TITLE : TAKING ON THE WORLD: GLOBALIZATION STRATEGIES IN MALAYSIA.

PREFACE

The main motivation for writing this book is to help key decision-makers in business and regulatory organizations rationalize and make sense of the waves of instability due to globalization. Many myths and fears need to be dispelled as globalization has been viewed negatively. For instance, globalization was made the scapegoat when the Asian currency and economic crisis erupted in July 1997. The latest example of fear of globalization was the fiasco at the November 1999 WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle. As with any new phenomenom, it is important to understand the fundamentals of the globalization process before meaningful and effective courses of action can be taken by companies and governments.

It is impossible to include the effects of globalization from every angle, simply because no one will be spared. I will be satisfied if those with authority in companies - be they multinational, foreign, domestic or joint venture and those with power over economic policies - whether in home, host or third countries - take note of the various dimensions of globalization raised in this book. As professionals ponder the past as they envisage the future, consideration of the implications of their policies and strategies on the lives and well-being of others in a highly interdependent world will hopefully make the global era a beneficial one.

This book has resulted from four full years of active research and reflection from early 1996. It is almost a sequel to two other pieces of work. First, the publication of my marketing management case hook (Sieh 1999) updated my mind on the latest information oil business strategies and company behaviour, particularly within the context of a developing economy such as Malaysia. Second, the project for Liberalisation and Deregulation of Malaysia's Services Sector (Sieh et al. 2000) gave me the opportunity to rethink issues since the advent of WTO, an immense driving force for globalization. The latter explains my apparent lack of discussion of regional and mutilateral agreements such as AFTA, APEC and WTO in this book. I refer readers to other sources for further thoughts on those areas. They include conference papers (Sieh 1994a; Sich 1996; Sich & Loke 1999), academic publications (Sieh 1992a), UNCTAD and ESCAP consultancy reports (Sieh 1994b; Sieh & Loke 1998) written during the formative years of WTOand AFTA. The conceptual frame for this book in effect developed over the last 15 years along with the twists and turns of the Uruguay Round.

During the research for this publication, I became acutely aware of the need for an in-depth Study of specific industries. I enlisted the help of three diligent colleagues to contact firms within five selected industries. They collaborated in the-chapters for Section II of this volume. Earlier drafts of the case studies were presented at a workshop with academics, industry representatives and senior officials of relevant ministries. An earlier version of Chapter Four was also the basis of the section on Malaysia in a March 2000 publication of the OECD Development Centre, Paris, by Charles P. Oman, entitled Policy Competition for Foreign Direct Investment: A Study of Competition among Governments to Attract FDI.

The Asian currency and economic crisis erupted during the course of our research. Undeniably, most industries were reeling from the adverse effects. Some have attributed the devastating contagion to the way economies are related either through multinational firms or through electronic interconnections of various markets, which are part and parcel of globalization. By mid-1999, surer signs of recovery were appearing - not without tactical action on the part of businesses and governments. However, at the time the final manuscript was completed in early January 2000, the impact of the crisis on globalization was not fully known, other than some diversion of FDl and variation of trade patterns, as well as market disruptions. Certainly, calls from Asian Countries, including those from Malaysian leaders, for a new global financial architecture have been made and they have been largely registered. However, whether the meaning of a major change in the international management and control of powerful forces that have the potential for destroying economics through unbridled global financial markets and outmoded institutions are taken seriously enough to avert similar crises remains uncertain. It is recognized that besides political will, the ideal alternative may yet to be conceived from the technical standpoint. At the same time, the tide of globalization seems to flow unabated as before. The relationship between the crisis and globalization needs further examination elsewhere.

The most recent economic data were sought almost to tile last day of the final manuscript. Despite that, some of the facts will be outdated by the time the pages roll off the press. But personally, I am convinced that globalization will bring hardships and pain to some, while simultaneously immense opportunities and rewards to others. The issue of finding the optimal mix of strategies, without forgetting the accompanying ethics, will remain relevant long after the ink dries.

Sieh Lee Mei Ling Professor of Business Administration Faculty of Business and Accountancy University of Malaya Malaysia.