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Globalization and its different aspects - Referat
Globalization
Definition
In my opinion „globalization“ is a process, which is never just a one-way process. Many factors and aspects provoke this process.
One main parameter is the mobilization of today, which has an effect on the globalization, but the globalization influence the mobilization, too. For example the people create some new invention for transportation or the people advance the transportation possibilities of today.
One more aspect is the interaction between the countries, they influence each other in some way.
Some people say, that the globalization turns the world into one big nation, because between the countries is an exchange of their cultures, so we have one big mixed culture.
Also politics are one factor in the process of globalization: The people in the politics have to work together, because only then they can be successful.
Every country has own individual qualities, for example special resources and because of this qualities the different nations have to be connected with each other.
“Globalization” is the result of many different parameters, which comprise all aspects of our daily life.
History
“Globalization” is not a new phenomenon of today: Since the discovery of America and the time before the 2. World War exist some international trade and some fast communication between the continents.
The “Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie” was founded in Amsterdam in 1602. This organization bunch the businesses with Asia of the Dutch. This was a primary stage of the globalization.
David Ricardo proofed the advantages of a global trade, which was the first jump start for the globalization. The second one was the invention of the steam-engine by James Watt, because of this machine bulk production and mass transportation was possible.
A simplification of the international trade was also the first telegraph by Samuel Morse in 1839.
The politics, the economy and the society adapt on those improvements.
While the first and second World Wars many people lost their job and the countries increase the traffics (1925: 20% and 1931: 41%; for farm products: 1925: 27% and 1931: 83%) and prohibit some trade in this way. Because of this development the process of the globalization stopped.
While the Cold War the production and the export climbed racy and the western nations disintegrate their traffics and their trade restriction.
After this period the global trade climbed more and the investments of the corporations in the abroad climbed, too (25%).
Theodore Levitt inserted the term “globalization” in 1983. He meant with “globalization” the new technology and the social behavior, which was adapted. So the business companies can market their product easier because, they always can use the same strategy for selling their ware worldwide.
The typical behavior of a region or a country disappear.
The issue “globalization” becomes more important in the publicity. (2004: 1200 books were released with this issue.)
Today so many players and factors are involved. Distances do not play a big role anymore, because communication and transportation are so low priced. The economy increase and the environment suffer in such an extreme way.
Different aspects of globalization
Globalization = Colonization (?)
Some people think globalization is the same as colonization, but it is just similar, not the same:
Colonization means, one European “mother nation” is dominant and got the power because they used some military power. Sometimes those “mother nations” oppress the natives and they spread their language, their culture and their lifestyle.
Often the natives did not want to become a colony.
Globalization helps poor countries to improve their lifestyle and globalization means, there is some interaction in trade between the different countries and in the colonization the trade went just in one way. In the process of globalization nobody can dictate one big “mother nation”.
Another point is, that you have not to pay traffics, so international trade is possible.
On the other hand big developed countries establish a monopoly of power and oppress developing countries. So the poor nations are influenced by the rich ones.
In my opinion globalization and colonization are just similar, because developing countries can use advantages of the process of globalization, too and not only the developed nations.
Glocalization
Glocal means, that the same products are sold all over the world, but in every county or region you find a (little) adaption of this product. It is easier for the companies to sell their products because of the globalization.
Some examples of establishments, which “use” the glocalization:
- McDonalds: They changes their menus to local palates and customers.
- Starbucks: They equip their stores with local designs.
- Subway: They do not sell any products with beef in India.
International business companies
Since 1990 the number of international companies increase (1990: 37 000 corporations and 2007: 77 000 corporations). All of those have settlements in other countries, for example in China (299 000 settlements). ¾ of those businesses have their headquarters in a developed country.
Examples of companies like this:
- General Electric
- Vodafon
On the other hand some people say, they do not make enough employments, they get grants by the host country, so there is not enough money for the middle class in those nations.
On more point is, that the interests of the company are more important than the interest of the government, to protect the middle class in their country.
On big problem of international businesses is, that there are not exist any binding controllers of their actions. Indeed the UN – general secretary Kofi Annan founded the initiative “Global Compact” in 2002, but only 3 000 companies support those initiative. The program facilitate the human rights and the standards for the environment, but if a corporation ignore this, they get no punishment.
But on the other side stock of shares increase dramatically and the trade of them, too.
Global export
Europe, Asia and America are the three big regions of economy, because ¼ of the exported products are traded between those regions. The rest of the world drop back relating to the trade of exported products.
1/10 of the world trade exist between poor countries, but Brazil and China dominate those part of the trade. As a result the Chinese exports threat the jobs in the textile industry of Africa, which does not exist so long, because they could not compete against the low prized exports by China.
Because of this negative fact the trade restrictions were disintegrated worldwide and the traffics were lowered. Therefore the markets in the developing countries were opened.
On the contrary the developed nations abide the restraints of traffic for some non-agrarian products and services.
The developed nations protect their domestic companies with four restricts:
- The traffics are higher, if the product processed
- For some products exist a definition of the amount
- There are some standard specifications
- There are some bureaucracies
In summary it is not so easy to export and import products by the global market.
Tourism
The international tourism is an increasing market; it is the largest sector of industry. The share of those branch in the gross domestic product is 30% in the developing countries (in the developed countries: 3-5%).
It follows that the tourism can help for the development of poor nations, but it has to be very strongly.
In the reality lot of natives have many disadvantages, for example the ration of drinking water for those people, but in the hotels the tourists can use the pool, how long they want and how much they want.
Some other aspect is, the home countries of the passengers profit by the tourism and not the host country and the costs for the infrastructure have to be paid by the host country, too.
One example for those facts are the Maldive Islands:
On the one hand the tourists experience and beautiful beach and great, modern hotels and on the other hand the indigenous people are very poor and they are in some economic misery.
(83% of the natives have some job in the tourism-industry, but 50% of the population have to live with not even one euro a day.)
Modern communication
A political, technological and economic revolution induce a digital integration and so a move together of the people.
It began with a development of the technique (1965: Intelsat I sent a commercial used satellite in the Earth orbit), so we can communicate without any loss of time today.
As another result the trade restrictions were disintegrated because of the communication (especially by search machines in the Internet, the Internet protocol SMTP and the invention of the “Upload”).
Because of political alterations more people take part in the process of globalization (for example the erstwhile Eastern bloc countries in Europe).
As a result of the technological evolution the economy was optimized and use those trends in a reasonable and efficient way:
- Outsourcing (for example a call center, which sell American souvenirs is in India, so Indian people work there)
- Offshoring (The place of production is relocated in another country and there the production is cheaper. That is the reason, why China takes part in the globalization.)
In conclusion you can say, 3 billion people trend for modern inventions and education, so they attend in the globalization, too. But the ditch between poor and rich countries increase. (In Africa just 4% of the population have some Internet access.)
Globalization=Americanization (?)
America plays a large role in the global trade: Many products or ideas come from there (Fashion, music, fast food) and the USA have some influence on the Internet. But many people refuse the Americanization of the world and I think globalization is not the same thing as Americanization, America is an ideal.
It is true, the western culture dominate the process of globalization:
The western values are spread around the world, so the idea of the reconnaissance is repeated (reconnaissance stands for freedom of opinion and decision). People, who know those fight the oppression.
Otherwise the cultural qualities and traditions of a country or a region were threated (This is the opinion of Francis Fukuyama).
Samuel Huntington said, that the cultures do not adaption to each other, but there is a struggle of existence between the different cultures, because they do not accept the Americanization.
Finally I think, the modern communication influence culture in some way, so globalization is not a one-way street. The different cultures circumvent themselves despite the changes by the globalization. It develop a mix of culture.
Globalization and the environment
The “western lifestyle” destroy the environment. This is the meaning of many people and in some part they are right but you have to check two more factors:
- The high increase of population, so we use more dung and we need more water and thinks like that
- The natural climate change
Globalization is not the main reason for the climate change of today, but it is a reason.
The people want to advance their lifestyle, so they need more energy and this is a large problem.
The process of globalization reinforce the problem of the climate change, but on the other side globalization can correct this problem, too, because the whole world have to help to protect the environment.
Globalization and the politics
Globalization create some pressure, so the conditions of employment are corrected, there is less child labor, and things like this. The number of democracy countries increase.
2003 the International Court in Den Haag was founded and today 100 countries support this institution.
On the contrary the globalization promote exploitation of workers by corporations.
For example: Lot of employers burned in a textile factory in Bangladesh in 2000, because the doors were looked up and they could not fled.
One more point is, many parents send their children in factories to earn money (numerous in poor countries).
But if the children do not work in factories, they have to work on the fields of their parents. So we have to battle against the poverty, because then we fight the child labor.
For example: The government of the Vietnam opened their rice-market in 1995. It follows, that the price of the rice increase and the farmer earned more money, so their children did not have to work any longer.
And a study proved, that if parents earn more money, they will invest the money in this way, that they kids did not to have work any longer.
Conclusion
The process of globalization have advantages and disadvantages.
On the one hand the globalization can help the developing countries to alter the living conditions of the natives but on the other side many corporations and factories exploit their employers, because lot of them are defenseless.
The rich people trend to more luxury, so the poor people have some disadvantages usually.
Another thing is that the globalization change our culture and traditions, we have one big mix of culture and I think this is not only positive, because every country has an own individual history with individual traditions and qualities.
On the other hand our high lifestyle of today was just possible through the globalization.
The different aspects and factors of the globalization make it hard to understand the whole process, because there are so many effects, which have some influence on the globalization and the aspects have also an influence on each other, so globalization is never a one-way road.
Through the globalization we have the chance to alter many bad things into some good things, for example the conditions of employment in some developing countries, but the developed countries have to support the environment and good conditions of employment and they should not accept any bad conditions or any hurts of the human right, I think.
In my opinion, the process of globalization does not stop so fast, because in our society, we always experience alterations in every aspects of our daily life (for example politics, economy, school and mobilization).
I think globalization is a “good think” because we can change so many negative things into positive ones, but for this the whole world have to work together alternatively the problems of today become larger and the (poor) people suffer even more then today.
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