BA 447Topics in International Business

Day 3

Plan

• Ch 2 & 3– Flatteners and triple convergence

• Finalize groups

• Term project –

• Schedule

Approach to Discussions

• What is major theme of the reading?

• What are assumptions? Conclusions?

• Crititque:– Are assumptions acceptable?– Are conclusions sound?

Flat World

• Playing field has been flattened – traditional advantages accruing to one country or another are being challenged

• Other countries can compete for global knowledge work as never before

• intellectual work, intellectual capital, can be delivered, distributed, produced, and put back together again . . . with relative freedom in the way we do work

Flatteners: platforms for collaboration

• 11/9: the fall of the Berlin Wall – political systems that were once closed opened up– Key was the fall of the Berlin wall and eventual

collapse of Comecon (Eastern Europe under Russia)– Centrally planned countries like China and India

followed by opening their economies, somewhat

• 8/9: Netscape goes public – – Browsers as gateway to Internet (Microsoft missed

this initially)– Dot com bubble allowed massive investments in the

internet highway – fiber optic cables, switches, etc.

Flatteners: platforms for collaboration

• Work flow software: allows software installed in different computers and in different places to work with each other – Data description languages– Wild Brain– Pay-pal

Flatteners: new forms of collaboration

• Open sourcing

• Outsourcing

• Offshoring

• Supply-chaining

• In-sourcing

• In-forming

• Steroids

Exercise 1

• Do you agree that these flatteners contributed to the flat world?

Flatteners: platforms for collaboration

• 11/9: the fall of the Berlin Wall – “change in political systems”

• 8/9: Netscape goes public – Browsers as gateway to Internet switches

• Work flow software

• Open sourcing – operating systems with widely available code

Exercise 2

• Given the forces shaping this “flat world:”– Provide at least one example of each of these

forces from your readings or direct experience.

– State a concern you might have with this notion of a “flat world”: consequence on your immediate future? your community’s future?

– Strategies to respond to these challenges?

Flatteners: new forms of collaboration

• Outsourcing

• Offshoring

• Supply-chaining

• In-sourcing

• In-forming

• Steroids

Three Converging Developments

• Creation of a global, Web-enabled playing field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration

• Creation of new technologies are combined with new ways of doing business, as companies adapt

• 3 billion people join the party

New “Arrivals”

• Population data– Population data

• We are only seeing the tip of the iceberg.– Not everyone has access yet– Microsoft: in China, 1 in a million can mean a

total of 1,300,000– Bangalore: “we are hungry for success”

• Its dominated by, but not all India– Map of IT businesses

Global Strategy Implications

• Supply chain– Value chain– Strategic Outsourcing

• Search for low cost locations heightened/assisted by technology

• Opportunity to assemble or produce locally• Global product morphing into local or regional

versions• Strategy will depend on nature of the company’s

business and how management adapts to opportunities and threats

Themes and Critique

• Assumptions?– Fall of Berlin wall as a watershed moment.

China and India are now open economies.– Technological developments are . . .?– All citizens of countries like China and India

have access to technologies.

• Conclusions?– Flat world

• What do you think?

Term Project

• Consider a few issues or possible developments that may impact a multinational company or industry.

• Consider what is interesting and what matters. Think about how these issues may affect a multinational.

• Analyze one of these issue in depth

Approach to Analyzing Issue

• Describe the situation or issue as best as you can and as simply as possible.– What does the popular press say about it?– Get data to understand scale, cost, etc.

• History or long term perspective of the issue? Geographic scope?

• What are the obvious social good that are involved? For example, for e-waste, environment, health, etc.

Approach . . .

• Who are key players? Their interests? Are there conflicting interests involving players who can influence the outcome?

• Where will this conflict be fought? Courts, public opinion, legislature, regulatory body (whether trans-national or national), real battlefield, etc.?

• What does the group think?

Issues other students have studied

• E-waste• WTO issues, e.g. Airbus vs Boeing• Unethical advertising in developing

countries - case of Nestle• Government involvement in business

transactions - CNOOC and UNOCAL, Dubai Ports World

• Activists/terrorists and their causes - free trade coffee, Al quaeda

Organize your groups

• Start tossing around possible topic

• Agree on expectations/criteria for evaluating contribution to group effort

• Collaboration software

• Common meeting time

• Exchange contact info