Managing a global workforce

Richard M. Steers; Luciara Nardon; Carlos J. Sanchez-Runde

doi:10.1017/CBO9781139343190.014

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9 - Managing a global workforce

from Part III - Developing Global Management Skills

Richard M. Steers ,

Luciara Nardon and

Carlos J. Sanchez-Runde

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

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Summary

Management challenge

It has been said that supervising others – taking responsibility for their work and welfare – is one of the most stressful jobs in the world. It is something like being a parent to other adults. In a very real sense, managing and motivating employees is the supreme test of managerial effectiveness. If a manager can’t manage others successfully, his or her value to the organization as a whole diminishes significantly. Here is the problem, though. If managing and motivating employees is problematic in one culture, imagine the challenge when trying to supervise employees across cultures: different customs, different languages, and different expectations. How are managers expected to succeed here? In this chapter we explore this challenge. We examine the role of work values in employee behavior, as well as the psychological contracts that exist but are often unseen – particularly by new managers on the ground. We further examine how rewards or incentives that are effective in one culture may fail in another. We also consider the relative benefits and drawbacks of using local or expatriate managers in local situations. Throughout, the focus is on how managers can learn to improve their effectiveness in unique, and sometimes even hostile, environments.

Type: Chapter
Information: Management across Cultures
Developing Global Competencies
, pp. 294 - 330

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139343190.014 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2013

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