How to Adapt Global Minds for Business Survival

Adapting to your environment is a matter of business survival – kill or be killed.

The ability to work well with other cultures is now accepted as a key requirement for managers within all but the most domestic, inward-facing organisations.

Why has it come to be valued so highly?

• Global teams win more tenders – they have more to offer.
• International leaders can give a compelling and universal vision for all to work towards – this puts significant savings from economies of scale within reach and minimises destructive internal backbiting.
• Teams made up of executives from different countries are those who make an international strategy really happen – but only if they work well together.
• New markets can be tapped – by those who understand them well. Those who do not are sure to fail.
• Creative and innovative products and solutions come from harnessing diversity.
• Employers can take advantage of lower wage costs – but only if they understand how cultural non-cash motivators work too.

If your organisation has executives who travel frequently, negotiate with foreigners or work on multinational teams they need training to be effective.

TMA World is a specialist in this field. It is the only international development consultancy in Europe to produce its own leading edge software, content and training videos. In this article we will provide examples of how TMA World has helped clients to win in the global marketplace.

The world is getting smaller. Accelerating developments in communication and transport technologies are driving radical changes in the way organisations need to think and act in the business environment. The ability to understand foreign markets and manage international relationships is now, according to a recent study, a ‘basic requirement for the leaders of Europe’s largest corporations’. Yet, many are woefully inadequate with disastrous consequences. As leaders, their vision is chronically misinterpreted. They fail to understand that the things which most often motivate, inspire and generate commitment depend on each individuals’ cultural background. Their strategy is not accepted. Progress is blocked. 

‘Think global, act local’ is easier said than done. TMA World can help your senior managers turn the rhetoric into a workable strategy which will bring global scale efficiencies within reach and help successfully to adapt marketing and sales techniques.

Global View at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals

“Working together effectively across national boundaries is extremely important to us as a global pharmaceuticals company …we have found that TMA’s programmes have proved very helpful to the frequent as well as in-frequent business traveller”

Dr. David Plowright, International Personnel and Training Executive

Competitive advantage through diversity

No matter how convincing the universal corporate vision, this vision needs people who will make it happen. This means developing multinational teams that work together effectively, for example, to win a tender or complete a project. As managers and employees start to interact, manage and negotiate with customers and colleagues from different cultures, so they must learn actively to manage cultural differences to their advantage. Global teams must establish a common working culture which services  the needs of the group but which also recognises, respects and integrates individual cultural differences.

If this can be achieved these groups generate an exciting, creative energy. The results are those ‘breakthroughs’ and ‘discoveries’ which enable organisations to surge ahead and establish a really significant edge over competitors.

Shortening product development timescales at Glaxo Wellcome

“If we are to develop and market medicines that are acceptable to authorities globally, we need to have an in-depth knowledge of local issues. Our international project teams have provided us with this strength and enable us to shorten product development timescales significantly… these teams cannot reach their full incredible potential without actively managing their cultural diversity. TMA programmes havebeen invaluable in providing them with a common language and framework”

Karen Ward Worldwide  Organisation, Development Manager

Developing global minds conquering new markets

Companies that have not recognized the need to understand new markets before blundering in have paid for their ignorance – like the US company that thought it was sufficient to go to a Latin American client with a slick presentation – after all its product was the best. Their Swedish competitors spent a week in Buenos Aires getting to know the client better – and took the business from right under their noses. Whether an organisation is concerned with marketing, or manufacturing, or any other global activity, training and development plans should compliment the international strategy. TMA World can advise clients on the right policies and procedures. And because managers vary in their exposure to international business we have produced an invaluable process, Developing Global Minds.

This provides managers with a framework by which to assess development needs and then deliver solutions that are tailored to the specific requirements and concerns of the individual and the organisation. Developing Global Minds is a unique learning process which can also be used as a needs analysis.

The four-stage cycle is based on:

• Attitude – developing an open attitude and making managers conscious of the environment in which they work
• Awareness – providing an understanding of culture and how it affects working relationships 
• Knowledge – acquiring the practical information needed to operate effectively in another country
• Skills – developing the behaviours and competencies needed to work successfully with other nationalities

TMAW World is a unique organisation. A specialist in human aspects of globalisation, we provide practical business solutions addressing the leadership, management and HR development needs of companies operating in the global marketplace. 

We offer Global Management Solutions in three product/service portfolios:

Strategic Portfolio:

• A series of facilitated workshops and planning activities that assist senior executives in the formulation of their organisation’s global strategy.

Operational Portfolio:

• A selection of programmes, interventions and mentoring solutions that aid executives in the implementation of their global roles and responsibilities.

Learning and Development Portfolio:

• An integrated set of professional development workshops, simulations and tools designed to support the HR community in the development of their organisation’s global talent.

In developing and delivering these portfolios, we utilise the latest in Research, Innovation, Design and Technology.

International diversity will be the engine that drives the creative energy of the 21st century organisation. TMA World’s success is based on a commitment to developing global minds capable of leading and managing this diversity for the innovative and competitive edge of its clients.

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