This document is from a chapter in an economics textbook that discusses comparative environmental frameworks and the economic environments facing businesses internationally. The chapter objectives are to understand the importance of economic analysis, compare macroeconomic indicators and economic systems, and discuss drivers of economic transition. It covers topics such as gross national income, inflation, unemployment, poverty, productivity, and the balance of payments. It also contrasts market, command, and mixed economic systems and dimensions of economic freedom.
This document outlines key concepts from Chapter 3 of the textbook "International Business: Environments and Operations" including:
- The objectives of the chapter which are to discuss political and legal systems, trends, risks, and issues facing international businesses.
- Definitions of political systems, ideologies, the political spectrum, and types of governments like democracy and totalitarianism.
- Trends in political systems such as the third wave of democracy.
- Definitions of a legal system, the bases of rules, and types of legal systems.
- Operational and strategic concerns that international managers face regarding political and legal environments.
This document is from a chapter in an international business textbook. It discusses cultural environments and how they impact business operations. The chapter objectives are to understand cultural analysis methods, factors influencing cultural differences, and guidelines for operating internationally in light of cultural considerations. Key topics covered include defining culture, causes of cultural diversity and collisions in business, how cultures form and change, and how languages and religions shape cultures. Behavioral practices like social hierarchies, work motivation, communication styles, and risk tolerance are also examined.
This document discusses key economic indicators and concepts that are important for international business managers to consider when analyzing a country's economic environment. It covers different types of economic systems, measures of economic development and performance such as GNI per capita, as well as other important factors like inflation, unemployment, income distribution, poverty, and balance of payments. The overall goal is to communicate the importance of economic analysis and introduce students to the various indicators and concepts that are relevant for international business managers to understand countries' economic situations and environments.
This chapter discusses the political and legal environments facing international businesses. It begins by outlining the learning objectives which are to discuss the philosophy and practices of political environments, profile contemporary political and legal systems, explain political risk management, and identify key legal issues for international companies. The document then covers the definition of political systems and ideologies, the spectrum of political ideologies from democracy to totalitarianism, trends in political systems such as waves of democratization and challenges to democracy, and the concept of political risk for businesses. Finally, it defines legal systems and the trends occurring in legal frameworks globally as well as some of the operational and strategic legal concerns for international companies, including intellectual property.
04 The Economic Environments Facing BusinessBrent Weeks
To communicate the importance of economic analysis
To discuss the idea of economic freedom
To profile the characteristics of the types of economic systems
To introduce the notion of state capitalism
To profile indicators of economic development, performance, and potential
01 Globalization and International BusinessBrent Weeks
To define globalization and international business and show how they affect each other
To understand why companies engage in international business and why international business growth has accelerated
To discuss globalization’s future and the major criticisms of globalization
To become familiar with different ways in which a company can accomplish its global objectives
To apply social science disciplines to understanding the differences between international and domestic business
This document discusses the key issues in implementing business strategies. It explains that strategy implementation requires managing operational forces and focuses on efficiency, coordination among many people, and leadership skills. Some of the main issues covered are establishing objectives and policies, allocating resources, matching organizational structure to strategy, managing resistance to change, and developing human resources and production/operations processes that support the strategy. The overall purpose is to outline the operational and management considerations essential for successfully implementing business strategies.
This document outlines key concepts from Chapter 3 of the textbook "International Business: Environments and Operations" including:
- The objectives of the chapter which are to discuss political and legal systems, trends, risks, and issues facing international businesses.
- Definitions of political systems, ideologies, the political spectrum, and types of governments like democracy and totalitarianism.
- Trends in political systems such as the third wave of democracy.
- Definitions of a legal system, the bases of rules, and types of legal systems.
- Operational and strategic concerns that international managers face regarding political and legal environments.
This document is from a chapter in an international business textbook. It discusses cultural environments and how they impact business operations. The chapter objectives are to understand cultural analysis methods, factors influencing cultural differences, and guidelines for operating internationally in light of cultural considerations. Key topics covered include defining culture, causes of cultural diversity and collisions in business, how cultures form and change, and how languages and religions shape cultures. Behavioral practices like social hierarchies, work motivation, communication styles, and risk tolerance are also examined.
This document discusses key economic indicators and concepts that are important for international business managers to consider when analyzing a country's economic environment. It covers different types of economic systems, measures of economic development and performance such as GNI per capita, as well as other important factors like inflation, unemployment, income distribution, poverty, and balance of payments. The overall goal is to communicate the importance of economic analysis and introduce students to the various indicators and concepts that are relevant for international business managers to understand countries' economic situations and environments.
This chapter discusses the political and legal environments facing international businesses. It begins by outlining the learning objectives which are to discuss the philosophy and practices of political environments, profile contemporary political and legal systems, explain political risk management, and identify key legal issues for international companies. The document then covers the definition of political systems and ideologies, the spectrum of political ideologies from democracy to totalitarianism, trends in political systems such as waves of democratization and challenges to democracy, and the concept of political risk for businesses. Finally, it defines legal systems and the trends occurring in legal frameworks globally as well as some of the operational and strategic legal concerns for international companies, including intellectual property.
04 The Economic Environments Facing BusinessBrent Weeks
To communicate the importance of economic analysis
To discuss the idea of economic freedom
To profile the characteristics of the types of economic systems
To introduce the notion of state capitalism
To profile indicators of economic development, performance, and potential
01 Globalization and International BusinessBrent Weeks
To define globalization and international business and show how they affect each other
To understand why companies engage in international business and why international business growth has accelerated
To discuss globalization’s future and the major criticisms of globalization
To become familiar with different ways in which a company can accomplish its global objectives
To apply social science disciplines to understanding the differences between international and domestic business
This document discusses the key issues in implementing business strategies. It explains that strategy implementation requires managing operational forces and focuses on efficiency, coordination among many people, and leadership skills. Some of the main issues covered are establishing objectives and policies, allocating resources, matching organizational structure to strategy, managing resistance to change, and developing human resources and production/operations processes that support the strategy. The overall purpose is to outline the operational and management considerations essential for successfully implementing business strategies.
The document discusses building an e-commerce presence through websites, mobile sites, and apps. It provides guidance on imagining an e-commerce strategy, including vision, target audience, and budget. It also covers website development processes like systems analysis, design, testing, and maintenance. Options for building and hosting a site include outsourcing or doing it in-house. The document discusses hardware, software, and tools needed for e-commerce sites and mobile presences.
Learning Objectives
To review types of economic integration among countries
To examine the costs and benefits of integrative arrangements
To understand the structure of the European Union and its implications for firms within and outside Europe
To explore the emergence of other integration agreements, especially in the Americas and Asia
To suggest corporate response to advancing economic integration
This document provides an overview of key concepts from a chapter on managerial decision-making. It covers:
1) The eight-step process for rational decision-making including identifying the problem, criteria, alternatives, analysis, selection, implementation, and evaluation.
2) Factors that influence managerial decision-making such as bounded rationality, escalation of commitment, and intuition.
3) Types of decisions including programmed versus non-programmed and structured versus unstructured problems.
4) Decision-making conditions like certainty, risk, and uncertainty and approaches for uncertain situations.
5) Biases and styles that influence decision-making.
The document outlines concepts and models to help
This document is from a chapter on business ethics, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability. It discusses key topics related to ethics within organizations like developing codes of conduct and addressing unethical behavior. It also covers how companies can be socially responsible to various stakeholders and ensure environmental sustainability through practices like reducing waste and developing green technologies. The chapter notes how firms are increasingly expected to consider ethics, social impacts, and environmental protection in their strategies and operations.
The document outlines key concepts about managing organizations globally including different perspectives on culture, forms of international organizations, and challenges of global management. It discusses ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric attitudes and defines regional trade agreements like the EU, NAFTA, and ASEAN. The types of international organizations include multinational, multidomestic, global and transnational corporations. Hofstede's and GLOBE's frameworks are presented for assessing cultural differences impacting global management.
This document discusses different modes of operating internationally beyond exporting, including foreign direct investment and collaborative strategies. It defines foreign direct investment and explains why companies pursue it. It then outlines various types of collaborative arrangements companies use internationally such as licensing, franchising, management contracts, and joint ventures. For each, it describes how they work and what factors influence the choice of arrangement. The document also addresses challenges companies may face with collaborative arrangements and how to manage diverse collaborations effectively.
03 The Political and Legal Environments Facing BusinessBrent Weeks
To discuss the philosophy and practices of the political environment
To profile trends in contemporary political systems
To explain the idea of political risk and approaches to managing it
To discuss the philosophy and practices of the legal system
To describe trends in contemporary legal systems
To explain legal issues facing international companies
The document provides an overview of international business and globalization. It defines international business and globalization, discusses why companies engage in international business and factors that have accelerated its growth. It also outlines criticisms of globalization and different modes of conducting international business operations, including exports/imports and foreign direct investment. The document emphasizes that international business operations may require adjustments compared to domestic operations due to foreign conditions.
This document discusses theories of leadership from early trait and behavioral theories to contemporary views. It covers contingency theories like Fiedler's model and situational leadership theory. Contemporary views discussed include leader-member exchange theory, transformational-transactional leadership, and charismatic/visionary leadership. The document also examines issues like managing power, developing trust, empowering employees, and cross-cultural leadership.
Cross national cooperation and agreementsSachin Bohra
The document discusses various forms of cross-national cooperation and economic integration agreements. It describes the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its goals of facilitating open trade and adjudicating disputes between member nations. Regional economic integration aims to reduce or eliminate trade barriers between nations and can take the form of free trade areas, customs unions, common markets, or full economic unions with shared policies and currency. Examples discussed include the European Union, NAFTA, and various regional bodies in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere.
The document summarizes key concepts from Chapter 3 of the textbook Strategic Management: Concepts & Cases. It discusses performing an external assessment of the industry environment through an external audit. This involves analyzing factors such as economic, social, technological and competitive forces. Tools like the External Factor Evaluation Matrix and Competitive Profile Matrix are presented to help evaluate opportunities and threats in the external environment. The five forces model of competition is also introduced to analyze industry rivalry, potential new entrants, substitute products, supplier power and buyer power.
This document discusses cultural environments and their impact on international business operations. It covers several learning objectives:
1. Understanding methods for learning about cultural environments, including cultural literacy and ethnocentricity.
2. Analyzing the major causes of cultural difference and change, such as cultural diffusion and how cultures form or are imposed on others.
3. Discussing behavioral factors like social stratification systems, work motivation differences, and relationship preference variations between high/low power distance and individualist/collectivist cultures.
The document provides examples and definitions for many cultural concepts and frameworks for analyzing differences between nations and regions.
Chapter 04 Managing in a Global EnvironmentRayman Soe
Richard L. Daft addresses themes and issues directly relevant to both the everyday demands and significant challenges facing businesses today. Comprehensive coverage helps develop managers able to look beyond traditional techniques and ideas to tap into a full breadth of management skills. With the best in proven management and new competencies that harness creativity, D.A.F.T. is Management!
The document summarizes key aspects of conducting a needs assessment for training programs. It discusses using organization analysis, person analysis, and task analysis to determine training needs. Methods of needs assessment include interviews, surveys, focus groups, and reviewing performance data. The needs assessment process identifies performance gaps, who needs training, training objectives, and evaluation methods. It also addresses analyzing employee characteristics like skills, motivation, and job fit to ensure training readiness and success.
The document discusses global and international issues that companies may face when operating internationally. It covers topics such as cultural differences between regions, challenges of operating in foreign countries, and considerations for global strategy. It also provides examples of differences in business cultures across countries like Mexico, Japan, and others. The document is from a textbook on strategic management and international business.
This chapter discusses the ethical, social, and political issues raised by information systems. It addresses five moral dimensions: information rights and obligations, property rights and obligations, accountability and control, system quality, and quality of life. New information technologies can enable social change and new types of crimes. Key issues include privacy, intellectual property, computer crime, and the digital divide. Technical solutions and industry self-regulation aim to address privacy challenges like online tracking, but their effectiveness varies.
To examine the broad foundation of ethical behavior
To demonstrate the cultural and legal foundations of ethical behavior
To discuss the importance of social responsibility when operating internationally, especially in the areas of sustainability
To discuss some key issues in the social activities and consequences of globalized business
To examine corporate responses to globalization in the form of codes of conduct, among other things
This document summarizes key concepts about performance management and appraisal from Chapter 9. It discusses the differences between performance appraisal, which focuses on assessing and providing feedback to employees, and performance management, which takes a more integrated strategic approach. The chapter covers defining employee goals, potential problems with appraisal methods like the halo effect and bias, who should conduct appraisals, and how to conduct effective appraisal interviews that provide objective feedback to employees.
This document provides a summary of 3 key chapters from the 8th edition of the textbook "e-commerce, business. technology. society" by Kenneth C. Laudon and Carol Guercio Traver.
The first chapter discusses ethics, law, and e-commerce in virtual worlds like Second Life, including what constitutes mischief, banned behaviors, and debates around enforcing real-world laws. The second chapter covers understanding ethical issues in e-commerce related to privacy, intellectual property, governance, and public safety. The third chapter examines legal and technological approaches to protecting privacy, including the types of data collected online, profiling and behavioral targeting, and the FTC's evolving privacy framework.
SM CH 10 ETHICS/SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY/SUSTAINABILITYShadina Shah
This document discusses ethics, social responsibility, sustainability, and related strategic issues. It covers why ethics is important for business, issues like whistleblowing and bribery, the debate around social responsibility, environmental sustainability and reporting standards, and concerns regarding animal welfare. The key learning objectives are explaining why these non-financial factors are important considerations for strategic planning.
This document discusses global manufacturing and supply chain management. It covers key factors in global manufacturing strategies, including compatibility, configuration, coordination and control. It also discusses elements of global supply chain management, such as quality standards, supplier networks, inventory management and transportation. The overall goal is to describe how companies can effectively manage international operations through strategic global manufacturing and supply chain coordination.
Este documento presenta un plan de contenidos para redes sociales. Explica 10 pasos clave para crear un plan de contenidos exitoso, incluyendo definir objetivos, metas, audiencia, estrategias de contenido, canales de promoción, métricas y ejecución del plan. También incluye información general sobre redes sociales como Facebook, Twitter y LinkedIn.
The document discusses building an e-commerce presence through websites, mobile sites, and apps. It provides guidance on imagining an e-commerce strategy, including vision, target audience, and budget. It also covers website development processes like systems analysis, design, testing, and maintenance. Options for building and hosting a site include outsourcing or doing it in-house. The document discusses hardware, software, and tools needed for e-commerce sites and mobile presences.
Learning Objectives
To review types of economic integration among countries
To examine the costs and benefits of integrative arrangements
To understand the structure of the European Union and its implications for firms within and outside Europe
To explore the emergence of other integration agreements, especially in the Americas and Asia
To suggest corporate response to advancing economic integration
This document provides an overview of key concepts from a chapter on managerial decision-making. It covers:
1) The eight-step process for rational decision-making including identifying the problem, criteria, alternatives, analysis, selection, implementation, and evaluation.
2) Factors that influence managerial decision-making such as bounded rationality, escalation of commitment, and intuition.
3) Types of decisions including programmed versus non-programmed and structured versus unstructured problems.
4) Decision-making conditions like certainty, risk, and uncertainty and approaches for uncertain situations.
5) Biases and styles that influence decision-making.
The document outlines concepts and models to help
This document is from a chapter on business ethics, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability. It discusses key topics related to ethics within organizations like developing codes of conduct and addressing unethical behavior. It also covers how companies can be socially responsible to various stakeholders and ensure environmental sustainability through practices like reducing waste and developing green technologies. The chapter notes how firms are increasingly expected to consider ethics, social impacts, and environmental protection in their strategies and operations.
The document outlines key concepts about managing organizations globally including different perspectives on culture, forms of international organizations, and challenges of global management. It discusses ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric attitudes and defines regional trade agreements like the EU, NAFTA, and ASEAN. The types of international organizations include multinational, multidomestic, global and transnational corporations. Hofstede's and GLOBE's frameworks are presented for assessing cultural differences impacting global management.
This document discusses different modes of operating internationally beyond exporting, including foreign direct investment and collaborative strategies. It defines foreign direct investment and explains why companies pursue it. It then outlines various types of collaborative arrangements companies use internationally such as licensing, franchising, management contracts, and joint ventures. For each, it describes how they work and what factors influence the choice of arrangement. The document also addresses challenges companies may face with collaborative arrangements and how to manage diverse collaborations effectively.
03 The Political and Legal Environments Facing BusinessBrent Weeks
To discuss the philosophy and practices of the political environment
To profile trends in contemporary political systems
To explain the idea of political risk and approaches to managing it
To discuss the philosophy and practices of the legal system
To describe trends in contemporary legal systems
To explain legal issues facing international companies
The document provides an overview of international business and globalization. It defines international business and globalization, discusses why companies engage in international business and factors that have accelerated its growth. It also outlines criticisms of globalization and different modes of conducting international business operations, including exports/imports and foreign direct investment. The document emphasizes that international business operations may require adjustments compared to domestic operations due to foreign conditions.
This document discusses theories of leadership from early trait and behavioral theories to contemporary views. It covers contingency theories like Fiedler's model and situational leadership theory. Contemporary views discussed include leader-member exchange theory, transformational-transactional leadership, and charismatic/visionary leadership. The document also examines issues like managing power, developing trust, empowering employees, and cross-cultural leadership.
Cross national cooperation and agreementsSachin Bohra
The document discusses various forms of cross-national cooperation and economic integration agreements. It describes the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its goals of facilitating open trade and adjudicating disputes between member nations. Regional economic integration aims to reduce or eliminate trade barriers between nations and can take the form of free trade areas, customs unions, common markets, or full economic unions with shared policies and currency. Examples discussed include the European Union, NAFTA, and various regional bodies in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere.
The document summarizes key concepts from Chapter 3 of the textbook Strategic Management: Concepts & Cases. It discusses performing an external assessment of the industry environment through an external audit. This involves analyzing factors such as economic, social, technological and competitive forces. Tools like the External Factor Evaluation Matrix and Competitive Profile Matrix are presented to help evaluate opportunities and threats in the external environment. The five forces model of competition is also introduced to analyze industry rivalry, potential new entrants, substitute products, supplier power and buyer power.
This document discusses cultural environments and their impact on international business operations. It covers several learning objectives:
1. Understanding methods for learning about cultural environments, including cultural literacy and ethnocentricity.
2. Analyzing the major causes of cultural difference and change, such as cultural diffusion and how cultures form or are imposed on others.
3. Discussing behavioral factors like social stratification systems, work motivation differences, and relationship preference variations between high/low power distance and individualist/collectivist cultures.
The document provides examples and definitions for many cultural concepts and frameworks for analyzing differences between nations and regions.
Chapter 04 Managing in a Global EnvironmentRayman Soe
Richard L. Daft addresses themes and issues directly relevant to both the everyday demands and significant challenges facing businesses today. Comprehensive coverage helps develop managers able to look beyond traditional techniques and ideas to tap into a full breadth of management skills. With the best in proven management and new competencies that harness creativity, D.A.F.T. is Management!
The document summarizes key aspects of conducting a needs assessment for training programs. It discusses using organization analysis, person analysis, and task analysis to determine training needs. Methods of needs assessment include interviews, surveys, focus groups, and reviewing performance data. The needs assessment process identifies performance gaps, who needs training, training objectives, and evaluation methods. It also addresses analyzing employee characteristics like skills, motivation, and job fit to ensure training readiness and success.
The document discusses global and international issues that companies may face when operating internationally. It covers topics such as cultural differences between regions, challenges of operating in foreign countries, and considerations for global strategy. It also provides examples of differences in business cultures across countries like Mexico, Japan, and others. The document is from a textbook on strategic management and international business.
This chapter discusses the ethical, social, and political issues raised by information systems. It addresses five moral dimensions: information rights and obligations, property rights and obligations, accountability and control, system quality, and quality of life. New information technologies can enable social change and new types of crimes. Key issues include privacy, intellectual property, computer crime, and the digital divide. Technical solutions and industry self-regulation aim to address privacy challenges like online tracking, but their effectiveness varies.
To examine the broad foundation of ethical behavior
To demonstrate the cultural and legal foundations of ethical behavior
To discuss the importance of social responsibility when operating internationally, especially in the areas of sustainability
To discuss some key issues in the social activities and consequences of globalized business
To examine corporate responses to globalization in the form of codes of conduct, among other things
This document summarizes key concepts about performance management and appraisal from Chapter 9. It discusses the differences between performance appraisal, which focuses on assessing and providing feedback to employees, and performance management, which takes a more integrated strategic approach. The chapter covers defining employee goals, potential problems with appraisal methods like the halo effect and bias, who should conduct appraisals, and how to conduct effective appraisal interviews that provide objective feedback to employees.
This document provides a summary of 3 key chapters from the 8th edition of the textbook "e-commerce, business. technology. society" by Kenneth C. Laudon and Carol Guercio Traver.
The first chapter discusses ethics, law, and e-commerce in virtual worlds like Second Life, including what constitutes mischief, banned behaviors, and debates around enforcing real-world laws. The second chapter covers understanding ethical issues in e-commerce related to privacy, intellectual property, governance, and public safety. The third chapter examines legal and technological approaches to protecting privacy, including the types of data collected online, profiling and behavioral targeting, and the FTC's evolving privacy framework.
SM CH 10 ETHICS/SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY/SUSTAINABILITYShadina Shah
This document discusses ethics, social responsibility, sustainability, and related strategic issues. It covers why ethics is important for business, issues like whistleblowing and bribery, the debate around social responsibility, environmental sustainability and reporting standards, and concerns regarding animal welfare. The key learning objectives are explaining why these non-financial factors are important considerations for strategic planning.
This document discusses global manufacturing and supply chain management. It covers key factors in global manufacturing strategies, including compatibility, configuration, coordination and control. It also discusses elements of global supply chain management, such as quality standards, supplier networks, inventory management and transportation. The overall goal is to describe how companies can effectively manage international operations through strategic global manufacturing and supply chain coordination.
Este documento presenta un plan de contenidos para redes sociales. Explica 10 pasos clave para crear un plan de contenidos exitoso, incluyendo definir objetivos, metas, audiencia, estrategias de contenido, canales de promoción, métricas y ejecución del plan. También incluye información general sobre redes sociales como Facebook, Twitter y LinkedIn.
This document is from a 2011 Prentice Hall textbook about international business environments and operations. It discusses human resource management challenges for multinational enterprises operating internationally. The chapter objectives are to discuss the importance of HRM, profiling of staffing frameworks and expatriate competencies, and examining how MNEs select, prepare, compensate, and retain expatriates. It also profiles relations with organized labor.
This document discusses export and import strategies. It begins by defining exporting and importing and listing the chapter objectives. It then discusses factors to consider for an export strategy, characteristics of exporters, phases of export development, and pitfalls of exporting. The document also covers import strategy, advantages of importing, import brokers, customs agencies, and import documentation. It concludes by discussing the export process, sources of regulatory assistance, freight forwarders, and counter-trade.
This document discusses the multinational finance function of large companies operating globally. It covers topics such as how companies raise funds through debt and equity markets internationally, use offshore financial centers to manage cash flows, consider foreign factors for capital budgeting, and handle funds globally through internal loans and cash management systems. The document also addresses managing foreign exchange risk and dealing with international tax issues such as transfer pricing between foreign subsidiaries.
This document discusses organizing international business operations. It covers traditional and contemporary organization structures used by international companies, such as functional, divisional, matrix and network structures. The document also discusses coordination and control systems for international activities, including standardization, plans and mutual adjustment. Finally, it discusses the importance of organization culture and how corporate universities can help develop shared cultural values across international operations.
This document discusses marketing strategies and considerations for operating internationally. It covers determining appropriate marketing orientations and target markets based on company goals. When marketing products globally, companies must consider legal, cultural, economic and other factors that may require product alterations across countries. Pricing, promotion, branding and distribution all present unique challenges internationally and require strategies to address government intervention, market diversity and other issues. The marketing mix may also vary significantly between countries.
This document is from a chapter on international accounting issues. It discusses several key topics: factors that influence differences in accounting practices between countries, such as culture; the push for global convergence of accounting standards led by organizations like the International Accounting Standards Board; how companies account for foreign currency transactions and translate foreign currency financial statements; and challenges of evaluating performance of foreign operations due to issues like transfer pricing and foreign exchange rates. The overall goal is to examine major accounting issues that international businesses face.
This document discusses alternative operating modes for international business, including exporting, foreign direct investment, and collaborative arrangements. It defines collaborative arrangements as joint ventures, licensing, franchising, management contracts, and turnkey operations. The document also covers motives for collaboration, types of arrangements, factors for choosing arrangements, and managing international collaborations.
International business-student-value-editionThanh Thanh
This document provides summaries of multiple books on various topics such as international business, science fiction, adult education, architecture, cooking, history, travel guides, and more. It includes publication details like authors, publishers, dates, and page counts for each book. Links and download links are also provided for some of the books.
This document provides an overview of global manufacturing and supply chain management. It discusses key topics such as supply chain strategies, global sourcing, supplier networks, quality management, inventory management, and transportation networks. The learning objectives are to describe global manufacturing strategies, examine factors for successful supply chains, explain supplier networks and quality impacts, and discuss transportation networks. Effective supply chain management can reduce costs and increase revenues.
The document discusses exchange rates and is divided into chapters. Chapter 10 covers the determination of exchange rates. It describes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its role in establishing exchange rates. Countries can choose between hard peg, soft peg, or floating exchange rate arrangements. It also discusses how the European Monetary System established exchange rate stability in Europe and how the euro became the currency of the Eurozone. The major determinants of exchange rates are also identified, such as demand for a country's goods and currency. Managers use fundamental and technical analysis to forecast exchange rate movements. Exchange rate changes influence business decisions in areas like marketing, production, and finance.
El documento presenta información sobre la evolución del consumidor y los medios de comunicación a través de los años. Explica cómo los consumidores ahora tienen más fuentes de información y control sobre las marcas debido a Internet y las redes sociales. También describe el surgimiento de los "prosumidores" que producen y comparten contenido, y cómo esto ha cambiado la forma en que las marcas se comunican con los consumidores en la era digital.
To grasp company strategies for sequencing the penetration of countries
To see how scanning techniques can help managers both limit geographic alternatives and consider otherwise overlooked areas
To discern the major opportunity and risk variables a company should consider when deciding whether and where to expand abroad
To know the methods and problems of collecting and comparing international information
To understand some simplifying tools for helping decide where to operate
To consider how companies allocate emphasis among the countries where they operate
To comprehend why location decisions do not necessarily compare different countries’ possibilities
To learn the fundamentals of foreign exchange
To identify the major characteristics of the foreign-exchange market and how governments control the flow of currencies across national borders
To describe how the foreign-exchange market works
To examine the different institutions that deal in foreign exchange
To understand why companies deal in foreign exchange
08 Cross-National Cooperation and AgreementsBrent Weeks
To identify the major characteristics and challenges of the World Trade Organization
To discuss the pros and cons of global, bilateral, and regional integration
To describe the static and dynamic impact of trade agreements on trade and investment flows
To define different forms of regional economic integration
To compare and contrast different regional trading groups
To describe other forms of global cooperation such as the United Nations and OPEC
This document is a chapter from a textbook about governmental influence on trade. It discusses how governments intervene in trade to achieve economic and political goals, but must consider conflicting objectives and interest groups. It describes various rationales governments use to restrict or enhance trade, such as protecting domestic industries, managing unemployment, and furthering geopolitical influence. The chapter also outlines the major tools governments use to control trade, such as tariffs, quotas, subsidies, and standards. It notes both the uncertainties and opportunities these policies can create for businesses.
06 International Trade and Factor MobilityBrent Weeks
To understand theories of international trade
To explain how free trade improves global efficiency
To identify factors affecting national trade patterns
To explain why a country’s export capabilities are dynamic
To understand why production factors, especially labor and capital, move internationally
To explain the relationship between foreign trade and international factor mobility
11 The Strategy of International BusinessBrent Weeks
To evaluate industry structure, firm strategy, and value creation
To profile the features and functions of the value chain
To assess how managers configure and coordinate a value chain
To explain global integration and local responsiveness
To profile the types of strategies firms use in international business
daniels : chapter 12:International business managementMunmunRahaman2
This document discusses key economic factors for international business operations. It covers major dimensions of international economic analysis including gross national income, gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment, and other macroeconomic indicators. It also defines different economic systems such as market, command, and mixed economies. Economic freedom and transition to market economies are also addressed. Dimensions of the economic freedom index like business, trade, monetary freedoms are outlined.
This document provides an overview of key economic concepts and factors relevant to international business operations. It defines measures like gross national income, gross domestic product, inflation, unemployment, poverty, and productivity. It also profiles different types of economic systems, the dimensions of economic freedom, and means of economic transition.
This document is from a chapter about globalization and its impact on society. The chapter objectives are to evaluate the economic effects of multinational enterprises on home and host countries, discuss responsible corporate behavior, and examine issues around the social impacts of globalized business. It discusses topics like the impact of foreign direct investment, ethics and bribery, environmental sustainability, labor conditions, and developing corporate codes of ethics.
This document discusses how governments influence international trade through various policies and interventions. It explains the rationales governments cite for enhancing or restricting trade such as protecting domestic industries, employment, and national security. Various instruments are described that governments use to directly or indirectly control trade, such as tariffs, quotas, subsidies, and standards. Stakeholder groups also lobby governments to influence trade policies and businesses must navigate this complex regulatory environment of governmental trade policies.
This document provides an overview of international business and globalization. It defines international business and discusses why studying it is important. Globalization is defined as the ongoing process of deepening interdependence among countries. International business helps drive globalization through commercial transactions between countries. Factors that have contributed to the rapid growth of international business are also summarized.
2(b) The Economic Environments Facing Businesses.pptNormiza Hazemi
This document discusses key economic concepts and metrics for analyzing a country's economic environment. It covers different types of economic systems, measures of economic development like GNI and GDP, indicators of economic performance such as inflation, unemployment, and debt levels, and the importance of considering concepts like economic freedom, sustainability, and income inequality in assessments. International economic analysis requires understanding a country's unique circumstances as well as global interdependencies and changes over time.
The document provides an overview of the business environment in India. It discusses the key components of the business environment including the social, technological, economic, and political environments. It then describes the nature of India's mixed economic system, including the role of various sectors, policies, and institutions. The document also covers social responsibility of businesses in India, including both classical and contemporary views. Finally, it summarizes India's New Economic Policy introduced in 1991 that focused on liberalization, privatization, and globalization to address the country's economic crisis.
This document provides an overview of international business and globalization. It defines international business as commercial transactions between two or more countries. Globalization is described as the ongoing process that deepens interdependence among countries. The chapter objectives are to define these terms, explain why companies engage in international business and how modes of operating internationally differ from domestic operations. Factors that have contributed to the rapid growth of international business are also summarized.
The document discusses the economic environment and dimensions that influence business in Nepal. It outlines key components of Nepal's economic structure, including GDP, GDP per capita, economic policies, inflation rates, and levels of employment. It also examines Nepal's socioeconomic indicators such as population size, density, age distribution, labor force composition, and employment trends. The 14th economic development plan aims to transform agriculture and tourism and expand infrastructure to reach middle income status and a more prosperous, socially just nation.
This document provides an overview of globalization and international business. It defines globalization as the ongoing process of deepening interdependence among countries. International business is defined as commercial transactions between two or more countries and is a mechanism that drives globalization. The chapter objectives are to define these terms, explain why companies engage in international business and how it has accelerated, discuss criticisms of globalization, and apply social science concepts to understanding differences between domestic and international operations. Key factors driving growth in international business are identified as increases in technology, trade liberalization, supportive services, consumer pressures, and global competition.
This document provides an overview of globalization and international business. It defines globalization as the ongoing process of deepening interdependence between countries through integrated markets and production. International business consists of commercial transactions between countries. Factors like advancing technology and liberalized trade have accelerated globalization and the growth of international business. Companies engage in international business to expand sales, acquire resources, and diversify risks. They operate across borders through exports, imports, foreign investment and multinational enterprises. Managing international business requires understanding differences from domestic operations and how physical, social and competitive factors vary globally.
2. understanding the environments of business - itb - ayesha aman - EconomicsAmaan Hussain
This document provides an overview of the key environments that influence businesses:
1) The economic environment includes factors like economic growth, inflation, unemployment, and globalization that impact businesses.
2) The technological environment examines how new technologies create opportunities for businesses through product and process innovations.
3) Non-economic factors also shape businesses, such as the political-legal rules established by governments and sociocultural preferences of customers.
This document discusses international business environments and operations. It covers evaluating the impact of foreign direct investment, the economic effects of multinational enterprises on home and host countries, and key issues around the social activities and consequences of globalized business. Some of the topics covered include balancing payments effects, growth and employment impacts, ethics and bribery, labor conditions, and developing corporate codes of ethics. The overall objectives are to understand how to evaluate multinational enterprises and their effects as well as discuss responsible corporate behavior internationally.
Cluster basics: Competitiveness - Coming to Grips With a Difficult TermTCI Network
This document discusses competitiveness and clusters. It provides a framework for understanding competitiveness as the productivity of a location's labor force given the quality of the business environment. Productivity is influenced by microeconomic competitiveness fundamentals like clusters, as well as macroeconomic policies and social infrastructure. The framework is supported by empirical analysis showing these factors independently influence prosperity. Effective cluster-based policy focuses on building regional strengths, prioritizing competitiveness upgrades, and integrating cluster efforts into broader strategies.
The balance of payments (BOP) measures the economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world. It includes trade in goods and services, income flows, and financial capital movements. The BOP has current and financial accounts. The current account covers trade and income flows. The financial account covers capital transactions such as foreign direct investment. A BOP surplus or deficit impacts a country's exchange rate and macroeconomic variables like GDP, interest rates, and inflation. Government policies affect how a country manages its BOP.
The document discusses the balance of payments (BOP) of a country. It explains that the BOP measures all international economic transactions between residents of a country and foreign residents. It is comprised of the current account, capital/financial account, and official reserves account. The current account includes trade in goods/services and income/transfers. The capital/financial account includes transactions in financial assets like direct investment, portfolio investment, and other investment. A country's BOP interacts with macroeconomic variables like GDP, exchange rates, interest rates, and inflation. A BOP surplus or deficit provides information on the demand for a country's currency and impacts its monetary policy decisions.
This document discusses the balance of payments (BOP), which measures all international economic transactions between a country and foreign residents over a year. It summarizes key aspects of the BOP, including that it is a flow statement rather than a balance sheet and that it has four main accounts: the current account, capital/financial account, official reserves account, and net errors/omissions account. It also discusses how the BOP interacts with important macroeconomic variables like GDP and exchange rates.
Business Environment, Legal and Business Environment, JNTU Kakinada, Unit I, Introduction to Business Environment. Internal Environment, External Environment
This document introduces topics in money, banking, and financial markets. It discusses why these topics are studied, including that financial markets channel funds from savers to investors, and banks play a crucial role in money creation. It also outlines how the topics of bonds, stocks, foreign exchange, business cycles, inflation, and monetary/fiscal policy will be covered. The document concludes by explaining the basic analytic framework that will be used, including supply and demand analysis and case studies.
Money banking add financial markets is a foundation of financial system and b...MengsongNguon
This document introduces topics in money, banking, and financial markets. It discusses why these topics are studied, including that financial markets channel funds from savers to investors, and banks play a crucial role in money creation. It also outlines how the topics of bonds, stocks, foreign exchange, business cycles, inflation, and monetary/fiscal policy will be covered. The document concludes by explaining the basic analytic framework that will be used, including supply and demand analysis and case studies.
Este documento presenta una agenda para una sesión sobre introducción al e-commerce y comercio digital. La sesión cubrirá las diferencias entre e-commerce y comercio digital, modelos de negocio B2B y B2C, ejemplos exitosos y el tamaño de la oportunidad en México y Latinoamérica. El documento también incluye la biografía del presentador.
El documento habla sobre la experiencia del consumidor y la importancia de ofrecer experiencias memorables para los clientes. Menciona que la experiencia del consumidor depende de las interacciones que tiene con la marca a través de sus diferentes puntos de contacto y que estas experiencias moldean la percepción de la marca. También resalta la necesidad de que las marcas vayan más allá de las expectativas de los clientes para generar recomendaciones positivas.
taller de Contenidos Univ. Iberoamericana Sept 2021Moises Cielak
Este documento presenta la biografía y experiencia profesional de Moisés Nathán Cielak. Detalla su formación académica, que incluye doctorados, maestrías y licenciaturas en varias universidades. También describe su experiencia laboral como director de agencias de marketing digital, editor jefe, director de comunicaciones y director de marketing digital para la campaña presidencial de Barack Obama en 2008. Finalmente, indica que actualmente es consultor y coach profesional.
Este documento resume el quinto módulo de un diplomado sobre desarrollo de habilidades para gerentes y ejecutivos de ventas. El módulo se enfoca en analizar los conceptos de motivación, logro y auto desempeño, y cómo estos afectan los resultados en ventas. El módulo incluye temas como tipos de motivación, teorías de motivación, la ventana de Johari y cómo mejorar la comunicación en equipos.
Este documento contiene varios consejos sobre comunicación en tiempos de crisis. Enfatiza la importancia de ser consistente y perseverante, y que la actitud es más importante que la habilidad. También recomienda desarrollar una estrategia de respuesta que se mantenga a lo largo del tiempo, informe sin ocultar hechos y sea expresada con rapidez y sencillez.
Moisés Cielak tiene experiencia en marketing, relaciones públicas y comunicaciones. Ha trabajado para agencias como Ogilvy y dirigió la campaña de Obama en 2007. Actualmente es socio fundador de una agencia de marketing y relaciones públicas. Imparte clases sobre marketing, comunicación y relaciones públicas.
Este documento presenta información sobre estrategias de marketing en redes sociales. Incluye definiciones de términos clave como "social media" y "social media marketing". Explica el proceso de social media marketing, incluyendo objetivos, canales, implementación y análisis. También cubre temas como la planeación de contenido, consideraciones para diferentes plataformas como Facebook, y métricas para medir el éxito de las campañas.
Por qué usamos el Comercio Electrónico en MéxicoMoises Cielak
Este documento presenta los resultados de una encuesta a consumidores y empresas sobre sus experiencias con el servicio al cliente y la resolución de conflictos. Los principales hallazgos incluyen: 1) El 42% de los consumidores tuvieron un conflicto con una empresa confiable en el último año; 2) Aunque el 89% de las empresas dicen estar satisfechas con su capacidad para resolver conflictos, solo el 28% de los consumidores sintieron que su conflicto se resolvió muy efectivamente; 3) Los jóvenes, los hogares afluentes y los consumid
El documento ofrece pasos para escribir un texto de calidad, incluyendo elaborar un borrador, revisar el tipo de texto, sentido, vocabulario, ortografía, puntuación y sintaxis, y crear una versión final. Se recomienda revisar que el texto tenga la intención propuesta, el formato correcto y todas las partes de su estructura. Asimismo, se deben revisar el orden de la información, eliminar datos innecesarios y agregar conectores. Finalmente, se aconseja una lectura crítica ad
Redes sociales cem agosto 3 2019 studentMoises Cielak
El documento presenta información sobre estrategias de marketing en redes sociales. Explica el perfil profesional del community manager, incluyendo habilidades como buena ortografía, conocimiento de marketing y redes sociales. También describe las funciones de un community manager como crear contenido, publicar en redes sociales, escuchar comentarios y hacer crecer la comunidad. Finalmente, resalta que las redes sociales son una herramienta para promocionar productos y captar clientes.
El documento contiene información sobre cómo hacer buenas presentaciones. Proporciona consejos como mantener el texto en tamaños de fuente grandes y legibles desde una distancia de dos metros, mantener el diseño sencillo con una paleta de colores limitada, usar máximo 6 líneas y 7 palabras por línea, incluir gráficos y tablas simples en lugar de ilustraciones complejas, y evitar efectos de sonido y animaciones que distraigan la atención de la audiencia. El objetivo es entregar el mensaje de manera clara y efectiva
Este documento presenta una introducción a un taller sobre liderazgo digital. Se discutirán tres temas clave: habilidades, conjunto de herramientas y mentalidad. El taller enseñará habilidades para liderar proyectos grandes con eficiencia y madurez utilizando herramientas digitales. También cubrirá las actitudes necesarias para inspirar la creatividad y encontrar soluciones innovadoras.
Este documento presenta información sobre la planificación del marketing de medios sociales. Explica el ciclo de planificación, que incluye escuchar a la audiencia, establecer objetivos, desarrollar estrategias, implementar tácticas y medir resultados. También describe cómo definir un público objetivo utilizando "personas" y cómo vincular objetivos con acciones medidas para lograr resultados deseados como aumentar las ventas. El objetivo general es proporcionar una guía sobre cómo desarrollar un plan de marketing de medios sociales efectivo.
Hino 5 mucho mas que publicidad magia cielakMoises Cielak
El documento presenta una serie de diapositivas de una presentación sobre publicidad y promoción. La presentación cubre temas como la evolución de los medios y consumidores a través de los años, el papel creciente de los consumidores en la era digital, y diferentes estrategias y técnicas de publicidad como el uso de emociones, medios, y métricas. El objetivo parece ser analizar el rol de la publicidad en la comunicación con el mercado y discutir cómo las marcas pueden adaptarse a los cambios en el panorama mediático.
Este documento presenta una introducción a Google Analytics y cómo puede ayudar en el marketing digital. Explica conceptos básicos como páginas vistas, sesiones de usuario y tasa de rebote. Además, describe los diferentes informes que ofrece Google Analytics para entender el comportamiento de los usuarios, fuentes de tráfico, rendimiento de contenido y objetivos de conversión. Finalmente, cubre temas como atribución multi-canal y cómo integrar Google Analytics con Google AdWords.
The document discusses using conjoint analysis to determine customer preferences and willingness to pay for different product attributes. It provides an example of conducting a conjoint analysis for a new mango juice product. Respondents ranked their preferences for combinations of attributes like ingredient, brand and price. Their rankings were then used to calculate part-worth utilities that quantify the value customers place on each attribute level. These utilities can help set optimal prices by accounting for how customers perceive and trade off different product features.
The document discusses how companies can use price promotions effectively. It explains that price promotions segment customers by price sensitivity, increasing sales by attracting brand switchers and growing the market. Well-designed promotions are targeted, temporary, and special to minimize drawbacks like reducing customers' willingness to pay full price. Common examples include coupons, rebates, and sales. Companies should evaluate promotions based on costs, redemption rates, and whether sales increases exceed costs.
Price segmentation involves charging different prices to different customer groups. It allows firms to improve profitability by setting higher prices for customers with a higher willingness to pay, while also capturing larger volumes from customers willing to pay less. For price segmentation to be effective, products must have limited transferability between segments. Segmentation hedges are also used to separate customer groups and prevent those willing to pay more from purchasing at lower prices.
Chpt 05 psychological influences on price sensitivityMoises Cielak
The document discusses various psychological factors that influence customers' perceptions of price sensitivity. It explains that purely quantitative pricing methods are insufficient as value is subjective. It explores how the human brain acts as a predictive machine and relies on heuristics. Several behavioral effects that can decrease price sensitivity are described, including the shared cost effect, switching costs, expenditure effect, and difficult comparison effect. Specific influences like prices ending in 9 and fairness perceptions are also covered. The document advocates understanding customer decision biases rather than attempting to correct behavior.
This document discusses pricing strategies and positioning products on a price-value map. It begins by outlining an agenda covering key concepts like value-advantaged vs. value-disadvantaged positioning and responses from competitors to new product launches. Examples are given of using various techniques like exchange value modeling and conjoint analysis to map how customers perceive the price and benefits of different offerings. Factors that can influence perceptions of price and value like product attributes, elasticity, and market segmentation are also examined. The document aims to provide a strategic framework for relating price to customer value.
Automotive Engine Valve Manufacturing Plant Project Report.pptxSmith Anderson
The report provides a complete roadmap for setting up an Automotive Engine Valve. It covers a comprehensive market overview to micro-level information such as unit operations involved, raw material requirements, utility requirements, infrastructure requirements, machinery and technology requirements, manpower requirements, packaging requirements, transportation requirements, etc.
When a company wants to do business in another country, it studies conventional wealth, income, employment, and policy standards. The dynamic nature of political and economic events requires that it also anticipate new situations. Besides assessing the foreign markets in which they operate, managers also need to monitor those in which they do not. Globalization connects countries in many ways; hence, economic change in one country likely has consequences in other countries. Companies also watch economic changes in those countries where they may not operate but where competitors do. Improving economic performance or revised economic policies in a particular country may strengthen their rivals.
Since the 1980s, managers enjoyed economic opportunities as countries adopted the principles of capitalism and the practices of free markets. We have recently seen the credit crisis reset expectations. Now, in the aftermath of the global meltdown, there is growing government involvement in economic affairs. Changing economic policies reveal the ambitions of the government and the likely implications to economic freedoms.
A principle of globalization is the broadening network of relationships among people, companies, countries and institutions throughout the world. Philosophically, the same principle holds for our ideas about how economies emerge and evolve. Linkages and connections among economic ideas speak to questions about markets and performance.
Research pinpoints key elements of an economic environment. These include, among many others, income, purchasing power, market size, market type, and economic freedom. Reducing the oft-overwhelming idea of an economic environment to its more easily understood elements, as this chapter shows, provides useful building blocks. Then, with that understanding in mind, we can analyze how they interact in building the economic environment.
Figure 4.3 also highlights the importance of applying a systems perspective—namely, that linkages among elements mean that change in one element in the economy affects other parts.
Key economic forces include:
• Price stability
• Capital markets
• Factor endowments
• Market size
• Public policy
GNI can mislead managers when they compare countries. For example, economic powers like the United States, Japan, and Germany consistently claim the top rankings of countries when sorted by GNI. Therefore, the data might give the misleading impression that these top-ranked countries are far wealthier, more productive, and faster growing than lower-ranked countries. Managers improve the usefulness of GNI, GNP, and GDP by adjusting them for the number of people, grow rate of the economy, and the relative cost of living in a country.
Per Capita Conversion: Managers transform GNI, as well as many other economic indicators, by the number of people who live in a country. This conversion is common sense given how unevenly the world’s population of 6.78 billion, as of October 2009, is distributed across countries. Therefore, adjusting GNI by population leads to a per capita estimator that measures a country’s relative performance.
Rate of Change: Interpreting present and predicting future economic performance requires pinpointing the rate of change. Looking at
countries in terms of their growth rate for GNI per capita shows a wide range. For example, between 1998 and 2002, Ireland was the fastest growing economy in the world, expanding more than 8 percent per annum. Japan, in contrast, grew by only 0.2 percent over that period.
Generally, the GNI growth rate also indicates its economic potential—if GNI grows at a higher (or lower) rate than the population, standards of living are said to be rising (or falling).
The GNI growth rate highlights likely business opportunities. For example, China has been one of the fastest-growing economies over the past 30 years, averaging high single-digit growth for the past several years. This growth, in turn, has resulted in the swiftest, most extensive rise out of poverty any nation has ever seen. Naturally, this rise has attracted immense amounts of foreign investment in anticipation of growing market opportunity powered by rising consumer demand.
PPP: provides a method of measuring the relative purchasing power of different countries’ currencies for the same basket of goods and services.
Human Development: GNI, including its expression in terms of per capita, growth rate, and PPP, profiles growth and development in an economy. Some argue that these indicators, by measuring growth with purely monetary indicators, misrepresent the scale and scope of a country’s level of development. Managers deal with these concerns by evaluating a country’s degree of human development to estimate its current and future economic activity. Jointly considering the degree to which economic and social indicators support human development enables managers to measure market potential in terms of the capabilities and opportunities people enjoy.
The Human Development Index combines indicators of real purchasing power, education, and health to give a more comprehensive measure of economic development.
The U.N. Human Development Index: The HDI measures a country’s achievements on three dimensions:
• Longevity, as measured by life expectancy at birth
• Knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrollment ratio
• Standard of living, as measured by GNI per capita expressed in PPP for U.S. dollars
Green Measures: Concern for the ecological welfare of the world spurs calls for green measures of growth. Green economics hold that a country’s economy is a component of, and dependent on, the natural world within which it resides. Consequently, GNI, GNP, and GDP measures of narrowly defined economic performance make them misleading indicators of a country’s long-term economic health and performance.
Specifically, measuring the quantity of market activity without accounting for the associated social and ecological costs mismeasures performance. Presently, there is no consensus on how to adjust GNI, GNP, or GDP for green concerns.
Current candidates include the following:
Green Net National Product
Genuine Progress Indicator
Gross National Happiness
Happy Planet Index
Inflation: a measure of the increase in the cost of living
Cost of Living: Hyperinflation is a rapidly accelerating rate of inflation that, if unchecked, leads to money losing value and markets moving to barter transactions.
Chronic Inflation: Chronic inflation occurs when a country experiences high inflation for a prolonged period of time.
Price Indexes & Measurement Problems: price indexes are sensitive to decisions about their scope, the formulas by which they are calculated, and other factors decided by the agencies that disseminate them.
Deflation: a decrease in the general price level of goods and services, is often caused by a reduction in the supply of money or credit.
Unemployment is a measure of the number of workers who want to work but do not have jobs. Underemployed occurs when individuals work fewer hours a day than they would prefer or when individuals work below the level for which they have been trained.
Problems in Measuring: As with inflation, measuring the number of unemployed workers actually seeking work in various countries is difficult, given various assumptions and exclusions.
Variation in Public Support: The unemployment rate means different things in different countries due to different social policies. Some countries, such as France and Germany, provide generous unemployment protection, whereas other countries, like China, Kenya, or Jordan, offer little to no support.
The Pension Problem: Growing unemployment is causing strains on public and private pensions systems, threatening to turn the financial crisis into a perilous social crisis. Technically, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment; effectively, a pension is an investment fund built up during working life and then used to provide continuing income upon retirement. Demographics indicate that the world’s 65-and-older population will triple by midcentury to one in six people, leaving many countries, especially wealthier ones like the United States, Japan, and Germany, struggling to support the out-of-work in addition to the elderly.
Poverty is the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions.
The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1.25 per day (PPP) and moderate poverty as less than $2 per day (PPP). This standard shows that, in 2008, 1.4 billion lived on less than $1.25 a day. Poverty of this scale and scope impacts economic environments. Throughout the world, people struggle for food, shelter, clothing, clean water, and health services, to say nothing of safety, security, and education. Failure to obtain such results in suffering, malnutrition, mental illness, death, epidemics, famine, and war. For example, 100 percent of Canadians have access to clean water, whereas only 13 percent of the people in Afghanistan do .International companies facing such situations assess implications that impact virtually every feature of the economy.
The Potential of the Poor Despite the daunting gap between the rich and poor, managers monitor the potential of today’s poor consumers.
The Bottom of the Pyramid is the largest, but poorest socioeconomic group in the world; some see these 4 billion plus people, as the next market frontier.
Companies refine their interpretation of economic performance and potential costs by considering productivity—specifically, the amount of output created per unit input used.
In terms of labor, productivity is the quantity produced per person per labor hour.
Productivity growth allows an economy to grow at high rates without causing wage or price inflation.
BOP is a system of recording all of a country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world over a period of one year.
Companies monitor the balance of payments to watch for factors that could lead to currency instability or significant change in government policy.
A market economy is a system in which individuals, rather than government, make the majority of economic decisions. A market economy gives individuals the freedom to decide where to work, what to do and for how long, how to spend or save money, and whether to consume now or later. This view is anchored in the principle of laissez-faire and its notion that a market is best left to its own internal dynamics. Unfettered by government regulation, a free market efficiently determines the relationships among price, quantity, supply, and demand. Because individuals make economic decisions, a market economy depends on individuals and companies, rather than the government, owning and controlling resources. Private ownership means that a market economy allocates factors of production. A market economy calls for as few government restrictions as possible—the more visible the “hand” becomes due to government intervention, the less efficiently the market works. Nonetheless, the invisible hand is not infallible, given the need for some public goods (like traffic lights or national defense) and precautions (such as environmental regulations) that preempt those inclined to maximize personal gain at the expense of society’s welfare. Therefore, a free market relies on government action to enforce contracts, protect property rights, ensure fair and free competition, regulate certain sorts of economic activities, and provide general safety and security.
A command economy, also known as a centrally planned economy, is a system whereby the government owns and controls all resources. Hence, the government commands the authority to decide what goods and services a country will produce, the quantity in which they are produced, and the price at which they are sold. Centrally planned economies have telltale principles. The collectivist philosophy anchors the practice of public investment, public wealth, and public enterprise. In addition, governments manipulate market outcomes for political purposes. This predisposition sacrifices the efficiency of economics for the effectiveness of state control of the flow of ideas, information, capital, and products within the domestic market and across international borders.
Command economies can appear to perform well for short periods. By controlling everything and everybody, the state can mobilize idle resources to generate bursts of growth. Performance can be impressive as long as the main source of growth is putting unemployed resources (principally labor) to work. Similarly, command economies typically develop large-scale, capital-intensive production systems that rarely achieve marginal rates of efficiency in making products.
A mixed economic system combines elements of the market and command economic systems; both government and private enterprise influence production, consumption, investment, and savings.
Proponents of the mixed economy concede that an economic system must aspire to achieve the efficiencies, productivity, and innovativeness found in free markets. An economic system, they reason, must also prevent individualism from harming the welfare of society (e.g., the opportunism of leading culprits of the global credit crisis). Furthermore, a fair and just economy defends the weak by supporting low unemployment, helps the impoverished by promoting the equal distribution of wealth, stabilizes the system by responding to market failures, and protects society by limiting abuses of market power.
The scale, scope, and swiftness of the global economic crisis, in contesting the usefulness of market fundamentalism, have revitalized the reexamination of the role of government in the economic system. Sorting through the fallout of the global credit crisis, societies debate the degree to which the state should regulate the market, stabilize panics, safeguard citizens, redistribute wealth, and sustain flagging demand.
The Allure of Market Economies: The past few decades showed that market economies outperformed their mixed and command counterparts in terms of productivity,
income, and wealth. Market economies had higher rates of long-term economic growth and enjoyed more prosperity than mixed or command economies. Case after case indicated that liberating the factors of production from government control spurred innovation and entrepreneurship. The resulting efficiencies improved resource usage, and the greater effectiveness of individual decision making had far-reaching benefits.
A free market is a theoretical term that describes a market that is free from government intervention.
Large and growing majorities believe that people’s lives are better off under capitalism than state control. Even after acknowledging that capitalism means some people will be rich and others poor or that there will be severe ups and downs from time to time, people still strongly support free markets. Surveys show that
majorities in 39 of 47 prominent economies (such as the United States, Germany, China, and India) believe that a free-market economy supports higher quality of life for most people. Correspondingly, 17 of 35 countries showed rising support for free markets since 2002; 5 countries showed declining support.
In the formerly communist nations of Eastern Europe, capitalism receives mixed reviews but overall support. In Latin America, views are also somewhat mixed, but the trend is in favor of free markets in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Chile.
Economic freedom is the individual liberty to produce, trade, and consume any goods and services acquired without the use of force, fraud or theft.
Transition to a market economy involves liberalizing economic activity, reforming business activity, and establishing legal and institutional frameworks that
increase economic freedom.
Economic freedom is the individual liberty to produce, trade, and consume any goods and services acquired without the use of force, fraud or theft.
Operationally, the Economic Freedom Index estimates the extent to which the government of a country constrains free choice and free enterprise for reasons that go beyond the need to protect property, liberty, citizen safety, and market efficiency. Practically, this index grades a country on 50 indicators that are organized into 10 dimensions (see Table 4.5). Operationally, the higher the score on a factor, within the range of 0 to 100 percent, the lower the level of government interference in the economy and the higher the degree of economic freedom.
The standard of living is a general measure of economic welfare, usually measured by per capita income, to reflect the availability of goods and services to satisfy wants rather than needs. In this profile, we see that increases in economic freedom and the standard of living have a strong, direct relationship.
Now, buffeted by the crisis, we see countries facing hardships that push them to ratchet down economic forecasts as well as deal with growing political and social unrest. Critics of freer markets maintain that a free market cannot protect social values and skews income distribution. Furthermore, a free market encourages the accumulation of vast wealth and powerful self-interests that threaten social liberties and political rights. Hence, they argue, the benefits of a market economy, when fully measured, fall short of the benefits provided by a strong government regulating a mixed economy.
Free market advocates are quick to point out that government-provided stability is not free. Relying on big brother to safeguard standards of living comes with a heavy price—namely, a sacrifice of freedom, a slowness to innovate, and the peril of slow growth.
Certainly, history shows that government-directed economies can often perform well. Over time, however, the power of their typical advantages—cheap labor,
large-scale production facilities, artificially cheap capital, low R&D investment—fade in the face of improving management systems and production processes in free markets.
More fundamentally, history also shows that government control decreases the risk-affinitive behavior of entrepreneurs and companies.
For decades, capitalist critiques had rung true. The reliance in mixed and command economies on expanding regulations had created sclerotic economies badly in need of free-market reforms. However, the global economic crisis and its threat to systemic stability—precisely because of too little regulation, too little social concern, and too little government—have put free-market advocates on the defensive.
Dealing with the fallout of the economic meltdown and installing safeguards that prevent its recurrence, goes the reasoning, demands more government involvement in the economic affairs of the state, not less.
Changing marketplace conditions and unfolding political trends signal uncertainty about the types of economic environments facing managers. No longer can managers safely presume, as they have for the past few decades, that markets will adopt reforms that increase economic freedom.
Profiles of the market, mixed, and command types of economic environments give managers a framework to interpret change to marketplace philosophy. In addition,
managers also monitor key indicators that provide an early-warning system on the direction and dynamic of transition from one type of economic environment to another. Most notably, these key indicators include a government’s efforts to regulate the economy, its inclination to protect individual ownership and property rights, its ideas about fiscal and monetary policies, and its willingness to enforce antitrust regulation.
Privatization is the process of changing something from state to private ownership or control. Privatization is an essential element of a market economy, not just for improving general efficiency but also because an unfettered private sector better regulates supply and demand, thereby leading to better production and consumption decisions. Hence, the ambition to move toward a market economy requires a government to disengage from the economy by privatizing state-owned enterprises.
Regulation: The issue of regulation involves imposing restrictions on the free operation of markets and business practices. In principle, regulations prevent companies
from maximizing efficiency, given that they sacrifice productivity in complying with regulations. Moreover, government regulations are regarded as the antithesis of economic freedom, given their systematic reduction of individual choice.
A property right is the exclusive authority to determine how a resource is used. This protection supports a competitive economy by assuring investors and entrepreneurs that they, not the state, will prosper from their hard work. If lacking or arbitrarily applied, entrepreneurs and companies face a high risk of contract or property rights violations.
Fiscal and Monetary Reform: Economic decision making by political officials often leads governments to adopt tax or spending policies that slow growth and increase
interest rates, inflation, and unemployment. Mixed economies typically impose higher tax rates, spend more on social programs, and regulate executive compensation levels more aggressively than commonly seen in market economies.
Antitrust legislation promotes free competition in the market place by outlawing monopolies.
Liberalizing an economic system requires a government to legislate antitrust laws that encourage the development of industries with as many competing businesses as the market can sustain. In such industries, prices are kept low by the forces of competition.
By enforcing antitrust laws, governments can prevent monopolies from exploiting consumers and restraining market growth.