WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES OF THE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT WHEN
MANAGING GLOBALLY?
These days, most businesses are set in a global environment, and the various
corporations do not just regard their primary market locations or bases, they also
have to take the rest of the world into consideration. Thus, many more
corporations are going into multi-national business, scattered all over numerous
parts of the globe. Usually the major source of concern for multinational
companies and their managers is how to maintain high quality, in an ever-changing
global economy. Today’s management environments are becoming more
diverse and complex. This is especially true for a global manager. As
business globalised, there is a need for more of global managers, as they
go global, they not only handle the professional goals but also handle
cultural difference and human interaction at workplace. management side
of things, management apart, they do have to handle the cultural
differences.
Global manager should have the ability to foresee and prepare for the
future. A true global manager knows his business well and has the ability to
meet the changing needs of customers of today.
1. Challenge: Lack of clarity. When working with team members who have
different native tongues, it’s common for key messages to get lost in translation.
Add poor phone connections and multitasking team members (i.e. checking
email) while on conference calls, and you start to realize why communication
doesn’t always sink in the first time around.
Remedy: Put action items and key decisions in writing. Follow up conference
calls with clear, written communication of the outcomes of the meeting. This
ensures everyone walked away from the meeting with the same key takeaways.
2. Challenge: Slow decision making. When there are only a few hours a day of
common “awake” time, it can take weeks to get a meeting scheduled that works
for everyone’s calendar. Add the lack of clarity mentioned above, and decision-
making can happen at a snail’s pace.
Remedy: Communicate strategy and direction face-to-face whenever
possible. Video conferencing is a great tool for helping teams feel more“present”
in meetings, giving participants the ability to sense each other’s body language
and tone. A regular in-person meeting is also a must to boost team morale and
increase collaboration. When clarity is provided through “face-to-face” meetings,
the speed of business and execution is much faster.
3. Challenge: Disjointed conflict resolution. Working predominantly through
email makes it difficult to deal with tough issues and get everyone on the same
page. Tone and body language play a large role in communication, and without
these nuances, delicate situations can be hard to manage correctly.
Remedy: Pick up the phone. Never communicate “tough messages” via email, as
written messages can easily be misunderstood. By speaking live to the individual
in a one-on-one conversation, you are much more likely to understand one
another and communicate effectively.
4. Challenge: Conflicting corporate culture. Great company culture depends on
constant interaction and team bonding among employees. Such camaraderie can
be more difficult for global teams to define, implement and ultimately achieve.
Remedy: Invest in cultural training. I once hired a consultant to spend a day with
my management team for cultural training. The consultant split our group into
teams based on nationality. Each team had to answer the question, “What values
would you want to instill in your children?” The Americans said things like self-
confidence, ambition, and intellectual curiosity; whereas the Germans
emphasized respect for authority and work ethic. The exercise gave each of us a
better understanding of how different cultures approach situations. We started to
function better as a team. We had a unifying culture that still held respect for the
individual perspective.
Aleksandra Krstevska 4202
