| Conference Abstracts |
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Post-Industrial Global Growth StrategiesDonald A. DePalma, Ph.D.Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Idiom, Inc. ddepalma@idiominc.com In the globalized economy external forces ranging from the weather in Indonesia to Russian monetary policy somehow affect the fortunes of every firm. In this presentation, we discuss three major accelerants that companies must factor into their strategies: The compression of time. Starting with the invention of the train and the telegraph, time has become the most precious business commodity. Globalization gives new urgency to the time factor with its mantra of 7x24x365 global support. Meanwhile, an international pool of potential competitors dramatically increases time-to-market pressure. Corporations and nations alike must adapt to this ever-quickening global pace. The emergence of global cultures. Nationalists complain about the privileged Anglo-American monoculture of the Web or of a corporate "McWorld" mentality. But these objections overlook less visible but powerful worldwide phenomena such as religious fundamentalism and generational monocultures centered on music and Pokémon. Companies and countries must factor in the world culture allegiances of their employees and citizens. The development of new technologies. New cellular and Internet products just on the horizon will offer ubiquitous, instantaneous connectivity, thus throwing more gas on the globalization fire. Meanwhile, the coming rapid development of genetic, nano, and robotic technology will make more fundamental changes in how we think about our institutions and even the human condition. Corporate, national, and international bodies will be forced to join in the colloquy around the resulting changes. How well companies respond to these three trends will affect their success in the new economy. In this presentation and the discussion that follows, we will try to isolate the factors for successfully dealing with these phenomena.
Capitalizing on Japan's E-Conomy: Taking US Products and Services OverseasMark Mason, Ph.D.Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Basis Technology Japan is the second largest economy in the world, and the potential for US businesses to reach consumers there is endless with the advent of the Internet. However, huge hurdles confront US e-commerce firms seeking to enter the Japanese market. Challenges include payment methods, commerce laws, costs of connectivity, suitable products, and delivery logistics, as well as handling Asian languages, which lack spaces between words, and converting currency, time, date, name and address fields to process data in foreign formats. In his presentation, Mark Mason will detail the distinctive features of business and consumer markets in Japan and will teach how US e-businesses can successfully bring their products and services overseas.
Making Marketing GlobalTim Fallen-BaileyDirector, Global Products Group, Sybase, Inc. timfb@sybase.com Many companies are proficient at exploiting multiple market segments within one country, but lose their edge when they are asked to apply the same expertise to multiple countries. This talk initially looks at the second level of global marketing: practical techniques to progressively refine your marketing and service operations so that your company can be effective in many distinct countries at the same time. However, there is a third level of global marketing which few companies achieve: exploiting the interactions between country markets to both enhance global competitiveness as well as retain valuable customers. We will cover some of the ways to do this, then turn the topic over for discussion among the participants. The discussion will focus on practical steps - organization, product strategy, support, services, partners, and customers. While many of the examples will be drawn from the world of high-tech, this talk will be useful to any business (product or service-based) which wants to be global. Be prepared to briefly discuss your own company's situation, and allow participants to discuss what you can implement on the following Monday morning!
Global Development at LotusKevin CavanaughVice President, International Product Development, Lotus Development Corporation Today Lotus customers demand global products. But, what exactly are they requesting and what are the implications for the Lotus development organization? Lotus customers expect to be offered an equal value proposition in every country where they operate. For example, Japanese customers want a fully functional version of Notes that also allows them to manage directories with both roman and Kanji names. They also want to take advantage of the iMode Internet phones that are now popular in Japan and are leading the world in providing portable Internet access. Completeness, local features and local innovation are demanded in Europe, Asia, and the Americas This means that the Lotus development organization has to reach out to customers around the world. To do this we have woven a series of geographically distributed development teams into a global development process. Common projects, schedules, and systems allow us to function as a team across geographic boundaries. With highly skilled technical people on the ground in markets around the world it makes it easier for us to respond to local needs and innovate in a local context. But, this collaboration is never easy. Sharing information is hard. Resolving conflicts, developing skills and managing from a distance are even harder. Hardest of all is knowing when to demand consistency and when to encourage innovation and diversity of approach. Our approach and our customers' expectations have evolved over 10 years. I will discuss how our goals have changed, how our systems have evolved, how our organization has changed shape, and how our the skills we demand of our employees have increased.
Global Development Processes at XeroxRaymond RousePresident, Rouse Enterprises This session will focus on the globalization of the Research and Development function of a specific company, Xerox Corporation. Progress in the implementation of a Globalization Sub-Process for the Time to Market Business Process will be presented. Progress in the implementation of Research and Development facilities around the globe, the acculturation of the leadership, and the sharing of knowledge across the base of researchers will also be presented. A final vision for the product development cycle will be presented, including the internationalization and localization of products. This session will also draw correlation between globalization of the product development process and other processes.
Challenges of a Truly Global Development OrganisationToby PhippsProduct Manager - Globalization, PeopleSoft, Inc. Building products for release to an international audience is something that can't be done in geographic isolation. Many companies try, most fail. Often, the core development team may not be sufficiently experienced in or focused on the needs of not only their local market, but also users across the world. "Out of sight, out of mind" type problems can take hold. The challenge of building and maintaining a coherent development organization that spans the globe becomes apparent, and is one that can't be taken lightly. As a result, the concept of "product globalisation" as a serial process after core development is complete has taken hold and is gaining popularity. This approach to product globalisation may be suitable for relatively "internationally generic" products such as automobiles and cellular telephones, but in projects where international requirements can change the core functionality of the product, it is most often a very suboptimal approach, resulting in market-specific derivative products, or a very basic implementation of each locale's requirements. This talk will look at some approaches to structuring a products and product development organizations as to maximise the impact of the unique knowledge of resources available internationally, while maintaining central control over the end-product. Common tasks from early design and input stages all the way through implementation and coordinated release can be optimized to ensure that each local market's requirements are at least understood, if not met. With a focus on software development organisations, we'll examine some of the more successful techniques that are being used today to optimise the process of building global software, and the pitfalls that lie in wait for the unsuspecting global development manager.
Globalizing Team CommunicationCathyann SwindlehurstPresident, Cygnet InternationalEffectively managing global teams takes vision, commitment and hard work. It also requires a sometimes superhuman communications effort as requirements documents, schedules and bug reports span time zones and cultures. In many environments wishing to go global, existing projects are managed with "hallway conversations" and "white board decisions". This approach, barely functional on its best days, breaks down completely when a third of the team is in a hallway half a world away. Even organisations with established and robust communication frameworks find problems trying to scale existing systems to a global environment. This session will examine project management communication styles, team communication styles and key project documents. We will look at how the "internationalization" and "localization" of communication styles and these key documents supports the global team in delivering on time, on budget with a low "body count".
Women in International BusinessTracey WilenChannels Management, Cisco Systems Women account for over 46% of the work force in America and this number is expected to increase to 48% by the year 2005. (DOL, 1998) Women comprised 43% of total employed in the executive, administrative and managerial occupations in 1995 and this number is growing. (DOL, 1996) Women owned businesses number 8 million in the U.S., and they employ one out of every four workers. They are growing at double the rate of all businesses. (NFWBO, 1998) Thirty-three percent of the women who responded to a survey on small business owners said they exported in their first or second year of operation. The majority of the firms exported for the first time after their second year of operation. Almost 50 percent reported that exporting was profitable on their very first transaction. (SBA, 1999) It is no longer a rumor that women have become major players in the global environment. More and more women are traveling overseas to conduct business for their corporations or for their own business ventures. Working with international cultures is unique for many business people who have had no training. It is even more challenging for women if they conduct business in patriarchal societies or in countries where women are not present in the managerial ranks. Women have been successful in Global business and there are many business strategies for success. These include:
This presentation will cover culture, gender and the impact women make in International business.
Doing Business Around the GlobeTed DaleManaging Director, Meridian Resources To interact and conduct business effectively across national and cultural boundaries, business personnel must examine their own assumptions regarding the best ways to conduct business. The best way to perform even the most ordinary business activities, such as communicating ideas, building teamwork, and obtaining input and feedback from others, can vary dramatically depending on the culture in which people live and operate. This session will cover a number of key issues and strategies that should be considered in order to conduct business more effectively around the world. Some of the topics that will be covered include: New perspectives on cross-cultural interactions
Cultural proficiency as a discipline
Skills for conducting business with people from the target country
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