The Challenge of Being a Global Manager Rajat Lal is the director of a firm that develops software solutions for the travel industry on a global level. He represents a US software services firm that outsources project work to its delivery partners in Gurgaon, the software hub of North India. It develops software for companies in the technology, transportation and leisure sectors, across the world. Rajat is the interface between his global clients and his domestic technical team. That makes his job more challenging than that of a manager who functions in a totally domestic environment. This is what Rajat has to say about the challenges of his job: In the capacity of the country manager' - the global manager has to deal with establishing his company's legal and business presence in the form of a local office or business partner, contacting and negotiating with clients, with legal bodies including lawyers and immigration authorities since the services involve having technical staff from India to be based in USA/Europe, as also with local companies offering recruitment services. Another key role he plays is establishing a sense of comfort in potential clients by stressing on the positive effects ofcross cultural and multi-cultural opportunities that outsourcing and global delivery entail, while addressing any concerns out of these. In the capacity of the functional manager- the global manager has to ensure he is able to source the right technical skills, build a strong resource base of these skills, and be able to deliver on software projects with these skill-sets working in a globalised work environment - in terms of multiple time-zones, understanding of client's priorities based on the business cycles that the client's business operates in understanding and adapting to the processes and methodologies the client isfamiliar with. Finally this function also includes customer expectation management, where the functional manager has to coordinate activities in India and in USA/Europe according to the customer's priorities, communicate what is possible and what is not possible, and accordingly also manage the expectations and satisfaction levels of his own employees In the capacity of the 'business leader - the global manager has to be alive to changing business Situations and customer priorities - he has to keep track of the trends in outsourcing - and have the ability to envision upcoming opportunities as well as potential risks. For example, having a firm grip on the changing legislations on outsourcing is criticalfor a business manager to understand if his current clients are going to continue giving him business. The global manager also needs to be extremely responsive in what customers may perceive as gaps between the operating environment in India vis-à-vis their own countries. He has to position the advantages that outsourcing to India offers - in terms of lowered costs and access to a wide talent-base, while expertly addressing concerns on weak areas like infrastructure in India. What do all these mean for a global manager today? To summarise, a global manager today is one who possesses what can be termed as 'hard' types of skills as well as 'softer types of skills. Managers who understand analysis, strategy, engineering, and technology are still going to be needed, but extremely critical to global success are people who understand how teams work, how organisations work, how people are motivated. A manager who really understands different cultures should be able to work in a West European, non-English speaking country, then move to a developing country like Malaysia or Kenya, and then be transferred to an office based in New York, USA and be almost immediately productive in all three places It can thus be understood that the role of a global manager has evolved in much the same way that the global industry and economy have evolved. It has changed from being a single dimensional role ina defined business context, to being a multi-faceted role that calls for a diverse combination of technical skills, soft management and people skills, and the ability to imbibe and learn different cultural experiences. Which features of mangement is referred in the paragraph ? Explain
