In The News

Cigarette Giants in Global Fight on Tighter Rules

Duff Wilson December 1, 2010
Around the world, giant tobacco companies are increasing spending on advertising and fighting public-health initiatives to regulate the production and sale of cigarettes. As cigarette consumption falls in the West, the multinationals challenge ad limits, health warnings, cigarette taxes and prohibitions on displays throughout the developed world and invest millions into advertising in Asia and...

Global “Chop Shops”: Slice, Dice and Outsource

Farok J. Contractor October 27, 2010
Manufacturing and IT firms slice their work into parts, much like the chop shops that collect old cars, breaking them down into parts for resale and higher profits. Mangers divide tasks, sending work to points of the globe where costs and skills are most efficient for each task at hand. Farok J. Contractor, professor of management and global business, analyzes trends underway in the once-...

Western Profits Wilt on China's Surging Wages

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard August 31, 2010
As wages rise in China, companies of the West recognize that they cannot pass higher costs of manufacturing electronics or clothing onto their consumers who hold their purses tightly, amidst worries about the recession. “Reliance on Chinese plants is suddenly proving double-edged,” observes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for the Telegraph. Some companies plan for reduced profits or shifting production...

Do Multinationals Really Understand Globalization?

Navi Radjou, Prasad Kaipa August 13, 2010
Generations disagree about globalization's continuing influence over business routines. IBM conducted two polls among CEOs and students. In the CEO survey, most anticipated new centers of growth and influence to continue expanding beyond Europe and the US. But only 2 percent of the CEOs were from the emerging economies where so much new growth and change are anticipated. Students and...

Globalization in Trouble – Part II

David Dapice February 15, 2010
Globalization appears to have weathered the storm of the financial crisis, but it may be poised for a tumble. According to economist David Dapice, many developing nations, whose economies often depend heavily on exports, cannot sustain themselves without the willing consumption of their goods by the developed world. But with a pullback in aggregated demand among developed nations, the prognosis...

The New Rules: Globalization’s Next Wave of Integration

Thomas P.M. Barnett January 21, 2010
The global recession, rather than setting back economic integration, is actually deepening it by making companies create tighter, vertical supply chains that cut out the middle-man, with companies buying direct from the producer. A major example of this is Wal-Mart, which is using its global size to negotiate directly with suppliers to reduce costs but also to ensure security of supply. To the...

China and Google: “Illegal Flower Tribute”

Evan Osnos January 14, 2010
The news that Google will offer uncensored searches in China at the risk of being shut down has caused a stir in China despite the government's efforts to restrict coverage of the story. The response by state-backed media has been predictably critical of Google, even alleging ulterior motives for its actions. Yet, as New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos posts from Beijing, the “savviest” Web...