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Friday, April 11, 2014

gloBaloney - What's It All About!?!


Businesses say (most of them) that they want to grow their market share 
become more global.

And business leaders say that they lack people with global intelligence skills! 

Globalization of Businesses Enterprise” tries to address gaps at both 
the personal and business level, and suggests practical strategies  to deal  with the real consequences of globalization.

This Course was developed and refined during Professor Ghemawat's
term as a member of a task force that undertook this study on the globalization 
of business and it's education.

It starts off by debunking many myths that surround globalization - referred to as 
“globaloney” by Professor Ghemawat.

Once concepts of what globalization is not - has been established, the student 
then devotes time to try and understand what globalization is.

Differences between countries that affect levels of globalization and their 
implications are summarized using an acronym "CAGE
- developed by the good Professor Ghemawat.

This framework is being used, widely, by business-schools - worldwide.

Last, but not the least, implications of globalization, for business and 
personal development are synthesized. 

Course consists of the following sessions:

Globalization and Globaloney
How globalized is the world? Data in this regard, and it's comparison to what people think.
Possible reasons for this are also discussed.

CAGE Distance Framework
Trying to understand differences using CAGE framework. CAGE” is acronym for  Cultural, Administrative (institutional and political), Geographic and Economic .

Cultural Distance
Encompasses differences in race/ethnicity, religious beliefs, language, and 
social norms values.

Administrative Distance
Administrative differences that can possibly cause problems are 
differences in capital and labor systems. This could affect ways by which enterprises are structured and governed.

Geographic Distance
Focuses on how cross border interactions are influenced by  physical distance  - such as contiguity within country borders - or how far apart they are. 
Some other causes could be access to the sea, topography, and time zones. 
Interactions between countries belonging to a region are also discussed.

Economic Distance
Consumer wealth and income and the cost of labor are the most obvious.
Other differences could be availability (or lac) of resources, inputs, infrastructure, 
and organizational capabilities. 

Implications of Distances for Business Strategy
Reviews three broad strategies
- Adaption to adjust to differences across countries and achieve some responsiveness;
- Aggregation to overcome some differences and unlock economies of scale/scope;
- Arbitrage to exploit differences and achieve absolute efficiency;

Implications of Distances for Personal Strategy: Focuses on the individual rather than the company, and discusses implications for personal development.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Natan's Third-eye ...

Reviewing Prof. Ghemawat’s “Summary”-video for week-2, I am prone to think that he has firmly hit his CAGE-nail into my head. Here-below I produce my answers to:

Week-1: Globalization and GloBaloney.
Which effects of globaloney are you most worried about?

Reviewing the presentations by Prof. Ghemwat - I am sure glad I belong to the breed of gloBaloneys ... BUT, would love to use the KNOWLEDGE (gained over the Course) to identify skewed strategies, and avoid IMPOSITION of one's power on another.
... To be a Global strategist in the current semi-globalized world that we live in today - we need to identify perceptions, fears and idiosyncrasies with factual data ... and then make one's move(s).

Enabled with a proper mind-set we can then create a global economy that is stable and sustainable.
.......... Living in Canada ... and, 'watching' ALL the problems that keep 'popping-up' - KeystoneXL pipeline as an example ... clearly indicates that there is more to globalization than just distance and borders ... people, politics and processes - are key factors that need to be studied and considered. I am earnestly looking forward to learning more when we 'hit' the CAGE framework from week three.

Week-2: The CAGE Difference Framework
“Toto Expansion Patterns - CAGE”

This Case-study with reference to our inputs on CAGE (Cultural, Administrative, Geographic and Economic) and Toto's business expansion brings to the fore how these brothers have identified that they cannot do it 'alone' ... starting right from inception. Their expansion, starting with a number of south American countries, identifies how land-locked countries and borders help in business expansion. On the other hand Brazil and Argentina do not seem to be on their list - this might indicate their might be trade 'barriers' - political most likely, since language does not seem to be the problem - having expanded operations into Spain and Portugal

“Totto Expansion - Exemplary CAGE Case-study“
Totto’s business case-study is a great example of what an enterprise should engage in whilst expanding Globally.

CAGE - the acronym that we have all been caged with, identifies the distances (differences) that an enterprise must be aware of, and overcome - if it is to expand it's business Globally.

The distances(differences) that CAGE identifies are Cultural, Administrative, Geographic and Economic.

As Totto began expanding it’s operations, we see that it had firmly established itself on home-turf before starting-off into Costa Rica - when one of the brothers 'moved' and helped setup operations. They continued expansion into a number of other neighboring countries.

They did not have too much of problems overcoming Cultural distances through South America because most of the people spoke either Portuguese or Spanish and had a lot of Spanish/Portuguese influence in their cultures.

Administratively - the countries involved in their expansion have an unspoken commonality in their business methods-n-operations

Geographically, with the exception of Spain, Portugal and Israel, all the other countries were land-locked, and physical distances were acceptable for the management of their business-operations.

But, what really struck me was their methods of expansion, namely:
- Identify 'buyers'/outlets that actually SELL
- Visit Exhibitions/Fairs - as Participant and/or Visitor
- Identify and Source different resources/raw-material and equipment
- Branding - an easy to remember-n-pronounce Name & Product
- Up-Front-n-Centre Marketing (displaying products - not at the back)
- Franchising
- Engage LOCAL Partners/Associates/Franchisees - whose major business-focus would be Totto
- Direct Investment of monies - when all else 'fails'
- Investing in state-of-the-art technologies.
.......................
I would like to add that it takes a special person with a creative mind that is OPEN to exploring the ‘unknown’ with a pinch of salt - makes ALL the difference. Mr. Natan Bursztyn is one such person - because among the brothers, he is the engineering-mind that questions and seeks.

He is the one that went OUT exploring and discovering “what-if’, “why-not”, etc., etc. It was his visit to Exhibitions and Sourcing and Identifying technologies that has got Totto to be a GLOBAL-player.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

globalization - gloBaloney - gloInsights ...

Reviewing the presentations by Prof. Ghemwat - I am sure glad I belong to the breed of gloBaloneys ... but, would love to use the knowledge (gained over the Course) to identify skewed strategies, and avoid imposition of one's power on another.

To be a Global strategist in the current semi-globalized world that we live in today - we need to identify perceptions, fears and idiosyncrasies with factual data ... and then make one's move(s).

Enabled with a proper mind-set we can then create a global economy that is stable and sustainable.

“We are currently stuck in ‘World 2.0,’ a world in which the further impact of global integration is seen as limited. Professor Ghemawat artfully proposes how we can move to ‘World 3.0,’ in which openness leads to wider technological, cultural, and social benefits. The transfer of knowledge— through people, trade, or investments—could have a significant impact on growth. This is an interesting and timely argument that deserves careful consideration.”
Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
>>>
February 5, 2014
>>>
Living in Canada ... and, 'watching' ALL the problems that keep 'popping-up' - KeystoneXL pipeline as an example ... clearly indicates that there is more to globalization than just distance and borders ... people, politics and processes - are key factors that need to be studied and considered

I am earnestly looking forward to learning more when we 'hit' the CAGE framework from week three.