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Whether you agree with globality or disagree, don't ignore it
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-09-04 18:24 The second factor driving the challengers' growth is global access. "Unlike challengers of previous waves, the companies of the rapidly developing economies had amazing access to the wealth of resources the world had to offer -- knowledge, intellectual property, services, talent, capital and so much more -- as well as to the markets from which they could buy and into which they could sell." The most critical resource, according to the authors, is knowledge. The founders and senior managers of several of these companies were educated in the US. In addition to formal education, the challengers have been able to tap into other sources of intellectual capital by working directly with for-profit and not-for-profit research labs, scientists and patent bodies, the authors write. "They have been able to contract with suppliers possessing specialist knowledge, license it from various types of owners or acquire companies with important intellectual assets." The third factor that drives the challengers is "insatiable hunger" for "achievement, success, and world-wide recognition," according to Sirkin and his colleagues. "This hunger infused the culture, and people in the rapidly developing economies developed a remarkable business-mindedness -- an intense entrepreneurial spirit and a near obsession with work and commercial affairs -- that seems even more intense than that of the most business-minded of developed countries, the United States." The authors describe office workers in Shanghai who are so driven by the desire to increase their incomes that they work after hours as street vendors. "One woman, a clerk at a travel agency, sells lollipops in the evenings after dinner and makes an average of 500 yuan ($65) a week." While the authors cite an example from China, this mindset will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has encountered it in any of the emerging economies. If all this is true, what are the implications of "globality" for companies around the world, especially the incumbent giants in western Europe, Japan and the US? Should they simply wait around until the challengers arrive to eat their lunch? Not at all, say Sirkin and his colleagues, who note that globality is both an opportunity and a threat. For those who deny the existence of the phenomenon -- despite daily headlines to the contrary -- it could well be the latter. For others, however, it represents a chance to bring about global transformation. The authors recommend several actions for companies that want to transform themselves to compete in the present environment: Evaluate your competitive position; shift your mind set; assess and align your people; recognize your full set of opportunities; define your future global shape; encourage ingenuity; and lead your transformation from the front. "Globality will affect everyone, everywhere, everything," they say. "And that means you. One day it may be your company that Tata Group wants to acquire, your child calling home from Shanghai, your job moving to Mexico City, and your brand new Changfeng gleaming in the driveway. It's just a matter of time." Reproduced with permission from Knowledge@Wharton, http://knowledgeatwharton.com.cn. Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
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