Exam 7: Implementing the Strategy: Building Multidimensional Capabilities

Which of the following expressions is used to describe one class of transnational innovation developed by worldwide functional managers

The challenges facing a geographic (country) manager's who must convert corporate strategy into actionable plans for the subsidiary do not include

The role of the geographic (country) subsidiary manager has become more difficult in an era of global business units and global customers due to the fact that the manager is accountable for results, but exercises limited authority over the employees and assets situated within the country.

Two key tasks associated with the geographic (country) manager's role as a national defender and advocate are both the responsibility for advocating the subsidiary's role in the MNE's worldwide organization and the responsibility for championing transnational innovations.

When commodity-like products are transferred internally between an MNE's business units, global business managers will principally develop internal quasi-markets to coordinate cross-border flows of materials, components and finished products.

To respond to the heightened complexity and diversity associated with managing global operations in the 21^st century, MNEs can be expected to increasingly adopt organizational forms characterized by hierarchical structures which emphasize either-or choices in place of forms that emphasize flexible coordinative processes and integrated networks of assets and resources.

Worldwide functional managers are principally responsible for diffusing products and services worldwide between the MNE's geographic units.

In their role as worldwide intelligence scanners, worldwide functional managers lead efforts to diffuse innovations throughout the MNE by engaging in all of the following activities, except

In the transnational organization of today, top management must control global business management, worldwide functional management and geographic (country) subsidiary management, so that three groups would not attempt to provide divergent influence on the corporate strategies.

While the global business manager must routinely incorporate the perspectives of the geographic (country) managers when formulating the MNE's global business strategy, there is no need to incorporate the perspectives of the worldwide functional managers because these perspectives are incorporated into the formulation of the broader corporate strategy.

Worldwide functional managers are frequently promoted into their positions after having demonstrated functional knowledge that is highly specialized, such as technological capability, marketing expertise or manufacturing know-how, to name a few. This promotion requires that functional managers evolve from secondary staff roles to take active roles in transnational management. While the tasks facing worldwide functional managers will vary widely by specific function, the core roles and responsibilities that all worldwide functional managers should be expected to fulfill are more predictable. Discuss the three core roles and responsibilities, explaining why they are integral to the success of the modern transnational organization. Provide examples to illustrate these roles and responsibilities.

In the transnational, worldwide functional managers are often linked most effectively through informal networks that are nurtured and maintained through frequent meetings, visits and transfers.

In general, the global business manager, the geographic (country) subsidiary manager and the worldwide functional manager respectively cope with challenges of developing global efficiency and competitiveness, national responsiveness and flexibility, and worldwide innovation and learning capabilities. Nevertheless, it does not mean that they undertake their tasks unilaterally.

Top-level management teams strive to pursue continual renewal within the transnational by engaging in all of the following activities, except

The top-level management team should balance all of the following processes in order to fully exploit the MNE's assets and resources and greatly leverage its performance, except

Which of the following do not constitute part of the strategic tension facing the geographic (country) manager

The global business manager does not need to be located in the MNE's home country.

While the role of the geographic (country) subsidiary manager has traditionally concentrated on responsibilities such as identifying sales and profit opportunities, accessing local factors of production and leveraging parent company assets and resources, the modern geographic subsidiary manager's role has evolved to include an expanded set of responsibilities. Discuss the tasks executed by the country manager and propose an associated set of skills that you think would be required by a country manager. Be sure to link these skills to the list of tasks.

As an information broker, the geographic (country) manager must understand the national culture well, and thereby decide how to modify the MNE's goals, strategies and values so that that they become appropriate for the local context.

Which of the following is not considered a key management category in the modern transnational company