The global "mindset" that companies must have is defined as "…the ability to develop and interpret criteria for business performance" that are not relying on the "assumptions of a single country, culture or context to implement those criteria appropriately…" (Begley, et al., 2003). Begley and colleagues insist that the "truly globalized corporation" sees globalization as more of a "mind-set" than a "structure" per se (p. 1).
The three mind-sets that managers and executives must be able to demonstrate include: a) first, think globally and recognize the things that help to create a "…consistent global standard"; b) secondly, think locally because in the process of becoming "truly global" a company must come to a deep understanding of "local and cultural differences"; and c) third, the authors assert that the strategy should be to "think globally and locally simultaneously" and be cognizant of those situations in which there are "compelling demands" from both global and local elements (Begley, p. 1).
Getting a company into the global mind-set must start with executives and managers, Begley writes; they must pull the "structure, process and power levers to activate it"; and once that happens, there are more challenges as the "…newly globalized lower-level managers will pull their levers to convert employees in cascading fashion through critical parts of the company" (p. 1).
Z.S. Demirdjian writes in the Journal of American Academy of Business that the way that globalization has taken hold in many of the world's economic powerhouses reminds him of a kind of "fever." The author likens the current "globalization fever" to the California Gold Rush of 1845 (Demirdjian, 2005, p. 1). In that gold rush some of the prospectors found gold but others got nothing "…but gravel and sand," hence the implication is that not all companies will enjoy success in the globalized world that is emerging, Demirdjian believes.
The salient questions to be asked -- and the challenges to companies -- according to Demirdjian are these: a) is globalization a "panacea to eradicate world ills and disparities between the haves and have-nots?"; or b) is globalization...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now