Three Takeaways from the Course of International Management

Karla Gonzalez

Fullerton College
2

International Management course remained to be an exciting journey to learn about

the international scenario of business. As the success of the game is dependent on the

learning of different rules of the game, the same happens in the case of international

business success. The three main takeaways of the International Management course for

me were Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), culture understanding

in the international arena and Stakeholders theory. Every country has its own rules and

procedures. Companies need to do their research while starting a business concerning the

area (Kimmel, 2008). The success and failure of the companies are highly dependent on

their environment. Hence, understanding the culture of the country where the business

operates is a hard nut to crack, where it contributes to success. After the scandals and great

depression, understanding the business ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is

of great concern for the new entrants. The financial performance is improved as the

company takes initiatives to protect the environment. Besides, the stakeholder theory

believes that people give importance to those products and businesses which care for the

environment and people. Stakeholders influence projects, organisations, team members

and senior management. Also, the stakeholder theory addresses ethics, values and morality

while managing the stakeholders involved in a project or organization. In this way, the

efficiency of the organization is increased along with optimizing relations with

stakeholders, thereby leading the business towards success.

The first takeaway during course learning was to understand the aspects of business

most impacted by the culture and to identify the ways that culture can impact how we do

business. In today's shrinking world, professionals often make a mistake to think that the

cultural differences are no longer significant. The same dressing and language of the people
3

do not guarantee that the people think alike. People often make mistakes while

understanding that the same choice of words in a business setting will reflect that people

think alike. It's not the case in today's' global world as cultural differences lay in every

country, influencing the business practices (Kimmel, 2008). Culture impacts many things in

business like the pace of the business, negotiation and decision making, management of

employees and projects, propensity of risk-taking and business protocols. However, the

core business principles are not sufficient for the long-term success of the business. People

like to do business that they trust and understand. Culture impacts the management of

employees based on their preferences, values and priorities. It also has an impact on the

other areas of business like sale, distribution and marketing.

The influence of the cultural practices is significant so companies or the new

ventures should view other cultures' time and deadlines management, communication

style (verbal and physical) of the people, authority principles, decision-making mechanism

and the way of asking or highlighting problems. People possess different language styles

and communication perspectives. For the successful business interactions and

accomplishment of the business objectives understanding the culture of the new place is of

vital importance. To make a pace in the diverse culture, you have to set aside the

preconceived notions and strive to learn about the culture to meet competition. Different

cultural practices have no concern with the right and wrong concepts people have just

different ways to deal with other people (Kimmel, 2008). Smart business professionals

seek to understand those underlying rationale behind the concepts of diverse culture. The

smaller business should need to take into consideration other cultures' principles as there
4

is no room for mistake or delay for them. Besides, businessmen should adopt a flexible and

creative approach while negotiating with foreign contractors.

Culture plays a wider role in business practices either a person is selling products in

the home country' ethnic group or is selling the product in the new market in a different

country. As the culture impacts communication as a person is sourcing from another

country. So understanding the culture is very significant while making advertisements,

doing sales, conducting marketing, making contracts and negotiation and engaging in

distribution (Kimmel, 2008). People get caged in the cultural web when they send wrong

gestures and receive wrong messages. For example, the people of the United States, Canada

and Northern Europe consider "time is a space". They consider that the unhurried

approach is an opportunity for building relationships. Though it's a generalization and the

people of Sao Paulo and Mexico City consider "time is equal to money". Also, the people of

China value punctuality they view deadlines more strictly. People have different ways of

giving respect to people of the world. American people shake hands whereas Chinese bow

before the guest. The element of formality is accepted in all the business practices of the

world.

The second takeaway during course learning of International Management was

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Business Ethics. CSR is a link between social

initiatives and financial impacts (Kovačič, 2019). Besley and Ghatak said that CSR is

dependent for the profit maximization in the competitive markets. CSR includes

stakeholders’ management, environmental identification and issues verification. For

getting effective leadership in the CSR practices, ordonomic approach is used in business
5

ethics. This approach is a significant framework for taking into consideration the role of

business ethics in CSR in the days of globalization. The society is analysed under ordonomic

approach taking into consideration the three-tiered approach (Kovačič, 2019). Firstly,

industry-based view determines the level of competitiveness in the industry. Secondly, the

resource-based view determines the success and failure differences of the firm under the

performance difference. Thirdly, the institution-based view takes into account the role of

international forces in the success and failure of the business. when companies expand

their business operations they should tackle serious moral and ethical challenges.

Some of the business ethics should be taken into account while starting a new

venture in a different country like child labour laws, workplace diversity, human rights,

religious activities, workplace diversity and working standards. Some legal considerations

should be taken into account like monetary and fiscal reporting statues, safety regulations,

civil rights laws and environmental laws. However, the growth of social media and mass

media has become a double check for the activities of businesses operating internationally.

The companies have become cautious about doing an illegal activity in the days of free

media. Multinational Companies have taken a boost in growth from the last decade because

of adopting the ethical measures in business practices (Eteokleous P, 2016). The link

between marketing and CSR goes back to the late 1960s, to address the poverty issue in

many countries, marketers were asked to harmonize economic motives with socially

responsible goals. Later on, Corporate Social Responsibility had become an important

element of strategic planning mechanism. That's why the incorporation of CSR in research

agendas has inspired many marketing professionals. The concept of socially responsible

behaviour is different in different countries. However, the judgment and reputation of

6

those businesses have improved which promote and implement the values and goals of

CSR. The CSR practices make a business to stand differently than its competitors. For

example, the Body Shop has made early CSR practices which have given an advantage to it

in an exceptional way. This company promotes social and environmental issues. It

condemns those companies which promote anorexia. The Body Shop makes sponsors for

charity and conducts community events.

The second takeaway during course learning of International Management was

Stakeholders Theory. The idea of Stakeholder Theory was a direct contradiction of the

concept of Friedman's shareholder concept. Stakeholders in the business arena include

employees, project managers, family, friends, competitors, communities and shareholders.

Dr Freeman has suggested that stakeholders include all those people who contribute to the

business success without those the business would cease to exist. When a company cares

for all those members and organisations which have contributed towards its success then

they become helpful in increasing productivity and growth. Higher productivity is achieved

through higher employee satisfaction. If customers feel happy, then they would help

improve retentions and increase sales. If the financiers are happy then the investment for

the business would be boosted. Stakeholders' satisfaction helps in making the positive

image of the brand in the community. In this way, applying stakeholders' theory helps in

increasing the profits and boosting growth. The stakeholders' theory helps implement

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices. When a business cares for the

stakeholders, it cares for the moral values and environment of them as well.
7

In conclusion, businesses success and failure is determined according to the ways

international business principles are implemented. If a business fails to understand the

culture, the chances are that it would not succeed in the long-run. Todays’ businesses will

only succeed if they care about the stakeholders’ interests and Corporate Social

Responsibility (CSR) principles.

8

References:

XEteokleous P, L. L. (2016). Corporate Social Responsibility in International Marketing. White Rose,

1-59.

Kimmel, H. D. (2008). Effects of cultural differences in international business. International

Marketing Strategy FE3014 VT-08, 1-81.

Kovačič, A. (2019). IMPLEMENTATION OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN CENTRAL.

Science, 1-12.