Chapter 1 Globalisation Summary
Chapter 1 Globalisation Summary
STUDY GUIDE
1 Fayol in the early 20th century professes
management to be a profession. A manager thus
according to Fayol is one who should plan, organise,
command, co-ordinate and control. This is the
normative approach to management.
Since then many writers have put forth on what a
manager does and not what a manager should do ( as
postulated by Fayol). Notably Mintzbergs ( 2009)
work on the role of a manager divides the work of a
manger into 10 roles under three categories:
Interpersonal, informational and decisional
roles. Mintzbergs work is more descriptive rather than
normative. Mintzberg summarises the work of a
manager as brevity, fragmentation and verbal
communication best characterises the work of a
manager
Enter
now the
global
context
Chapter
outline
Content
of this
chapter
Introducti
on
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1.3 Trend
towards
globalisati
on
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STUDY GUIDE
1 Globalisations has been hardly new. It has been in
existence since the time immemorial. Voyages of
discovers of the new world like Vasco Da Gama and
Christopher Columbus are a attestation to this.
However during the past 150 years there has been a
marked development in globalisation. Jones
( 2004 ) has identified two waves as shown in the
hereunder diagram.
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1960s
1980
2007
Today
3 - Types of companies
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1.4 The
globalis
ation
debates
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SUPPORTERS
Supporters of globalization
would claim otherwise. If the
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SUPPORTER
Critics would argue that
as the country
progresses the host
government is likely
to impose stricter
regulations on
pollutions and protect
the environment
the e.g. of China.
the government has
waken up to the fact that
their cities are polluted
and thus have then
measures to curb
pollution and protect
their workers from
unscrupulous and
exploitionist MNCs.
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SUPPORTER
Supporter would say that
this is not true as
policies are
introduced to promote
the collective interest
of member countries and
will aid their
development rather than
retard it.
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Wealth distribution.
Critics
Globalisation enrich the
pockets of countries
which have strong
global brands and that
the income equality
between the haves and
have nots will widen
usually to the detriment
of developing countries
who are usually devoid of
global brands
1.4.1
Does
Distanc
e Still
Matter?
Supporter
Supporter would say that
the inequality in
income is the creation
of domestic
governments who are
NOT able to curb
population growth,
corruption and poor
economic
management. For
example some
totalitarian governments
may pursue their own
self interest rather than
the interest of the
people. And also
economic growth in the
developing countries is
due to loan debt rather
than productivity growth.
These are not the faults
of globalization
Friedmans View
Friedman (2007) believes
globalization is
accelerating and is flattening
the world so
that every nation will eventually
be part of
the global marketplace and
production process. Dicken
(2007) calls this a hyper
globalist view.
Friedman has a technological
stance on globalization
believing that technology has a
significant part to play
flattening the world. The
dependence on the internet
and the WWW enables
distance to be reduced, call
centres to be created, coordination of outsourcing is
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markets
that the true amount of trade
and investment between
countries is influenced largely
by geographical and cultural
differences
countries 5,000 miles apart only
perform 20 percent of the trade
they would otherwise do if they
were 1,000 miles
apart, and furthermore
ten times more likely to take
place if a country was a
former colony of another
which,
Ghemawat argues
lowers the
cultural barriers to trade. These
figures taken together explain a
key
point in Ghemawats argument,
which is
that distance still matters
and companies must
explicitly and thoroughly
account for it when they make
decisions about global
expansion. Arguing against
Friedmans flattening argument,
Ghemawat elaborates that
global communications and
technologies have
been argued to be
shrinking the world,
running it into a small and
relatively homogenous
place. But when it comes to
business, thats not only an
incorrect assumption but
also a dangerous
The cultural difference
between countr
is still wide and complex, and
although outsourcing and
foreign direct investment have
recently grown between
nations, it is
evident, as we shall see in
13
chapter 3, that
cultural differences still prove
challenging. In support of
Ghemawats
statement, Dicken (2007)
argues that quantitative and
aggregative evidence
suggests that the world
economy was more open and
more integrated in the
half century prior to the First
World War,
than it is today.
also supports this empirical
based analysis stating that
cultural differences in
religious beliefs, language,
social norms, and
behaviours
have a huge impact in the
risk involved in trading and
the likelihood of succeeding
Therefore, according to these
theorists, globalization cannot
be characterized as
flattening the world. As
puts it:
there are undoubtedly
globalizing forces at work,
but we do not have a fully
globalized
explains that part of the
problem with defining
globalization is
that aggregative and
quantitative analysis though
valid, are not the only story we
should take on board when
thinking about the world
economy
today. The economy today he
goes on to suggest, constitutes
a deep and complex integration
that cannot be captured in the
statistics of trade and foreign
direct investment (FDI). Instead
globalization is:
a supercomplex series of
multicentric, multiscalar,
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multitemporal, multiform
and multicausal processes.
This explanation, in contrast to
Friedmans
technological progres
more dynamic and circulatory in
design. To summarize, it would
seem that
includes
fluctuating levels of trade
and FDI, economic growth of
emerging markets,
growing Transnational
Corporations (TNCs),
outsourcing and labour
force migration, as well as
technological innovations
that have facilitated
movements.
In his article
Matters, Ghemawat
complements this view by
suggesting that companies
often overestimate the ease
with which their
business can move abroad. The
cultural, administrative, and
geographical distance
between nations presents a
fundamental challenge to
firms facing the
globalization of the world
economy today.
uses the example of
Murdochs
Star Television
network, which assumed that
the Asian audiences would be
enthusiastic about
English language programmes
and films.
Furthermore, Murdochs
underestimating of the
administrative differences
between Asia and the USA led
him into political
calamity as he claimed live on
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television that
watch what one wanted
was a threat to Asian
totalitarian regimes
everywhere. This led to the
blocking of Star TV from
Chinese television, which is a
huge market for Murdoch.
Coca-Cola
also had problems in the
Peruvian market
when they attempted to replace
Inca Kola,
the national beverage, with
their own US branded Cola. The
Peruvian people held
mass demonstrations against
Coco-Cola
until their Inca Cola was
returned to the shelves. Being
sensitive to national
differences is not just a
consideration;
international business it
may well be an imperative
to survival
1.5 What
does
globalisati
on mean
for
companies
?
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SHORT Q & A
QUESTION 1: Describe the shifts in the world economy over the last
30 years. What are the implications of these shifts for international
businesses based in Britain, North America, and Hong Kong?
ANSWER 1: Globalization has led to an ever more integrated world
economy over the past 30 years. There has been a significant shift
away from the USA and Western European countries as being
dominators of world business. While the role of these countries is
still large, developing countries and Asian countries are becoming
increasingly active and aggressive in international trade and
investment. Significant implications for British firms involve their
need to look beyond Europe and America for investment and
opportunities. Consumer spending power is growing the most
quickly in developing countries.
British firms also face the
opportunity (and the threat) of attracting Asian firms interested in
Britain as a lauchpad for the European market. For North American
firms, the same holds true, although the importance of the
increasing prosperity in Latin America suggests a potentially huge
market in their backyard. Hong Kong, while losing its
independence, is perceived as the gateway to the immense
market of mainland China. While the free market freedoms Hong
Kong firms have enjoyed are now under question, the access to
China is improving along with the move towards a market economy
within China. International businesses based in all three locations
are facing new opportunities and threats.
QUESTION 2: "The study of international business is fine if you are
going to work in a large multinational enterprise, but it has no
relevance for individuals who are going to work in small firms."
Evaluate this statement.
ANSWER 2: Persons who believe in this view, and the firms that
they work for, may find that they do not achieve their full potential
(at best) and may ultimately fail because of their myopia. As
barriers to trade decrease and state of the art technological
developments take place throughout the world, new opportunities
and threats exist on a worldwide basis. The rise of the minimultinationals suggests there are global opportunities for even small
firms.
But staying attuned to international markets isn't only
important from the perspective of seeking profitable opportunities
for small firms; it can also be critical for long-term competitive
survival. Firms from other countries may be developing products
that, if sold internationally, may wipe out small domestic
competitors. Scanning international markets for the best suppliers
is also important for small firms, for if a domestic competitor is able
to tap into a superior supplier from a foreign country, it may be able
to seriously erode a small firm's competitive position before the
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QUESTION 5: How might the Internet and the associated World Wide
Web affect international business activity and the globalization of
the world economy?
ANSWER 5: The ability of firms and individuals to both market their
products or services, and find out about interesting new products or
services worldwide, is greatly enhanced by the World Wide Web.
Using this as an initial point of contact, we can imagine how this
could then initiate new flows of trade and investment. Consumers
can find new products of interest that are not available in local retail
outlets, and then simply order them over the internet. Firms will
find that they have an increasingly global customer base, and that
current distribution systems may be inadequate or inappropriate.
QUESTION 5: If current trends continue, China may emerge as the
worlds largest economy by 2050. Discuss the possible implications
for such a development for the world trading system, the world
monetary system, and the business strategy of todays European
and US-based global corporations.
ANSWER 5: The world trading system would clearly be affected by
such a development. Currently China enjoys a somewhat privileged
status within the World Trade Organization as a developing
country. Such a rise to eminence, however, would clearly force it to
become a full and equal member, with all the rights and
responsibilities. China would also be in a position to actively affect
the terms of trade between many countries. On the monetary front,
one would expect that China would have to have fully convertible
and trading currency, and it could become one of the benchmark
currencies of the world. From the perspective of Western global
firms, China would represent both a huge market, and potentially
the home base of some very capable competitors
Sample Questions
1
What is globalisation?
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3
How can an international business use globalisation trends to
its
advantage? What problems can globalisation trends create for
an
international business? Work with these arguments to
establish
competitive advantage internationally?
Example of Toyota
Advantages to a firm
Bigger market global market
outsourcing cut costs - China
Technology enables
( Friedman ) sharing of
knowledge / lower transportation
costs
Disadvantages
Formal and Informal rules
adjustments ( Distant still
matters Ghemewat )
Contagion effect financial
crisis interconnected global company affected by
uncertainty e.g. Tsunami in
Japan production held up for
months
the
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( 5 marks )
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