MN7406 International Business Assignment Sample
Module and code Title: MN7406 International Business Assignment Sample
Question 3: Discuss how changing demographics impact on the opportunities and risks of international businesses.
Introduction
The world’s population expanded at a glacial pace over the period from around 1750 to the present, due to high mortality rates that were somewhat offset by high birth rates during this time period. 1 In the second half of the twentieth century, advances in knowledge and technology began to have a positive impact on mortality rates, and this trend has persisted into the twenty-first century. Some of the first sectors to benefit from these accomplishments were the medical, public health, and nutritional industries. Furthermore, there has been a reduction in the number of births across the nation. In the United States, increased potential expenses connected with having children, as well as increasing expenditures involved with raising and educating them, are contributing to a change in views toward smaller families, according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center on family size.
As a result of the migration of individuals from rural to urban areas, large families were no longer required to maintain their farms in order to fulfil their own nutritional and economic requirements. Birth control is becoming more widely accepted in society as a whole, which is leading to an increase in the availability and usage of the procedure. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, an unprecedented number of births occurred, which was shortly followed by another wave of births when members of the baby boom generation began to have children of their own, resulting in the current population explosion.
Discussion
A recent study found that women in the United States are now giving birth at a rate of 1.88 children per woman, according to the most recent available figures (United Nations 2017: 807). When I was born, the average fertility rate was more than 3.2 children per woman during the time period predicted by the United Nations, which is significantly lower than the expected replacement rate of two children per woman per generation during the time period predicted by my parents more than a century ago (Peterman,2020).
Due to demographic shifts that have occurred during the 1970s, the average life expectancy in the United States has grown significantly. In accordance with current estimations, the typical individual may anticipate living to be more than 80 years old when they are born, a 30 year rise over the previous century.
3 With an average age of 38 years in the United States now, the population is more than ten years older than it was forty years ago, when the year 1970 was used as a starting point for the first time in this survey, which was conducted in the year 1970. 4 Globally, according to predictions from the World Bank, the median age of the population would be 42 years old by 2050, with the percentage of people 65 years or older in the working-age population (those between the ages of 15 and 64) estimated to more than quadruple from 1970 levels. 5
Several variables, including expected steady fertility rates and an older population, have been identified in a new report by the United Nations Population Division as contributing to the slowing of world population growth in coming years.
6 Subsequently hitting a high of more than 2 percent per year in the mid-1960s, it has fallen to an average of 1.2 percent per year between 2010 and 2015. It had previously averaged more than 2 percent per year between 1960 and 1960, but it has since plummeted to 1.2 percent per year between 2010 and 2015.
Three days after its inception on September 3rd in New York City, the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Session came to an end on September 5th (United Nations 2017: 3). United States population growth is forecast to slow from roughly half percent in recent years to half percent in 2050, which is precisely what the predictions indicated. In the United States, net foreign migration will account for roughly two-thirds of the expected slowing of population growth over the next few decades (Moda,2019).
When compared to the United States, many industrialised nations are far more advanced in their population ageing than the United States, and this trend is expanding across the world, notably in Asia (). Japanese senior persons account for a large proportion of the nation’s rapidly ageing population, which has a median age of roughly 47 years. As a consequence, Japan is both the world’s most populous country and the world’s most populous country in terms of senior citizens. In addition to having the world’s greatest ratio of elderly to working-age people, the country has the world’s highest ratio of senior citizens, making it both the world’s most populous country and the world’s most populous country in terms of senior persons (United Nations 2017: 415).
8 Government figures reveal that fertility rates have been progressively dropping across Europe for many decades, according to official statistics (United Nations 2017: xxvii). Due to the country’s one-child policy, which was implemented in 1979 and has since been extended to other countries, China’s population has grown at a glacial pace since the late 1980s. In addition, the country’s population is rapidly ageing as a result of the one-child policy, which was instituted in 1979 and has since been extended to other countries. China’s one-child policy, which was adopted in 1979 and has subsequently been expanded to other nations, was first implemented in 1979
As a result of having a younger population, faster population growth, and more contributions to the labour force participation, a smaller economy may be more advanced in terms of demographic transition than a larger one. According to the most recent available statistics, India’s population has grown by 1.2 percent every year since 2010, with a median age of around 27 years. When looking at annualised population growth, the country’s population increased by 1.2 percent each year between 2010 and 2015. (United Nations 2017: 383).
China’s population has overtaken that of the United States, and the United Nations projects that India’s population will have surpassed that of China in around seven years after China. According to United Nations projections, India’s population will surpass China’s in terms of overall population by 2050, and China will fall behind. As forecasted by the United Nations Population Division, some African countries, particularly those with historically high fertility rates, would account for a significant portion of the expected increase in world population by 2050, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (Swinburn,2022).
Those tasked with formulating policies in the United States should take into consideration the implications of these global demographic trends for the future of the American economy. In reality, the choices made by politicians will have a substantial influence on the severity of the repercussions of the climate change calamity in the coming years. As a follow-up to this initial discussion, the following sections will give more insight into some of the ways in which changing demographics may have an influence on the United States’ economy, notably in terms of employment and the country’s future development. It is necessary to analyse the demographics of a region or a country in order to evaluate the availability of skilled labour in that region or country.
As a result of lowering mortality rates, people are living longer lives, and as a result of people living longer lives, there is a larger pool of available labour to meet the demand for products and services in the marketplace. The beginnings of this trend may be seen in action in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when women and baby boomers first started to join the labour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The effect of this will be an increase in the number of prime-age employees, both male and female, in addition to expected growth rates of 3 to 4 percent in the medium term, followed by a decline in the long run (CBO 2017b).
Conclusion
In order to save more money for retirement, individuals will need to work longer hours as a consequence of higher life expectancy in order to accumulate more savings. The general trend of population ageing, on the other hand, is toward a reduction in the total number of persons who engage in the labour force (Maresova, P2018).
9 More specifically, it’s something that is now going place in the United States of America, to be more exact. As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after reaching an all-time high of 67.3 percent in the early 2000s, the labour force participation rate began to decline in the early 2000s. As the Great Recession was about to begin, the unemployment rate finally plummeted to 65.0 percent in December 2007.
As a result, the proportion has fallen to 62.7 percent. However, despite the fact that there are some cyclical factors at play, according to the results of the research, the majority of the drop may be attributed to demographic factors such as an ageing population and a reduction in levels of participation among persons in their later years (Lemieux, et al. 2020).
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after a period of strong expansion in the 1970s, the average annual growth rate of the labour force in the United States has been progressively dropping to roughly 0.5 percent since that time. This is owing to slower population growth and greater rates of participation in the labour force throughout the nation, among other factors. In line with current projections, it is expected to retain its present level for at least the next ten years.
Question 4: how the advent of blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses operate internationally.
Introduction
An electronic ledger of all transactions that take place on a blockchain, which employs cryptographic*1 technology, is capable of retaining a permanent and virtually unalterable record of all transactions that take place on the blockchain, and it is virtually impossible to alter this record once it has been created. In part due to the fact that no one party has authority over the decentralised peer-to-peer network that creates the blockchain, the blockchain is more secure than traditional database systems. Rather of being controlled by a single person, the blockchain is created by a decentralised peer-to-peer network of computers.
* The rules by which the ledger is maintained are described by a mathematical “consensus protocol”*, which is a kind of consensus protocol. Because of this protocol, parties that have little or no confidence in one another may communicate without relying on a single trustworthy third party to facilitate the interaction. As a result, transaction authentication is made feasible, but only under certain conditions. Because of this, according to The Economist, the term “trust machine” has been applied to Blockchain technology as a result of its implementation. As long as they are actively logged in at the time of their request, members may request access to the blockchain ledger at any time and from any location while the network is in operation (Coccia,2019).
Discussion
With the use of technology such as Blockchain, products and transactions can be tracked in real time across international boundaries. Blockchain transactions are timestamped* and so cannot be easily changed. The development of computer programmes known as “smart contracts”*, which automate activities and lower the cost of conducting business when certain conditions are met, increases the prospect that the costs associated with running a company may be far less expensive in the future (Kahiya,2018).
No matter how secure a system is, there is always the risk of assaults and breaches against it, regardless of how secure it is. Because of its decentralised and distributed character, the blockchain is more resistant to cyber-attacks than traditional database systems, which makes it a promising alternative to traditional databases. Additionally, it makes use of cryptographic technologies to assure that it is not hacked.
Blockchain technology is being researched for use in trade finance activities such as letters of credit, as well as in supply chain financing, with the objective of digitalizing and automating these procedures in order to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
A significant number of banks are examining the potential advantages of this new technology, as well as its uses in conjunction with fintech startups and information technology organisations. In spite of the fact that pilot projects have demonstrated to be beneficial, there are major technological and regulatory challenges that must be overcome before the technology can be made broadly available.
The inherent characteristics of the technology, in addition to being used to implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and streamline business-to-government (B2G) activities at the national level, have the potential to be used for a wide range of other purposes in addition to those listed above.
It is feasible to increase the accuracy of trade data, as well as the efficiency of border procedures and single-window services, via the use of blockchain and smart contracts, among other technologies (entry points where trade stakeholders may submit documents and other information to complete customs processes) (entry points where trade stakeholders may submit documents and other information to complete customs processes) (entry points where trade stakeholders may submit documents and other information to complete customs processes) (entry points where trade stakeholders may submit documents and other information to complete customs processes) (entry points where trade stakeholders may submit documents and other information to complete customs processes) (entry points where trade stakeholders may submit documents and other information to complete customs processes).
Global-to-global G2G operations must be set up and operational as quickly as possible, which is a considerable problem in itself. To develop a legislative environment that is advantageous to paperless trade, non-technological compatibility, standards, and political will will be necessary, all of which are already being worked on by the Blockchain community.
While all portions of cross-border commercial transactions, from trade finance to customs to transportation and logistics, and even the semantics of the transactions, are digitalized, the technology will continue to work at full performance (i.e., the exact information supplied by data components) (i.e., the precise information offered by data components) (i.e., the precise information offered by data components) (i.e., the precise information offered by data components) (i.e., the precise information offered by data components) (i.e., the precise information offered by data components). As part of its attempts to boost trade promotion, the transportation and logistics industry is actively studying methods of implementing blockchain technology into trade platforms that link all parties engaged in the supply chain, including banks and customs authorities.
It is likely that the blockchain efforts presently under development may bring the most serious disruption to transportation and international business since the emergence of the container in the nineteenth century if they are effective. Although we are moving in the right direction, it is unclear how far we can push things before they become unsustainable. The aforementioned suggests that a substantial amount of integration effort, as well as an enabling regulatory environment, will be necessary for the effective implementation of these programmes. Also mentioned by the writers are the concerns of standards and interoperability, which they think should be dealt with more directly by the government.
Efficacy of the procedure is contingent on the open and honest communication between all parties involved. This includes regulators.
According to the current prediction, substantial changes in the financial climate are unlikely to occur in the near future. Through the advent of Blockchain technology, the pseudonymous authors or inventors of Blockchain, known only by the initials “Satoshi Nakamoto,” aimed to make financial institutions obsolete through the use of cryptography. Although it is not a given conclusion, it is likely that the technology will actually contribute to their long-term strength in the long run
Other sectors, such as the insurance industry, stand to gain from blockchain technology’s broad use. Blockchain technology has the potential to have a big effect beyond the financial services sector. Smart contracts provide the ability to lower costs while boosting efficiency in a range of scenarios, including cost-cutting administrative charges, payment of claims, and management of global insurance contracts, among others. Pilot projects in the marine insurance industry are especially significant for the company because of the dangers related with international commerce.
The advantages of blockchain technology are just now beginning to be recognised by the e-commerce industry, which is a relatively recent development in this area of technology. It is possible that, even if this new technology does not entirely revolutionise the world of e-commerce, it will nonetheless have a big impact on the way businesses operate both now and in the future.
There is a growing likelihood that Blockchain will ultimately serve as the “infrastructure” for the service business, thanks to ongoing efforts and the resolution of technical and regulatory issues, among other things.
As with robots in the industrial business, it is feasible that blockchain may radically alter the services sector.
In the near future, it is unlikely that a significant shift in the way connections are established will occur in a given industry or industry area.
According to forecasts, the most significant impact of blockchain will be seen in the reduction of expenses overall.
Conclusion
A very successful tool for boosting supply chain transparency and traceability, combatting counterfeiting, and building consumer confidence, to name a few applications, is feasible if blockchain technology is used effectively. Well-established corporations have begun building blockchain-based apps to monitor the origins of items, to ensure their authenticity and quality while also providing proof to back ethical claims, among a slew of other uses and functions.
There have been many food-related catastrophes in recent years, prompting large food and retail corporations to study blockchain technology as a method of boosting transparency across the supply chain and detecting tainted items as soon as feasible. If blockchain technology continues to develop at its current pace, it is feasible that it will have a substantial influence on the food business. Building a meaningful linkage between physical and online events is necessary in order for these events to be connected to one another.
The integrity of information that has been uploaded to a blockchain may be evaluated in a number of ways, all of which are dependent on the success of an offline verification method in order to function properly.
References
Frizzo-Barker, J., Chow-White, P.A., Adams, P.R., Mentanko, J., Ha, D. and Green, S., 2020. Blockchain as a disruptive technology for business: A systematic review. International Journal of Information Management, 51, p.102029.
Fukuda, K., 2020. Science, technology and innovation ecosystem transformation toward society 5.0. International journal of production economics, 220, p.107460.
Hite, L.M. and McDonald, K.S., 2020. Careers after COVID-19: Challenges and changes. Human Resource Development International, 23(4), pp.427-437.
Kahiya, E.T., 2018. Five decades of research on export barriers: Review and future directions. International Business Review, 27(6), pp.1172-1188.
Kahiya, E.T., 2018. Five decades of research on export barriers: Review and future directions. International Business Review, 27(6), pp.1172-1188.
Kanda, W. and Kivimaa, P., 2020. What opportunities could the COVID-19 outbreak offer for sustainability transitions research on electricity and mobility?. Energy Research & Social Science, 68, p.101666.
Lemieux, T., Milligan, K., Schirle, T. and Skuterud, M., 2020. Initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian labour market. Canadian Public Policy, 46(S1), pp.S55-S65.
Maresova, P., Soukal, I., Svobodova, L., Hedvicakova, M., Javanmardi, E., Selamat, A. and Krejcar, O., 2018. Consequences of industry 4.0 in business and economics. Economies, 6(3), p.46.
Moda, H.M., Filho, W.L. and Minhas, A., 2019. Impacts of climate change on outdoor workers and their safety: some research priorities. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(18), p.3458.
Peterman, A., Potts, A., O’Donnell, M., Thompson, K., Shah, N., Oertelt-Prigione, S. and Van Gelder, N., 2020. Pandemics and violence against women and children (Vol. 528). Washington, DC: Center for Global Development.
Stone, R.J., Cox, A. and Gavin, M., 2020. Human resource management. John Wiley & Sons.
Swinburn, B., Hovmand, P., Waterlander, W. and Allender, S., 2022. The global syndemic of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change. Clinical Obesity in Adults and Children, pp.409-427.
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