DISCUSSION BOARD REPLY
DB Forum Thread #1
The International Monetary Fund
Viviana Hochradel
BUSI 465
The International Monetary Fund describes itself as an organization of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world (About the IMF, 2017). Its primary goal is ensure the stability of the international monetary system—the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries to transact with each other.
Opposing views about the need of the IMF often rise and cause debates between economists and foreign policy experts, some people think it is necessary to keep order and promote growth and others argue that it often leads to great corruption and bribery. The U.S Department of Treasury explains that the main goals of the IMF is to secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. The U.S. is the largest shareholder in the Fund and the Secretary of the Treasury serves as the U.S. Governor to the IMF, and the U.S. (International Monetary Fund, 2017).
The topic of the IMF relates in great context to this class of export management strategy, because all countries in the world import and export, some to a greater extent than others but the IMF assists countries in restoring economic stability by helping to devise programs of corrective policies and providing loans to support them. How much a nation imports and exports is an important indication of how strong their economy is in light of a trade deficit. The IMF seeks to maintain stability and prevent crises in the international monetary system, it reviews country policies and national, regional, and global economic and financial developments through a formal system known as surveillance. The International Monetary Fund gives advice on how to achieve economic stability, prevent financial crisis and improve the living standards of nations.
References:
About the IMF. (2017). Imf.org. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from http://www.imf.org/external/about.htm
International Monetary Fund. (2017). Treasury.gov. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/international/int-monetary-fund/Pages/imf.aspx
IMF issues warning on global growth as China exports plunge. (2017). Ft.com. Retrieved 24 March 2017, fromhttps://www.ft.com/content/714fb8aa-e4ec-11e5-ac45-5c039e797d1c
Matthew BUSI 465
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
International trade is a part of everyday life in the modern, globalized world. While international trade is more accessible than ever in the present day, it has been advancing and growing world economies for centuries. Helena de Bres’ journal article Justice and International Trade claims that Adam Smith and David Ricardo formulated the basic economic case for international trade. (Bres, 2016) Their idea that countries should specialize in the processes that they excel in, while taking that capital to purchase other country’s products was revolutionary at the time. The concept of international trade has evolved over time, and a study on that evolution likens the current makeup of the world to a ‘Global Village’, further saying that, “The evolutions of international trade and investment become more and more important for understanding the global economic and political landscape.” (Zhang, Wang, & Wang, 2016) So, the world has essentially become a massive network of economic interconnectivity. What does this mean for how to apply the course topic of Export Management Strategy? Firstly, it is important to keep in mind that “the morality of international trade is a complex, multilayered subject.” (Bres, 2016) Knowing that each movement of every specific world economy can affect the others can go a long way in helping create healthy business practices that promote healthy practices instead of selfish ones. International trade could also be looked at as international exports and imports, so it is vital as an entity to practice healthy operations that are well-thought-out and strategized.
My understanding of international trade has developed a lot! I used to think that it was a pretty straight forward concept, but in reality it is a very complex issue. The fact that it is international alone, means that there is a mixing of the cultures, which can lead to friction until a common ground is reached. I used to be of the mindset that you make what you are good at and others will want it, but the whole game is much more involved then that. There are economics and politics involved as well that can make it even more interesting. For instance, “developing countries need to change their course of economic strategy away from global financial instability and dependence on foreign markets to, instead, relying on domestic investment, wage and employment-led growth.” (Siddiqui, 2016) I would have believed that globalization was a good thing for developing countries, but it seems to also put a strain on the developing countries, making them rely on the more fortunate ones while the developing countries are cast as the ‘workers’.
References:
Bres, H. (2016). Justice and international trade. Philosophy Compass, 11(10), 570-579. doi:10.1111/phc3.12346
Siddiqui, K. (2016). international trade, wto and economic development. World Review of Political Economy, 7(4), 424.
Zhang, S., Wang, L., Liu, Z., & Wang, X. (2016). Evolution of international trade and investment networks. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 462, 752-763. doi:10.1016/j.physa.2016.06.117
