LIKE most words, it means different things to different                                                                                               
people. Take the word "hardware, for instance. Most of us will                                                                                        
think up PCs and the peripherals. But to a construction man,                                                                                          
it means shovels, hammers, etc.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Export-oriented CEOs think of globalisation in terms of the                                                                                           
markets that are open to them in other parts of the world. On                                                                                         
the other hand, entrepreneurs and SMI owners serving local                                                                                            
markets may view globalisation negatively as the increasing                                                                                           
encroachment of foreign competition.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
International journalist William Pfaff of International Herald                                                                                        
Tribune describes globalisation as "the US Administration's                                                                                           
programme for the imposition of Western norms of economic                                                                                             
management, deregulation of industries and market opening                                                                                             
which facilitate the taking over of industries."                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Incidentally, it is within this context that some                                                                                                     
anti-globalisation proponents call this frightful phenomenon                                                                                          
"globble-lisation."                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
For the purpose of this article, our meaning of the word                                                                                              
globalisation is nearer that of the CEOs and entrepreneurs "                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Let us begin by looking at the following three issues or                                                                                              
trends:                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
[] Mega corporation;                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
[] Ttechnology and;                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
[] Competition.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
MEGA CORPORATIONS                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Whether we like it or not, the world is fast becoming one big                                                                                         
marketplace.  Years ago, we were used to looking for business                                                                                         
opportunities within the country. Today, it has to be the                                                                                             
regional or the global markets.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
For the MNCs of a few decades ago, today many of them had                                                                                             
become the global corporations.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
More formidable than global firms is the emergence of an                                                                                              
oligopolistic phenomenon where a few mega corporations                                                                                                
dominate a large number of global industries. For instance,                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
[] Tyre industry: out of the five global manufacturers,                                                                                               
Goodyear, Michelin and Bridgestone has already cornered 60 per                                                                                        
cent of the world's tyre market;                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
[] Auto industry: companies such as GMC, Ford and                                                                                                     
Daimler-Chrysler (the top three are so huge that their                                                                                                
combined annual purchases of OEM (original equipment                                                                                                  
manufactured) parts exceed US$300 billion (US$I = RM3.80).                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Mega corporations also exist in the fields of aer0space,                                                                                              
pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, banking and finance,                                                                                             
insurance and so on.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
The threats pose by these firms come from the very power they                                                                                         
yield. An example of this was in fact chronicled by the UK                                                                                            
journalist Mr Anthony Sampson who wrote the book "ITT: The                                                                                            
Sovereign State."                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Young nations and small corporations, not to mention the                                                                                              
consumers, may likely be impoverished by the force of these                                                                                           
mega firms. The threat is real: for like Lord Action said,                                                                                            
close to a century ago, "power tends to corrupt, and absolute                                                                                         
power corrupts absolutely."                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
TECHNOLOGY                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
From the industrial revolution came the period known to us as                                                                                         
the Industrial Age. Then came the post-Industrial Age (1970s),                                                                                        
followed closely by what is known today as the Information                                                                                            
Age. It was around that time some 15 years ago that Mr Peter                                                                                          
Drucker coined the term "Knowledge Workers."                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
So in the 19th century, technology in the form of steam engine                                                                                        
and the railways transformed the t western world and Japan in                                                                                         
Asia. Cars, aeroplanes, electricity and telephones changed the                                                                                        
20th century world.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Today's high-tech industries n evolve around digital                                                                                                  
electronics i- and ICT (information and communication                                                                                                 
technology.) And this curd rent wave of technological                                                                                                 
progression will reshape our old s business lives as well as                                                                                          
our social lives in ways hard to fathom in the new millennium.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
But again, whether we like it or not, we have to keep pace                                                                                            
with the development.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Fortunately for Malaysia, our Prime Minister's far-sightedness                                                                                        
led to the setting up of the Multimedia Super Corridor. It is                                                                                         
now up to our local entrepreneurs and citizens to embrace this                                                                                        
new technological more aggressively.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
COMPETITION                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Competition will reach unprecendented heights with growing                                                                                            
globalisation. This is the clear message from Professor Dr                                                                                            
Sieh Lee Meing Ling when she addressed an MIM-organised CEO                                                                                           
Luncheon Talk in Kuala Lumpur on October 5.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
"We do not have any choice, and we can't backtrack either,"                                                                                           
said Professor Sieh, who recently launched her latest book                                                                                            
"Taking on the World: Globalisation Strategies in Malaysia."                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Today's trade and economic activities are so closely                                                                                                  
intermeshed and globally inter-related that what happens in                                                                                           
one country will intimately affect us in Malaysia.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Whatever the intensity of rivalry or competition, the                                                                                                 
distinguished speaker exhorted her audience, madeup of about                                                                                          
100 or so CEOs and senior corporate managers, to face the new                                                                                         
global challenge with confidence and a more aggressive and                                                                                            
competitive spirit.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
While it is true that globalisation benefits largely the mega                                                                                         
corporations or global firms, it may -serve Malaysians well to                                                                                        
keep in mind the following two points:                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
[] As a nation, Malaysia had done very well during the last                                                                                           
two to three decades. The combined efforts of our government                                                                                          
and the private sector had brought our country to a level of                                                                                          
economic and social development that is the envy of many other                                                                                        
nations;                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
[] As the gale of globalisation sweeps across the world,                                                                                              
Malaysian businessmen will not be the only ones afflicted. In                                                                                         
fact, more than go per cent of the world's nations will be                                                                                            
affected. And more than 50 per cent of these nations are less                                                                                         
prepared than we are.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
CONCLUSION                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
As a young and vibrant nation, Malaysia has the right                                                                                                 
composition of natural resources, the human and financial                                                                                             
capital, the political stability and the able leadership to                                                                                           
take us successfully into the millennium. Just as we                                                                                                  
surmounted the mid-1980s recession, and the economic meltdown                                                                                         
of 1997, Malaysia shall prevail. Malaysia can!                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
The writer is a faculty member of the Malaysian institute of                                                                                          
management.