Globalization

18 Pages 4455 Words

ll have to "work smarter" to reduce costs and respond to market changes, while others will have to rethink how to add value to attract customers. High levels of customer service and individualized attention are likely to become more important. As Wells Fargo found, a bank that offers assistance from a human twenty-four hours a day in addition to online electronic banking can attract new customers. And computer vendors that offer free and easy-to-reach customer support may be able to charge a premium, or at least not lose customers to commodity discounters.

More than half the computers in U.S. offices are linked to local area networks (LANs). Increasingly, businesses are also linking into the Internet to reach counterparts in other organizations, specialized databases, and potential customers. Each month, some 2,000 businesses join the more than 20,000 that have already set up "virtual shop" on the Internet.

Federal Express's 30,000 employees around the world are linked via the Internet to "intranet" sites within the company's Memphis he...