International Business Issues - Assignment Example

The paper "International Business Issues" is a perfect example of a business assignment. “Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre” – This aphorism focuses on the difference between long term and short term in reference to a good versus a mediocre company. What Buffet intends to say here is that if a company is a good company, it will focus on long-term profits rather than short-term. Time is of the essence, and whereas a good company might face temporary losses occasionally, it will always stand back up on its feet in the long run if its foundation is strong. On the other hand, a company that only focuses on making immediate profits will lose out in the long run and will only see short-term prosperity. This implies to managers that they should focus on patient policies that imply long-term and sustained growth, regardless of occasional fallbacks in the process. If the company wants to maintain its strong position in the market, it must always keep the factor of time in mind. As for investors, although they may suffer from short-term losses occasionally, if they have invested in a sound company, time and patience will always show profitable results in the end.

• “It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it” – This aphorism has an underlying generic meaning to it; whereas it takes twenty years and continuous effort to build a reputation, it only takes one big mistake or false judgment to ruin it. In terms of businesses, managers always need to be aware of those random faulty decisions that may cause them to lose out on the good reputation of a company. It takes sustained positivity in regards to the company to build its good reputation and attract investors. Managers should not make decisions that can put that reputation at risk, because once a reputation is ruined, it takes lengthy efforts to establish the old reputation again.
• “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windscreen” – This aphorism focuses on the idea that instead of looking at the future and what is ahead of you, businesses must always try to learn from what is behind them. Study of past performances will help businesses learn from what they did right and what they did wrong to help make better decisions for the future.