Discuss the issues that a global orientation raises for managers. Are those issues problems or opportunities for modern managers? How do you expect those issues to affect you in your work career?

THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT OF ORGANIZATIONS

The global environment of organizations demands that modern managers have an international focus that was not required before. Modern managers must beginto think beyond the domestic environment of their organizations. Now, the worldis their environment and will become more so in the future. For someorganizations, thinking internationally means finding new markets outside thehome country; for others, it means becoming a multinational organizationoperating in many countries; and, for yet others, it means becoming atransnational organization whose decisions are not limited by country boundaries.Modern managers must think of the entire planet as a source of labor and  materials, places of production, and markets.

The world economy of thetwenty-first century is so highly interconnected that positive or negative shiftsin a major economy can echo throughout the world.

Modern technology both enables and compels a global view. Thanks tomodern aircraft, international travel is common and fast. Telecommunicationsatellites let information in all forms move quickly from country to country.Managers of the same company working in different countries can easily holdvideoconferences. Communication technologies such as the Internet smashcountry boundaries, letting people in different organizations interact with littleconcern for place and time.

Advances in technology are not the only reasons modern managers are takinga global view. Regional trade agreements are opening vast new markets, possibly increasing the competition faced by a firm. The North American FreeTrade Agreement (NAFTA) opened the borders of Mexico, Canada, and theUnited States to easy movement of goods, capital, and services. Europe tooksimilar steps to encourage free trade among its countries. The movement of manyEuropean countries to a single currency (the euro) should enhance freer tradeamong its users.