Work Moves As Global Markets Become Real

The forces of globalization have finally kicked in. For years, business has talked about being “global”. But in truth, global often meant having a headquarters operation in London with distant branches elsewhere, and manufacturing products in countries with low labor costs. Today, people, goods, and ideas move freely across the globe. The operations of headquarters are also scattered: the CEO sitting in New York; finance and accounting being performed in the Philippines; IT services delivered from Romania; and benefits programs administered from India.

Material and product sourcing move between multiple countries as a function of price, quality, and speed. And customers are everywhere, expecting to be served with consistent quality and price, independent of location. The Internet has made markets global, even for the smallest company. In fact, information technology is the great enabler of these changes.