Managing Business at the International Level

Business Management -- Annotated Bibliography Eisenberg, J., Lee, H.J., Bruck, F., Brenner, B., Claes, M.T., Mironski, J., and Bell, R. "Can Business Schools Make Students Culturally Competent? Effects of Cross-Cultural Management Courses on Cultural Intelligence." Academy of Management Learning & Education. 12.4 (2013): 603-621. Web. 25 July 2014. Because of the ongoing globalization for businesses and the need to develop management policies and strategies that help the workforce understand and relate to diversity, business schools need to teach management courses on "cultural intelligence" (CU) Eisenberg and colleagues explain.

This article is valuable and the recommendations for business schools should be incorporated because managers working for international firms need skills that allow them to interact with people from a variety of cultures. For students pursuing a business career, the development of cultural intelligence is vital. Hence, taking courses in cross-cultural management brings knowledge and benefits. Espedal, B. Gooderham, P.N., and Stensaker, I.G. "Developing Organizational Social Capital or Prima Donnas in MNEs? The Role of Global Leadership Development Programs." Human Resource Management, 52.4 (2013): 607-625. Web. 25 July 2014.

The authors point to the importance of knowledge sharing when leadership on a global playing field is needed. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) of course have workers spread out in different regions of the world, so each business unit in the MNE should share its knowledge through social networks. That way, a unit in Austria can relate well to a unit in the United States. Moreover, the global leadership development (GLD) programs proposed by the authors can help companies avoid a strictly hierarchical relationship.

The authors astutely argue that HR managers in globalized firms have responsibilities beyond just managing employees: that is the key to this article's value for students. Liu, D., Liao, H., and Loi, R. "The Dark Side of Leadership: A Three-Level Investigation of The Cascading Effect of Abusive Supervision on Employee Creativity." Academy of Management Journal, 55.5 (2012): 1187-1212. Web. 25 July 25, 2014. One key fact pointed out in this piece is that abusive supervisors stifle creativity. And when companies are becoming globalized, employee creativity is vital and should not be suppressed.

In fact there is a huge financial cost when abusive supervisors create a negative influence on employees. Some $23.8 billion is lost ("decreased job satisfaction and increased intentions to quit") that could have been avoided when a more positive kind of supervision is employed (Liu, 1188). This article uses solid evidence to prove key points, and every manager and supervisor should be required to read this article. Senn, C., Thoma, A., and Yip, G.S. "Customer-Centric Leadership: How to Manage Strategic Customers as Assets in B2B Markets." California Management Review, 55.3 (2013): 27- 44.

Web. 25 July 2014. Given that many companies are becoming globalized, and given that competition is tougher on the international business stage, there is a need to create new customer portfolios. Today's customers demand more than just good products and fair prices. In fact global customers expect and demand "closer, collaborative relationships" (Senn, 28). In other words, being customer-centric has never been more important. Hence a new breed of manager must be created by MNEs, at the supplier-customer level.

This article is packed with good advice for a business major looking ahead to employment with a company that is heavily involved in the global marketplace. Scherer, A., Palazzo, G., and Matten, D. "Introduction.