One of my previous articles touched on the topic of language challenges faced by an internationally mobile workforce and multinational corporations in today’s globalized world. And even though several different solutions for overcoming language barriers are proposed, introducing a single working language is probably the most widely used strategy. Moreover, such unifying business language usually […]
Virtual Teams: From Merely Working Together to Truly Collaborating with One Another.
‘It’s like monopoly on a global scale, with people, factories, offices, and ideas, crisscrossing the world to get the job done in time and on budget’. In my opinion, this metaphor that a recent CNN article mentioned serves as a fitting description for today’s globally dispersed business environment, and as a great introduction for a […]
Follow-up on emerging markets: The war for talent
Scarce local talent in emerging markets tops mobility challenges according to the recent Mercer HR & Mobility Challenges of Emerging Markets Survey. Echoing these findings, the latest article in McKinsey Quarterly, the business journal of McKinsey & Company, posits that ‘competition for talent in emerging markets is heating up’ which the authors attribute to two main reasons: scarcity of local talent, and reluctance of parent country managers to go abroad.
Follow-up on biculturals: Why are people with multiple cultural backgrounds beneficial for organizations?
What is the practical contribution of bi- or multicultural employees to global organizations? A recent article by Fitzsimmons et al. (2011) describes how multicultural individuals contribute to five key activities in global business — international teams, intercultural negotiations, international assignments, mergers and acquisitions, global leadership and ethics.