Elsevier

Business Horizons

Volume 45, Issue 1, January–February 2002, Pages 36-42
Business Horizons

No such thing as a global manager

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0007-6813(02)80008-8Get rights and content

Abstract

With the continuing growth of globalization, companies need to pay careful attention to selecting and managing people who may become their “global managers.” The best way to achieve this is by coming up with a clear concept of what constitutes such a manager. But the examination of a wide set of possible characteristics indicates that there seems to be no distinct set of such individual qualities, so there is no consistent way to point out what a global manager is. What we are left with is the search for good “conventional” managers with a global mindset who could succeed in the international marketplace.

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      Understanding CQ will provide some insight for organizational leaders as they select employees for international assignments, such as expatriate positions which occur when an individual lives and works outside his or her country of citizenship (Carpenter, Sanders, & Gregersen, 2001; Inkson, Arthur, Pringle, & Barry, 1997; Reuber & Fischer, 1997; Sambharya, 1996; Takeuchi, Tesluk, Yun, & Lepak, 2005). These assignments, which are used to develop future organizational leaders and global managers (Baruch, 2002; Lazarova & Caligiuri, 2001; Luthans & Farner, 2002), are important when international experience is considered a critical component of firm strategy (Yan, Guorong, & Hall, 2002). Yet, they are costly for firms (Birdseye & Hill, 1995; Krell, 2005; McNulty & Tharenou, 2004; Stroh, Gregersen, & Black, 2000), and even more costly when the employee fails the assignment (Ashamalla, 1998; Johnson, Lenartowicz, & Apud, 2006).

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    The author wishes to thank David S. Collins and BH Editor Dennis Organ for useful comments on an earlier draft.

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