The Global Environment of Business
New Paradigms for International Management
- David W. Conklin - The Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, Canada
The following key issues are emphasized:
Industry Structure: Management must strategize to deal with the bargaining strength of customers, suppliers, and competitiors on a country by country basis. Low cost labour and outsourcing are changing the nature of the firm dramatically.
Macroeconomic Forces: Management must formulate country strategies in light of each country's income levels and growth rates, foreign exchange rates, inflation rates, interest rates, and unemployment rates.
Political Forces: Regulations, financial incentives, tax regimes, investment restrictions, and trade agreements differ widely from country to country.
Societal Forces: Ethics, labour, and environmental practices differ from country to country. In addition, specific consumer preferences and demographic trends must play a role in national strategies.
Technological Forces: Strategies must correspond to each country's technological infrastructure and the pace and direction of technological change.
A good introduction to the world of international business, with plenty of supporting information and case examples.
Text is well designed, but too sophisticated for the Asian students who are not native English speakers here in Taiwan. Especially liked the cultural ties to management and market decision making.
Hopefully future editions will be designed with the growing number of non native speakers in mind who can benefit from a special edition.
Provides additional viewpoints to flesh out particular topics.
The content was too narrowly focused for the course.