The success of the first eleven editions (and its longest and most in-depth textbook, International Business, now in its 13th edition) was based on the incorporation of cutting-edge research, the use of up-to-date examples and statistics to illustrate global trends and business strategy and discussion of current events in the context of the appropriate theory. Building on these strengths, the objectives of the 12th edition focused on:
As part of the ongoing revision process, changes have also been made to each chapter in this book. All statistics have also been updated to reflect the latest available data. Current events have been incorporated into both the text and discussion sections and discussed at length.
"Thanks for your interest in this Global Business Today 11th edition book! We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it. Maybe you've already seen this book, but if not, we'd love to share it with you. You can find it in the Amazon online store, where you'll also find lots of great information about business and finance. We hope you enjoy reading. Just remember, if you're having trouble getting started, don't worry - you're not alone. A lot of people have struggled with this before, and we know how frustrating it can be. But just keep working through it, and you'll eventually figure out what works best for you. Good luck!"
Charles W. L. Hill is the Hughes M.. and Katherine Blake professor of strategy and international business at the Foster School of business, University of Washington. He has served on the faculties at the University of Manchester, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Michigan State University. He has published over 50 articles and books, including International Business (Mcgraw-Hill) and Global Business Today(Mcgraw-Hill). He has also authored or edited five editions of the internationally acclaimed International Business textbook series.
The current state of the global economy can be described as being influenced by factors outside the control of an organization, such as government policies, economic conditions, political events, natural disasters, technological advances, and so forth. These factors may affect the ability of an organization to meet its goals and objectives, and may also influence how decisions are made regarding resources used by the organization.
A global company is one that operates facilities across the globe. An example would be a factory that produces goods for sale globally.
Today's business environment is changing rapidly. New technologies are disrupting traditional ways of working. A new breed of entrepreneurs is creating innovative solutions to old problems. And consumers are demanding greater choice and convenience. In response, organisations must adapt quickly to stay ahead of the competition. To do so they need to embrace innovation and change. They also need to ensure that people can work effectively across the boundaries between physical and virtual environments.
It provides consumers with an array of choices and increases competition so that companies must produce cost efficient and high quality goods, benefitting those consumers. Nations also benefit from international trade, focusing on products they have a comparative advantage at producing.
Global business operations refer to international trade whereas a globally operated business is a company doing businesses across the world. The exchanging of goods over great distances has gone on for quite a long period of time.
"This book seems a bit old fashioned, but overall the content is very good. I also feel that the topics are drawn out just to fill a page number requirement. It is great for any person who wants to learn about global business basics. The cases are good to think through and apply to your own life."
"This is a very nice book, which provided great info by the author. It was very useful in my class and I'll add it to my collection! Shipping was fast and appreciated!! Thanks! A previous comment was wrong because they commented on the wrong book! Sorry about that!"
"This is a book for my International Business MBA course. So far it is a great read. It presents the topics in a sophisticated and easy to understand manner. Very well written book."
"Typical McGraw/Hills textbook. Excessively verbose rendering it incredibly boring to wade through. There were parts in this book where one sentence would say something and literally two or more sentences later the exact same idea would be restated again. It was like they had to reach a certain page count by any means possible."
"This textbook is exactly the kind of book I needed to get through my final exams. I'm glad I found this one."
"Purchased for an international business class college. Very good information, all events are up to date. I bought it because it was almost the same price as renting a book and half the price of buying it at a college bookstore. The only negative is that the pages are very thin, it is easy to damage the book."
"Business like. Academic bridge to real world. Very interesting, if you are interested in business books."
"I used this book as part of my business international course and it was great!"
Computers and Information Technology (IT) are changing everyday life through everything from entertainment to shopping, work, communication and much more. Many companies are remodelling their businesses and information systems to take advantage of these changes. IT is dramatically changing business landscapes and significantly affecting strategic options. Managers must address these issues in many areas of their business.
Some of the key influences of technology and the implications on management are:
Q: Unions in developed nations often oppose imports from low-wage countries and advocate trade barriers to protect jobs from what they often characterize as “unfair” import competition. Is such competition “unfair?” Do you think that this argument is in the best interests of (a) the unions (b) the people they represent (c) The country as a whole
A: The comparative advantage theory states that if a nation specializes in producing those things it can make best, while importing others that it cannot make efficiently, then it gains an advantage. Free trade encourages specialization and increases production. Opening a country to free trade helps stimulate economic growth. Low wage countries should focus on exporting their products because they can produce them more efficiently than high wage nations. Protectionism hurts consumers because they have to pay more for imported goods. Companies benefit from protectionism because they get to keep profits and jobs.
Q: What are the potential costs of adopting a free trade regime? Do you think governments should do anything to reduce these costs? What?
A: Having a free trade policy will create job losses in some industries. One solution the government can implement is providing training programs for those who lose their jobs. However, job losses occur everyday and they don’ t receive any assistance from the government to find a new job so they should not be penalized for losing their current employment.
