Now that we've look at international perspectives from the firm level, the environmental level, and next week the practical level, in your opinion are current events like the Euro (Neuro?) crisis, China's surge onto the world scene, rebellion and death in Syria that threatens to destabilize, and a threatening Iran (and a threatening to forcefully respond Israel) leading indicators of firm and environmental responses or are they lagging indicators? Both? It depends? Neither? Are current events important or are they simply moderating variables to a firm's core strategy and attenuators to perception and action in the transnational, international, global or exporting firm?
Thursday, February 16, 2012
OK. Approaching the last week...
It's the last week of class (yay!) and everyone has pretty well satisfied the blogging commitment with quality posts that are insightful, a little bold, and delving into deeper waters than is typically the case. Good job. If you want to go beyond, here's the next question - - - -
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I would say that the current events are just moderating variables to a firm's core strategy. However, when those current events effect the history of the firm, or organization itself then they become part of that organization. One example is that of Venezuela nationalizing their Oil Industry. For most companies this was just another variable to deal with, but for the oil companies who's wells were taken from them it was much larger than just a variable.
ReplyDeleteI will take the liberal arts college answer on this question and say that it depends. I believe that current events are both leading and lagging indicators. Lagging in that they are a result of events that have already transpired, leading in that they are a foreshadow of what could happen and force people to make changes.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do believe that in today's integrated world economy current events are definitely important. The current events mentioned above have the capability to impact every person on the planet in one way or another. I think that as the world becomes more integrated with technology, our actions directly impact other areas in the world.
For example, the Euro credit crisis. If a Euro does collapse and a European credit crunch does occur, it will have an impact on all financial markets around the world. Since capital and finance is the life-blood of business and greases the wheels of progress nearly all businesses around the world will be impacted in one way or another if there were global credit crunch were to take place.
Gotta love the liberal arts answer. Probably depends also on industry, dominant threats from competitors, suppliers, buyers. Also accounted are threats to demand, natural resources eg factor endowments, likely governmental response and threats to related and supporting industries. These all require some analysis to be sure. Size matters... in a smaller firm in a more perfectly competitive industry or even in an oligopolistic one, these threats may become more salient requiring response. Your answer is right on... it's basically everything.
DeleteI agree with Jim that it's a combination of factors inclusive of both leading and lagging causes. The Euro crisis is obviously the result of many things, but one of these is the willingness of certain labor markets to produce goods at an alarming speed and low cost. When we’re dealing with a globalized consumer group, this is going to give these countries the lead on production, trade, and subsequent growth. I believe a shift in the mindset of European producers and laborers is going to have to occur before they will be able to go forward with competing on a global scale. (And yes, I was a liberal arts major!)
ReplyDeleteI just saw where Foxconn, the large manufacturing corporation in China that produces parts for Apple, Sony, Dell, Toshiba, and others is being profiled on Nightline tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 21st). This is the company that has come under scrutiny for the extremely low pay and long hours of workers, especially after the suicides of some. I'd just heard on the radio a few days ago that Foxconn was going to raise salaries some, too. Even though the amount of the raises was not large by American standards, it is a start in the right direction - I hope. Perhaps the demand for corporate accountability to the consumer nations may force companies with practices like this to improve their workers' conditions. In the long run, could this help to level the playing field a bit?
ReplyDeleteJust a follow up to the Nightline episode on Foxconn…I highly recommend watching this if you get a chance. Auret van Heerdon, the head of the Fair Labor Act and the speaker in the TED video we watched in class last week is briefly interviewed. It’s hard to watch the rigorous conditions/hours that have led to so many suicides that a suicide net has been added to the building to discourage spur of the moment jumps from depressed workers. Regardless, there are literally thousands of people lined up for jobs at Foxconn on hiring days. As a consumer, I am conflicted. Is this up to Apple or me, as a consumer, to demand changes? Although conditions are oppressed, Foxconn does give people jobs. Really ethical issues, and one can only hope that publicity like this will help to raise the labor standard.
ReplyDeleteI believe these ae mostly lagging indicators - Results of decissions and choices already made. The interesting challenge about understanding it all is as complex as a very large data set on which you are doing regression analysis trying to determine which aspects have had the moste impact versus which aspects are minimal. I don't believe that this changes a firm's strategy in most situations - unless a game changing impact completely changes the playing field - such as a world war.
ReplyDelete