Principles of Management - week # 3

Chapter 4 - International management and Cross-Cultural competence.

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On this chapter we have discussed the following issues:

- The 6 steps of Internationalization process.

- Global companies versus Transnational companies.

- Ethnocentric, Polycentric, Geocentric attitudes.

- High context and low context cultures.

- Importance of cross-cultural training in International management.

- The position of women on foreign assignments.

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The six stages of the Internationalization process are :

1-Licensing.

2-Exporting.

3-Local warehousing and selling.

4-Local assembly and packaging.

5-Joint ventures - a company in one country pools resources with one or

more foreign companies in foreign countries.

6. Dierect foreign investments.

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My conclusions from this chapter:

- If a company wants to grow - it needs to go global.

- Managers are moving from country to country as never before.

- Air travel and modern info-technology have made the world a smaller place.

- Organizational culture is the social glue binding members of an organization

together.

- Cultural roots run deep, have profound impact on behavior and are not readily

altered.

- Leadership styles must be adapted to the local culture.

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Discussion questions for this chapter :

1. Describe some steps that management can take to eliminate anbiguous situations that fail to give employees a clear sense of right and wrong.

Reply: In order to elimintae ambiguous situations as described above , management should provide employees with guidelines how to deal with such situations, and ethical codes can help establish these necessary guidelines.

2. Explain what needs to be done before a company code of ethics can be effective.

Reply: Management should fully support the codes of ethics in order for them to be effective. There are specific ways to encourage ethical coduct within a company, such as: ethics training, ethical advocates, ethics codes and whistle blowing.

4. Optionally, provide some examples of ethical conduct-good and bad-you might have experienced or observed in the workplace.

Reply : I have worked in the tourism field in Israel for several years. During one of the many tourism-crisis (due to deteriorating political situation) - the company I then worked for had to lay off some people and send some on an unpaid vacation leave, during which the employees could collect unemployment fees. The management has asked few of the employees - including myself - to sign up at the unemployment beaureau as if we were sent on unpaid vacation leave, then collect unemployment fees, and still come to work with a small salary supplement - paid by the company. Since it was illeagal to do so - we refused. The management had no coice but to alternate their plan and pay full salaries to those employees.

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Interesting links and articles :

Women as entrepreneurs -

http://print2.jobfind.com/careerConnection/view.bg?articleid=3204

That's a very good article. After reading it - I think that single women who do not have children have more chances in succeeding in their own business. It's hard to admit it but without a full support from the spouse and an even distribution of all house & family chores between wife and husband - a woman just won't be able to fully commit to her career. It's no secret that more family responsibilities fall on the woman. A sick child will stay home with his mommy and not his daddy - and mommy will have to miss work. Don't mean to drag anyone into a feminist debate but this is what I think. It's a shame that this unjustified reason is the one that prevents women from scoring it big time !