{"id":15413,"date":"2010-02-10T04:20:55","date_gmt":"2010-02-10T04:20:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=15413"},"modified":"2010-02-10T04:54:07","modified_gmt":"2010-02-10T04:54:07","slug":"global-business-requires-a-healthy-dose-of-local-alliances-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/global-business-requires-a-healthy-dose-of-local-alliances-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Business Requires a Healthy Dose of Local Alliances &#038; Thinking"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\ngoogle_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\";\n\/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/\ngoogle_ad_slot = \"1949837292\";\ngoogle_ad_width = 468;\ngoogle_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">The following is by Andy Marken of <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm', 'Marken Communications']);\" ><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">Marken Communications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">.\u00a0 He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking commentary.\u00a0 As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the opinions expressed are solely those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and the opinions of the rest of the ABT staff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">&#8211;Mark Poppin<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">ABT Editor-in-Chief<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15414\" style=\"width: 280px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/cagney_wheat.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15414\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15414\" title=\"Cagney_WHeat\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/cagney_wheat.jpg?resize=270%2C203\" alt=\"Cagney_WHeat\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/cagney_wheat-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/cagney_wheat.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15414\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">White Heat, Warner Bros, 1949<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Look Ma \u2013 <\/strong>It\u2019s one thing to think of yourself on top of the world but if you work in an Internet-based universe some folks just won\u2019t let you be in 100 percent control.\u00a0 Dealing in different countries requires a solid understanding\/appreciation of \u201ctheir\u201d view of the world.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is a shock to many, but Google did not develop the Internet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It may also come as a shock to Eric, Jerry, Sergey that they are not the Internet.<\/p>\n<p>It certainly comes as a shock to governments and legislators that they are not the Internet.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t come as much of a shock to cybersnoops\/thieves because they bounce around reaping benefits from \u2026all of them!<\/p>\n<p>The Internet is a unique \u201cproduct\u201d in that it is owned by no one and everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It has no borders (corporate or national).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is there to be used for news\u2026information\u2026entertainment\u2026communications\u2026good\/evil.<\/p>\n<p>Google is \u201cjust\u201d a search engine.<\/p>\n<p>A search engine that makes available, develops, grabs, analyzes and sells a lot of things.<\/p>\n<p>They know more about you than you know about you.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And the information is for sale!<\/p>\n<p>Google like all of the Web X.0 organizations &#8212; and in truth all companies &#8212; make their profits by operating within individual countries and being used by businesses and individuals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Google and all search engines have their published guidelines for usage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Local Rules<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Countries of the globe have their rules for operating inside their borders.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Countries, companies, cybercriminals use search engines every day to:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; research (you may call it spy if you prefer) what is going on with their \u201ccompetitors,\u201d customers, prospects<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; spread their versions of news, information, misinformation<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; track \u201cpertinent\u201d information<\/p>\n<p>Google voiced indignation that someone was hacking\/tracking them but one has to wonder:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>If Google wasn\u2019t monitoring all of the traffic, how did they find the \u2018violations\u201d?<\/li>\n<li>Is censorship in China suddenly a new concept?\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Are there new guidelines for dealing in that country?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Do other countries (and companies) have rules, guidelines, filters on what can or can not be used, shown, disseminated, accessed by people in their borders?\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Does that incite Google\u2019s indignation?<\/li>\n<li>If Google pulled up stakes would the Internet disappear from China?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>When we drive in England, Australia and a number of other countries we drive on the left.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the cost of driving there.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If we want to do business in these countries we follow by their rules, their laws, their guidelines.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the cost of doing business there.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They do it to sell stuff!<\/p>\n<p>China is becoming increasingly attractive to most firms because:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;\u00a0 it has a population of 1.5 \u2013 2 billion (census is due this year so they can zero in on the number better).<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 &#8211;\u00a0 there are growth opportunities (sales potential) in every business\/industrial segment.<\/p>\n<p>The smart companies enter the market take advantage of the experience, talents, relationships of local market\/operational experts and executives.<\/p>\n<p>Importing teams, company guidelines\/structure seldom works.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Top of the World<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Google says they \u201cmay\u201d leave China because people have been doing more than the company does and apparently better.<\/p>\n<p>Receding wouldn\u2019t be a big financial loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ego sure, financial no!<\/p>\n<p>Tough to understand that penetration didn\u2019t happen as quickly or easily as they expected or projected.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After all, they are Google.<\/p>\n<p>So what if millions of people have had their identities, bank accounts and files\/systems hacked in the U.S. and other countries?<\/p>\n<p>So what if billions are stolen from companies by individuals and groups who make their living hacking?<\/p>\n<p>Tough as it is to swallow, Google isn\u2019t different from any company expecting to operate on a global scale.<\/p>\n<p>By circling the corporate wagons rather than work within the system (something they did for years) Google and others only exacerbate the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It is a situation that has probably helped leading economic indicators result in a U.S. trade deficit of more than $36.5 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It sends clear signals to their international competitors that the firms aren&#8217;t interested in selling to 95 percent of the world&#8217;s population\u2026except on their terms.<\/p>\n<p>As important as financial success is, these companies also abandon vital intelligence outposts.\u00a0 Outposts that can keep firms abreast of plans and actions of foreign competitors as well as provide solid inputs for next generation products and solutions.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Your Options<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Firms have three choices in entering a country\u2019s markets:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Establish their own corporate presence in key countries<\/li>\n<li>Acquire a local competitor<\/li>\n<li>Establish a relationship with a local, established distributor<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For years, European and Asian manufacturers failed in the U.S. market.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They tried distributors and were \u201cuncomfortable\u201d with the way the operated and the speed of sales results.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They opened their own offices, sent in their own people and launched programs and activities that worked at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They were overwhelmed with disappointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Firms that have attempted to impose their policies, programs and activities have found that rather than providing a blueprint for success, they became a roadmap to disaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even as the Internet has eliminated country borders to produce a global economy and global marketplace, there are differences.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Local Presence<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Increasingly global-hungry firms establish their own business units within the countries.<\/p>\n<p>That requires local executives who not only understand the language and customs but also steeped in the country\u2019s business and political climates.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whether corporate management likes it or not, the local organization is the company in that country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even a behemoth cloud like Google.<\/p>\n<p>The company makes its living riding on the back of the Internet.<\/p>\n<p>The Internet we take so for granted is one of the few government projects that really succeeded.\u00a0 They funded it, stood back and let people who were really smart make it work.<\/p>\n<p>Most who now want to make huge bucks off Web X.0 never waded through the difficulty of CompuServe.\u00a0 Only the \u201creal\u201d members of the press had addresses at The Well.<\/p>\n<p>None of the folks like Vint Cerf, Push Mohta and the other early implementers ever thought that the network of networks would have so many buyers, sellers, hackers, pickpockets and hangers-on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a masterpiece of ingenuity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They wired up research institutions and college campuses to foster technical, scientific exchange.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Set It Free<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Then they shared the instant communications capabilities with businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Then they put it into the hands or ordinary folks.<\/p>\n<p>It is not a place controlled by individual governments, a single company.<\/p>\n<p>Official demands. means these people really don\u2019t understand how the business of global business works\u2026let alone how the Internet functions.<\/p>\n<p>If the company isn&#8217;t willing to commit the time, money and effort to work within the local structure, management would be wiser to forget about looking at the greener pastures on the other side of the fence.<\/p>\n<p>They should focus on staying in their own back yard and give the appearance of global understanding and individual country adherence.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s better to be considered fairly good at home rather than a fool on a global scale.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Top of the World<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As for Internet-based activities, there\u2019s no going back.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no killing it.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no running to your \u201ccustomers\u201d like your home country\u2019s NSA, FBI, etc.<\/p>\n<p>Run to the country you\u2019re working within and ask for assistance, guidance, cooperation.<\/p>\n<p>All of the \u201cus\u201d are different\u2026different laws, rules, guidelines, nationalities, goals.<\/p>\n<p>Understand it\u2026deal with it\u2026live with it!<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, folks will say what they did about Cagney in <strong><em>White Heat<\/em><\/strong>, <em>\u201c<\/em><em>He finally got to the top of the world&#8230; and it blew right up in his face.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>BAM!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What do you think of Andy&#8217;s blog? Let us know what&#8217;s on your mind.<\/p>\n<p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following is by Andy Marken of Marken Communications.\u00a0 He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking commentary.\u00a0 As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the opinions expressed are solely those&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,6,7],"tags":[3112,224],"class_list":["post-15413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-news","category-technology","tag-global-business","tag-google"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}