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| What About The Rest Of The World? |
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Why not take the opportunity of new markets and expand your business? What you need to know when leading your business into new markets. A world teaming with businesspersons o  f many cultures requires a particular sensitivity on the part of managers and business people seeking to be successful overseas as well as in our ethnically diverse domestic market. For American organizations to flourish, let alone survive in this decade and beyond, the perspective must be global. The global perspective must influence American companies not as a singular goal toward higher profits only, but as a set of operating principles that can guide to a greater understanding of their foreign counterparts, which, by their mutual interdependence, can then lead to higher profits. To compete effectively in the ever-emerging global arena, American businesses must think beyond the borders of the United States. Although the web makes it easy to reach and connect with people and companies worldwide, many forget that culture and language may be a barrier. To become a company with a global reach, American managers need to adapt their current principles of operations to a more encompassing, more cosmopolitan viewpoint of business. Moving toward a global perspective is increasingly viewed as necessary but not necessarily easy. Today, managers may have to work in both the domestic and international environments, not in only one of them. One cannot separate these two any longer. ------------------------------- One of our clients, a molding company, has been in business for 14 years when I started working with them. Their main concern was not being able to grow geometrically. The competition from Asia was very strong and they were concerned that they soon would be forced out of business, unless they found new markets for their products and services. After analyzing the industry and their business environment I recommended that we contact European companies that have businesses in the US and would be looking for a local supplier. It seems like a great idea and everybody was for it. However, they soon discovered that dealing with a different culture isn't always so smooth. Yes, the people in Germany and the Netherlands were fluent in English, however, the nuances and above all, the business practices, were entirely different. With a very extensive and focused program of strategic planning and cultural training, the CEO and the marketing manager improved their skills of dealing with their new customers. Today, EK has expanded its market share and almost tripled its sales. Let's not forget there is an entire world out there that needs to be looked at as an opportunity to grow your sales and expand your business. ------------------------------- The invasion of foreign competition into the home turf, and the need to trade more effectively overseas have forced North American managers to become more culturally sensitive. Consequently, we can no longer do business as usual. Also, as many businesspersons are already discovering, many professionals are required to work in multinational teams, where interacting with people from other cultures is commonplace, and where both understanding and being understood are essential. As one does want to be successful overseas but does not want to compromise unnecessarily to gain favor in a host country, businesspersons must first team and master cultural nuances and must then put into practice the learned ability to interact across cultures in a productive and profitable manner. And this also applies to companies who are planning to tap into ethnic diverse markets within the US. ------------------------------- TNN is a global corporation that acquired a local Chicago company. They were referred to us to help with their group of managers that were coming over to the US. Through a series of questions and training, we made sure that the company was sending the most suitable people to the US, and that we provided them with the best education and training on how to best conduct business in the US. In addition, a special program for the US counterparts was implemented to help them deal with this new group that became part of the daily business environment. ------------------------------- |