GLOBALIZATION: THE CHALLENGE FOR THE CORPORATE BRAND

While the march of global brands, whether by organic growth or by acquisition, has continued unabated, we have begun to see vigorous signs of some questioning of its desirability. Whether it be protesters in Seattle attacking global capitalism, French farmers objecting to MacDonald’s or Scandinavians cutting logos from their chic sports shirts, there are unmistakable indications that the corporate brand owner must not ignore the social implications of is actions. It is clear that a significant and growing proportion of the population will be making their decisions about corporate brands on the basis of new criteria, on ethical standards as well as respect and admiration for the product or brand, and the corporate brand warrior must address these issues.

Of course there is a much bigger debate on the extent to which multi-national branding and manufacture exploits the developing world and destroys cultural distinctiveness. Global companies will continue to want to invest in the developing world, primarily as an opportunity to offer their products to the populations of these markets and secondarily in certain sectors (for example, clothing) as an opportunity to secure low-cost manufacturing. These ventures will offer opportunities of employment to local people, with advancement and career progression for some, and contribute to the development of local infrastructure in retailing, transport and communication.

However, the key lesson from that debate is that global brand management involves having clear policies which can mitigate the negative impact. Most large multinational companies do have excellent policies and practices, in particular in being good citizens wherever they operate, in spending on housing, healthcare and education for their employees, but they have not been good at communicating these to an audience beyond their employees and sometime their investors.

In the future, corporate brand management will have to develop specific communication programmes to ensure that their corporate brand stands high in the consumers’ minds for their ethical behavior and their cultural sensitivity.

In case we get carried away, branding is about enduring values, not about spin to manipulate tomorrow’s headlines. Brands must retain their integrity – brand warriors never lie, are never economical with the truth and always prefer long-term gain to short-term pain. Pharmaceuticals companies who choose to give medicines to people in undeveloped countries who otherwise cannot afford them may deserve recognition, even if they used this as a PR opportunity. But brands who attach themselves (parasitically) to social issues should be challenged.

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Check Your Company’s Human Resource Strategy

People are definitely an organization’s most precious asset. This diversity sits side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, cubicle-to-cubicle and warehouseman to warehouseman. This generational diversity can create tension, mistrust and conflict and negate loyalty to the company in general.

Study your staff, understand them, and try to learn what they value most. Try to understand the historical events that shaped their lives. Since we are experiencing the most value-diverse workforce this country has every known, traditional thoughts in the area of Human Resources must be challenged. We must temper our expectations of long term loyalty. As one Generation Xer put it, “If you want loyalty, buy a dog.”

A human resources strategy must be included in your corporate strategic plan. Becoming an employer people would die to work for begins and ends with your Human Resource staff. As an example, consider your company’s current performance in the areas of human relations leadership skills, commitment to treating employees as your most valuable asset, training, credibility of your management team and company vision, communication skills, decision-making skills, benefits, and other employee related support systems.

Once you’ve determined the current state of your human resource function you should create a vision of what your human resource competency should be. You must be committed to becoming an Employer of Choice. The Human Resource professional must move from the “back room” to the “boardroom” if you expect to become Employer of Choice. Emphasis and focus must be placed on the importance of continuous progress and managing change through goal setting.

Once you have established your vision, the next step is to develop your human resource strategy. Your strategy must evolve around that commitment, intelligence, judgment and one more time, it must focus on your most precious asset – your employees.

Managers need to challenge old ways. You must create an environment that makes it fun to go to work. The key to employee retention is not necessarily compensation based. It has been proven time and time again that money is not high on the motivational factor list. However, money can rise to the top of the list of complaints if an employee does not enjoy coming to work every day.

If you develop a definitive Human Resource strategy geared to make your company the Employer of Choice in your markets, Human Resource will become a profit center. Recruitment & Retention alone will create a tremendous return on investment to your company.

Don’t ever underestimate the power of your employees!

Cut down on reading time and still stay on top of the latest business trends and ideas from the business gurus. Visit us at http://www.bizsum.com