Check Point 1

Checkpoint #3

Master in Business Management

Instructions:

1. Write a response to each question on the blog by 11.59pm on 14 June at the very latest. Make sure you select the category “checkpoint 3” when you post it.

2. Upload it as a document answering all the questions in the same document. Please also make certain you have understood the grading criteria and the rules on plagiarism and academic referencing in the student handbook.

3. Check who you are assessing on the peer-assessment schedule and submit a grade for them by 18th June.

Question for Cross Cultural Management

Taking into account what you have learned about cultures, values, and management and conflict styles in these workshops, identify and discuss the challenges of doing business in Spain/ Catalonia. Specifically, which strategies would be most (or least) effective when working as an international manager or a team leader in this context?

For the international business person doing business in a foreign country offers intercultural challenges. A clear understanding of the challenges of doing business in Spain is important in achieving success. Since January 2014 I was relocated to Barcelona to manage operations for an investment company. Here is a list of some common issues that I experienced when trying to do business in Spain:

Meetings & Negotiating: Initial meetings may be more focused on the relationship rather than business. There may be an agenda and starting time, but they serve more as guidelines rather than a rigid timetable. Issues may be discussed simultaneously rather than separately. Several people may also try to speak at once and interruptions are not uncommon.

When you do business in Spain remember that agreements must be reached orally and then in writing. Decision-making is carried out at the top of a company.

Conversations: The Spanish are great conversationalist; this is how they spend their free time. You can spend hours in unproductive meetings.

Business Presentations: can tend to be long-winded. Presentations normally take longer than expected and have endless number of slides.

Language barriers: Spaniards do not an average speak English as well as a Northern European. If you plan to do business in Spain you must try to speak Spanish and if you are trying to do business in Cataluña you should try to learn Catalan. Cataluña is a very nationalist region where most of the people prefer to speak in Catalan. Legal documents and contracts are in Catalan.

Regions: Spaniards derive a sense of identity from their particular region rather than the country as a whole so you should understand the differences and avoid making misinformed comments about Spaniard´s regions of origin. There are seventeen autonomous regions, each with a different degree of independence from Madrid, and each has its own culture. There are various dialects and languages. This is why Español is called Castellano within Spain to distinguish it from others.

Working hours & Holidays

In Spain, the hours that a shop and business may be open to the public are regulated by the government. Banks are open from 9 to 14:00 and be aware that in August is when most people take their vacations so office hours change to “jornada intensiva” that is from 8am to 15:00. After that hour almost every business is closed.

Spaniards take long lunches normally between 14:00 to 16:00. There are national state and local holidays. When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, it is common in the office to take the adjacent Monday or Friday “puente” off for a long weekend.

Time and punctuality: Spaniards would not be stressed about punctuality. They do not have a sense of time management.

Solutions: Understand the intercultural differences so you will avoid frustration and misunderstandings. Hire local subject matter experts to help you resolve the issues you can be facing running the business. Hire senior managers with a strong local social network.

Question for Marketing and external relations

Which are the key pillars and factors we need to manage in order to propose a coherent and successful global marketing plan? How can these be used successfully and please give examples within the context of a company or industry with which you are familiar.

Pillars

Product

The product pillar of the marketing can represent either a tangible or an intangible product. Importantly, a product or service must meet customers' needs and represent the quality and value that customer’s demand. For example in call centers the services or products you offer are very important to distinguish your company from the competition. You need to adjust your system and technology to tailor made the needs of the customers.

Price

Even

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