Global business or, as some call it, globalisation, may not have as straight forward a ... lunch time he logs into a website designed by Chinese IT professionals and .... https://cstn.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/global_businessmanagement. pdf.
HORIZONS UNIVERSITY PARIS
DOCTORATE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (DBA)
Assignment submitted by:
TECHO VINCENT POWOH COURSE:
DBA658
ESSAY 1 FACILITATOR:
Dr. Cornett
April 5, 2016
Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Globalisation today and its impact ................................................................. 2 The future of globalisation .............................................................................. 5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 5 References ....................................................................................................... 7
Introduction Global business or, as some call it, globalisation, may not have as straight forward a definition as it may seem. When a company goes global, this implies that the company has to begin operations in international markets. Hence, some management professionals prefer the term “internationalization of business” as opposed to “globalisation of business”. As I am only a learner in this field, I do not have any special concerns of terminology. As a result, I will use the terms ‘internationalization of business’ and ‘globalisation of business’ interchangeably to mean business activities that are conducted in the international environment. Willcocks (2013) defines globalization as a “shift towards a more integrated and interdependent world economy”. It is a proven fact that global markets are now as connected as members of a nuclear family. In the absence of one member of a close family, there would be tremendous impact on the functioning of the other members. Similarly, with the degree of connectedness of the global marketplace, a malfunction in any national economy-be it developed, developing or underdeveloped- will also negatively affect the functioning of other national economies. It is arguably true that the global financial crisis of 2007-08 was a result of the crash of the stock market of the United States which sent its waves to other economies. And 1
extrapolating down to the root cause would show that this crisis was the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. A similar argument can be put forth for the great depression of 1929-1939. A plunge in oil prices in Nigeria is a concern for investors in the US (Stein, 2016). With all the facts in mind, the impact of globalization cannot be overlooked by future managers of companies-whether local or international. Globalisation today and its impact Consider a Cameroonian mathematics teacher in Shanghai(myself). He gets up in the morning, brushes his teeth with Canadian branded toothpaste (Crest) that was manufactured in the city of Dalian (China) by Chinese employees managed by a Canadian manager. He drives to work in a Toyota Camry (a Japanese branded vehicle that he imported from an assembly line in Germany whose parts were manufactured in Taiwan). On his way to work he refuels his car at Sinopec (a Chinese gas station) with petrol that was imported from Nigeria. At work there is an ASUS (Taiwanese) laptop on his desk manufactured in china and running on Windows (US) operating system, which he uses to complete a DBA assignment for a university in Paris. At lunch time he logs into a website designed by Chinese IT professionals and orders a pizza from a nearby Pizza Hut (an American chain restaurant serving 2
Italian dishes). Meanwhile, he notices some hitches on his laptop and dials customer service, a representative answers him from New Delhi giving him directions on where to find technical support in Shanghai. As we can see from this illustration, the teacher’s day is without doubt completely dependent on products and services offered all the world over–a splendid picture of the impact of globalisation on the daily activities of the modern man. In his international bestselling book–The world is flat: A brief history of the twentyFirst century, Friedman (2007) describes his personal experience on the effects of globalisation. The flattening of the world, thenceforth, has now become common jargon in international business literature with countless arguments in support of it. Friedman distinguishes three phases of globalisation, to wit; the globalisation of countries (1492-1800), the globalisation of companies (1800-2000), and the globalisation of individuals (2000-present) (Friedman, 2008). This thesis is supported by the aforementioned illustration. Despite the numerous arguments in support of a flat world, some still argue that the world is not as flat as we claim, or as it should be. For example, Ghemawat (2001) provides a comprehensive analysis of four distance factors that still hinder the ease of trade between countries, namely: administrative 3
distance, geographical distance, economic distance, and cultural distance. These distance factors definitely offer barriers to a totally flat world now and in the foreseeable future. It is to this effect that Adekola &Sergil (2007), Willcocks (2013), Wisma (n.d.), Saylor (n.d.), and Peng & Meyer (2011) all offer the same or similar advice on strategic business management in an international context. Is globalisation, in totality, of positive impact to the world? The answer to this question is not as intuitive as it may appear at first thought. Proponents of globalisation, such as Bhagwati (2004), focus on the benefits of globalisation. They argue that ‘globalisation means lower prices, more economic growth and more jobs. But critics worry that globalisation will cause job losses, damage the environment and create cultural imperialism’ ( Willcocks, 2013). Non academicians such as Kevin Rudd and Pascal Lamy agree that globalisation results in wealth distribution, poverty reduction and higher living standards (WEF, 2013) As an international teacher with long standing experience, I myself believe that the positive advantages of globalisation to individuals, companies, as well as countries, will eventually out way its negative impact. Come to think of it, being able to pursue a doctorate level education purely by online correspondence over a distance half-way across the globe would not be possible without a global playing field. 4
The future of globalisation With the current trend of globalisation, one would expect a future world with no boundaries. However, when precisely can this occur , is the million dollar question。 As described in the last section, globalisation is neither a new phenomenon. Neither is it going to be a passing fad. The key drivers of globalisation, as identified in Khan & Najam (2009) namely: information, communication and technology, markets, mobility, and policy Orientation– are unlikely to ever reach peak growth but will continue to undergo continues improvement to the end of time. We therefore expect no difference from globalisation as long as the distance factors described in Ghemawat (2001) above continue to exist. Conclusion In this short essay, my intension was to give a brief definition of what I understand by globalisation with the help of philosophical and pragmatic evidence from expert literature to support my views. A complete essay defining globalisation would take a library to contain the books written. It is with this understanding that I only hope to put forth the briefest account I could with the constraints available. If I have been able to prove to my reader that the concept of globalisation is a hot topic in the business world now and 5
in the foreseeable future, then I have accomplished my mission. Few business managers are likely to succeed without giving internationalization a thought. This explains why authors such as Peng & Meyer (2011), Adekola & SergiI (2007), and Willcocks (2013) take the pains in writing literature which could be helpful in guiding managers to manage with international mindsets.
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References Willcocks, L. P. (2013). Business and management in a global context. London, United Kingdom: University of London. Retrieved from http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/sites/default/files/programme_r esources/lse/lse_pdf/subject_guides/mn1178_ch1-3.pdf Adekola, A., & SergiI, B. S. (2007). Global Business Management-A Crosscultural Perspective. Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Retrieved from https://cstn.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/global_businessmanagement. pdf Bhagwati, J. N. (2004). In defense of globalization. New York: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://booksee.org/dl/695488/0de754 Friedman, T. L. (2007). TheWorld is Flat: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Friedman, T. L. (2008). MIT Milestone Celebration | Keynote Address. Retrieved March 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcE2ufqtzyk Ghemawat, P. (2001). Distance still matters; the hard reality of global expansion. Harvard business review. Retrieved from http://www.business.illinois.edu/aguilera/Teaching/Distance%20still %20matters%20HBR%202001%20Ghemawat.pdf 7
Khan, S., & Najam, A. (2009, November). The future of Globalisation and its Humanitarian Impact. Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. Retrieved from http://www.alnap.org/pool/files/the-future-of-globalisation-and-itshumanitarian-impacts.pdf Peng, M. W., & Meyer , K. E. (2011). International Business. Cengage Learning. Retrieved from http://www.klausmeyer.co.uk/publications/2011_peng_meyer_Interna tional_Business_preface.pdf Saylor.org. (n.d.). International business. Retrieved from http://120.52.72.29/www.saylor.org/c3pr90ntcsf0/site/textbooks/Inter national%20Business.pdf Stein, C. (2016). nigerias-challenges-rise-as-oil-prices-fall. Retrieved from usnews.com: http://www.usnews.com/news/bestcountries/articles/2016-02-17/nigerias-challenges-rise-as-oil-pricesfall WEF. (2013). Global Agenda Outlook 2013. Retrieved from World Economic Forum: http://reports.weforum.org/outlook-2013/thefuture-of-globalization/ Wisma , M. (n.d.). Global Business Management: Current Trends and Practices. Journal of Applied Business and Economics. Retrieved from http://www.na-businesspress.com/Wisma.pdf 8
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