Does Globalisation Americanisation - Essay Example

Another feature of globalisation is grobalisation by which “the imperialistic ambitions of nations, corporations, organisations” (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 41) promote the imposition of themselves in various geographic areas for increased power, influence and profits. Two subprocesses of grobalisation are Americanisation and McDonaldisation. Americanisation can be defined as the further spread and establishment of American ideas, customs, social patterns, language, industry, and capital around the world.

The concept of Americanisation “envisions a growth in American influence in all realms throughout the world” (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 47). McDonaldization is the spread of the fast-food restaurant concept not only within the United States, but in increasing numbers of other societies throughout the world (Ritzer 2010). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to determine whether globalisation is synonymous with Americanisation. The Emergence and Evolution of Americanisation and Globalisation Americanisation is the larger conceptual framework that includes various interconnected phenomena, among which globalisation is one of the most important.

The cultural impact of globalisation on Americanisation as a key 20th century transformation has great consequences. Mennell (2009) believes that globalisation and Americanisation should be examined together in long term perspective. The United States drove globalisation from 1945 to 2000; during this time globalisation was synonymous with Americanisation and Westernization, although terms such as “hybridity” and “flexible acculturation” which pertain to immigrants in the United States, prevailed only after 2001 (Nederveen Pieterse 2009).

Globalisation is radically transforming all nations and the lives of billions of people all over the world. Globalisation theory characteristically accorded a great deal of significance to developments in the west, and its western bias also meant that “the rest of the world had little choice but to become like it” (Ritzer & Ryan 2004: 41). After the Second World War, American companies with a highly efficient industrial management system expanded to locations across the globe. This globalisation of American companies had an effect on the internationalisation of German firms between 1945 to the early 1970s, and the resultant outcomes on German corporate management and competitive strategies throws light on how global corporate players evolved.

The Americans tried to recapture the markets that they lost during the war, and attempted to enter new geographic markets. To withstand the American challenge, German companies resorted to new management strategies such as the adoption of American know-how, leading to a process of catching up and globalised corporate growth in German companies (Hilger 2008). Conversi (2010) argues that the consequences of cultural Americanisation is one of the least studied areas of the phenomenon of globalisation, although it is the most critical feature.

The global expansion of Americanisation can be denoted accurately through distinctive stages of expansion, followed by periods of comparative and momentary recession; this in turn is followed by increased expansion. Hence, Americanisation is the broader conceptual framework that consists of various interconnected phenomena, out of which the most important is globalisation. This has established