Globalization and Leadership the Phenomenon Essay

Personal or Organizational Leadership

The internationalization of jobs, companies, technology, products, money, and neighborhoods has caught many people and firms off guard. As indicated in both the books, people's thinking has not caught up with the reality: business and life, in general, have been and are being globalized (Levitt, 1983-page 13). Few people have much long-term experience working or living with people from other cultures. The result is that few people are familiar with the rules to follow when engaging in business across international borders. And most people take for granted that the rules they are familiar with and that work well "at home" should be sufficient when they work abroad. But, as has been emphasized throughout both books, this is seldom the case. Thus, the opportunities for being embarrassed and making mistakes are ever present. Often, the reaction of managers and employees, in their interactions with colleagues, customers, and suppliers from other countries is "Why can't they be like us?" (Stone, 2006) But they are not, and their ways of conducting themselves and conducting business too often seem outlandish and difficult. For this reason, businesses are all the time more concerned about how to develop managers and employees that demonstrate a global mind-set, that is, an aptitude to think and function efficiently in a multicultural world. Whirlpool Corporation, when it significantly increased its global presence by buying the U.S.$2-billion appliance division of Philips of the Netherlands in 1989, understood it needed a way to develop a global viewpoint for both its U.S. managers and its new European associates. One of the solutions for Whirlpool was to put in order a conference in Montreux, Switzerland, for its top 140 executives from sixteen diverse countries of North America and Europe.

References

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House, R, Hanges P., Javidan, M. Dorfman, P. And Gupta, V. (2004) Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study Of 62 Cultures. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Hofstede, G.H. (2001). Culture's Consequences: Comparing Value, Behaviors, Institutions And Organizations Across Nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA.:

Hofstede,…