Globalization refers to the increasing interconnectedness of the world. In stark contrast with prior times, when countries frequently found themselves in competition with one another (and often at war), globalization reflects their coming together to pursue common goals. This phenomenon is manifest most prominently, though not [Page 1620]exclusively, through business. At the same time, however, the development of a world economy and global workplace has been accompanied by a general shift in thinking about social, economic, cultural, and political issues as well.

While globalization has arguably been taking place for centuries, the term globalization was not coined until 1983, in a Harvard Business Review article by marketing scholar Theodore Levitt. In his article, “The Globalization of Markets,” Levitt argued that the world was moving toward a ...