Customer Reviews

World View: Global Strategies for the New Economy (Harvard Business Review Book)

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Many organizations are now struggling to formulate global strategies for the New Economy. Garten has assembled sixteen different essays in which various experts identify a number of different strategies to consider and then suggest how such strategies could be implemented. The material is organized within four Parts:

Emerging Markets [eg Prahalad and Lieberthal on "The End of Corporate Imperialism"]

Europe and Asia [eg Williamson on "Asia's New Competitive Game"]

Corporate Strategies [eg Porter on "Clusters and the New Economics of Competition]

Leadership [three interviews: Victor Fung, Robert B. Shapiro, and John Browne]

Garten then provides Executive Summaries and About the Contributors, both sections giving the reader a frame-of-reference within which to evaluate the specific essays and their respective authors. Garten is eminently well-qualified. You are urged to check out another of his books, The Mind of the C.E.O., in which he shares what he learned from interviews with 40 CEOs of major global corporations.

In the Introduction, Garten identifies several "common themes" revealed throughout the sixteen essays: operating in a global market requires CEOs to rethink everything about their strategies -- even what strategy means in an environment which is changing so fast and is so brutally competitive; the best strategies require organizations that are set up for gathering massive amounts of information and processing it effectively; companies that succeed on a global scale are constant innovators; great global companies create a culture conducive to extensive internal and external collaboration; and finally, virtually all of the authors agree that change is brining unprecedented opportunity to capture markets and enhance shareholder value.

Who will derive the greatest benefit from this superb anthology of separate but inter-related essays? Obviously, the governing board members and other senior executives of global organizations (which include but are not limited to for-profits) as well as CEOs of companies which include one or more of the global organizations among their own clients. Also, business students at the undergraduate and graduate levels who seek a single-volume source of information and insight concerning global strategies for the New Economy. (Have you checked out the price of textbooks lately?) For those in need of additional sources, Garten provides an abundance of them in the "About the Contributors" section.

Those who share my high regard for this book should also check out Dun & Bradstreet's Guide to Doing Business Around the World (Morrison et al) and also, if relevant, Doing Business in Asia (Dunung) and/or The New Silk Road (Stuttard's observations on doing business in China). Having accurate and sufficient information is obviously very important but without an appropriate strategy, information cannot be effectively leveraged. Hence the importance of the diverse and abundant wisdom which is so readily available in this book.

The thematic collections of articles from the Harvard Business Review are clearly popular enough to justify more. This one is on globalisation and its implications. As ever, the articles selected are well organised, with a useful short introduction.

As with several of the collections, the really interesting thing is what is not covered. To an observer, three of the things that are really uncertain in the global economy, with large potential implications for global strategy, are financial instability, the growth of consumer dissent and activism and the pressure to build environmental sustainability. The first two topics do not appear at all and the third is represented only by an interview with the CEO of a company that has since changed its name, apparently as a direct of result of customer backlash to its chosen path to sustainability.

The impression is of a book that represents a somewhat complacent corporate conventional wisdom, in which change will occur in ways that we understand and can, within limits, control and more radical possibilities are comfortably not in contemplation. The failure of the Kyoto conference has amply demonstrated this lack of vision. As AtKisson and Hawken have pointed out, the obvious response to the problem of global warming is a large - and, in even the medium term, potentially enormously profitable for someone - thrust to bring on the hydrogen economy. Yet, as far as one can determine from the reports, this solution was not even seriously raised, let alone debated.

A true 'world view' is likely to see strategies that are much more radical and much less comfortable for conservative business, than this collection seems to suggest.

I am impressed on Garten's and his contributor writers telling MNCs past lessons trying to penetrate into Asia's markets in India and China. I find it interesting especially local companies tried to sort strategies since there are no longer consider as monopoly to counter-attack before they enter the market! This will give local producers to be much more competitive than before. Eventually, they repaired their reputation and efficient production and service than before!MNCs need to worry much especially they don't understand the Asian culture and taste! It may be a suicide mission if MNCs don't study the culture and the background of the country! Although the population in India and China approxed 2.2 billion doesn't mean that it is a 100% peneteration! These may find on Part 1: Emerging Markets and Part 2: Europe and Asia This book is highly recommended to Asian Small-Medium Entrepreneurship and asian big corporate companies as it is important to know how much competitive market as the world trade tariff walls declined! It is undoubtfully an excellent book!

In this world of changes we must know our next future. This book brings us these informations. Garten handles a torchlight to the future of the world and organizations. It is surprising how he connects the wires and alll we have to do is just follow the line of the words. Undoubtfully is a great book.