Managing in a Global Environment

Managing in a Global Environment

By: Sherif Abdelrahman

27-August-2021

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Introduction:

??????With the internet invention in the 80’s the world became what is known as a “small village”. Since Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989, it became a must for any organization wanting to expand its business to go global and establish branches all over the world. With this new mindset the terms “Global Management” & “Managing In a Global Environment” became facts.

??????????In this article we will dive into different aspects of Managing in a Global Environment as below:

-???????When did globalization start?

-???????Effect of internet invention on global management.

-???????Global Organization vs Global Environment.

-???????How to effectively manage in a global environment.

-???????Types of Management

-???????People Management Styles

-???????First Multinational Corporation

-???????Conclusion

And other points that would help us provide a clearer image of where are we today in Managing in a Global Environment.

When did globalization start?

[i]There is a huge debate about when the term globalization became effective.

Some argue that it has already started with the first presence of mankind. Others state that it started at the 1400s when the Europeans sailed and discovered other continents and countries.

??????????Eventually, it was agreed that the globalization went through 3 eras.

The first era “Globalization 1.0” lasted from 1492 till 1800, when Columbus sailed from Europe and discovered the new world. In this era the world went from large size to medium size.

The second era “Globalization 2.0” lasted from 1800 to 2000. It is mostly remembered by the great depression and World Wars 1 & 2. In this era the world went from medium size to small size.

The third era “Globalization 3.0” started at 2000 or the 21st Century. It was significantly affected by the presence of internet reducing the world size from small size to tiny size.[ii]

Effect of internet invention on global management

??????????Internet was the primary cause of existence of the 3rd era, it did turn the world into one village where people can reach each other at any time.

Internet connected customers and enterprises which increased the satisfaction level of customers. It made it easier for companies to participate in foreign markets offering global standard products and services.

Internet helped communities interact more with each other and accept each other’s differences and this helped companies grow their business in different areas in the world. A specific example would be the American and European companies which opened branches and point of sales in different Arab and Middle Eastern countries and as a result hiring employees from these countries and working together for a brighter future of the company.

??????????As a conclusion, the impact of Internet on globalization is big and it has different aspects. It includes the modernization and improvement in the business sector. Nowadays many businesses improve their global competitiveness and productivity between each other as the market became broader and much too competitive with consumers with much more options and choices.[iii]

Global Organization vs Global Environment

?????????Firstly, we have to differentiate between the global organization and global environment and how the global environment resulted in the presence of the global organization.

??????????Global organizations are the ones that operate and compete in different countries, they usually have different branches, head offices and point-of-sales in different countries other than their origin and that is to compete in various markets.

??????????Global environment is a set of global forces, rules and conditions that an organization has to deal with if it decided to be a global organization. These forces may be beyond the organization boundaries and authorities; however, it is certain that these conditions affect management ability to utilize different resources.[iv]

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How to effectively manage in a Global Environment

??????????Because of the modern internet era we are living in the world appears to be smaller, however on the other hand the human population growth was exponential reaching more than 7.9 billion by the time this article was written.

??????????This enormous growth led to the discovery of new communication technologies that allowed people from different cultures and different backgrounds to fully integrate bringing a truly global community.

??????????For business this approach created new opportunities and new markets for the organizations, yet of course having new opportunities in different zones on the planet is not without its own challenges. For instance, one of the main challenges for such expansion is logistics which can be very complex to different organizations that exist in different continents.

??????????With that being said, managing in a global environment is possible but it has to be with the right approach. Here are a few strategies (challenges to tackle) to take in consideration.

A-??Create healthy work environment

From a young age we listen to the national anthem and memorize it, learn about the heroic stories of our countries. As a result each one will feel that he is superior in a certain way because of his nationality.

When a company goes global this feel of superiority and edge over others will be a big issue that may result in a toxic work environment which of course will affect the company negatively if it is not taken care off.

The company’s reaction here is that it should provide trainings and initiate different sessions between employees and projects stakeholders, these trainings should stress on the benefits of having diverse workforce and how we can utilize our different points of strength to help the organization stepping up. These trainings are so important for employees who are managing a team in a second country and reporting to a manager in a third country.

B-??Understand different cultures

This point specifically is so crucial when opening a branch for your organization in another country, the cultural differences will appear first in forms of laws, regulations, legal/illegal actions. These are all battles that you will have to go through.

??????????After solving all legal aspects you will have to go through another law but his time it is not a country law, it is just the habits and culture norms that you have to get used to. For instance, in some countries there has to be a certain separation between work places of males and females, other countries mind more about working hours and the professional/personal life distance, other countries mind more about appearances more than the others, some countries can speak different languages fluently than the others which I see one of the crucial factors to consider. All of the mentioned and more has to be taken in consideration when opening a new branch for your organization in a new country.

C-??Fill Leadership Positions

When expanding in different countries, managers have to be chosen carefully. These managers should be skilled enough to lead a local team and report to a foreign manager. They should be natives or residents of the country but still have enough experiences dealing with overseas organizations.

The more important is that not only he should be native and experienced to hire but still he should have the skills of great managers to succeed, like good communication skills, good vision, flexibility, listen to employees concern, has the ability to motivate his employee when needed and other skills that are essential in a good manager to be.

D-??Integrated systems

In order to succeed with the global organization model you have to have a software system that is integrated within all of your branches. Everyone should work on the same system sharing same information aware of all decisions taken instantly. Standards and methods of procedure should be spanned through all branches in order to give the organization enough credibility with the customers.

Systems shouldn’t be only software but also hardware systems like security hardware that would help the enterprise defend its data from hackers.[v]

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Types of Management

??????????Before digging deep into different styles of people management, will try to briefly mention the different types of Management:

-???????Strategic Management

o??It is defining the company’s strategy, goals and initiatives and work on achieving them.

-???????Sales Management

o??Managing Sales and company’s accounts

-???????Marketing Management

o??Managing the market by providing ideas and strategies to succeed considering the current market changes.

-???????Public relations

o??Responsible of the communication between the company and the public.

-???????Operations Management

o??Managing the production/implementation of your product/service till reaches point of sale.

-???????Supply Chain Management

o??Managing the procedure of delivering the product/service to the end user.

-???????Procurement Management

o??More concerned about contracts and relationships with 3rd parties.

-???????Financial Management

o??Managing anything related to monetary and finance.

-???????Human Resources Management

o??Responsible of different types of people management. Different studies assured that people management is the toughest type of all management types.

-???????Information Technology Management

o??Managing anything related to technology and information exchange (software/hardware)

-???????R&D Management

o??Research and development management

-???????Risk Management

o??Type of management that is essential in big projects where you should anticipate a risk factor with a specific percentage to avoid any issues that may result in ruining the project or company’s goal.

-???????Quality Management

o??Focused on proving the product/service with the best quality possible.

These were the most famous management types, however you may find other types not mentioned here in your company as they differ for sure from one organization to another depending on the company’s vision and goals.[vi]

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People Management Styles

As mentioned, people management is proved to be the toughest of all management styles as it is related to communicating with different people and focusing on how a manager can manage, motivate, force, punish and ignore his different employees with their different mindsets and how can he get the best of them.

There are 2 main theories or styles of these managers which can be subdivided afterwards to 7 management styles that we will share with you.

Manager number one assumes that employees are lazy who always do anything to avoid the work, as a result this manager tries to create strict policies and punishments to employees who doesn’t work in order to force the others to work properly.

Manager number two always try to create friendships with his employees and work on motivating them, listening to their ideas and views and reward the most successful employees. This way proven to be the most efficient and successful specially in our modern/internet era.

The 7 management styles we mentioned above can be summed in the below table

[vii]

First Multinational Corporation

As known as the first multinational organization: “The East India Company (EIC)”.

With Great Britain occupies India at this time, this company was founded in the 1600s to specialize in spices trading from the Indian continent to the whole world. This company lasted for almost 250 years although it suffered from a lot of issues at the time, yet still it is recorded as the first company in the world that includes employees and workers from different nationalities and its trade was distributed through different countries

??????????Going back to our paragraph about Globalization, this company proves to be existing in the first era “Globalization 1.0” which lasted from 1492 till 1800.[viii]

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Conclusion

??????????In this article we went through different aspects and views of managing in a global environment, starting with the definition of the term “Globalization” to different management types and styles finishing with the first multinational company to ever exist. As anything we know has pros and cons, some of you may see the managing in a multinational organization as a disappointing and stressful job to do, others may see it as a positive approach, the future and the next step in the employment ladder.

??????????Respecting both mindsets we have to confess that whether we like it or not the global organizations are a fact and not only do they exist, yet they will continue to grow up and the reason for that is mentioned above which is called “The Internet” which forced the whole planet to turn into a small village and simplified the difficult word named “Globalization” into a task that most of us do on a daily basis.

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?References

[i] Alaa Omar (March 2020). Is the coronavirus the end of globalization? -blog.

[ii] Borcuch, A., Pi?at-Borcuch, M., & ?wierczyńska-Kaczor, U. (2012). The Influence of the Internet on globalization process.?Journal of Economics and Business Research,?18(1), 118-129.

[iii] Borcuch, A., Pi?at-Borcuch, M., & ?wierczyńska-Kaczor, U. (2012). The Influence of the Internet on globalization process.?Journal of Economics and Business Research,?18(1), 118-129.

[iv] https://slideplayer.com/slide/8413835/

[v] https://www.theamegroup.com/effectively-manage-global-workforce/

[vi] Anna Mar (May 2013). 21 Types of Management. Management Guide – Simplicable.

[vii] Marcel Tit (October 2019). 7 Management Styles to Master

[viii] Peter Thal Larsen (September 2019). Breakingviews - Review: The first global corporation was the worst