EU and Latin American Business Trends

Introduction

The world is changing at an ever-faster rate. The 21st Century, as Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria has remarked, will be the century of change. More things will change in more places in the next 10 years than in the previous 100. Indeed, in a world that is increasingly flat, with rapid and perpetual technological change, and massive social and environmental challenges, securing long-term competitive advantage is harder than ever. In this context, going global is no longer a choice for leading companies it is a necessity.

But operating globally and becoming a truly global enterprise is no easy undertaking. Economic realities and dynamics continue to differ among major markets. Add to that strongly diverging political, social, and regulatory conditions that impede the simple transplantation of a successful business model from one market to another. Finding the right balance between global integration and local responsiveness requires not only careful strategic planning but also meticulous, yet adaptable implementation. A particular challenge in this respect is the case of global brand building. To master these daunting challenges, companies need managers who understand cross-cultural differences and who can think outside the box in short, they need innovative cosmopolitan leaders.

Course content

The program consists of seven blocks:

Latin America Economic Outlook surveys current economic trends in this major region and highlights repercussions for Latin America-operating enterprises;
§ European Union introduces participants to the institutions of the European Union and the economic implications of the “European project” in Europe and beyond;

Going Global provides an integrative vision as it explores the full implications of internationalisation from a market, strategy and organisational perspective, as illustrated by the experience of Spanish multinationals in Latin America;

Corporate Entrepreneurship provides a forum for the in-depth examination of mindsets, methods, and managerial activities that follow the corporate entrepreneurial process from opportunity recognition to growing ventures.

Business, Government & Society focuses on the nonmarket forces that increasingly shape the business environment of globally-operating companies and introduces participants to the process of nonmarket strategy formulation and implementation;

Value Creation and Strategic Change highlights the most recent thinking about how firms create and capture value and pays particular attention to the strategic drivers and challenges of internationalization;

National Champions in Global Markets, finally, enables participants to obtain important insights into the drivers and dynamics of contemporary European industrial policy in an age of market globalization and to explore strategies for managing in high stakes political settings. This track will also provide an opportunity to contemplate more broadly the evolving relationship of state and market and its implications for both business and government in the context of the current financial crisis.

The program combines sessions led by IE Business School Faculty with several company visits designed to enable participants to gain first-hand experience of issues covered in the program