the world’s economy, it may well be that domestic economies can be expected to continue to be the main focus in most countries. You can watch Ghemawat’s Ted Talk here. Current and future trends will be discussed in Chapter 13. The Global Firm The new era of globalization allows virtually any business to become international. By accessing this new platform of technologies, Castells’ vision of working as a unit in real time on a planetary scale can be a reality. Some of the advantages include: • Ability to locate expertise and labor around the world . Instead of drawing employees from their local area, organizations can now hire people from the global labor pool. This also allows organizations to pay a lower labor cost for the same work based on the prevailing wage in different countries. • Ability to operate 24 hours a day . With employees in different time zones all around the world, an organization can literally operate around the clock, handing off work on projects from one part of the world to another as the normal business day ends in one region and begins in another. A few years ago, three people decided to open a web hosting company. They strategically relocated to three places in the world which were eight hours apart, giving their business 24- hour coverage while allowing each to work during the normal business day. Operating expenses were minimized and the business provided 24/7 support to customers worldwide. • Larger market for their products . Once a product is being sold online, it is available for purchase from a worldwide customer base. Even if a company’s products do not appeal Information Systems for Business and Beyond (2019) pg. 238
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