Globalization Changes the "Rules of the Game"

Oct. 6, 2011 - PRLog -- Despite the hundreds of books with the word “globalization” in the title published during the past year, there is still much confusion over what it actually means. Even less clear is how best to develop leadership in an integrated, “globalized” world.

Most companies appear to be feeling their way forward. Should they develop leadership centrally or try to source talent locally? What are the best ways of building and managing a diverse workforce? And what role can business schools play in nurturing the next generation of leaders?

There may be no clear-cut answers to these questions, but the business school deans, academics, CEOs and members of IESE’s International Advisory Board who gathered for a conference at IESE’s Barcelona campus this past April broadly agreed on a number of key issues. The article Five Leadership Lessons for a Globalized World summarizes these key issues, demonstrating that cultural differences, generational gaps, technological disruptions as well as an ongoing “major shift” in the organizational structures of companies mean that what worked in the past, may not work in the future. The “rules of the game” are changing fast, especially as emerging economies take a bigger slice of the global market.


This scenario calls for new thinking that extends internationally and evolves within a complex and multi-cultural environment. It is in this complex environment, where many global companies are organized into a matrix by product, function and geography, that today’s leaders are expected to grow their business. Managing a matrix organization is difficult and complex, which is why any company that succeeds at doing it has a tremendous competitive advantage.

In Global Business: Making the Matrix Work, you will learn more about how to gain the necessary global leadership skills and cultural intelligence to be successful in a matrix organization. Learn more in this video interview with IESE Prof. Mike Rosenberg. Visit http://www.iese.edu/Aplicaciones/News/videos/play.asp?v=958

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