International Business: a Basic Guide for Women

As we enter the new millennium, the growing importance of international trade and commerce has created the greatest demand ever for business people who are sophisticated in global management and skilled at working with people from other countries. Cross-cultural researchers, as well as business people themselves, continually observe and try to define the cultural differences in organizations around the world in order to suggest means of bridging the cultural divides that separate business people in one culture from those in another. Today, working in foreign countries and across different cultures requires many more skills than simply having expertise in a single functional area of business, such as finance or software programming; it also requires some knowledge of the foreign culture, its protocols and business style.

LACK OF PREPARATION BY FIRMS

Some research studies have been conducted on the selection, successes and failures of "expatriates" - business people who relocate to another country for the purposes of business for their firm -- to find out what training would provide for a smoother transition. Surprisingly, a recent study of 51 American companies found that only 12% offered any cross-cultural training, and that the training that was offered was inadequate, resulting in high levels of frustration for the employees and unnecessary costs to the firms.

Too often personnel are placed in a business environment in another culture with the incorrect expectation that interactions will mirror those in the United States. As a result, although most Americans who travel to other countries for business hope to make a favorable impression, often they don't. This may be due to inappropriate behaviors, comments, time orientation, social practices or etiquette differences. Actions that may be considered appropriate for professionals in corporate America may be perceived as arrogant, insensitive, overconfident, or aggressive in another culture, and so may jeopardize business success.

Other business researchers have found that there is a relationship between the rigor of the selection and training procedures of the expatriate and the expatriate's ability to perform successfully in a foreign environment. In addition, the employee's family situation was also found to be an important factor for successful business performance. As a result of this, and the costs involved in relocating workers (and their families) to another country, some firms are using local employees - also known as "host country nationals" -- when possible because of their greater familiarity with local culture and mores, or they are sending more U. S. personnel overseas on short term assignments. Most experts in the field agree that for an American business traveler to function effectively in another country with a minimum of errors, advance preparation - including learning about the culture to be visited -- is a must.

THE GLOBAL COMMUTER MANAGER

Traditionally, the term "international manager" has been synonymous with "expatriate manager," but this is changing. The Human Resources (HR) Director of international assignments at a high-profile Silicon Valley corporation recently shared with me that companies in the Silicon Valley increasingly search for personnel within the firm who will commute (rather than relocate) to other countries for short-term assignments in their area of functional expertise. Commuters save money for the firm because they do not require the lengthy and expensive cross-cultural training that expatriates need. (Amazingly, it is estimated that expatriate assignments cost some firms as much as five times the employee's salary annually.) Short-term assignments also reduce disruption to the employee's life and family - an important issue given that many Silicon Valley families have two working parents due to the high cost of living there.

The net result is that today more American business people, particularly women, are traveling on international business than ever before, representing many levels of their organizations and many areas of functional expertise, while in the past usually only senior executives traveled to other countries. The U. S. Department of Travel reports that women now account for 50% of U. S. business travel, and a significant part of international business travel. As one senior HR executive commented, "In high tech there is no time for discrimination. If you breathe and you can do the job, you will go overseas on business." Because of this, a new type of cosmopolitan, multilingual, multifaceted executive who functions effectively across national borders is now in demand. Companies are beginning to focus less on who an international manager is in terms of title and gender, but to consider instead which employees can best complete international tasks and assume responsibilities, and they are ! using this as a basis for deciding who to send on foreign assignments.