Thursday, March 31, 2011

What is Global Business?

Global business consists of transactions that are devised and carried out across national borders to satisfy the objectives of individuals, companies, and organizations. These transactions take on various forms, which are often interrelated. Primary types of international business are import- export trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). The latter is carried out in varied forms, including wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures. Additional types of international business are licensing, franchising, and management contracts.

As the definition indicates, and as for any kind of domestic business, “Satisfaction” remains a key tenet of global business. Beyond this, because transaction environmental factors, to different constraints, and to quite frequent conflicts resulting from different laws, cultures, and societies. The basic principles of business still apply, but their application, complexity, and intensity vary substantially. To operate outside national borders, firms must be ready to incorporate international considerations into their thinking and planning, making decisions related to questions such as these:

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

International Careers

International Careers

Below are questions posed to Stephen Taylor for an upcoming article in a national publication aimed at High School Students.
  
Q - How much have you seen opportunities for international careers (or U.S.-based careers that require the global perspective) grow in recent years, and what accounts for that growth?

A- International careers tend to follow world economic cycles. When the world economy contracts, so do jobs, and when worldwide economy expands international jobs tend to increase. 1999 was a very good year for the World economy, and many companies were expanding their world presence with the use of expatriate international job assignments. However, by the end of 2000a slowing world economy put the brakes on growth at many global companies. By 2001 an economic contraction was occurring, followed by the Terrorist attack on 9/11. These events had a big impact on both domestic and international employment opportunities.
Now, as the world economy is beginning to recuperate, we see companies increasing investment in their overseas operations, including adding expatiate personnel to be in-place when significant growth returns.

International Marketing

The International Takeoff of New Products:
The Role of Economics, Culture and Country Innovativeness

Sales takeoff is vitally important for the management of new products. Limited prior research on this phenomenon covers only the US. This study addresses the following questions about takeoff in Europe:

(1) Does takeoff occur as distinctly in other countries, as it does in the US?
(2) Do different categories and countries have consistently different times-to-takeoff?
(3) What economic and cultural factors explain the inter-country differences?
(4) Should managers use a sprinkler or waterfall strategy for the introduction of new products across countries?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Internet; 10 Predictions for 2010-2019

10 Predictions for 2010-2019

1. In 2010, Google AdWords will announce a procedure for “hearings and fair trials” for banned advertisers. This will enable them to play “Good Cop-Bad Cop” with you if your accounts get shut down.

2. Twitter will get sold to a larger company for less than the $500 million they turned down from Facebook in 2009.

3. The next rage in pay per click is cookie-ing visitors on your site and then having targeted contextual ads “stalk your prospects” on other sites as they surf the Internet. Jonathan Mizel will cover this extensively in a January 29 teleseminar.

Lessons About Doing Online Business in the Next Decade!

There are 5 most important lessons I think will be main concern in next decade businesses;

1. Content management system (CMS) websites are taking over the web development world. If you're an AZtec client, you've heard my sales pitch about why your CMS website is better than the "old-fashioned" static websites that are built with HTML editing tools.

The main reasons are you can edit your own websites, they're fairly inexpensive, and they're more secure than other types of websites. If you're using a CMS website you're ahead of the game.

2. The way you market your business is changing. I hope you're not investing a ton of money in phone book advertising. The 3,000-page, 5-lb. doorstops that we all grew up with are going away. Phone books, newspapers, and hard-copy direct marketing materials are practically dinosaurs, and they're clinging to the edge of the extinction cliff with strained fingernails. If you haven't positioned your business for online marketing, consider it now, or you could fall behind those in your industry who have.

3. Social networking is more than "tweets." You've probably heard the saying about going to hardware store and buying a drill bit because you need a hole, not a drill bit.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites are the drill bits; the need for people to communicate with each other (social networking) is the hole.

Cross Cultural Solutions for International Business

Globalisation, the expansion of intercontinental trade, technological advances and the increase in the number of companies dealing on the international stage have brought about a dramatic change in the frequency, context and means by which people from different cultural backgrounds interact.

Cross cultural solutions to international business demands are increasingly being viewed as a valid and necessary method in enhancing communication and interaction in and between companies, between companies and customers and between colleagues.

Cross cultural consultancies are involved in aiding companies to find solutions to the challenges cross cultural differences carry.