Text 8. Simply, multinational is a company,
doing business in more than one country. But this definition doesn’t show the
size and the scale of the multinational’s activities. To be a ‘true’
multinational, an organization should operate in at least six countries and
have no less than 20% of its sales in those countries. For instance, the larger
enterprises like IBM, British petroleum and Mobil Oil, have subsidiaries in
sixty to eighty countries. Multinationals managers will spend much of their
time working overseas. They will live and work in a strange environment, have
to deal with people, who have different languages, customs and religions.
Multinationals managers must take foreign conditions into account. Managers
working abroad need various skills. A recent study has shown that, first of
all, they need human relations skills, which are quite significant, an
understanding of the culture, ability to adapt and knowledge of local language.
These requirements are vital. To be effective, the manager must persuade local
staff to cooperate with him and his organization. Differences in culture are
important when a manager is negotiating in a foreign country. Manager should be
able to make a concession and not to talk in an overeager way.