The Importance of Culture, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior in International Management
In more recent times, countries and regions around the world have become increasingly
interconnected due to international business. Multinational Companies have business in most
parts of the world and understandably management plays a big role in keeping many aspects in
check so that business runs fluently.
As we know, things in business have many moving pieces and aspects that can
complicate things for international management. One of these aspects is culture. Culture, in its
most basic form, is acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experiences and generate
social behavior. The world is composed of so many different cultures that understanding culture
and being able to adhere to and be malleable within different cultures is extremely important
when studying and practicing international management. Being up to date on culture can make or
break a business deal. For example, in the United States, a lot of business is done over the phone.
In South Africa however, a meeting should always be arranged way before time before
discussing any business over the phone. These subtle and sometimes drastic changes in culture
must be taken into consideration when dealing with international management because you don’t
want to offend or sour relationships abroad.
Another important aspect when dealing with international management is strategy. Strategy sets
the course or is a “roadmap” for the company's future. Your strategy should answer the question
of “Where are we going?” and “How are we going to get there?” You must address the
company’s basic mission and long-term objectives and then implement a strategy to attain these
goals. In the context of international management, these strategies aren’t always the same for
every region. You must be able to adapt, just as when we discussed culture, to your region.
Nevertheless, a company's global strategy should be able to support decision-making in all
operations. One example the book gives us of strategy in the context of international
management is when pharmaceutical companies lose the patents of their main drugs and are
forced to cut budgets in research and development, cut labor such as scientists, and only target
the more popular diseases to cut costs.
Lastly, we look at organizational behavior. When we look at organizational behavior, we
are looking at the way people behave or act the way they do in an organization. In the context of
international management, this is crucial because you must make sure you have the right people
in the right place, motivated to perform their job well, and that they are being led by competent
leaders that they like and respect. In the real world, companies are usually invested in trying to
find the most efficient ways to produce, trying to save as much capital as possible, and pouring
lots of money into marketing. Oftentimes, these companies overlook the great importance of
organizational behavior by not putting the scope on their people. In the context of international
management, we must focus on the people and make sure they are happy, because even though
managers feel they are doing a great job, oftentimes the surveys say that many workers are
dissatisfied. The importance of organizational behavior is crucial to the study and practice of
international study because the better ran and the happier the workforce is, the more the company
succeeds.
In conclusion, culture, strategy, and organizational behavior play a huge role in the success and
or failure of a company. Due to the growing number of companies doing multinational business,
these three aspects are essential to understand in the context of international management
because there are a lot of different people with a lot of different ways they like to be managed
and do business overall. As the saying goes, “different strokes for different folks.”