Session 3: Independent Learning

Topic: Communication and Globalization

Date: June 13, 2020

Lesson: Communication and Globalization

Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments
of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information
technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic
development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world.

Swedish journalist Thomas Larsson, in his book The Race to the Top: The Real Story of Globalization, states
that globalization:

“…is the process of world shrinkage, of distances getting shorter, things moving closer. It pertains to the
increasing ease with which somebody on one side of the world can interact, to mutual benefit, with
somebody on the other side of the world.”

In Global Transformations, David Held and his co-writers state:

“Although in its simplistic sense globalization refers to the widening, deepening and speeding up of
global interconnection, such a definition begs further elaboration. ... Globalization can be on a continuum
with the local, national and regional. At one end of the continuum lie social and economic relations and
networks which are organized on a local and/or national basis; at the other end lie social and economic
relations and networks which crystallize on the wider scale of regional and global interactions. Globalization
can refer to those spatial-temporal processes of change which underpin a transformation in the
organization of human affairs by linking together and expanding human activity across regions and
continents. Without reference to such expansive spatial connections, there can be no clear or coherent
formulation of this term. ... A satisfactory definition of globalization must capture each of these elements:
extensity (stretching), intensity, velocity and impact.”

Globalization is not new, though. For thousands of years, people—and, later, corporations—have been
buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road
across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages. Likewise, for centuries, people
and corporations have invested in enterprises in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current
wave of globalization are similar to those prevailing before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

But policy and technological developments of the past few decades have spurred increases in cross-border
trade, investment, and migration so large that many observers believe the world has entered a qualitatively
new phase in its economic development. Since 1950, for example, the volume of world trade has increased
by 20 times, and from just 1997 to 1999 flows of foreign investment nearly doubled, from $468 billion to
$827 billion. Distinguishing this current wave of globalization from earlier ones, author Thomas Friedman
has said that today globalization is “farther, faster, cheaper, and deeper.”

This current wave of globalization has been driven by policies that have opened economies domestically
and internationally. In the years since the Second World War, and especially during the past two decades,
many governments have adopted free-market economic systems, vastly increasing their own productive
potential and creating myriad new opportunities for international trade and investment. Governments also
have negotiated dramatic reductions in barriers to commerce and have established international
agreements to promote trade in goods, services, and investment. Taking advantage of new opportunities
in foreign markets, corporations have built foreign factories and established production and marketing
arrangements with foreign partners. A defining feature of globalization, therefore, is an international
industrial and financial business structure.

Technology has been the other principal driver of globalization. Advances in information technology, in
particular, have dramatically transformed economic life. Information technologies have given all sorts of
individual economic actors—consumers, investors, businesses—valuable new tools for identifying and
pursuing economic opportunities, including faster and more informed analyses of economic trends around
the world, easy transfers of assets, and collaboration with far-flung partners.

Globalization is deeply controversial, however. Proponents of globalization argue that it allows poor
countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living, while opponents of
globalization claim that the creation of an unfettered international free market has benefited multinational
corporations in the Western world at the expense of local enterprises, local cultures, and common people.
Resistance to globalization has therefore taken shape both at a popular and at a governmental level as
people and governments try to manage the flow of capital, labor, goods, and ideas that constitute the
current wave of globalization.

IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON COMMUNICATION

Global communication is directly affected by the process of globalization, and helps to increase business
opportunities, remove cultural barriers and develop a global village. Both globalization and
global communication have changed the environmental, cultural, political and economic elements of the
world.

Connecting with people on the other side of the world is now much easier than it was a few years ago.
Satellites, fiber-optic cables and the internet make it effortless to share information with those in different
time zones and locations. Global communication is directly affected by the process of globalization, and
helps to increase business opportunities, remove cultural barriers and develop a global village. Both
globalization and global communication have changed the environmental, cultural, political and economic
elements of the world.

Increased Business Opportunities

Many companies today hire employees that are located in other countries. Using communication vehicles
such as video calling make it simple to converse with colleagues across the globe, almost making it feel as
if they are in the same room. Technology also makes it easier to connect with suppliers and customers all
over the world, and to streamline those relationship through improves ordering, shipment tracking and so
on. With this kind of communication technology, many businesses are able to take advantage of
opportunities in different countries or cities, improving the economic outlook on a global level.

Thanks to global communications, information itself can be transferred as a valuable business asset from
one country to another. This has the effect of making everyone's operations more modern and efficient,
regardless where they are located.
Fewer Cultural Barriers
Many people perceive culture to be the root of communication challenges. When people from two different
cultures try to exchange information, the way they speak, their body language or their mannerisms can be
interpreted differently by the other person. The way people approach problems and how they participate
in communities is all influenced by culture.

Globalization has made it possible, for example, for someone in Japan to understand how someone in the
U.S. goes about their day. With television and movies, cultural barriers are becoming less prevalent. Being
able to communicate effectively and frequently with colleagues or friends across the planet helps people
understand each other’s cultures a little better.

Creation of a Global Village

You’ve likely heard of the phrase "global village," coined by theorist Marshall McLuhan. Affected both by
globalization and global communication, the global village is created when distance and isolation no longer
matter because people are connected by technology. Wide-spread telephone and internet access have
been life-changing for many people across the world, especially those in developing countries. Many are
now enrolling in universities across the world without having to leave their desk chair. Virtual assistant jobs
are becoming commonplace, where employees from developing countries work with companies in North
America or Europe, providing administrative support and other business services that can easily be
conducted over the phone or via the internet.

Globalization and global communication have made it easier to see people on the other side of the world
as a neighbor, instead of a stranger from a faraway land. There is so much knowledge about other countries
and cultures available online, that it’s no longer a complete mystery.

Study Questions

Answer the following questions via a video recording. Post your video (not longer than 7 minutes) on the
FB Group not later than 7:00 pm of June 17, 2020. Use #Session3 on your post for easy indexing. Speak
in English J

1. In what specific ways does globalization affect communication?

2. What are the things that people do now which could not be done before globalization?
3. Are the effects of globalization on communication positive or negative? Support your answers with
concrete examples.

Optional Task for Grade Booster:

Choose a local/foreign company from an industry (e.g. bank, telecommunications, education, retail,
healthcare, food, etc.) and research on the various efforts the company make to cope with globalization.
You may choose an industry from the list found at https://simplicable.com/new/industries. Encode a
maximum of 2-page essay with same standard formatting (Font size 12, Times New Roman, Lettersize,
1.5 spacing, 1x1 in margin) DEADLINE: Upload a PDF file of your task not later than 9:00 pm of June 20.