Table of Contents:
Use the TOC to navigate your way through the book. When you select a chapter the sections within will be revealed. Also, as you scroll down within a chapter the section you’re in will highlight.
Searching:
At the bottom of the book you’ll find your search field. When you enter a search term the results will slide up. Click one to be taken to that area of the book.
Study Aids:
If you’re purchased the All Access Pass and are ready to challenge yourself, click the Study Aids tab at the bottom of the book to reveal your Study Aid choices. Use the drag handles on the left to resize.
Chapter 3 Business in a Global Environment
It’s a Small World
Figure 3.1 The World
Do you wear Nike shoes or Timberland boots? Buy groceries at Tops Friendly Markets, Giant Stores, or Stop & Shop? Listen to Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Springsteen, or the Dixie Chicks? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re a global business customer. Both Nike and Timberland manufacture most of their products overseas. The Dutch firm Royal Ahold owns all three supermarket chains. Sony Music, the label that records J. Lo, the Boss, and the Chicks, belongs to a Japanese company.
Take an imaginary walk down Orchard Road, the most fashionable shopping area in Singapore. You’ll pass department stores such as Tokyo-based Takashimaya and London’s very British Marks & Spencer, both filled with such well-known international labels as Ralph Lauren Polo, Burberry, Chanel, and Nokia. If you need a break, you can also stop for a latte at Seattle-based Starbucks or buy books, CDs, and DVDs at Borders Books and Music, which is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
When you’re in the Chinese capital of Beijing, don’t miss Tiananmen Square. Parked in front of the Great Hall of the People, the seat of Chinese government, are fleets of black Buicks, cars made by General Motors in Flint, Michigan. If you’re adventurous enough to find yourself in Faisalabad, a medium-size city in Pakistan, you’ll see locals riding donkeys, camels pulling carts piled with agricultural produce, and Hamdard University, located in a refurbished hotel. Step inside its computer labs, and the sensation of being in a faraway place will likely disappear: on the computer screens, you’ll recognize the familiar Microsoft flag—the same one emblazoned on screens in Microsoft’s hometown of Seattle and just about everywhere else on the planet.