Carry a Chicken in Your Lap : Or Whatever It Takes to Globalize Your Business

by Ayres, R. William; Johnson, Bruce Alan

• ISBN13: 9780312565534
• ISBN10: 0312565534
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-10-27
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

Recession-hit American companies are sending people overseas in record numbers in search of new business. But sadly around 75 percent of these expats fail, costing an estimated two billion dollars a year. CEOs, vice presidents of international marketing, and HR departments must learn how to choose and educate the right people to send overseas. Beyond helping companies to save money, this book will help save their reputations in foreign markets, strengthen their relations with partners and governments, and increase their sales and brand loyalty. Dotted with dozens of real-life stories gleaned from the authors' globe-trotting experiences, it answers these questions: Why do major corporations keep choosing the wrong people for jobs overseas? What should they do differently, and how should they do it? In addition to the billions of dollars lost, what does it cost a company in terms of public standing in a foreign market when it sends the wrong people? What specific damage do the wrong people do and can any of it be corrected? (The answer may surprise you.)

Author Biography

BRUCE ALAN JOHNSON has run his own businesses worldwide since 1985, helping clients such as Hewlett-Packard, BMW, and Eli Lilly solve their international problems. R. WILLIAM AYRES, PH.D., serves as the Director of the Center for Global Citizenship at Elizabethtown College, where he is also an Associate Professor of International Relations.

Table of Contents

“In a word, this book is outstanding. It presents basic but not usually well-known information in a delightfully interesting way, laced with the authors’ personal experiences. Carry a Chicken in Your Lap should be required reading for every person contemplating an overseas assignment, as well as anyone who is contemplating an overseas business. Senior executives who will make the final critical decision regarding the person(s) best suited for this assignment will undoubtedly benefit from this fine book. . . . A most worthy addition to the current storehouse of knowledge regarding the underlying difficulties in doing business outside of North America. [This] book sums it up in an easy-to-read but fascinating style.”—Richard Zimmerman, former CEO of Hershey Foods

 “Too many firms look at foreign markets as just another trip to MacDonald’s—same stuff, just a different location. And they pay for that misperception with failure, over and over. What these authors have done is to take much of the guesswork and all those bad ideas out of the effort of starting up in a new place where more is different than just the language and the scenery. Local customs, traditions and long-established work habits, family structures, and even diet all play a role in success and therefore in failure of any endeavor in a new place. If you think foreign markets are for you, this book is both tour guide and key; what they have done is to turn the lights on to that new and sometimes thorny path. Plus, it’s a great read!”—Greg Garrison, former CBS News legal analyst and host of The Greg Garrison Show

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Rewards Program

Currently unavailable