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THE CHALLENGING TASK OF THE GLOBAL MANAGER

19 January, 2016 - 15:18
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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.

Table 2.2 The Decisions Confronting the International Manager
  1. Should the firm enter a new country?
  2. What type of entry should it undertake: exporting, licensing, direct investments, management contracts, other arrangements?
  3. What are the opportunities/risks in various countries of different modes of entry?
  4. In what countries should the firm expand its existing plants, undertake new investments, make acquisitions?
  5. In what region or countries and when should the company expand its international commitments in funds, technology, management, know-how, and personnel?
  6. What should the company do about exchange risks, political vulnerability, and adverse governmental controls and regulations?
  7. Should the firm go into joint ventures with other private firms or government enterprises abroad, and under what conditions?
  8. Where should it raise funds for its worldwide operations?
  9. What product adaptations should it make and what new products should it introduce in various countries?
  10. To what extent should it change its marketing and product mixes in different countries?
  11. What management development programs should it undertake at headquarters and at its affiliates abroad?
  12. Should it disinvest or phase out business in certain countries?

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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