Guus Hendriks

Global Environment of Business

8 and 10 October 2019

Course Outline and

Globalisation
Welcome to GEB!

• Aim of the course is to introduce major trends and themes

associated with the international environment in which companies
operate
• The 'globalization' of the world economy
• The institutional diversity of national business systems
• The state and international institutions

• Key questions:
• how are companies affected by the international dimension of their
environments?
• How do they make choices when confronted with global issues?
Structure in a nutshell

• Weekly lectures (2h), double-streamed on Tuesdays and Thursdays

• Compulsory seminars, in the week after the lecture on that topic

• Prepares for GIP (2nd term), IBS and CIM (final year)
Teaching team

Guus Hendriks Frederik Dahlmann Michel Goyer

Seminars:
Ali Ahmed Daniella Badu
David Felstead Catherine Georgiou
Tong Li Megan Power
Sergey Tabankov
Schedule
Schedule
Seminars

• Discussion and presentation

• Attendance is mandatory
• Tutors: coordinating and advisory
• Opportunity for questions, discussion of past exam questions,
debate
• Group work: changes of group only allowed in exceptional cases
• Preparation is expected
Essential readings every week
Choose couple of topics for further readings/reporting
Respect others’ opinions/perspectives, be an active contributor
Readings

• No compulsory text but particularly useful:

• Dicken Global Shift
• Collinson et al’s International Business
• See syllabus for all readings!

• Key readings:
• One academic article
• One article from business press / practice
(UN, WTO)
Assessment

• Exam in term 3 – 2 questions out of four

• Past papers available on-line
• Best answers make connections between issues and topics
• Demonstrate reflection during the year

• Practice with the module writing task

• Revision lecture in Term 3
• Forum on my.wbs
Outline: Globalisation

1. What is globalisation?

2. Globalisation:
the Debate

3. Hyperglobalists

4. Regionalisation
What is globalisation?

• Internationalisation: Extension of economic activities across borders

• Globalisation: I + ‘functional integration’

• Also: cultural, technological, political dimensions

What is globalisation?

Source: Dicken (ch.2)

What is globalisation?

Source: Dicken (ch.2)

Globalisation: the Debate
Globalisation: the Debate

• So what are the three debates?

• Is globalisation real?

• Is globalisation dead?

• Is globalisation good?
Debate 1: Hyperglobalists vs. sceptics

• ‘…Today’s global economy is genuinely borderless. Information,

capital, and innovation flow all over the world at top speed, enabled
by technology…’
(Ohmae, The End of the Nation State, 1995)

• Global products, standardisation, homogeneous tastes

• The world is flat - Friedman
Debate 1: Hyperglobalists vs. sceptics

• Globalisation a ‘myth’?
• In certain respects, world economy less globalised than at the turn of
19th/20th century
• e.g. labour migration, free trade, gold standard
• Hirst & Thompson

• Enduring variation in national business system (=> varieties of

capitalism)
• e.g. U.S., Germany, Japan

• Most trade and FDI within each of the ‘Triads’

=> ‘Grounded view’: process is reality, but outcome is not prejudged
Debate 1: Hyperglobalists vs. sceptics
Debate 2: The End of Globalisation?

• Protect ‘losers’ of globalisation? (Backlash?)

• Neo-protectionism, strong states?
• Limits to trade expansion?
• Declining returns of trade?
Debate 3: Is globalisation good for?

• Democracy?
• Post-democracy? (Crouch)
• Environment?
• Sustainability, global warming?
• Instability?
• See Stiglitz, Globalisation and its Discontents
• Culture?
• Homogenisation?
• Equality?
Debate 3: Is globalisation good for?

Source: Rodrik (2011), Rodrik’s Trilemma

By a show of hands…
How does it affect business?

• Return of the state? More regulation?

• Future of trade deals?

• Populist backlash? More ‘Brexit’ cases?

• Underestimate cultural differences?

• Product adaptation?