Going Global Demands Details, Action

What does it take to run a business globally in the 21st century? “How do you choose a location, set up partnerships, manage a global work force, handle IT?” said Linda Darragh, adjunct associate professor of entrepreneurship and director of entrepreneurship programs at the Michael P. Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship. Darragh introduced a panel discussion, “Building Cross-Border Businesses,” at the 56th Annual Management Conference on May 16 at Gleacher Center.

The pace of companies setting up around the world is rapid and even small businesses want to — and can — tap into the lucrative global market, she said. As vice president for global business development of Ethertronics, which designs and manufactures embedded antennae and was founded in 2000, Cathy Peng, ’01 (XP-70), said she traveled extensively throughout North America, Asia, and Europe last year. The vast proliferation of cell phones, wireless computers, global positioning devices and all-inclusive handheld devices demands multiple high quality, reliable antennas, she said.

“We have to both be close to our major wireless customers and leverage the supply chain, and 70 percent of all phones are manufactured in China.” Ethertronics, headquartered in San Diego, thus has several locations in Asia including, Shanghai, and Taiwan, and Korea; two in Europe, including Sweden and Denmark; and plans to build more design centers around the world as business grows.

Vishal Verma, ’07 (XP-76), partner, Edgewood Venture Partners LLC, said one of the main issues to consider when going global is “the stability of the government. We are focusing heavily in India with joint ventures with local companies that have business acumen in that country,” he said.

When thinking internationally, one needs to evaluate other key criteria as well, said Brenda Sural, human resource outsourcing implement project management leader for Hewitt Associates LLC. Those include cost of labor and skills, taxes, regulations, culture, and time zone impact.

Language and cultural differences are often significant as well. “In India if you’re in a meeting and everyone is nodding, it means ‘Yes, I’ve heard you,’ and not necessarily ‘I understand you,’” Sural said. “When you are in the global workforce, you have to realize you are not going to manage [any business] the way you do in the United States. You need to work with local leadership. You really need local managers to determine how to organize and manage that local workforce.”

“We want to go where our clients are, and we need a local partner in some countries,” said Mark Bloom, ’07, managing director, RSM MCGladrey, a U.S.-based accounting, tax, and consulting firm. “We don’t own the other organizations but we want to instill common goals and live by the same principles.”

“Motivation and training,” are other focal points for the global workforce,” Peng said.

Panelists agreed that building trust and learning to listen may be the most salient lessons in going global. In a few words, Peng summarized the panel’s overall focus: In today’s world, businesses need to “think global, act local, and move fast.”

—Myra Eder