Wukan, a fishing village of approx 20,000 inhabitants have been robbed of their land. Industrial development need more land and local government confiscate land without proper compensation.

Protest have been going on for days, local politicians have fled town and police has sieged the city blocking food supplies.

This situation is delicate for Chinese officials dealing with both national and international reactions.  We should all follow their actions.

Anders from Gjøvik, Norway 

Gbowee stood up to become an important leader for women’s rights, social justice and human rights.  She led and inspired a movement and became an instrumental peacemaker with unconventional methods in the reconciliation process in Liberia.

The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner ever, 32 years old Tawakkol Karman also represent a similar female force, standing in the middle of a fight for democratization in Yemen, of which the outcome is still uncertain.  But she speaks with a universal voice that is strong in an Arab context that need modernization.

As was the message of Johnson-Surleaf: “Women of the world, find your voice and use it!”

Anders, from Gjøvik, Norway 

• What have we learned?
• Where are we heading?

Globalization is progressing at an escalating beat, but is the DJ sleeping behind the turntable?  Where is the conductor?  Is Obama keeping the beat?    In Europe, for a while we got the impression that Merkel & Sarkozy had taken upon themselves to get harmony and rhythm back into the Euro, and re-establishing order in the rave party down in Greece.

It is evident that not only the Greecs have been partying with borrowed money.  How far will the debt crisis take us into recession?  The present debt structure in the US and Europe for sure will have lasting geopolitical effects on the world, and this in the long run, should be good.  On the other hand, it might be a bumpy ride to get there – the Nirvana of a globalized, democratic world.

Estimated foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities have more than quadrupled since 2001. Some experts worry about the geopolitical consequences of foreign governments investing so deeply in U.S. Treasuries. But the investments also tie the fortunes of foreign governments more closely to those of the United States.

As with foreign holdings of US Treasury securities, the countries are getting more and more integrated, inter-related and inter-dependant.  But most countries have not been able to modernize their political thinking on how to adopt to this new reality.

Foreign departments and international bodies need serious upgrading.  The EU might be forced to push more central power into Brussels, and there are no doubt that institutions like the World Bank, IMF and UN need a fundamental re-boot, shake-up and modernization to become the tools we need to manage the brave new world.

Anders, from the cold beach of Kapp, Norway 

Most of South East Asia together with India have ambitions to capture the market for labour intensive business development.

Click the illustration for an interesting list of countries.

Anders, from an autumn coloured Norway.

Reverse colonization or globalization?

For a decade, the country has consistently spent more than they have earned, and we all know where that takes us.  What we do not know, is what really happens when Italy is on its knees, and China is called in to rescue.  Now that is an interesting new situation.

For an interesting view, look to Financial Times correspondent in Rome, Guy Dinsmore: Financial Times on Italy

Are we at the beginning of “reverse colonization of Europe”  Mr Tremonti has been asking. No Mr. Tremonti, this is globalization as a two-way street.  But the road has not been taken before, so we are up for some real new learning.

Anders, Gjovik, Norway 

My favorite world metropolis’ a must for the global citizen;

• São Paulo, Brazil
• New York, USA
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Moscow, Russia
• Paris, France
• Colcutta, India
• Shanghai, China
• Singapore

Check out National Geographic’s Must-dos in Istanbul on the link above.

Anders, from a rainy and cold Gjøvik, Norway 

 Now starts the challenge

Too many companies rushed into China either too late, or choosing a location too close to a metropolis.  They are now facing numerous challenges:

• Escalating labour cost
• Shortage of skilled labour
• Labour migration from blue collar to white collar
• Escalating cost of operation

Too often you will find a low tech Western company located in a high tech Chinese environment, left with very few options but to move again.

The second wave in China

After the initial euphoria in board rooms across the world, they now have to start the hard work:  Where to move next?  And way too often that is followed by an even more important question:  After having scaled down our HQ – Who should be doing the next move?

Make sure your company does not get trapped in this dead-end road, where bridges have been burnt making your next move really challenging.

Companies still having their joystick connected now move in two directions;

• Further inland in China
• Out of China and into:  Philippines, Vietnam, India and Indonesia

Which of these two ways depend on their first experience in China.  If well established, and been able to build a profitable business, a move further inland might be a good option.  Companies that came too late, or never where able to get real control of their Chinese subsidiary, often choose to move out.

If you want to discuss your strategy in China, in Asia or globally, do not hesitate to contact us:

Globalization4U or thomassen.me

Anders, from a wet Norwegian summer, Gjøvik, Norway

"Let us love. Let us be loved" Eid wishes from Blue Mosque, Istanbul

Had the pleasure to explore the fabulous Sultan Ahmed Mosque or the “Blue Mosque” in Istanbul again this summer with my wife.

The author and wife in the Blue Mosque, Istanbul.

A joyful Eid ul-Fitr!

Anders, from the sunny shores of Lake Mjøsa, Norway 

Opportunities are easiest found when walking the opposite direction, as Peder reports in his most resent blog:  ”Yes They Can”    This is good reading, and an excellent case to study well.

Globalization as a concept is far more complex than just outsourcing jobs to cheaper labor countries.  It offers structural changes that will reshape our societies into something better.

Good management reading with a similar message to Peder can be found in the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

Anders, from the shores of Lake Mjøsa, Kapp, Norway 

Devastating consequences might be the result of their political deadlock.

A fragile world economy fueled with fear is not the right backdrop for another political discussion of the US magnitude.

With China defending their currency value and Europe defending their Euro, with a global stock market ever more volatile and nervous, we are about to see a beautiful whiplash effect.  Globalization have made the world market an amplifier in the present situation, and amplitudes risk running wild.

August 4 global drop on all major stock exchanges. Whiplash about to start.

We better get used to the new metrics and mechanics of globalization sooner rather than later.

Anders, from a wet Norwegian summer in Gjøvik, Norway.