Constraints and

Challenges for the

Global Manager
Prepared by: Kristine April S. Suin
The Manager:
Omnipotent or
Symbolic?
 The Omnipotent View
When profits are up, the managers take the credit and are rewarded with
bonuses, stock options, and the like. When the profits are down, top
managers are often fired in the belief that “new blood” will bring
improved results. In this view, someone has to be held accountable when
organizations perform poorly regardless of the reasons and that
“someone” is the manager.

This view of managers as omnipotent is consistent with the stereotypical

picture of the take-charge business executive who overcomes any
obstacle in seeing that the organization achieves its goals.
 The Symbolic View
The symbolic view says that a manager’s ability to affect performance
outcomes is influenced and constrained by external factors. According to
this view, it’s unreasonable to expect managers to significantly affect the
organization’s performance. Instead, performance is influenced by factors
overs which managers have little control such as the economy,
customers, governmental policies, competitors’ actions, industry
conditions, and decisions made by previous managers.

The view is labeled “symbolic” because it’s based on the belief that
managers symbolizes control and influence.
 The External Environment
Constraints and Challenges
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
It refers to the factors and forces outside the organization that affect its performance.
Economic Component: interest rates, inflation, changes in disposable income, stock
market fluctuations, and business cycle.
Demographic Component: age, race, gender, education level, geographic location,
income, and family composition.
Political/legal Component: state and local laws, political conditions and stability
Sociocultural Component: values, attitudes, trends, traditions, lifestyles, beliefs, tastes
and pattern of behaviors
Technological Component: scientific and industrial innovations.
Global Component: issues associated with globalization and world economy.
Components of External Environment
How the External Environment Affects
Managers
1. IMPACT ON JOBS AND EMPLOYMENT

2. ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL UNCERTAINTY

3. MANAGING STAKEHOLDERS RELATIONSHIPS

ENVIRONMENTAL UNCERTAINTY
It refers to the degree of change and complexity in an
organization’s environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLEXITY
It looks at the number of components in an organization’s
environment and the extent of the knowledge that the
organization has about those components.
Environmental Uncertainty Matrix
Organizational Stakeholders
Stakeholders are any
constituents in the
organization’s
environment that
are affected by an
organization’s
decisions and
actions.
 Organizational Culture
Constraints and Challenges
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
It has been described as the shared values, principles, traditions, and
ways of doing things that influence the way organizational members act.

This definition implies three things:

1. Perception
2. Descriptive
3. Shared
Strong and Weak Cultures
Dimensions of Organizational Culture
 How Employees Learn Culture
STORIES
Organizational stories typically contain a narrative of significant events or people
including such things as the organization’s founders, rule breaking, reactions to past
mistakes, and so forth.
RITUALS
Corporate rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the
important values and goals of the organization.
MATERIAL ARTIFACTS AND SYMBOLS
Material symbols convey to employees who is important and the kinds of behavior
that are expected and appropriate.
LANGUAGE
Many organizations and units within organizations use language as a way to identify
and unite member of a culture. By learning this language, members attest their
acceptance of the culture and their willingness to help preserve it.
How Culture Affects Managers
Current Issues in Organizational Culture
1. Creating an innovative culture
2. Creating a customer-responsive
culture
3. Nurturing workplace spirituality
 Creating an Innovative Culture
According to Swedish researcher Goran Ekvall, it would be characterized by the
following:
1. Challenge and involvement
2. Freedom
3. Trust and openness
4. Idea time
5. Playfulness/humor
6. Conflict resolution
7. Debates
8. Risk-taking
Creating a Customer-Responsive Culture
 Spirituality and Organization Culture
WORKPLACE SPIRITUALITY
It is a culture in which organization values promote a sense of
purpose through meaningful work taking place in the context of
community.
Organizations with a spiritual culture recognizes that people
have a mind and spirit, seek to find meaning and purpose in
their work, and desire to connect with other human beings and
be part of a community.
 Five Cultural Characteristics
1. Strong sense of purpose. Spiritual organizations build their cultures around a
meaningful purpose. While profits are important, they’re not the primary values of
the organization.
2. Focus on individual employment. Spiritual organization recognize the worth and
value of individuals. They aren’t just providing jobs, they seek to create cultures in
which employees can continually grow and learn.
3. Trust and openness. Spiritual organizations are characterized by mutual trust,
honesty and openness. Managers aren’t afraid to admit mistakes.
4. Employee empowerment. Managers trust employees to make thoughtful and
conscientious decisions.
5. Toleration of employee expression. Organizations don’t stifle employee
emotions. They allow people to be themselves – to express their moods and feelings
without guilt and fear of reprimand.
Assignment:
Pick one organization that you interact with frequently (as a customer) and
assess their culture by looking at the following aspects:
1. Physical designs (buildings, furnishing, parking lot, office or store
design): Where are they located and why? Where do customers and
employee park? What does the office/store layout look like? What
activities are encouraged and discouraged by the physical layout? What
do these things say about what the organization values?
2. Symbols (logos, dress codes, slogans, philosophy statements): What
values are highlighted? Where are logos displayed? Whose needs are
emphasized? What concepts are emphasized? What actions are
prohibited? Which are encouraged? What do these things say about the
organization values?
3. Words (stories, language, job titles): What stories are
repeated? How are employees addressed? What do job titles
say about the organization? What do these things say about
what the organization values?

Type your answers/observations in a short bond paper.

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