
Management is the process of anticipating the future consequences of today's decisions. What kinds of decisions does a multinational manager have to make? What kinds of information does the manager need to make these decisions? What kinds of knowledge must the manager have in order to (1) find, organize, and evaluate the information; (2) use this information to determine the possible alternatives; (3) choose one possible state and name it the preferred state; and finally, (4) implement the programs and procedures that will enable the organization to reach its goals?
A search of the literature on international business in general and international management in particular yielded a list of twelve decisions multinational managers must make (see Table 2.2). Given the number of subdecisions included in each, the number of different decisions that an international manager must make is mind-boggling. Managing a global company is indeed a very complex affair.
Global Business Strategy: A Systems Approach is designed to familiarize students with the basic principles of managing an international enterprise as "one integrated chessboard on which every move is planned for its strategic effect on the whole game." 1 In this global business framework, decisions made at the company's headquarters in, say, Peoria, Illinois regarding a new product or process must be evaluated for their possible impact on the company's sales office in Patras, Greece.
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SOURCE: Adapted from W. A. Dymsza, "Global Strategic Planning: A Model and Recent Developments," Journal of International Business Studies, Fall 1984, 169-170. |
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