Gertrude I. Hewapathirana (PhD)

N. Jonas Ohrberg (PhD)

Forbes School of Business

Ashford University

THE ASSESSMENT OF BUSINESS COMPETENCY NEEDS: US BUSINESS MANAGERS’ SUGGESTIONS FOR BUSINESS EDUCATORS TO PREPARE FUTURE GLOBAL LEADERS

2014 IACBE ANNUAL CONFERENCE SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIAAPRIL 10, 2014

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Purpose:

Outline trends in global leadership research

Identify the specific skill set required for global business managers

Discuss the possible use of US business leaders as a resource in preparing entry level global managers

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Questions:

How can US international business managers contribute to preparing entry level managers?

What new competencies are in demand?

What is the research telling us about global management practices and skills?

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Outline:

Trends in Academic Research

Cultural Intelligence

Cross Border Leadership

Global Mindset

Global Leadership

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Outline:

Global Leadership Focus - Discussion

Bayer Corporation

IKEA

Toys R Us

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Global management equation:

S + E + GBM = PS

S= StudentE= EducatorGBL = Global Business ManagersPS = Prepared Student

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Trends in Academic Research

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CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE

Cultural Intelligence (CQ):

“Multifaceted competency consisting of cultural knowledge, the practice of mindfulness, and the repertoire of behavior skills” (Thomas & Inkson, 2004, pp. 182-183).

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Cultural Intelligence

Elements of CQ:

Meta-cognition: Ability and knowledge related to processing information

Cognition: Self-awareness, external social elements, processing of information.

Motivation: Interest and intent in learning and functioning

Behavior: Verbal and non-verbal behavior in cultural context

(Crowne, 2008, p. 392)

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Cross-Border Leadership

Cross-Border Leadership Effectiveness:

“Thus, we define cross-border effectiveness as the effectiveness of observable actions that managers take to accomplish their goals in situations characterized by cross-border cultural diversity”

(Rockstuhl et al, 2011, p. 826).

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Cross-Border Leadership

Cross-Border Leadership Effectiveness:

Multicultural Perspective: Avoid country specific perspective

Local and Global Balance: Importance of demands and issues

Multiple Cultures: Ability to relate to, understand and work with

EQ and CQ important elements of effective cross-border leadership effectiveness (Rockstuhl et al, 2011, p. 826, 834).

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Global Mindset

Global Mindset:

“…set of attributes that help a manager influence individuals, groups and organizations from diverse, cultural, political, and institutional backgrounds” (Javidan & Walker, 2012, p. 38).

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Global Mindset:

Intellectual Capital Global Business Savvy

Psychological Capital Passion for Diversity

Social Capital Interpersonal Impact (Javidan & Walker, 2012, p. 38).

Global Mindset

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Global Leadership:

“Individuals who effect significant positive change in organizations by building communities through the development of trust and the arrangement of organizational structures and processes in a context involving multiple cross boundary stakeholders…and multiple cultures…”

(Mendenhall, 2008, p. 17).

Global Leadership

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Project Ulysses:

Responsible Leadership Competencies

Ethical Literacy

Self-Development

Community Building

Cultural Intelligence

Global Mind-set (Pless, Maak, & Stahl, 2011)

Global Leadership

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Global Leadership - Discussion

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GLOBAL LEADERSHIP - DISCUSSION

Bayer Corporation

Global mindset

Cultural Sensitivity

GlobeSmart

Leadership development – Global Mindset

Online database: content, topics, assessment tool

Cultural awareness, diversity

Support and knowledge sharing (Smith & Victorson, 2012).

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Global Leadership – Discussion

IKEA

Summit Consulting - Consulting Firm

Challenges in opening stores internationally

Issues: Trust, communication, values, culture, and mindset

Solutions:

Understanding and knowledge of different cultures

Clear and distinct roles and responsibilities

(Jorgensen, 2014)

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Global Leadership – Discussion

Toys R Us

• England – Lack of basic knowledge and understanding of local market

• Sweden – Conflict with Labor Unions and Swedish government

• Japan – Japanese Law and approval process for foreign corporations

• Toy industry and vendors actively worked against entry

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Global Soup:

People&Culture

Cultural Intelligence

Cross Border Leadership

Global Mindset

Global Leadership

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Global Leadership Equation:

S + E + GBL = PS

S= StudentE= EducatorGBL = Business LeadersPS = Prepared Student

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References

Crowne, K. (2008). What leads to cultural intelligence? Business Horizons, 51, 391-399.

Javidan, M., & Walker, J. (2012). A whole new global mindset for leadership. People & Strategy, 35(2), 37-41.

Jorgenson, A. (2014). Global growth through leadership. Retrieved on March 25, 2014 from http://www.summit-

consulting.dk/en-GB/Solutions/Organisational-Robustness.aspx

Mendenhall, M. E. 2008. Leadership and the birth of global leadership. In M. E. Mendenhall, J. S. Osland, A. Bird, G.

R. Oddou, & M. L. Maznevski, (Eds.), Global leadership: Research, practice, and developement: 1–17. London,

New York: Routledge.

Rockstuhl, T., Seiler, S., Ang, S., Van Dyne, L. & Annen, H. (2011). Beyond general intelligence (IQ) and emotional

intelligence (EQ): The role of cultural intelligence (CQ) on cross-border leadership effectiveness in a globalized

world. Journal of Social Issues, 67(4), 825-840.

Thomas, D., & Inkson, K. (2004). Cultural intelligence: People skills for global business. San Fransico, CA: Berrett-

Koehler

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