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Going Global: Managing Change in a Global Marketplace
As business borders disintegrate, organizations become global. Whether it's access to different customers, employees or suppliers, companies of any size understand the importance of opening new doors throughout the world.
But going global means organizations face new challenges, not least of which is how they implement and sustain successful change. Knowing the differences among people of different cultures—whether they share a border or are halfway around the globe from each other—can be critical to whether change is accepted or resisted. Consider:
- Differences in language and lexicon that can impact how you communicate with an audience to drive the best results. One culture might react positively to a single word, while another might be offended by the same word. Successful change can hinge on the audience's interpretation of a single word.
- Analogies such as references to sports not shared with the whole world can often be lost on people in other countries.
- Political situations in different countries can impact the readiness for a change sponsored from another country. The employees in a country going through a major election or just having experienced a military takeover will not only be distracted by these events, they will be trying to fit this change at work into the world around them. Countries that are not pure democracies may have employees who are more comfortable being told what to do, when and how to do it. Countries with a long history of socialism and democracy may have employees who need much more explanation and require a much higher level of involvement in the change process.
These are just some of the things to consider when building a change management plan that spans many counties. Assuming issues will be the same everywhere and overlooking these differences means losing the trust of the people impacted by the changes and reducing the chances for successful implementation.
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