How to be a Successful International Manager
Steve Jobs once said of Apple’s successes, “It 's not about money. It 's about the people you have, how you 're led, and how much you get it.” (Maroney, 1998) A firm believer in good management and healthy competition, Steve Jobs is a prime example of someone who really knew his business, and who really understood the value of good management and well-educated employees. As Jim Derivan (2003) recorded for LiveWire, Anne Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox, extols of the benefits of caring management, touting the profitability of satisfied, fulfilled employees who have faith in their managers and who feel that they are being seen as people, as opposed to faceless employees. Good management is critical in …show more content…
The job that a manager has in a host country is a job riddled with aspects and peculiarities particular to the host country. A manager in a host country needs to be equipped for the job at hand, with a skill set that goes above and beyond management skills and an understanding of global economics. Language, culture, history, local politics, traditions, taboos; an internationally placed manager has these and other hurdles that they must be able to navigate, in order to be successful in their international career.
Most important in managing any part of a business or workforce in a host country is understanding the host country, especially the immediate locale. One incredibly useful tool that an international business manager should have in their toolbox is that of language. The ability to speak and understand the host country’s language, and perhaps the localized dialect of that language, is a valuable ability that bridges communication gaps and allows a manager to connect and communicate directly with local peers, workforce, and upper management. But just understanding a language isn’t enough, a manager has to employ intentional listening. As James Cash Penney (n.d.), founder of JC Penney, said, “The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management …show more content…
As Carpenter, Taylor, and Erdogan (2009, p. 77) put it, “a successful global manager needs to be culturally sensitive and have an understanding for how business is done in different cultures.”
Another valuable tool for an international manager’s understanding of the host country in which they are conducting business is understanding of that country’s politics and history, on both a local and national scale. Understanding of a country’s local and national history, and politics, can provide a valuable context for a manager in a host country, providing a context for social expectations, social faux pas, traditions, holidays, and local business or personal
Steve Jobs once said of Apple’s successes, “It 's not about money. It 's about the people you have, how you 're led, and how much you get it.” (Maroney, 1998) A firm believer in good management and healthy competition, Steve Jobs is a prime example of someone who really knew his business, and who really understood the value of good management and well-educated employees. As Jim Derivan (2003) recorded for LiveWire, Anne Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox, extols of the benefits of caring management, touting the profitability of satisfied, fulfilled employees who have faith in their managers and who feel that they are being seen as people, as opposed to faceless employees. Good management is critical in …show more content…
The job that a manager has in a host country is a job riddled with aspects and peculiarities particular to the host country. A manager in a host country needs to be equipped for the job at hand, with a skill set that goes above and beyond management skills and an understanding of global economics. Language, culture, history, local politics, traditions, taboos; an internationally placed manager has these and other hurdles that they must be able to navigate, in order to be successful in their international career.
Most important in managing any part of a business or workforce in a host country is understanding the host country, especially the immediate locale. One incredibly useful tool that an international business manager should have in their toolbox is that of language. The ability to speak and understand the host country’s language, and perhaps the localized dialect of that language, is a valuable ability that bridges communication gaps and allows a manager to connect and communicate directly with local peers, workforce, and upper management. But just understanding a language isn’t enough, a manager has to employ intentional listening. As James Cash Penney (n.d.), founder of JC Penney, said, “The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management …show more content…
As Carpenter, Taylor, and Erdogan (2009, p. 77) put it, “a successful global manager needs to be culturally sensitive and have an understanding for how business is done in different cultures.”
Another valuable tool for an international manager’s understanding of the host country in which they are conducting business is understanding of that country’s politics and history, on both a local and national scale. Understanding of a country’s local and national history, and politics, can provide a valuable context for a manager in a host country, providing a context for social expectations, social faux pas, traditions, holidays, and local business or personal