Attitudes toward Economic Globilsation - Essay Example

Attitudes toward Economic Globilsation Abstract: The following discussion will seek to engage a broader understanding of the process of globalisation as it exists throughout the world today. Moreover, the analysis will specifically be concentric upon the difficulties and potential opportunities that globalisation has created for firms that operate within the current environment; as well as understanding whether the process is positive or negative Introduction: It is without question that globalisation has changed international business in a litany of different ways over the past several decades. The events of the past several years have provided even further shifts with regards to the overall level of interconnectivity and globalisation that defines the current world. For years, economists and businessmen have focused upon the way in which integrated economies create a globalized world; one that is ultimately dependent upon other economies and other nations as a means of providing the goods and services that it requires a function. This increased level of globalisation has necessarily meant that cultures and individuals that otherwise might not integrated with one another have come to the in closer contact and sharing a great many more similarities than they have any previous time within recorded human history. Further, globilsation has created a litany of different opportunities and challenges for businesses; some of which have proven to either lift the company to a renewed level of success or serve to be its downfall. As such, it is the hope of this author that through such the discussion and appreciable view of the way in which current levels of globalisation have formed international business into the entities that they are today will be useful with respect to understanding these dynamics. Finally, the paper will provide an overview for the way in which this have impacted the world over the past several decades. Although there exist many definitions for the process of globalisation, one of the most complete is describing it as a system whereby relations, social – political – and business, our extended throughout the world. As such, this is a term which impacts an array of different subject matters. These include but are not limited to: economics, marketing, finance, accounting, sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, rhetoric, and an array of different subjects. Ultimately this process has had a profound impact upon the way in which the most powerful economic powers in the world have developed. This of course cannot be only understood in terms of dollars but also in terms of the way in which society and culture have developed as well. As a means of this process, some of the most powerful nations of the 21st century have risen to even greater heights of power. These include the United States, United Kingdom, the People’s Republic of China, and India. Each to their varying degrees have experienced rapid levels of economic and societal growth and improvement as a result of globalisation. However, this is not cited globalisation something that only represents positive within a given society. The fact the matter is that there are great number of drawbacks to globalisation. Globalisation and Changes in Trade: Whereas globalisation can be understood in a litany of different mechanisms, perhaps the most effective towards understanding globalisation and the power that it has over individuals throughout the world is to engage it based upon its monetary value (Schoen et al., 2013). In seeking to engage globalisation from a monetary value standpoint, the first rational approach that can be engaged is to approach it from the standpoint of trade. Whereas globalisation is represented throughout the world and impacts upon individuals in a litany of different situations, the power that globalisation has over trade and the means through which different nations choose interact with one another is ultimately the driving force that helps to spread globalisation and increase its impact throughout the world. However, even though globalisation can be understood as a universal concept, it must also be appreciated that globalisation is state specific and ultimately a state authored process (Corstjens & Umblijs, 2012). What is meant by this is the fact that regardless of the nation that is analyzed with a particular economic system that is considered, it must be understood that globalisation exists within a given region only due to the fact that trade agreements, domestic legislation, tariffs, barriers, and a litany of other financial issues have already been determined and directed in such a way so that globalisation is able to integrate with a given economy (Cook & Underwood, 2013). As such, if it were not for regional and domestic governance and choices that these institutions were able to make, the level and extent to which a globalized economy and the impact of global trade could affect a given region would understandably be minimal (Lapido et al., 2013). As the need to find the cheapest cost alternatives, both the consumer and the producer have allowed globalisation to define the way in which they integrate with the market. Whereas before the era of globalisation, firms were more oftentimes price makers, the situation that globalisation has effected is one in which more and more international and domestic firms are price takers; subject to the whims of the market and the means by which the consumer does not exhibit a strong affinity towards one product or another (Koc et al., 2013). Globalisation and Technology: An additional issue that firms face with respect to globalisation has to do with the rate and speed at which technology is integrated into the process. For instance, many years ago, a practice or approach to the market within one sector of the world or business did not immediately set the standard for the way in which other firms throughout the globe would behave. Yet, within the globalised marketplace, firms are under continual pressure to stay current with the changes that are exhibited and match the technology of their competitors. This creates somewhat of a hardship for those multinational or domestic firms that seek to allocate the appropriate levels of investment into their companies (Samimi et al., 2011). Nonetheless, this need to stay current and up to date with the changes within the market is what has allowed many firms to step ahead of the competition and become examples of best practices. Ultimately, whether or not one appreciates or detests the impacts that globalisation has had, the undeniable fact of the matter is that it continues to define the way in which firms engage with the market, make profits, or ultimately fail. Within such an understanding, one can begin to understand why the richer and more powerful regions of the global economy are those that have the extant resources to devote to the process of change and continual restructuring of their economy; whereas those regions that do not languish as producers of primary goods or services to the ones that have previously been denoted. Globalisation: Wealth and Poverty: any analysis of the positive or negative impacts of globalisation would not be complete without a discussion based upon the issue of wealth and poverty and how globalisation impact on these constructs. Firstly, critics of globalisation point to the fact that individuals within particularly poor regions of the globe find themselves “forced” to work for low-paying multinationals that leverage the poverty of a given region as a means of reducing overall labor costs. However, the fact that is not often considered has to do with the fact that the individuals within these particular regions have traditionally had horrendous work opportunities and languished in poverty for many generations. Yet, with this fact being understood, it should not be stated that the prevalence of sweatshops and other forms of labor are ethically or morally correct. Instead, globalisation witnesses many ethically wrong practices throughout the world. Nonetheless, individuals within the current era are provided a choice; whether they will work for a given firm or company or whether they will not. As such, if one were to interview individuals within certain parts of Indonesia, Bangladesh, or many other places around the globe, they would find that a first-hand analysis reveals a situation in which many of these individuals are related to have the opportunities for the factory jobs that multinational and globalized firms have provided (Negrea, 2012). In keeping with the topic of labor, it is also true that the overall rates of employment at increased as a direct result of the fact that globalisation has provided economic incentives for individuals within poorer regions to engage with better paying labor as compared to the opportunities that were exhibited in previously. Additionally, globalisation has also provided a situation in which goods and services are available to more members of the world community as compared to any time previously top for instance, prior to the era of globalisation, it was necessary for each and every economic sphere to develop products and services that could administer to the needs of its population. However, with globalisation, specialization between different regions and sectors of different national economies provides for an overall increasing utility; one that allows for individuals that might not otherwise be able to afford a given good or service to integrate with it. Taking the case of global nutrition as an illustration of the positive impact that globalisation can yield, one can quickly understand that individuals within climates in which certain produce does not grow have ready access to many different types of produce grown and a litany of different regions due to the fact that international shipping and globalisation has provided these products to them at a relatively low cost (Hidri, 2012). Without relying upon Adam Smith or other fathers of capitalism, it should be noted that most economists agree that trade is economically beneficial to all parties engaged. A litany of different quantitative studies over the decades has proven this to be true. As such, globalisation has increase the overall level of trade that exist throughout the world and drastically maximize the level and extent to which this trade is beneficial to individuals and far off or otherwise unconnected regions of the globe. Conclusion: From the information that is thus far been put forward, it can definitively be noted that even though globalisation portends that many universal concepts must be displayed throughout the world and necessarily reduces the power and effective choice mechanisms that a given region/domestic governmental entity can effect, it nonetheless exist upon the back of regional sovereign governments. The analyst can adequately understand how globalisation has impacted on many otherwise backwards and detached portions of the globe. Accordingly, the degree and extent to which the Moroccan governments chose to integrate with globalisation and the degree and extent to which they provided mechanisms by which globalisation could be redefined is ultimately what allowed this nation to experience the great degree of growth and development that it has; in terms of the way in which industry, culture, and other aspects of society have evolved. Further, it is without question that nations have authored tactics of globalisation; such as media control, legislation that defines the way in which a particular region will integrate with trade, tariffs, barriers, quotas, and a litany of other economic factors all define the way in which globalisation, regardless of its scope or regardless of the region or area in which it is being applied, is a state author process that can be integrated with to a varying degree. From such a level of realization, the faceless entity of globalisation is continually rebranded, redefined, and repackaged so that it is able to meet the specific needs and desires of a particular region. Rather than reducing the overall impact of globalisation can have upon the lives and culture of individuals around the world, the preceding analysis is perhaps best directed at uncovering the fact that globalisation is not the faceless entity that absorbs and converts the economies, cultures, and practices of the entire world; rather, it is a process through which the world is able to integrate, defined, and promote their own best interests to varying degrees. References Cohen, J, Tsfati, Y, & Sheafer, T 2008, 'The influence of globalisation’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 72, 2, pp. 331-344, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 November 2013. Cook, N, & Underwood, R 2012, 'Attitudes toward economic globilsation: Does knowledge matter?', Global Economy Journal, 12, 4, p. -1, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 16 November 2013. 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