Global Marketplaces and Business Centers - Research Paper Example

With advances in information technology, there have been lower costs to communicate and interact across national and international boundaries. This has seen many businesses facing the potential to expand and increase their markets into other foreign countries. With information technology, it has been possible to transfer resources, materials, and capital to wherever they are likely to yield the highest profits (Buono 29). The term ‘business center’ has a number of meanings. A business centre may be defined as a popular place in which many businesses are able to rent rooms for events, meetings or offices.

A business centre is also part of a town, city, country, or region where the main business activities and premises such as banks, shopping malls, factories, or offices are located. In business centers, there are usually a lot of financial and business activities. Business centres usually represent places where business professionals, large companies, and other small business are able to operate from. These centres usually provide businesses with conference rooms, space to operate, office equipment, telecommunication services, support staff, and other amenities necessary for businesses to be conducted smoothly.

The two terms are sometimes used to refer to places, regions, or countries that are well known business destinations (Porter 56). Global marketplaces and business centres can be assessed by looking at how the world’s GDP is shared. According to statistics appearing in the 2006 World Bank Development Report (292-300), the United States has 29% of the world’s GDP, the European Union 31%, Japan 11%, Canada 2%, and the rest of the world 27% as of 2004. The global marketplaces of North America include United States, the Caribbean countries, Central American countries, Greenland and Mexico.

All these countries have a population of over 507 million people who produce close to 33% of the world’s total output. The US had the largest economy of $ 40.9 trillion GDP in 2004. Another global marketplace worth mentioning is Canada. It population is about 32 million, and it is a major exporter since its exports account for close to its GDP of 37% realized in 2004 which amounted to $ 980 billion (Rosenblooum 78). Western Europe consists of nations which are among the most successful, and attract the highest number of businesses and business ventures.

The Western European countries have wealthy people who can buy many products from other marketplaces. Western European countries that make up global market places are divided into members of the European Union. It also consists of other countries that belong to the region. Some of these countries that are global marketplaces within Western Europe include Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and other like Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland (Hofstede 77). Eastern and Central Europe also have many countries that are considered global marketplaces and business centres.

The countries that make up global marketplaces in Central Europe include Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Austria, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, and Bosnia. The countries in Eastern Europe that are known to be global marketplaces are the 15 countries that were formed as a result of the Soviet Union’s disintegration. These regions have undergone numerous economic, political, and social changes during the past decade to be where they are today.

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