Business

The Concept of Globalization

According to some, globalization is extremely bad for the American economy, because it "takes" jobs away from Americans and sends them to foreign countries, where workers will labor for far less in wages and benefits. At least some of these workers are exploited by long hours and low pay, as well. However, globalization has opened up new markets for millions of American products, (such as PCs in the Lenovo case), which might not have been necessary for work around the globe without globalization. This has certainly helped the American economy in many areas, especially technology and high-tech. After all, everyone seems to have a cell phone now, and that is a plus for the American companies who first helped develop and distribute them. There are good and bad aspects to globalization, and one that many ignore is how western culture is permeating global society, westernizing countries and cultures at a rapid pace. That may be the worst part of globalization, far worse than changing the dynamics of the job market; it is changing culture to become mini by-products of American culture, at the expense of their own culture, beliefs, and history.

In the case of Lenovo, it seems extremely important (and perceptive) to appoint an American CEO and adopt English as the corporate language. Even though they are attempting to take over the global PC market, IBM is a long-standing American company, and to quickly turn it into a foreign company would alienate millions of Americans, and quite possibly doom the entire operation due to bad press and bad feelings. Keeping the American CEO and moving to New York showed they took IBM and its products seriously, and knew that IBM had much more global recognition and appreciation than Lenovo had. They knew that they could make a statement by retaining the English, American components of the business, and they did. It was simply a very wise business decision that made perfect marketing and PR sense.

References

Swinton, Captain D.E. "The Defense of Duffer's Drift." Command and General Staff College. 2008. 16 Aug. 2008. http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Swinton/Swinton.asp