What does it mean for a business to develop a global vision?

"This chapter examines the business world of the global marketplace. It focuses on the processes of taking a business global, such as licensing agreements and franchisees; the challenges that are encountered; and the regulatory systems governing the world market of the 21st century. Today, global revolutions are under way in many areas of our lives: management, politics, communications, and technology. The word global has assumed a new meaning, referring to a boundless mobility and competition in social, business, and intellectual arenas. The purpose of this chapter is to explain how global trade is conducted. We also discuss the barriers to international trade and the organizations that foster global trade. The chapter concludes with trends in the global marketplace. No longer just an option, having a global vision has become a business imperative. Having a global vision means recognizing and reacting to international business opportunities, being aware of threats from foreign competitors in all markets, and effectively using international distribution networks to obtain raw materials and move finished products to the customer. U.S. managers must develop a global vision if they are to recognize and react to international business opportunities, as well as remain competitive at home. Often a U.S. firm’s toughest domestic competition comes from foreign companies. Moreover, a global vision enables a manager to understand that customer and distribution networks operate worldwide, blurring geographic and political barriers and making them increasingly irrelevant to business decisions. Over the past three decades, world trade has climbed from $200 billion a year to more than $1.4 trillion. U.S. companies play a major role in this growth in world trade, with 113 of the Fortune 500 companies making over 50 percent of their profits outside the United States. Among these companies are recognizable names such as Apple, Microsoft, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil, and General Electric. Starbucks Corp. is among the fastest growing global consumer brands and one of the most visible emblems of U.S. commercial culture overseas. Of Starbucks’s 24,000 total stores, almost 66 percent are international stores that contribute a substantial amount to the company’s revenues, which have grown from $4.1 billion in 2003 to $21.3 billion in 2016. Go into a Paris McDonald’s and you may not recognize where you are. There are no Golden Arches or utilitarian chairs and tables and other plastic features. The restaurants have exposed brick walls, hardwood strategies, political and regulatory issues, and the local labor market. It takes local experience to know, for example, that only 30 percent of the people in Poland have phones, so carryout needs to be the focus of the business; that Turkey has changed its street names three times in the past 30 years, so delivery is much more challenging; or that, in Japanese, there is no word for pepperoni, the most popular topping worldwide. These are just a few of the challenges that Domino’s has had to overcome on the road to becoming the worldwide leader in the pizza delivery business. Under the leadership of people like Schlater, and with the help of dedicated, local master franchisees, Domino’s has been able to not only compete in but to lead the global pizza delivery market."