Global Investement Strategies - Research Paper Example

Globalization has been defined comprehensively by the IMF as a historical process that is the result of human innovation and technological process and encompasses the increasing integration of economies around the globe especially through trade and financial flows (IMF, 2000). The phenomenon of globalization has touched markets, nation states, corporations, businesses and individuals alike. There are advantages and disadvantages that have resulted from this change to all involved stakeholders (Friedman, 1999) but this change has affected businesses like never before.

On the positive side businesses have been able to access more markets than ever before as markets are becoming more and more integrated. This has allowed businesses to reach greater audiences and this in turn has increased their revenues to newer levels. Market integration has also meant that businesses can now distribute their functions to around the globe depending on specialties. For example it is common for electronic businesses to have manufacturing facilities located in China, to have marketing facilities in North America and Western Europe and to have operational offices and retail centers all across the globe.

This kind of market integration has meant that businesses have been able to lower their operational costs as each specific business function is handled by the most economically feasible option. Lower costs of labor and other inputs have meant that relocating manufacturing facilities to developing nations would reduce base costs. This reduction in base costs has enabled businesses to lower overall production costs which in turn are encouraging businesses to expose their products to larger audiences.

The lowered costs have in turn allowed consumers all over the world to purchase goods and services from manufacturers and service providers which has meant increasing revenues for business around the globe. This can simply be seen as the creation of a singular world market which is the ultimate object of the globalization regime (Shirakawa et al., 2000). While on the one hand these changes have allowed businesses to reap the wide benefits of integrated markets but difficulties in financial transactions have intensified as a result.

Although the entire globe is more connected than ever before but the movement of capital has become far more intricate given the large number of interfaces involved to make these transactions possible. The financial markets around the globe have been integrated using modern electronic communication but this has represented a new constraint on the already developed systems. It is essential for a business to increase its workforce to encompass people with requisite IT skills and expertise to support the system required to carry out such financial transactions.

The use of these systems has also exposed businesses to new menaces such as online attacks and chances at fraud. It is not uncommon for internationally integrated businesses to become victims of DOS (denial of service) attacks as well as being victims of unethical hacking activity. In turn the consumers of these businesses have also been victim to such actions and certain nations have been blacklisted for transactions in order to protect both consumers and businesses.