Feature of the Month: Water and its Impact on Business
Water, a fundamental resource for life, is plentiful on Earth, yet we often hear of droughts and water shortages. While 70% of the Earth is covered by water, 97% of this water is salty and non-drinkable. With population increases and technological advances in the past few centuries, water use has soared, putting a strain on the Earth’s most important resource.
Large scale droughts are happening with increasing frequency, as seen in Ethiopia, experiencing its worst drought in 50 years. The drought has crippled the country’s agriculture industry, and has reduced production by 50-90% across the country. A four-year drought in the southwest portion of the United States caused over $3 billion in economic losses in 2015 alone. And in South Africa, corn production has dropped by a third, as the country battles its worst drought ever, causing food shortages across all of Africa.
Many scientists fear that climate change is bringing about extreme weather patterns, including longer and more severe droughts. Governments and businesses alike will have to take this in account in the future, and try to protect against water shortages. As water becomes a more valued resource, the likelihood of conflicts between countries increases, further underscoring the importance of water conservation efforts for businesses, especially in the arid regions of the world.
Featured Resources
World Resources Institute: World Resources Report
The World Resources Report issued by the World Resources Institute provides the international development community analysis and insight with which to shape environmental and reform policy. The report is published annually, and previous reports are also available on this website. The site also contains sections on expert perspectives, case studies, in-country scenarios, and decision making.
Categories: Global , Publications
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) provides news on topics pertaining to trade, sustainable development, and the environment. Also available through this resource is information on topics like agriculture, intellectual property, and the environment.
Categories: Sustainable Development , Social Responsibility
Featured Academy
Doing Business in Africa
The Africa module introduces students to the region by focusing predominantly on Sub-Saharan African nations. This module does not address Northern African nations as these nations are technically part of the greater Middle East and have been discussed in another module. After reading this module, one should have a general understanding of the following: General issues in Africa that affect business prospects; business conduct in Senegal and Senegalese attempts to liberalize the economy; the emerging business climate in Rwanda and the role of women in the economy; a general understanding of the economic implications from the recent violence in Kenya; how to conduct business in South Africa; and a general understanding of how AIDS affects economic growth in Africa. A case study on AIDS in Africa is included in this module.
Legal Framework of International Business
The Legal Framework of International Business module can help one better understand the laws of governance of the sea and air, and how such rules and regulations can impact international business as well as advertising laws throughout much of the world. This module will be able to help those looking to launch their products and services internationally by laying out some of the political and legal aspects of doing business in multinational markets. A case study on the U.S. Passenger Services Act is also available.
globalEDGE Business Beat
Tunga Kiyak
Tomas Hult speaks with Tunga Kiyak, Managing Director of the Academy of International Business (AIB). Tomas and Tunga have worked together as Executive Director and Managing Director, respectively, of the Academy of International Business since January 2004.
This segment is an overview of AIB as well as an inventory of current AIB activities. The dialogue focused on why AIB is the top academic organization in international business worldwide and what is unique about it. They also engage on topics such as AIB’s world-leading journal, titled Journal of International Business Studies, and the next annual AIB conference is in New Orleans in June 2016.
Chris Holman
Chris Holman, Founder of the Michigan Business Network, and Tomas Hult, Host of the globalEDGE Business Beat on MBN, dialogue about international business education at some of the nation’s 1200 community colleges. These community colleges educate nearly half of the students in the country, and are an important part of making the country globally competitive.
In this segment, we found out that community colleges are expected to triple their internationally oriented business offerings in the next decade, a large task, but an important one, to maintain competitiveness globally. They also cover the most popular courses to globalize international education at Michigan’s community colleges, and business education versus other majors.
