The Potential Challenges and Opportunities that the Asia Century Offers Australian Society - Case Study Example

The potential challenges and opportunities that the Asia century offers Australian society University Student Id Course Date Introduction This essay is exploring the potential opportunities and the challenges that Asia century offers to the Australian society. Asia has become a powerhouse in the current contemporary economic world as it has closed the economic gap that has been existing between the country and the rest of the world. The increased economic growth experienced in Australia can be attributed to the economic miracle in Asia where around 50% of the Australian exports are finding their way in Asia (Hare, 2004). The increased engagement between Australia and Asia can be associated with both opportunities and challenges. As per the economy which is networked and also competition, it meant that Australia is linked to the Asia regarding business and domestic life. The advancement in technology is doing away with the national borders and is, therefore, making it much simple for the people of Asia to pass information to each and to the Australians too. However, as the economic importance of Asia grows there is a need of balancing the political, and the strategic relations that exist between the regions and globally (Australia, 2014). As discovered by the task force, the property of Australia is usually connected to its engagement in the integration with Asia. The essay provides discussions concerning the ongoing prosperity associated with the Asian century, the potential opportunities and the challenges that the Asian century offered to the Australian society. The Asian Century economic prosperity The Asian continent is a home which contributes around 60 percent of the total population in the world, and also this country almost occupies around thirty percent of the total land mass of the world. Both China and India are still found in the continent of Asia whereby they are the nations which are the most popular and also they have a faster growth regarding the economy in the whole world. Moreover, Asia usually plays a very significant role towards the contribution of the global economy. In accordance with the World Bank, the country of China may end up becoming the biggest contributor to the economy of the world sin the future between the year of 2020 and the year of 2030 (Landy and Conte, 2016). However, some of the banks have predicted that the share of the global domestic product of the Asian continent may reach around 50 percent by sometime in the year of 2050. This economic prosperity in the countries of China and India are usually linked with other various developments such as the emergence of the middle class. The continent of Asia is predicted to contribute around 2.5 billion individuals to the middle class in the World for the next twenty years (Hare, 2004). Despite the decrease regarding the economy of the US and Europe, the continent of Asia is expected to maintain its rapid growth regarding economy for the next years to come. Moreover, the forecast concerning the economy of Asia in the next coming years equalizes these strong various growth patterns with the necessity to tackle the wide range of constraints which includes the openness to trade and competition, shortage of skills, demographic changes, social cohesion as well as the stability concerning the political environment (Fitzgerald, 2007). The growth patterns are usually connected closely with the advancement of the communication technologies and also the migration of the rural populations to the urban areas. Some of the opportunities that the Asian century do offer to the Australian society can include converging media markets, broadcasting, digital platforms among other opportunities such as increased demand for the Australian exports in the Asian region. Converging Media Markets The transformation changes that are taking place in the region are naturally extending to the markets of media and communications too. However, the problem which is facing the media organizations is all about keeping pace with the rapid moving changes which are taking place in technology and the behavior of consumers. Moreover, the markets for media across the global are going through drastic changes. The platforms for the digital media as well as the devices such as the internet, mobile phones, and also the tablet computers usually provide the audiences with the access to various programs and services. Additionally, the media platforms also provide a scope to control and also make the consumption of media personal. The consumers mostly seek about the consumption of content, while at the same time selecting their choice for the devices which suit their lifestyles well. However, as the consumers make a lot of utilization of the digital platforms, the consumers try to minimize their consumption of the traditional media such as the televisions and the radio broadcasts. As a result of the converged platforms joining the media together with the communications, they eventually result in a new phenomenon such as the social media, as well as the user-generated content (Salter, 2013). Therefore, these converged platforms enforce the various organizations of media to engage themselves more directly with the consumers. Moreover, the media organizations are now understanding that the media programs and the media services cannot only be provided through one single platform, thus instead the services together with the programs should be made available and also accessible on a wide range of various platforms to maximize its appeal to different segments of consumers. Moreover, a media organization which is most efficient usually employs the cross-platform consumptions which mostly re-uses the content which is there across multiple platforms and then efficiently frame the content to be delivered to the devices which are most appropriate for their target consumers (Bell, et al. 2011). In the markets of Asia and also Pacific, are mostly the major targets for the international media activities in Australia whereby the consumption of the both digital and mobile technologies have developed significantly in the current years. Broadcasting The availability and also the accessibility of the media through televisions is going on growing in all various economies but mostly in the developed economies of the Asian continent. In the year of 2011, around 81 percent of the total homes in Asia possessed a television whereby almost 53 percent of the televisions had already subscribed to either a multi-channel or a Pay- Television service. However, in both Asia and Pacific, the competitions between the various television markets are increasing rapidly. For instance, from the time liberation for the economy in India took place during the year of 1991, the number of channels of a television grew from two in the year of 1990, to 112 in the year of 2000 (Singh, 2005). Moreover, the growth of multichannel television is usually specifically high in the markets which are more developed such as South Korea. Digital Platforms The mobile accessories are increasingly becoming the important means through which the information in the region can be accessed. In the year of 2011, an estimate showed that there were almost 2.9 billion mobile phones in both Asia and Pacific. In the same year, a study about the utilizations of mobile phones which was conducted by the Google and Ipsos gave a report that all the markets of Asia and Pacific had a high penetration of the mobile phones as compared to the United States. Additionally, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and also the urban China showed a high penetration of the smartphones. In the same year of 2011, China had an estimation of around 118 million users of the smartphone (Ryan, et al. 2010). Global engagement Austral is now entering the fourth engagement wave with Asia where Australia has been stabling trading partners in Asia region. Some global realignments have been carried out where trading patterns in Australia have been changing mainly to accommodate the emerging Asian giants that can include India and China. More frontier markets have been formed aiming at expanding the emerging Asia market leading to the formation of strong relations among the trade partners in Asia. Large cooperates are forming strong relationships with Asia leading to improved global supply chain creating high competition for the small sized Australian enterprises (Halse, et al. 2013). The increased number of partners in Asia has led to declining of exports common for Australia to the Asian region. The engagement of Australia with Asia has been focusing mainly on agriculture and mining where services are now finding their way to the Asian market but are facing competitive challenges. Some external factors have been affecting the engagement of Australia with Asia. These factors can include demographics that have been challenging the partnership of Australia with the Asian region. The young generation from Australia has been engaging with Asia using social media, education, and technological advancements. This has been changing the relationship of Australia with the Asian region. The demographic change has led to changes in the relations as the way of conducting trade has been changing forcing the business to change with the changes in the market. Adopting the change has been challenging many Australian businesses operating in the Asian region (Bell, et al. 2011). China has been adopting a one-child policy that has provided lucrative opportunities for educational services for the families with small families. The youth culture in India and increased middle class has been providing opportunities for retail business leading to the establishment of shopping malls. Besides, the changes in demographics in Japan, China, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam has created some opportunities for Australian financial services as the savings level has increased. The potential challenges There are various challenges that is associated with engagement in Asia with Australia that can be attributed to the strategic tensions that are common in the Asian region and environmental pressures. Asia regions have been characterized by diversity due to multiple ethnicities and cultures, political traditions that vary, and different development paths. The common notion of building “one Asia” has been unhelpful and misleading where it has been challenging the engagement of Australia with Asia. There has been the need for building enabling capacity in the Asian region that can ensure economic sustainability. Japan, China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam do lack the accountability and transparency in their governance hence creating some challenges in doing business where most of the Asian countries have not been committed to ensuring that they foster on achieving sustainable development (Nixon, 2007). Australia has been operating as an actor in the Asian region as traditionally it has not been considered as part of the Asian region. This has been affecting the engagement of Australian government with the Asian states. The cultural differences that have been existing in Asian differences have also been creating some barriers to the trade between the Asian region countries and Australia. Some of the potential challenges that are likely to affect the engagement of Asia and Australia can include: Economic dynamism in Asian region The Asia century has experienced some developments at a very high rate making it close the development gap that has been existing with the other countries globally. The economic dynamisms that can be linked to the demographic pressures, national development models and inequalities associated with socio-economic issues. These economic changes have resulted in challenges especially to Australia in the process of conducting business in the Asian region. Australia has been facing challenges in the process of establishing a business connection with the Asian countries. The economic relationship of Australia with Asia has been affected by the change in the economy of the Asian region (Halse, et al. 2013). The economic climate in Asia has not been accommodating the interests of Australia creating numerous challenges in the process of managing the regional challenges in the process of doing business. This has led to the lack of greater regional engagement that is essential in addressing the regional diversities that have been in existence. There have been some differences in the trade profile where Australia has been concentrating on for major are that can include education, tourism, agriculture, and mining. This has led to a narrowing of the economic relations of Australia with Asian countries (Singh, 2005). The reliance on few export sectors has been creating numerous risks exposing the economy to some external shocks. The lack of diversification has been exposing Australia to external shocks. Tariff wall Tariffs that Australia has been paying in the process of trade with the Asian countries have been challenging the engagement of Australia with the Asian region. However, some trade reforms have been introduced, but they have not been able to eliminate the high tariffs imposed. The high tariffs an unstable foreign exchange currency have been underpinning the strength financial services of the Australian exports. The failure to ensure that there are reforms that can assist in ensuring good trade terms has led to the creation of tariff walls that have made Australia uncompetitive and isolated. Australia has been working towards eliminating the trade challenges through supporting trade liberalization economic institutions (Bell, et al. 2011). This has led to the improvement of the trade relations between the Asian region and Australia. For instance, supporting trade liberalization led to the first trade agreement that allowed Australian professionals provide services such as legal services, architecture, accounting and other services. Conclusion The economic relations of Australia with Asia has been taking many twists due to the changes in the economic landscape of the Asian region and the tyranny of distance. In the future, the business relations between Australian and Asian countries such as Japan, China, Indonesia, India and Vietnam is likely to change leading diversification of the trade opportunities leading to the utilization of a wider range of the devices. Moreover, the traditional televisions together with the traditional radios are already being supplemented by the digital ones. However, in some cases, the traditional media devices are usually replaced by networked computers, smartphones and also tablets which provide the consumers with the control on the utilization of the media. Also, the broadcasting is possibly likely to remain as still an important means through which various contents to the consumers are delivered. References Australia, D., 2014. Australian Dairy Industry. Dairy Australia. 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