The process of concentrating and becoming an expert in one particular subject or skill. This gives businesses a competitive advantage as they are able to have high quality products, which makes customers more likely to purchase from the company.

Giving people specific tasks to do for example in the construction industry there is an architect, engineer, electrician, plumber, plasterer, site manager and bricklayer) communication is needed

Strengths are that there is higher productivity and efficiency, lower unit costs and encourages investment in specific capital which means companies can benefit from economies of scale.

Weaknesses are decreased job enrichment, non-flexible workforce, rise of work at alienation, risk of disruptions to production and risk of structural unemployment due to occupational inactivity.

Trade agreements - reduction and removal of trade barriers. World Trade Organisation situated in Switzerland which lead firms to greater profit and peace

Reduced tariffs - some protectionist measures remain in place, a large number of countries with significant global economic influence have lowered protection it measures

Expansion of global trading blocs - growth of trading books such as EU and NAFTA have reduced national barriers and promote more trade and integration. NAFTA is the North America trade agreement

Improved technology - advances in technology has revolutionise communications, lowered labour cost and unable to businesses to access foreign markets

Globalised financial systems - movement of capital can be moved freely or at a low cost (quickly across the world)

Greater labour mobility - workers are more likely and willing to move across national borders in search of appointment. Economic migrant

Improved transport - movement of people, goods and services across the globe faster and cheaper making it more convenient. E.g. air travel and containerships

Growth of multinational corporations - large organisations take advantage of lower trade barriers, labour mobility and cheaper transportation which allows growth and the entrance to untapped market

Greater ‘openness’ of a formerly ‘closed’ market - developing countries such as India and China which were previously largely close to trade has become increasingly integrated into the economy and play a role in the creation of new markets and provision of low labour costs.

Protectionism is the theory or practice of shielding (or protecting) a country's domestic industries from foreign competition by taxing imports, imposing quotas or passing laws.

A tariff is a tax placed on an import to increase its price and decrease its demand. Tax can be imposed by governments to raise revenue and to restrict imports. A tariff is likely to raise the final price to the consumer – therefore a fall in demand for the goods. Consumers will switch consumption to domestic goods

Sometimes a country will not be able to set tariffs or quotas because of trade agreements or membership of a trade bloc, this means they need to come up with other ways of protecting their domestic industries from floods of cheap imports

Subsidies are a way of a government protecting their domestic markets

A MNC is a multinational corporation, a business which operates in more than one country.

Creates employment -There are jobs available for local people, thus reducing numbers of unemployed and the resultant drain on local resources

Increases skills base -Many MNCs operate training schemes for local people to learn how to use machinery. Such skills also attract other firms to the country

Increased standard of living - An increase in earnings increases taxes paid within the country and gives more money to spend on services

Raises country’s profile -MNCs plan their moves carefully. This is known worldwide and the movement into a particular country is a statement about its pro-business environment and political stability

Improves balance of payments - Many goods made by MNCs are exported to other nearby countries. This increases the amount of money earned by the country.

Improves infrastructure -MNCs often improve communication links within a country, e.g. road, rail and port facilities are updated and expanded. This benefits the country.

Profit leakage; Profits from factories or hotels run by the MNC go to the country in which the head office of the company is found.

Low paid jobs; Mainly low paid jobs are provided for local people. Higher paid managerial jobs go to workers brought in from the head office country.

Pull out quickly; In times of recession/low sales, jobs of workers in the head office country are protected for longer than in other factories.

Poor safety record; Poorer countries often have poorer safety standards, and governments are willing to turn a blind eye to breaking the standards that exist.

Increases urbanisation; Most jobs created by MNCs are usually found in or close to urban areas. Hope of securing these jobs attracts more people from rural areas to cities.

Widens poverty gap; Although wages are low in factories, they are higher than elsewhere. This increases the cost of living for all, as prices of goods rise.

Moral principles that govern how a company does business. A moral principle is one that knows right from wrong.

In a world of complex supply chains, migrant workers, sub-suppliers and a constant squeeze on costs, corporate leaders and their stakeholders are keenly aware of the risk of labour exploitation.

Pay varies around the world, as does the cost of living. There are thousands of videos on the internet which explain that MNCs don’t pay fair wages that the locals can live on – which is exploitation. Owners want low costs and low wages, employees want higher wages that they can live on

Working conditions in developing nations can be well below those of industrialised nations. Owners want high profits and so may cost cut health and safety measures e.g. no fire escapes

MNCs and waste - MNCs regularly flout or ignore “weak” environmental laws in India and other developing nations. The owners want to keep costs down, good waste management is expensive and so there is a stakeholder conflict with those that live near these toxic dumps

MNCs and emissions - An emission means the production and discharge of something, especially gas or radiation. The climate crisis of the 21st century has been caused largely by just 90 companies, which between them produced nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions generated

Having part of a supply chain in a developing nation can be a problem for the MNCs. Many garment factories or labour intensive production processes are outsourced to slums, refugee camps and unlicensed back street businesses with poor working conditions. This can mean that labour is intentionally or not essentially exploited by the MNCs

Forced labour - list of six forced labour indicators: threats or actual physical harm to the worker, restriction of movement or confinement to the workplace, debt bondages, withholding of wages or excessive wage reductions, retention of identity documents and threat of denunciations to the authorities

Child labour - Some children are trapped in forms of slavery in armed conflicts, forced labour and debt bondage (to pay off debts incurred by parents and grandparents), drug trafficking and organised begging and in many other forms of labour. For some work, children receive no payment, only food and a place to sleep

Political Influence - Governments can apply pressure to attempt to change the behaviour of MNCs. MNCs may wish to get political approval from the governments of the host nations, this may help trade and setting up in a new country. If the MNC gains political approval they may find trading smoother and less troublesome.Politicians can be bribed, not such an issue in the UK but quite common in other countries. Some MNCs bring so much wealth and employment to an economy that a weaker government might ignore unethical activities

Legal control - If a country introduces laws to reduce pollution or protect children from child labour then this will all cost the MNC money to improve their practices. Quite often the MNC may ignore or flout these regulations. Benefits include Laws can be passed at any point to control the actions of a MNC which are already established in a country. Laws mean that consumers have some rights against the MNC. disadvantages are The MNC may simply move production to a country where there are less laws and restrictions. The host nation does not want to lose the economic input of the MNC so this deters laws being passed. MNCs can afford expensive legal defence of any challenge

Pressure groups - Pressure groups are organisations which campaign for changes in the law or new legislation in specific areas. Pressure groups can have a strong influence on public opinion and behaviour of MNC, if they want to avoid a PR disaster. Benefits include Pressure groups can raise public awareness of MNCs activities in host countries. Pressure groups can create PR problems for MNCs peacefully, which can lead to a change in their behaviour. Disadvantages include the pressure group needs to be large and organised if it is to have any impact on changing the activities of the MNCs. The size and wealth of the largest MNCs mean they can easily counter or quieten pressure group activity

Social media - Social media can turn a product scare into a national crisis within hours. Social media networks can be used to orchestrate a boycott which will affect the sales and reputation of the MNC. Some benefits include social media can be a very powerful way to change the behaviour of MNCs. Disadvantages include social media can only affect short-term change. The Internet is a dynamic medium, fickle customers become bored easily and move on to the next scandal. A MNC can just dust itself down and carry on with very little impact on their activities

A niche market is a small specialised market which caters for a particular product or service. E.g. Harley Davidson motorbikes, Rolex watches.

A global niche market is a very small market in each country, but the combination of all the countries together make enough demand to make the business profitable. A global market niche is a subset of a global market. A global market niche is highly specialised and is characterised by very loyal customers and premium prices.

Product - Products that succeed in global markets are usually at the premium end of the market. A prime example is supercars which appeal to only a small subset of a country’s population, but bought by customers in many countries

Price - Global niche markets provide an opportunity for businesses to charge premium prices as the products tend to be more unique. It depends on customer perception, as they will pay what they perceive the product to be worth not its actual value in terms of raw materials

Place - Niche products can reach a global audience easily through websites. Alternatively agents may be used in other countries apart from the host country.

Promotion - Promotion is just the communication aspect of the entire marketing function. In a global niche market the promotion may be more targeted and subtle than in a mass market. The promotional message must be able to reach across cultures. Brands have to be careful not to devalue the brand image by discounting

The phrase 'Cultural Diversity' means a range of different societies or people of different origins, religions and traditions all living and interacting together. Having cultural sensitivity, means understanding that people all over the world have different interests and values. The greeting rituals are very important in international business, getting it right can set the tone for the whole negotiation.

A global marketing strategy means that a business doesn’t differentiate its products or marketing between countries.The same product is sold in many countries with some fine tuning of the product price, promotion etc.

Polycentric – adapt to each market to appeal to local customers to maximise revenue

Ethnocentric – standardise the product for all markets to keep costs low. A business which believes that a success story in one country can translate to all other countries in which it operates. Foreign operations are subordinate to domestic markets. Products sold without adaptation

Geocentric – business can have some of the advantages of a standardised global approach to get economies of scale but cater for needs of individual markets to maximise sales. Branding may be done on a global basis. The businesses has a world wide approach to marketing and its operations become global

Market Penetration - Market penetration on a global basis means selling more products to existing customers. Marketing teams may look to see if frequency of use or purchase can be increased. This is a very low risk strategy as the customers are already very loyal

Product or service development - New product development in marketing can be critical to keep customers buying more

Market Development - Market development means taking products that already exist and finding new global markets for them. This may mean moving into countries that have had trade liberalisation. This may also mean the business has to find suitable alternative markets for the products

Diversification - Diversification is the most risky of the four strategies as it means providing new products for new markets. A business will do this in an attempt to move away from shrinking markets and into new more attractive markets