Business in a Globalised World and Impact of Migration - Term Paper Example

? Business in a globalised world, impact of migration Introduction Globalisation has highly affected business activities worldwide. In fact, it seems that globalisation has led to the gradual transformation of businesses in all industries. The relationship between business and migration, as a key aspect of globalisation, is explored in this paper. The review of the literature that has been published in this field has led to the assumption that migration can highly impact businesses of different characteristics. In addition, it seems that the interaction between migration and business is strong in all markets, no matter their cultural or economic characteristics. Still, the political initiatives developed in each country in regard to migration can influence the power of the latter to intervene in business operations. It should be noted that the relationship between migration and business in a globalised world cannot be made clear without referring also to the relationship between business and globalisation, as a social and economic phenomenon. 2. Business in globalized world and impact of migration Businesses that have expanded their operations in the global market are often characterized as multinationals (Krizan et al. 2007). However, the above term reflects only those businesses that operate ‘in two or more countries’ (Krizan et al. 2007, p.34). The active involvement of a business in the global market is better reflected through the term global business, which is used in only to describe a business that ‘has adapted its strategies and operations so that they can serve the global market’ (Krizan et al. 2007, p.34). This means that even firms that have expanded their activities in many markets are not, necessarily, able to meet the demands of globalisation. It should be noted that the expansion of businesses in the global market is not necessarily positive for markets. For example, the entrance of a firm that operates globally in a particular market is expected to prevent the prospects of local competitors for growth, either in the short or the long term (Ungson and Wong 2008). This means that global businesses can harm competition especially in countries where the methods of production and distribution are not quite developed, as in highly industrialized countries (Ungson and Wong 2008). For this reason, the activities of organizations and institutions that operate globally have often caused severe conflicts worldwide. Reference can be made, as an example of such organizations, to ‘the World Bank or the World Trade Organization’ (Ungson and Wong 2008, p.10). On the other hand, the expansion of social phenomena that are highly based on globalisation has made the control of global organizations and global businesses even more difficult. Migration is one of these phenomena. Business activities have not managed to remain intact by the development of migration in all markets, an issue that it is further analysed below. The expansion of globalisation has led to the significant limitation, even elimination in certain countries, of barriers in regard to the allocation of job (Parker 2005). As a result, on a daily basis, millions of workers tend ‘to cross national boundaries for finding a job’ (Parker 2005, p.269). At this point, the following problem appears: not all of these workers are highly skilled (Parker 2005). A surplus of unskilled workers is developed in many countries, especially in developed ones (Parker 2005). On the other hand, not all workers are able to meet the criteria required for international travelling (Parker 2005). The phenomenon of illegal immigration has highly expanded worldwide and its control seems to be quite difficult, especially due to the extremely high number of individuals involved (Parker 2005). An example for understanding the expansion of the phenomenon is given in the study of Parker (2005). According to the above researcher, ‘in 2005 the number of illegal Nicaraguans in Costa Rica was estimated to 400,000’ (Parker 2005, p.269). In a report published by the International Organization for Migration it is noted that ‘the total number of international migrants is expected to reach the 214 million persons in 2014, compared to 150 million in 2000’ (International Organization for Migration 2013). In addition, migration seems to be more developed in certain countries, compared to others. For example, it has been proved that there are just seven states that tend ‘to attract half of the migrants worldwide: UK, Japan, Germany, Italy, Canada, France and US’ (Parker 2005, p.269). This means that migration, as a social trend, is mostly related to certain countries. In this context, the relationship between business and migration is highly affected by the status and the prospects of the local economy. From a different point of view, the following issue should be highlighted: through the decades the intervention of migration in business has been changed, at the level that the types of migration, as related to business, have been gradually transformed (Eriksen 2007). More specifically, in the past migration has been mostly based in the travelling of unskilled workers for allocating a job (Eriksen 2007). Today, migration also involves in the travelling of workers for increasing their professional skills (Eriksen 2007, p.92). This means that today the number of highly skilled migrants in countries worldwide has been increased, leading to the change of business strategies for managing migration (Eriksen 2007). In the past, each business would have to focus just on the identification of departments that could absorb unskilled workers; no particular rules of hiring/ controlling would need to exist (Eriksen 2007). Today, the need for highly skilled staff has led businesses to develop appropriate practices so that they can be benefited from migration: highly skilled migrants need to be identified and to be appropriately trained so that they can respond to the demands of each organization (Eriksen 2007). Therefore, the development of HRM as a strategic organizational framework has been the result of important changes in social and economic trends worldwide, including migration. Schermerhorn (2009) focuses on another aspect of migration, as related to business. It is noted that in order to keep their costs low, businesses have emphasized on global outsourcing, meaning’ the location of sources in countries where the relevant cost is low’ (Schermerhorn 2009, p.16). Workers in undeveloped countries, where operational costs for businesses are low, may not need to travel abroad in order to work but they are offered the chance to work locally in the business units of multinational organizations (Schermerhorn 2009, p.16). In a research developed in 2000 it was revealed that ‘about 17 out of 100 most powerful UK firms’ (Athanasou and Esbroeck 2008, p.23) tend to use staff based out of UK for the development of various business operations (Athanasou and Esbroeck 2008, p.23). At the same time, migration, as a social phenomenon is related to certain problems. The terms of migration are not always clear. Reference can be made to the forced migration, in the context of which ‘people are transferred, without their consent, in order to work in developed countries’ (Martell 2010, p.106). This aspect of migration has many similarities to slavery. Concerns appear in regard to the above as to how these people are accepted, as workforce, in businesses of developed countries (Martell 2010). The use of forced migration for the identification of cheap labour is a practice that should be checked more carefully by the governments of all developed countries (Martell 2010). But even in the case of unforced migration the rights of workers seem to still unprotected. Indeed, not all countries have promoted labour laws that guarantee the protection of rights of migrants who have entered the local job market (Martell 2010). Moreover, Audebert and Dorai (2010) support that migration, as a social phenomenon, ‘has highly transformed since 1970s’ (Audebert and Dorai 2010, p.203). Emphasis should be given on the following two facts: a) from 1970s onwards, all European countries ‘have established laws that set strict criteria in regard to migration’ (Audebert and Dorai 2010, p.203); b) migration flows worldwide have been changed (Audebert and Dorai 2010). In the past, migration flows had specific direction: ‘France-North Africa, Germany-Turkey’ (Audebert and Dorai 2010, p.203). Today, migration flows have become inconsistent, being developed internationally with no standard links between the country of origin and the host country (Audebert and Dorai 2010, p.203). The above facts should be taken into consideration by businesses at the level that migrant workers would be required in the development of various business operations. 3. Conclusion In order to understand the impact of migration on business it is necessary to check the role of migration in social and economic life. Through the literature presented above it is made clear that the expansion of migration worldwide has been quite rapid so that it has been quite difficult for local societies to be appropriately prepared for facing the specific phenomenon. In the case of businesses, a similar assumption can be made. Still, businesses have been proved more prepared in order to respond to the expansion of migration. This assumption is particularly relevant to businesses that operate globally. In these businesses quite effective mechanisms of control and of knowledge processing are likely to exist. As a result, it is rather easy for the particular businesses to respond to the changes of their environment, such as the increase of migration. Under these terms it can be noted that the impact of migration on business is significant but not always positive. Only in firms that are familiar with the global practices the involvement of migration has not led to the limitation of prospects for growth. References Athanasou, J. and Esbroeck, R., 2008. International Handbook of Career Guidance. New York: Springer. Audebert, C. and Dorai, M., 2010. Migration in a Globalised World: New Research Issues and Prospects. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Krizan, A., Merrier, P., Logan, J. and Schneiter, W., 2007. Business Communication. 7th ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Eriksen, T., 2007. Globalization: The Key Concepts. Oxford: Berg. International Organization for Migration (2013) Facts and Figures. Available athttp://www.iom.int/cms/en/sites/iom/home/about-migration/facts--figures-1.html [Accessed at 24 January 2013] Martell, L., 2010. The Sociology of Globalization. London: Polity. Parker, B., 2005. Introduction to Globalization and Business: Relationships and Responsibilities. 2nd ed. London: SAGE. Schermerhorn, J., 2009. Exploring Management. 2nd ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Ungson, G. and Wong, Y., 2008. Global Strategic Management. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Read More