Global Mindset Management - Essay Example

Global Mindset Management Executive Summary Competiveness and global expansion are mutually dependable aspects. A number of studies have assured the concept that multinational organization can only remain successful when they invest in the development of flexibility and openness in the international platform. Hence global skills and mindset requires to be nurtured within firms. In modern day business environment it is highly essential that the right talent gets acquired and cultivated so that competitive advantages can be gained. Global skills play a crucial role in developing such advantages. The current paper identifies the importance of global mindset and how the same enhances organizational productivity. Emphasis has also been put upon identifying the importance of international human resource management policies in developing such global skills. The paper is largely based on explorative and qualitative study. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Concept of Managerial Mindset 4 Managerial global mindset and global talent management 6 Global Mindset and IHRM 7 Conclusion 9 Reference List 10 Introduction Within a globalized business environment, business organizations, employees and structure of operations are required to be set in an open, flexible and synthesized manner. Managers must be able to adjust and adapt themselves with diverse conditions and easily interact with individuals across different cultures. The globalized business environment can be stated to be a product of increased competition and enhanced level of interaction between firms across the globe. Such a diversified business environment facilitates exploring new market opportunities and liberalization of trade and business regulations. One of the prime advantages arising out of globalized business environment is the transmission of technology, human capital and other resources so as to make markets more and more competitive. Although managing global human capital is a huge challenge, it has facilitated distribution of talent and skill effectively. Hence modern day organizations groom managers in a manner such that they can adapt themselves with employees from different nation. Effective talent management is an essential quality global talent mangers are required to possess, in the context of multinational organizations. Much research work has been carried out in the recent decade for understanding the skills and qualities to be possessed by global managers. Most scholars such as Scullion and Collings (2010, 23) have recognized that the main skills to be possessed by global talent leaders areexpansion of scale of activities through effective talent management, establishment of suitable networks for managing talent and developing business models that can effectively exploit business efficiencies across national boundaries. Although global management skill sets is an area that is relatively well explored, less emphasis has been put upon identifying and nurturing such skills in the multinational context. The current paper is an effort towards understanding the mindset of global mangers and global talent management in relation with international human resource management (Tarique and Schuler 2010, 122). Concept of Managerial Mindset Having a global mindset is one of the basic and the most critical success factors in efficient human resource management in the multinational corporate environment. A global mindset facilitates easy adaptability with different cultures. A global mindset facilitates perceiving and interpreting the economic and social environment existing around the organization and accordingly developing strategies that foster growth. The work of Bartlett and Ghoshal (1999, 34) relating to International Strategic Management Research provides valuable insight regarding the subject matter of global mindset. The authors had stated that companies are required to be highly specialized but at the same time remain in closely networked groups consisting of global managers and leaders. The global mindset is not a virtue that is developed by one single manager. Instead it is the product of the network that gets developed overtime as global human resource interacts and exploits resources. Global mindset is not only about being able to perceive different conditions and take advantages of the same, rather it is about solving different business complexities and formulating ways in which innovation and cost advantages can be received (Farndale, Scullion and Sparrow 2010, 161). Global mindset allows managers to gain five essential competitive advantages: 1) Early Movers- Managers with a global mindset are able to identify opportunities early on and develop strategies which facilitate growth. Such early movers are therefore able to track where talent lies and how to exploit the same in favour of the organization. The ability of early identification gets developed through continuous interaction using the global network. 2) Tradeoffs- Individuals with a global mindset are able to balance between what the organizations real needs are and how the same can be met through exchange of resources. In the global business platform, business includes providing resources to other firm and acquiring the same form others so that mutual advantages can be derived. Tradeoffs largely occur between home adaptation and international standardization (Stahl et al. 2012, 25). 3) Best Practice- Global mindset allows managers to share organizational cultures and develop practices which are most suitable for talent fostering. As organizations increasingly interact with each other on the global platform, it becomes possible to know about practices which are most suitable for an organization and adopt the same. This facilitates creating uniform organizational codes of conduct. 4) New Products- Global mindset allows managers to remain keen on identifying new market opportunities and develop products swiftly. Since organizations are constantly interacting with each other on the global platform, it becomes simpler to develop new products and technologies through market identification. 5) Coordination- When organizations operate on the global platform, it becomes essential to coordinate with each other effectively. Having a global mindset helps mangers to develop a mentality that is cordial, empathetic and flexible towards the needs of employees overseas, hence facilitating a smoother coordination of work (Mellahi and Collings 2010, 143). New product development due to local and international market understanding is the most important productive advantages arising out of global mindset development. Global mindset has also facilitated the development of the reverse innovation concept, whereby organizations develop products on the basis of the demand conditions of the emerging markets. The stiff competition existing in the modern day business environment has necessitated firms to continuously identify new market opportunities and develop products accordingly. Global mindset allows the development of such flexibility. It is this global mindset which has allowed emerging nations to align themselves more strongly with the international economy (Swailes 2013, 32). Managerial global mindset and global talent management Managing global talent is mainly related to developing sensitivity towards the culture of other nations and understanding the diverse needs of employees, mangers and leaders who possess diverse ethnicity, education and experiences. All these aspects require to be clubbed together in a manner such that organizational advantages can be procured. Global mindsets and talent management requires leaders to process the information which is present around them, using their own cognitive filters. While practicing global talent management it becomes essential to ensure that organizational identity and culture is given more importance than individual ethnic background. It becomes essential that cultural disparity or any type of biasness based on ethnicity is completely avoided. In order to develop a global identity, it is often seen that mangers of foreign nations are recruited as board members or provided with top administrative positions (Burbach and Royle 2010, 414). To foster global talent management, it is seen that international organizations indulge in a number of creative activities such as team building workshops. It is also seen that ideas and solution of foreign subsidiaries are given equal importance as those developed in the home nation. A global mindset facilities manger to identify that talent is a virtue that requires being nurtured irrespective of national boundaries. It is essential that managers develop a positive attitude towards international affairs and remain flexible towards being able to adjust with different types of mentalities. The skills required to be possessed by mangers so as to be able to manage talent globally are essentially; risk taking abilities, openness and ability to rationalise under challenging circumstances. Cultural and emotional intelligence possessed by global leaders are also an important factor which guide global leaders to take effective decisions. Mangers must be able to tolerate ambiguity and develop a broad cultural skill set which facilitates easy understanding between different people. International talent management also encompasses the concept of being able to think locally and internationally (Ashton and Morton 2005, 28). Modern organizations are seen to invest heavily upon providing training for employees and managers so that they are able to adapt themselves better with the foreign employees. Such a global mindset is essential to reduce conflicts and develop easy communication. Management behaviours is developed and monitored through corporate training initiatives. To procure greater affectivity in these training initiatives environmental scanning gets carried out. Based on the results of such environmental reports, suitable training modules are designed. This makes it simpler for managers to develop cultural agreeableness and receptiveness (McDonnell et al. 2010, 150). Global Mindset and IHRM The domain of human resource management has expanded from the domestic context to the international context. As firms increasingly become active on the global front, it becomes essential to develop human resource management systems that facilitate effective management from the global viewpoint. The international human resource management (IHRM) strongly influences the development of a global mindset. The key strategic policy for developing a global mindset is to be able to perceive the changing market environments and act accordingly. This requires hiring employees who are swift and flexible. IHRM facilitates identifying such talent and their recruitment (Beechler and Woodward 2009, 273). IHRM also plays an important role in developing suitable employee relations amongst individuals possessing different characteristics. IHRM also facilitates identifying the characteristics and needs of employees from different backgrounds. Accordingly the management develops suitable plans relating to pay structures, governance policies and growth facilities amongst many others. In many organizations it is seen that hiring terms may vary as employees hail from different backgrounds and their job expectations and roles may differ. Developing conditions which are suitable to employee needs facilitates employee retention for a longer duration (Collings and Mellahi 2009, 304). The manner in which HR policies are set impacts the relationship which gets fostered between the employees of host and parent nation. The cultural diversity existing in a multinational organizational is required to be moulded effectively so that employees are able to coordinate and contribute positively towards growth. Additionally IHRM policies must also consider external influences such as the policies set by the government authorities of different nations and legal restrictions. Therefore HR mangers are required to combine needs of the employees, organization and governmental authorities so that an environment which is supportive of global mindset and adaptability gets developed. Developing a culture which is acceptable to individuals from different backgrounds is crucial and must be given foremost importance while developing HR policies (Christensen and Rog 2008, 743). One of the crucial challenges the HR department faces while developing policies which fosters global mindset development is the diversity of traditional values which may cause conflicts and hamper communication. To address such issues, training is considered to be one of the most effective tools. IHRM also plays an important role in developing global skills through the implementation of suitable systems of recruitment, selection, job designing, performance management and appraisal systems. In this respect attracting mangers with cross cultural work experiences becomes essential (Gakovic and Yardley 2007, 15). Additionally IHRM policies must not foster negative competition within the organization, especially those that lead to discrimination and racial conflicts. Most organizations develop an internal environment in a manner such that employees indulge in minor competition levels which ultimately results in increased productivity. Framing such policies is easy in the non-diversified organization. However in the context of international firms, such policies are required to be carefully structured as they may lead to disrupting the peaceful ambience existing therein. Global mindset development need not only depend upon the formal policies set by the organization. Managers and employees are able to develop such open and flexible mindset through networks of interaction and informal communication channels and relations built up over a long period of time. Hence, it is essential that international firms provide easy channels of communication across different levels and locations of operations. Additionally many initiatives are taken up by organizations to enhance the level of awareness, self-motivation, creativity and knowledge sharing and thereafter developed through different positive IHRM mechanisms. The manner in which superiors interact and support subordinates also plays a crucial role in the development of such global mindset (Hartmann, Feisel and Schober 2010, 169). Conclusion Global adaptation is an important phenomenon in modern day business environment. Business schools and educational institutions apart from training students with the necessary knowledge to enter the commercial world, also provide suitable guidance which prepares them to become adaptable with the global environment. Flexibility and openness to work under different circumstances are important characteristics which organizations search for in employees while recruiting them. As the participation of firms in the international context continuously increases, competition levels also rise. This necessitates the acquisition of not only talented employees but also employees with the ability to innovate perceiving international market needs. Hence a global mindset with regards to operations is necessitated. 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