To what extent has globalisation changed the nature of work - Essay Example

? To what extent has globalisation changed the nature of work? Introduction This essay seeks to examine the impacts of globalisation on the nature of work in the modern world.  With many people across the world embracing globalisation, the manner of doing work has witnessed notable changes. Globalisation refers to spread as well as connectedness of communication, technologies, and production across the world. This spread has encompassed the interplay of cultural and economic activities. Some people argue that globalisation entails the efforts of World Bank and international Monetary Fund to create a global market, which will ensure the free flow of goods and services. Because of globalisation, the interdependence and connectivity of the world’s businesses and markets has become a reality. In the last two decades, globalisation has witnessed a dramatic alteration, with advances in technology making it possible for people conduct international business, communicate, and travel. Some scholars argue that the principal driving forces of globalisation in the recent past include the rise of the internet, as well as the massive advancements in telecommunications. This has seen the alternation and numerous changes in the nature of work (Morgan 2001, p. 33). This essay supports the argument that globalisation has indeed brought many changes in the nature of work. In the first part of the essay, the impact of globalisation on the nature of work at the macro level and the broad context will be analyzed. In the second part, the essay will discuss how globalisation has affected the nature of work through communication and transport. Thirdly, the essay will look into the impacts of globalisation on the nature of work in terms of employment, trade unions, as well as traditional industries. Further, the essay will focus on the impacts of globalisation on human resources, working conditions in developing countries, and the impacts on human work. The impact of globalisation on the Macro level One of the changes brought about by globalisation in the nature of work includes the impact of globalisation at the macro level. In the global context, the intensification of social relations across the world has linked distant localities. As a result, the local events borrow much from the events taking place worldwide. At the macro level, the arena of work has witnessed numerous changes as a result of globalisation. Globalisation has interlinked the world economy; this has had impacts on the mobility of labour and capital. With globalisation, it has become possible to move capital from one place to another. Likewise, globalisation has affected the mobility of labour across the world. This has led to the emergence of new jobs in places where they never existed. In addition, the movement of capital has led to the introduction of new industries, which have changed the work done in such places (Morgan 2001, p. 35). Another change of globalisation on the nature of work is that it has led to changes in the global exchanges, especially in the arena of financial exchanges and world trade. This has resulted to the acceleration in the liberalisation and deregulation of trade, which has been aided by transfers of capital and currency exchange. International trade has opened up the market to market forces; this has seen the reduction in tariffs, control of exports and imports, as well as other means of protection. Consequently, this has affected the nature of work done by the people across the world. States have also weakened their regulations, leading to an increase in market competition. As a result, traders have had the opportunity to change the nature of work since they can deal in goods, which their countries do not produce (Morgan 2001, p. 36). Globalisation has also altered the nature of work with the rise in the number of multinational corporations acting worldwide. With little reference to national boundaries, multinational corporations have organized themselves. As such, they have designed products for the global market rather than for the national markets. The multiple locations of these international organizations have also seen them reach a wide segment of the market (Reddy 2005, p. 87). This has created employment opportunities for the local populations where these industries are established. Some of these corporations explore fresh markets where no other company has set up its branch. As a result, they create new job opportunities, which never existed before in those places. Another impact of globalisation on the nature of work is that exposure to international markets has led to numerous changes in the local working conditions. As a result of international trade, local firms have had the opportunity to borrow from the multinational firms and improve their working conditions. The standards of work offered by multinational corporations tend to be better than that of domestically owned firms. This attracts local firms to emulate the good working conditions offered to employees by international organizations (Ackerman 1998, p. 107). The change in the working conditions encompasses changes in the nature of work done by employees of the local firms. For instance, domestic firms may introduce payment for overtime work in their organizations. While borrowing from multinational corporations, organizations at the domestic level may also institute changes such as the introduction of night shifts for their employees. This may lead to the organizations operating on a 24 hour basis, which changes the nature of work done by employees (Morgan 2001, p. 38). Impact of globalisation on the nature of work in terms of communication and transport Another way in which globalisation has changed the nature of work has to do with its numerous impacts through technological change. Communication and information technologies have offered new ways, which can be used to handle information. This has acted as the ground for effectiveness in organizations, with most of the organizations embracing the use of information technologies in their operations. In addition, the advent of information and communication technologies has led to significant changes on how the social interactions and relations at work are structured. Technology has motivated workers, leading to high productivity in organizations (Reddy 2005, p. 90). Through globalisation, organizations have had the ability to access the information they need. The development of information and communication technology allows organizations to connect with networks, which offer knowledge on production and distribution. This increases the potential for organizations to diversify the nature of their operations and work. The movement of information from one place enhances the acquisition of new ways of conducting business. As a result, businesses and nations can embrace new ways, which lead to massive changes in the work settings (Zadja 2005, p. 49). The switch to new information technologies has led to a reduction in the workload previously subjected to employees. Consequently, employees can perform their duties effectively, improving their performance and that of the entire organization. The numerous worldwide changes in aspects of technology have led to significant changes in the workplaces; moreover, changes have taken place in various professions and their occupational structure. As a result of globalisation, new professions have emerged, leading to the disappearance of traditional professions, which seem obsolete in a globalised world. For instance, information technology has brought a new wave of change in professions and has led to new professions such as online jobs (Reddy 2005, p. 92). For example, globalisation has introduced such professions as online marketers who do their work over the internet. This can be regarded as a change in the nature of work since working online never used to be common before the era of globalisation. Globalisation has also changed career patterns in the modern world; this results from the need to have frequent changes in the professions as well as inter-professional mobility. This has resulted to new categories of professions, which have less correspondence to the conventional or professional programs of educational training. The nature of work has also experienced changes as sites of production have shifted from one nation to another. As a result, low income countries have witnessed an upgrading of the incomes of employees (Zadja 2005, p. 50). Impact of Globalisation on employment, traditional industries, and trade unionism Since globalisation started spreading among nations, the rates of employment have witnessed significant changes across the world. Globalisation has contributed to economic activities, which have created jobs for large numbers of people. Jobs created by globalisation have led to the improvement in living standards, especially in the nations where multinational corporations establish themselves and engage in widespread trade. Although multinational corporations tend to exploit the cheaply available and low skilled labour in developing nations, they create jobs that may make people abandon get employment (Michie 2003, p. 72). Therefore, dependence on jobs provided by globalisation has increased tremendously. To some extent, this has made people abandon their traditional sources of income, especially in developing nations. For instance, jobs offered by multinational companies have made people shift from farming activities in developing nations as they secure jobs in these international organizations (Zadja 2005, p. 52). Globalisation has also changed the nature of work that used to be done in traditional industries. With the advent of technology and widespread global trade, production in industries takes place in large scale. This has seen the replacement of traditional industries with industries that can produce to meet the needs of the market. Traditionally, production used to take place in low scale. However, with the spread of global trade, it calls for mass production of goods. As such, use of machinery and advanced technology characterizes production in modern industries. On the other hand, industries producing in low scale may not secure a market for their goods in the global market (Ackerman 1998, p. 110). A notable change in the nature of work resulting from globalisation has also taken place in the arena of trade unionism. Globalisation heralds a significant change in how people interact with one another and the sharing of ideas across the world. This interaction and sharing of ideas has strengthened trade unions across the world. As a result, employers have heeded to the demands of their employees. The resultant effect has entailed the realization of employee rights and their fundamental privileges (Zadja 2005, p. 53). Therefore, employers have realized the consequences of exploiting their employees. This has seen a change in the amount of work done by employees in the past. Through globalisation, employees can have time to rest and air their views; this can be regarded as a significant change in the nature of work. The other impact of globalisation on the nature of work in terms of employment encompasses changes such as specialization and division of labour. Globalisation heralds an attempt to allocate various resources in the production process, which will ensure the enhancement of international trade. This becomes effective through specialization, which leads to better productivity. As a result, there have emerged professionals who specialize on a certain line of production as opposed to several people performing the same task. Professionals have played an essential role in ensuring that organizations achieve division of labour in the various lines of production (Michie 2003, p. 75). The impact of globalisation on human resources and human work Another change that globalisation has brought to the nature of work includes changes in human resources as well as human work. Pressures on the traditional models that encompassed human resource can be traced to the spread of globalisation. Outsourcing can be regarded as one of the ways in which globalisation has affected human resources. Through globalisation, professionals have the opportunity to secure employment outside their country of origin. This propagates the movement of labour from one nation to another. Multinational corporations situated in nations that have low skilled labour can source such labour from nations with well trained professionals. In particular, the nature of work most affected by globalisation in this sense includes information technology. Organizations have outsourced IT experts, especially from countries where IT has developed significantly (Michie 2003, p. 76). The other change that globalisation has brought on the nature of work entails changes witnessed as a result of contracting. As a result of globalisation, the nature of contractual work has increased tremendously. Globalisation enables nations to award contracts to international contractors who may do a better job than the local contractors. Contracts have involved hiring experts in the fields of medicine, education, and engineering among others. This has led to a substantial improvement in productivity in the various sectors in which the experts are contracted to work (Ackerman 1998, p. 112). This has increased opportunities for service workers who can offer their services internationally. In addition, more temporary as well as part-time paid work has emerged as a result of globalisation, a phenomenon that was rarely witnessed in the past. Another impact of globalisation on the nature of work in regard to human resources is in terms of the changes it has brought through technology. As a result of the spread of technology, machines and computers have replaced human labour in the workplace. Machines are more preferred than humans since they can be able to accomplish tasks undertaken by several people within a short period. Most of the products produced today in the industries depend on the use of machines as opposed to the dependence on human labour. In some instances, this has led to layoffs of employees as employers prefer to use machines in the production process and the entire organizational operations. The use of machines has resulted to efficiency in the workplace and mass production of goods (Michie 2003, p. 79). As a result of globalization, the nature of work has changed to include more emphasis on productivity as well as the quality of goods and services. In addition, there has been profound involvement of employees in the execution as well as design of work. In order to adapt rapidly to changes in the market, enterprises have also downsized their workforce. This has seen the reorganization of the methods of work as well as the production systems. Since a single employee can be expected to perform several tasks, organizations have engaged in retraining of their workforce with the aim of enhancing the skills of the employees. Moreover, employees offer motivation to employees in order to improve their skills; workers, on the other hand, take responsibility for their own development (Ackerman 1998, p. 114). Conclusion While concluding this essay, it is worth noting that globalization has had notable impacts on the nature of work in the modern world. Evidence gathered in this essay shows that, through globalisation, organizations have embraced the changes brought about by globalisation in almost all aspects. Through the impacts in terms of technology, human resources, and at the macro level, globalization has significantly changed the nature of work. Through globalization, organizations have altered their nature of work as well as the ways in which the tasks in the organization are carried out. Therefore, it is evident that globalization has changed the nature of work in the modern world. In the future, there is likelihood that the impacts of globalization will be felt in almost all parts of the world. Organizations will most likely adapt to the changes brought about by globalization as they shift their operations in response to the new changes. This will see the nature of work done by most people being based on globalisation and the changes, which globalisation proposes. References List Ackerman, F. (1998). The Changing Nature of Work. The Changing Nature of Work, New York, Island Press. pp. 105-115. Morgan, J. (2001). Development, Globalisation and Sustainability, London, Nelson Thornes. pp. 33-40. Michie, J. (2003). The Handbook of Globalisation, London, Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 72-80. Reddy, M. S. (2005). Globalisation and Manpower Planning, New Delhi, Discovery Publishing House. pp. 86-92. Zadja, J. I. (2005). International Handbook on Globalisation, Education and Policy Research: Global Pedagogies and Policies, London, Springer. pp. 49-55. Read More