When Canadian philosopher Herbert Marshall McLuhan coined the word Global Village over half a century ago, he may not have had in mind the massive impact that the concept of the entire world as a village would eventually have on the business world. Today, a change of regime in the Far East may be felt by a convenience store in a rural neighborhood while the fall of banking Conglomerate in India may cause the bankruptcy of a medium enterprise anywhere in the world (Ekpenyong & Umoren, 2010) . This is not to negate the fact the global aspects of the business world has not created magnificent gains, it is however the challenges that come with it that require a comprehensive understanding by entrepreneurs as this could enable them to thrive while others fall. The greatest business gains are derived during a crisis.
Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct
Apple considers its distributors, who employ over 1.6 million people across 20 countries as part of its larger family, not simply a means to an end. This entails partnering with them both in bettering their businesses but also in upholding the ideals that Apple holds dear which include respecting the rights of workers as provided for by local and international laws under the auspices of the International Labor Organization, empowering the employees to grow in their respective industry of choice through training, educational and vocational programs, and showing respect for and taking good care of the environment through programs such as recycling. In order for our suppliers to both provide top notch goods and services and still meet our aforesaid requirements, it is important for them to not just survive, but thrive in their respective areas of business, understanding and being able to tackle the challenges in the global business environment is a major step in achieving this. Whereas businesses around the globe face different types and levels of challenges there are challenges that are common.
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Integrity
Everyone desires to win and winning in an environment that is full of committed enterprises, some of whom are even better than yours is not easy. If ethics and integrity are not a fundamental aspect of a business plan, the temptations to cut some corners, fail to declare some issues and overcharge or even swindle some naïve associates may arise and overcome any entrepreneur (Lebovits, 2012) . Whereas this may lead to some level of success, the Slippery Slope Argument (SSA) has been proven to be the beginning of the path to failure, ruin and possible incarceration.
Cash, Borrowing, and Resource Management
The celebrated maxim ‘cash if the king’ is fundamental in business today more than ever before; it is not just about a good profit to take home but also the ability to access cash and when needed especially during a crisis or a cash crunch. Anybody can kick a ball when placed on the penalty box with no one interfering them but a good striker is measured by his capacity to make a perfect kick while been pushed and harried by a barrage of defenders, this should be the yardstick for a good financial plan (Conner, 2013) .
With financing so difficult to acquire in a short period of time, a good entrepreneur should seek and get professional advice on a proper finance plan to enable proper management of resources and avoid borrowing when possible or reduce it to a bare minimum; cash is a matter of life and death for the business.
Increased selection and competition
Competition has become a major issue in today’s business world as it has become easier to open business. Even a competitor who may not last for long due to its haphazard business plans is still capable of wreaking havoc in your niche of operation and cause long-term damage. For example, a business that has diversity in its production may encounter a competitor or series of competitors who are specializing in only one product and therefore a vicious source of competition (Conner, 2013) . The battle for customers will however, be won by the entrepreneur who will best master the elements of perception, focus and marketing and keep giving the best to the clientele without being swayed by the competition into dangerous trends like price wars.
Marketing and Customer Loyalty
This closely relates with the competition problem and is exacerbated by the social media issue where a backroom enterprise can create more publicity than a multinational, which spends millions of dollars in advertising and marketing. Studies have shown that the social media cannot be ignored in the marking of customer based products. A good entrepreneur should also be able to tell where the anticipated customer is and how to reach them. The power to retain a customer also lies in the stratagem employed by the business itself; a contented customer will not be motivated to look around for the myriad of competitors who are promising heaven and perhaps not delivering it. A good entrepreneur will find out what the customer wants and provide it and also have a good post-sale relationship with the said customer to establish customer loyalty (Conner, 2013) .
Uncertainty
As indicated in earlier, among the main challenges of a global business environment is unpredictability. An earthquake in Japan that overwhelms a nuclear plant leading to the closing of all the nuclear plants in the said country can have untold consequences on the business all over the world with the same applying to a crush in the several securities exchange in the world (Ekpenyong & Umoren, 2010) . The fear of this makes it difficult for business managers to create long-term plans and limit themselves to ineffective short-term planning that is unhealthy for the business (Conner, 2013) . Unfortunately there is no justifiable assurance that the unexpected will not happen, a good business manager will simply have to ignore fears about world ending catastrophes and forge ahead with viable long-term business options with the hope that all will be well in the kindred world out there, since no risk leads to no gains (Conner, 2013) .
Regulation
Whereas regulation is necessary for any business environment, the global aspect of business can make regulation a major challenge and even a menace. Regulation comes in several shades and natures including the mandatory legal regulation that is governed by statute, international regulation governed by social responsibilities like environmental concerns and clientele related regulation (Conner, 2013) . Statutory regulation is absolute and has to be understood and adhered to; this can be a challenge more so in employee related laws that maybe vague and ambiguous more so in employee related issues a good example being the controversial Obamacare Law (Ekpenyong & Umoren, 2010) . Social regulation can cause a business enterprise to be ostracized or victimized by negative publicity while clientele based regulation can lead to loss of business (Conner, 2013) . A good entrepreneur need to create a balance between adherence and viable productivity as far as social and clientele based regulation is concerned.
Problem Solving and Risk Management
This are related areas as poor risk management creates problems to solve and improper solutions to problems lead to future risks. A series of problems can be a business ender directly or indirectly as it removes focus from productivity to fire fighting. A good entrepreneur should be able to access real and imagined risks to avoid overcompensation for imaginable risks and assumption of real risks that may end up creating a crisis. Proper assessment of issues that maybe risky as well as seeking expert advice over the same is crucial for survival and thriving of a business enterprise (Conner, 2013) . Professional problem solving mechanisms should also be put in place to prevent recurring problems or the onset of a major crisis.
Finding the right staff
In the same way that the right tools are crucial in any work, the right manpower is fundamental to the success of any business enterprise. Some activities require not only specially trained workers but also skills that can only be acquires through years of experience a good example being computers that control massive industries where a simple error could lead to millions of dollars’ worth of damage. Unfortunately there are not textbook solutions to the human resource problems which vary from business environment to business environment; the cost of human resource can also have a debilitating effect (Conner, 2013) . The capacity to acquire and retain a proper team is vital to business success and the subject of continued study and refinement.
Technological Advancement
The business environment today incorporates a growing input of technology, which is mostly listed on the benefits risk cut whose continued mutation, spiraling costs, and kindred human resource requirement are major challenges for businesses globally. A proper system that includes costs mitigation and long-term planning is necessary to combat this challenge.
Conclusion
A challenging business environment is a mixed blessing for any entrepreneur, the ability to master the challenges can enable a business to grow exponentially and even use the challenges to its advantage for it is during a war that territories are acquired and glory gained. However, if these challenges are not handled properly, they can stunt business growth or even lead to the fall of mighty enterprises as has been seen repeatedly in the contemporary business world. The challenges in the business environment should therefore be of key focus in any business plan with the capacity to understand, master them, and not waste too much time on them is crucial to business survival. A good entrepreneur is able to survive this challenges but a great entrepreneur harnesses them and uses them as a stepping stone to take him to a higher level.
References
Conner, C. (2013, March 4). “ The “8 great” challenges every business faces (and how to master them all).” Forbes. Retrieved from <http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/03/04/the-8-great-challenges-every-business-faces-and-how-to-master-them-all/#402c4e091eb9/>
Ekpenyong, D. B., & Umoren, N. J. (2010). Political risk and the business environment: an examination of core challenges. Journal of Financial Management & Analysis, 23 (1), 27-32.
Lebovits, A. (2012). Maintaining professionalism in today's business environment: Ethical challenges for the pain medicine specialist. Pain Medicine, 13 (9), 1152-1161. doi:10.1111/j.1526-4637.2012.01465.x
