Tracing the Roots of Globalization and Business Principles

Prologue

When I began teaching global management business courses I was struck by the reality that my American students had a minimal introduction if not noticeably absent knowledge as to the history of commerce. They also lacked an appreciation of the impact of the commercial imperative on the development of civilization. As most of them where born in the era of modern globalization, with product choices and common brand names for everyday goods coming from a broad spectrum of foreign sources, the assumption that the world marketplace was created in their time was a commonly held conviction. The notion that globalization is a recent occurrence with a decidedly prejudicial depiction as United States no less European-inspired event permeates ...