Frans Ryckebosch a Global Manager

In the case, Mr. Ryckebosch is seen as a key member of the copier manufacturer. While growing up, he learned multiple languages and went to the best schools. He did his graduate degree in the United States as his dad (an executive manager in charge of international business) suggested so he could travel and acclimate to the American culture. As he got his MS, he got a job with Xerox, which wasn’t international at the time but was growing exponentially. Several companies also approached him; his education and European background were very attractive for other companies trying to expand internationally. He chose Xerox because he wanted to “get his hands dirty. Then, he got married and established in Rochester. He traveled and moved to several place in his life for the good of the company. He has now been 28 years and Xerox is still expanding and looking to relocate his International managers. In the case, they bring us to several locations and make us understand what this man is about. Here, we are interested at what made Mr. Ryckebosch such an important piece of the management at Xerox.

Answer to the case question: Discuss the skills of Mr. Frans Ryckebosch as a global manager.

There are a lot of skills that are required for a global manager. It is even more complicated to be successful internationally because there is so much to acclimate to. Mr. Frans does it perfectly because he possesses several mandatory skills. Let’s establish what skills make him a key member of the company.

First, his personality is really intense. He is always looking to expand his knowledge and work hard. He never settles for less and can make important decisions really quick. He has great communication skills, as he is interested in others, he listen really well. He is capable of analyzing skills of others efficiently and giving proper feedback. When he sees something wrong, he tries to find way to make it better. He is always ready for challenges, constantly developing new sets of skills thought courses. His own personal leadership was the main point of his success. He was always searching proactively for what he could do more for the company while managing all the changes in his own life.

As an International manager, you are forced to travel and move a lot. He went from Europe to the States, Brazil, Mexico, China, etc. He had to build a strong cultural intelligence as well as how to cope with the negotiations between governments, organizations and employees. He always has the knowledge of the country he is into. He adapts and develops capabilities really quickly. He is good at dealing with export of products and realizing the cost impact of shipping, customs duties and taxes. Let’s not forget to mention that he really felt that learning the local language would enabled his success at navigating through and managing the international business environment. As he was moving up in the companies, new levels of skills have arisen from its new responsibilities. The people from different cultures, work style and language are what’s creating organization diversity de facto, Frans had to manage this diversity all the time.

Let’s not forget one of the most important skills: being a team player. Mr. Frans was dedicated to his crew. He always wanted to know his people very well, learn from them and respect them. He would always try to learn to fit in His global vision is always proactive. He always think about the group and about what be can do to maintain or improve a situation. He is the type of person how is interested in others and take from them. Not only he could have been only an engineer, he decided he wanted more; he wanted to understand them and make them work better together. He is constantly developing himself, his career and the company.

To conclude, let’s summarize the skills that make Frans a successful global manager:

* Cultural intelligence
* Communication skills
* Listening to others
* Negotiations (between organization, government, employer and employee)
* Global vision of the company
* Leadership

But his most important and dominant skills are:

* Work in groups (team player)
* Manage diversity well (organization diversity)
* Managing changes