Global Business Strategies

Regional Paper

Frank Stubblefield

MGT 448 Global Business Strategies

J. Antonio Marin, MBA, PMP - Instructor

July 01, 2005

Eastern Europe Region

Introduction

Regional integration in Europe generally, and Eastern Europe in particular, has a long, complex, and troubled history. Regionalism has been promoted as an efficient means of fostering closer economic co-operation. By creating a larger, unified market through the elimination of regional trade barriers, economic integration allows for the use of comparative advantage within a region and permits nations to specialize in the production of the goods best suited to their resources. This raised several questions: 1.What role regional integration played in promoting global business?

2.What are advantages and disadvantages of regional integration?

3.How did the stages of development compare and even contrast in this region?

4.what were the ramifications of this regions economic development for global business?

This paper will answer these questions.

Regions have their own internal dynamic: they have become crucial tools of power transforming governments, economies, and cultures. It should not be ignored that each region forms a part of a global system, and thus analyzing the role of regional integration in the promoting global business in Eastern Europe.

The 1989/1990 events in Eastern Europe portray record political and economic reforms. These reforms include politics and moving from a planned economy to a free market economy. In 1989, the Support for Eastern Europe Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 was to enacted to promote political democracy and economic pluralism in Poland and Hungary by assisting those nations in transition and encourage development in those nations of private business sectors, labor market reforms to establish through this process the framework for a composite program of support for Eastern Europe. The United States, Japan, the World Bank, the European Community, the organization for economic cooperation and development, and the International Monetary Fund are assisting Eastern Europe in its economic development. These groups have offered help in economics, finance, agriculture, education, and the environment.

The redevelopment of Eastern Europe revealed several advantages and disadvantages of regional integration. At that time many experts agreed that the achievement of foreign aid assistance and that of Eastern European countries transition towards pluralistic forms of government and decentralized market- based economies, depended on Eastern Europe's desire to undertaking certain fundamental measures to insure progress in reviving their private sectors, improve their infrastructures, establish sound financial markets, and a renewed dedicated reliance on market based prices. The growth in the private sector in Eastern Europe opened up numerous market opportunities. Agricultural products, manufactured good, advanced technology as exports, healthcare, telecommunications,