The world has become much more intertwined over the last 20 years. Reductions in tariffs, quotas, and other barriers to free trade; improvements in global transportation systems; explosive expansion in Internet usage; and increasing sophistication in international markets have created a truly global marketplace. Exhibit 1-1 illustrates this tremendous growth in international trade from the standpoint of the United States and some of its key trading partners. Panel A of the exhibit shows the dollar value of imports (stated in billions of dollars) into the United States from six countries; Panel B shows the dollar value of exports from the United States to those same six countries. As you can see, the increase in import and export activity from 1990 to 2004 was huge. In particular, trade with China expanded enormously as did trade with Mexico and Canada, which participate in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In a global marketplace, a company that has been very successful in its local market may suddenly find itself facing competition from halfway around the globe. For example, in the 1980s American automobile manufacturers began losing market share to Japanese competitors who offered American consumers higher quality cars at lower prices. For consumers, this type of heightened international competition promises a greater variety of goods and services, at higher quality and lower prices. However, heightened international competition threatens companies that may have been quite profitable in their own local markets.

Although globalization leads to greater competition, it also means greater access to new markets, customers, and workers. For example, the emerging markets of China, India, Russia, and Brazil contain more than 2.5 billion potential customers and workers.¹ Many companies such as FedEx, McDonald’s, and Nike are actively seeking to grow their sales by investing in emerging markets. In addition, the movement of jobs from the United States and Western Europe to other parts of the world has been notable in recent years. For example, one study estimates that by the end of the decade more than 825,000 financial services and high-tech jobs will transfer from Western Europe to less expensive labor markets such as India, China, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.²

The Internet fuels the globalization phenomenon by providing companies with greater access to geographically dispersed customers, employees, and suppliers. While the number of Internet users worldwide more than doubled during the first four years of the new millennium, as of 2004, more than 87% of the world’s population was still not connected to the Internet. This suggests that the Internet’s impact on global business has yet to fully develop.

IN BUSINESS

THE IMPLICATIONS OF GLOBALIZATION International competition goes hand-in-hand with globalization. China’s entrance into the global marketplace has highlighted this stark reality for many U.S. companies. For example, from 2000 to 2003, China’s wooden bedroom furniture exports to the United States increased by more than 233% to a total of $1.2 billion. During this same time, the number of workers employed by U.S. furniture manufacturers dropped by about a third, or a total of 35,000 workers. However, globalization means more than international competition. It brings opportunities for companies to enter new markets. FedEx has pushed hard to be an important player in the emerging Asian cargo market. FedEx makes 622 weekly flights to and from Asian markets, including service to 224 Chinese cities. FedEx currently has 39% of the U.S.–China express market and it plans to pursue continuous growth in that region of the world. <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0073526703/gar26703_p0102.jpg','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (K)</a> © AP Photo/The Indianapolis Star, Robert Sheer Source: Ted Fishman, “How China Will Change Your Business,” Inc. magazine, March 2005, pp. 70–84; Matthew Boyle, “Why FedEx is Flying High,” Fortune, November 1, 2004, pp. 145–150.

¹ The Economist: Pocket World in Figures 2004, Profile Books Ltd., London, U.K.

² “Job Exports: Europe’s Turn,” BusinessWeek, April 19, 2004, p. 50.