International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures

The hypercompetitive global arena of the twenty-first century mandates that managers develop the skills necessary to design and implement global strategies, to conduct effective crosses-national interactions and to manage daily operations in foreign subsidiaries, Global companies are faced with varied and dynamic environments in which they must accurately accesses the political, legal, technological, competitive, and cultural factors that shape their strategies and operations. In addition, companies operating abroad often report that the Global strategies are undermined by the ineffective management of inter-cultural relations. The fate of overseas operations depends at least in part on the International Manager’s cultural skills and sensitivity, as well as the ability to carry out the company’s strategy within the context of the host country’s business practices and environment. Clearly, the skills needed for effective management of people and processes in a global context are crucial for the twenty-first century. There is thus a pronounced need for a comprehensive textbook that addresses the actual management functions and behaviors necessary to develop global vision and management skills at both strategic (macro) level and an interpersonal (micro) level. International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures, 5th edition, fills this need. This text places the student in the role of a manager of any nationality, encouraging the student to take a truly global perspective in dealing with dealing with dynamic management issues in both foreign and diverse host environments. Cross-cultural management and competitive strategy are evaluated in the context of global changes-the expanding European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the rapidly growing economies in Asia-that require new management applications. Throughout, the text emphasizes how the variable of culture interacts with other national and international factors to affect managerial processes and behaviors. In addition, the growing competitive influence of technology is emphasized throughout the text, with E-Biz Boxes show casing the use of e-business for globally competitive strategic positioning. This textbook is designed for undergraduate and graduate students majoring in international business or general management. Graduate students might be asked to focus more heavily on the comprehensive cases that conclude each part of the book and to complete the term project in greater detail. It is assumed, though not essential that most students using International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures, 5th edition, will have taken a basic principles of management course. Although this text is primarily intended for business students, it is also useful for practicing managers and for students majoring in other areas, such as political science or international relations, who would benefit from a background in international management.