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Neither companies, countries nor even continents
can hold back the tide of globalization. The electronic
revolution, which has transformed communications and information
technology, is now fundamentally reshaping the nature of
the world system. Global Shakeout describes its effects
on the nature of corporate competition, and shows how this
technology-induced change is only one part of a broader
revolution that will affect every aspect of our lives --
our economies, culture and political organization.
Supported by case studies and references
to national, international and multinational companies in
a wide range of business sectors, this book covers the globe
in its piercing examination, first of the purely managerial
effects and then the deeper, social implications of the
fast-moving technological revolution accompanied by the
fall of economic barriers worldwide.
While reports of the decline of the United
States are exaggerated, American companies face a tough
battle to stay competitive; the task for European companies,
despite the creation of the European Community single market,
is even more difficult. The climb of Japan and countries
of the Pacific Rim is firmly based and will not be eroded;
the collapse of the former Soviet empire is likely to provoke
and produce an area of economic and political turbulence;
the shifting balance of advantage between Third World countries
and OECD members will depend on a battle between disciplined,
educated, cheap labour in the former and the application
of sophisticated technology in the latter. These are just
a few of the strands of this perceptive book, which offers
broad guidance to governments, companies and individuals
on coping in the age of supercompetition.
Louis Turner is Head of the Conference
Unit at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham
House. The Unit runs over 15 high-level conferences a year
in major cities worldwide, and speakers have included presidents,
prime ministers, foreign ministers and chief executives.
He began working on the politics of international companies
in the mid-1960s. He is the author of nine previous books
on various aspects of such companies, the oil industry,
Third World industrialization and collaboration with Japan.
He is also the UK convenor of the Ango-Japan High Technology
Forum, and also teaches at the London School of Economics
and Political Science.
Dr. Michael Hodges is a Senior Lecturer
in the Department of International Relations and the Interdisciplinary
Institute of Management at the London School of Economics
and Political Science, where he has directed the Master's
Degree in the Politics of the World Economy since 1988.
He was formerly Professor of International Relations at
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA. He has
written several books and articles on international relations
and multinational corporations, and he served as Consultant
to the EC Commission and as Specialist Advisor to the UK
House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities,
as well as to many major organizations and government agencies.
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