International General and Strategic Management Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key management theories, global strategic frameworks, international growth modes, and competitive advantage principles from the lecture materials.

Classical Management

An early 20th-century management approach focused on maximizing efficiency and productivity through scientific work analysis, formal hierarchy, standardized rules, and managerial control (key authors: Taylor, Fayol, Weber).

Human Relations Approach

A management theory phase (1930s–1950s) that shifted focus to human factors, emphasizing employee motivation, social needs, informal organizational dynamics, and team relationships (key authors: Mayo, Maslow, McGregor).

Systems Approach

A management perspective (1950s–1970s) that views organizations as open, adaptive social systems made up of interconnected subsystems that continuously interact with and adapt to their external environment.

General Management

The management discipline concerned with operational excellence, short-term performance, resource efficiency, and process consistency ("doing things right").

Strategic Management

The management discipline focused on long-term orientation, direction setting, competitive positioning, and environmental adaptation to create sustainable competitive advantage ("doing the right things").

VUCA World

A framework describing business environments characterized by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity, requiring agile decision-making and dynamic capabilities.

Internal Complexity

The operational intricacy within an organization arising from multiple departments, hierarchical layers, interdependent processes, diverse employee interests, and internal systems.

External Complexity

The intricacy of the external operating environment driven by market dynamics, intense competition, rapid technological shifts, regulatory changes, and cross-border factors.

Globalization

The process by which business activities, markets, resources, and organizations become integrated on a worldwide scale through cross-border flows of trade, investment, information, technology, and people.

International Management

The process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling business activities across national borders while adapting to diverse cultural, economic, political, and legal environments.

Strategy (Mintzberg's 5 Ps)

A perspective conceptualizing strategy as an evolving pattern emerging from practice, defined through five dimensions: Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position, and Perspective.

Strategic Positioning (Porter)

Achieving superior corporate performance by creating a unique and valuable market position, making clear trade-offs, and establishing fit among company activities.

Multinational Enterprise (MNE)

A company that owns, controls, or coordinates value-creating activities and business operations across more than one country.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

An international entry strategy involving the establishment or acquisition of business operations, facilities, or physical assets in a foreign country.

Hybrid Cyber Threats

Geopolitical risks combining cyberattacks, disinformation, espionage, data theft, and digital disruption to compromise infrastructure and business operations without conventional military force.

Exporting

A foreign market entry strategy that involves producing goods in the home country and selling them to foreign markets directly or through intermediaries.

Joint Venture (JV)

A cooperative entry mode in which two or more independent firms establish a legally distinct entity and share ownership, resources, risks, and profits.

Uppsala Model

An internationalization model (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977) proposing that firms enter foreign markets in gradual, sequential stages as their experiential market knowledge increases.

Revised Uppsala Model

An updated internationalization theory (Johanson & Vahlne, 2009) asserting that the primary challenge of foreign expansion is being outside relevant business networks rather than mere foreignness.

Born Global Company

A company that pursues international market expansion from or near its inception, leveraging technology, knowledge assets, and networks rather than expanding incrementally.

Cost Leadership Strategy

A generic strategy aimed at becoming the lowest-cost producer within an industry while maintaining acceptable quality levels to out compete rivals.

Differentiation Strategy

A generic strategy in which a firm offers products or services perceived as unique and valuable across the industry, enabling premium pricing.

Focus Strategy

A generic strategy where a firm concentrates its resources on serving a narrow market segment, buyer niche, or geographical region through cost focus or differentiation focus.

Market Development Strategy

A growth strategy focused on introducing existing products or services into new geographic regions, market segments, or customer groups.

Product Development Strategy

A growth strategy centered on creating new or improved products and services for existing target markets.

Diversification Strategy

A corporate growth strategy where a company expands into entirely new products, services, or industries outside its current business scope.

Vertical Integration

A strategy where a firm gains control over multiple stages of its value chain, expanding either backward toward suppliers or forward toward customers.

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Corporate growth strategies where two independent companies combine into a single new firm (merger) or one firm buys controlling interest in another (acquisition).

Outsourcing

A strategic practice where a company contracts non-core business activities or functions to external specialized providers to enhance efficiency and focus on core competencies.

Strategic Alliance

A formal partnership between independent companies that share resources and capabilities to pursue common strategic goals while retaining operational independence.

Global Integration

The operational pressure to standardize products, services, and value chain activities globally to maximize cost efficiency, scale, and brand consistency.

Local Responsiveness

The pressure to adapt products, marketing, distribution, and operations to specific cultural, legal, customer, and market conditions in foreign countries.

Multidomestic Strategy

An international strategy featuring high local responsiveness and low global integration, granting national subsidiaries significant autonomy to customize offerings.

Global Strategy

An international strategy featuring high global integration and low local responsiveness, relying on standardized offerings and centralized decision-making for scale efficiencies.

International Export Strategy

An international strategy featuring low global integration and low local responsiveness, centered on selling home-developed products overseas with minimal adaptation.

Transnational Strategy

An international strategy that seeks high global efficiency and high local responsiveness simultaneously through an integrated global network and knowledge sharing.

Porter's Diamond Model

A framework explaining why specific nations achieve competitive advantage in particular industries based on factor conditions, demand conditions, related/supporting industries, and firm strategy/rivalry.

Factor Conditions

A determinant in Porter's Diamond Model referring to a nation's position in factors of production, such as skilled labor, technical expertise, and research infrastructure.

Demand Conditions

A determinant in Porter's Diamond Model referring to the nature and sophistication of domestic market demand that pushes local firms to innovate and raise standards.

Related and Supporting Industries

A determinant in Porter's Diamond Model referring to the presence of internationally competitive domestic supplier industries and complementary business clusters.