Globalization & Wal-Mart - Admission/Application Essay Example

Globalization There has only ever been but one world. Throughout history humanity has, over time, come to learn the full extent and size of the world. What was once thought to be flat is now rightly known to be an oblate spheroid. That is to say that human history is but the story of “discovering” the world. Today the process known as globalization is in many aspects but the final chapter of that story. That chapter, however, has shown itself to be the most fast-paced, unprecedented, and revolutionary of all.

Rapid changes in technology, the “shrinking” of the world due to increases in travel speed, the development of a “global” culture, the spread of consumerism and democracy, and the onset of truly global threats to human populations like pollution and global warming have all contributed to the emergence of “one world.” Taking Wal-Mart as an example, though globalization has provided some good to the consumer and the global citizen, it also has unquestionably brought about and made use of low wages, slave-like labor, and some serious human rights violations.

No corporate entity better embodies both the supposed benefits and the alleged drawbacks of globalization than does Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart was the first to use the electronic bar code to track all items, their sale, and the kind of items sold (size, color, trends) and applied that information to what could be called “scientific stocking” (Is 2005). Traditionally, American capitalism was largely driven by manufacturers. The manufacturer created a product, advertised it, and then sold it at a set price to retailers, in what was euphemistically called the “push system.

” The effect of Wal-Mart was to create the “pull system.” Instead of the manufacturer, the retailer slowly became the stronger party. Wal-Mart would set bid prices for products that it would be willing to purchase. Manufacturers then would attempt to outbid one another in hopes of getting the contract. In what has been referred to as the “Walmartization of the world” the end-all-be-all of retail became the everlasting race and drive for lower and lower prices. Globalization is a process even bigger than Wal-Mart.

In the 1990’s the United States negotiated trade agreements with China. Wal-Mart took advantage of the new accords and immediately started importing and buying cheaper Chinese-made goods. Instead of the 20-25% profit margins with American-made goods, the Chinese-made ones earned Wal-Mart as much as 60-70% profit (Is 2005). This is all personal for me. I have of course bought items at Walmart at one point in my life like anyone else. The personal aspect, however, concerns the effects of offshoring manufacturing to other countries.

That process brought low priced consumer goods but it also cost jobs. Prices decreased but so did the wages and standard of living of countless American workers. Many of the innovations of global retailers like Walmart, as an exemplar of the greater process and phenomenon of globalization, have ‘globalized’ commerce by globalizing poverty. A family member of mine lost his job when his plant went to China. His company was one which sold goods to Walmart. With the emergence of one world it is important to ensure that that world is predicated upon the universal values of equality, liberty, and human dignity.

If profit is the only objective, then corporate revenues and stock prices will continue to rise in lockstep with the disappearance of the American middle class. As a member of the current generation, the generation of globalization, the internet, and the technological revolution, I have a particular perspective. If there is one thing I aim to do, it is to ensure that the world does not just become one gargantuan Walmart. References(2005). Is Wal-Mart Good for America?. Documentary of Public Broadcasting Service (1995-2010).

Online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/view/#rest .