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Organization The overarching logic of the book is intuitive—organized around answers to the what, where, why, and how of international business.
WHAT? Section one introduces what is international business and who has an interest in it. Students will sift through the globalization debate and understanding the impact of ethics on global businesses. Additionally, students will explore the evolution of international trade from past to present, with a focus on how firms and professionals can better understand today’s complex global business arena by understanding the impact of political and legal factors. The section concludes with a chapter on understanding how cultures are defined and the impact on business interactions and practices with tangible tips for negotiating across cultures.
WHERE? Section two develops student knowledge about key facets of the global business environment and the key elements of trade and cooperation between nations and global organizations. Today, with increasing numbers of companies of all sizes operating internationally, no business or country can remain an island. Rather, the interconnections between countries, businesses, and institutions are inextricable. Even how we define the world is changing. No longer classified into simple and neat categories, the rapid changes within countries are redefining how global businesses think about developed, developing, and emerging markets. This section addresses the evolving nature of country classifications and helps develop a student’s ability to comprehend the rationale of how to analyze a specific country’s stage of development—rather than just memorize which countries are emerging. Further, this section provides a unique approach and takes country-related “deep dives” that give greater detail about specific key countries. This section ends with chapters devoted to providing accessible discussions of complex financial concepts within the global monetary system and the global capital markets, including currency and global venture capital.
WHY? Section three develops knowledge about how a student or organization can exploit opportunities in that global environment. Students will learn about the fundamental choices they have in terms of international expansion and why such choices matter. Using different models of internationalization and Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books
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global market assessment, they will also learn why international business opportunities vary in their promise and complexity. In this section, students also do a deeper dive into the topics of exporting, importing, and global sourcing since these are likely to be the first forms of international business a student will encounter.
HOW? Section four is devoted to strategy and entrepreneurship in a flattening world and how key organizational activities can be managed for global effectiveness. This part of the book shifts gears from the perspective of existing businesses to that of new business possibilities. Our objective is to highlight strategy, entrepreneurship, and strategic and entrepreneurial opportunities in a flat and flattening world. Beyond the basics of international strategy and entrepreneurship, students will be exposed to international human resource management so that they can better understand the global war for talent. They will also develop good fundamental knowledge of international research and development, marketing, distribution, finance, and accounting.
Features Each chapter contains several staple and innovative features as follows: •
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