Title: Globalization: Are We Up to the Challenges?
Abstract: Globalization: Are We Up to the Challenges? As American business opens the door to a new decade, it finds itself facing a world of economic uncertainty, political volatility within many of its trading partners, continuing trade frictions among the industrialized nations of the world, and the acceleration of the technological explosion that marked the 1980s. Global, 24-hours-per-day securities trading and the nearly instantaneous communication of voice and data worldwide characterize a business environment that never sleeps. American companies feel intense pressure to increase their penetration of international markets, in part because of eroding share within their own markets. Those stalwarts who have done business internationally for decades are confronted not only by their counterparts from the other industrial superpowers, but also by small, fleet-footed American startups and aggressive competition from emerging industrial nations, all demanding a share of the lucrative global marketplace. The competition is getting tougher. The players are smarter. And the rules are changing. In the United States, executives of small and large firms alike are asking themselves: How must we adapt our business strategies to address the development of a single European Economic Community in two years? How will radically changing relations with the Eastern bloc impact our business opportunities? How will the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997 affect what has become a hub of trading activity in the Pacific Rim? What can business and government do to curb the erosion of the U.S. manufacturing base, as other countries offer more favorable economic and labor conditions? What type of management skills are required to run a successful company in the complex business environment of the 1990s? Unprecedented professional demands Virtually every professional discipline will have to adapt to changes brought on by the increasingly global nature of business. Those in mid-level management positions and above will face issues unprecedented in complexity, for which they have received little or no formal training. Human resource managers, for example, bear the burden of training entire management teams in the intricacies of running multinational corporations. Engineers and scientists have a myriad of international standards committees and government regulatory bodies looking over their shoulders, engulfing new product development in new layers of red tape. At the same time, competitive pressures and ever-shorter product life cycles are requiring companies to bring more products to market faster than ever before. Marketing and sales professionals will find themselves challenged by the need to develop regional marketing strategies that allow them to compete effectively in various countries, while maintaining consistency with their corporations' international business strategies. Outmoded public relations operations? And, of course, the public relations profession will be intensely affected by global business issues. American companies over the next few years will be faced with the challenge of significantly expanding their public relations competencies at a time when a potentially weak economy could put a squeeze on headcount. Without a concerted effort to upgrade their public relations capabilities through staff development, selective hiring, or both, companies will run the risk of outgrowing their public relations expertise. In other words, the highly competent public relations professional or staff of the 1980s may be ill-equipped to address the business issues of the 1990s. Public relations departments will be called upon to play a more strategic role in the 1990s, as it is recognized that a company's worldwide reputation and image have bottomline implications. They will be involved in developing and articulating their corporations' positions on international issues. …
Publication Year: 1990
Publication Date: 1990-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 4
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