This book builds upon a wide variety of academic and professional resources to offer an in-depth analysis of the nature, causes, and consequences of major business and technology trends of our time. First, prospects for energy, commodities, water, food, and healthcare services are explored. Then, leading business transformations such as the sharing economy, Fourth Industrial Revolution, gig economy, and recent developments in the global economy are analyzed. Finally, innovation and emerging technologies including automation, robotics, connectivity, quantum computing, and new materials and energies are examined and their business implications are discussed. Major Business and Technology Trends Shaping the Contemporary World is a timely and relevant reference for business leaders, managers, students, and all those who are passionate about understanding our rapidly changing world.

Our intuition on how the world works could well be wrong. We are surprised when new competitors burst on the scene, or businesses protected by large and deep moats find their defenses easily breached, or vast new markets are conjured from nothing. Trend lines resemble saw-tooth mountain ridges. The world not only feels different. The data tell us it is different. Based on years of research by the directors of the McKinsey Global Institute, No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Forces Breaking all the Trends is a timely and important analysis of how we need to reset our intuition as a result of four forces colliding and transforming the global economy: the rise of emerging markets, the accelerating impact of technology on the natural forces of market competition, an aging world population, and accelerating flows of trade, capital and people. Our intuitions formed during a uniquely benign period for the world economy -- often termed the Great Moderation. Asset prices were rising, cost of capital was falling, labour and resources were abundant, and generation after generation was growing up more prosperous than their parents. But the Great Moderation has gone. The cost of capital may rise. The price of everything from grain to steel may become more volatile. The world's labor force could shrink. Individuals, particularly those with low job skills, are at risk of growing up poorer than their parents. What sets No Ordinary Disruption apart is depth of analysis combined with lively writing informed by surprising, memorable insights that enable us to quickly grasp the disruptive forces at work. For evidence of the shift to emerging markets, consider the startling fact that, by 2025, a single regional city in China -- Tianjin -- will have a GDP equal to that of the Sweden, of that, in the decades ahead, half of the world's economic growth will come from 440 cities including Kumasi in Ghana or Santa Carina in Brazil that most executives today would be hard-pressed to locate on a map. What we are now seeing is no ordinary disruption but the new facts of business life -- facts that require executives and leaders at all levels to reset their operating assumptions and management intuition.

This book offers a concise and analytical portrait of the contemporary world. The author encompasses concepts and theories from multiple disciplines notably sociology, anthropology, business, and economics to examine major global trends and transformations of the modern world, their underlying causes, and their consequences. The text examines global demographic trends, globalization, culture, emerging markets, global security, environmental degradation, large corporations, and economic inequality. The author also analyzes major transformations in healthcare, food, the sharing economy, Fourth Industrial Revolution, consumption, work and organization, innovation and various technologies in areas such as automation, robotics, connectivity, quantum computing, and new materials. This book is a valuable reference for business leaders, managers, students, and all those who are passionate about understanding the rapidly changing contemporary world.

The current volume offers a concise and analytical portrait of the contemporary world. The author encompasses concepts and theories from multiple disciplines notably sociology, anthropology, international relations, and economics to examine the major sociocultural transformations of the modern world, their underlying causes, and their consequences. The volume is organized in 10 chapters dealing with a variety of topics including global demographic trends, globalization, culture, foreign affairs, emerging markets, environmental degradation, global security, global health, large corporations, and economic inequality. Each chapter is divided into separate sections examining the accompanying themes. This book is a valuable reference for managers and business leaders, students, policy makers, and all those who are interested in acquiring a better understanding of the sociocultural trends that are shaping our world.

Practical and user friendly, the author describes all the key elements needed to negotiate deals that are doable, profitable, and sustainable. Based on decades of teaching and consultancies around the world, the author provides a useful guide for business executives operating in today’s digitalized global economy. This latest edition will help readers enhance their preparation, anticipate objections, create value for tangibles/intangibles, and avoid cultural blunders to reach mutually beneficial outcomes. By sharpening negotiation skills, business executives will be able to interact more effectively with their counterparts in the fast changing global business environment and the rising influence of third parties. Practical and user friendly, the author describes all the key elements needed to negotiate deals that are doable, profitable, and sustainable.

This book willenable the reader to develop global strategies based on trade information and trade flows analysis. Developing global business strategies in today’s competitive and disruptive environment calls for greater interaction between the business sector and government. Among the instruments available today are various market analytic tools. These tools, coupled with new business models, not only provide a competitive edge but also becomes a necessity to survive in the global ever changing trade environment. This book concerns everyone dealing with market selection, market strategies, and trade policy. The reader will be able to develop global strategies based on trade information and trade flows analysis. An analysis of the most competitive countries in world trade shows the importance of pro-business policies, access to modern infrastructures, investment in research, and increased productivity. The authors explain how to design practical strategies in a global context, greater competition and uncertainty due to the introduction of new business models.

Do you want the most up-to-date knowledge on the Chinese market all in one place? Now you can have it—in a set of 3 must-reads. This three-title collection is a must-have for Western entrepreneurs and SMEs doing business in or with China. The books are packed with practical advice, applicable decision-making processes and strategy options. The Chinese Market Series set includes: The Chinese Market An essential factor for the success of entrepreneurs and professionals engaging in business in or with China is being able to understand and correctly set up a sustainable and effective corporate structure. This book discusses different company structures, applicable decision-making processes and management issues to help you choose the most suitable structure. Topics covered include tax, legal, intellectual property rights, common pitfalls, and ways to address them. The Chinese e-Merging Market This book is designed to work as a step-by-step guide to the online marketplace and social media environment in China. It provides a detailed overview of the Chinese online market and proposes a variety of strategies available to foreign companies. It contains practical advice, the latest data and relevant links for further reference that Western SMEs, investors, and entrepreneurs can use to establish their online presence in China. Trading with China This is a concise and useful handbook to Western businesses, entrepreneurs and investors doing business with or in China. It is an essential guide of great use to anyone who considers exporting goods, services and technology to the Chinese market. It discusses major issues such as market barriers, import requirements, distribution channels, labelling, and operational challenges. The book contains industry information, updated data, key models, practical advice, and strategy options for different types of companies and industry sectors.

Over the past decades China gained the reputation of being the world’s factory, focusing solely on manufacturing exports. This is about to change. The role of e-commerce is tremendously important in the context of the Chinese government’s stated goal of relying less on exports to the recession-stricken West and focusing more on domestic consumption as a driver for further economic growth. China’s online population is currently the largest online population worldwide. This book is aimed at assisting Western entrepreneurs, SMEs, investors and business students to understand and ideally enter the Chinese e-merging market. E-Commerce is an easy, fast, and cost-effective way of entering the Chinese market compared to more traditional ways of entry. It offers great opportunities for high profit gains to Western companies seeking to do business in China without the hurdle of heavy upfront investment. This book is designed to work as a step-by-step guide to the online marketplace environment in China. It provides a detailed overview of the Chinese online market and proposes different strategies available to foreign companies. It contains practical advice, the latest data and relevant links for further reference that Western SMEs, investors, and entrepreneurs can use to establish their online presence in China.

With its dual appeal as the world’s factory and the largest consumer market worldwide, China is about to become the preferred playing field for American and European businesses with global ambitions. China’s massive global development project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), now includes more than two-thirds of the world’s countries. Entering the Chinese Market aims to assist Western businesses and entrepreneurs to understand and effectively enter the Chinese market. An essential factor for the success of investors and professionals engaging in business in or with China is being able to understand and correctly set up a sustainable and effective corporate structure. This book discusses different company structures, their functions, and their respective liabilities and provides practical and operational observations. The book details all applicable decision-making processes to help you choose the most suitable structure based on your business scope, specific needs, and available capital when entering China. In addition, it discusses all relevant rules, regulations, documentation, and management issues related to the establishment of different types of structures such as WFOEs representative offices, joint ventures, and other forms of investment. Topics covered include tax, legal, intellectual property rights, common pitfalls, and ways to address them.

The technological revolution has reached around the world, with important consequences for business, government, and the labor market. Computer-aided design, telecommunications, and other developments are allowing small players to compete with traditional giants in manufacturing and other fields. In this volume, 16 engineering and industrial experts representing eight countries discuss the growth of technological advances and their impact on specific industries and regions of the world. From various perspectives, these distinguished commentators describe the practical aspects of technology's reach into business and trade.