6. Global Trends and Issues in Management
6.1 International Management and Culture 6.2 Conflict Resolution
6.3 Organizational Communications
6.4 Operations Management
6.5 Human Resource Management
6.1 International Management and Culture
The global economy is a fact and modern managers must understand how to manage globally
International businesses face many challenges but the most significant for managers is often Culture
The US has 5% of the world’s population
But produces and consumes 20% of its economic activity
Cultural Differences
• Language • History • Religion • Family Relations • Ethnicity
Cultural differences can affect how we perceive leaders and how we respond to incentives
Hofstede Matrix
91
40
6246
29
PowerDistance Individuality Masculinity
UncertaintyAvoidance
Long TermOrientation
United States of America
Hofstede Matrix Dimensions
Power Distance - How we believe leaders should be treated
Individualism - How important we consider our own interests over the interests of our group Masculinity - How much we live to work, rather than work to live
Uncertainty Avoidance - How comfortable we are with uncertainty and risk Long Term Orientation - How far into the future we think is important
Global Organization Choices
MonocentricPolycentricBrazil
USA
Russia
FranceEgypt
China
USAGermany
High Power Distance - Expect managers to be treated with great respect and be distant from workers
What to Expect from Global Cultures
Low Individualism - Expect everyone to be on a team. Individual incentives will not work
Low Masculinity - Expect people to only work as hard as they must, and to value time away from work more than additional salary
Low Uncertainty Avoidance - Expect managers and workers to be uncomfortable with risk and prefer a certain outcome to a possible better outcome
What to Expect from Global Cultures
High Long term Orientation - Expect managers to value long term relationships over short term profits
Managing inside a single national culture is hard enough. Managing across many different global cultures is far more challenging
6.2 Conflict Resolution
Sooner or later, all managers face a conflict between some groups of people. How can this be resolved?
A conflict is more than just a difference of opinion. One group or both feel threatened by the conflict
2 Approaches to Conflict Resolution: • Competition • Cooperation
(Collaboration)
Competition• Based on “Win-
Lose” • May not understand
both sets of interests well
• Often the first approach we choose
Cooperation/Collaboration• Based on “Win-Win” • Usually requires
both sides to understand each other’s interests well
• Can be more effective than competition but often more difficult to achieve
Both the collaborative and competitive positions involve negotiation - learning about each other and proposing alternatives
If two disputants cannot resolve a conflict on their own, they may turn to a disinterested 3rd party
3rd Party ApproachesArbitration: When the 3rd party leads both groups through a resolution process, and has the power to bind both groups to a resolution
Mediation: When the 3rd party leads both groups through a resolution process, but has no power to decide the outcome
• Try to understand the other side’s position. Why do they want what they want?
• Think about your position in detail. Why do you want what you want? resolution style
Getting to an Agreement
• Set priorities. What can you give up and what must you keep?
• Control your emotions and try to be rational
• Consider your conflict resolution style
Conflict Resolution Styles
1. Competitive - High assertion/low cooperation
2. Accommodating - Low assertion/high cooperation
3. Avoiding - Low on assertion and cooperation
4. Collaborating - High on assertion and cooperation
5. Compromising - Moderate on everything
Resolving conflicts requires skill and understanding. Think “Win-Win” whenever you can
6.3 Organizational Communications
We all communicate every day. As a manager inside an organization, however, we need a different understanding of communication
• Filtering • Selective Perception • Info Overload • Emotional
Disconnects
Barriers to Communication
• Lack of Source Credibility
• Semantics
Barriers to organizational communication are often a function of the people in the organization
• Filtering - Distortion or withholding of information by the sender to manage a reaction
Barriers to Communication
• Selective Perception - Distortion or misinterpretation of information by the receiver
• Information Overload - Too much information coming at us. Can’t pay attention to it all
• Emotional Disconnect - The sender or receiver is emotionally upset and misinterprets information
• Lack of Source Credibility (Or familiarity) - The receiver does not believe the sender knows what they are talking about, or may not know the sender at all and be unable to decide if they are credible
• Semantics - Words can mean different things to different people
When Different Sources Say Different Things
The boss says “No layoffs”
The grapevine says “Layoffs next month”
When One Source Says Different Things
He says “Nothing to worry about.”
He looks nervous and distracted - worried
When the verbal and non-verbal messages say different things, most people believe the non-verbal only
Audience is everything. Think about who you are talking with
Communications failures are inevitable in organizations. Try to be an effective communicator, but expect the worst
6.4 Operations Management
Operations management is the specific approaches we use to manage the production of an organization’s products
Operations Management
“Overseeing the transformation process that converts inputs such as labor and raw materials into outputs such as goods and services.”
OperationsTechnology
Labor
CapitalRaw Matis
Energy
Product
Inputs Outputs
Most of the time, we think of manufacturing when we say “operations” but it is more than that
• Usually thought of as manufacturing
• For a bank, this is the moving of money in and out of customer accounts
Operations
• For a law firm this is handling cases for clients
• For a construction company, this is designing and constructing buildings
Operations
Operations management is about efficiency and lower costs, and we gain that through good control systems
Lean Operations/Lean Control Reducing Waste
Eliminate:
Wasted materials Wasted labor Wasted time Wasted energy Wasted space Wasted information
Quality ControlAudience is everything. Think about who you are talking with
Make sure things meet quality standards through inspections and process control
Audience is everything. Think about who you are talking with
Inventory ControlAudience is everything. Think about who you are talking with
Only buy what you need and only produce what your customers need.
Operations management is how we manage the daily work of the organization. Control intensive
6.5 Human Resource Management
Human resource management is the specific approaches we use to manage the people who work in an organization
HR ManagementManages how people are hired, trained, promoted, motivated, and let go. Hopefully according to the organization’s plans
Recruiting The War for Talent• Identify what kinds of
skills and talents are needed
• Attract employees with those skills and talents
• Assess skills and suitability
• Develop processes so managers can do this systematically
Recruitment involves advertising for applicants and then may include detailed tests and interviews to select the best
Situational Interviews - Ask questions about past experience or future plans
Interviews and Skills Common Selection Tools
Work Sampling - Ask a candidate to actually demonstrate the ability to perform a specific task
Aptitude Testing - Ask a candidate to perform a task that uses the same talents or skills as the job itself.
Training and Development Investing in Your Human Capital• Teach employees about
organizational operations and culture - Onboarding
• Invest in skills, balanced against the costs
• Track skills and provide that information to other managers
• Design jobs for maximum motivation
Motivation Getting the Most From Your People
• Develop competitive but affordable compensation plans
• Recommend bonus structures and other incentives that provide additional motivation for employees and managers
Employees leave an organization for many reasons, but HR managers deal with them all
Off boarding
Most Americans are under “Employment at Will” Employee and employer can cancel the arrangement at any time
Diversity
Modern HR managers deal with organizational diversity issues.
Audience is everything. Think about who you are talking with
HR management is a staff function in most organizations. It sets policies rather than making individual decisions