The World Trade Organization (2011) reports that world merchandise exports increased by 22 percent in 2010, the largest increase in history. Over the last ten years, world merchandise trade has averaged 4.3 percent growth. The 2010 annual export growth rates in services from China and India were a remarkable 33 percent and 32 percent, respectively (World Trade Organization 2011). Projections suggest that this trend will continue into the foreseeable future.
An ongoing challenge to conducting successful global business is understanding people's cultures and motivations. Technological advances have opened access to virtually all of the world's markets and made national borders nearly inconsequential. The instant worldwide access that the Internet provides creates a cohesive global community that removes many of the barriers business faced in the 20th century. One of the last barriers to freely and openly trading with other countries is understanding each other's cultural differences and...
