体验商务英语3 Chapter 01 Globalization.ppt

* The globalization of markets refers to the merging of historically distinct and separate national markets into one huge global marketplace. It is important to recognize that significant differences still exist among national markets, requiring companies to customize market strategies, product features, and operating practices to meet the conditions in particular markets. The most global markets currently are not markets for consumer products—where national differences in tastes and preferences are still often important enough to act as a brake on globalization—but markets for industrial goods and materials that serve a universal need the world over. These include the markets for commodities such as aluminum, oil, and wheat; the markets for industrial products such as microprocessors, DRAMs (computer memory chips), and commercial jet aircraft; the markets for computer software; and the markets for financial assets from U.S. Treasury bills to Eurobonds and futures on the Nikkei index or the Mexican peso. * In many markets the emergence of a global marketplace has begun to occur. There are three causes: falling barriers to cross-border trade have made it easier to sell internationally; tastes and preferences are converging on some global norm helping to create a global market; and firms are facilitating the trend by offering standardized products worldwide creating a global market. * The globalization of production refers to the sourcing of goods and services from locations around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production (such as labor, energy, land, and capital). By doing this, companies hope to lower their overall cost structure and/or improve the quality or functionality of their product offering, thereby allowing them to compete more effectively. Early outsourcing efforts were primarily confined to manufacturing enterprises, but today, more companies are taking advantage of modern communicatio