Urbanization and Globalization: The Canadian Experience - Essay Example

?INCREASED URBANIZATION: HEIGHTENING COMPETITIVENESS IN THE DOMAIN OF ACQUISITION INCREASED URBANIZATION: HEIGHTENING COMPETITIVENESS IN THE DOMAIN OF ACQUISITION Introduction: I disagree over the stance that Canada has not acquired a new sphere of urbanization which has ascended as enforcement by globalization all around the globe. I shall refute this statement by progression through three stages; firstly, the overview of concepts of urbanization and globalization, then a thorough consideration of issues and instances in that regard that validate that urbanization has been redefined in this part of the world, and lastly, the national character, and defining values that are so deep rooted in Canada’s history and which also help us in establish understanding of the fright that remains integrated within a common man regarding the disappearance of his/her core values and the efforts which are being made for its prevention. As the beginning of the agenda, I will introduce you to the terms namely globalization and urbanization. Globalization is described as the transferal towards a more integrated, interconnected and interdependent economy of the world. It is generally the spread of activities over an international paradigm, one that remains unbounded by constraints exercised by countries. Globalization has been facilitated by advancements in technology which have paved way to eased exchange of information, ideas, as well as tangible entities. It has also been aided by the dynamics of consumer preferences, the competitiveness, and in addition to that the battle of cutting costs and making more economies of scale. (Hill, 2002) Urbanization, on the contrary, implies increased spatial scale and/or density of settlement and/or business and other activities in the area over time. The process is either a result of expansion of the existing population (which is usually not a key factor for urban reproduction tends to be lower than rural), the conversion of the outlying population from rural to urban region, incoming migration (from other countries), or both of these. Globalization has two basic components: the globalization of markets and the globalization of production. The globalization of markets implies connotes the merging on individual national markets to constitute one large global market. Moreover, this has been facilitated by the conjunction of demands of consumers all over the world over certain brands, for example, Nike, McDonalds, and Coca Cola which are popular in many countries all over the world. Globalization in terms of production defines the exploitative strategies which are used by companies which include taking national differences into personal advantage while the production of the good. This can be best explained by considering a company which acquires its factors of production from different countries all in the means to reduce its conjugated cost and acquire the competitive advantage over other companies. Globalization is an activity that has redefined the formerly existing setup. It has exercised its impact not only on certain aspects of the society rather it has modernized even the integrated values namely aptitudes, approaches, mind frames, etc. It has been triggered by the fluctuations in consumer behavior and the augmenting competitiveness which has extended its wings and increased the adoption of the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’. The availability of more has led to the want of more. On the other hand, as we look upon the reason behind the advent of urbanization, we come across several factors that can be declared responsible for its uptake. As globalization has entered the market, it has brought about a range of benefits to the population. Globalization has led to the easy attainment of new technologies. Cost-cutting technology has not only facilitated manufacturing or incited industrialization, but has also changed circumstances in the domestic paradigm. The living standards have been revolutionized and access to latest technology is being aided by the incessant cost reduction. It has also encouraged the broadening of horizon of a common individual. His/her vision does not remain bounded or defined by limit anymore. Now, he/she strives to attain not only the accessories that are unique to his/her country but is reaching out to grab products which are dispersed throughout the international domain. This has caused a surge in urbanization and people are being inspired to adopt new methods of life and abandon the traditional ways which include even the activities that were rampant for the past centuries. This became and is becoming an adopted practice not only out of curiosity and the urge to experience the inexperienced but also ongoing peer pressure, and the shaped mental attitudes and perspectives. We have examples of nations which have been modified completely just by a gush of globalization. They renounced the practices which were inherent in them since generations and readily took the new found. In the late twentieth century, all the societies as well as cultures of the world went through the experience of an unprecedented level of communication. Globalization brought a revolution in communications, the global culture of consumer icons and the liberal values, as well as a multidimensional cultural landscape in different countries. The cultural revivalism came about as a result of pressure that was generated by the inflow of globalization that in turn also accompanied multiculturalism. There were many global moments of struggle against the globalized hegemony but they proved futile to cease the hike of global capitalism and culture. Globalization also influenced Canada on a considerable scale. There are several examples which act as an evidence to the fact that the Canadian population eagerly embraced the values which were not previously a part of their society. They are still not hesitant to try out the new practices, and awed by their neighborly counterparts, are enthusiastic over the prospect of growth and prosperity in their homeland. Cohabitation has become widely accepted as a form of marital life, and it acts as a preamble or preliminary period to determine the stability and strength of the relationship before marrying but does not pose an environment in which children can be conceived and raised. In respect of that, Canada without Quebec bears close resemblance to the United States where cohabitation still largely stays as a childless phase of wedded life. In Quebec, though, the advance of cohabitation is far more progressive. Cohabitation has now assumed the position of being a modal way in which to give birth in Quebec (i.e., an alternative to marriage in order to have children). This cultural difference sheds light on the opposing trends in cohabitation observed in Quebec and the remaining Canada, but it fails to account for the fact that Quebeckers now appear more like their Swedish counterparts, who were not followers of Catholicism. Moreover, in Quebec, this immense increase in cohabitation has come up as a consequence of deep changes in the expected roles of men and women. These have been introduced in large part by the feminist movement which is spreading rapidly in Canada. Quebec couples strive for greater equality between men and women, and cohabitation presumably offers them the best opportunity in this regard which is the reason behind their contribution to the high trends. Research shows that in 1871, almost 300 million Canadians lived in rural areas compared to the 700, 000 in urban localities. The population figures became 4.4 million for both in 1921, but from then onwards the urban population continues to rise while the number of rural inhabitants keep decreasing. This has increased governmental concerns for now they have to curtail provision of services in the areas with the decreasing populations and transfer them to those localities which are being inhabited by immigrants from other parts of the country as well as the world. (EBSCO, 2002) Not only has this but the limited availability of financial capital also become a source of great distress for the government now has to do the additional duty of raising adequate funds to establish institutions providing quality services and benefits. However, as long as cultural and linguistic barriers persist within personnel acquired from other countries and that from Canada, economic integration can never be totally complete, the low cross-cultural mobility of labor is the most visible sign is an indication of this. This is because communication and recruitment costs stay intact. However, we advocate that services that can be totally centralized, as we ignore cultural differences, are less dominant than as usually thought. The sustained importance of face-to-face contacts and of the spoken and written word for the consumption of most services means that some remnants of distinct urban hierarchies will continue to persist within distinct cultural spaces and urbanization might not shape the system on the whole (Mario and Richard, 2004). As we arrive at deliberation of the outlook of a Canadian individual, we have some very fine characteristics to evaluate and remark upon. One of the things that Canadians are very proud of is its system of social benefits that are provided by the government of Canada, such as paid parental leave, health care, free education. While, these might be considered economic by some, it is undeniable that Canadians have become so accustomed to these, that they are more than just economic entities for them; they have become accessories of their very own culture. There are pressing concerns in the minds of many that the elimination of borders as a result of cross border and unregulated trade might cause these benefits to disappear. Moreover, Canadians also fear that the ownership of the concepts or ideas that have originated and nurtured in the private sector or in educational institutions existing in Canada can be claimed by anyone across the world. In other words, the violation of intellectual copyrights would become a dominant practice in the times to come. Since globalization encourages the concept of exchanging and assisting, many fear that it would lead to their loss of intellectual claims within their country and so in this regard, endeavors are being made to avoid their misuse. The government has responded very favorably to other companies’ entry in to the Canadian market. It’s lessening of subsidized welfare and other allowances like timeouts for certain events like maternity leaves, etc. are evidence to that. This has implanted risks in the minds of many who have begun fearing whether the Canadian life would lose its original values and become a product of the values derived from different countries. (Calder, p. 365) In terms of economic impact, globalization has instigated the adoption of more competitive technology. As a result of a research conducted by Wolfe and Gertler to determine the learning levels existing within the city of Ontario, it was concluded that, while entry of international companies has boosted learning as well as usage of new technology, it has hampered and limited the productivity of those who fail to adopt new technology. Moreover, many have voiced concerns over the country’s regulations being rendered the local regulations and laws less effective. They argue that as globalization envelops the market, it brings in its own trade restrictions and policies which nullify the already present country laws. Moreover, many have provided evidence to support the idea that politicians in British Columbia are aiding lobbying. Moreover, exploitation of a country’s natural resources occurs whenever a foreign country enters the market. With this fear in their minds, the Canadian legislators coined laws to prevent the confiscation of forestland and other resources and trade in Canada without any levying of tariffs. (Dean, p. 323) This demonstrates that Canadians are not free altogether from the concerns that were being nurtured in the minds of occupants of other countries but their efforts could not prevent their civilizations and general environment from being swept away when the powerful current of globalization engulfed them. However, to conclude, we can say that as a result of the fears that globalization has embedded in the minds of local Canadians; several endeavors are being made to protect the country from being victimized by the global methods. This in turn has only exerted positive influences; it has unified the population and has acted as a channel to enhance national pride and supremacy. We are familiar with the fact that globalization is usually condemned by rights activists and it leads to establishment of risks. But the way, it is being used as a forewarning, is one way in which it has acted in the favor of a country, Canada in this case, and only incited nationalism and devotion towards the country in the local population. References: “Culture, Language, and the Location of High-Order Service Functions: The Case of Montreal and Toronto”, In Economic Geography, 80(4): 329–350, 2004. Clark University. Retrieved from http://www.clarku.edu/econgeography. Neill, T. Sep 23, (2002). “Death by Economics.” In The Report. EBSCO Publishing 2002. Sassen, S. (2001). “The Global City”, 2d ed. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Hill, Charles W. (2002). “Globalization.” In International business, (pp. 2-13). McGraw hill: New York. Calder, G. (2003). “Recent changes to the maternity and parental leave benefits regime as a case study: the impact of globalization on the delivery of social problems in Canada”. In Canadian journal of women and the law, pp. 342-346. Kachur, J. L. (2003). “Whose Intellectual property? Whose Rights?” In GATS, TRIPS and Education in Canada, pp. 375-411. Read More