Cultural Aspects of Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions
February 12, 2025
Introduction In last decade or so technology has changed the way organization conduct their business. Advent of technology in operation management has increased productivity of the organization. Technology and Operations Management The scope of Technology and operation management has evolved over a period of time and has moved from development of products into design, management […]
When a management student passes out from college and is absorbed into any business organization, if he is lucky he will get to spend a few months in getting orientation in all departments before being assigned to a particular department or function at the end of the induction program. Those who get to be assigned […]
Demographic Dividend We often hear the term, demographic dividend being bandied about in the media and in books. However, not many are aware what exactly it means and the implications of the same for business and society. The term refers to the advantages that countries have if they have youthful populations. This is because there […]
Reforms driving International Businesses or Vice Versa? It is debatable whether the reforms in emerging and developing markets drive the entry of international businesses into those markets or whether the international businesses with their strategies drive reforms in these markets. Of course, the bottom line requirement for any international business to enter the emerging markets […]
The 5 why method or the Root Cause analysis method that has been described in the Tools section plays an important role in determining that the X’s are recorded at actionable level. In this implementation of the 5 why tool, there is a slight variation from the standard methodology and hence it has been explained […]
The Fortune 100 list of companies comprises of the top 100 corporations in the world in terms of size, revenues, and market capitalization. The list that is published annually gives a peek into the top corporations that run the global economy.
Indeed, many commentators have stated that the top 10 corporations in the world are more powerful than many sovereign nations and their governments. This goes on to show how the global economy has produced business leaders and CEO’s who wield more power than the prime ministers and presidents of many countries. Of course, this does not mean that only corporate leaders call the shots, as there are others in the global economy like think tanks, ideators, and political personalities who are powerful. Just that the phenomenon of businesspersons being so incredibly powerful has become a characteristic of the times we live in.
Added to this is the fact that the top 20 corporations in the world control the global economy as can be seen from the patterns of holding and ownership that permeate the companies in the world.
Research and studies by Swiss researchers has shown that the top 20 companies in the world control the patterns of holding and ownership of virtually all the companies in the world. This is done through investment funds, front companies, private equity, and equity holdings in almost all the major companies of the world. These companies in turn, invest in the next tiers of companies leading to a matrix structure of ownership that ultimately ends at the top of the Fortune 100 heap. Hence, the title of this article about the awesome power that the top corporations have in the global economy.
The connection to international business is that these top corporations can dictate the speed and pace of globalization and hence entrepreneurs can well pay heed to the signals emanating from these corporations about the direction in which the global economy is headed. The implications for world control are also there as the top corporations can dictate the policies and the rules that nations and governments follow.
Of course, with regards to corporate social responsibility, the top corporations have the power to influence the social and environmental initiatives. What is unfortunate is that there seems to be no agreement among the top business leaders as to the steps that need to be taken to assuage the social and environmental concerns.
Finally, the top corporations also have a say in the monetary and fiscal policies that countries follow and they virtually set the terms that many countries’ central banks follow. This means that for good or worse, the world has to live with this fact.
The surprise factor in recent times has been the addition of corporations from China and India to the list of the powerbrokers and the movers and the shakers in the world of business. Indeed, if anything this trend is bound to introduce an element of democratization in the structure of the global economy.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *