The constant growth of the company sooner or later leads to its entry into the international market. However, exit conditions are often accompanied by the need for changes because with the growth of profits, the same development of the abilities of each employee is necessary. This paper examines aspects of several essential skills that contribute to a company’s success in the international market. Moreover, these abilities are compared with the skills of the company’s employees successfully working within the same country.
Skills
First of all, it is necessary to highlight the cultural aspects, which are the most critical link in building business relations with other countries. Firstly, this is intercultural communication, a specific form of activity that presupposes knowledge of foreign languages, material and spiritual culture of another nation, religion, values, and moral attitudes, which together determine the model of communication partners (Pikhart). To effectively build a dialogue between two cultures, a lot of communication experience is required, which is why preliminary negotiations should precede any business relationship.
Secondly, any successful company now must comply with the requirements of social and environmental responsibility. More prominent players, no matter from which sphere, set themselves more global tasks, such as Coca-Cola: in developed countries, the emphasis is on society, in developing countries on the resources from which they are obtained (Brondoni 20). Naturally, a company that has just entered the international market often cannot boast of the absence of harmful emissions in production or achievements in socially significant activities.
Nevertheless, in addition to the goals and objectives that the company pursues when entering the international arena, it is necessary to establish a vision and mission or a strategy that considers both professional and social, and environmental activities. Quite indicatively, this is implemented by Unilever, whose bright strategy plan is publicly available on the company’s website (Jurietti et al. 360). Using the example of such giants as Coca-Cola and Unilever can be used as a guideline to strive for.
The leadership qualities of individual employees from the team are equally essential and universal, regardless of culture. The company’s operation in many markets requires different approaches, different management models, and standards. In this regard, international corporations need visionary leaders for rapid growth and development. People who take the initiative and have a helicopter view of the industry’s future (that is, they can see the complex picture) can transform the business and bring it to new organizational levels (KasiĹ„ska-Metryka and Gajewski 44). As a consequence, flexibility and adaptability are vital skills in this environment.
Emotional intelligence is equally important, especially in areas of frequent customer interactions. Understanding the interlocutor on a deeper level can contribute to the success of negotiations, avoidance of bad situations, and much more. This skill opens up a massive field for learning and gaining experience of globalization, which will ultimately be indispensable for the company, considering the above-mentioned cultural aspects.
In a constantly changing world, maintaining employee qualifications also plays an important role. Moreover, information technologies are now used in almost any area – in many areas, and they form the basis of an employee’s activity (Shahreki et al. 7). In this regard, companies need to not only constantly educate their teams about innovations and achievements within their specialty but also keep abreast of developments in the field of information technology. Since any achievement in the IT-sphere can lead to the global restructuring of technological processes within a company or production, and as a result, completely change the usual workflow.
Finally, it is worth noting the importance of soft skills in any job. It is not for nothing that the organizations themselves have recently been paying attention to them (Chakraborty 21). In addition to being situational, these skills include thinking outside the box, intelligence, logic, and independence. Naturally, these skills place more responsibility on the employee, but if they are used correctly, coupled with professional skills, the employee becomes irreplaceable. The corporate culture tacitly accepts these qualities at the international level. Given the ability of these skills to adapt more quickly to cultural aspects, their importance cannot be overestimated.
Differences
Two UK software companies, Hyperlink, and Imaginera, are taken as a comparison. The first company is represented by offices in India and the USA, while the second operates in several cities within the country. Hyperlink regularly hosts international conferences aimed at the international exchange of experience and research (Hyperlink InfoSystems). Imaginera, in turn, is so far focused on developing applications according to orders. The social responsibility of this company is limited to a set of rules for good relations within the framework of corporate culture, which is spelled out as the advantages of these vacancies (Imaginera).
As a result, it can be noted that the activities of international companies are not limited to the direct function of their specialty. Hyperlink’s social responsibility is realized through conferences in which scientific issues are discussed, including for the benefit of society. Imaginera is still at a stage of development where it does not require a global mission in terms of social or environmental responsibility. However, the principles and traditions of the company, which are being formed right now, lay the foundation for the future vision and mission of the company.
Works Cited
Brondoni, Silvio M. “Shareowners, Stakeholders & the Global Oversize Economy. The Coca-Cola Company Case.” Symphonya. Emerging Issues in Management, vol. 1, 2019, pp. 16-27.
“Careers.” Imaginera, 2021. Web.
Chakraborty, Manishankar. “The Dynamics of Soft Skills.” IUP Journal of Soft Skills, vol. 15, no. 1, 2021, pp. 20-26.
“Events and Conferences”. Hyperlink InfoSystems, 2021. Web.
Jurietti, Emanuela, et al. “How do Virtual Corporate Social Responsibility Dialogs Generate Value? A Case Study of The Unilever Sustainable Living Lab.” Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, vol. 24, no. 5, 2017, pp. 357-367.
Kasińska-Metryka, Agnieszka, and Tomasz Gajewski, eds. The Future of Political Leadership in the Digital Age: Neo-leadership, Image and Influence. Routledge, 2020.
Pikhart, Marcel. “Managerial Communication and its Changes in the Global Intercultural Business World.” SHS Web of Conferences. Vol. 37. EDP Sciences, 2017.
Shahreki, Javad, et al. “Technology and the HR Field: The Growth of Human Resource Information Systems.” Journal of Soft Computing and Decision Support Systems, vol. 7, no. 2, 2020, pp. 7-18.