Impact of Globalization on Small Businesses in Canada - Research Proposal Example

?Running Heading: Impact of Globalization on Small Businesses in Canada Impact of Globalization on Small Businesses in Canada Literature Review of Student] [Name of Instructor] [Course] INTRODUCTION: Globalization is the recent phenomenon which has completely changed the outlook of the marketplace and whole world. Globalization is normally defined as the process in which countries can indulge in free trade, can outsource jobs, there are relatively less trade restrictions and barriers, information and goods can be easily transferred across the borders, and overall economic integration in the world (Awuah & Amal, 2011). There are different thoughts and views about the affects of globalization on the businesses and economy. Different researchers and analysts have concluded that globalization has positive impact on the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). On the other hand, some of the researchers are of the view that the negative implications of globalization are more than the benefits associated with the globalization all over the world. According to Katz (2011), globalization has resulted in increasing the unemployment rate in United States. The main reason behind this increasing unemployment rate in United States is the growing trend of outsourcing important business activities and tasks to the people in developing countries. The research study of Yang, Chiu, Chen, Cheng, Kwan, Tam, & Yeh (2011) showed that globalization has significant social impacts and thus there have been increasing studies and researches about the impact of globalization by different social scientists. In this regard an attempt has been made to conduct research on the impact of globalization on small businesses in Canada. The thesis statement which is being evaluated is ‘While there are several benefits of globalization, including easy transfer of goods, information, and people within countries, but it has serious impacts on the small business in Canada.’ For this purpose, this section presents the reviews of the existing literature and research in this regard. REVIEWS OF THE EXISTING RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION: There has been increasing emphasis on the impact of globalization on the small businesses all over the globe. On one hand it is perceived that globalization is beneficial for the growth and development of the overall global economy. But, on the other hand according to some of the analysts globalization have negative implications for different organizations and economies. There have been several research studies in order to understand and explore the impact of the globalization. According to the research study conducted by Julien, Joyal, and Deshaies (1994), that small and medium enterprises (SME’s) in the small regions of Quebec started to take different defensive measures and secure their competitive position in the market in response to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 1988 between United States of American and Canada. This research study also concluded that the main challenge for the Small and medium enterprises (SME’s) in the era of globalization and free trade is to come up with effective and efficient strategies in order to respond to the increasing competition from the organizations all over the world. Another important aspect of globalization is related with the changing technology and its implications on the business. In this regard, Dholakia & Kshetri (2004), conducted research for identifying the different factors which influence the internet adoption process of the Small and Medium enterprises (SME). For this purpose, the researchers conducted a mail survey in order to test the research hypothesis. This research study concluded that there are several internal and external factors responsible for the adoption of the internet in Small and Medium enterprises (SME). However, most prominent external pressure in this regard if of the increasing global competitive pressure. The research study could have been able to generate more comprehensive results if it would have included the adoption process of other technologies and not only internet. There has been significant impact of globalization on the social environment of the country. Yang, Chiu, Chen, Cheng, Kwan, Tam, & Yeh (2011), conducted research in order to explore the layman concept of the globalization and its impact on the social environment. The research participants for this study consist of undergraduates from different regions like United States, Taiwan, Mainland China, and Hong Kong. According to the results of this research study, globalization is perceived to be directly related with the phenomenon of modernization, Americanization, and westernization and the process of globalization has positive impact on the level of competencies of the people and on social environment. Organizations all over the world are taking important measures in order to adopt to the increasing globalization. According to Markovic (2008), the organizations which will be able to exploit the full potential and opportunities in the era of globalization, will be successful. It has become essential for the organizations to change and adapt their culture according to the changing needs and requirements of the more global marketplace. Globalization has result in more diverse workforce and thus have resulted in creating more challenges for the organizations in the process of managing operations. The more diverse workforce has resulted in serious social and cultural implications for the organizations. In order to be able to respond to the needs of the diverse employees and workforce, organizations have been changing the overall culture (Leidner, 2010). It has become essential for the managers to interact with the employees from different backgrounds and cultures. According to the research study conducted by Gillespie, McBride, & Riddle (2010), in Mexico the positions of the upper or top management are mostly given to the managers who are able to understand the cultural differences. At the same time, globalization and free trade have resulted in creating serious unemployment issues in some of the countries like United States, as workers from the developing countries like China and India have taken all jobs (Katz, 2011). This is one of the most biggest challenges imposed by the globalization. SUMMARY: This section presents the overview of the researches and studies conducted in order to explore the impact of the globalization on different aspects of businesses. With the help of this review of literature, it has been concluded that there are mixed views about the impact of globalization on the business. BIBLIOGRAPHY Awuah, G., & Amal, M., (2011). ‘Impact of globalization: The ability of less developed countries' (LDCs') firms to cope with opportunities and challenges.’ European Business Review, 23(1), 120-132. Dholakia, R., & Kshetri, N. (2004). ‘Factors Impacting the Adoption of the Internet among SMEs.’ Small Business Economics, 23(4), 311-322. Gillespie, K., McBride, J., & Riddle, L. (2010). ‘Globalization, Biculturalism, and Cosmopolitanism: the acculturation status of Mexicans in upper management.’ International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 10(1), 37-53. Julien, P.-A., Joyal, A., & Deshaies, L. (1994). ‘SMEs and International Competition: Free Trade Agreement or Globalization?’ Journal of Small Business Management, 32. Kats, R. (2011). ‘Trouble on the Home Front.’ Foreign Affairs, 90(6), 166-168. Leidner, D. (2010). ‘Globalization, Culture, and Information: towards global knowledge transparence.’ The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 19(2), 69-77. Markovic, M. (2008). ‘Managing the Organizational Change and Culture in the Age of Globalization.’ Journal of Business Economics and Management, 9(1), 3-11. Yang, D., Chiu, C.-Y., Chen, X., Cheng, S., Kwan, L., Tam, K.-P., & Yeh, K.-H. (2011). ‘Lay Psychology of Globalization and Its Social Impact.’ Journal of Social Issues, 67(4), 677–695.  Read More