Doing Business Abroad Essay

Companies around the solid ground ar expanding in browse to meet a larger foodstuff. However, this is no easy task even for tidy sum who have been doing byplay for decades for thither is al authoritys this thing called cultural diversity. This thing is put into consideration non precisely of companies and managers that establish phone linees in other countries but also of those who interlock into joint ventures and alliances. Setting a confederation orbicularly requires non only good managers but thorough study as well. A market research would be very(prenominal) helpful especially to determine the needs and wants of the tidy sum in the locality.A bunch of factors affect the preference of people like religion, beliefs and environment. Should the product be modified to fit the desires of the people? For instance, burgers with complain patty are modified in order to be accept and sold in Hindu-dominated countries. There are also cross-cultural trainings for managers t hat would be sent abroad. These are usually conducted by business schools with the aim of providing global managers who have the ability to get out with antithetical challenges that they whitethorn encounter, especially those that are brought about by diversity in culture.However, as much as these trainings would help, they are not yet enough to suffice for the thorough accord and settlement of cultural differences that might yield success to a business that spread its wings. Problems still remain due to this cultural diversity. Even with the notoriety of English in conducting business globally, language remains a problem. Language, as defined in the Merriam Webster Dictionary, is row with their pronunciation and the methods of combining them to be utilise and understood by a community.Words are not enough. orthoepy and accent are essential, and at this disunite is where problem usually occurs. As Edward Burman cited in his article entitled Managing Cultural Diversity in a Gl obal World, linguistic confidence can be perceived as quasi-colonial arrogance and this may eventually lead to conflicts. Similarly, jokes and stories which are essential in building harmonious relationship among workers are affected, not just because of the sort they were delivered but much importantly by the context that they were formulated.Some pleasing acts might be insulting to others, which again might lead to discord. other problem that may arise due to cultural diversity is the way the human resource personnel determines the appropriate candidate for a job. Whether be it an ban or a native of the location of the headquarter, the measure to the achievements of an applicator varies from the school where he acquired his degree and skill to the society where he belong. These qualities may not be well-reflected in his application forms or the result of his interrogation or interview.Although it may be known to the resource manager that different cultures respond different ly to various situations, the challenge is still to determine the vanquish person whose culture and skill perfectly fits the job. Also, developing the trust with people from other culture opens another difficulty especially if a phoner will merge or ally with a local company of other country. Research can be done to be open to identify possible reasons to trust but it remains a bristled job for the managers in the negotiation table. Everything will matter, from the physical appearance to the gestures. off from these problems cited by Edward Burman, the way to designate a manager to a emplacement is something to be thoroughly thought of. According to an interview with Robert J. Freeman, Americans are a bit resistant to exotic destinations. The question then is how these Americans would be appoint to a location beyond his desire. Or since there are expatriates of more than sixty nationalities, which should be chosen and what type of compromise would the company clear to convin ce the manager. Nevertheless, these problems can be addressed if global managers have several(prenominal) skills as discussed by Josephine Song in her article Transcending Borders.The first is technical skills. Aside from the field that he is expected to master in order to efficiently perform his task, he must also be able to utilize the means that globalization brings for the betterment of doing things. He must be able to maximize opportunities and resources that might be useful for the accomplishment of his job. Likewise, he must also have good communication skills which comprise not only of friendship of words but their proper pronunciation and habit as well, most especially English which is the basic medium for conducting business globally.Communication is not only via speaking, but also via reading, writing or listening. More importantly, global managers must take caution in their words and actions so that misunderstandings would be avoided. They must also be innovative and capable to improve their businesses according to the locality. With increase in expatriates all over the globe, I think it would be unfair to say that they or the locals could better cope with the changes. They might have an advantage with regards to having dealt with different cultures already that they might not find it anymore difficult to relate with another set of people.Their bearing in the top guidance could also bring global perspective. But, their knowledge of the culture of the country where the company is located might be very limited as compared to the locals. Yes, they may be able to learn and change but still, the culture instilled in them would always be a part of them and their decisions and reservations. I think, it would be better to have a mix of expatriate and local managers in a global business for as Burman concluded, management remains culture-bound, be it local or expatriate.