Part 2 Development of international managers
Search for the “world-wise" Company executives
The quest for international managers is underway in virtually every industrialised economy. The search has been made urgent by the globalisation of world markets and the growth in cross border mergers and acquisitions. H These trends are pushing companies' existing management resources to the limit. Many firms report being so stretched that they simply do not have enough of the high-quality people they require to lead their expansion.
在每一个工业化经济下,对国际经理的寻找实际上一直在进行。由于全球化市场和跨境兼并与收购不断的增长,这种寻找已经变得非常急迫。这些趋势正在推动公司现有的管理资源变得非常有限。许多公司报告显示他们很紧张,因为他们没有足够的高质量的人才来领导他们扩张。
Other companies are having difficulties releasing experienced people from existing operations in order to lead new international ventures. There are indications that a shortage of internationally skilled people may be an important constraint on firms' international ambitions. D These problems mean that developing managers who think and operate globally is absolutely vital for companies operating in foreign markets. However, identifying the need for international managers is easier than developing them.
为了领导新的国际企业,其他的公司也正在面临着从现有的部门调出有经验的人员的困难。有一些迹象显示,对有技能的国际化人员的短缺可能对公司面向国际化进军是一个重要的限制。这些问题意味着培养一个有这全球化思想和运营的经理是对一个公司在海外市场的运营方面至关重要。然而,确定对国际化经理人的需求比培养他们容易的多。
So what makes an international manager? Paul Evans, a professor at INSEAD, the European business school, does not believe that any particular nationality produces a more international manager. Neither does he believe that it's a matter of having the ability to cope with a lifestyle that involves working in Madrid one day, London the next and Berlin the day after. F Jet-setting between international operations merely creates a business equivalent of the over-packaged tourist. Rather, he believes that the secret of being a good international manager is being comfortable with managing diversity.
因此,什么造就了一个国际化经理人? Paul Evans,欧洲商学院INSEAD的一个教授,不认为任何一个特殊的国家能产生出更多的国际化经理人。他也不认为能够应付第一天在马德里工作,第二天在伦敦,第三天在柏林这种生活方式是一个问题。国际业务中的奢华的生活只是创造出了一种类似于过度包装的旅游业的商业。相反,他相信成为一个好的国际化的经理的秘诀是能够适应管理的多样性。
Ford of Europe, which has encouraged the development of international managers for more than 20 years, says its managers are globally-mined before they become global operators.**A Form the moment they join the company, employees are faced with having to think internationally. ** A car that you buy in the UK, for example, is going to be the same car that sells in Germany, Finland and Portugal, so the people who are involves in the car's development have to be aware of the market requirements in all those different countries.
已经鼓励培养国际经理超过20年的欧洲福特公司, 说他的员工在成为国际经理之前已经具备了全球化的思维。当他们在加入公司的那一刻起,员工都将面对国际化的思维方式。比如说,一辆你在英国买的车,将要在德国,芬兰和葡萄牙销售,因此在车辆开发人员不得不知道这些不同国际的市场要求。
Generally, it seems that the only effective way to develop international skills and perspectives is through direct international experience **B This can be through involvement in international task forces or through living and working abroad. **Such experiences open people's minds to the fact that things are done differently elsewhere and encourage them to think in a wider context.
通常来说,看上去唯一有效的方法去培养国际化技能和视角是通过直接的国际化的工作经验。这些可能通过参与一些国家化的任务工作或者生活在国外。这样的经验打开了人们的思维方式这一事实,他们会觉得事情可能通过不同的角度来做,并且鼓励他们思考的更多。
Formulating effective strategies for developing a company's management resource is a demanding exercise, with conflicting issues to be solved.C Should, for example, only an elite few receive international experience in preparation for top jobs or should it be offered to a wider group. Another dilemma is whether to use local managers or expatriates.
形成有效的战略去发展一个公司的管理资源是一个要求很高的工作,充满了需要解决的各种冲突问题。比如说,是让少数精英接受国际经验,为高层的工作做准备,还是为一个更广阔的人群普遍提供国际经验?另一个困境是是用本地的人员还是国外的人员.
The recruitment and development of effective international managers requires considerable financial resources and can be hard to justify at budget meetings E Language training, overseas visits and in-house management courses are all expensive to implement. However, without them, companies will continue to find their expansion plans frustrated by a lack of internationally effective managers.
这样的培养和招聘有效的国际经理要求相当的财务费用,并且很难在预算会议上说清楚。语言的培训,海外
出差和公司内部的管理培训课程都非常贵。然后,没有他们,公司将继续发现他们的扩张计划会因为没有国际经理而困难重重。