Management Requirements Through International Cooperation (Electronic book text)

Internationalization is an omnipresent phenomenon in our world today. No one thinks explicitly about internationalization when one buys a book at Amazon or goes to Mc Donald's for lunch. These are only two examples for big multinational companies which are doing business worldwide. International trade and cross-border business connections have quite a long history. The first large trade network was the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages which was located in North and Middle Europe. Now there are even bigger communities like the EU or the NAFTA.1 Beside these there are also political institutions like the OECD2, the World Bank or the World Trade Orga nisation (WTO) which influence and support worldwide business activities. But what does the term 'international management' mean and why becomes it more and more important for us? Management characterize the control and coordination activities concerning goal-oriented organizations.3 These activities occur in the first place in the domestic business of companies. But much more complex is the management in international business which is defined as ' the study of transactions taking place across national borders for the purpose of satisfying the needs of individuals and organizations.'4 ---------1 North American Free Trade Agreement, foundet in 1994 by Canada, Mexiko and the USA2 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development3 Thomae (2002), p.174 Rugman/ Hodgetts (1995), p.4