Role Of Global Leadership Skills In Multinational Organizations Management Essay

Introduction

The advent of globalization resulted into the sudden boom of the major economies in the world, faster and easier business transactions, higher-quality products and services and other positive economic benefits that the world today gains advantage from out of this global phenomenon.

According to Wiley (2010) globalization also resulted to a more active transferring of ideas and information from one institution to another as well as from every country to another which links up the global economy together as one. Also, because of the global phenomenon, many overwhelming opportunities were given to all recognized global institutions which gave them the chance to rise above in terms of knowledge and information capacity.

Globalization also led to the creation of global companies, which are multinational organizations characterized as business enterprises composed of sales, manufacturing or service subsidiaries in different countries worldwide. These so-called “global” multinational organizations are also known as international or transnational business corporations (Bavisihi 1992).

Czinkota (2004) describes global multinational organizations as companies which develop or create new products in its native or local country and manufactures or exports them usually in third world nations, thus gaining economies of labor, trade advantages and materials. Also, global company is composed of business transactions that are implemented and carried out across local territory to satisfy the need and objectives of individuals, organizations and company.

In today’s changed global economic condition, there is no doubt that global leadership skills are very valuable for multinational organizations to survive and compete. According to Adalat (2007) global leadership skills is very important to be honed these days wherein globalization and its impact on the business and economic realms has already penetrated and changed affecting the way the world’s processes and systems were originally designed.

What the world has today is a borderless economy wherein global leadership skills and the overall global culture of an organization matters greatly. Zeus & Skiffington (2005) argues that global multinational organizations need not only rely on their well-built internal systems and processes but on the leadership competencies of its people who are the ones assigned to man or control these processes.

As attested by many multinational organizations today, cultural and leadership competencies are indeed required for the surefire success of these organizations for without the practice of the necessary global leadership skills, all the challenges and difficulties that they will be facing will come down to a huge failure (Adalat, 2007).

If the enhancement of global leadership skills is one sure key to an organization’s success, then it would indeed be relevant and highly-useful to enhance the knowledge of today’s multinational institutions as to the true role of adopting and practicing global leadership skills in global organizations.

Research Aims & Objectives

This research paper on the “The Role of Global Leadership Skills in Multinational Organizations” aims to identify the current practical and beneficial roles of global leadership skills among global multinational organizations.

Specifically, this paper will answer and address the following research aims and objectives:

to define in detail the true meaning of the concept “global leadership skills”

to define the true meaning of “multinational organizations”

to identify how global leadership skills may impact the success and failure of multinational organizations

to identify the benefits and advantages of adopting and practicing global leadership skills among multinational organizations

to identify the risk and disadvantages of adopting and practicing global leadership skills among multinational organizations

to critically assess and determine how global leadership skills may be adopted and applied by multinational institutions

to determine the various requirements necessary for the effective adoption and practice of global leadership skills among multinational organizations

Statement of the Problem

In addressing the research aims and objectives of this research paper, several other issues and concerns need to be tackled in order to nail down and directly answer the main purpose of this paper which is the identification of the role of global leadership skills in multinational organizations.

To be very specific, the following are the research questions and problem statements that need to be answered directly for this research paper on the “The Role of Global Leadership Skills in Multinational Organizations”:

What are the current practical and beneficial roles of global leadership skills among global multinational organizations?

How do you define the concept “global leadership skills”?

How do you define the true meaning of “multinational organizations”?

How do “global leadership skills” impact the success and failure of multinational organizations?

What are the benefits and advantages of adopting and practicing global leadership skills among multinational organizations?

What are the risks and disadvantages of adopting and practicing global leadership skills among multinational organizations?

How will global leadership skills be adopted and applied by multinational institutions?

How does one assess whether global leadership skills were successfully adopted and applied by multinational institutions to their own organizations?

What are the various requirements necessary for the effective adoption and practice of global leadership skills among multinational organizations?

Significance of the Study

According to Zeus & Skiffington (2005) the practice of global leadership skills by any multinational organization is very important for its success. The global economic conditions nowadays dictate that without the possession of global leadership competencies, no matter how advanced the processes and technologies of a specific company, the corporation is still bound to a huge failure.

Given the many pressing issues, concerns, threats and risks on the part of most global multinational organizations due to certain uncontrollable factors such as the increase in competition and ever-changing nature of technologies as well as capital and financial challenges, it would be very wise for a multinational organization to adopt, practice and enhance its overall global leadership competencies through its people. A multinational organization’s range of professional employees may very well be used as a single & most effective key to its success by simply enhancing each of their so-called “global leadership skills” so that it would be reflected entirely in the whole organization.

This research study therefore on the “The Role of Global Leadership Skills in Multinational Organizations” is very important in order to educate the multinational organizations of today as to the real practical and beneficial advantages that the practice and enhancement of global leadership skills may possibly bring in to their companies. Multinational organizations strongly need to be informed on how the possession and practice of global leadership skills may ultimately lead to their long term success.

Review of Related Literature

A. Global Leadership Skills and the Global Leader Multinational Organization

According to DuBrin (2001) global leadership skills is simply defined as a superior practice of leadership among global institutions as executed by their professional employees. The author states that in order for a company to gain a positive reputation as well as a huge competitive advantage over its competitors, global leadership skills are very important.

A company practicing global leadership skills may easily be spotted through their practice of a certain leadership style, particularly, one that significantly generates corporate performance success in terms of the following key criteria:

a.) High level of productivity and profitability

b.) Increased efficiency and continuity in its systems and processes

c.) High levels of commitment and morale among its employees

d.) More innovative and adaptive organizational lifestyle (DuBrin 2001)

A multinational organization which practices and exercises its global leadership skills also has an excellent understanding with regard to certain complex issues that the organization encounters. Given its high morale and confidence with the leadership expertise of its people, the organization is able to strike a perfect balance with its use of its resources (DuBrin 2001).

Moreover, companies which enhance their global leadership skills practice stewardship. They are known as popular global leaders practicing excellent stewardship and corporate social responsibility acts in their communities. They are able to achieve and lead into the accomplishment of these things because of their confidence in the way their organizations are managed (DuBrin 2001).

Furthermore, multinational organizations which are known as global leaders are always filled with motivation which makes its own people establish trust and loyalty among them. Theirs is an organization characterized as a “global culture” which enables them to stay competitive and ahead in the game versus their closest rivals or competitors.

B. The Effective Adoption and Practice of Global Leadership Skills among Multinational Organizations

According to Adalat (2007) in order to effectively adopt and practice global leadership skills, the following characteristics and mindset need to be possessed by multinational organizations:

a.) Building a Global Culture and Possessing Cultural Sensitivity-

Adalat (2007) emphasizes that this is the most significant quality that a true global leader must possess. Cultural sensitivity is defined as the capacity of an organization to go outside one’s culture and adapt to other people’s cultures in order to fully understand them. When applied to organizations practicing and enhancing their global leadership skills, a successful global leader organization needs to understand and adapt to the needs of those outside their organization because that’s the only way that the organization may be able to gain respect, understanding and loyalty from these people.

Without sensitivity, global leaders are bound to an inevitable failure because misunderstandings and other threats to communication and good relationship are most likely to transpire between the organization and its outside environment or an allied organization possessing a different culture. Hence, true global leaders are required to fully adapt to other’s culture in order to win them over (Adalat 2007).

b.) Managing Diversity-

A true global leader is required to possess a strong knowledge and practice on diversity management. This is mainly because in a typical organizational set up, the composition of teams and groups of individuals is diverse. Hence, one way of managing the diversity of these teams is through diversity training, which certified global leaders conduct on a regular basis. Also, because of the diversity management practice, harmony and unity in the workplace is perfectly achieved within the organization which is one key of facilitating excellent global leadership skills internally (Adalat 2007).

c.) Consistent Pursuit for Innovation and Adaptability

Any true global leader may easily be spotted through its continuous and consistent pursuit for innovation and adaptability. No organization may be able to survive today’s global economic conditions and demands without the practice of innovation and without being able to adapt to changes. Change is constant and more persistent than the rise of competition in today’s borderless economy. Hence, multinational organizations who intend to master the art of practicing global leadership skills are required to be both innovative and adaptive, always keeping up with the pace of changes and challenges in today’s global status (Adalat 2007).

d.) Excellent Management of Productivity and Profitability-

According to DuBrin (2001), both productivity and profitability are extremely critical in every multinational organization which intends to exercise or practice global leadership skills as these two should be the end result of their efforts and endeavor. Since practically, multinational organizations exist for the end goal of increasing their profits, the end goal of any organization intending to exercise global leadership skills must also be the same. Aside from profits, higher productivity and efficiency must also be the goal of any true global leader.

Research Methodology

This research paper on the “The Role of Global Leadership Skills in Multinational Organizations” is basically intended to identify the current practical and beneficial roles of global leadership skills among global multinational organizations.

A. Research Design

A qualitative study with the use of descriptive approach will be utilized mainly for this research study to achieve the aims of assessing the practice of global leadership skills’ impact on the success and failure of multinational organizations. Also, this research paper is intended to identify the benefits and advantages as well as the risks and disadvantages of adopting and practicing global leadership skills among multinational organizations.

Moreover, in order to assess whether global leadership skills were successfully adopted and applied by multinational institutions to their own organizations, a qualitative research methodology with a descriptive approach will be utilized in this particular research study.

This research study will be facilitated through the use of a substantial amount of respondents who are the top directors of multinational organizations in this country. A pool of ten directors from ten various multinational organizations will be invited for a purely qualitative in-depth interview and focused group discussions in order to carefully evaluate their views on the beneficial role of exercising global leadership skills within their organizations.

The selection of the chosen multinational organizations will be based on the companies’ current rankings in terms of profit and sales for the past year. The first ten multinational organizations which made it to the top in terms of total profit and sales will then be invited to participate in this in-depth research study for a period of four consecutive weeks for a series of in-depth interviews and focused group discussions (FGDs).

Special questions included in the in-depth interviews and FGDs shall include their own assessment of their own companies’ practice of global leadership skills, that is, the manifestation of the global leadership within their own organizations. Questions such as how the practice of “global leadership skills” has impacted the success and failure of their own multinational organizations as well as the manifestations of the benefits and advantages and risks and disadvantages of adopting and practicing global leadership skills among their multinational organizations will also be probed into.

B. The Respondents

From among the top ten multinational organizations in the country in terms of profit and sales for the past year will be selected their own organizational representatives who will participate in the series of in-depth interviews and FGDs that will be conducted for this particular research study.

The respondents’ sole qualification revolves around their current position within their own organization, preferably as a top director, who oversees the entire operations and systems of the company. Also, the respondent’s length of stay in the organization must be ten years or more in order to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the details the respondents will be sharing in the study.

C. Ethical Issues and Considerations

In order to avoid any ethical issues arising from this study, the researcher will ensure that all information that will be shared by the respondents will be kept in strict confidentiality. The researcher will also ensure that no specific figures and amounts that will be shared by the respondents will be divulged in public in order to avoid any possible conflicts arising from this research study.

Moreover, for ethical consideration purposes, the researcher will ensure that the top ten multinational organizations which will be invited for this research study are not in any way competing with each other, both directly and indirectly, in order to avoid any “competitive issues” that may possibly affect the results of the study. The ten multinational organizations must come from ten different industries which are not directly or indirectly competing with one another.

D. Scope & Limitations

The scope of this research study mainly involves the top ten multinational organizations in this country in terms of profit and sales records for the past year. This study does not involve the public institutions and any organizations in the public sector that is government-owned as well as private institutions which do not practice their global leadership skills.

Also, this particular research study is limited only to multinational organizations which do not belong to the same industry and are not in any way, considered as either direct or indirect competitors. This is in order to avoid any concerns or issues involving “competition” that may arise from multinational organizations which come from the same industry.

E Data Gathering and Analysis

To ensure the quality of the chosen qualified respondents and to increase the confidence, accuracy and reliability of the research results, all the data gathered in this research study which includes the recorded interview conversations as well as the recorded FGDs will be recorded, transcribed and then collated. All the recorded interview conversations will be encoded into a written report for an easier tabulation, interpretation and analysis of all the raw data obtained from the respondents. All the qualitative data gathered will be inputted and carefully assessed in the SPSS or the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for a much clearer and accurate data analysis. The measures will be carefully weighed by using this appropriate statistical tool and the measures will as well be strictly analyzed.