According to Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal in the Harvard Busines
ID: 446491 • Letter: A
Question
According to Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal in the Harvard Business Review article, What Is A Global Manager? (PDF provided) three very different kinds of managers are required to successfully operate across the world’s many borders. For this writing assignment you will provide a summary of the three kinds of specialists required for transnational management. Identify and describe the kinds of specialties that Bartlett and Ghoshal identify as necessary for a flexible and successful manager.
Explanation / Answer
As per the article - "There is no such thing as a universal global manager.” Instead all MNC require 3 different kinds of managers
1. Business managers - While global business managers and country managers have come into their own, functional specialists have yet to gain the recognition due them in many traditional multinational companies.
2. Country managers - these managers plays a pivotal role not only in meeting local customer demands but also in satiating the local government’s needs and wants and defending their company’s market positions against local and external competitors.
3. Functional managers - Business managers must fashion, a repertoire of approaches and tools, from centralized control to management of exceptions identified through formal policies to indirect management via informal communication.
Three of these managers require a set of senior executives and executives to nurture and develop the specialists and coordinate their efforts. Bartlett and Ghoshal provide examples of all four types of managers, exploring the different skills and perspectives they require to succeed. Their article lays out a model for a management structure that balances the local, regional, and global demands placed on companies operating across the world’s many borders.