Chapter 18
Globalization and Managerial Opportunities for Engineers
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
18-1. Q: Describe some of the effects of globalization.
18-2. Q: Congratulations! You have served as an R&D manager so effectively that you have been
appointed Director of R&D for your company’s affiliate in Tokyo. What differences will you expect
to find in your new assignment (other than language), and how might this affect your life and your
management style?
18-3. Q: What is the significance of the elimination of trade barriers between European countries to
American companies?
A: The section on Europe and the Common Market tries to answer this question. American
18-4. Q: What are some characteristics of the BRIC countries? Or should it be BRICS?
18-5. Q: What have been the effects of (a) the NAFTA treaty approved in 1993 and (b) the GAD
modifications approved by the U.S. Congress in late 1994 on the U.S. economy?
18-6. Q: Select a specific developing country and comment on which of the nine “Characteristics of
developing countries” seem to apply. What additional characteristics would you add?
18-7. Q: Give an example of an “appropriate technology” that might be preferable in a specific developing
country situation instead of the technology used to solve the same problem in the United States.
A: Answers will depend on the application as well as the country chosen.