Identify and select a contemporary management issue from current affairs - Essay Example

Body Globalisation There are various perspectives which can be used to explain and define globalisation. These perspectives and explanations span the historical, economic, and socio-cultural realms. For purposes of this discussion, the economic perspective shall be considered. Higgott and Reich (1998, p. 8) discuss that globalisation “might be characterized functionally as an intrinsically related series of economic phenomena”. Under this perspective, inclusive aspects of globalisation would also embrace liberalisation, the deregulation of trade activities, the reduction of state control functions, expansion of foreign direct investments, and the coordination of capital markets (Higgott and Reich, 1998).

A globalised economy also means that the sale, production, and the manufacture of goods can be made on the wider global market. Labour would also be able to include the global citizenry, with a possibility of covering a more diverse, more talented, and an even more skilled labour market. The article by Schifferes (2007) discusses that globalisation seems to have a significant impact on rich and poor countries, “transforming regions such as Detroit of Bangalore from boom to bust – or vice versa – in a generation”. . Globalisation has been an acknowledged element in the economic progress seen in the past few decades, and more apparently in recent years; moreover, its benefits seem to be spreading not just to the developed states, but to the developing and emerging economies of Asia.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) have also thrived well under this globalized economy as these corporations have built numerous manufacturing plants in various countries in order to take advantage of cheap labour and more accessible natural resources (Schifferes, 2007). MNCs have also found globalisation to be largely advantageous to them due to the difficulties in tracking their progress; in effect, some of them have actually become virtual corporations as they outsource many of their production activities to other countries like Asia (Schifferes, 2007).

As the developing nations and emerging economies have been enjoying the fruits of globalisation, developed nations seem to be experiencing some of its pitfalls. It seems that globalisation has become a global equalizer as it is stripping away many of the advantages which the developed nations used to have over the developing countries. Now the economic playing field is on equal ground with the richer countries needing the cheap labour and lower production costs, while the emerging economies are continuing to enjoy major gains in profits and a larger access into the global market.

As the developing countries and emerging economies are benefiting well from the globalization activities, the West has become anxious about globalization. In the UK, investors have been worried about outsourcing white collar jobs with the general public protesting about the thousands of jobs being outsourced