Globalization: As the global market expands new opportunities become available for
the manager to explore new regions and with it take on new competition throughout
the globe. With such opportunities there exist new challenges. To be successful, the
manager must have his or her ability to assess new markets and make determinations as to the potential of success. These challenges relate to geography, traditions, language barriers, and proximity to senior management as well as the presence of global competition. To view the competitive landscape within the confines of one’s own home county can be challenging, but to assess competition and evaluate that competition’s capabilities on the otherside of the globe can be overwhelming. Servicing customers has also has new complexities. The manager must understand the requirements and in some cases demands of these new customer groups in order to be successful in the new market. One area in which U.S. companies have been negligent is in their assumptions that the global customer’s needs are the same as those in the U.S. Many examples exist where American companies tried and failed in a new global region by simply not understanding the landscape (Robbins & Judge, 2007, pp. 15,16). The manager must identify the values and needs of the global customer and present a product that holds value to them.
Often times the use of expatriates and host county nationals presents challenge in the areas of recruitment, retention, and orientation to the host country. Managers will encounter the necessity of choosing and assisting expatriates acclimate to their new host county in order to make them effective. Simultaneously, managers must have the ability to identify reward systems to recruit and retain host county nationals by connecting such reward systems to the home organization’s culture and values. Companies operating in socialist, communist, and other non-capitalist countries the issue of coming from such a unique perspective have with it the challenge
of appealing to customers and potential employees in such a way that portrays the company as providing some form of mutual benefit or some other objective that would be conducive to working within the selected host country (Gupta & Govindarajan, 2002).
It shall be within the effective manager to find such common benefit to other countries while promoting profitability and success as a business.
One of the current most concerning areas of globalization is the loss of jobs due to off shoring efforts. This can present opportunities for profitability for many organizations, but many unfortunately also have to deal with the response of employee advocate groups and government entities here at home. Now, the manager has the opportunity to be an agent of change to develop his/her workforce to prepare for this changing global horizon and prepare home country employees by developing skills and knowledge that cannot be offshored. The manager now has
the challenge of adding the roles of economist, career counselor, and futurist to his or her responsibilities. Certainly there exist challenges, but also rewards in growing their companies and identifying new opportunities for success their companies will continue to entice organizations into this global arena.
Intuition: Organizations have never faced a more turbulent, complex or changing business environment. Only the most complete approach to management and leadership is acceptable to enable a business to survive. Making sense of the complexity of business requires different forms of thinking. Skills that are considered right-brain have become even more necessary as technology and the science of business has come to the forefront. Often described as a gut feeling or a sense of why people act and react as they do is considered a portion of a manager’s intuition (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 12). It is believed that five main qualities that require initiative thinking processes include, customer systemic thinking, alignment, empowerment and openness (Lank & Lank, 1995).
These characteristics are identified as crucial to any organization’s success. Although when it comes to customer service skills substantial data is available to evaluate such effectiveness, often it’s the awareness of people’s expectations and having the empathy skills that makes a manager successful in this area. The manager’s ability to align his or her objectives and desired outcomes to an organization requires a degree of intuition to see the creative connections between other divisions and segments of the organization. Often times the lines are ambiguous between such segments and it is the intuition of the manager that will make the solution come to light. When it
comes to a manager’s ability and effectiveness to empower and exhibit a sense of being open and receptive does come from the person’s capacity to read other individuals and make accurate assessments. Although it would be ideal to have such available data concerning a subordinate’s success and failure rate and likelihood of future success, in reality the manager must rely on the intuitive abilities that have been developed over the span of a career.
Although often discounted, it is this aspect of the manager’s skill set that is a product of his or her experiences and education. This, in the writer’s opinion, is at the core of the art of leadership and can be found to be a critical link to a manager’s effectiveness.
Diversity: As earlier discussed, differences in culture
and background continue to bring new challenges to management. How to create environments in which all
persons may work and be productive can be a difficult as each employee comes to
work with certain attitudes and perspectives.
Organizations now find multiple dimensions of diversity that can include
gender, religion, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, and
generational dynamics. The manager often
must start with the self in order to identify his or her own tendencies and
then in most cases overcome past perception and find benefit to the
organization. Then comes
the ability to adapt managerial
styles to the diverse workforce, which can include employee’s different
attitudes relating to work and expectations from an employer. An organization's culture determines the
ability of members from other groups to perform within the organization.
Individuals from minority groups face challenges everyday in dealing with
prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping which can substantially affect
organization productivity and profitability.
As the United States being one of the most litigious countries in the world, the perception of equity in the workplace must be attended to in policy and in practice. Any such shift away from such perceived equality can mean disruption in the workplace as well as litigation and government involvement. Also, many industries and government organizations are bound by the representation of certain diverse groups within the local community. These legal obligations can limit and at times restrict organizations when it comes to hiring, training, and promotion practices.
Within the United States a major shift in the demographics of the work place has taken and will continue to change in coming years with the increased presence of women at work and the increasing presence of Hispanic and employees from the east that bring for the manager new challenges in supporting these increasing demographics in the workplace (Robbins & Judge, 2007, pp. 18,19).
The greatest challenge concerning diversity is the ability for an organization to recognize the different ethnic backgrounds and attitudes, values, and norms that many cultures possess. Although at one time the mere numbers of employees in certain demographics dictated the workplace is now the cultural differences that determine attitudes relative to the traditional white male dominated work environment (Seyed-Mahmoud, 2004).
A significant element of the shifting diverse workplace lies in the cultural difference contrast between individualism and collectivism. Collectivists emphasize the needs of the group, social norms, shared beliefs, and cooperation with group members (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 129). This may strain organizational structures and procedures when divergent cultures work together in one location. For example, employees from hierarchy cultures have a preference for highly structured teams while people from cultures that see relationships in terms of groups want teamwork to be the norm and people from cultures that emphasize the individual feel most comfortable with voluntary and informal teams. Mixing these culture types can have a significant impact on an organization and only its ability to provide the structure in which all may be successful can organizations thrive (Perkins, 1993).
References
Gupta, A. K., & Govindarajan, V. (2002, February 1). Cultivating a global mindset.
Academy of Management Executive, 16(1), 116-126.
Lank, Alden G, Lank, Elizabeth
A. (1995). Legitimizing the gut
feel: The role of
intuition in business. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 10(5), 18. Retrieved
September 3, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document
ID: 6802776).
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2007). Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Seyed-Mahmoud, Aghazadeh
(2004). Managing workforce diversity as
an essential
resource for improving organizational performance. International Journal of
Productivity and Performance Management, 53(5/6), 521-531. Retrieved September 3, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 695579751).