The Relevance of Stakeholders in an International Context

The study of the stakeholders is key to a firm's survival and success. This chapter serves as a point of reference for managers by providing a better understanding of stakeholder theory and of the different groups of stakeholders. Additionally, the chapter analyzes the international scenario characterized by globalization and a high level of competitiveness in order to understand the role played by specific stakeholders such as shareholders, employees, governments, and non-governmental organizations. After reading this chapter, readers should be able to understand the basic principles of stakeholder theory; to identify the different groups of stakeholders, analyzing the role that they play in the firm; to understand the motives which push firms to operate internationally and the different methods that they can use to carry this out; and to reflect on the key stakeholders in an international context.

Decision Making

Decisions are choices. Decision making is the essence of management. Managers make decisions every day and the practical implications of such decisions are key to the success of the company. After reading this chapter, managers, or those who are preparing to be managers, should be better able to do the following: (1) understand the extent to which such organizational characteristics as structure or technology affect decision making, (2) see why the complexity of task environments determines the decisions being made by managers, (3) define and manage certain strategic organizational capabilities such as learning or absorptive capacity, (4) think about cognitive and non-cognitive human capital characteristics that play a role in decision making, and (5) be aware of the impact of culture on decision-making processes. Understanding these aspects will help you develop a deeper understanding of the role and importance of decision making, not only in the domestic market but also internationally.

Networking

Within an ever-changing and dynamic setting, managers need to develop new skills to enable them to swiftly respond to changes in the environment. One of the skills required of twenty-first century managers and entrepreneurs is the ability to create and maintain contact networks. Nevertheless, networking is not achieved simply by knowing its key techniques. It requires time, effort, and a great deal of practice. Accordingly, following an analysis of the concept of networking and its different types, this chapter addresses the key aspects for creating and upholding them: the principles of networking, its main obstacles, and the techniques used to facilitate it, such as social networks, visibility and exposure events, and mentoring. A further contribution involves the planning of networking to ensure its specific goals are met. Good network planning will ensure the more efficient achievement of networking skills, experiences, and resources.

A Practical Approach to Managing Multinational Teams

In current organizations, managing teams is becoming more important and complex, due to the critical, practical, and strategic implications of doing so. Team composition has dramatically changed in companies, capturing new social and demographic tendencies, and making teams more diverse and multicultural. In this context, organizations should pay particular attention not only to teams and their functioning, but also to team managers and how they effectively implement practices to guide teams towards company goals.

Corporate Social Responsibility as an International Strategy

The objective of this chapter is to understand how important it is for companies, in a globalized environment such as the current one, to develop socially responsible behavior, particularly for those companies that want to project themselves internationally. As will be seen, this means that firms assume responsibility for the impacts of their activities on society and establish improvement processes in three main areas: economic, social, and environmental. As a result, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a priority for business leaders in all countries. Therefore, this chapter analyzes the current environment in which companies make their decisions and how the environmental pressures determine the need to act responsibly. In addition, the concept of CSR is explored and the necessary tools for its effective implementation are explained. Of course, stakeholder theory is introduced as the core of CSR.

Introduction to the International Managerial Competences

Considering that markets today are characterized by high levels of competition and dynamism, the managerial function is becoming increasingly complex. Managers need to develop a series of skills to be able to respond to these changes in the environment. These competences must cover a broad spectrum: (1) at the strategic level, analyzing opportunities, threats, and the strengths and weaknesses of the organization in order to ensure its survival; (2) at the group or collective level, managing people who work inside and outside the company, and (3) individually, the manager must be in control of him/herself before being able to manage those in his/her charge. Thus, proactivity, creativity, team management, and stress or time management are just some of those skills that managers should not ignore. This chapter focuses on analyzing the competences that managers must develop in order to be successful in both domestic and international markets.

Managerial Competences for the Future

The objective of this chapter is to diagnose the managerial competences developed by postgraduate students which are necessary to adequately carry out the management function in the future. To do this, a quantitative study with an exploratory-descriptive scope was carried out on a sample of postgraduate students specializing in finance. Specifically, the sample for the study consisted of 65 graduates in which the distribution with respect to gender was 55% women and the remaining 45% men. The main results were that graduates demonstrate undeveloped competences in areas such as e-business, change management, social responsibility, ethical management, and project management. The competences which were overdeveloped were financial planning, management of information and communication technologies, and internal auditing. Gender, age, and work experience were considered as variables in the study, for which significant differences were obtained.

The International Manager

Nowadays, it is practically impossible to read a business article that does not mention the importance of creativity and innovation for the development and survival of different organizations. One way companies can respond to the uncertainty created by the domestic and global economic situation, rapid growth of the information technologies, and ever more informed and demanding customers is through innovation. It is also important to understand that innovation is not the exclusive property of R&D departments or industrial companies. All innovation starts with an idea and, given that ideas come from people, encouraging innovative work behavior (IWB) has become a priority as a way to achieve business competitiveness.

International Management Success

International communication has become of paramount importance in the business environment, because of the increasing effects and influences of globalization. This chapter intends to explain the importance of communication, in terms of the processes involved, as well as the elements that contribute to effective communication. The purpose is to eliminate “noises” that can distort the intended message. Therefore, throughout the chapter, different forms of communication (written and oral) are identified, which can be applied in different situations, cultures, and contexts. In order to achieve effective written communication, a series of key criteria and suggestions are put forward. Specifically, techniques used in writing texts are examined, with an in-depth focus on the report, since this is the text type used most commonly by managers. On the other hand, focusing on the oral communication form, the factors necessary to establish effective oral communication are identified, considering certain particularities if this communication is carried out at an international level.

Managing Stress in an International Career

Over the last few decades, companies capture talent from all over the world to increase their competitiveness. However, it is in these displacement processes that the true nature of the talent is put to the test. Why? Previous research showed how an increase in the levels of stress generated by an international assignment could have several negative outcomes for employees and, consequently, for companies. Therefore, it is critical that managers understand the need to manage these assignments well, and to try to alleviate all the tension that an international work assignment could generate. In addition, it must be considered that not only do employees become stressed in these new situations, but managers may also suffer from anxiety when they have to meet deadlines and make quick and often complex decisions. This chapter reviews these issues, providing a definition of stress and discussing the main stressors that may affect managers and employees on an international assignment. This chapter also proposes some resources and strategies for managing stress.