Vangeline Tayaban

Chapter Summary
Chapter 11 – Global/International Issues

Based on the provided text, the lesson on global/international issues covers several key
points. The chapter objectives include:
Explaining the advantages and disadvantages of entering global markets.
Discussing protectionism and its impact on the world economy.
Explaining when and why a firm or industry may need to become more or less global to
compete.
Comparing and contrasting business culture in the United States with other countries.
Describing how management styles vary globally.
Discussing communication differences across countries.
The lesson emphasizes the importance of understanding global markets, competitors,
prices, suppliers, distributors, governments, creditors, shareholders, and customers. It highlights
that firms must strive to be competitive on a worldwide basis, not just locally. The advantages of
international operations include gaining new customers, reducing costs, spreading economic
risks, accessing new markets with less competition, and achieving economies of scale.
International operations can also lead to reduced tariffs, lower taxes, favorable political
treatment, and enhanced power and prestige in domestic markets.
However, there are also disadvantages to international operations. These include the risk
of assets being seized, dealing with different social, cultural, political, and economic forces,
underestimating competitors' strengths, communication barriers, the need to understand regional
organizations, and the complexity of dealing with multiple monetary systems.
The lesson also introduces the concepts of globalization and global strategy.
Globalization refers to doing business worldwide, making strategic decisions based on global
profitability rather than just domestic considerations. Global strategy involves designing,
producing, and marketing products with global needs in mind and integrating actions against
competitors into a worldwide plan.

The lesson highlights cultural differences between the United States and foreign
countries, such as variations in attitudes towards time, personal space, family roles, religious
factors, modesty, competitiveness, and punctuality. It also mentions communication differences
across countries, including differences in providing feedback, meeting pace, informality, small
talk, interruptions, silence during negotiations, and the separation of business and private lives.
 Finally, the lesson briefly touches on business cultures and practices in specific countries,
such as Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Germany, China, and India, providing insights into their unique
customs and expectations in business interactions.
In conclusion, the lesson on global/international issues explores the advantages and
disadvantages of entering global markets, discusses protectionism, highlights the need for firms
to adapt their global nature to remain competitive, compares business culture between the United
States and other countries, examines management style variations, and discusses communication
differences across countries. Understanding these global factors is crucial for strategic
management and successful international operations.