Business Globalization

The article “The Fear Factor: Why Asian Firms Need to Take on the World” makes the argument for Asian companies to expand into international markets. The author points to Cannon as a success story of an Asian company expanding their business into other markets. Then, an argument is made that Asian firms could focus on domestic markets due to their size and the margins produced by American companies domestically. This argument is then rejected because Asian firms already face international competition that was not present when American companies began expanding. The author then discusses the difficulties Asian firms face in trying to reach new markets. This is due to the competition they already face from multinational firms, which also acts as a barrier to domestic growth. The author concludes that Asian firms will have a hard time being competitive without international expansion.

The article “Globalization's Two-Way Street: The U.S. Begins to Reciprocate” focuses more on the cultural impact of globalization. The author states "Globalization is usually thought of as a euphemism for Americanization,” highlighting the impact American culture has on consumer demand internationally. The influence that other cultures have on Americans is discussed, presented as "reverse globalization.”  Technology, mainly internet and television, are the main delivery mechanisms for this trend. The author highlights the availability of international news and television to an increasing number of consumers seeking them.

My view on the future of globalization trends is tied to aspects of both articles. I do think that the cultural impact internationally branded companies have gives them a distinct competitive advantage. As Mr. Gomes pointed out, this might not be what is in the long-term best interest for other countries and their distinct culture. There are certain aspects of American culture that I do not think are particularly good and could potentially be a negative influence on developing nations.  As has been constantly proclaimed to me in all of my business courses, the only objective of corporation is to increase shareholder value. Having stated this, I am not sure there is much that can be done to deter the influence these multinational corporations have as long as they are profiting in other markets. I would not think this to be negative if these entities acted as good citizens of the communities where they have operations. It is my opinion that many of these companies have a practice of exploiting developing nations due to a lack of regulations and their desperate need for jobs. I do think that this practice will continue to face scrutiny as it has in recent years, and this will impact how companies from developed nations expand into developing countries. This will increase the living standards in these developing nations, providing more discretionary income to the citizens, which increases demand for other products. The end result will be more companies entering these markets to provide the products and services and domestic companies expanding their offerings to compete. I think this will ultimately help Asian firms, especially those in poor and developing nations, gain some market share and possibly enable them to expand internationally if they are successful enough domestically.