Chapter 1 – Globalization – International Business 7e

v  The world is moving away from self-contained national economies toward an interdependent, integrated global economic system

v  Globalization refers to the shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy

Globalization has two facets:

1) the globalization of markets

2) the globalization of production

v  The globalization of markets refers to the merging of historically distinct and separate national markets into one huge global marketplace

v  In many industries, it is no longer meaningful to talk about the “German market” or the “American market”

v  Instead, there is only the global market

[The globalization of markets refers to the merging of historically distinct and separate national markets into one huge global marketplace.

It is important to recognize that significant differences still exist among national markets, requiring companies to customize market strategies, product features, and operating practices to meet the conditions in particular markets.

The most global markets currently are not markets for consumer products—where national differences in tastes and preferences are still often important enough to act as a brake on globalization—but markets for industrial goods and materials that serve a universal need the world over.

These include the markets for commodities such as aluminum, oil, and wheat; the markets for industrial products such as microprocessors, DRAMs (computer memory chips), and commercial jet aircraft; the markets for computer software; and the markets for financial assets from U.S. Treasury bills to Eurobonds and futures on the Nikkei index or the Mexican peso.]

v  Falling trade barriers make it easier to sell internationally

v  The tastes and preferences of consumers are converging on some global norm

v  Firms help create the global market by offering the same basic products worldwide

[In many markets the emergence of a global marketplace has begun to occur.

There are three causes: falling barriers to cross-border trade have made it easier to sell internationally; tastes and preferences are converging on some global norm helping to create a global market; and firms are facilitating the trend by offering standardized products worldwide creating a global market.]

The shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy is referred to as

a) economic integration

b) economic interdependency

c) globalization

d) internationalization

[The correct answer is c.]

v  The globalization of production refers to the sourcing of goods and services from locations around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production like land, labor, and capital

v  Companies compete more effectively by lowering their overall cost structure or improving the quality or functionality of their product offering

[ The globalization of production refers to the sourcing of goods and services from locations around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production (such as labor, energy, land, and capital).

By doing this, companies hope to lower their overall cost structure and/or improve the quality or functionality of their product offering, thereby allowing them to compete more effectively.

Early outsourcing efforts were primarily confined to manufacturing enterprises, but today, more companies are taking advantage of modern communications technology, like the Internet, to outsource service activities to low-cost producers in other nations. 

The Country Focus: Outsourcing American Healthcare illustrates how the Internet has allowed hospitals to outsource some radiology work to India, where images from MRI scans and the like are read at night while U.S. physicians sleep, and are the results are ready for them in the morning. 

There are still substantial impediments to the globalization of production including formal and informal barriers to trade, barriers to foreign direct investment, transportation costs, issues associated with economic risk, and issues associated with political risk. ]

The merging of historically distinct and separate national markets into one huge global marketplace is known as

a) global market facilitation

b) cross-border trade

c) supranational market integration

d) the globalization of markets

[The correct answer is d.]

Firms that are involved in international business tend to be

a) large

b) small

c) medium-sized

d) large, small, and medium-sized

[ The correct answer is d. ]

Institutions are needed to:

v  help manage, regulate, and police the global marketplace

v  promote the establishment of multinational treaties to govern the global business system

Institutions created over the past half century include:

v  the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

v  the World Trade Organization (WTO)

v  the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

v  the World Bank

v  the United Nations (UN)

v  The World Trade Organization (like its predecessor GATT) is primarily responsible for policing the world trading system and making sure that nation-states adhere to the rules laid down in trade treaties signed by WTO members

v  In 2007, the 150 nations that accounted for 97% of world trade were WTO members

v  The WTO promotes lower barriers to trade and investment

v  The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were created in 1944

v  The IMF was established to maintain order in the international monetary system

v  The World Bank was established to promote economic development

The United Nations was established in 1945 to:

v  maintain international peace and security

v  develop friendly relations among nations

v  cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights

v  be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations

Which is not a factor of production?

a) trade

b) land

c) capital

d) energy

[The correct answer is a.]

Two macro factors underlie the trend toward greater globalization:

v  the decline in barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and capital that has occurred since the end of World War II

v  technological change

[The two macro factors underlie the trend towards greater globalization:

 First, the decline in the barriers to free flow of goods, services, and capital

Second,  technological change in communications, information processing, and transportation technologies.]

v  International trade occurs when a firm exports goods or services to consumers in another country

v  Foreign direct investment (FDI) occurs when a firm invests resources in business activities outside its home country

v  After World War II, advanced countries made a commitment to lower barriers to trade and investment

v  Since 1950, average tariffs have fallen significantly and are now at about 4%

v  Countries have also been opening markets to FDI

[ International tradeoccurs when a firm exports goods or services to consumers in another country. 

Foreign direct investment (FDI) occurs when a firm invests resources in business activities outside its home country.

After World War II, advanced industrial nations of the West committed themselves to removing barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and capital between nations. ]

The sourcing of good and services from around the world to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production is called

a) economies of scale

b) the globalization of production

c) global integration

d) global sourcing

[The correct answer is b. ]

Table 1.1: Average Tariff Rates on Manufactured Products as Percent of Value

Lower barriers to trade and investment mean:

v  that firms can view the world, rather than a single country, as their market

v  that firms can base production in the optimal location for that activity

Which organization is responsible for policing the world trading system?

a) the International Monetary Fund

b) the United Nations

c) the World Trade Organization

d) the World Bank

[The correct answer is c.]

v  Technological change has made the globalization of markets a reality

Important advances have occurred in:

v  microprocessors and telecommunications

v  the Internet and World Wide Web

v  transportation technology

 [The lowering of trade barriers made globalization of markets and production a theoretical possibility, technological change made it a tangible reality.

Microprocessors and Telecommunications: Major advances in communications and information processing have lowered the cost of global communication and therefore the cost of coordinating and controlling a global organization.

The Internet and the World Wide Web: Web-based transactions have grown from virtually zero in 1994 to nearly $7 trillion in 2004.  

Transportation Technology: the most important developments are probably development of commercial jet aircraft and super freighters and the introduction of containerization, which greatly simplifies trans-shipment from one mode of transport to another.

Improvements in transportation technology have enabled firms to better respond to international customer demands.

Managers today operate in an environment that offers more opportunities, but is also more complex and competitive than that of a generation ago. ]

Implications of technological change for the globalization of production include:

v  lower transportation costs that enable firms to disperse production to economical, geographically separate locations

v  lower information processing and communication costs that enable firms to create and manage globally dispersed production systems

Implications of technological change for the globalization of markets include:

v  low cost global communications networks help create electronic global marketplace

v  low-cost transportation help create global markets

v  global communication networks and global media are creating a worldwide culture, and a global market for consumer products

v  There has been a drastic change in the demographics of the world economy in the last 30 years

Four trends are important:

v  the Changing World Output and World Trade Picture

v  the Changing Foreign Direct Investment Picture

v  the Changing Nature of the Multinational Enterprise

v  the Changing World Order

v  In 1960, the United States accounted for over 40% of world economic activity

v  By 2006, the United States accounted for less than 20% of world economic activity

v  A similar trend occurred in other developed countries

v  The share of world output accounted for by developing nations is rising and is expected to account for more than 60% of world economic activity by 2020

[In the 1960s: the U.S. dominated the world economy and the world trade picture, U.S. multinationals dominated the international business scene, and about half the world– the centrally planned economies of the communist world– was off limits to Western international business.]

Table 1.2: The Changing Demographics of World GDP and Trade

 

[The Country Focus: India’s Software Sector feature explores the growth of India’ software sector over the last twenty-five years.  Four factors account for the growth of the sector.  First, the country has a large supply of engineers.  Second, labor costs in India are low.  Third,  since many Indians are fluent in English, coordination between Western firms and Indian firms is easier.  Fourth, because of time differences, Indians can work while Americans sleep. ]

v  In the 1960s, U.S. firms accounted for about two-thirds of worldwide FDI flows

v  Today, the United States accounts for less than one-fifth of worldwide FDI flows

v  Other developed countries have followed a similar pattern

v  In contrast, the share of FDI accounted for by developing countries has risen from less than 2% in 1980 to almost 12% in 2005

v  Developing countries, especially China, have also become popular destinations for FDI

[The share of world output generated by developing countries has been steadily increasing since the 1960s.

The stock (total cumulative value of foreign investments) generated by rich industrial countries has been on a steady decline.

There has been a sustained growth in cross-border flows of foreign direct investment.

The flow of foreign direct investment (amounts invested across national borders each year) has been directed at developing nations especially China. ]

Figure 1.2: Percentage Share of Total FDI Stock 1980-2005

 

[This slide offers a definition for globalization; it highlights that globalization affects two primary areas.]

Figure 1.3: FDI Inflows 1988-2006

 

[This slide offers a definition for globalization; it highlights that globalization affects two primary areas.]

What is the single most important innovation to the globalization of markets and production?

a) advances in transportation technology

b) the development of the microprocessor

c) advances in communication

d) the Internet

[The correct answer is b.]

v  A multinational enterprise (MNE) is any business that has productive activities in two or more countries

v  Since the 1960s, there has been a rise in non-U.S. multinationals, and a growth of mini-multinationals

[A multinational enterpriseis any business that has productive activities in two or more countries.

Expect the growth of new multinational enterprises (any business that has productive activities in two or more countries) from the world’s developing nations.

The number of mini-multinationals (small and medium-sized companies) is on the rise.]

v  Many former Communist nations in Europe and Asia are now committed to democratic politics and free market economies and so,  create new opportunities for international businesses

v  China and Latin America are also moving toward greater free market reforms

[The Management Focus: China’s Hisense – An Emerging Multinational examines how one Chinese company, Hisense, has emerged as one of China’s premier makers of televisions, air conditioners, refrigerators, personal computers, and telecommunications.  Hisense began as a state-owned company in 1969, but became a private corporation in 1994.  Today, the company has sales of $3.3 billion, and has sets its sights on becoming a global enterprise with a world class consumer brand.  Hisnese believes its core strength lies with its ability to rapidly innovate. 

Teaching Tip: To find out more about Hisense, visit the company’s web site at {http://www..hisense.com} ]

v  The world is moving toward a more global economic system, but globalization is not inevitable

v  Globalization also brings risks like the financial crisis that swept through South East Asia in the late 1990s

Which of the following trends is true?

a) the United States is accounting for a greater percentage of world trade than ever before

b) the United States is accounting for a greater percentage of foreign direct investment than ever before

c) the share of world trade accounted for by developing countries is rising

d) the share of foreign direct investment by developing countries is declining

[The correct answer is c.]

Is the shift toward a more integrated and interdependent global economy a good thing?

v  Supporters believe that increased trade and cross-border investment mean lower prices for goods and services, greater economic growth, higher consumer income, and more jobs

v  Critics worry that globalization will cause job losses, environmental degradation, and the cultural imperialism of global media and MNEs

v  More than 40,000 anti-globalization protesters took to the street at the WTO meeting in Seattle in 1999

v  Protesters now regularly show up at most major meetings of global institutions

[The Country Focus: Protesting Globalization in France  feature describes the anti-globalization protests going on in France.  The protests, led by activist Jose Bove, started when the U.S. retaliated against EU bans on beef imports by imposing a 100% tariff on some EU products.  Bove and his associates targeted McDonald’s, and also California winemaker Mondavi as symbols of their opposition to American investments.  Still, despite the protests, foreign investment in France is at record highs, and ironically, so are French investments abroad.]

v  Globalization critics argue that falling barriers to trade are destroying manufacturing jobs in advanced countries

v  Supporters of globalization contend that the benefits of this trend outweigh the costs—that countries will specialize in what they do most efficiently and trade for other goods—and all countries will benefit

v  Globalization critics argue that firms avoid costly efforts to adhere to labor and environmental regulations by moving production to countries where such regulations do not exist, or are not enforced

v  Globalization supporters claim that tougher environmental and labor standards are associated with economic progress, so as countries get richer from free trade, they get tougher environmental and labor regulations

v  Critics of globalization worry that today’s interdependent global economy is shifting economic power away from national governments toward supranational organizations like the WTO, the EU, and the UN

v  Supporters of globalization contend that the power of these organizations is limited to what nation-states agree to grant, and that the power of the organizations lies in their ability to get countries to agree to follow certain actions

v  Critics of globalization argue that the gap between rich nations and poor nations is getting wider

v  Supporters of globalization claim that the best way for the poor nations to improve their situation is to reduce barriers to trade and investment and implement economic policies based on free market economies, and to receive debt forgiveness for debts incurred under totalitarian regimes

Which of these is not a concern of anti-globalization protesters?

a) globalization raises consumer income

b) globalization contributes to environmental degradation

c) globalization is causing a loss of manufacturing jobs in developing countries

d) globalization implies a loss of national sovereignty

[The correct answer is a.]

v  An international business is any firm that engages in international trade or investment

Managing an international business differs from managing a domestic business because:

v  countries are different

v  the range of problems confronted in an international business is wider and the problems more complex than those in a domestic business

v  firms have to find ways to work within the limits imposed by government intervention in the international trade and investment system

v  international transactions involve converting money into different currencies