Today’s business is mostly market driven; wherever the demands exist irrespective of distance, locations, climatic conditions, the business operations are expanded to gain their market share and to remain in the top rank etc. Business operations are no longer restricted to a particular locality or region. Company’s products or services are spreading across the nations using mass communication, internet, faster transportation etc. An Australian wine producer now sells more wine through the Internet than through outlets across the country. More than 95% of Nokia hand phones are being sold outside of their home country Finland. Japanese cars are being sold in different parts of globe. Sri Lankan tea is exported to many cities across the globe. Executives of Multinational Corporation are very mobile and move from one subsidiary to another more frequently.
Implications for Managers: Globalization affects a managerial skills in at least two ways: i) an Expatriate manager have to manage a workforce that is likely to have very different needs, aspirations and attitudes from the ones that they are used to manage in their home countries. ii) Understanding the culture of local people and how it has shaped them and accordingly learn to adapt ones management style to these differences is very critical for the success of business operations. One of the main personality traits required for expatriate managers is to have sensitivity to understand the individual differences among people and exhibit tolerance to it.
