The Economic Environment and Organizational Behavior

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the concept of the economic environment and to consider how economic issues affect doing business internationally, with a focus on economic development and how development influences behavior. Specifically, the chapter will:

Discuss the realities of economic development, giving examples to illustrate different levels of development;

Define economic development and consider varying terms used to describe richer and poorer countries;

Look at the links between level of economic development and how countries rate on a variety of factors, including overall “livability”;

Examine demographic issues, including population growth, population dispersion, age distribution, literacy and numeracy, and gender roles;

Relate cultural values to economic development, identifying the differences between groups of countries;

Consider political systems and how they relate to economic issues;

Relate these various aspects of the economic environment to management and organizational behavior.