Airbus consortium is an aircraft manufacturing company established in 1970, in Europe. The main aim for the establishment of the company was to come up with aircraft designs, considering that the only country that produced aircrafts at that time was the United States of America (Keyong & Ying 2010). The consortium began with companies in both France and Germany and was later joined by companies in Spain and the United Kingdom. The main aim for the collaboration was to gain a bigger market share in the aircraft manufacturing industry; thus changing the face of business. With the first few years, the aircraft consortium was able to develop a successful aircraft. Furthermore, it was the first company to develop an aircraft with twin engines (Fontaine 2007). Thus, this aircraft s considered to be one of the best inventions to date.
Key Cross-Cultural Issues Faced by Airbus and the Relationship to Globe Project’s Cluster
Some of the key cross-cultural issues that have been faced by airbus consortium include technological advancements. When creating the A380, there was an issue considering that the software used in Germany and Spain was version 4, which is an older version, while the software used in France and England was version 5 (Vecchi & Brennan 2009). In the process of compiling the data in the two software versions, some of the data was lost; hence creating a delay in the general manufacturing of the aircraft. Another vital cross-cultural issue that airbus consortium faced is political interference in some of the countries (Swierczek 2004). In some of the countries that airbus is based, there was an increase in political interference where politicians interfered with the company’s clientele just to be re-elected back to their offices.
Airbus was faced with a looming crisis and had to cut down the number of employees by up to 10,000. However, the company faced a lot of interference from the then French president and the German chancellor not to proceed with their plans. This, in turn, led to the company having to keep the employees considering that these two countries had an ownership stake in the company (Ford 2006). In addition, airbus was created by executives from different countries; Germany and France. This being the case, the company faced a lot of issues such as one country wanting to gain advantage over the other; thus creating a crisis in the company’s management. Also, this led to a drop in the reputation of airbus falling behind Boeing in terms of aircraft production (Welsh 2007).
When relating these issues to global project, it is clear that most of the global and international companies are faced with similar problems. This is especially for companies that have branches in more than one country around the world. An excellent example is when an international company is managed by two or more directors from different countries (Rodrigues 2008). All of these directors will bring different strategies that the company should use in the long run, creating a crisis in the company. In addition, international companies may face different types of interferences from different sectors, in different countries. In some of the countries, the company may face opposition from the political sector thus creating a crisis.
Relevance of this Research
This research is beneficial and crucial in understanding issues faced by international companies in that, by understanding the issues a company faces, then the company directors can develop solutions that can be used to prevent any looming crisis in the company. In the case where a company has opened up branches in different countries, the company directors must be able to understand the labour laws that have been set up for the different countries so as to prevent any issues that may arise from the government (Fish 2005). On the same front, the company directors must be able to understand the roles that they play in the company and the crucial decision that they have to make for the company. This will in turn reduce cases where there is a conflict between and international company directors on the basis of decision making (Chelliah & Parry 2012).
In addition, this research is vital as it helps us understand the issues that may arise in international business structures. Therefore, by understanding this, one can come up with logical solutions for any problems that arise. On the other hand, this research has helped in analyzing the different aspects of international business, which are essential in building a successful business in different countries. One of the key aspects developed in this research is flexibility in terms of the business structure in different countries (Groeschl 2003). Different countries have different business structures; therefore, it is important for international company directors to understand the business structures in the different countries before going ahead and opening up subsidiary companies. This will help in reducing the issues that may cross-cultural issues that may arise in international companies (Lombardo 2009). This will also help in understanding the cultural diversity in the different countries, which is the main aspect that will determine the rate of success for the international company; thus helping is coming up with viable solutions for problems that may arise.
Lessons to be Learnt by other Companies
A lesson that can be learnt by companies embarking on international projects include the utilization of employee talents within the company. Some of the employees within the companies have different talents that can be exploited to help in bringing success to the company on the international front (Iglesias 2008). Companies embarking on international projects can also learn to understand the capabilities of every employee with the company, which is a factor that can be advantageous for the company. In addition, the companies must learn to understand the cultural diversity, as this is the key factor in the determination of the success levels to be experienced by the company (Ramsoomair 2007).
Companies, on the other hand, must learn to embrace new technological advancement fully so as to improving the quality of products and services that they will offer to the clients. Client satisfaction is the most important aspect of any given company. Thus, by providing the best quality of products and services, it will help in increasing the satisfaction levels, which will in turn translate to an increase in the profit margins that are to be experienced by the company (Emmerling & Boyatzis 2012). Companies embarking of international project must also learn the use of multicultural teams in service delivery. When using multicultural team members, the company will be able to incorporate different skills in the team, such as marketing skills, engineering skills, and management skills; therefore, help in improving the services offered by the company (Staber 2006).
Bibliographic References
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