The impact of globalisation on work and employment - Essay Example

The Impact of Globalisation on Work and Employment Globalisation has over the years led to the development ofdiverse changes in almost all sectors of the global economy and these include having an impact on work and employment. Globalisation is a force that has come to lead to a serious break with past practices and has instead ushered in a new era where employment opportunities as well as work have become more accessible for some part of the population. While this has been the case, globalisation has become essential for the sustenance of the economy because it is through the new trends that it has brought about that it has become possible for the different needs of the market to be satisfied (Pitelis and Sugden 2000, p.72). However, despite its being a significant factor in the global economy, it has also brought about a situation where the said economy has come to be dictated upon by market forces. Globalisation has brought about the important of market forces which have had an impact on work and employment. It has been argued that globalisation has led to a situation where the new market that has developed is one has changed the nature of work and organisations for the better. It has further been argued that these changes are increasingly becoming relevant because a significant number of individuals in the world today are taking advantage of opportunities presented within the new work system in order to ensure that the take an active part in the economy (Mueller 2005, p.71). Newer organisational changes have made sure that the work environment has become more flexible and is one which helps in the personal development of employees involved. However, this argument does not recognise that the new work environment created as a result of globalisation has led to a situation where the positions of individuals within organisations have become highly unstable. The instability of employees has made it extremely difficult for them to feel comfortable in their work environment and has led some of them not to perform at their best because of the fear for their job security. The new market has come to dictate the manner through which firms treat their employees; especially their being considered to be expendable where in previous circumstances, they were highly valued people within these organisations (DAunno et al. 2000, p.679). It can be said that the pervading threat of termination has increasingly led to a widening of the gap between employers and employees because the former have come to have the power to arbitrarily sack those individuals who seem not to be towing the line. The lack of job security resulting from newer organisational developments resulting from globalisation has led to the emergence of a class of workers whose allegiance is not to the companies for which they work, but towards themselves and their own self interests. This new type of worker, it is argued, has a more flexible work schedule because there is no need for them to go to work on a daily basis in order to accomplish their tasks (Gratton, 2012). While this may be the case, one would argue that the lack of allegiance from workers has made the work environment to become one where there is no common loyalty to bind the workers to a company. The result of such an environment would be that the possibility of one company attracting the talent and developing similar products to another would be extremely high. The lack of loyalty to a firm also means that a culture is developing where it would be extremely difficult for different companies to maintain the secrets of their products because of the constant movement of employees within similar sectors. Loyalty is an aspect which ensures that individuals in the workplace work harder and put their best effort in ensuring the success of the company for which they work. However, the impersonal view of employer-employee relationships that has developed in recent years as a result of globalisation has brought about a situation where it has essentially become impossible for individuals to give their best to companies except for the purpose of making money in the process. Thomas (2000, p.191) states that as a result of globalisation, the corporate structure all over the world has come to be delayed in such a way that it has become common for large corporations to do away with career employees and instead deal with temporary ones who do not demand benefits. Furthermore, Voorhees, et al. (1992, p.144), argue that most work within organisations are continuously being outsourced and this is done in such a manner that the role of middlemen in most processes is being terminated while direct associations between employers and temporary employees are being developed. One would argue that while the removal of middlemen as well as the highly structured layers has led to a reduction of costs for organisations, it has become essential to note that a significant number of companies have become heavily dependent on outsourcing of labour. Despite this process being cheaper, it has a potential of destabilising organisations because outsourcing tends, for the most part, to involve individuals who operate outside the country where a firm is based. Such a situation ends up becoming serious for a firm because the latter has to depend heavily on the political stability of the country to which it has outsources its services. Without this stability, there might develop a situation where it is difficult for companies to survive without permanent employees who can do the work that needs to be done to ensure that products are developed to satisfy demand. In the current globalised world, most companies have chosen to spend more money on branding rather than on product development (Klein 2000, p.197). The new strategy has ensured that there is an increase in brand spending while at the same time a reduction in expenditure on workers. One would suggest that such a move is detrimental to the welfare of workers because the value of work is reduced at the expense of these individuals. Without an increase in the investment in workers, it is quite possible that these individuals will end up having to become extremely competitive in order to acquire the little work that will be available in firms. The world today has become extremely competitive as a result of an increase in brand competition across the globe and companies have ended up adopting models which require that massive funds be set aside for the purpose of advertising (Davolt, 2005). Advertising costs have led companies to take the unprecedented step of ensuring that they either outsource their production processes or hand them over to contractors and subcontractors in a bid to reduce production costs as well as the need to pay permanent employees. These circumstances might be considered dire for workers because the latter will no longer be able to make any demands towards their employers. Globalisation has caused the development of temporary labour which has forced workers to ask for much lower pay than they would have otherwise demanded if they were permanent employees. Workers in the globalised world have to accept lower pay in order to ensure that they keep their jobs and those who do not risk being permanently unemployed as the labour market becomes increasingly competitive. Work has essentially become highly unstable for many workers as a significant number of them work at a risk of being laid off in a bid by companies to cut costs (Klein 2007, p.285). Klein’s statement has merit considering that a large number of individuals have become or have the potential of becoming victims of layoffs as a corporate strategy. The ability of workers to unionise in the globalised world has become less tangible because of a reduction of the number of permanent workers and this has created a situation where their rights are no longer given priority by employers. Employment has become a means through which companies can achieve specific objectives and once they have been achieved, workers are more likely than not to be terminated. Work has come to be based on contracts where individual workers are required to fulfil their obligations as stated in the contract and once it is done, they are let go by their employers. The ability of employers to ensure that they gain the maximum profit possible has been greatly enhanced and this might be considered to be detrimental for workers. One would argue that it is as a result of work being on contract basis that workers have lost their voice in determining the manner through which are able to conduct their duties. While Klein is of the opinion that being able to lay off workers is beneficial for companies, this author fails to show that it is detrimental for workers. This disadvantage can be seen through the flooding of the labour market which has led to a situation where workers have been forced to reduce the cost of their labour in order to retain their competitiveness as potential employees. The result is that work and employment have ended up becoming less important priorities to companies when compared to other issues such as branding and profits. According to Deetz (1998, p.164), the globalised world has led to the development of a new class of workers whose main role is to ensure that specific functions within organisations are fulfilled at different times. These individuals are highly specialised in their fields and these are more often than not hired by companies to ensure that they fulfil the functions related to their fields. It can be argued that these individuals end up not being able to control their futures within these companies because their employers often use their skills and knowledge to the greatest extent possible with the intention of ensuring that they give their best performance in the enhancement of the company. Moreover, it can be said that these individuals have become instrumentalised to such an extent that they are looked upon more as machines rather than people with feelings and it is through this instrumentalisation that organisations have come to force them to work in such an environment that promotes more work for less pay. In addition, despite the common belief that workers in the globalised world are free agents as a result of their being able to think independently, this is not actually the case. These workers have remained under the near absolute control of the management of companies for which they work. They have been lulled into a false sense of security through being declared independent in a bid to make them develop a sense of self-control that enables them to focus more on their work rather than issues that might affect them in the workplace. This behaviour can be said to be one that subjects personal interests for the sake of those of the company; making employees to become more productive and with less demands towards their employers. In conclusion, one of the arguments analysed is that globalisation has led to a situation where the new market that has developed is one has changed the nature of work and organisations for the better. Furthermore, the discussion has shown that the lack of job security resulting from newer organisational developments as a consequence of globalisation has led to the emergence of a class of workers whose allegiance is not to the companies for which they work, but towards themselves and their own self interests. Moreover, it has been suggested that as a result of globalisation, the corporate structure all over the world has come to be delayered in such a way that it has become common for large corporations to do away with career employees and instead deal with temporary ones who do not demand benefits. In addition, it has been found that in the current globalised world, most companies have chosen to spend more money on branding rather than on product development. Work has essentially become highly unstable for many workers as a significant number of them work at a risk of being laid off in a bid by companies to cut costs. Finally, the globalised world has led to the development of a new class of workers whose main role is to ensure that specific functions within organisations are fulfilled at different times. References DAunno, T., Succi, M. & Alexander, J.A., 2000. "The role of institutional and market forces in divergent organizational change", Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 679-703. Davolt, S. 2005, "McDonalds goes gently into consumerism", Employee Benefit News pp. 1-1. Deetz, S., 1998. “Discursive Formations, Strategized Subordination and Self-surveillance.” In McKinlay, A. & Starkey, K. (eds.). 2000. Foucault, Management and Organization Theory: From Panopticon to Technologies of Self. London, Sage Publications. Gratton, L. 2012, “The Globalisation of Work – and People.” BBC News. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19476254 [accessed 27 March 2014] Klein, N. 2007. The Shock Doctrine. London, Penguin Books. Klein, N., 2000. No Logo. 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