I experienced the power of collaboration as a young executive. I was promoted to vice president the same day my boss was promoted to senior vice president. Immediately he was dealing with building a new team, changing technology, developing new business, making daily changes in staffing models and initiating business process improvements. He was very successful because he was able to be collaborative with others across the organization as well as reward and reinforce his seven direct reports (four VP's and three directors) for their collaboration.

Many believe that collaboration is a very important ingredient of successful company cultures.

Research from Deloitte suggests that employee collaboration produces greater satisfaction among employees with the final work product. What does this mean for the leader? It brings to mind three roles for the leader: exemplar, expert and executive.

The exemplar role asks that the leader live the spirit of collaboration. In all her interactions the leader ensures that all sharing of data/information establishes an atmosphere that benefits everyone associated with the project or activity. She shares experiences as an example of being open. The bottom line is that she behaves in "the extreme": "eating, drinking and sleeping collaboration" so the whole world can observe effective behavior throughout the work environment.

An enterprise may benefit substantially when a leader is an expert collaborator. This is true because expertness will establish coaching ability. Whether the coaching be live or electronic, it will improve employee efforts toward collaboration. Another essential consideration here is that the expert can be a trainer for employees needing to learn an entire set of collaboration skills. The expert role may go a long way in extending a collaborative environment for the enterprise.

You could write a book about the executive role of the leader (as did Chester Barnard and Peter Drucker). When considering collaboration, it is fairly clear that the focus begins with execution. The leader ought to encourage all collaborators to exchange and share with enthusiasm and energy. A lot of planning, organizing and coordinating patterns will need to be established. Organizing will be necessary to make sure that the appropriate people are involved based upon the task requirements. Planning would be necessary to determine focus on an existing effort or a new, even eccentric, idea. Coordination could ensure future use of the results from the shared experience throughout the enterprise.'

The final point to be made cuts across all three roles, and probably all other considerations that the leader may encounter as collaborations continuously evolve. The leader may want to keep her eyes and ears open to maintain awareness of the ebb and flow of team members and their evolving collaborative experiences. You may want to do this to keep their energy high.

Are you ready to deliver on the 3 Es?

Robert C. Preziosi, D.P.A., is Professor of Management in the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University, and can be reached at preziosi@nova.edu

The fast moving pace of globalization and economic integration has been a reality of life for many decades, helping some individuals in advanced and developing countries, while perhaps preventing others from these benefits. Regardless of its consequences, the modern and future workforce must be prepared for international business and for effectively working with diverse colleagues, vendors, and customers as expatriate professionals in whatever culture or country they are needed.

Most university students take courses related to international business, globalization and international management topics as part of their academic journey. Do these courses make a difference? Are they really needed?

Based on realities of the modern workplace, the answer is a definite yes that these topics are needed and they do make a positive difference in preparing professionals for today's diverse workforce. The more we learn about globalization trends as well as other countries' rules, regulations, cultural ideologies, and policies the more effective we will be in forecasting accurate strategies, while better understanding people's needs and successfully working with colleagues and customers from different nations. Regardless of whether your company is doing business in other countries and nations, you can be sure that other firms from across national borders will eventually become your competitor. So, it is best to be proactively prepared for international business and global management challenges. Besides, learning about international management and cultural differences can be enriching and "loads" of fun!

Globalization and different growth rates around the world along with shifting demographics are altering the distribution of economic power among regions and continents. In the years to come, we know that China's population and steady growth will make it the largest economic power in the world by 2030. Similarly, India will be a country with the largest population in the world, and other emerging markets like Mexico, Pakistan, and Indonesia will also become important economic players. Due to the widespread availability of technology and more affluence, international trade and investment have been increasing dramatically over the years. Multinational corporations (MNCs) from advanced and emerging markets are growing rapidly and expanding their reach around the world (Luthans and Doh, 2015). The internationalization of nearly all business has arrived since anyone can buy or sell anything from anywhere in the world using modern technology, financial institutions, and delivery infrastructure. Firms and future expatriate professionals must prepare for it, or competitors will drive them out of business.

Economic integration and the rapid growth of emerging markets are creating a shifting international economic landscape; the developing and emerging countries of the world are now predicted to occupy increasingly dominant roles. The next eleven (N-11) countries that may constitute the next wave of emerging markets growth will probably include Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, South Korea, and Vietnam. Furthermore, with their growing populations, some of the Middle Eastern and African countries could also constitute the next wave of dynamic emerging markets. As nations become more affluent, they begin looking for countries with economic growth potential where they can invest. An emerging global community is becoming increasingly interdependent economically (Luthans and Doh, 2015).

Different economic systems characterize different countries and regions. These systems, which include market, command, and mixed economies, are represented in different nations around the world and have changed as economic conditions have evolved. Because of globalization, economic integrations have become common and examples can be seen from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the European Union (EU), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN went into effect in 2015, and it includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

When nations become more prosperous over time, trade would automatically increase to satisfy people's desires and wants. Countries that were economically on the rise during the 1950s included China, Soviet Union, India, United States, Japan, Indonesia, Germany, Brazil, United Kingdom, Italy, France and Bangladesh. However, after 100 years, countries that are projected to be on the rise in 2050 include India, China, United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Philippines, Mexico, and Congo. As you can see, countries like Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and France are not expected to continue developing internally. As such, the leaders of these countries will have to prepare their workforce for venturing out toward diversity in their populations, international business and opportunities in other locations. These changes mean that businesses and national leaders will have to prepare their workforce to take advantage of opportunities in countries that they may not have looked into for investment opportunities in the past.

Regardless of a country's political and cultural ideologues, there are some universal principles that all nations and expatriates must keep in mind. The principle of sovereignty means that governments have the right to rule themselves as they see fit for their economy and citizens. Therefore, one country's court system cannot be used to rectify injustices or impose penalties in another country unless that country agrees. As such, expatriates employees and international managers must be very careful when it comes to commenting on and criticizing the leaders and politicians of foreign countries. Furthermore, the doctrine of comity holds that there must be mutual respect for the laws, institutions, and governments of other countries in matters that are specific to jurisdiction over their own citizens and economy (Luthans and Doh, 2015). Consequently, when you become an expatriate, respect for the local norms and traditions becomes an important element of successfully being involved in international business and cross-cultural management practices.

As emphasized by modern global experts, doing business through trade, outsourcing or offshoring in foreign countries cannot happen without learning about and trying to understand the local laws, political environments, customs, cultures, and work habits of people in that economy. Similarly, expatriates working abroad must also develop excellent international management leadership styles that are aligned with local norms and practices.

For more information, see the video presentation on Globalization and International Business Trends

References:

1. Gable, W. and Ellig, J. (1993). Introduction to Market-Based Management. Fairfax, VA: Center for Market Processes.

2. Luthans, Fred and Doh, Jonathan P. (2015). International Management: Culture, Strategy, and Behavior, 9th edition. McGraw-Hill: New York.

3. Mujtaba, B. G. (2014). Managerial Skills and Practices for Global Leadership. ILEAD Academy: Davie, Florida.

Bahaudin Mujtaba is a Professor of Management at the Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship. He is a researcher and author who teaches leadership, international business, HRM and management. He can be reached at mujtaba@nova.edu.