International management at PM Company
Scenario:
You have achieved great success at Physical Movement Company
(PM Co.) as their Sales Manager. PM Company is a three year old, US$25 million
home healthcare company, headquartered in the northeastern part of the United
States. The firm creates and sells wheelchairs, walkers or other types of
“mobility products” that give a person some level of mobility when
they can no longer completely ambulate on their own. Recently due to an influx
of inquiries about your mobility products and some very large, direct sales to
customers outside your home country, you have been promoted to the position of
Vice-President of International Sales, responsible for all sales outside the
United States. The job sounds simple enough – just sell your great mobility
products around the world! Benefits of the job include traveling globally,
eating great food and shopping for bargains in your free time. Life is good!
However, after a few days in your new position you begin to
realize there is more to this job than what you were previously accustomed to
as a Sales Manager who sold only in your own country. Your previous job
responsibilities included finding a need for your mobility products, overcoming
any objections and closing the sale. You were very comfortable in this role. As
you begin to call on companies around the world by phone and e-mail, you
realize that the global business environment is far more complex, involves many
more details, and requires much more knowledge than you ever realized! Because
of the time zone differences, you are finding yourself working all the time as
business is conducted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week around the world, so there
is always someone you need to contact or follow-up with. No one in the company
has ever sold internationally before. There are a few employees in the company
who were not born in this country. They can provide some language skills and
can share their cultural knowledge, but they do not have international business
experience. However, you are now the global business leader for your company.
Late one night between calls to Singapore and China, you
realize you need to quickly learn as much as you can about global business
issues and their implications and to communicate these issues and their
solutions to senior management so that together you and the company can achieve
your new worldwide revenue objectives.
Task Type: Discussion Board
Currently international management at PM Company consists of
one person. What specific management principles and practices should PM company
begin to put in place that will assist the company as their international
expansion plans move forward and their international business begins to grow?
Post your answer to the discussion board.
