Monday, December 6, 2010

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Global Business Environment

Global Business Environment : Overview

Traditional or brick-and-mortar businesses are primarily product-centric, usually competing on the basis of product differentiation and innovation. In contrast, e-businesses focus on customers and adopt a customer-centric approach.

In the traditional way of doing business, companies manufactured products and customers purchased them. But now customers are active participants in the product design process; in fact, they often dictate terms to manufacturers and decide the features of products.

The increasing use of the electronic media to conduct business and government transactions, and the increasing popularity of the Internet among individual customers has forced organizations to digitize their operations.

Emerging e-business and mobile technologies and the greater availability of broadband telecommunications have catalyzed their transformation into e-enabled organizations.

E-Business helps students understand the fundamentals of conducting business over the Internet and the concepts involved in providing excellent service to customers. The book discusses how managers can improve the efficiency of their business processes and make an e-business venture successful. Transforming a traditional business into an e-business is not an easy task. The book provides models and frameworks that will help managers make a smooth transition to the digital era.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

RICHEST MAN OF THE WORLD

Carlos Slim Helu Biography (Carlos Slim Helú): Communications businesses and Investments
Famous for : Being the richest man in Mexico and one of the richest men in the world according to the Forbes business magazine.
Slim Helu details : Born - January 28, 1940 Mexico City / Lives - Mexico

::: Woopidoo> Business Masters Home> Carlos Slim Helú

Biography - Information

Carlos Slim Helu is a Mexican entrepreneur and businessman involved in a varied group of companies that include telecommunications, retail, banking and insurance, technology, and auto parts manufacturing businesses. He is the wealthiest Mexican man, the richest Latin American, and one of the top ten richest men in the world.

Carlos Slim Helú was born on the 28th of January, 1940 in Mexico City. His father Yusef Salim Haddad and mother Linda Helu were of Lebanese decent. Carlos was the 5th of 6 children. He studied engineering at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.

The financial success that Slim Helu has achieved has been from finding undervalued companies and making them profitable. Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) was acquired during a privatization period in 1990 of the Mexican government. Carlos was criticized for raising phone call costs soon after purchasing the business, but he went on to improve phone services in Mexico with the company offering local and long distance calls, mobile phone services, Internet services, and a telephone directory.

"It's not a question of arriving and putting in a whole new administration, but instead, arriving and "compacting" things as much as possible, reducing management layers. We want as few management layers as possible, so that executives are very close to the operations. We also don't believe in having big corporate infrastructures." Carlos Slim Helu

Carlos Slim Helu has been referred to as the "Warren Buffett of Latin America", but he thinks of himself as an operator of companies, rather than just an investor (like Buffett).

Even though he has admitted to having very poor computer skills, he sees the Internet and technology as a major growth area in his group of businesses. He owns the largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Mexico and had one of the largest in the United States of America with his acquisition of Prodigy. Slim also owns the major computer retailer CompUSA, with more than 200 retail stores throughout the USA and Puerto Rico.

"Technology is going to transform people's lives and society everywhere in the world. My main task is to understand what's going on and try to see where we can fit in." Carlos Slim Helu

In 2005 Forbes business magazine estimated Carlos Slim Helu's net worth to be $23.8 billion American dollars, making him the 4th richest person in the world.
In 2006 Carlos Slim Helu was ranked as the third richest man in the world with an estimated $30 billion in assets.
In 2007 the Mexican billionaire remained in third position but increased his wealth dramatically to an estimated $49 billion.

Update : In June of 2007 it was reported that the wealth of Carlos Slim Helu increased to an estimated $67.8 billion, making him the richest man in the world. This puts Carlos Slim ahead of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Read more about Carlos Slim being the Richest Man in the World.

Carlos Slim Helu Quotes

It's not a question of arriving and putting in a whole new administration, but instead, arriving and "compacting" things as much as possible, reducing management layers. We want as few management layers as possible, so that executives are very close to the operations. We also don't believe in having big corporate infrastructures.
Carlos Slim Helu - Companies - Management - Improving

The key is the Internet. The United States is by far the most advanced country in this new digital culture, so we have to be there. The Internet is the heart of this new civilization, and telecommunications are the nervous system, or circulatory system.
Carlos Slim Helu - Technology - Internet - Growth - American

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

An introduction to global business issues

International business is no longer reserved for a few large, multinational corporations. Recent international developments - passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), formation of the European Union - have led to increased overseas business for more U.S. companies. This increased activity has generated new concepts, terms, practices and regulations that all human resource managers should understand, regardless of their organization's level of international involvement.
WHEN KNOWING IS ESSENTIAL

Most HR managers find themselves rudely awakened into the world of international HRM. They are required to obtain instant knowledge because of pressing problems. Imagine yourself in one of these situations:

* You are appointed to an executive committee assigned to assess the feasibility of moving production facilities to another country. High labor costs already threaten your competitive position, and union leaders say they will demand substantial increases in pay and benefits at the next contract talks. You have two weeks to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of manufacturing in a foreign country and to recommend a location.

* You receive a phone call Friday night telling you the plant in Denmark will go on strike if negotiations with the national union fail. You must be there Monday to negotiate an agreement to keep the plant running.

* Your company has been awarded a contract to produce and distribute its products in a foreign country. But first, you must hire and train a new workforce to produce the products and a new sales force to distribute them.

* Your company wants to consolidate its manufacturing from seven plants in seven different European countries into just two. You are expected to arrange the transfers, layoffs and retirements of those involved in this restructuring.

WHAT IS GLOBAL BUSINESS?

Global business consists of transactions that are devised and carried out across national borders
to satisfy the objectives of individuals, companies, and organizations. These transactions take on
various forms, which are often interrelated. Primary types of international business are import export trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). The latter is carried out in varied forms,
including wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures. Additional types of international
business are licensing, franchising, and management contracts.

As the definition indicates, and as for any kind of domestic business, “satisfaction” remains a
key tenet of global business. Beyond this, because transaction environmental factors, to different
constraints, and to quite frequent conflicts resulting from different laws, cultures, and societies.
The basic principles of business still apply, but their application, complexity, and intensity vary
substantially. To operate outside national borders, firms must be ready to incorporate
international considerations into their thinking and planning, making decisions related to
questions such as these:

● How will our idea, good, or service fit into the international market?
● Should we enter the market through trade or through investment?
● Should I obtain my supplies domestically or from abroad?
● What product adjustments are necessary to be responsive to local conditions?
● What threats from global competition should be expected and how can these threats be
counteracted?

When management integrates these issues into each decision, international markets can provide
growth, profit, and needs satisfaction not available to those that limit their activities to the
domestic marketplace. The aim of this book is to prepare you, as a student of international
business, to participate in this often complex decision process.
Czinkota, Michael R., Ilkka A. Ronkainen and Michael H. Moffett. Fundamentals of
International Business. Mason: South-Western, 2004.

Global Business

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