1. Globalization
Imagination is more important than knowledge (Albert Einstein) We need to think more seriously than ever about how we encourage people to focus on productive outcomes that advance and unite civilization-peaceful imaginations that seek to "minimize alienation and celebrate interdependence rather than self sufficiency, inclusion rather than exclusion," openness, opportunity, and hope rather than limitation, suspicion, and grievance.
Discuss how a global business could harness these ideas to create a better world for all countries especially the countries that do not benefit from globalization.
2. Excellence
The platform for Peters and Waterman onto which the In Search Of Excellence research and theorising was built, was the McKinsey 7-S model:
• Strategy
• Structure
• Systems
• Style of management
• Skills - corporate strengths
• Staff
• Shared values
Discuss the 7-S model in relation to a company of your choice. The company can be from anywhere in the world. In your answer you will need to discuss the seven steps to success and how organisations achieve success in today's market place
3. Security
Do you consider hacktivism to be civil disobedience or a cyber crime? Justify your answer with evidence.
4. The world is flat
Stanley Fischer, the former deputy managing director of the IMF, once remarked to me. "One good example is worth a thousand theories." I believe that is true. Indeed, people do not change only when they must: They also change when they see that others-like themselves-have changed and flourished. Discuss the above quote in relation to the rise of the middle-class in China and India.
5. Counterfeit goods
a. Watch the video clip http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2014/s4103157.htm
b. Discuss the impact of counterfeit goods in the context of conducting profitable, sustainable global business enterprises such as Gucci, Pfizer, Rolex or LVMH.
c. Discuss how counterfeit goods fund terrorism and what can be done to eradicate this funding.
6. Disruptive innovation - The Internet of things
"Pill-shaped microcameras already traverse the human digestive tract and send back thousands of images to pinpoint sources of illness. Precision farming equipment with wireless links to data collected from remote satellites and ground sensors can take into account crop conditions and adjust the way each individual part of a field is farmed-for instance, by spreading extra fertilizer on areas that need more nutrients. Billboards in Japan peer back at passersby, assessing how they fit consumer profiles, and instantly change displayed messages based on those assessments." (McKinsey&Company 2010)
Business models based on today's largely static information architectures face challenges as new ways of creating value arise. In this context (the Internet of things) choose an industry and a specific technology and discuss the impact this change will have in the next five years. Analyse the business value and sustainability.