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CHAPTER 3
MANAGING IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Are You Ready to Be a Manager?
I. A Borderless World
II. Getting Started Internationally
A. Exporting
B. Outsourcing
III. The Changing International Landscape
A. China Inc.
B. India, the Service Giant
C. Brazil’s Growing Clout
IV. The International Business Environment
V. The Economic Environment
A. Economic Development
B. Resource and Product Markets
C. Economic Interdependence
VI. The Legal-Political Environment
VII. The Sociocultural Environment
A. Social Values
VIII. International Trade Alliances
A. GATT and the World Trade Organization
B. European Union
C. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
D. China-ASEAN Free Trade Area
IX. International Issues
A. The Globalization Backlash
B. Serving the Bottom of the Pyramid
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ANNOTATED LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Define globalization and explain how it is creating a borderless world for today’s managers.
Globalization refers to the extent to which trade and investments, information, social and cultural
ideas, and political cooperation flow between countries. One result is that countries, businesses,
2. Describe various approaches businesses use to enter the international arena.
Market-entry strategies represent alternative ways to sell products and services in foreign
markets. Market-entry strategies include:
a. Exporting is a strategy in which the organization maintains its production facilities within
3. Discuss how the international landscape is changing, including the growing power of China,
India, and Brazil.
Many companies today are going straight to China as a first step into international business.
Business is booming and U.S. and European companies are taking advantage of opportunities for
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4. Define international management and explain how it differs from the management of
domestic business operations.
International management is the management of business operations conducted in more than one
5. Indicate how dissimilarities in the economic, sociocultural, and legal-political environments
throughout the world can affect business operations.
Environmental factors that affect international business are similar to the task and general
environmental sectors described in Chapter 2. However, when comparing one country with
another, the economic, legal-political, and sociocultural sectors present the greatest difficulties.
6. Discuss why cultural intelligence is necessary for managers working in foreign countries.
Cultural intelligence (CQ) refers to a person’s ability to use reasoning and observation skills to
interpret unfamiliar gestures and situations and devise appropriate behavioral responses.
Managing in a foreign country is particularly challenging. Before undertaking a foreign
7. Describe how regional trading alliances are reshaping the international business
environment.
8. Describe the globalization backlash and explain the bottom of the pyramid concept.
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, a backlash over globalization is occurring.
The loss of jobs as companies export work to countries with lower wages is a primary concern.
LECTURE OUTLINE
Are You Ready to Be a Manager?
I. A BORDERLESS WORLD
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A. A manager’s reality is that isolation from international forces is no longer possible.
Today, even small companies can locate different parts of their organizations wherever it
makes the most business sense. Virtual connections enable close, rapid coordination
among people working in different parts of the world, so it is no longer necessary to keep
everything in one place. A borderless world means consumers can no longer tell from
which country they’re buying.
New Manager’s Self-Test: Are You Ready to Work Internationally?
American managers often display cross-cultural ignorance during business negotiations
compared to counterparts in other countries. American habits can be disturbing; these include
Exhibit 3.1: Ranking of Six Countries on the Globalization Index
Exhibit 3.2: Four Stages of Globalization
B. Globalization refers to the extent to which trade and investments, information, social and
cultural ideas, and political cooperation flow between countries. The process of
globalization typically passes through four distinct stages:
2. International. Exports increase and the company adopts a multidomestic
3. Multinational. Company has marketing and production facilities located in many
II. GETTING STARTED INTERNATIONALLY
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Organizations can become involved internationally in a couple of different ways. One way is to
Exhibit 3.3: Strategies for Entering International Arena
A. Exporting
2. Exporting enables a company to market its products in other countries at modest
3. Countertrade is a form of exporting to less-developed countries that involves the
B. Outsourcing
1. Global outsourcing, or offshoring, means engaging in the international division of
III. THE CHANGING INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPE
A. China Inc.
1. Many companies today are going straight to China as a first step into international
business. Business is booming and U.S. and European companies are taking
B. India, the Service Giant
1. Whereas China is strong in manufacturing, India is a rising power in software design,
services, and precision engineering. Nearly 50 percent of microchip engineering for
C. Brazil’s Growing Clout
1. Brazil’s economy was projected to grow as much as 6 percent in 2010, and its stock
IV. THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
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A. International management is the management of business operations conducted in more
than one country. The fundamental tasks of business management do not change in any
B. The economic, legal-political, and sociocultural sectors present the greatest difficulties in
comparing one country to another.
Business Blooper: Aeroflot
Two recent incidents on Russia’s Aeroflot Airlines suggest that the airline lacks management
oversight. The pilot of a jet taking off from London was chatting with passengers when they
Discussion Question #5: What steps could a company take to avoid making product design and
marketing mistakes when introducing new consumer products into Brazil?
Exhibit 3.4: Key Factors in the International Environment
V. THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
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A. Economic Development
1. Economic development differs widely among the countries and regions of the world,
3. Infrastructure refers to a country’s physical facilities support economic activities
4. Companies operating in LDCs must contend with lower levels of technology and
B. Resource and Product Markets
1. When operating in another country, company managers must evaluate the market
2. If the firm wants to develop manufacturing plants, however, resource markets for raw
Exhibit 3.5: World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Rankings 2009-2010
C. Economic Interdependence
1. The recent crisis that began in the United States with the collapse of the housing
3. In 2010, Greece’s inability to make payments on its debt sparked a panic that
Exhibit 3.6: How Companies Are Bearing the Economic Crisis: Misery Index, 2010
Compared to 2000
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VI. THE LEGAL-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
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A. Political risk is a company’s risk of loss of assets, earning power, or managerial control
B. Political instability refers to events such as riots, revolutions, civil disorders or
C. Government laws and regulations differ from country to country and present a challenge
VII. THE SOCIOCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
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A. Social Values
1. Culture is intangible, pervasive, and difficult for outsiders to learn. One way
Exhibit 3.7: Rank Orderings of Ten Countries along Four Dimensions
of National Value Systems
a. Power distance. High power distance means people accept inequality in power
among institutions, organizations, and people. Countries that value high power
b. Uncertainty avoidance. High uncertainty avoidance means that members of a
society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity and thus support
c. Individualism and collectivism. Individualism reflects a value for a loosely knit
social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of themselves.
d. Masculinity and femininity. Masculinity stands for preference for achievement,
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e. Long-term orientation and Short-term orientation. Long-term orientation
3. GLOBE Project Value Dimensions. Research by the GLOBE Project (Global
Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) used data collected from
18,000 managers in 62 countries. They collected data on nine dimensions. GLOBE
research adds the following dimensions to those identified by Hofstede.
a. Assertiveness is the extent to which a society encourages toughness, assertiveness,
and competitiveness.
4. Social values have great influence on organizational functioning and management
styles.
Spotlight on Skills: How Well Do You Play the Culture Game?
This exercise helps students determine how good they are at understanding cross-cultural
differences in communication and etiquette.
Exhibit 3.8: Examples of Country Rankings on Selected GLOBE Value Dimensions
B. Communication Differences
1. In a high-context culture, people are sensitive to circumstances surrounding social
exchanges. People use communication primarily to build personal social
2. In a low-context culture, people use communication primarily to exchange facts and
Discussion Question #8: Which style of communicating do you think would be most beneficial
to the long-term success of a U.S. company operating internationallyhigh-context or low-
context communications? Why?
Spotlight on Skills: Communication Skills Abroad
Every culture has its own way of communicating. Nevertheless, this feature offers some basic
principles to follow in international business relations.
2. Try to gain an appreciation for the differences between Hofstede’s “masculine” and
“feminine” cultures.
4. Emphasize points of agreement.
6. Safe face and “give” face as well; this can be a way of showing honor to others.
8. Don’t assume the other country views leadership the same way you do.
10. Don’t embarrass anyone in front of others.
12. Be aware that most Asian countries are “highcontext cultures” based on a complicated
system of relationships and moral codes.
14. Be aware that some countries, such as Israel, are even more fast-paced, and people there
get impatient with American “small talk”.
16. If you travel to the increasingly visited “out-of-the-way” locations, learn to tolerate
Exhibit 3.9: High-Context and Low-Context Cultures
C. Other Cultural Characteristics
1. Other cultural characteristics that influence international organizations are language,