It is not difficult to argue that Max Weber has outlived all his competitors in the classical tradition. His ideas have inspired scores of sociologists in a host of areas for more than sixty years. The contemporary vitality of these ideas is in no small measure due to the fact that he is the most prominent advocate of modernism and that he has both resisted and justified some of postmodernism’s most convincing criticisms of modern social science and society. When analysing the statement that “the fate of our times is characterized by rationalization, intellectualization and about all by the disenchantment of the world” one must look into all aspects of the 3 ways of thinking that Weber has described; rationalism, intellectualization and disenchantment. When focusing solely on the rationalism that Max Weber talks speaks about we can see a connection to the way of thinking he described in his writing Continue reading
International Business Management
Foreign Direct Investment and the Business Environment
Direct investment abroad is a complex venture. As distinct from trade, licensing or investment, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) involves a long-term commitment to a business endeavor in a foreign country. It often involves the engagement of considerable assets and resources that need to be coordinated and managed across countries and to satisfy the principle of successful investment, such as sustainable profitability and acceptable risk/profitability ratios. Typically, there are many host country factors involved in deciding where an FDI project should be located and it is often difficult to pinpoint the most decisive factor. However, it is widely agreed that FDI takes place when three sets of determining factors exist simultaneously; the presence of ownership-specific competitive ages in a transnational corporation (TNC), the presence of locational advantages in a host country, and the presence of superior commercial benefits in an intra-firm as against an arm’s-length relationship between investor and recipient. The Continue reading
Country Risk in International Investments
Country risk is defined as the exposure to a loss in cross-border lending caused by events in a particular country. These events must be, at least to some extent, under the control of the government of that country; they are definitely not under the control of an enterprise or individual. All cross-border lending in a country – whether to the government, a bank, a private enterprise or an individual – is exposed to country risk. Country risk is thus a broader concept than sovereign risk, which is the risk of lending to the government of a sovereign nation. Further, only events that are, at least to some extent, under the control of the government, can lead to the materialization of country risk. A default caused by bankruptcy is country risk if the bankruptcy is the result of the mismanagement of the economy by the government. It is commercial risk if Continue reading
Push and Pull Factors in International Business
Companies decide to go global and enter international markets for a variety of reasons, and these different objectives at the time of entry should produce different strategies, performance goals, and even forms of market participation. However, companies often follow a standard market entry and development strategy. The most common is sometimes referred to as the “increasing commitment” method of market development, in which market entry is done via an independent local partner. As business and confidence grows, a switch to a directly controlled subsidiary is often enacted. This internationalization approach results from a desire to build a business in the country-market as quickly as possible and by an initial desire to minimize risk coupled with the need to learn about the country and market from a low base of knowledge. International markets evolve rapidly and very often companies struggle to keep up in terms of their strategy. It is therefore Continue reading
Three Approaches for Promoting Diversity in the Workplace
Though, diversity can have a wide range of meanings, some companies use the traditional Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) definition of diversity, which deals with differences in gender, racioethnicity, and age. Other companies tend to favor the broadest definitions of diversity, ones that encompass differences in gender, racioethnicity, age, physical abilities, qualities, and sexual orientation, as well as differences in attitudes, perspectives and background. Many individuals rely on a more detailed definition of diversity considering diverse people as being in the non-dominant social system who have been traditionally under research and under served. While there is no correct definition of diversity, the three diversity initiatives discussed in this article seem to target a definition that encompasses creating a diverse work environment that is inclusive to everyone, specifically focusing on the inclusion of minorities and non minorities. Three Main Approaches to Workplace Diversity 1. Colorblind Approach The colorblind approach is similar Continue reading
Emergence of New Structural Designs of MNE’s
As companies grow in size, product lines, and dependence on foreign operations, complications of communication, responsibility and control become more complex. So, new structures continue to evolve to deal with this complexity. Proctor & Gamble (P&G) restructured its operations in 1999. P&G formed a unique concept of ‘Global business Product Units’ (GBUs) and 5 such units were established. With the 5 GBUs P&G wants to build its global brand equity as part of its ‘global strategic thinking’. At the same time 7 Market Development Organizations along the lines of major regions of the world were made to facilitate flexibility in the sphere of local actions. Thus it ‘thinks global, acts local’. There are numerous cases like this. But few general forms are alone dealt here. Network Organizations Network-based organization models have been characterized as reflecting an integrated worldwide strategy through globally distributed but interdependent resources and activities. The world is Continue reading