introductiontointernationalmanagement.ppt

* The speed and accuracy of information transmission are changing the nature of the global manager’s job by making geographic barriers less relevant. Indeed, the necessity of being able to access IT is being recognized by managers and families around the world, who are giving priority to being “plugged in” over other lifestyle accoutrements. Even cultural barriers are being lowered gradually by the role of information in educating societies about one another. Indeed, as consumers around the world become more aware, through various media, of how people in other countries live, their tastes and preferences begin to converge. * Whatever your level of involvement, it is important to understand the global business environment and its influence on the manager’s role. This complex role demands a contingency approach to dynamic environments, each of which has its own unique requirements. Within the larger context of global trends and competition, the rules of the game for the global manager are set by each country as shown on this slide : its political and economic agenda, its technological status and level of development, its regulatory environment, its comparative and competitive advantages, and its cultural norms. The astute manager will analyze the new environment, anticipate how it may affect the future of the home company, and then develop appropriate strategies and operating styles. * Proactive globally oriented firms maintain an up-to-date profile of the political and economic environment of the countries in which they maintain operations or have plans for future investment . * After assessing the potential political risk of investing or maintaining current operations in a country, managers face perplexing decisions on how to manage that risk. On one level, they can decide to suspend their firm’s dealings with a certain country at a given point—either by the avoidance of investment or by the withdrawal of current investment by selling or abandoning plants and