WAC 6 (Monday, May 17, 2021)

Group Number 11 Members:

Muhammad Abdullah Rehman F2019-541
Syed Hamza Sibtain Naqvi F2019-663
Sheikh Saad Sohail F2019-326
Rana Ahmad Imam F2019-634
Muhammad Haris Azam F2019-372
WAC 6 (Monday, May 17, 2021)

“What Is a Global Manager?”

by Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal.
Divided by ideology, religion, and mistrust, the world appears further fragmented than at any
time since, questionably, World War II. But however profound the political divisions,
corporate operations continue to span the globe, and executives still have to figure out how
to track them efficiently and well. In this article, authors lay out a model for a management
structure that balances the local, regional, and global demands placed on firms operating
across the world’s numerous borders.
In the unstable world of transnational corporations, there is no such thing as a “universal”
global manager, the authors say. Instead, there are three groups of specialists: business
managers, country managers, and functional managers. And there are the top executives at
business headquarters who manage the complex relations between the three and identify
and develop the talented executives a successful transnational requires. This kind of
organizational structure characterizes a transnational rather than an old-line multinational,
international, or global company. Transnationals incorporate assets, resources, and various
people in operating units around the world. Through an elastic organization process, in which
business, country, and functional managers form a trio of different viewpoints that balance
one another, transnational companies can build three strategic capabilities: global-scale
efficiency and competitiveness; national-level responsiveness and flexibility; and cross-
market capacity to leverage learning on a worldwide basis.
Authors also illustrate the responsibilities each position involves through a close look at the
careers of popular executives: Leif Johansson of Electrolux, Howard Gottlieb of NEC, and
Wahib Zaki of Procter & Gamble. The first type is the global business or product-division
manager who must construct worldwide efficiency and competitiveness. These managers
identify cross-border opportunities and risks as well as associate activities and aptitudes
around the world. The second is the country manager whose unit is the constructing block for
universal operations. These managers are responsible for understanding and understanding
local markets, building local resources and capabilities, contributing and participating in the
development of global strategy. Lastly, there are global functional specialists, the executives
whose potential is least valued in many traditional multinational companies. To allocation
expertise from one unit to another and leverage learning, these managers must scan the firm
for good ideas and finest practice, cross-pollinate amid units, and champion innovations with
global applications.