As
companies internationalize, their employees lose shared assumptions and norms.
People in different countries react to inputs differently, communicate
differently, and make decisions differently. Organically grown corporate
cultures begin to break down; miscommunication becomes more frequent, and trust
erodes, especially between the head office and the regional units. In their
efforts to fix these problems, companies risk compromising attributes that
underlie their commercial success. INSEAD’s Erin Meyer presents five principles
that can prevent disintegration. Managers should: • identify the dimensions of
difference between the corporate culture and local ones • make sure every
cultural group has a voice • protect the most creative units, letting communication
and job descriptions remain more ambiguous • train everyone in key norms •
ensure diversity in every location. Getting culture right should never be an
afterthought. Companies that don’t plan for how individual employees and the
organization as a whole will adapt to working in a global marketplace will
sooner or later stumble because of unnoticed potholes. By the time they regain
their balance, their economic opportunity may have passed. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]