Canada and the U.S. Security Management Since

Canada and the U.S. Security Management

Since September 11th, both the United States and Canada have been forced do deal with the dual challenges of maintaining a safe border and ensuring that trade flows freely between the two counties. Effective management of international environments, an effective understanding of the four functions of management, and the use of important management skills are important in helping Canadian managers and firms overcome border challenges.

Canadian managers are faced with a number of international environments during the normal course of foreign business. These can include differences in language and culture, and differences in units of measurement. In an international environment, financial concerns and currency are also often apparent, as are concerns over differences in laws. However, perhaps the most important of these international environments focuses around trade agreements, sanctions, and barriers, and concerns over national security.

In trade between the U.S. And Canada in the post-9/11 world, Canadian managers are faced with the problems of ensuring that trade flows freely within the context of increased American border security after September 11th.

This is an important challenge, as trade between the United States and Canada is an important part of both economies, and has grown rapidly in the past decades. The FTA agreement and NAFTA in 1994 sparked a large growth in trade and the integration of Canadian and American economies. Notes The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada and the U.S. must deal with "managing our common border, differing immigration and refugee policies; military and security priorities; coordination on international treaties on behalf of our respective countries; joint management of natural resources and the environment; and so on" (p. 1). As a result, these issues greatly impact the role of the Canadian manager in ensuring the flow of goods across the border to the U.S.

In essence, the well-known functions of management play an important role for Canadian managers dealing with border issues. The four functions of management are: planning, organizing, directing (leading), and controlling (Erven). Planning is important in this situation, as business mission and objectives must be considered in light of border control issues. In planning for the organization, the manager must consider long-term changes to border policy, and attempt to ensure that corporate plans coordinate well with such changes. Organization a crucial part of dealing with border issues for the Canadian manager. The manager must be able to control the flow of information in the organization to disseminate information about border requirements, as well as ensure that the internal organizational structure of the organization is designed to deal with border issues. Staffing is also important, as individuals qualified to deal with customs and trained in American border policies must be hired. Directing must be done in order to channel the behavior of individuals in the organization to effectively ensure that products are shipped successfully across the border. Controlling is crucial as well, and consists of establishing performance standards, measuring and reporting performance, comparing actual performance to standards, and taking action based on those comparisons (Erven). In this situation, controlling is designed to ensure that border issues do not delay the shipment of goods to the U.S.

The skills of management are also important for Canadian managers dealing with border issues in the post-9/11 business environment. Managers must often act as leaders, ensuring that staff are motivated and trained to fulfill their duties. Further, managers need to use their planning and organizational skills to make sure that border issues do not have any unforeseen impacts on the company. In the case of employees of born in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, or Sudan, the manager must often use diplomatic skills in acting as a liaison between the employee and the border agencies.

The increased security at the border has caused some serious issues at the border since 9/11 for Canadian firms. Initiatives like the December 2001 "Smart Border Declaration" have been signed in order to allow the free flow of individuals and goods across the border, thus protecting trade (The Canadian Chamber of Commerce). Further, Canadian companies can now take advantage of programs like the Free and Secure Trade (FAST), which expedites shipping of pre-approved carriers, drivers and importers, and moves trade compliance away from the border (Canada Border Services Agency).