Cultural Globalization - Coursework Example

Cultural Globalization Introduction Globalization has become a main issue of concern in the world today. The changes thatindividuals and the world at large undergo are due to globalization. Globalization is the process of bringing together people, business organization and countries. This integration has raised due to the interchange of views, products and ideas among people and business organizations from different parts of the world. Globalization has a great positive impact to the world economy since business organizations come together and engage in business activities. This involvement in business leads to the increase in the gross national product. Throughintegration, developing countries have moved a great mile ahead in the development of their countries because they get aid from the developed countries. This has ledto fast transformation of different sectors in the economy of these countries. Transport and communication sectorsthat has developed rapidly due to globalization. Moreover, the education sector is changing positively due to globalization. People can access education from other countries hence bring back the gained knowledge which help to restructure and reform their motherland. Globalization has also been viewed as a social and cultural process in which people from different backgrounds interact with each other. These interaction has exposed people to different lifestyles and cultural values. Cultural globalization has seen people adopt lifestyles from other communities which they find to be benefiatial to them. The main drive to globalization is the advancement in communication. Social networks such as Facebook, twitter, and internet has helped people to share their life experiences with people from different parts of the world. The most profound impact of globalization is the change in gender roles. This has seen women get out of their families and secure places in the competitive labor market. They have also joined the political arena that has previously been dominated by men. Globalization of culture. Globalization is more pronounced in the political, economic and technological sectors. However, cultural globalization is becoming more pronounced due to the need for people to more about other cultures. Culture globalization refers to the conduction of various forms of media and arts to different countries (Crane 2004).Cultural globalization is a phenomenon that consists of global cultures that originate from different parts of the world. Diane crane brings forward the theory models that are used to explain cultural globalization. These models are the cultural imperialism theory, the network model theory and the reception model. Cultural imperialism theory argues that countries that are politicallypowerful, economically stable and industrialized determine the cultural values throughout the world. The less powerful countries are forced to adhere to the beliefs, norms, values and lifestyles of the more powerful countries. The cultural or network model theory argues that cultural globalization is not a unitary process. This theory argues that cultural globalization is a process with many receivers of different cultures that originate from different parts of the world. This theory increases dialogue between countries, empowers minorities and builds solidarity (Crane 2004). The third theory is the reception theory which argues that the audience will respond actively to cultures that are mass intermediated and well interpreted. These cultures will be easily transmitted to different cultures and ethnic groups due to their good transmission framework which attracts the audience to adopt the culture. Another approach on cultural globalization is the focus on the strategies that nations use to facilitate cultural globalization. Cultural organizations engage in strategies which help in preservation of culture and also to protect the culture that was passed from the previous generations. While implementing these strategies, countries and organizations find themselves conflicting and competing with other organizations that strive to preserve their culture. Film production companies have developed a strategy in which they can preserve their culture of film production. They edit and revise their products in order to satisfy the tastes of their consumers.Fashion industries in Europe use the theories of cultural globalization. Industries such as Nike and Adidas ensure that they maintain their culture by producing fashion oriented products that are used for specific purpose. Their shoes are purposely for sporting activities. These has made their products to be bought in plenty. Fashion companies also use advertisement to bring forward the theory of cultural imperialism. This is evident in the mechanisms that the clothing industries use to advertise their products. The manner in which a product is advertised can largely influence the number of buyers of the product. Traditionally, methods of advertisement did not include images that captured the audience. Nowadaysadvertisements use images that are catchy to the audience. Advertising organizations use photographs that include sexual cues. Photographs used by Nike to advertise their products revealed muscled legs images. This was to help capture the buyer’s attention and make them develop needs for the product. Fashionindustries in developed countries are also protected by policies which help them to dominate the market.Imposation of tariffs and quotas favors the government and the producers. Imposition of these polices is a control based strategy that helps the producers to dominate the market. Companies have also created organizations to fight the laws that they feel to be posing a threat to their business. Cultural globalization is a process that is undergoing evolving each and everyday. Organizations should therefore be well prepared to capture the consumers by devising mechanisms that will make them gain more consumers than there competitors. Use of the four models of cultural globalization can aid the organizations to become successful in their business undertaking. Cultural globalization and education. Cultural globalization has brought a lot of impact in the education sector. With the emergence of technologically developed countries such as America, many people leave their motherland to go and get access to education that is more advanced. This has been a challenge to the underdeveloped countries since their citizens do not go back to their motherland since they adopt the culture in the developed countries. This leads to brain drain in the country (Falk & Kanach 2000).However, some of those who study abroad gain the knowledge and go back to develop their motherland by applying the knowledge and experience gained. During the apartheid regime in South Africa, students who were studying abroad came back to their motherland. These students helped in economic stabilization of South Africa and also taught youths techniques that would help improve their livelihood. These also made South Africa to become a democratic nation which quit racial discrimination and acknowledged human rights. The late Nelson Mandela was among the South African students who were studying abroad and after graduation went back to help in the development of their mother country. They used the ideas they had leant in abroad and this saw them eliminate the racist structure that was in South Africa. Access of education around the world has been made easy due to the development of internet and the information age. With the emergence of different communication techniques people can get access to good education around the world. Developed countries such as America are among the countries that students prefer to enroll for studies. Thesestudents end up adopting cultures from these countries which they later pass to their motherland. Moreover, the ideas that they gain help them to develop their motherland. Unequal access to technological innovations has led to the creation of digital divide among countries (Falk & Kanach 2000). Globalization can be a solution to this problem since students who go to study in the developed countries learn about the innovations and use them to break the bridge that exists between the developed countries and the developing countries. Education is therefore one of the factors that can lead to cultural globalization around the world. Globalization and cultural imperialism. Different people and organizations strive to make their cultures to be dominant and accepted by other organizations or cultural groups. Multinational enterprises strive to make sure that their products, ideas and services are recognized and dominate in the large part of the world. When business enterprises export their products and services to other countries, they are at times not accepted due to cultural conflicts that they bring. The business enterprises should strive to ensure that they overcome the local culture and convince the people that their services are ideal and important (Meyer 2008). This is not simple because the business organizations use a lot of money in the promotion of their goods and services. Business organizations should also aim in the production of goods that do not conflict with the cultures of the people. The most successful business organizations are those that are able to adjust their social view. These organizations find themselves fitting in any foreign cultures and their goods and services are easily accepted. The globalization strategy that these organization use does not aim at controlling but rather aims at capturing the audience to accept their products and services (Meyer 2008). Control strategies aim at imposing policies which people should adhere to. It is better for organizations to adopt responsiveness strategies rather than control strategies since the responsiveness strategy will not conflict with the interests of the interest groups. Businessorganizations that are technologically advanced will find themselvesbecoming the cultural imperialists. Developed countries strive to be the cultural imperialists by imposing economic barriers, patent acts and draining talented people from the underdeveloped countries. The Walt Disney Company case study conducted by Meyer shows how the company uses the control based strategy in order to be a cultural imperialist. However, they do not succeed because the policies that they impose conflicted with the employees’ ethics. Their control based strategy saw them incur losses because of the perception that the employees and the entire public had about the company. It is therefore important for business organizations to consider imposing the responsiveness based strategy which aims at attracting the interest groups. This will help the business organizations to make profits hence becoming financially successful. Globalization and cultural identity. Globalization helps in cultural identity. Cultural identity is the recognition of ones sense of belonging. It helps us to identify people according to the culture that they belong to. Through globalization, people develop an urge to know the roots of a certain culture. With the advancement in communication, people can get information about various cultures in the world (Wang 2007).Through cultural identity, people value their culture and view it to be unique. Moreover, they learn the uniqueness of other cultures that they learn about. Through cultural identity people are able to evaluate their culture with that of other groups. This will create unity among people from different parts of the world. Through globalization, products and ideas can be transmitted to consumers around the world and also the world becomes homogenized. People begin to use the same products that are supplied by business organizations. This affects directly the production and use of goods. Cultures are identified according to their area of that of prosperity. Developed countries are recognized due to their prosperity in technological innovations. They are highly developed in the field of military and are viewed as superpowers due to the culture that they developed since the world war two where they underwent military advancement in order to win the war. References Crane, D. 2004. The globalization of culture: the fashion industry as a case study. Paper prepared for the Conference “Questioni di Moda”. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, May 7, 2004. Falk, R. & Kanach, N. 2000. Globalization and study abroad: An illusion of paradox. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 4, p.155-168. Meyer, J. P. 2008. Globalization and cultural imperialism: Corporate control versus responsiveness. Journal of International Business and Economy, 9(1), p.113-136. Wang, Y. 2007. Globalization enhances cultural identity. Intercultural Communication Studies, 16(1), p.84-86. Read More