Japan and its major corporations are facing increasingly aggressive competition from global corporations, notably from Korea.

FORBES: Can Japan Hold Third Place?

If we're facing a new kind of global competition in which companies from the U.S., Europe, India, and China all vie for the same talent and the same markets, how can we come out ahead?

FORBES

He added that the former head of the Strategic Investment Board David Gavigan had said Northern Ireland had a decade in which to re-position itself in the global economy before facing unprecedented competition from developing countries.

BBC: All-island economic regeneration motion falls

"As universities are facing severe economic conditions and ferocious global competition it is clear that the status quo is not viable, " she said.

BBC: Student funding

The challenges Caterpillar faced 20 years ago weren't much different from those facing GM and Ford Motor today: high benefits costs, old factories and stiff global competition.

FORBES: Surviving Globalism