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2 - Developing global management skills

Richard M. Steers ,
Carlos J. Sanchez-Runde  and
Luciara Nardon
Richard M. Steers
Affiliation:
University of Oregon
Carlos J. Sanchez-Runde
Affiliation:
IESE Business School, Barcelona
Luciara Nardon
Affiliation:
Carleton University, Ottawa
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Summary

Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment.

Mullah Nasrudin Thirteenth-century Sufi sage, Central Asia

In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who will inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves prepared for a world that no longer exists.

Eric Hoffer Moral philosopher, USA

From entry-level workers to boardroom executives, everyone seems to be going international these days. In the process, organizations ranging from large multinational corporations to storefront NGOs are seeking people who can successfully work and manage across cultures. And in this endeavor, the capacity to learn and adapt becomes an essential job requirement. Consider recent activities at Google to broaden its employees' global understanding and expertise. To train a new generation of leaders, the search giant is now sending its young “brainiacs” on a worldwide mission.

One recent group of trainees began their journey in a small village outside of Bangalore, India. There were no computers in the tiny village, only unpaved roads surrounded by open fields where elephants roamed and trampled local crops at will. The visit was aimed at educating Google associate product managers about the humble, unwired ways of life experienced by billions of people around the world. Discussions with local villages began awkwardly as the managers discover that villagers have never heard of the company. As one young manager noted, the experience brought a whole new meaning to what's on the back of her shirt, referring to a T-shirt with the company logo in front and, on the back, the now classic phrase from the company's home page: “I'm feeling lucky.”

Type
Chapter
Information
Management across Cultures
Challenges and Strategies
 , pp. 24 - 44
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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