International Management: Strategic Opportunities and Cultural Challenges

As the economies of many countries become more interrelated, international managers are facing huge challenges and unique opportunities associated with their roles. Now in its fifth edition, Sweeney and McFarlin\u27s International Management embodies a balanced and integrated approach to the subject, emphasizing the strategic opportunities available to firms on a global playing field, as well as exploring the challenges of managing an international workforce. Integrating theory and practice across all chapter topics, this book helps students to learn, grasp, and apply the underlying principles of successful international management: Understanding the broad context of international business, including the critical trends impacting international management, the legal and political forces driving international business, and the ethical and cultural dilemmas that can arise Mastering the essential elements of effective interaction in the international arena, from cross-cultural understanding and communication to cross-border negotiation Recognizing and taking advantage of strategic opportunities, such as entering and operating in foreign markets Building and leading effective international teams, including personal and behavioral motivation, as well as taking an international perspective on the hiring, training, and development of employees These principles are emphasized in the text with current examples and practical applications, establishing a foundation for students to apply their understanding in the current global business environment. With a companion website featuring an instructor’s manual, presentation slides, and a test bank, International Management Fifth Edition is a superb resource for instructors and students of international management

How CIOs Can Effectively Use Influence Behaviors

To accomplish their objectives, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) must rely on their abilities to influence members of top management. Effective use of influence behaviors can make the difference between successful and less successful CIOs. But aspiring senior managers are rarely formally taught how to influence others. They learn informally on the job. This article explores influence behaviors and their appropriate use by CIOs. It first describes 11 common influence behaviors—rational persuasion (logical arguments), apprising (emphasizing expected benefits), inspirational appeal, consultation, collaboration, personal appeal, ingratiation, exchange, legitimating (connected to precedent), coalition (asking others to persuade), and pressure. Then this article discusses which of the 11 are most effective in four scenarios that CIOs face: when the CIO is viewed either as a true peer of top management or as a supportive subordinate, and when the CIO is presenting either a high-stakes strategic initiative or a lower-stakes incremental one

How CIOs Overcome the Competing Values Challenge: Irish CIOs’ Perspectives

Competing values are a fact of organizational life. However, there are gaps in our understanding about how these opposing beliefs hinder influence processes. This article draws on interview data to demonstrate how Irish Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are able to convince their colleagues to support new projects within their firms in the face of competing values. Focused interviews were used to explore the influence process and the competing values phenomenon, since this type of research is at an early stage and qualitative methods and analysis serve as a rich source of theory development. The data showed that the CIOs who did not face competing values were able to successfully influence other executives to support proposed projects. Additionally, half of the remaining CIOs who did face competing values were also successful at influencing their colleagues. In these cases, several features of the situation existed, including (a) small relative project size, (b) projects that were consistent with both external and internal environmental conditions, (c) the use of upward influence, and (d) the right combination of influence behaviors. Finally, we suggest actions that CIOs can use to successfully influence other executives when faced with the challenge of competing values

Psychic distance : antecedents, retail strategy implications and performance outcomes

The authors propose a conceptual model of the psychic distance&ndash;organizational performance relationship that incorporates organizational factors (international experience and centralization of decision making), entry strategy, and retail strategy implications. The findings suggest that when entering psychically distant markets, retailers should adopt low-cost/low-control entry strategies and adapt their retail strategy to a greater extent than in psychically close markets. However, the authors find that such strategic responses have an adverse effect on performance. They find that international experience, psychic distance, entry strategy, and retail strategy adaptation are significant drivers of organizational performance and factors that determine critical success in international retailing.<br /

International Management: Trends, Challenges, & Opportunities

This unique book offers students a comprehensive, applications-oriented review of the most recent trends and challenges in the field of international management. The authors demonstrate the importance of this evolving field using the most up-to-date research and examples, the presentation of international management challenges and solutions, and the discussion of real-word business situations

Organizational behavior: Solutions for management

Identifies 4 key management skills areas that act as building blocks for successful behavior in management. These skills are: self-insight/perceptual skills; ability to inspire/motivate/lead; ability to analyze situations; and personal flexibility/adaptability