Introduction

If you've ever been to one of the Disney parks, you may recall the popular ride with its somewhat cloying song "It's a Small World After All."  At the risk of planting that tune in your heads for the next week or so, "It's a Small World After All" could easily be our theme for this module. 

The world is getting smaller, particularly with respect to business, communication, and transportation!  Organizations of all shapes and sizes need to embrace this fact and position themselves accordingly.  In this module, we'll explore the impact of globalization on the world economy and on individual business strategy, understand the importance of international expansion and the options organizations may employ to embrace global competition, and discuss different mechanisms that firms have for entering foreign markets.  You will explore the decisions faced even by small firms with respect to global expansion in the "Uncle Bob's Breakfast Box" assignment.  Since your team case assignments have varying levels of international emphasis, this fun exercise will give everyone a chance to experience the challenges and rewards of international expansion.

Also remember to keep working on your team case analysis paper and discussion due in Module 10.  At the end of this module, you will be required to submit all your draft work for review.  Please note that the emphasis on this review will be on ensuring that adequate progress is being made.  We'll assess the quality of your work, and I'll make suggestions for improvement, in Module 9.

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Understand the increasing impact of globalization on the world economy and on individual business strategy
• Comprehend the imperative for international expansion as well as the options that firms have for global competition.
• Detail the different modes for entering foreign markets and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.
• Demonstrate significant progress in your team case analysis and discussion assignment.

Initial Work

To accomplish the objectives of this writing workshop module, you'll need to complete the tasks outlined in the course syllabus.