Importance of global awareness in business

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PERSON ANSWER 1

1) Discuss the three factors necessary to achieve global awareness

The main three factors necessary to achieve global awareness are objectivity, tolerance towards cultural differences and knowledge ability. Overall, the globalization of markets are increasing. For example, there are more foreign customers, competitors, suppliers than ever before and competition now comes from both domestic and foreign firms. There are also more foreign-controlled companies in U.S. then ever before. As the world moves towards a globalized economy, global awareness is becoming increasingly important for international corporations. The overall most important characteristic necessary to achieve global awareness is the tolerance of cultural differences.

First and foremost, objectivity is necessary to achieve global awareness. Objectivity starts the process by assessing opportunities in evaluating potential. Objectivity also is the process of responding to problems. Objectivity is the ability to see entire situation accurately, without the influence of emotion, prejudice, or bias. In order to be successfully globally aware companies and individuals need to remain free of prejudice and bias.

Tolerance is one of the most important factors to achieving global awareness. Specifically, tolerance towards cultural differences. It is extremely important for employees and companies to understand cultural differences when working with people from other cultures. International companies need to understand cultural differences as well as the accepting towards working with others whose behavior may be different from themselves. Culture is the sum of values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, and thought processes that are learned and shared by a group of people, then transmitted from generation to generation. Tolerance is the ability to be open minded towards the difference between each culture. Tolerance for cultural differences is crucial in international marketing. Tolerance is understanding cultural differences and accepting and working with others whose beliefs and behaviors may be foreign.

Finally, knowledge ability is another necessary factor to achieve global awareness. Companies must be knowledgeable about other cultures, history, world market potentials, global autonomy and overall social trends. In order to have global awareness companies must understand global trends and embrace change. . Over the next few years, there will be major changes in the socioeconomic and political scenes around the world, particularly in the developed world. Global awareness is not simply recognizing that specific world views are different from others, but also accepting the diverse perspectives of others.

2) Prepare your lifelong plan to be globally aware

I personally strive to be globally aware and all that I do. The globally aware person has the knowledge, competencies, values, and dispositions to act in an informed manner, demonstrate empathy, engage in effective intergroup communication, and build community across social, cultural, political, environmental, geographic, and economic boundaries. Being globally aware is not always easy, however is extremely necessary to successfully interact and communicate with those around us. The world around this is transforming rapidly and global awareness is more important than ever. With technological advances localization is becoming more prominent and cultures are interacting more than ever before. People need to strive to understand and embrace referring cultures in order to promote relationships and interactions with these cultures. In order to embrace global awareness individuals need to gain pertinent knowledge about cultural, political, ethical, economic, social and environmental issues revolving around the world. The best way to be globally aware is to interact with other cultures and study other cultures. Overall the best life long plan to becoming globally aware is embracing other cultures and using every opportunity to learn cultures that are different from one’s own culture.

PERSON ANSWER 2

1. Discuss the three factors necessary to achieve global awareness

Some of the factors necessary to achieve global awareness are as follows

i. Tolerance towards cultural differences – world has come closer today through globalization. People from any part of the world travel to any other part of the world to carry out business. They meet different people with different nationality, race, culture and so on and hence it is necessary to be global aware in order to know who we are dealing with. Hence, we must be tolerant towards cultural differences from other religion, nationality, ethnicity, etc. and accept and respect their culture and practices.

ii. Knowledgeability – a knowledgeable person with in depth study about various cultures, history, world politics and economy and social trends will always have a competitive edge over other people. A globally aware person with knowledge in all these fields is more likely to get work done effectively and efficiently.

iii. Objectivity – objectivity is necessary to be globally aware. One should know the reason, benefit to be globally aware. In order to achieve that, one should be assessing opportunities, evaluating potential opportunities in the global world and respond to problems and ultimately achieve better experience and knowledge.

1. Prepare your lifelong plan to be globally aware

To be globally aware, my lifelong plan would be

i. Mass media – international newsletters, magazines, books along with various multimedia sources like radio, news channels, television and such keeps one updated about the events, trends and changes happening in the world. I would take yearly or lifetime subscriptions of these kind of medias in order to learn about events happening in any corner of the world. Nowadays, audio and video podcasts and video blogs are trending on internet and it makes it easier and joyful listening and watching them to acquire knowledge.

ii. Connect globally – I would like to connect with people worldwide through internet applications like LinkedIn, Facebook and other such social media and web pages where users post information and spread awareness of events and changes taking place in their locality and surroundings.

iii. Attend public gatherings – I would actively attend number of seminars that discuss various hot topics that needed to be heard. I would also visit public screenings and webinars when possible to know issues far from my locality. Nowadays, due to advanced technology, I can view all these webinars by signing in from my personal computer and also record it to watch later.

PERSON ANSWER 3

1) Discuss the three factors necessary to achieve global awareness

1. Tolerance of and a willingness to learn about cultural differences – This is a vital element within international marketing. Being tolerable i.e. understanding and accepting cultural differences can allow for a better understanding of the differences between home and foreign markets. By understanding the differences between markets means that the marketing manager can make business decisions that meet home and foreign goals. As many of us will have different cultural backgrounds then managers and other employees need to be mindful of these differences. We don’t have to accept these differences, but we have to be able to tolerate and allow these differences to be of benefit to the business.

2. Knowledge of cultures and history – The knowledge of culture is important for managers to understand as it helps them to understand the behaviors in foreign markets. Knowledge of history assists managers by giving them a broader idea on consumer behavior and, can help in the planning process. By knowing the history of a certain culture or nation it gives a better understanding as to how people in a foreign market act and think. In more cases there are cultural differences between markets so, a manager would use that knowledge of culture and history to make effective and valued business decisions.

3. Knowledge of world market potential, and global economic, social, and political trends – Marketing managers need to keep up with world markets as conditions within a business environment can rapidly change. Countries that are still undergoing social, economic and political changes are former republics of the Soviet Union, along with many other countries in Eastern Europe, China, Africa, India and Latin America have changed the way trade is completed. In addition, these changes also influence the level of economic powers. There is demand for business to be undertaken in developing countries as there is a large market potential. By having knowledge of these factors mentioned above will help marketing managers to identify openings and potential in foreign markets before others.

2) Prepare your lifelong plan to be globally aware

By taking into account the factors mentioned above then, global awareness can be effectively built through a few approaches. These include;

a. Select individual managers specifically for their demonstrated global awareness. This is due to the fact that there is a better chance of establishing business through prior social ties.

b. Building personal relationships in other countries. A business can utilize foreign agents and partners to effectively establish these relationships.

c. Incorporate a culturally diverse senior executive staff/board of directors. By having a diverse network of employees within your business then, you increase knowledge about other cultures. This will allow for the business to build and potentially enter into new foreign markets.

d. Lastly, I think this is an important point to mention. We can become more globally and politically aware by being more respectful and appreciative of cultural and personal differences. We can also keep up with current events by reading reputable and trustworthy sources as well as, talking about current issues.