1. Global Business Environment The Global business environment & its components

2. What is GBE? Global business environment can be defined as: – the environment in different sovereign countries, – with factors exogenous to the home environment of the organization, – influencing decision making on resource use and capabilities.

3. Factors of GBE – Economic environment; – Political environment; – Legal environment; – Social and cultural environment; – Technological environment; – Tax environment.

4. Economic environment – The changing nature of international business/trade in historical perspective, Changing world output and world trade; International institutions; – International monetary environment, financial flows, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) trends; – Business cycles; – Development and competitiveness indicators; – Economic integration; – Global problems;  Economic Risk

5. Political environment – Rule of law; – Interaction between politics and business environment; – Government and international bureaucracies; – National and international legislative bodies; – Public opinion, civil society, interest groups; – Transnational corporations (TNCs); – Global churches;  Political Risk

6. Social and cultural environment – Income disparities; – Health and education system, level of knowledge; – Population trends, Aging; – Labour market; – Family; Functions of family; Family life cycle – Religion and international business; – Values and attitudes and international business; – Influence of culture on consumption.

7. Legal environment – Tariffs, subsidies, non-tariff barriers; – Taxes, double taxation; – International regulatory bodies (Bretton Woods institutions, institutions of integrations, international banks); – Foreign investment regulation; – Litigation and dispute settlement.

8. Technological environment – Economic theories on technological development; – Technology cycles; – Adoption of technology in companies; global production networks; – The choice of Technologies to develop.