European Business Cultures

Participatory management
Most workers are unionized
More frequent vacations and holidays
Guaranteed permanent employment common
Workers often resent pay for performance, commissions, and objective
measurement and reward systems
Asian Business Cultures
First names are not generally used in business
Extended periods of silence are important
A sale is the beginning, not the end of a relationship
Resting, listening, meditating, and thinking are considered productive
Mexican Business Culture
Low tolerance for adversarial relations or friction at work
Employers are paternalistic
Workers do not expect self-expression or initiative at work
Businesses stress collectivism, continuity, cooperation, belongingness, formality,
and doing exactly what you are told
Rarely entertain business associates at homes
Preserving ones honor, saving face, and looking important are valued
Opinions expressed by employees are often regarded as back talk
Supervisors are viewed as weak if they explain the rationale for their orders to
workers
Mexicans often do not follow rules
Life is slower in Mexico, tardiness is common

Japanese Business Culture

Importance of group loyalty and consensus called Wa
Constant discussion and compromise
Silence is a plus in formal meetings
When confronted with disturbing questions, managers often remain silent
Managers are reserved, quiet, distant, introspective, and other oriented
Communication Differences Across Cultures
Italians, Germans, and French do not soften up executives with praise before a criticism
Israelis are accustomed to fast paced meetings
British executives complain that Americans chatter too much
Europeans feel that they are being treated like children when asked to wear nametags
Executives in India are used to interrupting each other
In Malaysia and Japan periods of silence are appropriate, no silence is needed in Israel
How was your weekend? is considered intrusive by many business people

Strategy Formulation (SF)

Positioning forces before the action
Focus on effectiveness
Primarily intellectual
Requires good intuitive and analytical
skills
Requires coordination among a few
people

Strategy Implementation (SI)

Managing forces during the action
Focus on efficiency
Primarily operational
Requires special motivation and leadership skills
Requires coordination among many people

Management Issues Central to Strategy

Implementation
Establish annual objectives
Devise policies
Allocate resources
Alter existing organizational structure
Restructure & reengineer
Revise reward & incentive plans

Minimize resistance to change

Match managers to strategy
Develop a strategy-supportive culture
Adapt production/operations processes
Develop an effective human resources
function
Downsize & furlough as needed
Link performance & pay to strategies

Potential Advantages of International Operations

Gain new customers
Absorb excess capacity, reduce unit costs, and spread economic risks
Allow firms to establish low-cost production facilities
Competition may be less intense
Reduced tariffs, lower taxes, and favorable political treatment
Joint ventures can enable firms to learn new technology, culture, and business practices
Economies of scale
Power and prestige in domestic markets may be significantly enhanced
Disadvantage:
Foreign operations could be seized
Different and often little-understood social, cultural, demographic, environmental, political,
governmental, legal, technological, economic, and competitive forces
Weakness of competitors overestimated
Different language, culture, and value systems
Understanding of regional organizations needed
Dealing with two or money systems

Market Segmentation is an important variable in strategy implementation

for three major reasons:
It is required to successfully implement market development, product development,
market penetration, and diversification strategies.
It allows a firm to operate with limited resources because mass production,
distribution, and advertising are not required.
It enables small firms to compete successfully with large firms by maximizing perunit profits
andEvaluation,
per-segmentand
sales.
Strategy
Review,
Control
The best formulated and best implemented strategies become obsolete as a
firms external and internal environments change. Therefore, it is essential for
strategists to systematically review, evaluate, and control the execution of
strategies.
Strategy Evaluation is vital to an organizations well being. Timely evaluations can
alert management to potential or actual problems before a situation becomes
critical.
Strategy Evaluation includes three basic activities:
(1) Examining the underlying bases of a firms strategy.
(2) Comparing
expected results to actual results.
Strategy
Evaluation
Adequate
and timely
feedback
is to
theensure
cornerstone
of effective Strategy
(3) Taking
corrective
actions
that performance
conformsEvaluation.
to plans.
Strategy Evaluation is important because organizations face dynamic
environments in which key external and internal factors can change quickly and
dramatically.
Strategy Evaluation is essential to ensure that the stated objectives of an
organization are being achieved.