Introduction to BOH
Trends in Management
Unit 1
What is a Business?

An organization that manufactures or
sells goods or services in an attempt
to generate a profit.
Trends

Two Major Trends:
• Technological Revolution

Computers, robots, telecom, fiber optics
etc..
• Globalization

Business has become international
• Free Trade Agreements
• NAFTA, TPP
• EU
Trends Cont’d

These trends have meant a shake-up
through
•
•
•
•

Mergers,
employees & managers laid off,
new technologies
barriers to trade dropping
This has created a new order, which has
turned millions of people’s lives upside
down.
The Technological Revolution

History is characterized by a steady
improvement in how things get done.
• Prior to 1700 – The wheel, writing, the
arch, printing, gun powder, clocks
• Late 1700’s – Steam power
• 1800’s – Railways, telegraphy,
photography, telephones, oil and gas,
automobiles, electricity, x-rays
• 1900’s – radios, refrigeration, airplanes,
computers, plastics, rocketry, satellites,
television, cell phones, fiber optics
Technological Revolution

The technological revolution has
resulted in:
• Operations being revolutionized
• The information age
• The shrinking planet
Information Age


information is a crucial factor in
the success of organizations.
Information is crucial for
competitiveness.
• Federal Express is able to promise
next day delivery to any major city in
the world because every package is
tied to the main computer system
that allows it to be tracked at any
time.
Globalization of Business



From the earliest days, countries
have traded with each other.
Globalization is the integration of
production, marketing, finance and
management.
This is all carried out with little
regard for borders or distances