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Англійська мова 30.10.2015 10:42

Text 1

 

MANAGEMENT AS SCIENCE AND ACTIVITY

 

Management in businesses and organizations is the function that coordinates the efforts of people to accomplish goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively.

Management includes planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization to accomplish the goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources. Management is also an academic discipline, a social science whose objective is to study social organization.

The size of management can range from one person in a small firm to hundreds or thousands of managers in multinational companies.

In large firms, the board of directors formulates the policy that the chief executive officer implements.

Management involves identifying the mission, objective, procedures, rules and the manipulation of the human capital of an enterprise to contribute to the success of the enterprise. This implies effective communication: an enterprise environment (as opposed to a physical or mechanical mechanism), implies human motivation and implies some sort of successful progress or system outcome.

In profitable organizations, management's primary function is the satisfaction of a range of stakeholders. This typically involves making a profit (for the shareholders), creating valued products at a reasonable cost (for customers), and providing great employment opportunities for employees. In non-profit management, add the importance of keeping the faith of donors. In most models of management and governance, shareholders vote for the board of directors, and the board then hires senior management. Some organizations have experimented with other methods (such as employee-voting models) of selecting or reviewing managers, but this is rare.

In the public sector of countries constituted as representative democracies, voters elect politicians to public office. Such politicians hire many managers and administrators, and in some countries like the United States political appointees lose their jobs on the election of a new president/governor/mayor.

With the changing workplaces of industrial revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries, military theory and practice contributed approaches to managing the newly-popular factories.

Given the scale of most commercial operations and the lack of mechanized record-keeping and recording before the industrial revolution, it made sense for most owners of enterprises in those times to carry out management functions by and for themselves. But with growing size and complexity of organizations, the split between owners (individuals, industrial dynasties or groups of shareholders) and day-to-day managers (independent specialists in planning and control) gradually became more common.

While management (according to some definitions) has existed for millennia, several writers have created a background of works that assisted in modern management theories.

Towards the end of the 20th century, business management came to consist of six separate branches, namely:

• financial management
• human resource management
• information technology management (responsible for management information systems)
• marketing management
• operations management or production management
• strategic management

Branches of management theory also exist relating to nonprofits and to government: such as public administration, public management, and educational management. Further, management programs related to civil-society organizations have also spawned programs in non-profit management and social entrepreneurship.

 

 

 

Text 2

 

DESCRIPTION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MARKETING ACTIVITIES

 

Marketing is the performance of business’ activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer or user in order to satisfy customers and accomplish the company’s objectives1. Marketing embodies the strategic planning and realization of an enterprise’s goals and sales targets. It is accomplished by meeting the needs of the marketplace through the development, market pricing, promotion and distribution of good and services from creation through consumption.

Marketing Strategy or Marketing Concept which is the modern mode of selling thought seeks to identify the segment of the market that has a requirement for the product or service in question. This opposes merely producing the item and assuming the customer will come to you. Marketing strategy still assumes a willingness on the part of the consumer to pay for the goods if properly priced and positioned. The word “market” refers to those individuals or organizations who are ready willing and able to purchase the product.

The target markets is a description of the consumer and her/his motives: in other words, what will please the customer. What do they want or need and are willing to pay for. How can we determine what the customer really wants?

The marketing mix is under the control of the organization. The company is able to adjust its allocation to the different components at its will. How it puts them together is determined by their marketing strategy. Usually this depends on the analysis of the consumer and the environment, which are their research toolsaimed at measuring market potential in dollars and specifying the target market. Those items which are part of the marketing mix are called the four “p’s”, i.e. product, price, promotion and planning or physical distribution.

Market segmentation is the process supported by market research of breaking up the market into smaller segments or submarkets which are grouped by similar characteristics such as consumer product needs, buying patterns, or future desires, etc. Markets are segmented because they are too large and varied. In marketing terms they are too heterogeneous.

Market segmentsrefer to the actual consumer or customer of those goods within the segmented group. Obviously they have similar characteristics. In marketing terms this is referred to as homogeneity or being homogeneous.

Target segment or market refers to the actual representative customer that the company has composed its mix for. A company seeks a similar reaction or response to its products within the segment. The process of segmentation is usually performed by choosing variables as the basis for the analysis of the group. The variables are chosen that will be able to be measured in the long run, can be reached through a company’s channels and can end up in segmenting a large enough market for profitability. After the groups are separated, then they are profiled according to certain general characteristics such as age, income, geographic region as well as patterns of behaviour. These are known as demographics. Sometimes it is necessary to utilize more than a single variable.

When using more than one variable the analysis is called a Multi-variable segmentation. It is necessary to analyze the interrelationships between common characteristics.

They are then analyzed as to their suitability for the product in mind and the options a company has for creating its mix. Thus the Market is targeted or as it is referred to market targeting. Just as there can be more than one variable, there can be more than one segment as the subject of the marketing. This is referred to as multiple segmentation strategy as opposed to a single segment or concentrated strategy. When a company chooses, for financial or other reasons to blanket a total market, this is referred to as mass marketing or undifferentiated marketing.

 

 

 

 

 

Text 3

 

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

 

Human resource management (HRM, or simply HR) is a function in organizations designed to maximize employee performance of an employer's strategic objectives. HR is primarily concerned with the management of people within organizations, focusing on policies and systems. HR departments and units in organizations typically undertake a number of activities, including employee recruitment, training and development, performance appraisal, and rewarding (e.g., managing pay and benefit systems). HR is also concerned with industrial relations, that is, the balancing of organizational practices with requirements arising from collective bargaining and from governmental laws.

HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating business value through the strategic management of the workforce. The function was initially dominated by transactional work, such as payroll and benefits administration, but due to globalization, company consolidation, technological advances, and further research, HR as of 2015 focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labour relations, and diversity and inclusion.

There are half a million HR practitioners in the United States and thousands more worldwide. The Chief HR Officer or HR Director is the highest ranking HR executive in most companies and typically reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer and works with the Board of Directors on CEO succession.

Within companies, HR positions generally fall into one of two categories: generalist and specialist. Generalists support employees directly with their questions, grievances, and work on a range of projects within the organization. They "may handle all aspects of human resources work, and thus require an extensive range of knowledge. The responsibilities of human resources generalists can vary widely, depending on their employer's needs." Specialists, conversely, work in a specific HR function. Some practitioners will spend an entire career as either a generalist or a specialist while others will obtain experiences from each and choose a path later. Being an HR manager consistently ranks as one of the best jobs, with a #4 ranking by CNN Money in 2006 and a #20 ranking by the same organization in 2009, due to its pay, personal satisfaction, job security, future growth, and benefit to society.

Human resource consulting is a related career path where individuals may work as advisers to companies and complete tasks outsourced from companies.

In start-up companies, HR duties may be performed by trained professionals. In larger companies, an entire functional group is typically dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various HR tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision-making across the business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education, professional associations, and companies themselves have created programs of study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of HR, as evidenced by several field-specific publications. HR is also a field of research study that is popular within the fields of management and industrial/organizational psychology, with research articles appearing in a number of academic journals, including those mentioned later in this article.

In the current global work environment, most companies focus on lowering employee turnover and on retaining the talent and knowledge held by their workforce. New hiring not only entails a high cost but also increases the risk of a newcomer not being able to replace the person who was working in that position before. HR departments also strive to offer benefits that will appeal to workers, thus reducing the risk of losing corporate knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

Text 4

 

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

 

Business communication is the sharing of information between people within an organization that is performed for the commercial benefit of the organization. It can also be defined as relaying of information within a business by its people.

Business communication (or simply "communication", in a business context) encompasses topics such as marketing, brand management, customer relations, consumer behaviour, advertising, public relations, corporate communication, community engagement, reputation management, interpersonal communication, employee engagement, and event management. It is closely related to the fields of professional communication and technical communication.

Media channels for business communication include the Internet, print media, radio, television, ambient media, and word of mouth.

Business communication can also refer to internal communication that takes place within the organization.

There are several methods of business communication, including:

• web-based communication ‑ for better and improved communication, anytime anywhere;
• video conferencing which allow people in different locations to hold interactive meetings;
• reports - important in documenting the activities of any department;
• presentations - very popular method of communication in all types of organizations, usually involving audiovisual material, like copies of reports, or material prepared in Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe Flash;
• telephone meetings, which allow for long distance speech;
• forum boards, which allow people to instantly post information at a centralized location;
• face-to-face meetings, which are personal and should be succeeded by a written follow-up.
• suggestion box. It is mainly for upward communication as because some people may hesitate to communicate to the management directly, so they can give suggestion by drafting suggestions in the suggestion box.

When choosing a media of communication, it is important to consider who are the respective audience and the objective of the message itself. Rich media are more interactive than lean media and provide the opportunity for two-way communication: the receiver can ask questions and express opinions easily in person. To help such decision, one may roughly refer to the continuum shown below.

From Richer to Leaner

1. Face-to-Face Meeting

2. In-Person Oral Presentation

3. Online Meeting

4. Videoconferencing

5. Teleconferencing

6. Phone Call

7. Voice Message

8. Video

9. Blog

10. Report

11. Brochure

12. Newsletter

13. Flier

14. Email

 

Text 5

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

 

A skilled business manager must be able to manage — she must also be able to delegate, spearhead new ideas and assess business successes and failures. However, to be able to do any of this successfully, a business manager must be able to communicate. According to the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, "Communication plays a key role in the success of any workplace program or policy." Business managers who know how to communicate successfully may improve the chance of success of the program/area that they're managing.

According to the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program, two types of communication are important for managers: top-down communication and bottom-up communication. In other words, managers should be able to communicate policies, procedures and instructions clearly to their employees; however, they should also be able to listen to communication from employees and make changes based on issues that the employees face. Business managers also need to be able to communicate in a number of different ways, including in large groups, face to face, online and in writing.

Managers not only need to be good communicators, they also need to communicate with their employees frequently to stay abreast of changes and assess new programs and policies. Business managers need to set up regular opportunities for communication through online forum discussions, comment boxes, individual meetings with employees or group discussions with specific committees. Further, the Management Skills Advisor website suggests that managers have an "open door policy" by which they encourage employees who need to communicate with them to do so often.

It's important that managers have a keen understanding of what subjects need to be communicated to which people in an organization. Withholding information that's appropriate for the entire organization to know may be detrimental to that organization's success. For example, if a new policy affects shipping clerks but also affects the days on which executive assistants can reach shipping clerks, these groups and those involved with them need to know about the policy. In addition, even when the entire organization doesn't need to know the information but knowing the information will help the organization be successful, the manager should know when to communicate that information. For example, if knowing about a recent award may motivate workers, the manager should share news about this award.

Communication traits of successful business managers include being able to listen to others' ideas well and respond to them appropriately and clearly. Business managers should be able to give concise directions and clearly articulate policies, consequences and expectations. Managers need to understand both verbal and nonverbal communication and about the messages that both send. Finally, business managers should be able to communicate well during emergencies or in less-than-ideal situations; they must also know how to communicate bad news, such as a firing, with tact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text 6

 

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

 

Organizational structure is a system used to define a hierarchy within an organization. It identifies each job, its function and where it reports to within the organization. This structure is developed to establish how an organization operates and assists an organization in obtaining its goals to allow for future growth. The structure is illustrated using an organizational chart.

Several types of organizational structures are each defined to meet the needs of organizations that operate differently. Types of organizational structure include divisional, functional, geographical and matrix. A divisional structure is suitable for organizations with distinct business units, while a geographical structure provides a hierarchy for organizations that operate at several locations nationally or internationally. A functional organizational structure is based on each job's duties. A matrix structure, which has two or several supervisors for each job to report to, is the most complicated but may be necessary for large organizations with many locations and functional areas.

Although there are many types of organizational structures developed to meet each organization's needs, all of them provide a hierarchy that reports to a centralized location and group of executives. The highest ranking member of an organizational chart is one or several top executives referred to as the president, chief executive officer or chief operating officer.

When an organizational structure is designed, job descriptions can be developed to not only meet an organizations goals, but allow for organizational and employee growth. Internal equity and employee retention are a key to successful operations. Recruitment is also one of the highest investments for organizations, so ensuring employees have promotional opportunities and job security can assist in reducing recruitment costs.

Organizational structure is also a fundamental core to create salary structures for an organization. Once the structure is established, salary ranges can be created for each job in the organization. In most cases, each job is aligned to a salary grade, and each grade has a specified salary range. This allows an organization to meet its financial goals and ensures salaries are distributed fairly within financial budgets.

If an organization expands, the organizational structure allows room for growth. This can include adding additional layers of management, new divisions, expanding one or several functional areas or appointing additional top executives. When the structure is reorganized for expansion, it provides the foundation to edit salaries and job descriptions quickly and efficiently with minimal disruption to an organization's operations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text 7

 

STYLES OF LEADERSHIP AS FACTORS INCREASING EFFICIENCY OF THE ORGANIZATION

 

Manager and leader are two completely different roles, although we often use the terms interchangeably. Managers are facilitators of their team members’ success. They ensure that their people have everything they need to be productive and successful; that they’re well trained, happy and have minimal roadblocks in their path; that they’re being groomed for the next level; that they are recognized for great performance and coached through their challenges.

Conversely, a leader can be anyone on the team who has a particular talent, who is creatively thinking out of the box and has a great idea, who has experience in a certain aspect of the business or project that can prove useful to the manager and the team. A leader leads based on strengths, not titles.

The best managers consistently allow different leaders to emerge and inspire their teammates (and themselves!) to the next level.

When you’re dealing with ongoing challenges and changes, and you’re in uncharted territory with no means of knowing what comes next, no one can be expected to have all the answers or rule the team with an iron fist based solely on the title on their business card. It just doesn’t work for day-to-day operations. Sometimes a project is a long series of obstacles and opportunities coming at you at high speed, and you need every ounce of your collective hearts and minds and skill sets to get through it.

This is why the military style of top-down leadership is never effective in the fast-paced world of adventure racing or, for that matter, our daily lives (which is really one big, long adventure, hopefully!). I truly believe in Tom Peters’s observation that the best leaders don’t create followers; they create more leaders. When we share leadership, we’re all a heck of a lot smarter, more nimble and more capable in the long run, especially when that long run is fraught with unknown and unforeseen challenges.

Not only do the greatest teammates allow different leaders to consistently emerge based on their strengths, but also they realize that leadership can and should be situational, depending on the needs of the team. Sometimes a teammate needs a warm hug. Sometimes the team needs a visionary, a new style of coaching, someone to lead the way or even, on occasion, a kick in the bike shorts. For that reason, great leaders choose their leadership style like a golfer chooses his or her club, with a calculated analysis of the matter at hand, the end goal and the best tool for the job.

Here are the six leadership styles Daniel Goleman uncovered among the managers he studied, as well as a brief analysis of the effects of each style on the corporate climate:

The pacesetting leader expects and models excellence and self-direction. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "Do as I do, now." The pacesetting style works best when the team is already motivated and skilled, and the leader needs quick results. Used extensively, however, this style can overwhelm team members and squelch innovation.

The authoritative leader mobilizes the team toward a common vision and focuses on end goals, leaving the means up to each individual. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "Come with me." The authoritative style works best when the team needs a new vision because circumstances have changed, or when explicit guidance is not required. Authoritative leaders inspire an entrepreneurial spirit and vibrant enthusiasm for the mission. It is not the best fit when the leader is working with a team of experts who know more than him or her.

The affiliative leader works to create emotional bonds that bring a feeling of bonding and belonging to the organization. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "People come first." The affiliative style works best in times of stress, when teammates need to heal from a trauma, or when the team needs to rebuild trust. This style should not be used exclusively, because a sole reliance on praise and nurturing can foster mediocre performance and a lack of direction.

The coaching leader develops people for the future. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "Try this." The coaching style works best when the leader wants to help teammates build lasting personal strengths that make them more successful overall. It is least effective when teammates are defiant and unwilling to change or learn, or if the leader lacks proficiency.

The coercive leader demands immediate compliance. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "Do what I tell you." The coercive style is most effective in times of crisis, such as in a company turnaround or a takeover attempt, or during an actual emergency like a tornado or a fire. This style can also help control a problem teammate when everything else has failed. However, it should be avoided in almost every other case because it can alienate people and stifle flexibility and inventiveness.

The democratic leader builds consensus through participation. If this style were summed up in one phrase, it would be "What do you think?" The democratic style is most effective when the leader needs the team to buy into or have ownership of a decision, plan, or goal, or if he or she is uncertain and needs fresh ideas from qualified teammates. It is not the best choice in an emergency situation, when time is of the essence for another reason or when teammates are not informed enough to offer sufficient guidance to the leader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text 8

 

THE CONCEPT AND FACTORS OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

 

The international business environment can be defined as the environment in different sovereign countries, with factors exogenous to the home environment of the organization, influencing decision-making on resource use and capabilities.

The political environment in a country influences the legislation and government rules and regulations under which a foreign firm operates.

The technological environment comprises factors related to the materials and machines used in manufacturing goods and services.

Economic factors exert huge impacts on firms working in an international business environment. The economic environment relates to all the factors that contribute to a country's attractiveness for foreign businesses, such as monetary systems, inflation, and interest rates.

The international business environment can be defined as the environment in different sovereign countries, with factors exogenous to the home environment of the organization, that influences decision-making on resource use and capabilities. This includes the social, political, economic, regulatory, tax, cultural, legal, and technological environments.

The political environment in a country influences the legislation and government rules and regulations under which a foreign firm operates. Every country in the world follows its own system of law and a foreign company operating within it has to abide by these laws for as long as it continues to operate there.

The technological environment comprises factors related to the materials and machines used in manufacturing goods and services. The organization's receptivity and willingness to adopt to new technology, as well as the willingness of its consumers to do likewize, influences decisions made in an organization.

As firms have no control over the external environment, their success depends upon how well they adapt to it. A firm's ability to design and adjust its internal variables to take advantage of opportunities offered by the external environment, and its ability to control threats posed by the same environment, determines its success.

Economic factors exert huge impacts on firms working in an international business environment. The economic environment relates to all the factors that contribute to a country's attractiveness for foreign businesses.

Businesses rely on a predictable and stable mechanism. A monetary system that acknowledges countries' and economies' interdependence and that fosters growth, stability and fairness at a global level is important for prosperity, and the operation and growth of companies.

Inflation, interest rates, and the borrowing costs of companies also contribute to a country's attractiveness. If a country has a high rate of inflation, its central banks will raise the interest rate, which increases the cost of borrowing for firms. High inflation also makes the value of the revenue in domestic currency fall, and this exposes firms to foreign exchange risks. It is even worse if firms produce in countries of high inflation and then sell products to countries of low inflation, since the input costs are on the rise while the revenue stays stable.

Absolute purchasing power parity posits that the exchange rate between two countries will be identical to the ratio of the price levels for those two countries.

Relative purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic theory used to determine the relative value of currencies, estimating the amount of adjustment needed on the exchange rate between countries in order for the exchange to be equivalent to (or on par with) each currency's purchasing power. It asks how much money would be needed to purchase the same goods and services in two countries, and uses that to calculate an implicit foreign exchange rate.

 

 

 

 

 

Text 9

 

MODEL OF COOPERATION IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

 

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, cooperation is "working together to the same end". In business relationships between suppliers and customers, "working together to the same end" can, as discussed above, basically be regarded as mutual understanding in coordinating exchange activities in the relationship. This presupposes that the partners are able to handle unforeseen issues that may arise. In the following analysis, we call this basic quality of cooperation in business relationships relationship understanding. In contrast to trust, which is frequently a central construct that captures the affective relation between the relationship partners, understanding places attention on the more cognitive aspects of cooperation. As suggested in the discussion of business relationships above, cooperation in a relationship can also be extended to comprise the coordination of both activities other than exchange activities and arrangements requiring invest-ment in the relationship, thus implying a stronger commitment to the relationship by the partners. We label the construct relationship commitment. Commitment is a central construct in models of relationship development. It has also contributed to our understanding of international joint ventures. According to the social exchange framework, there is reason to believe that, in coordination of exchange activities, understanding influences commitment to the relation-ship. If the partners have a mutual understanding concerning how to coordinate their exchange activities, they are prepared to invest in the relation-ship and to extend cooperation by including other activities as well. Thus relationship commitment can be expected to be positively affected by relation-ship understanding. We hypothesize the following. Hypothesis 1: In business relationships, relationship understanding will have a positive effect on relationship commitment. According to the preceding discussion of business networks, there is reason to believe that firms are more inclined to extend their engagement in a focal relationship if they can coordinate activities in this relationship with activities in other connected relationships. They are better able to see opportunities to extend cooperation, as well as commit themselves to such cooperation, when engaged in and able to mobilize connected network relationships. We define business network connection as the degree to which a focal business relationship is connected to other business relationships, and expect it to have a positive impact on commitment to the focal relationship. It might be argued that the business network connection should also comprise indirectly connected relationships, when these are considered relevant by the partners in the enactment of their relationship. We suggest, however, that, to the extent that such indirectly connected relationships are important, their effect is mediated by the directly connected relationships. Hypothesis 2: In business relationships, business network connection will have a positive effect on relationship commitment. The business network connection construct embodies connected relationships on both the supplier and customer sides. It might be argued that there is a difference between the connected relationships of the two sides, in that the supplier firm brings its connected relationships to the focal relationship, while the customer firm brings its connected relationships to the focal relationship. According to this view, two different networks would be connected to the focal relationship. The view presented in the business network section above is, however, that a focal business relationship is an affair shared by the two relationship partners, as are connected relationships brought to the focal relationship. This implies that international business relationships are embedded in a single international business network and not two separate national business networks. Since firms cooperate in business relationships in pursuit of profit or some other payoff, and the theoretical discussion above suggests that cooperation is able to raise joint productivity of the relationship partners, we would expect that both understanding and commitment have a positive impact on the profitability of a relationship. The effect of commitment on performance is also stressed in international joint venture research. Hypothesis 3: In business relationships, relationship understanding will have a positive effect on relationship profitability. Hypothesis 4: In business relationships, relationship commitment will have a positive effect on relationship profitability. Finally, Morgan and Hunt argued in their model of relationship marketing that firms are more committed to developing relationships with partners that are highly valued because these partners delivered superior benefits. This means that there is reason to expect that relationship.

 

Text 10

 

INTERNATIONAL AND ITS ROLE

 

Critics claim that international trade undermines a nation's ability to maintain an independent national regulatory structure that would be chosen under democratic-representative processes. The result supposedly is a "race to the bottom" in protection of public interests. Politicians and other commentators frequently conclude that public welfare is reduced by open trade without some mechanism to safeguard domestic regulation or otherwise to secure its ends.

The race-to-the-bottom metaphor builds on economic writings suggesting that, at least under certain conditions, open trade in goods leads to factor price equalization with reduced returns to factors that are relatively abundant in other nations.1 Thus, for example, if low-skilled labor is relatively abundant outside the United States, open trade in products intensively utilizing such labor will (according to this theory) lead to lower real income for low-skilled American workers.2 That conclusion has led to calls for restraining trade, for harmonizing divergent national rules, or for adopting uniform transnational regulatory accords. Economists, however, debate whether this relationship actually describes reality, noting that the conditions from which factor-price-equalization was deduced seldom occur.3

Even if trade does not bring about factor price equalization, its contribution to competition in a domestic economy alters both economic and political activity. The transmission of competitive effects from trade resembles the effects predicted by the race-to-the-bottom metaphor, but trade's competitive effects generally benefit both national economic welfare and individual liberty. The result might be a change in regulation, including a change that would generally be characterized as reducing the scope or bite of regulation. Contrary to the race metaphor's implication, such changes enhance national welfare.

That trade promotes competition, though generally good news for economic welfare, is both good news and bad in the world of trade politics. Politics, after all, is to some degree-perhaps a very large degree-a world of rent creation, and competition destroys rents. The tendency of politics, hence, inevitably is toward too little competition, including (especially) competition from imports.5 That tendency does not go unchecked, but the checks are not fully availing.

We underscore the importance of trade as a corrective-though only a partial corrective-for ill effects of domestic regulation. Far from limiting the ability of national polities to design regulation favored by each nation's citizens, trade serves (under most conditions) to counteract antidemocratic tendencies in domestic governance, protecting individual liberty in a world of diverse tastes. Further, under some circumstances (ones that seem increasingly common), trade's competition-enhancing effects will be politically preferred to the competition-limiting effects of trade restraints. Unfortunately, trade restrictions still will be imposed too often, in part due to the bias inherent in democratic politics and in part due to personal stakes of decision-makers that are less readily deduced from interests tied to identifiable groups. This last point emerges from examination of export controls (an apparently incongruous set of trade rules) as well as from analysis of import restraints.