethical in the culture of another nation (Lysandrou 2005). Yet the global organization is dealing with all these nations. Its operations cut across all these nations. It therefore has to adapt its workers into the different cultures of the different nations. This could mean carrying out intensive research so as to learn the diversity and adapt. This is the only sure way to facilitate good communication and a mutual understanding (Beerkens 2003). Language difference is another challenge that these organizations face as different countries in which these organizations carry out their activities use different languages. The organizations have to make sure that their human resource is well versed with the different languages used across borders. In addition, a similar word could mean entirely different things in different cultures. Thus, it has to be ensured that the labor force is well versed with the different skills. Another challenge is the legal and the policy aspect. Governments have set precepts, which govern the operations within their country (Nayyar, 2006). The legal fraternity prescriptions of every country are one aspect that the global organization has to adhere to. It is challenging for any global organization to adapt itself to the different expectations that vary across borders and yet that is the only option. Competencies/skills/culture of global managers Due to the need to interact with people who are culturally different, skills need to be developed by global managers that can allow them to be skillfully interactive and yet cope in the different cultures. This is the cultural intelligence of a manager. A global manager must be able to overcome cultural difference as well as help others go through the adaptation process (Nayyar, 2006). The manager must not learn to associate with people who are new in an environment and to make them work with ease until they are fully adapted. This would be by getting knowledge of different cultures and being mindful of the cross-cultural situations that he encounters. Such a manager must have cultural flexibility and know how to act in inter cultural situation. He should be aware of and recognize the flaws in his culture that would, make him view other people from other cultures as worse than him (Dobson 2005). Such a manager must also have his mind set on global competitiveness. He should have a mindset that allows his organization to operate effectively. This means that he should have the mindset of an integrator (Bettcher & Lee 2002). This allows him to integrate his main functions, which are the global business he is managing and the pressures that come from these nations as well as the fulfillment of his role internationally. He also must be able to use the difference in culture so as to make the best out of them. He should be able to work with people of diverse cultures and bring the best out of their differences (Navarro, Schmitt & Astudillo 2004). Recommendations to HR HR should be able to develop skills and competencies that allow them to be competent in the global economy. These are the recommendations. 1. They must understand the cultural differences. This would be done by studying the culture of different people and this gives a prior understanding of culturally based behavior. They can use such things as the culture stereotypes and this is actually just the first step towards becoming culturally intelligent (Nayyar, 2006). 2. They should purpose to become culturally intelligent. This means gaining the skills that are necessary to understand a given culture. This would require one to reshape their thinking and gradually learn from these interactions. They should do this in every new culture (Beerkens 2003). 3. Gain knowledge of the principles they need to know in cross-cultural interactions. This helps in understanding how behavior of individuals is influenced by culture. 4. Develop mindfulness in such a way that he knows what is appropriate to do in a given culture. 5. Gain behavioral skills so as to be competent across the different cultures. This allows them to be effective all round. Conclusion In conclusion, the world has greatly become globalized. It becomes a major challenge when people find themselves in a position that they were not prepared for. It is there fore appropriate for every one to gear their mind towards being global minded. They should purpose to be able to adapt to the different cultures. This means not only the managers but also even the staff of the global organizations as well as every one else to develop a culture where by they can easily interact with people from diverse cultures. Whether it is them traveling to other countries or its people finding them in their countries. This will ease communication as well as make transactions easy to do. On the other hand, governments, which are still holding policies that restrict globalization, should let go of such restrictions. This will allow free interaction between nations and it will be easier for nations to carry out trade with each other as well as improve their interactions. Finally, each and every organization should purpose to teach its staff on international standards so that they can adapt to the expected changes. References Beerkens, E. 2003. Globalisation and higher education research. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7: 128-148. Bettcher, D. & Lee, K. 2002. Globalisation and public health. J. Epidemiol Community Health, 56: 8-17. Chortareas, G. & Pelagidis, T. 2004. Trade flows: a facet of regionalism or globalization? Camb. J. Econ. 28: 253-71. Dobson, A. 2005. Globalisation, cosmopolitanism and the environment. International Relations, 19: 259-273. Lysandrou, P. 2005. Globalisation as commodification. Camb. J. Econ. 29: 769-797. Navarro, V., Schmitt, J. & Astudillo, J. 2004. Is globalization undermining the welfare state? Camb. J. Econ. 28: 133-152. Nayyar, D. 2006. Globalisation, history and development: a tale of two centuries. Camb. J. Econ. 30: 137-159. Read More