Chapter 2East and West: The Current State of Affairs
The opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
—Sun Tzu, The Art of War
In this chapter we will highlight where the West is, where it was, and how it got to this point. As we look at the evolution and progression of the East and West, understanding the journey is important background as you determine your globalization strategy.
The Western World Has Dominated with a Position of Strength
The West, and specifically the United States, has been in the upper echelon of the global economy for the past several decades. Innovation and rapidly increasing consumption have fed this growth at exponential rates—perhaps faster than at any other time in the history of global commerce. As king of the hill, the West had (and still has) great innovative ideas—and a ready and willing market of consumers.
Technology and an insatiable society in which enough is never enough have facilitated this growth. The desire for more of everything has been fueled by the affordability and accessibility of more-for-less because of the exceptionally low cost of manufacturing in the East in general and China in particular.
While we have often wondered how ...
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