Globalised Business Environment - Essay Example

Critical assessment of the contention that today’s globalised business environment is mainly about the production of flows, and needs to take little account of territories. Today’s globalization entails the integration of regional economies, cultures and societies through a global network of ideas that are exchanged through transportation, trade and communication. In the business environment, this involves the use of foreign direct investment, spread of technology, trade and capital flows to integration national economy to the international arena (Moss 1995). Globalization has led to creation of flows, that is, the movement of people, capital, goods and technology from region to region. Flows are a significant part of the current globalization process because they allow for cultures and economies of different countries to be integrated to one another. This leads to the creation of a common style of doing things and a step towards the development of a common global culture (Wolf 2004). A territory refers to a defined area of water and land mass, and air owned by a country, state, organization or a person. People have often hold the view that globalization has caused the dissolving of all boundaries and borders and that cultural influences, people and money can flow freely all round the globe. According to such a view, the globalised business environment is basically about the creation of needs and flows that take little consideration of territories. However, there are instances in which we find that the flows of goods, technologies or services are subject to territory border restrictions (Bhagwati 2004). ICT has played a significant role in globalization because it has changed the environment in which services and goods are created and distributed. Currently, people move across international boundaries for purposes of business, studies, searching for better economic opportunities and tourism. This in turn has led to transfer of technologies, trade patterns and factor endowments across the world. (Freeman 2006). Even with the potential advantages of globalisation, there are still policies that control or restrict the free movement of workers into advanced labour markets. Some territories continue to be a significant part of today’s globalization to a great extends for example the San Diego-Tijuana. Tijuana-San Diego lies on the border between, San Diego and Tijuana, two large coastal cities in North America. The international metropolitan area is located at the junction of major state routes, interstates and federal highways. It is positioned at the terminus of 10 major federal highways and interstates. Stiglitz(2006) explains that such a strategic position is important for globalization because it serves as a point which people or states meet and integrate. It facilitates easy flow and exchange of ideas, goods, capital, technology and people. San Diego is a significant area of culture finance, and economies in California while Tijuana is a significant regional business center in northwestern Mexico. Globalization has enabled the region to remain as a dominant commercial center in the US. According to Noah Timothy (2010), San Diego experiences the most active land-crossing in the world as people cross for business and tourist purposes. Globalisation has allowed san Diego-Tijuana to grow to a powerful economic region in the California. As much as globalization has increased the flow of goods or people across borders, there are still some policies and trade regulations in some countries that restrict the importation of certain goods (Bhagwati 2004). For example the importation of certain merchandise are restricted or totally prohibited in Portugal to protect its economy and security while some are subject to restrain under import quota (US. Department of Commerce 2010).This means that globalization does not have the power to disregard territories. The current flow of goods people, finance and cultural ideas around has bound up territories through the creation of a global competitive environment that makes the embracing of globalization a basic need (Calhoun 1992). This means that businesses and societies have to embrace the new trend of doing things that has been created by globalization so as to co-exist with others. This leads to the creation of the need for particular needs in terms of goods and services tat will allow a business or society go global. This need in turn facilitates the flow of the desired products. The present globalised business environment has led to the development of some new types of territories for example through offshore financial centers. These financial centers have allowed for a freer and greater flow of capital around the world by offering financial services to foreign offshore companies. They are very significant in investment into emerging markets (Richard 1994). When exploring the issue of climate change, human and non-man flows and territories are linked together by looking at how they relate in causing or enhancing it like in the transportation of goods or people from one place to another. For accountability purposes, specific contributions of territories to climate change are also taken into consideration despite the fact that they are produce goods for global utilization. However, we cannot totally reject the fact that globalization cannot be fully controlled by territorial boundaries. Globalization has made nation-states to have a difficult time in controlling economic developments within their own boundaries. As a result of these, nation-states tend to separate themselves from or counter the effects globalization. I chose the list of resources I have used in this paper because they handled the topic of globalization and the many issues surrounding it from a wide perspective. First, they gave me an insight on what globalization in the business environment today entails. These resources also have helped to analyze the view held by people that globalization in business environment is about production of needs and flows that do not consider boundaries. The list of reference has allowed me to understand that that view exists in the ideal but not the reality. For example U.S. Department of Commerce (2010) reveals about the business restrictions that exist in Portugal. This means that a territory has the power to control what comes into it and what goes out of it. Therefore, globalisation is not a force that has come to sweep the business environment but a global lifestyle that can be controlled. Reference List Bhagwati Jagdish (2004). In Defence of Globalization. Oxford University Press. New York Calhoun Craig. 1992. The infrastructure of modernity: Indirect social relationships, information technology, and social integration. In H. Haferkamp and N.J. Smelser, eds., Social Change and Modernity, pp.205-236 University of California Press. Berkeley Freeman Richard (2006). "People Flows in Globalization". Journal of Economic Perspectives. (2) pp 145-170 Moss Kanter (1995). World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy. Touchstone. New York Noah Timothy (2010). “The United States of Inequality, Introducing the great Divergence”, Slate, Sept 3, 2010. http://www.slate.com/id/2266025/entry/2266026/. Viewed 22nd April, 2011 Steger Manfred (2002). Globalism: the new market ideology. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. Lanham, Maryland Stiglitz, Joseph E. (2006). Making Globalization Work. W.W. Norton. New York. Richard Roberts (1994). Offshore Financial Centers. Online http://www.investmentinternational.com/_offshore_financial_centres.asp. [Accessed 22nd April, 2010]. US Department of Commerce (2010). "Doing Business in Portugal: A Country Commercial Guide," 2010. Online. http://www.estandardsforum.org/portugal/business-indicators?id=166. Viewed on 22nd April, 2010. Wolf Martin (2004). Why Globalization Works. Yale University Press. New Haven: Read More