The world economy has seen radical change during the past two decades. Geographical and cultural distances have shrunk due to supersonic travel, fax machines, global computer and telephone hookups, world television satellite broadcasts and other technical advances. This has allowed companies to greatly expand their geographical market coverage, purchasing, and manufacturing. The result is a vastly more complex marketing environment for both companies and consumers. Today, almost every company large or small is touched in some way by global competition from the neighborhood florist that buys its flowers from Mexican nurseries, to the small New York clothing retailer that imports its merchandise from Asia, to the U.S electronics manufacturer that competes in its home markets with giant Japanese rivals, to the large American consumer goods producer that introduces new products into emerging markets abroad. Today companies are not only trying to sell more of their locally produced goods in international markets, they also are buying more components and supplies abroad. Many domestically purchased goods and services are hybrids with design, materials purchases, manufacturing and marketing taking place in several countries.