Question

What are the basic challenges facing global companies, particularly in developing markets? How can small business address them?

Answer 1

The world is increasingly becoming linked, and words such as 'global economy' are no longer of pure academic interest. Even if you're limited to one nation in the modern world, you're still participating on the global scene and competing against similar countries from around the world. As such, you will face many challenges as you conduct your company in that economy.

Combined with the ubiquity of the internet, the digital marketplace enables all companies to compete on a equal basis. This doesn't guarantee however that the company should be able to work with consumers from all cultures and languages. While the culture is very similar in most Western nations, when considering cultures from other parts of the world, such as Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, there may be significant variations.

If your business is to thrive across borders, you'll need to take the time to understand essential cultural differences. Although red might mean hazard in most places around the globe, it's associated with good luck in China, so you may want to offer a different approach to your marketing color scheme as you market the Chinese. Meanwhile, you're also going to have to invest in learning other people's languages, or at least have people on your teams, particularly the customer service team, who understand these languages to help you communicate with all of your clients.

So long so your company crosses boundaries, you're going to be subject to several laws, tax rules and various trade regulations in different countries. Whether you run an online shop, or are a big multinational company, it doesn't matter. This enforcement is difficult in the sense that it varies from country to country and allows you to keep abreast of various jurisdictions to ensure that your company still operates within the law.

One of the greatest problems facing organizations with cross-border personnel and operations is to provide a structured contact network that allows for the exchange of notes through geographically distant departments and branches.

When you operate multiple technical systems in different parts of the business, synchronizing them and improving connectivity within the organization may be a challenge. This may lead to a reduction in productivity and may even harm the company's revenue and profitability.