People, Organization, Performance
Entering foreign markets, many companies think “Product” or “Service” first – few think “People.” Frequently, we observe an over-reliance on technical and financial resources at the expense of human resources.
People
People are companies’ most valuable asset. Companies that don’t know this and do not act accordingly, will not succeed and may fail. When everything else is more or less equal, when the economy weakens, when markets shrink, when competition is getting rough…people will make the difference. People, i.e. carefully selected, trained, qualified, motivated people.
We focus on people aspects of businesses.
Our service to companies in foreign markets is to:
- Help find, develop and maintain good leaders and managers
- Develop leadership capacity and capability
- Build effective work teams (cross cultural, cross functional)
- Develop cross-cultural communication skills:
- Develop problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills
- Create a motivating, productive working environment
- Provide Interim Management: bridging or plugging a gap
Organization
Improving each individual’s performance results in a greater performance of the organization. We focus on performance management. Maximizing a firm’s organizational performance will start with a thorough review of the existing organization.
Our service is to:
- Review an existing organization (structure, role and responsibilities, communication, group dynamics, performance measures)
- Design an organization that is fully aligned with a company’s strategy.
- Introduce a simple yet sophisticated process (MOSA) that will enable the organization to focus on performance as a team. See “Achieving Goals”.
- Manage discrete projects, supporting cultural change, turning around a team.
Performance
An organization’s performance depends on excellent, enthusiastic leadership, competent management and a team of qualified, motivated individuals – all of them determined to reach a common goal. This is true for any country/culture. But leadership, management and teamwork are culturally conditioned, i.e. they are different in different cultures. The ideal profile of an American leader differs greatly from that of a French or Japanese leader and – to a lesser degree - from a German leader. The performance of an organization in a foreign market will depend on its understanding of and adjustment to that foreign market’s business culture. In addition, the organization will greatly benefit from a system that supports communication and cooperation across cultural borders.
Our service
- Introducing MOSA, a goal-setting-goal-achieving process that works across cultural borders. (See “Achieving goals.”). It includes checking on progress and quality of work. It provides feedback on a regular basis.
- Assessing cultural competencies of key individuals, offering training and development of business cultural skills
- Working with key individuals to review performance problems by gathering information
- Working with clients on both sides and several levels: at the parent company/at home and with the subsidiary/partnership abroad.
- Developing specific action plans that are relevant and will positively impact the organization and its performance.