Question

4. Explain with an example why decision making and controlling are considered vital and often interlinked functions of international management. (please keep response under 3 paragraphs)

Answer 1

Decision making which is a managerial process of choosing one best alternative among the possible courses of action, controlling which is a process of evaluating results based on what was set out in the beginning and taking necessary corrective steps to control deviations are considered to be the most important and interlinked functions of the international management. Following are the arguments that support the above motion:

1. Managing an international organization is always about decision making from the decision of entry mode to managing culture. International management is all about adaptation, customization, and achieving fit. Decisions are made which may or may not work for an organization and that is where controlling comes into action which takes corrective measures to check any deviations and controls them.
2. Decision making and controlling are important and interlinked activities when we talk about international management because they reinforce each other and making decision without having a check at the backing makes the whole process of international management absurd.
3. International management is all about operating in an environment that is characterized by high uncertainties and volatilities and that is where the process of decision making becomes important which should necessarily be supported by strong controlling measures. Both should be aiming to create what Porter has called fit.
4. Controlling has always been about evaluating your results in relation to what was passed or decided in the process of decision making. So the logic goes that you cannot control a deviation if you haven't been involved in the process of decision making per se and you cannot work in the international atmosphere if both do not have a sync and do not reinforce each other.
5. Decisions are made quickly in the international market and if any decision is offering any deviations in the controlling process, it should be quickly resolved without waiting for the repercussions to happen. These two processes should not work in isolation and should be equally important if you are operating in an international arena.

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