1134 Posts Found

As we look to grow out of recession, innovation is more important than ever. However, the types of innovation companies pursue need to change. They must start to find novel ways of adding value at low cost, using existing technology in new applications and re-engineering inefficient business models. Managers wanting to learn how to make this change will find that China is a good place … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Eden Yin, Peter J. Williamson | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Innovation, International

You need to think local and act global. In other words, you need to constantly ask yourself, “What can I draw from a particular local environment that is unique and different, that is going to best make use of its capabilities and competencies, that is going to best leverage this uniqueness on a worldwide basis?” So the approach is very much to think about the … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Yves Doz | Source: strategy+business | Subject: International

Most business schools have spent the past decade making their programs global in scope, which tends to mean sending students to foreign lands for immersion programs. The model they’re using, however, creates leaders that are dangerously out of touch with the context in which they’re running businesses.

Content: Article | Author: Bhaskar Chakravorti | Source: BusinessWeek | Subjects: International, MBA Related

It’s clear to me that you can never have a single culture in an international company. Cultures are molded by countries, by fiscal systems, by the systems people work in—they’re different from the West Coast to the East Coast of the United States, and they’re different in Sweden, Norway and Japan. Anyone who believes they can impose a single corporate culture across a global company … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Sir William Castell | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Culture, International, Organizational Behavior

For decades, governments and companies around the world have focused almost exclusively on tariffs as the biggest impediment to global trade. Despite tariffs dropping to a 30-year low, reform efforts have stalled in recent years and international trade remains seriously constrained. A big reason: The inefficiencies and choke-points that hobble the global supply chain turn out to be a much bigger factor than government-imposed tariffs … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Mark Gottfredson | Source: Bain & Company | Subjects: Economics, International

One looks at a country’s history and traditions and culture and not just the economic statistics because countries do not change their fundamental behavior, or at least not fast.

Content: Quotation | Author: Peter F. Drucker | Source: Context Magazine | Subject: International

An increasing number of global firms adopt a primary language for business operations—usually English. The problem: The practice can surface dormant hostilities around culture and geography, reports Tsedal Neeley.

Content: Article | Author: Kim Girard | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: International, Organizational Behavior

Multinationals creating partnerships with Chinese companies can adopt eight best practices to help manage the unique complexities they often encounter.

Content: Article | Author: John Jullens | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: International, International – China, Mergers & Acquisitions

Companies can no longer rely on single individuals at the top to handle the complexity and uncertainty of the global environment. Instead, they need “leadership ensembles”—teams that can capitalize on diversity, stay current with developments in different parts of the world while anticipating future trends and their implications, and make smart decisions without sacrificing speed.

Leadership ensembles are groups of executives, each with distinctive expertise and … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Claudy Jules, Joshua J. Bellin, Nandani Lynton, Robert J. Thomas | Source: Accenture | Subjects: International, Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior

Japanese-honed techniques, such as 5S, hoshin kanri, taguchi, jidoka and takt time, are behind such manufacturing approaches as just in time and lean manufacturing. A technical note by IESE’s Rocio Arenas and Beatriz Muñoz-Seca analyzes these five Japanese methods, which they say could be implemented in services.

Content: Article | Authors: Beatriz Muñoz-Seca, Rocio Arenas | Source: IESE Insight | Subject: International

Most of the executives we talk with at global multinational companies (MNCs) spend a lot of time scrutinizing the developing world. They know about the growth potential. If they’re not already operating in Indonesia or Poland or Nigeria, they’re making plans to do so. What they’re not seeing, often, are the obstacles to success. Building a large-scale business in the developing world—capitalizing on that world’s … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Dunigan O’Keeffe, James Allen | Source: Bain & Company | Subjects: International, Management, Strategy

With so many markets around the world simultaneously approaching critical mass, how do companies decide where and when to invest their scarce resources? Consumption curves—an old idea imbued with new power—can provide those answers and more, including how to shape markets to their advantage.

Content: Article | Authors: Armen Ovanessoff, Athena Peppes, Mark Purdy, Matthew Robinson | Source: Outlook Journal (Accenture) | Subjects: Economics, International, Strategy

Since expectations of leaders change from country to country, how should multiculturals adjust?

Content: Article | Author: Caroline Rook | Source: INSEAD Knowledge | Subjects: International, Leadership, Organizational Behavior

Companies that harness word-of-mouth effects, emphasize in-store execution, and get their brands onto shoppers’ short lists for initial consideration are more likely to capture the loyalty of emerging-market consumers.

Content: Article | Authors: Jean-Frederic Kuentz, Jeongmin Seong, Yuval Atsmon | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: International, Marketing / Sales

Leaders don’t all walk and talk the same. Staying true to one’s culture is integral to empowered leadership.

Content: Article | Author: Li Huang | Source: INSEAD Knowledge | Subjects: International, Leadership, Organizational Behavior

Finding the perfect job might seem like a universal goal. Not necessarily, say IESE’s Yih-teen Lee and ESSEC’s Aarti Ramaswami, who argue that a lot depends on culture. By learning to recognize the sometimes invisible cultural influences on HR practices, global managers can better understand how to attract, select and retain talent in their organizations.

Content: Article | Source: IESE Insight | Subjects: International, Organizational Behavior

From a policy standpoint, many countries continue to focus on privatization, liberalization, deregulation and modernization as growth strategies. Unfortunately, according to Jean-Eric Aubert of the World Bank Institute, these policies typically do not yield the expected fruits due to their lack of sustainability, because they often fail to take into account emerging opportunities. For instance, the privatization of aging factories does little to enhance economic … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Mark McCord | Source: Deloitte Review | Subjects: Economics, International, Politics

Should we see globalization as a recent phenomenon or has history got important lessons for us? Globalization, when you reflect on it, is a very old phenomenon; it is not a recent one. It may have gone into overdrive recently, but it actually is as old in its initial instincts as human experience is. All the evidence is that from the very first, human beings, … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Stephen Green | Source: Deloitte Review | Subject: International

Both international joint ventures (IJVs) and acquisitions facilitate the entry of companies into new markets and business domains. They also expose firms to significant risk. How do executives weigh decisions about which governance approach is best, particularly in emerging markets like China where information may be limited? A team of professors led a study to better understand how to make these strategic decisions.

Content: Article | Source: IESE Insight | Subjects: International, Mergers & Acquisitions, Strategy

Do past international investments help or hurt a company’s chances of succeeding in a new market?

Content: Article | Author: Susan E Perkins | Source: Kellogg Insight | Subject: International