跨國企業業務經理發展需求之研究

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(1)CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION In this chapter, it will discuss about the conceptual description of the research, motive of the study, research problem, purpose of the study, delimitation and limitation of the study, and definition of terms.. Motive of the Study. More and more organizations are becoming a global organization that is organizations that operate and market as if the entire world were a single entity without walls or borders. Such organizations emphasize global operations over national or multinational operations. Globalization of an organization has occurred when the organization has developed a global corporate culture, strategy, structure, and communication process.. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) is one of the important factors of international trade, they may occur anywhere in the value chain. At some point, all multinational corporations must choose participation strategies that focus on the downstream activities of selling their products or service. In these, the key players in the organization are the managers itself. Their responsibility is to market their product, sell their product and know where to market. To be a successful manager in a multinational corporation is not easy, they need to be multi-talented and gifted one. Have their special skills to overcome all the missions and challenge that they may faced.. 1.

(2) Learning is the heart of the organization, and it is to gain knowledge or understanding of or skills in by studying, instruction or experience. With learning it can lead to training through the process of learning that when people learn and they share it is a way to trained them and also they have share because of their experiences. While for training, it is the activity wherein to teach a specified skills especially by practices.. Management development is the key process in developing the whole organization, and to improve the system that meets to the trend of the world. Not only the own system but then the transformation of the organization. Which one of the scholars, Lippitt (1969) have also mentioned that management development is recognized as a key process in delivering organizational transformation and renewal. Organization development strategies that involve system wide transformation at a structural, procedural and cultural level are needed to meet these challenges. It is the strengthening of those human processes in organizations which improve the functioning of the organic system so as to achieve its objective (Nazneen, 2006: 63). By means of the management development, the processes and renewal of the organization will be smoother; it is the way to renovate the organization to meet the goal of the corporation. On the other hand, training become more important in this section wherein the process take place that leads to the successful management development.. Based on some previous research, most of the studies focus on international management skills for managers, competencies for top human resource managers, training and management development in MNCs, Managers’ perceptions of management development needs, and other related studies. Not only focuses on the human resource but then with other department of the organization. The researcher comes up with the study of the training and development of the sales managers in multinational corporations. With the impact of multinational firms on their environment is and should be, equally relevant to managers. The 2.

(3) knowledge and skills of the managers should be broaden and innovate every now and then. The researcher can also suggest that through this study, it can help in the future development of the multinational corporation itself, and to let them know what should they improve and develop more.. 3.

(4) Research Problem. Given that the sales and sales managers are the key to the success of the organization for MNCs that leads to on of the factor of international trade or globalization. The research intends to explore the approaches of development and needs of Sales managers in MNCs by the following questions to be answered in this study: 1. Is there any development needs for sales managers? 2. What are their sales qualifications with their coworker with different position level?. 4.

(5) Purpose of the Study. According to the researchers’ business administration background, it leads the researcher to discover more about the multinational corporations their own strategies in their training and development, how they transform and improve their personnel’s skills in their department. Sales are the key person towards any business transaction, they are the one who negotiate and close the deal. Because of this, sales managers are the person who has more experienced in this field that leads the researcher to focus on them. In this way, the goal of this research is aimed to explore the development needs of sales managers. To reach this goal, four purposes were as followings: 1. To explore the roles and competencies of the Sales managers in MNCs. 2. To understand the approach of training and development of the Sales managers in MNCs. 3. To find the solutions for the Sales managers to improve their skills for the future of the organization – the need of the managers. 4. To provide some suggestions for the MNC to improve their training and development for their managers.. 5.

(6) Delimitations and Limitations of the Study. In this section, the delimitation and limitation of the study will be discussed. In research there are instances that may not been discover and got limited to. The limitation like the number of the samples needed or some other instances maybe discussed here.. Delimitation of the study. From the business administration background and with the researchers’ on-job-training experience, from the experienced the researcher focuses on the Sales department wherein all the transaction in the business was here. The researcher will use multiple cases on MNCs to understand the different training and development needs, and will mainly focus on the middle level of Sales managers. The scope of this study mainly focuses on the impact of MNCs on Sales managers’ learning and development.. Limitation of the study. The limitation that the researcher might face are like the number of the samples needed in this study maybe limited, not all the MNCs is willing to share their strategies in training and development, from the interview the interviewee will not be able to express their thought and some information maybe not useful for the study. This research is focus on middle sales manager only, in this case, it might be a limitation for the researcher to just limit the subject in this level of management.. In these assumptions, the researcher should be more careful. and prepare in dealing and finding the samples of the study, find double or triple of MNCs for the assurance of the study to be more fluently, and with the questions to be asked and be patient more in listening to their answers. The questions can be delivered in another way to get the result that the researcher want to know and need in this study. 6.

(7) Definitions of Terms. Multinational corporations (MNCs) It was defined by United Nations (UN), a company or enterprises which own or control production or service facilities located outside of the country in which they are based. MNCs are a business enterprise with manufacturing, sales or service in more than one country.. Manager As Marcus Buckingham mentioned that the great manager’s starting point is the individual. He or she seeks to understand the talents, skills, knowledge, experience, and goals of the individual and then finds ways to help make the person successful (Tobin & Pettingil, 2008). A person with an executive or supervisory function within an organization. One who guide others in action or opinion, one who takes the lead in any business, enterprise, or movement; one who is ‘followed’ by disciples or employees.. Sales manager Sales managers represent their companies at trade association conventions and meetings to promote their products. Some monitor customer preferences and direct and supervise product research and development. They may also be in charge of recommending or approving budgets for product research and development.. Middle management It was defined as “two levels below the CEO and one level above line workers and professionals” (Huy, 2001:73). Bush and West-Burnham (1994) point out that management at senior or middle management level involves working with and through other people and consists of a number of activities such as planning, organizing, resourcing, monitoring, 7.

(8) controlling and evaluating as well as leading.. Middle manager They are responsible for both internal and external management of teams, act as the transmission belt between the top of the organization and the bottom, and make day-to-day choices and trade-offs that escape the attention of top management yet are central to the organization’s performance (Osterman, 2008).. Sales They provide the means whereby consumer/users are made aware of the product or services and are able to purchase it. These will include sale administration, advertising, selling, etc.. Management According to Drucker (1992) , the basic task of management is two fold: marketing and innovation. Organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of clearly defined objectives. Management is often included as factor of production along with machine, materials, and money.. Core competency A core competency can take various forms, including technical/subject matter know how, a reliable process, and or close relationships with customers and suppliers (Baveja, Jamil, & Mascarenhas, 1998). It represents the knowledge, skills, and attitudes, as well as, the ability to fulfill the activities with respect of their professional practice.. 8.

(9) CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the related literature that needed in this study is being arranged by the researcher. It were divided into development of multinational corporations (MNCs), importance of Sales managers in MNCs, core competency of Sales managers in MNCs, importance of training and development of Sales managers in MNCs, and analysis of related research.. Development of MNCs Managers are key players in the learning process within an organization and have a number of Learning and Development roles in this value. With these, organization gives a lot of attentions to the key players.. Multination Corporations (MNCs) or Transnational Corporations (TNCs) as defines in wikipedia, it is a corporation or enterprise that manages production establishments or delivers services in at least two countries. Very large multinationals have budgets that exceed those of many countries. Multinational corporations can have a powerful influence in international relations and local economies. Multinational corporations play an important role in globalization. It operates autonomous entities within each country. MNCs, whereby the company seeks to achieve global efficiency while responding to national opportunities and constraints.. The United Nations (UN) has defined multinational corporations as “enterprises which own or control production or service facilities located outside of the country in which they are based” (Mockler, 2002).. 9.

(10) The figure below stated the international development positions, clearly stated the stages or the level of the international development with the respective responsiveness and benefits from the integration. In order to know the position of the international development the different level of the position will also have different level of responsiveness and. Local Responsiveness. integration.. Global Transnational. Multinational. Benefits from Integration. Figure2.1. International Development Positions Source: Hollesen, 2004. The activities of multinational corporations are not limited to production. Multinational Corporations are also important actors in international trade. MNCs generate almost two-thirds of the world’s exports of goods and services (Dunning, 1996: 77). Globalization gives rise to market turbulence, increased competition from multinational firms, loss of protected opportunities, all of which can affect the operations and development of the Small-Medium Enterprises. For SMEs, internationalization is more likely to occur, through the links and transactions with organizations and individuals in the external environment (Hollesen, 2004). The table 2.1 will show the process that include both inward and outward relations, that reflect the firms’ current areas of competency and expertise, and or its current 10.

(11) level of needs and perceived inadequacies.. Table 2.1. SMEs inward-outward cross-border business activities R&D. Inward. Outward. Contract-in R&D. License-out technology to overseas-based firm. License-in technology from. Contract-out R&D to overseas-base firm. overseas-based firms Production. Technical service or consultancy Contract-out manufacture to overseas-based performed in the home country. firm. for overseas-based clients Contract-in manufacture for. Technical service or consultancy performed. overseas-based firms. overseas Minority investment in overseas production Majority investment in overseas production. Exporting through home country-based intermediary. Sales and distribution. Import from oversea-based. Exporting through foreign-based agent. supplier Import with distribution in the. Exporting through overseas-based sales. home country. representative or branch. Management or Sales service or Management or Sales services or consultancy consultancy performed in the home country for overseas-based clients. Source: Hollesen, 2004.. 11. performed overseas.

(12) Importance of Sales Managers in MNCs. In the global or international business world, the role of the Sales managers in MNC plays an important role, they act as the key player inside the organization. As the sales managers of the company, they need to have the ability of being a good communicator, multilingual, and the potential to solve the problems. Basically, Sales managers themselves differ from all other managers, they have more guts in dealing with people, and they need to have the extra ordinary competency for their position.. Sales is essentially a creative corporate activity involving the planning and execution of the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, products, and services in an exchange that not only satisfies customers’ current needs but also anticipates and creates their future needs at a profit (Helsen & Kotabe, 2007). Managers working in MNCs in sales department should have the task to create the consumer awareness of the product or services through sales techniques, if a business does not pay attention to their products pr services and their consumers’ demographics, the business would not be able to endure longevity.. The term ‘manager’ is concerned with an individual role and is at the micro level, and the term ‘leader’ is concerned with one who guides others in action or opinion, one who takes the lead in any business (Day, 2001).The key players in the organization should also need to have some special skills and attitude in dealing in the business. With their responsibilities, a great manager or a leader should be a multi-talented and gifted one. They use their own special skills to accomplish every single mission in the organization. Great leaders have many qualities. Some of these qualities include doing the right thing, acknowledging the potential of others, accepting personal responsibility, celebrating milestones, and empowering their team. But still it is still contain, the competency (knowledge, skills, attitude), and. 12.

(13) responsibilities. Managers also play an important role in giving training, through the learning process within organizations and have a lot of roles in developing the employee. As Marcus Buckingham mentioned that the great manager’s starting point is the individual. He or she seeks to understand the talents, skills, knowledge, experience, and goals of the individual and then finds ways to help make the person successful (Tobin & Pettingil, 2008).. In business world, middle management is defined as “two levels below the CEO and one level above line workers and professionals” (Huy, 2001, p.73). Bush and West-Burnham (1994) point out that management at senior or middle management level involves working with and through other people and consists of a number of activities such as planning, organizing, resourcing, monitoring, controlling and evaluating as well as leading. The term middle management often assumes both leadership and management will occur. Middle managers are in the middle of a hierarchy in traditional bureaucratic structure. Middle-level managers, or middle managers, are those in the levels below top managers. Middle managers' job titles include: general manager, plant manager, regional manager, and divisional manager.. Mid-level manager or middle managers, who are they? According to Osterman (2008), middle managers are those who led a team or with people who managed a set of team leaders. All these managers were salaried, had at least a college degree and very often more, and were on a managerial track. Middle managers continue to progress in experience and expertise, so there is a need to see the development of middle management as a career (Tomlinson, 1997). It is also mentioned that one of the management scholar John Kotter systematically examined the work of top managers and identified “agenda setting” as their key activity. Middle managers do not set agendas, but carry them out. Nonetheless, middle managers make numerous decisions, and these decisions are important to the organization. Their common fate is that the nature of their careers and the character of their working life are largely 13.

(14) outside their control. Middle managers live inside organizations and have little voice regarding the strategies of those organizations (Osterman, 2008).. Middle-level managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set by top management. They do so by setting goals for their departments and other business units. Middle managers can motivate and assist first-line managers to achieve business objectives. Middle managers may also communicate upward, by offering suggestions and feedback to top managers. Because middle managers are more involved in the day-to-day workings of a company, they may provide valuable information to top managers to help improve the organization's bottom line.. 14.

(15) Core Competency of Sales Managers in MNCs. Core Competency, a concept developed by global strategy experts C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel. In the 1980s, many business executives were assessed on their ability to reorganize their corporations. In the 1990s, Prahalad and Hamel believe executives have been judged on their ability to identify, nurture, and exploit the core competencies that make growth possible (Keegan & Green, 2000). A core competency can take various forms, including technical/subject matter know how, a reliable process, and or close relationships with customers and suppliers (Baveja, Jamil, & Mascarenhas, 1998). It may also include product development or culture as employee dedication. If a core competency yields a long term advantage to the company, it is said to be a sustainable competitive advantage. According to Webster’s dictionary, comptency is being defined as an “ability or fitness”. It is a single skill or fuction, yet it also includes the underlying knowledge, abilities and attitudes necessary for optimal performance. Competency were also defined as “the ability to do something well.” (Tobin & Pettingil, 2008). This would lead to believe if we can define a set of competencies for a job role, and find someone who possesses that exact set of competencies, should expect that the person will do the job well.. According to Coyne, Hall, and Clifford (1997) they have proposed that "a core competency is a combination of complementary skills and knowledge bases embedded in a group or team that results in the ability to execute one or more critical processes to a world class standard." Two ideas are especially important here. The skills or knowledge must be complementary, and taken together they should make it possible to provide a superior product.". With these definitions, it is clear that the core competency is ability to get things well. 15.

(16) done with its own knowledge and skills those others doesn’t have.. Condition of MNC Core Competency. Mintzberg mentioned “What managers actually do rather than the theory of what they do, what they say they do or what they should be doing?” In practice, Mintzberg found that managers’ work occurs in very short episodes, is highly fragmented, frequently interrupted and brief in duration. Managers are not systematic, reflective planners, but prefer activities that are current, specific, well-defines and non-routine. The complexity of organizations means that managers are driven to brevity, fragmentation and superficiality (Robinson, 2005). It is said to be that managers do things in very short period of time with the peace of mind that will lead them to decision making as soon as possible. Managers all always prepare and prefer things or activities that are just in time, current and precise for them to face the challenges every now and then, it guides them to be brief and concise. A managerial skill is the ability to accomplish a particular type of managerial goal through personal action. The action may be as simple as a single behavior, or may comprise a system of behaviors implemented interactively over a period of time (Bigelow, 1994). It means that the managers’ perception of managerial skills rest on a set of managerial goals and problems that may be important and which can be change over time. The success of the business depends on the managers or the Sales managers itself, how will they promote the product and deals with the buyer. Whether or not, the MNCs usually recruit the person who will benefit their organization, and most of the higher level personnel - manager has engaged in international travel, have number of language spoken, and maybe an individual who born abroad, lived and or worked abroad. In here, it shows that skills and competencies is very important in this kind of corporation, especially they often connected with the culture.. 16.

(17) It was mentioned by some scholars, Katz (1974) and Arul (1994) had summarized that a successful management seems to rest on three basic developable skills: technical, human and conceptual. The relative importance of these three skills varies with the level of managerial responsibility. In figure 2.2, it shows the three developable skills and its management level. Conceptual Skills. Conceptual Skills Conceptual Skills. Human Skills Human Skills. Human Skills Technical Skills. Technical Skill Technical Skill Supervisory Level. Middle Management Level Top Management Level. Figure 2.2. Relative significance of managerial skills Source: Katz, 1974; Arul, 1994.. Conceptual Skills, it involve the ability to see the organization as a whole. It includes recognizing how the various function of the organization depends on one another, and how changes in one of the department or function will affect all others. Conceptual thinking also involves thinking in terms of relative emphasis and priorities among conflicting objectives and criteria, relative tendencies and probabilities (rather than certainties), rough correlations 17.

(18) and patterns among elements (rather than clear-cut cause-and-effect relationships).. Human Skills, refers to the ability to work with, understand and motivate other people, the way the individual perceives and also recognizes the perceptions of his superiors, equals, and subordinates, and the way he behaves subsequently. The person with highly developed human skills is aware of employees own attitudes, assumptions, and beliefs about other individuals and groups, employee or the manager is able to see the usefulness and limitations of these feelings. Employee is sufficiently sensitive to the needs and motivations of others in the organization so that the employee can judge the possible reactions to, and outcomes of, the various courses of action that may undertake.. While for Technical skill, it implies an understanding of and proficiency in a specific kind of activity; it involves specialized knowledge, analytical ability within that specialty, and facility in the use of the tools and techniques of the specific discipline. Vocational and on-the-job training programs largely do a good job in developing this skill. Examples of these are skills like engineering, computer programming, and accounting,. Some marketing scholars maintain that the sales manager's responsibility for handling the entire interface with the customer is possibly the single most important factor in creating and perpetuating company success (Czinkota, 1997). Sales manager’s knowledge of consumers’ needs is indispensable in product development. Without a good understanding of the consumers’ needs, product designers and engineers are prone to impose their technical specifications on the product rather than fitting them to what consumers want. For Sales managers, Albaum, Strandskov, and Duerr (1998) identified key skills as: y. Planning and market intelligence. y. Product management 18.

(19) y. Customer analysis. y. Selection and communication. y. International Pricing. Sales managers must know their product line and should know the materials used on it. Knows the industry very well will be very helpful for the sales managers to have excellent skills. Managers should also understand the process of sales management and value of having a sales activity plan. They must realize the sales growth of the company at the same time the growth of salesperson of their sales.. The development of competency was to observe at different stages of exporting, and firms were classified as passive, experimental or proactive. Based from the study of exporting skills of Broderick (1998) in table 2.2., he outlined the three stages and with the three stages it supports the company with their international activities, as undoubtedly there is a strong link between skills and experience and learning required for decision making in international markets.. 19.

(20) Table 2.2. Skills/ competencies at different stages of internationalization Stage of Internationalization. Sales Competencies. Passive : No intentions to expand. Unless these are experiences exporters, now refocusing in the domestic. export activity. market, these firms are likely to have only sufficient basic export administrative skills for order fulfillment, if a passive, otherwise little export skills. No desire to invest in developing skills in either export administration or Sales, possibly due to lack of the potential benefits.. Experimental: Export intention. More active experimental firms progress from basic export. increasing. Firms have desire to. administration skills to developing skills in general market intelligence,. make it happen backed by. enabling selection and testing of markets. Still lack more advanced skills. research, market testing and. for specific market intelligence, as a basis for structured export plan.. some adaptation. Responsiveness to local market conditions need improvement through product management and communication skills, to enable adaptation. Conscious of specific skills gaps. String export Sales skills in most areas equal to those developed for the Proactive: Strong intention to. domestic market enabling systematic market research, selection and. expand international activities,. development. Key area for development is long term planning skills to. backed by strategically oriented. maximize efficiency and enable alternative strategic directions to be. rather than exploratory actions. evaluated.. Source: Broderick, 1998. Mangers are responsible for identifying and nurturing talent in their own areas of responsibility as well as assisting in the global identification of talent. As long as the business is related to Sales, the managers should know the most basic and tactical components of a marketing plan, which is the Four P’s – the marketing mix elements. These are the product, price, place, and promotion. As to the thinking ‘a good product will sell itself’, it stated clearly that in the high competitive market, the standard of the producer and consumer is also increasing. The managers should be alert of the trend and produce the product that is different from others. Price, the manager should take into consideration on the price they are going to sell and will they benefit in long term. The product was produce and should market it to the 20.

(21) places that need the product, to satisfy the consumer. It covers the ‘channel of distribution’, the processes wherein the different middlemen that sells the product out to the consumer. If course, how will the product sell in large quantity if there were no promotion for the consumers to know about the importance of the product. In the business world, the Sales mix or the 4P’s stand as an very important role for managers to learn. Sales managers should be aware of the situation, the trend of the world to produce a product that will satisfy their needs.. Quinn (1988) presented eight different roles for managers in his research on the role of managers. They are: Counselor, mentor, innovator, agent, instructor, producer, coordinator, and supervisor. Robbins (1994) furthered the extrapolation of ten manager roles presented by Mintzberg (1973) to include the interpersonal, information and decision roles. Robbins (1994) also further discussed the management skill required by managers in terms of management functions such as planning, organizing, leadership and control. Jobs in middle management vary widely in terms of responsibility and salary. Depending on the size of the company and the number of middle-level managers in the firm, middle managers may supervise only a small group of employees, or they may manage very large groups, such as an entire business location. Middle managers may be employees who were promoted from first-level manager positions within the organization, or they may have been hired from outside the firm. Some middle managers may have aspirations to hold positions in top management in the future. Middle managers are also ambassadors between top management and the workforce and between the many teams that make organizations functions (Osterman, 2008).. Role of a manager may be considered to have two facets: First, the ‘what’ or the content of management, planning, leading, organizing, and controlling. Second, ‘how’ or the process of management, encompassing, Mintzberg’s (1973) informational, interpersonal and 21.

(22) decisional roles. Management content and process interact in, and with the features of the manager’s environment, including the business process, technology, financial systems, organizational culture and structure and the power and politics issues in the organization.. From these, there are dimensions that can be added to the perspectives that also have implications for learning and development (see table 2.3).The first is the boundaries that surround management, wherein the job of managing has expanded beyond the formal role label and many non-managerial job have management functions within them. The second point is that of the relationship between managers and management and learning which may manifest in two ways: first, managers are involved in learning as gatekeepers, champions and facilitator, and secondly, managers are implicated as learners themselves in any involvement they have in manager development, management development or organizational learning. Because of these, any consideration of management learning and development should concern itself both with the manager-in-leaning and the manager-as-learner (Sadler-Smith, 2006).. 22.

(23) Table 2.3. Manager and management and leader and leadership learning & development Level. Manage Function. Lead Function. Micro. Manager Learning & Leader Learning & Development Development Emphasizes developing The development of individual interpersonal leadership managers and their careers competencies, for example social (elements of management awareness (such as empathy), social training and management skills and self motivation. education) in an organizational context. Emphasize developing intrapersonal competencies.. Macro. Management Learning & Leadership Learning & Development Development The development of the Expanding the collective capacity of management process within an organizational members to engage organization and which may effectively in leadership roles and include manager development processes and ‘learn’ their way out but has broader implications in of situations that could not have terms of developing the been foreseen. organization collectively.. Source: Sadler-Smith, 2006. With the differentiation of the manager / leadership and management development, there is also another issue like what are the needs of the management, how will they improve and what will be the best approaches they have to use for the development. According to Wexley and Balwin (1986), they have drawn a simple distinction management education, management training and On-Job Training. In this figure, it can easily define that the managers are the sample and or the learner of the program with different distinctions role as mentioned in the figure (see figure 2.3).. 23.

(24) Management Education (Career Developmental Function, Long-term Impact.) Management Learning & Development Management. On-job Training. Training (Imparting. (Learning in Action). Skills, Immediate Impact). Figure 2.3. Management learning development Source: Sadler-Smith, 2006.. Importance of Training and Development for Sales Managers in MNCs Training and development is an important activity in an organization, there is a need for leaders to improve their skills and to develop more knowledge in their fields. Training, in this case, it provides employees with specific, identifiable knowledge and skills for use of their recent jobs. With the term training and development, sometimes there is a division between the two. For the development, it is in a broader scope and focusing on gaining new knowledge and skills useful for individual in recent job and future (Jackson & Matis, 1998).. Especially managers in MNCs’, they need to be more competitive in a global market. Through training, the goal is to increase the participants’ understanding of the key cultural values that drive MNC business behavior and expectations. Different industries, technologies,. 24.

(25) strategies, organizational structures, and local labor market conditions affect an organization’s training and development needs and program. Different countries also differ in their training and development style.. For International businesses, like the Multinational Corporations, they have their own approach in giving training and development in their organization. Training and development for international basis, focuses on three parts (see figure 2.4), for pre-departure orientation and training, continuing employee development, and last but not the least the readjustment training and development. Employee or managers in MNCs, frequently faced with the globalization in which different countries and people will always appear during trading. Most of them related with the culture and the environment of the employee. They should be trained in terms of different cultures and at the same time their skills that will help the organization.. Figure 2.4. Training and development in MNCs Source: Mathis & Jackson, 1998.. 25.

(26) The Importance of Development for MNCs Manager. The development of the skills necessary to be successful in international business can occur in two ways. One way is by trial and error, which can be a long and costly experience for managers and their companies. Alternatively, managers can engage in education and training programs that provide the development of the necessary skill in more effective and less costly manner (Baugn, Dao, & Neuper, 2005). It can be thought of as bringing about capacities that go beyond those required by the current jobs, development includes the efforts to improve an employee’s ability to handle a variety of assignments.. As quoted by Dickman (1997) “…with markets becoming increasingly internationalized and more and more companies globalizing their activities across many cultures…companies must focus their attention on international management development, and the personnel profession must be aware of this.” Managers are exposed to learning opportunities at the same time as doing their jobs. Nowadays, managers is being exposed to the global market, they have more opportunities to join different learning society. It is an important part in developing a cross-national corporate culture and integrating international operations. According to Barlett and Ghoshal (2000), global firms can enhance their inter-linkages by creating a pool of global managers with citizenship from anywhere in the world.. According to McMahon and Bolam (1990), management development is part of staff development and more particularly is the development of groups of managers as well as individuals. It aims to promote improved managerial performance, not just individual learning or career development, and the ultimate goal is to improve the quality of teaching and learning.. 26.

(27) Management development is recognized as a key process in delivering organizational transformation and renewal. It is defined as “a conscious and systematic process to control the development of managerial resources in the organization for the achievement goals and strategies” (Molander, 1986: 74). According to O’Dwyer and Ryan (2000), management development includes systematic effort towards improving managerial effectiveness and it must be seen as “the sum of a number of activities which, when put together in a systematic way, result in a total process contributing in the long run to the success of the business” (p.346). As the matter of fact, management development is an important process in transform the organization. It is also a best way to improve the managerial skills and to be competitive in the recent trend of the world. Training. Development. Learn Specific Behavior and. Understand Information. Actions; Demonstrate. Concepts, Context, Develop. Techniques and Processes. Judgment; Expand Capacities. Focus. for Assignment. Time Frame. Short-term. Longer-term. Performance Appraisals,. Effective Measure. Qualified People Available Cost/ Benefit Analysis, When Needed; Promotion Passing Test or From Within Possible Certification. Figure 2.5. Comparison of training and development Source: Mathis & Jackson, 1998.. 27.

(28) The Importance of Training in MNCs. Training is a learning process whereby people acquire skills or knowledge to aid in the achievement of goals. Training can be viewed either narrowly or broadly. Sometimes a distinction is drawn between training and development, with development being broader in scope and focusing in individuals gaining new knowledge and skills useful for both present and future jobs (Mathis & Jackson, 1999). Activities that help the learners to develop skills they lack. The training can be delivered in many ways, such as workshops, coaching, self-study, and practices. Of course, the organization will first identify whether what is the need of the manager that would improve and benefit the organization. Sales training approaches are designed to covert a salesperson from being a passive order taker to a more active order getter.. Traditional training programs generally prove to be inadequate at meeting the needs of the reengineered business entity (Pepitone, 1995). Through Multinational Corporations are major direct and indirect employer in the world’s market economies, their share of total employment is small, and many of the questions that arise here fall under other issues like choice of technology, impact on local entrepreneurship and linkage. The transfer of skills through training is a potential valuable contribution of MNCs to developing countries. There is a strong presumption that these corporations do provide significant training benefits to developing countries, especially when they enter sophisticated activities, and that spillover do occur – but thus us difficult to evaluate empirically. It is also likely that the host country has to invest heavily in creating skills and efficient labor markets before it can attract high value added Transnational corporation activities (Dunning, 1993).. 28.

(29) The training and learning is becoming more important in the world, it increasingly dependent knowledge and ability and faced with rapid changed. With different field and kinds of organization, highly skilled learner is very important, they have to learn and adapt quickly to fit the recent trends. The table below will show some training system around the world, what institution will give the training and what are the things that they lack of. Table 2.4. Training systems around the world Type Example Countries Cooperative. Features and Sources of Institutional Pressure Austria, Germany, Legal and historical precedents Switzerland, and some Latin for cooperation among American Countries companies, unions, and government.. Company-based voluntarism/high labor mobility. USA and the UK. Voluntarism/ low labor mobility. Japan. State-driven incentive provider. Supplier. Lack of institutional pressures to provide training based on own cost-benefits.. Low labor turnover encourages investment in training without institutional pressure. Hong Kong, Korea, Government identifies needs for Singapore, Taiwan, China, skills and uses incentives to Australia encourage companies to train in chosen areas. Developing countries in Asia No institutional pressures for and Africa, transition companies to train. Government economies provides formal training organizations.. Source: Adapted from International Labor Organization (ILO), 1999.. 29.

(30) Relationships of Leadership Development and Management Development. In this division, the relationship of leadership and management development is being discussed. The management learning and development includes personal development and the design and application of competencies to improve the outcome behavior, as well as broader issues of socialization, organizational change and organizational learning (Kamoche, 2000). Management development is concerned with the development of: 1. Individual managers and their careers – it is likely to include elements of management training and management education, in an organizational context (Burgoyne, 1988). Manager Learning and Development is at the micro level and is concerned with building individual capabilities. 2. Management processes within an organization – it may include manager development but has broader implications in terms of developing the organization collectively. Management Learning and Development is at the macro level and is concerned with building management capability across the organization.. Therefore, for individual development of the managers’ benefit, it is to improve their skills and capabilities when dealing with their job. While for the management development is in broader sense, in this case it also includes the managers’ development but at the same time renovate the whole organization.. 30.

(31) Management Development. Leadership Development Manager Developmen. Leader Development. ` Figure 2.6. The relationships between manager and leader development and management and leadership development. Source: Sadler-Smith, 2006.. Analysis of Previous Research. Based on the literature review and some other related literature, MNCs is really the sources to the success of international trading. But then with the MNCs, there are studies like the competencies for the HR managers, developing skills for the success in an MNC, development of managers in MNCs bank, management and leadership development, international skills for international business, among those studies the researcher develop that the training and development for managers in MNCs mainly in. It is because of the. background of the study only focused on the said managers itself, such as Human Resource but not in other department. Given the concern, the researcher decide to study about the MNCs Sales managers on how will they improve their skills and knowledge in their field, what will be their need to improve their skills at the same time.. 31.

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(33) CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY This chapter describes the methodology used in this study. The framework of the study, method of the study, process of the study, subject of the study, samples, and data analysis of the study will be discuss. Framework of the Study. The research framework of this study was created according to the input-process-output analysis which is one of the most fundamental design patterns. Wherein, the researchers’ review literature belongs to the input because of the data gathered. While for the process, the analyze data and through interview to have the result or the conclusion (output). Figure 3.1 shows the framework of this study.. Literature. Interview. Roles of sales managers. Competencies of sales managers. Developing approach for sales managers. Roles of sales managers. Competencies of sales managers. Developing approach for sales managers. Figure 3.1. Systematic framework of this study. 33. Conclusion.

(34) Method of the Study The researcher will use qualitative method in this study, through the use of interview for discover the Sales managers in Multinational Corporations’ training and development, and for the study to be more tangible a multiple case study was further selected. Qualitative research is usually a narrative report with rich description rather than a statistical report (Johnson & Christensen, 2004). Qualitative research is an inductive approach, and its goal is to gain a deeper understanding of a person's or group's experience. Use interviews that capture direct quotations about people’s personal perspectives and experiences. According to Ross (1999), qualitative approaches to research are based on a "world view" which is holistic and has the following beliefs: 1) There is not a single reality. 2) Reality based upon perceptions that are different for each person and change over time. 3) What we know has meaning only within a given situation of context.. In this case, it is better to study different organization and different point of view according to their activities. It is better to collect data involving a multiple source, not depending in one source and one viewpoint. In determine the training and development of the MNC; questionnaire will also be use in this study to understand the background of the company. Since, the method is qualitative it would be proper to use the in-depth interview for understanding and studying the approach of training and development that the MNC have had to their Sales managers. The questions should be delivered in very well-organized and comprehensive way. For the questionnaire, the content will be provided in the form of open-ended questions in some cases for the interviewee to explain their thoughts through writing because there maybe some cases that the interviewee might not want to talk about.. 34.

(35) Also some questions with choices for the interviewee to choose, it will be more convenient for the researcher to study whether how and what their strategies is in giving the training and development. Therefore, this research will mainly focus in in-depth interview with managers from case company, some information from the questionnaire and from their practices from their company.. 35.

(36) Process of the Study In the process of the study, the researcher has collect and reviewed the related literature for understanding the background of the research, discover whether what should be the possible information that will fit and to make this research possible. Identifying the purpose and problems of the study, develop the interview instrument for the interview, the content will be arranged after each review, and the framework of the study. It takes time to build the framework of the study, but then it is the important part of the study, it is the best way for people to know your content. Last but not the least the final conclusion and suggestion. The process of the study will be figured below:. 36.

(37) Literature review. Research subject identifying. Purpose setting. Sample selection and developing interview guideline. Interview and data collection. Data analysis. Result and discussion. Conclusion and suggestion. Figure 3.2. Process of the study. 37.

(38) Subject of the Study With the topic and the main focus of this study, the purpose of this study is to explore the roles, skills and competencies of the sales managers at the same time to understand the approach of training and development of sales managers, to explore what are their development needs. The selection of samples will be the top Multinational Corporations through the help of the adviser and some connections. It should be with the criteria of: 1.. Sales managers or the position like handling the sales department head mainly in MNCs located in Taiwan, Taipei area.. 2.. They have in the field for a long period 5-10 years above and or they have any other credits than seniority.. 3.. Those have been part of the organization for long time and have devoted their time most of their life.. The interviewees of this research are being categorized as company A, B and C. Namely, interviewee “1a”,”1b”,”1c” according to the company code. Table 3.1. shows the brief profile of the interviewee and their position level for clear reference. The specific descriptions are Gender of male and Position (H, M, B): H=high-level manager, M=mid-level manager, B=basic-level manager. 38.

(39) Table 3.1. Detailed profile of interviewees Interviewee. Company. Gender (M/F). Position level (H, M, B). Position title. 1a. A. M. M. Manager. 1b. B. M. M. Manager. 1c. C. M. M. Manager. Note: Gender (M/F): M=male, F=female; Position (H, M, B): H=high-level manager, M=mid-level manager, B=basic-level manager. Instrumentation and Data Collection. The instrument use in this qualitative research is going to be a semi-structured interview, which was developed after the conducted the literature review and gain some knowledge for this study. For more information, the outline can be categorized into:. 1. The profile of the company 2. The training of the personnel or the Sales managers 3. The training is useful and fits them. 4. Development for Sales managers. 39.

(40) Table 3.2. The instrument and implement process Interview process. Interview instrument. Before the interview. After asking permission for interview permission, interview outline were send to the interviewee through e-mail for interviewee to understand the purpose and contents of the study, and for them to prepare whether there are parts that needs to changed or will keep confidential.. During the interview. As the researcher, in order not to misinterpret the meaning of the question, the purpose of the study was being highlight. For the interview will be smoothly process, the content were recorded by USB recorder and jotted down some keywords on paper when needed.. After the interview. The interview contents were being recorded and will be transform into manuscript for preservation. When the interview get confusing, there is follow ups of make up calls and or email for further clarifications.. Before the interview, the researcher will sent the interview outline to the interviewee a week before the appointment for them to have enough time to prepare. While during the actual interview, the researcher will spend sometime to study the purpose of the study for not to misinterpret and lost some important data needed for the study. The interview will be record by the USB recorder; the researcher will later transform those digital files into manuscript. Because the study is in semi-structured, it is advisable, if there are things that were confusing after interview, make-up calls or e-mails for further questions should be in process for clarification.. 40.

(41) Data Analysis. In the data analysis, the researcher will first collect the data from the interview. The interview questions are arranged from basic background to specific fields. As the samples confirmed and agree to have the interview, there is also a need for the researcher to find the information about the organization and at the same time know the interviewees background. The data used in this research, are the words that the interviewee or the respondents’ responses. First part of the interview includes: company background information, it contains year of establishment, services, number of employees, number of employees in different departments sorted by nationalities, global sites, organization chart and so on. Some can be found on the company websites. For the reliability and validity of the research, the questions for the interview will be first edited by the professor for not be bias during the interview. The researcher also prepared a pilot study for the interview questions to be reviewed by some samples and for the questions to be more accurate. For instance, the samples of the research should also need the help of the professors to recommend.. During interview, data is collected through recording and the manuscripts are made accordingly to continually the researcher generates codes according to the content and comments related to the subject matter. The first stage, coding is the process to allow the reduction of data. Coding is a process designed to uncover meaningful information of the observable fact. As a result, the manuscripts of interview are first coded within a week or two to avoid any conceptual inconsistency resulted from time lag.. 41.

(42) The coding samples are partly shows in Table 3.3 as an example by underlining important sentences. Table 3.3. Coding example of key statement and code Manuscript. Code. S: What training programs do you provide? Does the sales manager perform sales training for his/her staff. A1: The Company has training modules for Sales Manager and Sales Personnel S: Any other tips to increase and improve the knowledge of sales? A1: Experience. Reading. Listening. Observing. S: How does your company train sales? What kind of training do you offer? A1: They provide training seminars every now and then. Sales Management Seminar, Closing Technique Seminars, Self Empowerment Seminar. 42. Training Manager / Sales. Knowledge, tips. Training Samples of training.

(43) Reliability and Validity. This part will discuss about the reliability and validity. The control of reliability and validity is the very important, the quality and trustworthiness of the research, to ensure the value of this research. Reliability In qualitative research, it is a very important to ensure the quality and trustworthiness of the research, the control of reliability and validity. The researcher used the member checking or participant feedback and peer checking to ensure the validity of the research. Member checking involves seeking feedback from study participants about the data and study conclusion (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Member checking in this study would be the interviewee as the checker. While for the peer checking, the peer must have the solid understanding of the issues involves in this research. In this study, researcher would ask professors for the familiarity of the qualitative methods.. Validity The internal and external validity of this research is that in internal validity, it is related to the assurance that the relationship observed between the method and the outcome is a causal relationship. While for external validity, it is concerned with generalization of the result. Researcher used a multiple cases and tried to apply that information to give the precise result of the study. Several experts give ideas and additional thoughts to help this research to be possible. Experts give thoughts whether what are the questions that can be and to be asked and those can be deleted. The interview content was also being checked with them for them to add some important information to this study.. 43.

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(45) CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. This chapter includes two sections: the introduction profile of the case company, at the same time profile of the interviewee and the last but not the least discussion of data analysis. The introduction of the case companies was developed through the data retrieved from companies’ websites and some research findings. While for the discussion of data analysis was built on the research findings of interviews.. Introduction to the Company Profile and Interviewee Profile. Company A Company A is a foremost provider of joint-design, joint-development, manufacturing, assembly and after-sales services to global computer, communication and consumer-electronics (3C) leaders. It was founded and an anchored company during 1974 with US$7500. Their expertise for mechanical and electrical parts and last but not the least the uncommon concept to provide the lowest “total cost” solution to increase the affordability of electronics product for all mankind. They focus on fields of nanotechnology, heat transfer, wireless connectivity, material sciences, and green manufacturing process, Company A has over 15,000 patents granted worldwide by 2005 made it a recognized leader of innovation and technical know-how in ranking such as MIT’s patent scorecard.. Interviewee A D is the Sales Manager in Company A, he serves this company for more than 20 years of seniority. Before entering to this organization, he had been working in a small enterprise as Sales. From the past experiences of being independent in dealing and 45.

(46) negotiating businesses, furthermore starting with a title of project manager and had been promoted for three times, until today in Company A. He is the highest sales manager in Taiwan sales division. With his professionalism, he is now responsible for thousand millions of operations at the same time he hold lots of accounts including desktop, notebook, consumer, communication and mobile phone.. Company B Profile Company B was founded in 1918 and is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacturing of digital consumer products, including LCD TVs, network-connected devices and home appliances. They provides system integration services and has well engaged in the heavy industrial business such as wire and cable, and industrial products like optical fiber cables, gas insulated switchgears, motors, generators, and transformers.. They make use of the supply of key components such as flat-panel displays and digital tuners from its many subsidiaries located across the globe. In order for Company B to sustain strong, long-term growth, they focus particularly on the development of advanced technologies and global network of operations. With its overseas branches expanding into 12 countries, company c is in a solid position to deliver products more efficiently and render customer service more effectively.. Interviewee B B interviewee, he has a took up chemical engineering during his undergraduate degree, a graduate of Information Technology/Computer Science, and last but not the least the Ph.D. of Business Administration major in marketing. He worked as a professor in University of San Francisco.. During his period of studying masters, he was also a. business development consultant of a certain company. Went back here in Taiwan and. 46.

(47) been hired as a Sales Manager in a Display Business Unit in Company B. Serving this company for about a year and had helped this company to look and take good customer relationship for a long-term business buyer.. Company C Profile Company C was established in 1997, their primary business is the design and research and development of electric circuits, semiconductors, digital communications products, computer peripherals, and other related products. Company C specializes in high speed I/O technology, specifically USB 2.0 and PCI express chip technology development. They are one of Taiwan’s most outstanding companies.. Company C has excellent team R&D, and its various diverse products are all based on its core technology, including high-speed USB 2.0, PCI express, SATA transfer interface and flash memory interface, allowing for the shared use of R&D resources. IC developed and sold by Company C are key components of information product. They has accumulated many years of design experience, has the lead position in the market, and its products have received recognition by world-class companies. Most of Company C’s products enjoy shared sales channels with great product sales. They are also developing new products and at the same time expanding its overseas market and establishing comprehensive sales channels, achieving timely sales and technical support, and can simultaneously collect market information and respond quickly.. Interviewee C Mr. J. is the sales manager of company C, responsible for the OEM Sales Department in the main head office. He has a technical background and being sales for 10 years and above, in company C he offer 8 years of time. He had a great sales 47.

(48) experienced in his last job in a Japanese company and transfer to this company with a starting position of project manager which is the basic-level manager and went promoted for three times.. Recruiting New Sales Personnel in the Organization. In every organization, there is a need for recruiting new talented person to help the organization for receiving new ideas and at the same time to help to organization to earn more income. The source of recruit new sales, usually the agency type for recruitment includes: traditional agency (headhunters), outsourcing, designated school and placement office. Actually, from headhunters and outsourcing, agency can be the recruiter and they seek out candidates for the company. While from designated schools and placement office, organization or company seeking for candidate they can just find through their related schools for fitting their vacancy.. 1. Designated school and placement office Fresh graduates from universities tend to have chances to apply job from their school placement office, this process is for company to search and recruit easily when they used to coordinate with the university placement office. We used to recruit from some universities with courses that are related with our field. (Interviewee C).. 2. Headhunter and outsourcing Headhunter like 104 and 1111 in Taiwan is a good source for organizations to find talented person that would fit the vacancy of the company. Some big company may use outsourcing to fit their vacancy for meantime. Outsourcing occurs when an organization contracts with another company to perform work that it previously performed itself.. 48.

(49) Outsourcing is intended to reduce costs and promote efficiency. Costs can be reduced through outsourcing. 3. In-house recruitment Some used In-house recruitment to find the best person to fit in the vacancy. Human resource department will try to select inside the organization, hire personnel or managers who can handle targeted functions and populations. Like for example, you have good performances in certain task, but at this moment, no vacancy for you to placed (AQ501). Or maybe you may place and hired in other department (AQ501-2). In-house recruitment is also a way for us to recruit new sales, a lady from our reception have been hired in our sales department being the sales assistant (interviewee C).. 4. When is the need to recruit of new sales personnel The economy right now is improving; actually the sales vacancy is always needed. Sales personnel is needed everywhere, it is just that no person wants to challenge. The organization is that big. It’s just that there is no right person to fit in this vacancy, one of the interviewee said, Sales personnel in our company is always needed, it’s just that there is no right person to fit in this job. Some might think that too much challenge for them to face, and lots of pressure. But economy right now is improving, there is no right not to hire new sales to join the team, don’t worry it will improve then. (Interviewee C).. 5. Characteristics or concerns of a sales There are lots of characteristics of being sales are like characteristics of: (1) Thinking global, internationalization, (2) Sales style, (3) Ability to fit in, (4) Responsible, (5) Perseverance, (6) Determination, (7) Emotional Intelligence, (8) Double face, but most important characteristics of sales are Good communication skill, sensitivity/ alertness, good in observation, passion and how they present their company. For me, the educational background is not that important, there is this instinct of being sales personnel. Just one look, you can sense that this person will do the work well done. For instance, some of these characteristics are like the passion of doing his job, alertness and observation, the ability to fit in, and 49.

(50) his emotional intelligence. You can easily vision these characteristics that even cannot hide. (AQ301). 6. Method of being compensated For sales, there is the stable wage and also reward when they got certain amount of Quota in selling, there would be a commission of certain percentage as a reward for them. With their performances, they will also get bonuses annually and stocks with the performance evaluation. We used KPI to measure the sales performance annually, from last years’ sales forecast evaluation, we set the quota sales for this year, at the end of this year, you should achieve the quota or the other thing that we can refer to is the speed that you discover new market and buyer. (AQ601) With the performances, there is cash and there is also stocks share will be given. (AQ601-2). Different level has different pay. As for reward, we have sales performance evaluation every year, we will used the quota last year to use as the base and at the end of this year, if you achieve the quota or not. (CQ601). We used money to reward sales personnel for them to be motivated.. I believe that every organization have the same process of method, we used to evaluate sales annually with their performances. There is quota. (BQ601). As where, when, and what are the characteristics that the organization is looking for their needs of talented person was shown in Table 4.1.. 50.

(51) Table 4.1. Coding of where, when and what the concerns of sales Issue/Theme 1. Recruiting Compensation. Category. 2. Compensation. Concept. 1-1 Channel. 1-1-1 1-1-2 1-1-3 1-1-4 1-1-5. Designated school Placement Office Headhunter Outsourcing In-house Recruitment. 1-2 Frequency. 1-2-1 1-2-2 1-2-3. High season Low season When needed. 1-3 Positive Concerns. 1-3-1. Thinking Global, Internationalization Sales style Good communication Sensitivity/alertness Ability to fit in Responsible Perseverance Determination Observation Passion E.Q Experience Present the company Double Face. 1-4 Negative Concerns. Issue/Theme. Item. 1-3-2 1-3-3 1-3-4 1-3-5 1-3-6 1-3-7 1-3-8 1-3-9 1-3-10 1-3-11 1-3-12 1-3-13 1-4-1. Category 2-1 Type. Item 2-1-1 2-1-2. 51. Concept Stable wage Quota.

(52) The Main Roles and Competencies of the Sales Managers in MNCs. The sales managers’ roles are to lead the team and being the coordinator of higher management and lower management. They are the key person to give ideas and suggestions to the higher management. The skills and competency are the things that a sales manager should and need to have that would lead them to be successful in the future as shown (Table 4.2.). 1. Skills of a sales Based from different managers’ perception, most of them link to have same view point of sales should have the skills of being a critical thinker, they have the ability to make judgment – whether what are the things that will benefit the company and at the same time will not loose money. Self management and communication for them is also important, because communication leads to the success of the business, negotiation is the way to success. Like if you are in technology field, you need to have some technical background, you need to know the specification of the product. Actually, I think in every business, sales should need to know the product well. Then you know how to promote and push the product. (CQ301). Sales personnel should obey and respect their subordinates. Being sales, they usually have their own time, their time is very flexible. Because they regularly have to visit their buyers and or attend some related seminars for them to improve. But then, some might not used to do their task, maybe they used those times to watch movie and even an early dismiss from their work. Self management is very important, they can also report to their managers what they have had followed during the day. (AQ301-2). 2. Skills of a sales manager There is skills needed for sales, there will be skills for sales managers. For sales managers, they have to double the skills of sales. Listening skills, it is important to pay attention when people communicate facts, details, and ideas orally. It takes even more important for higher levels of management because most executives are totally dependent on others to bring them 52.

(53) information about situations, problems, and future directions. They need to lead the team at the same time will also have to coordinate with their upper level management, to make decision. Being as the manager, you should encourage your sales to face the challenge of the sales quota every now and then. Give them support when facing difficulties. In my position, if you were just give orders or just signing documents, then, everyone can sit in this position. Because the problem that comes to you is not the simple problem but it needs to decide for the company’s profit. (AQ201-1). Keep good relationship inside the company and outside the company. Think how to help the customer and at the same time you will win the rest of your next transaction in business. Successful manager or sales managers in the company, the first priority you have to looking for help this world. Help who, the first one is help your customer, and then your customer will help you in return. (BQ202-1). Table 4.2. Coding of sales and sales managers’ skills Issue/Theme 3.. Skills. Category. Item. Concept. 3-1 Sales. 3-1-1 3-1-2 3-1-3 3-1-4 3-1-5. Critical thinking Ability to make judgment Communication Innovation Technical background. 3-2 Sales Managers. 3-2-1 3-2-2 3-2-3. Market forecast Far-sighted Effective Interactive communication Decision Making Critical thinking Strategic thinking Analytical thinking High E.Q Innovation Management. 3-2-4 3-2-5 3-2-6 3-2-7 3-2-8 3-2-9 3-2-10. 53.

(54) The responsibility or roles of the manager is to lead the team and give training to his subordinates. The sales manager should also be the coordinator between the sales or the employee and the top management. Different managers have their own points but it also link them together. As sales managers, they have to be confident enough to solicit feedback from direct reports on how they feel things are working. Being a sales or sales manager, for me, it is just a temporary position or job. When I entered this organization, my mission and roles is to start from the beginning and to find new buyers that would have longer business relationship with our company. (BQ501). Being as the manager, you should encourage your sales to face the challenge of the sales quota every now and then. Give them support when facing difficulties. (AQ201-1). Table 4.3. Coding of sales and sales managers’ roles Issue/Theme 4. Roles. Category. Item. Concept. 4-1 Sales. 4-1-1 4-1-2 4-1-3. New product for market New market Self-management. 4-2 Sales Manager. 4-2-1 4-2-2 4-2-3 4-2-4 4-2-5 4-2-6. Coordinator Lead the team Give training Sharing experience Motivating Build long-term relationship with customer. 54.

(55) The Approach of Training and Development of the Sales Managers in MNCs. Sales and sales managers do have sales training, but it also depends on the organization itself. But mostly for new sales personnel, they tend to have the mentorship style of training. Mentoring is a low cost way of passing on valuable knowledge gained by an experienced mentor and to teach the culture of an organization to new employees. Usually, new sales personnel learn from their subordinate or colleagues, self-learning are also one way of training. They have their subordinates to coach and trained on-job. Mid-level managers are responsible for coaching their direct reports on motivating their employees. During my time, I was the one who is learning from the engineer. No body taught me on the process and the technical knowledge, even some professional terms, I just learn step by step by self leaning. Even your boss will not know how to teach you, because he is also busy. (CQ401) But then right now, we usually train new sales by means of asking them to have a product or company brief presentation. With the presentation they will gain knowledge on how to present the product in front of the buyer.. As sales, you should know the basic concept of sales and marketing. Paper work and everything, you need to know what are the things inside this document. As manager, in this middle position, I don’t think I have to know those things but the like the concept, because as managers, you only have to lead and solve those problems that need to be solve. (BQ401). Our company also used the mentorship as the medium of training, mostly the managers or the boss itself will try to push his sales to join in the project and visit the buyer together. Then will handover the responsibility to the new sales to continue to serve the buyer. Our company required sales to attend 114 education training courses, training courses contain lessons, like product management, culture, sales skills and others. (AQ401-4). 55.

(56) Table 4.4. Coding of sales and sales managers’ training Issue/Theme 5. Training. Category 5-1 Sales. 3-2 Sales Manager. Item. Concept. 5-1-1 5-1-2 5-1-3 5-1-4 5-1-5. Training courses Mentorship Coaching Self learning Presentation. 5-2-1 5-2-2 5-2-3 5-2-4. Inner training courses Outside training Attending seminars Sharing experiences. 56.