How Global is Your Organization?
December 12, 2007
Here’s a useful way to assess the global strengths and weaknesses of your organization. First, print out this page. Then, for each of the following statements, assign a score of "1", "2", or "3" according to how well they describe your company: 1 if a statement is false, 2 if it’s somewhat correct, or 3 if it’s true.
- In order to create an overall corporate “glue,” our organization devotes a large share of its resources to global executive development
- Global experience (actually living and working overseas) is considered essential to a successful career in our organization
- A considerable number of our employees live outside the home country
- A sizable percentage of our investments lie outside the home country
- The power of our subsidiaries is considerable
- Non-home-country executives are well represented on the board
- Our language of business is predominantly English
- The members of the executive board have extensive overseas experience
- The organization is very experienced at handling expatriation/repatriation issues and offers executives considerable help with transitions
- We invest in preparing our executives for foreign assignments
- In considering people for assignments in countries other than their own, we look at many factors other than technical/functional expertise
- We lose very few of our executives due to unsuccessful foreign assignments
- Our organization doesn’t favor home-country nationals for fast-track careers
The higher your score, the more your organization tends to be global. Please feel free to share your scores and questions with International Innovations.
Specific scores are privileged information. However, if you find your score below 25, it is reason for concern if your organization is global. In the case where you’re planning on going global, these areas are paramount in the process.
For more information, see our other articles about organizational development.
Developing The 21st Century Executive
November 22, 2007
Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
It is no great secret that the globalized corporate world is engaged in a war for talent. Nearly all companies go through the time consuming process of deciding whether to focus on homegrown talent or acquire talent from the market.
As a best practice, a 70/30 blend of homegrown v. free agents is recommended. This is true when the organization invests in their homegrown talent from the inception, and this is why it is essential to infuse systems of leadership and communication into the everyday working culture of the people in the organization.
In many large firms, there are tremendous knowledge gaps from office to office. Bringing in high-flying talent from the market is essential, but doing so can attenuate an organization with a sub-standard corporate culture if that individual doesn’t mesh well with the team. Read more… »
Steps For Recruiting And Retaining Talent
October 12, 2007
One of the greatest challenges for companies, from SME’s to the Fortune 500, is recruiting and retaining talent. With turnover rates pushing 80% in some Asian markets, this challenge has taken the center-stage in strategic planning from Bangalore to Beijing.
Offering financial incentives to motivate employees and executives has been a common management practice for decades. Real estate brokers get higher commissions for selling more homes. Teachers get bonuses when their students score higher on standardized tests. Executives get generous stock options for boosting the company’s stock price. Read more… »
Group Communication: Advocacy v. Inquiry
September 16, 2007
A common trend in the private and public sectors is to create groups as a means of gathering information in order to provide solutions. This has proven to be an effective method, from the formation of the "Delian League" in Ancient Greece to the handover of IBM’s hardware division to Lenovo in 2005. It sounds simple, but why do so many groups fail to communicate successfully?
Two factors are required for successful group communication:
- A group size no smaller than 5 and no larger than 12, and…
- A reasonable mixture of different personality types
Mental diversity is much more useful to the group than a pre-ordained ethnic mix. The four personality types to look at are "Analyzer," "Visionary," "Collaborator," and "Implementer." Mixing these four personalities, in a group of five to twelve members, ensures that there will be a healthy blend of advocacy and inquiry. Read more… »
5 Tips For Effective Group Communication
September 16, 2007
In the past several years, I have trained organizations from the Fortune 500 to SMEs. Even some "Mom and Pop" shops. I’ve found that although companies succeed or fail for countles reasons, there is one issue that applies across the board and is therefore worthy of closer examination — the breakdown of group communication.
While people these days can communicate in more ways than ever before, organizations seems to be suffering more and more misinterpretation and breakdowns in their group communication. Fortunately, there are solutions for this problem. Here are five tips that can help you to commence the process: Read more… »