Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
The Dynamic
Environment
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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Inequality
o The basic political conflict in every nation, and often
between nations, is the antagonism between rich and
poor
o The industrial revolution accelerated the
accumulation of wealth and widened the persistent
problem of its uneven distribution
o Global income inequality is measured by the Gini
index
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Inequality
o Gini index: A statistical measure of inequality in
which zero is perfect equality (everyone has the same
amount of wealth and 100 is absolute inequality (a
single person has all wealth)
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Population Growth
o The basic population trend throughout human history
is upward
o Accelerated growth after 1825 due to:
o Advances in water sanitation and medicine, reduced
the number of deaths from infectious disease
o Mechanized farming, expanded the food supply
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Population Growth
o Rapid growth now declining due to declining fertility
o Implications of current population trends:
o The wealth gap between high- and low-income
countries will widen
o Growth will continue to strain the earths ecosystems
o The West is in demographic decline compared with
other peoples
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Technology
o Throughout history new technologies and devices
have fueled commerce and reshaped societies
o Printing press
o Steam engine
o New technologies:
o Foster the productivity gains that sustain long-term
economic progress
o Promote human welfare
o Can agitate societies
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Globalization
o Globalization: The creation of networks of human
interaction that span worldwide distances
o Consequences of globalization:
o Increased economic activity
o Changed cultures
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Globalization
o Globalization has been accelerated by new
technologies, and sometimes slowed by national
rivalries and wars
o Transnational corporations are the central forces of
current economic globalization
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Nation-States
o Nation-state: An international actor having a ruling
authority, citizens, and a territory with fixed borders
o Arose out of the wreckage of the Roman Empire
o In the past, nations increased their power by seizing
territory from other nations
o Today, nations use trade to increase their power
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Nation-States
o Trade through world markets is a new source of
power, but it also limits the ability of regimes to
control their economies
o Other forces such as epidemics, climate change,
terrorism and international norms also limit a nationstates autonomy
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Dominant Ideologies
o Ideology: A set of reinforcing beliefs and values that
constructs a worldview
o The industrial revolution was facilitated by several
ideologies:
o Capitalism
o Constitutional democracy protection of individuals
rights
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Dominant Ideologies
o Progress the idea that humanity was in upward
motion toward material betterment
o Darwinism constant improvement characterized the
biological world
o Social Darwinism evolutionary competition in
human society weeds out the unfit and advances
humanity
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Dominant Ideologies
o Protestant ethic hard work, saving, thrift and
honesty lead to salvation
o Many doctrines have perished as a result of
globalization
o The capitalism ideology accelerated in the 20th
century due to rising literacy and innovations that
spread information
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Great Leadership
o Leaders have brought both beneficial and disastrous
changes to societies and businesses
o Two views of historic leaders:
o Leaders simply ride the wave of history
o Leaders themselves change history
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Chance
o Some changes in the business environment may be
best explained as the product of unknown and
unpredictable causes.
o Machiavelli observed that fortune determines about
half the course of human events and human beings
the other half.
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Concluding Observations
o The environments of business have profound
implications for managers
o The actions of business constantly influence not only
current environments but, in addition, the deeper
course of history
o Although strongly constrained by its environment,
business has a powerful capacity to shape society and
change history in ways large and small
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