P&G Japan: The SK-II globalization project and global mindset

P&G Japan: The SK-II Globalization Project

The Synthesis of Cross-Market Integration and Local Adaptiveness

In principle, cross-market integration and local adaptiveness emphasize opposite ideas. The former relies on uniformity of messaging whereas the latter requires targeted messaging designed for maximum appeal to specific audiences. The solution is to allow market-based differentiation to the extent necessary to appeal to specific local customer bases while simultaneously eliminating any unnecessary differentiation, especially those linked to organizational preferences among subsidiaries that do not reflect the needs of customers.

Organizational Culture Issues

In principle, success in the age of globalization requires that organizations resist the traditional tendency to adhere out of habit to the status quo and that they embrace innovation and continually question, and, if necessary, to challenge existing assumptions and processes.

Restructuring within Organizations

In principle, success in the age of globalization requires that organizations continually evaluate the connection between internal structuring and their business objectives. The idea is to identify and rectify any structural elements that undermine or impede maximum productivity and revenue.

The Global Development Process

In principle, the global development process requires organizations to combine uniformity of structure and process to the extent necessary for efficiency while always retaining sufficient flexibility to respond to and reflect the preferences of local markets.

Cultivating a Global Mindset

The Organization Must Inspire Mindset Changes to Succeed Globally

The natural change or evolution in the mindset of individuals and organizations typically takes a long time. If international companies hope to succeed, they must promote and inspire changes in their mindset faster than that which typically occurs naturally. Ideally, this must occur at the level of individual employees, management, and organizational structures and processes.

Assessment is the First Stage of the Process of Achieving a Global Mindset

Organizations hoping to achieve a global mindset must first engage in the process of assessing the existing mindset of their employees and of those reflected in existing organizational structures and processes.

Education, Articulation, and Cultivation of a Global Mindset

The process of developing a global mindset involves educating organizational leaders and managers about other cultures, articulating both the existing and the desired mindset, and then cultivating a global mindset through employee selection, training, and continual reinforcement of understanding diverse cultures and consumer expectations.