As businesspeople survey the world marketplace today, they are both impressed and intimidated by the diversity and change they see in the 200+ national markets and 7+ billion people. Yet this is the market place they must understand in order to build products and services for worldwide customers in the face of increasing international competition. Successful international corporations are those that recognize the diversity of the world marketplace, and are able to cope with the uncertainties of doing business in continually changing market environments. The figure 1 summarizes the international business challenge.

Implementing strategies across world markets requires in-depth understandings of national cultures and international trends. Anyone can read the local or international press and find out what is going on in a particular country, but while that knowledge is important, it is not sufficient for making important resource allocation or strategy decisions. International business managers must know not only what is going on but why. They must be able to interpret international events and assess their significance in wider national, regional, or worldwide contexts. It is impossible for managers to know everything about national cultures and international trends, but the relentless accumulation of worldwide market knowledge is the hallmark of all top international executives. They never stop learning. To be effective, however, managers must also have suitable frameworks to aid interpretations of market trends and events. The principal objective of international business courses is to provide these frameworks.