Globalization and Multinational Corporations Quiz

Globalization and Multinational Corporations

• Qualitative changes in firms and societies from the 1830s to the late 1800s included growth in rail networks, efficient ocean transport, rise in manufacturing, and the introduction of telegraph and telephone.
• Significant changes from 1900 to 1930 included the rise of electricity and steel production, increased demand for consumer products, and growth in cross-border trade and investments.
• From 1948 to 1970, there was an emergence and dominance of multinational corporations (MNCs) mainly from Europe and North America, and a rise in MNCs from Japan.
• The period from 1980 to the present saw the rise of global brands, the establishment of GATT (WTO), and an increase in the use of personal computers and the internet.
• The drivers of globalization include the worldwide reduction of barriers to trade and investment, market liberalization, industrialization, economic development, and modernization, and the integration of world financial markets.
• The globalization of markets has resulted in consumer products being influenced by culture, and successful firms being able to source components globally and deliver finished products to diverse markets at competitive prices.
• Globalization of production has allowed companies to break down the manufacturing process into separate stages in advantageous locations, such as India's IT capacity and China's mass production capabilities.
• Globalization has led to more choices and lower prices for consumers, an increasingly blurred national identity for products and services, and impacts on career choice and progression.
• Economic benefits of globalization include the monopoly power of large MNCs, waves of industrialization creating manufacturing jobs, and benefits for workers in new manufacturing regions.
• Technology diffusion through globalization has led to new technologies being adopted across individual firms and households, with spill-over effects creating opportunities for local firms.
• Globalization and the environment have led to concerns about firms relocating to avoid stricter pollution rules, but some companies have been involved in significant environmental clean-up efforts.
• Globalization has both winners and losers at national, regional, and organizational levels, with the most open economies being the most vulnerable to a global slowdown. It has altered career progression and the national identity of brands.