Tracing the Roots of Globalization and Business Principles, Second Edition

Prologue

When I began teaching global management business courses I was struck by the reality that the vast majority of my 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 were 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 a United States, no less European-inspired ...