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The recent tragedies that have taken place in textile factories in Asia have once again put under the spotlight an issue which is taking on increasing importance, especially given the growing focus on corporate social responsibility:  the poor and dangerous working conditions in sectors such as the textile industry in developing countries.

The collapse of a clothing factory which resulted in more than a thousand deaths in Bangladesh, a fire in another factory in the same city last September which caused more than 100 deaths, and last Thursday another factory collapse, this time a shoe factory in Cambodia – are part of a troubling pattern.  Are these occurrences the result of mere irresponsibility? Willful corporate neglect? A lack of knowledge about how to manage the value chain?  Or some other reason?  In what follows we look at the current situation with regards to textile factories, what the reaction of the companies involved has been and what might be a possible solution to prevent similar events in the future.

While China, India and even Africa, have taken the limelight as a geopolitical strategists favorite in terms of global influence, speaker at multiple WOBI events last year, Parag Khanna, has made Latin America a central part of his work over the past decade. Why? Because, as he explains, the “geo” in geopolitics is about geography. For a country like the U.S. to neglect their southern half, according to the leading geo-strategist, is a shame. 

In our video of the day Khanna discusses two particular global trends that make him optimistic about Latin America, demonstrating the potential of a part of the world that is still somewhat off the map in terms of global markets. Latin America has a lot more to offer than just Brazil. Discover why in the following.

Over the past couple of years we have heard a lot about emerging markets, their position in the rest of the world and the opportunities that they represent. At the same time, in recent years have seen much talk of the so called “brain drain,” – the movement of talent from developing regions such as Latin America to the U.S. and Europe. Indeed Andrés Oppenheimer, a journalist who is an expert on the Latin American region, has predicted a major brain drain from developing countries, due to recent changes in the immigration policy of Preseident Barack Obama’s administration.   

However, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the turbulent economic situation in Europe is drawing talent to Latin America as a more attractive and opportunistic destination.

In my last post, I shared the trends that are redefining human capital management (HCM) in the U.S. and around the globe.  While all large organizations can benefit from human capital management to drive positive business outcomes, being a global, multinational enterprise places unique demands on an HCM strategy.

Say you’re a global business. You understand the significance and importance of hiring and retaining global talent to drive the best results.  Yet in reality, you may be sending another message to your employees. For example, imagine you are a U.S. employer with offices in Japan and Korea.  You have just hired a sought-after engineer in Japan and one of his first experiences on the job is filling out a new hire document with Anglo-centric formatting. Meanwhile, new training materials are being distributed in Korea, but associates there find them confusing due to solely U.S. cultural references.  Your human resource administration may be giving global employees the impression that they are less relevant to your organization. 

Thanks to technological advances and a ubiquitous and urgent concern for the environment, certain industries have grown tremendously over the past couple of decades. However, which ones will continue to form an influential part of global GDP?

Whether looking for new industries to invest in, start a business, or simply better understand the direction in which global business is going, here are the five industries we think will continue to grow and exert influence over global markets in the next decades.

Birthdays are an opportune time for looking back and reflecting on the year that has passed whilst also looking forward with anticipation to the challenges and opportunities ahead.  And so it is here at WOBI today where we are excited to be celebrating our first anniversary “online”.

In preparing to write this post I decided to look back on what I published this time a year ago by way of a welcome to our new site.  Back then I highlighted two key objectives for WOBI:  To make the most relevant and actionable business content available to the world, and to foment a global community of people looking to build better people, businesses and ultimately a better world.  These admittedly lofty goals are what have motivated our work since then.  And whilst we’ve still got a long way to go in achieving these objectives, I think the past twelve months have seen us take the first tentative steps on the path that will take us there.

For many investors, the African continent has not been on their radar…until now. Aside from the sometimes turbulent politics and issues with infrastructure, objective information actually shows quite a promising future.

Wars, civil strife, and corruption have given Africa a bad reputation. However, conditions are changing as the countries that make up the continent are becoming more democratic and implementing necessary reforms. “Africa is the last frontier,” proclaims Mo Ibrahim, the president of the foundation of his same name as well as Satya Capital, an investment firm with a focus on Africa in an interview with INSEAD Knowledge. The continent has incredible resources, he says, “If you really want to make money you have to be there.”

Latin America has developed tremendously over the past four decades. Brazil of course has gotten lots of attention as their economy has boomed over the past couple of years, but what about the rest of the region? Plagued as being unsafe, uneducated, and poor, the region hasn’t yet claimed the attention it deserves…however, that all could be changing, says Fareed Zakaria, Editor-in-Chief of TIME Magazine and one of today’s most well-respected global commentators. In the following interview he discusses his thoughts on the region, and why it could just be Latin America’s golden decade.

Interview with Viviana Alonso extracted from WOBI Magazine (V18N1)

When talking about global trends today it is impossible to ignore emerging market influence, and the hope and stimulus they have brought to an otherwise dreary economy (see our analysis of the global trends of 2012 here). So who will be the powerhouse companies of the future from these emerging markets? While we can’t give you a straight answer to that question, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)’s recently released analysis for the 2013 BCG Global Challengers offers a nice insight to where the greatest growth is taking place and where potential exists. The analysis, which the group began in 2006, lists the 100 companies from rapidly developing economies that are growing and developing at speeds that merit global attention.  

Discover in the following how the list was composed, how some of the big challengers have grown, the industries they are operating in, and the potential implications of their growth.

2013 seems to be a year where smartphones will become even more smart, automobiles more auto-efficient, and the interaction between humans and computers will become even more human (with some predicting that the PC model will be coming to its end.) Or at least that is what was reflected in a report by Frog Design about the technology trends of 2013.

As we pointed out in our blog at the end of 2012, the growing tech industry has become a driving force for many companies that hope to make innovation a part of their focus. As a result, it shouldn’t surprise us that this year’s tech products will cater to the consumer. The same trend was shown at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013, a technology gathering so important that even the former President of the U.S. Bill Clinton partook in the function.

In the following, discover the 20 tech trends that will define 2013 according to the members of the innovative agency Frog Design; predictions on the future of technology according to entrepreneurs consulted by BusinessNewsDaily; and some of the trends presented during CES 2013.