Benefits of Globalisation to UAE - Essay Example

GLOBALISATION Benefits to UAE 1.0. INTRODUCTION Globalisation can be summed up as a worldwide movement towards integration of economic, financial, trade and communication. It is an opening of local and national perspective towards a broader outlook for an interconnected and interdependent world where there is free transfer of capital, goods and services across the national frontiers. It has brought about some major changes in the human lives which s not just limited to the economic benefits but also on education and environment. In other terms it can also be defined as the weakening of physical boundaries surrounding the nation or state. It consists of social, political and economic adjustments that people and nations embrace to incorporate themselves with the world (Scholte, 2000). The concept of globalisation is not new and people have been buying and selling to each others in lands at greater distances for thousands of years. The entire globe has been increasingly behaving to be a part of a single market with interdependent production, consumption of similar goods and responding to the similar impulses. This has enhanced the consumption of goods that are produced by the same companies nearly globally. Also the production procedure and technology, used in production of such goods, are getting more standardised irrespective of the location of production. This has made the ideas to gradually become the common property of the entire humanity (Evans and Mooney, 2007). In this assignment we come across the characteristics of globalisation like features, types and the opportunities and challenges that it has globally brought. Further the benefits that the UAE and the Middle East have gained both economically and politically have been emphasised upon. 2.0. CHARACTERISTICS Some of the main characteristics of globalisation are studied through the factors such as features, types and opportunities and challenges that it adds to the entire world. Such characteristics are further discussed. 2.1. FEATURES The major features of globalisation are stated as under: Liberalisation: The freedom to establish industries, trade either in own or foreign country and free exchange of capital, goods, services and technologies between nation has been highly backed through globalisation (Cornia, 2004). Free Trade: Free trade between countries has been possible with the absence of excessive governmental control over such trade. Globalisation of Economic Activities: A better level of control and coordination has evolved between national and world economy. Connectivity: International transmission of knowledge, technology, culture and information has broken the national boundaries and links one society to the other. A Composite Process: Setting of a process with common economic, commercial, political, cultural and technological tie-ups and set up a borderless globe (Kumar, 2012). 2.2. TYPES OF GLOBALISATION There are three main types of globalisation, namely, economic, cultural and political which are discussed in the assignment further. i. Economic Globalisation: No national economy is an island now as the economy of one, to some degree, influences the other. A capital-rich country invests in some other country which is poor. The one with better technology sells it to the other lacking in same. Products from one country are able to enter the countries which have better market and demand for them. Also the natural resources of underdeveloped or developing countries are sold to the develop countries resulting in the transfer of economic resources from one country to another. ii. Cultural Globalisation: Culture has become a commodity as popular books and films have international markets. English movies have gained viewers in almost all countries and western pop is becoming more and more famous in developing countries. Information revolution has backed cultural globalisation with the spread of satellite communication, telecommunication networks, information technology and internet, etc. This worldwide flow of ideas, knowledge and values has helped in flattening out the cultural differences between nations, regions and individuals. iii. Political Globalisation: Efforts have been regularly made to bring the whole world under one government and the League of Nations and the UN have been some great steps in this direction. There is a strong belief that a common government would result in a safer world which is free from conflicts. Under this form the countries are also attempting to adopt political polices and style of government, similar to others, to encourage other forms of globalisation (Samir, 2012). 2.3. OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Globalisation has profound opportunities for developing countries as it creates new opportunities, bigger markets for business and trade, more tradable items, private capital inflow, improved and faster access to technology, etc. With these opportunities also come major challenges which are similar in nature to the ones introduced by the industrial revolution. OPPORTUNITIES With the arrival of the 21st century, the new era is affecting every nation, every level of industry, every business and trade and also every individual at a wrapping speed (Manzella, 2001). This process has been a sort of global integration in all areas offering less developed countries with regular opportunities for participation in various international activities. The advancing science and technology and immediate communication of the scientific and technological knowledge has helped the small countries to take active participation in worldwide cooperation. With the chances to access the world’s latest achievements like bio-technology, new material, etc. has provided the developing countries to facilitate their growth and development. Opportunities in the economic front has been the greatest boon for the world proving better and open exchange and making better profits. CHALLENGES Globalisation has opened the gates for many opportunities which also increase the chances of potential risk and challenges. Poor countries and poor people are getting more impoverished as they have to suffer losses due to the rules which the big countries impose. The shifting from an agrarian society to an industrial economy has compelled workers to leave their farms in urge to search factory jobs. The demand for more skilled workers is getting tougher and more complex. The challenges of globalisation can be summed up in to four major points which are required to be addressed by the governments, civil society and other policy actors. First and foremost is to ensure that the benefits of globalisation are reaped by all countries and that it reaches all which shall not happen automatically. Next is to deal with the fear of instability that globalisation causes and is particularly a case in the developing countries. Third is the fear in the industrial world which shall increase global competition and shall lead towards a race to the bottom of wages, labour rights, employment practices and lastly the environment. Finally, globalisation and the complicated problems which are related to it must not be used as an excuse to avoid searching for new and better ways for the overall interest of the countries and the people. 3.0. GLOBALISATION IN UAE/MIDDLE EAST The impact of globalisation in emitting boarders between countries and converting the whole world into a single village cannot be denied and various countries have benefitted from this and UAE is one among such countries. The impact that globalisation has had on the Arab world culture cannot be just measured through simple statistics and reports. Globalisation has turned UAE into a developed country in many fields like infrastructure, education and media. The major effect is seen in terms of the economy of the region that has drastically developed. It has increased foreign investments, encouraged domestic investments and promoted free trade between UAE and other countries (Yousef and Al-Amouri, 2007). Firstly globalisation has increased foreign investment level in the region. The political stability of UAE and the preservation of working rights of the businessmen, with not much interference in their buying and selling or even imposing taxes on their buying and selling of products and revenues, have attracted a lot of foreign investments. With globalisation other nations of the world have come to know regarding the economic virtues that UAE grants for businessmen. Thus, productivity has significantly increased and so have the economy and the living standards. Secondly the domestic investments have also been encouraged which is a result of dealing with the developed countries like the USA and the UK, which has only been possible as a result of globalisation. Lastly, globalisation serves as the main reason for the promotion of trade between UAE and other countries. Free trade has allowed better and cheaper availability of goods as low cost import is more favoured than producing them domestically at higher rates. It has been argued that imports have hurt the domestic production and increased the unemployment level. But on the other hand, it has created more working opportunities in the other industries of UAE. The domestic people are concentrated towards more profit making from products like oil, gas and petrochemicals. Apart from the above stated globalisation has also helped UAE in developing infrastructure, media, education and social relations (Silicon Valley, 2010). 4.0. CONCLUSION Globalisation is a broad and multifaceted matter that has affected people and culture all across the world. The concept of globalisation has been long debated upon and the ultimate outcome is treating the entire world as one. With globalisation offering better mobility of goods and services and the features that makes it even more effective both economically and politically. Cultural gap has also been covered through its extensive application and it still has a lot of potential for future. But with every move comes new opportunities and challenges and so has been the case with globalisation. But comparatively the pros are much more than the cons making the process even more applicable and globally effective. The entire world has been reaping the benefits and opportunities that it has created, specially the developing countries. In the assignment we have discussed one such country, the UAE, which has adapted and adjusted its culture and political factors as per the needs of the world attracting more international investments and created a lot of business opportunities in the region. The economic gain has grown in multiple folds and serving as a big example for the rest of the world. REFERENCES Cornia, G. A. (2004). Trade Liberalization, Foreign Direct Investment and Income Inequality, in Lee, E. and M. Vivarelli (eds.), Understanding Globalization, Employment and Poverty Reduction, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp. 169-208 Evans, B. and Mooney, A. (2007). Globalization: The Key Concepts, Routledge, Oxon, UK. Kumar. A. (2012). What are the Characteristics of globalization? Retrieved on 30/03/16 http://www.preservearticles.com/2011100314528/what-are-the-characteristics-of-globalization.html Manzella. J. (2001). Globalization Presents New Opportunities and Challenges. Retrieve on 31/03/16 http://manzellareport.com/index.php/trade-finance/358-globalization-presents-new-opportunities-and-challenges Samir. (2012). Globalization is primarily of three types: Economic, Cultural and Political. Retrieved on 31/03/16 http://www.preservearticles.com/2011091313321/globalization-is-primarily-of-three-types-economic-cultural-and-political.html Scholte, J. A. (2000) Globalization. A critical introduction, London: Palgrave. Silicon Valley. (2010). News Analysis: What the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thinks About Globalization. New York: The Levin Institute. Yousef, A. and Al-Amouri, A. (2007). Globalisation Effects on the UAE Economy. Retrieved on 31/03/16 http://portfolio17683.tripod.com/id9.html Read More