Global Business - Raising the Bar

The writing is on the wall. If companies plan to maintain a leadership role at the international level, employees must acquire a global perspective. For years, executives have questioned the return on investment in the education of soft skills and, in particular, mocked the idea of ​​cross-cultural training. However, as our working world becomes increasingly interactive, and focused international, culturally sensitive approaches are essential for communication professional and respectful.

Beyond awareness of corporate reputation to a more sophisticated level, cross-cultural education maintains productive relationships. Like many global entities already know, an inappropriate e-mail, comment or interaction can easily damage or even ruin an international report. Basic cultural formation, such as the importance of color selection when you send a package to Tokyo, understanding and verbosity-mail from Mumbai, as a toast properly return banquet in Shanghai or how to better understand the business rules Cairo is not only cultivates and strengthens relations, but also eliminates costly misunderstandings.

Strengthen its market position and prepare your company for the future.

As global mergers, alliances and agreements to become a common practice, the need for cross-cultural knowledge will become increasingly important at all levels. But time is short and the probability that managers may have to learn cross-cultural awareness in extenuating circumstances is a growing concern.

For example, stories abound in the area of ​​Detroit-based Chrysler executives who have struggled in the corporate culture of Daimler. Not only Americans experienced executives surrounded by another language, the leaders were stunned by the German industry norm, and many struggled in the new environment. It 's quite difficult to adapt to a new culture during a domestic merger, but when a partner is another country, a whole new set of obstacles becomes immediately apparent. It takes training and education for individuals, departments and organizations to progress down the learning curve of culture.

Global Education Increases service levels, build stronger teams and maximize revenue potential.

Companies that withdraw ethnocentric tendencies and a better connection with international partners and foreign investors to prosper and succeed. Managers who fully understand the behavior of a series of negotiation techniques from Chinese to Japanese cultural norms and superstitions of the Middle East and Latin American styles of communication - will become the visionary leaders of tomorrow. In addition, future leaders will get a leg up on their competition among outsourced workers (who typically provide customer service and reservation functions) in training and global cultural networks. Of course, all organizations can benefit from higher service levels, stronger teams, revenues have increased and a unified corporate culture.

The standardization of best practices among corporate divisions will improve quality control, streamline operations, improve customer service and create a unified corporate culture.

Another key to global success: with international organizations should encourage and value input from all employees in all divisions. Although the creation of focus groups and facilitate international, sounds like a simple task, the effort has inherent challenges, including the conflicting cross-cultural communication styles and different cultural attitudes towards hierarchy, navigation levels of fluidity and methods to overcome the cultural norms that inhibit communication.

The best way to maximize the quality of input from a cohort is to assume various facilitators of focus groups based on their individual understanding of cultural dynamics. Or better yet, as recommended in the Harvard Business Review (11/06), the contract, the attempt of an external consultant (when it comes to multicultural teams, outside consultants do not represent a hierarchical threat and, therefore, focus increases participation group).

The time is now to raise the level of global business. The formula for success is simple: quality, cultural and cross-cultural focus groups. Follow the guidance of pioneering companies such as HSBC and Novartis - and climb aboard. Without a doubt, is one of the best investments you can do to position the company as a leading expert and sophisticated .......