Globalization is Dependent on Technological Advancement - Essay Example

?Globalization is Dependent on Technological Advancement Despite the fact that the term globalization is claimed to have been first coined in the late 1990s, it became popular around the year 2000 (The Federal Government, 2007). The process had been moving gradually for years until it became sharply conspicuous with the technological changes of the 21t century. The relationship between globalization and technological advancement is undeniably the main reason globalization has become such an inevitable force in current times (Mercy Corps, 2006). The major spheres of globalization include the transport industry, communication, education and education research as well as social cultural and economic factors. International crime, terrorism, and warfare have unfortunately, also been prime beneficiaries of the same. A close examination of any of this will quickly reveal that the technological developments in the aforementioned fields have been responsible for their relevance in the creation and direction of the global village. The world is still as vast and winding today as it was 100 years ago, however, thanks to globalization it has come to resemble what is now normally referred to as a global village. Information, people and goods, can be moved from one end of the world to another in hours minutes or even seconds depending on the means one is using. Globalization can be defined as a dynamic process connecting; people, towns, cities and nations more closely than they have been in the past (Fien, 2010). These connections have seen to the depreciation of the significance of political boundaries, and other hindrances to worldwide interaction. This paper examines the concept of globalization and modern technology with emphasis on the significant role played by technological advancement in globalization, to prove that globalization is dependent on technology. The overall result of globalization is the intertwining of diverse individuals the world has virtually shrunk since people can travel and immigrate due to development in the transportation industry in the form of fast planes cars trains and jets, as a result, and more than ever before cities are becoming increasingly cosmopolitan with the ease of migration. However, the reason globalization is an ongoing process has much to do with the changes affecting the factors that determine how fast or if it can occur at all. Paramount among this is the aspect of technological development. Technology has advanced in a lengthy process from the archaic Stone Age stone and micro lithic tools to today’s cutting edge technology with complex and automated device never envisioned before. However, humanity is still far from harnessing the full potential of the technology and with each hour that passes more technology is developed, invented, or upgraded. These range from mobile telephony and Skype where people are put within earshot or/and sight of each other notwithstanding continental distances (Chestnut, n.d.), to transport where one can travel from Asia to Australia in a matter of hours while the same journey in the past would have taken weeks if not months. As a matter of facts, Australia’s rapidly expanding it industry is evoking widespread attention from Asian technology business that is interested in taking advantage of her markets and resources (Ganapathy, 2010). The combination between these two concepts is almost solely responsible for mankind’s ability to exist in a figuratively smaller world, bearing in mind that, without technological advancement, the term globalization would never have had meaning nor required invention (Mercy corps, 2006). The geographical separation of Australia from the rest of the world has seen it bearing tags such as the land down under, and more unflattering one as the country everybody know where it is but nobody ever goes to visit. However, with the growth of the transportation industry, Australia is no less accessible for instance, to a New Yorker than Canada assuming that they both fly there. This is because developments in the transport sector have enabled Australians to travel and hence trade and interact with the world and vice versa. Embracing of globalization has seen the economy of Australia grow at an average 3.7 percent and has been mostly untouched by the recession (Arnoldy, 2006). The impact of technology on education and educational research cannot be overstated, moreover, today schools are able to have student exchange programs and students and teachers can travel form their schools to others in different countries. This way, they experience the different types of education techniques and share them with their colleagues. Asian students also prefer Australia to the U.K they are attracted by the affordable and quality education offered there (MacLeod, 2005). This has increased the number of international students flocking to Australian colleges over the years and made it a force to reckon with academically speaking. Scientific research is shared easily through the internet, and there are millions of books both free and premium or be accessed by students and researchers worldwide. This has made technology seem like intellectual property but which can be share by people all over the globe. Technology is said to be a great equalizer on a global scale, take the analogy of a professor in a university somewhere in Europe with all the amenities, and a poor schoolboy in Africa or Asia in a cyber cafe have access to the same information thanks to search engines such as Google (Friedman 2007). One of the most significant edifices of globalization is the existence of multinationals these are companies that transact business internationally successfully transcending social political boarders to reach out too millions worldwide although centrally controlled (Read, 2010). These companies such as, while not based in Australia are able to transact business because of a variety of technology sponsored possibilities. For instance, executives can be flown in from anywhere to oversee business deals, and specialist labor can also be availed instantly from any part of the world. Besides, due to the development of internet infrastructure, multinational firms are to source for labor with recruitment being done online. Companies advertise their jobs over the internet hold interviews and even pay through the same media. Thanks telecommunication technology, CEOs from various branches can hold live face to face meetings using either video conferencing or making conference calls. Globalization enables firms’ easilyrelocate and local firms can turn into multinationals. In the year 2007, Blundstone shoe manufacturer decided that due to the high cost of living hence high labor cost it would move some of its plant to Asian countries (Skwirk, n.d.). This way it would reduce it labor cost, and also increase the market size with more Asian and American consumers able to reach the market. Without this option, the firm may have ended up being forced to operate under the new economic parameters and like many other companies which have been unable to adjust and take advantage of globalization it could have collapsed. It is notable that the dynamics of translocation a firm are almost totally reliant on technology considering activities like transportation of labor, raw materials, and constant communication, as well as centralized management, albeit across continental boarders. Trade has also benefited considerably form globalization which has seen Australia main trading partners shift, to her benefit, from Japan USA and China has entered the market and is expected to replace japan as the main trading partner with the two Asian countries being Australia’s leading importers(Byrne, 2010). The impact of the internet on globalization has been phenomenal, and it is quite easily the main driving force in globalization today. As aforementioned, the term globalization first came to be around the year 2000, and it was no coincidence that America had just undergone a computer technology boom. Today, the global economy virtually works in real time a sharp contrast to the state of globalism that was in the past before technological advancement made it possible (Bellamy, 2006). The world’s economic activity at any one given time is controlled from computer monitors and portals operated in real time. One can deal in the stock market for Hong Kong from New York, and many stock brokering firms for instance, in the USA, have workers working different shifts depending on time zones. This means that a firm could have a broker specializing in the japan stock market coming comes in the morning and at night when the American business day closes, and Hong Kong markets are opened someone else will be in the office trading on that font. As far as communication goes, the internet is a vital tool, and it is daily changing the lives and lifestyles of communities worldwide. It is estimated that 58 percent of the world is connected to the intent at one level of other. Mobile phones are used to transfer funds make calls and as tools for social networking. A good example of the impact the internet more so social networking has had on the globalization of politics and leadership. It can be seen in the recent people’s coups in some Middle East and African countries particularly Egypt and Syria. The people used Facebook, tweeter and other social networks to rally support and show the cruelty of the despondent leaders through videos uploaded on Facebook and other social networking sites. The citizens in the diaspora, more so political exiles, were able to have a real time influence in the happening of their country. Through the global communication, made possible by technology, the tyrants were toppled, and democracy became a reality in places that had known nothing but editorship since the end of colonization such as Egypt. The process of industrialization, which kicked off in Europe hundreds of years ago, has become a part of the majority of the world’s nation’s today especially Asian nations such as China, and Japan (Bhiwandi, 2011). Whereas even the developing countries can lay claim on some industries on their soil although they may have been planted there by western based multinationals. In as much as, the shared technology is impacting positively on the world economic growth, the downside is the negative impact on the environment. This is not an issue that can be left to the concerned nations since pollution in America, for instance will lead to acid rain and other negative effects in other countries especially the neighbors such as Mexico. As such, it is imperative that issues of environmental degradation be handled on a global scale as they have as similar effect. Many organizations, dealing with the creation of awareness on such issues, include Greenpeace rely on the internet to create awareness on the environmental hazards and global health issues. Human right organizations have also used globalization and information technology to raise awareness on issues like human rights abuse. They also name and shame as well as produce evidence of these abuses no matter where they are taking place (Skwirk, n.d.). The relationship between globalization and technology is, however, not exclusive to positive developments. Criminals, more so terrorist have been able to spread their terror on a global scale, and they are able to threaten civilians anywhere due to the new instruments of technology. Take for instance the case of the September 11th bombing sin the year 2001 in New York City, this dark day would never have dawned had the terrorists not being able to use the planes or even the powerful bombs which made it possible for them to launch an attack of such devastating impact. Technology in development of weaponry has given warfare a more globalized potential with almost every aspect of modern warfare being permeated by technology (Hamlett, 1990). The World War 2 was ended on a disastrous note as japan was vanquished by an atomic bomb by the American Amy; however what followed was a serious arms race that almost resulted in more destruction than it was possible to envision. The arms race between America and Russia affected dozens of countries and led to the division of Germany and Korea. The treaty that ended this was labeled MAD “mutual assured destruction” because it was at this time that it was realized both nations had enough warheads to annihilate each other and a good part of the rest of the world. One of the causes given for the end of the cold war is because the citizens of Western Europe especially Russia gain access to information about capitalist ideology on mass media such as TV and radio (Read, 2010). The development of nuclear technology has made it possible for nations to launch missile attack to other countries without needing to send soldiers. Indeed many of these war heads can be stored and controlled form space. This has put many developing nations, at loggerheads with radical leaders and dictators who are rumored to possess nuclear weapons since they know an attack can happen at any time. The crises between America and Iran are largely based on these and other suspicions, while America’s invasion of IRAQ was motivated by like fears. According to report by the Australian crime commission, Australian security forces, fears that organized crime is likely to increase and become more, “organized” and globalized as the criminals may connect with likeminded groups to facilitate their criminal activities (Australian Crime Commission, 2010). In a related respect, the globalization and technology have developed a new crop of international criminals who operate from cyber cafes and PC I their homes while the spin all manner of online cons and engage in cybercrime such as phishing and many of them target victims from all over the world. Through the internet, immoral and illegal business such as child porn is promoted, made, and marketed. The culprits often get away with it because they practice it in countries where human rights are not taken very seriously by the authorities, and they are sold to the wide online market. In the past, the German government had to raid CompuServe because of failure to prevent distribution of such content brought in from outside Germany (Anderson, 2006). In conclusion, it is evident that, technology is the main driving force behind globalization and any technological advancement, which is often replicated in some capacity on the globalization front. Today Australia despite being the land down under can compete evenly on the world market for raw materials and trade with nations such as China and Japan and other Asian, American, and European firms. This is chiefly because it has been able to adapt to the technological trends acclimatization to which make globalization inevitable. However, it is notable that globalization is not only dependent on technological advancement but also on the way the people receive the changes, and how they react to them in the long run is what make the difference between a globalized and a less globalized country or economy(Moore, 2007). References Friedman, T. (2007). The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Skwirk. n.d. Technology and globalization. Retrieved from http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-16_u-123_t-337_c-1164/technology-and-globalisation/nsw/technology-and-globalisation/changing-australian-communities/australian-communities-changes Anderson, K. (2006). Globalization and the Internet. Probe Ministries. Retrieved from http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4217807/k.36F5/Globalization_and_the_Internet.htm Bellamy, C. (2006). Globalization and the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.craigbellamy.net/2006/05/15/globalisation-and-the-internet/ Ganapathy, P. (2010). Asian ICT companies look to Australia for global growth. Australian Trade Commission. Retrieved from http://www.austrade.gov.au/Asian-ICT-companies-look-to-Australia-for-global-growth/default.aspx Australian Crime Commission. (2010). Globalization and technology—changing the future of organized crime. Retrieved from http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/media/globalisation-and-technology%E2%80%94changing-future-organised-crime Bhiwandi city. (2011). Information & Communication Technology - Effects on Globalization . Retrieved from http://www.b1dcity.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=4350:information-communication-technology-effects-on-globalization&Itemid=338&lang=en MacLeod, D. (2005). Asian students flocking to Australia. The guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2005/oct/17/highereducation.uk Mercy Corps. (2006). Information Technology and Globalization . Retrieved from http://www.globalenvision.org/library/7/970 The Federal Government. (2007).The Challenges of Globalization, Questions and Answers. Retrieved from http://www.g-8.de/nn_94646/Content/EN/Artikel/2007/05/2007-05-22-g8-faq-globalisierung__en.html Hamlett, P, W. (1990). Technology and the Arms Race, Science, Technology, & Human Values. Sage Journals Vol. 15, No. 4 pp. 461-473. Read, M. (2010). Information & Communication Technologies Impact on Globalization. International Trade. Retrieved from http://suite101.com/article/information--communication-technologies-impact-on-globalization-a262517 Moore, S. (2007). Is globalization eroding Australia's information and communication technology (ICT) capability? Gartner Newsroom. Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=548807 Fien, J. (2010). Globalization. Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_c/mod18.html Byrne, A. (2010). Asia: Crucial to Australia's trade future. Retrieved from http://www.trademinister.gov.au/parlsec/releases/2010/ab100216.html Arnoldy, B. (2006). Australia at the crossroads of globalization. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0307/p01s03-wogi.html Chestnut, D. (n.d.). Globalization & Communication Technology. Ehow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_6773168_globalization-communication-technology.html Read More