Economies of scale, innovation/learning, and diversification are just some of the reasons why companies undertake a global strategic initiative. The science of business is constantly evolving. This means that consumer tastes, market size, competition and institutional rules are constantly evolving. This puts a strain on companies to stay ahead of the curve of change with their offerings and/or requires expansion into new, untapped markets. A global strategy offers this opportunity. Starting over in an untapped market presents new challenges. A company's leadership team needs a solid understanding of these challenges in order to implement actions that ensure success. Success in one market does not translate into success in other markets. Wal-Mart learned this through its failed expansion into Germany. After losing hundreds of millions of dollars since 1998, Wal-Mart pulled the plug by closing its operations (Landler & Barbaro, 2006). Although expensive, it provided a learning opportunity that allowed Wal-Mart to perform better with future global efforts. Not all businesses can recover from such a loss; Wal-Mart has the luxury of capital and therefore can afford these learning opportunities. To take advantage of global markets, leaders must first understand the nature of the market and the dynamics surrounding entry. This starts with a well-designed global strategy. Understanding the decision to enter requires knowledge. This can be achieved by learning before doing or learning by doing. Both provide a different level of advantage and present some challenges. For example, knowing the market before entering it can help put together a better entry strategy (e.g. avoiding the bankruptcy of Wal-Mart Germany). ...... half of the card ......mlFedex delivers to China. (2012, April 1). China Business Review, excerpted from http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/fedex-delivers-in-china/Is Coca-Cola® formula the same in all countries?. (2014, January 8). Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.org/is-the-formula-for-coca-cola-the-same-in-all-countries.htmKhurana, S. (2010, July 8). "Success breeds success." Retrieved from http://quotations.about.com/b/2010/07/08/success-breeds-success.htmLandler, M., & Barbaro, M. (2006, August 2). Walmart believes its formula doesn't fit every culture. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/business/worldbusiness/02walmart.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0Rein, S. (2009, March 24). What Coca-Cola did wrong and right in China. Forbes, excerpted from http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/24/coca-cola-china-leadership-citizenship-huiyuan.html