Globality is the end-state of globalization
– a hypothetical condition in which the
process of globalization is complete or nearly
so, barriers have fallen, and "a new global
reality" is emerging.
The term was used in 1998 by author and economist
Daniel Yergin in a Newsweek article that described
the end-state of the globalization process,
and in his book, Commanding Heights: The Battle
for the World Economy.
Though Yergin was credited with having coined
it, the word is in fact much older.
William Safire traces the etymology of “globality”
in his book No Uncertain Terms and identifies
a range of citations as far back as 1942,
when it was used as a synonym for “global.”
Current use of “globality” as it applies
to business – as a description of the current
competitive state of world commerce – was
not adopted until recently.
The book: Globality: Competing with Everyone
from Everywhere for Everything, Hal Sirkin
Jim Hemerling Arindam Bhattacharya June 11,
2008, elaborates on how 'challenger' businesses
from rapidly developing economies abroad are
aggressively and inventively overtaking existing
'incumbent' nations.
The term has been described by William J.
Holstein in the New York Times as "a new buzzword
[that] doesn’t work — it merely describes
trends that have been under way for at least
two decades under a very similar name."
== 
Characteristics ==
According to all these authors, globality
is what comes next after globalization: a
new state of worldwide hyper-competition.
Sirkin et al. (2008) further detail globality’s
three main features as they apply to commerce
and business:
A significant structural shift in the flow
of commerce: companies from every part of
the world are now competing with each other
for “everything” – customers, suppliers,
partners, capital, intellectual property,
raw materials, distribution systems, manufacturing
capabilities, and most important, talent.
In this competitive free-for-all, products
and services flow from many locations to many
destinations.
A breakdown in the established hierarchy of
commercial power and influence: power is shifting
away from traditional centers of influence
in developed markets in the United States,
Europe, and Japan, as companies from rapidly
developing economies (RDEs) are quickly assuming
leadership positions in global markets, forcing
established leaders to compete on new terms.
The emergence of new business and governance
practices better suited to a truly global
and decentralized business environment.
To compete successfully in a world of globality,
established industry leaders from developed
markets are being forced to learn from competitors
in developing markets.
The practices include shifting autonomy and
decision making outward to satellite operations;
redeploying assets to build commerce within
emerging regions; and expanding quickly into
new markets to match the speed and scale with
which challengers are rising.
== History ==
Yergin’s chief distinction between globality
and globalization is conceptual – he says
that former is a “condition” while the
latter is a “process.”
He describes globality as the end-state of
the process of globalization:
The borders that constrained commerce―but
also protected companies from the full brunt
of competition―are eroding.
Governments are retreating from control of
the commanding heights of their economies:
they are privatizing and deregulating.
Barriers to trade and investment are coming
down rapidly.
Ever-cheaper communications and ever-faster
computers, along with the Internet, are facilitating
the flow of goods and services, as well as
knowledge and information.
Increasingly, companies are integrating their
global strategies with global capital markets.
In their book, Sirkin et al. (2008) focus
on the business conditions that emerge – and
the challenges for management – once the
state of globality is established.
They distinguish globality from globalization
based on the emergence of a new set of competitive
dynamics between established leaders from
developed economies and challenger companies
from developing economies.
With respect to global business, they argue
that the three fundamental characteristics
of globalization were these:
Established industry leaders―known as “incumbents”―from
the developed economies of the United States,
Europe, and Japan – relocated their manufacturing
activities to developing countries in order
to lower the cost of production and, accordingly,
reduce the price of their goods offered in
their home markets.
The incumbents also began to sell their offerings―usually
with few if any modifications for local consumers―into
the low-cost markets and enjoyed incremental
sales gains, as the consumer economies began
to grow in these countries.
Local companies in developing economies acted
primarily as suppliers, jobbers, and local
distribution partners, to these established
industry leaders.
In this traditional model of globalization,
the flow of commerce was predominantly from
West to East and followed established Western
business practices.According to Sirkin et
al., globality is a totally different kind
of environment – one in which the competitive
landscape has changed dramatically.
In today’s new phase of worldwide trade
and economic development, companies are “competing
with everyone from everywhere for everything.”
And while there is no ultimate model for success,
no surefire strategy for innovation and growth,
emerging-market challengers have evolved new
management and governance structures that
are ideally suited to this new competitive
reality.
== See also ==
Borderless selling
Global citizenship
The World is Flat
