Cultural differences hinder international growth
M.ANGLÉS.
Barcelona
Forty executives from large firms see social and political differences as the primary obstacles.
Cultural diversity, the differences between business practices in the East and the West, environmental regulations, and political stability are the primary concerns for large multinationals when internationalising their firms.
This is the conclusion reached by forty executives currently enrolled in the international master's programme organised jointly by ESADE and Georgetown. Classes are held in seven cities across three continents, and this week the programme brought the students to Barcelona.
The forty participants are executives in companies such as Boeing, Microsoft, Unión Fenosa, Capital Que, Agrolimen and Banco Santander. Other students also come from public institutions such as one executive from the Pentagon and another from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.
The difficulties
Executives debated on the question of industrial globalisation and highlighted the difficulty implied for employee mobility between countries or the added work involved for the executives to mould the company to each country.
The executives argued that their primary difficulties lie in being unaware of local policies -such as environmental policies- and worker habits. Their major concern internationally is political instability, and they feel that the best solution to fight the current economic crisis is globalisation.
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