FINALS

WEEK 11-12 THE RISE OF THE GLOBAL CORPORATION

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this module, students are able to:

 Explain the impact of dealing business with the triad;

 Identify the competitive strategies of global corporations;
 Discuss the idea of globalization drivers;
 Explain how global corporations function;
 Identify what constitutes a global corporation;
 Explain the role of international financial institution in the creation of global economy;
 Identify the attributes of global corporation;
 Identify the emerging market global corporations; and
 Explain the relevance of changing regulatory environment to the structure and operation of global
corporations.
GLOBALIZATION is a business initiative based on the belief that the world is becoming more
homogenous and that distinctions between national markets are not only fading but for some products,
will eventually disappear. As a result, companies need to globalize their international strategy by
formulating it across markets to take advantage of underlying market, cost, environmental, and
competitive factors

Once a firm has made the decision to compete in the global environment, it subjects itself to pressures
single-country firms often do not experience. Single country firms normally operate in a relatively
homogenous market for their products and services. Consequently, product design and production can
often be fairly standardized, allowing the firm to achieve economies of scale in production, and deliver
a product that appeal to its entire market. Furthermore, strictly domestic firms typically don't have to
concern themselves with differences in industry and trade regulations from other countries.

Global corporations, in contrast, often faces a trade-off between seeking competitive advantage
through the lower production costs that global economies of scale allow, and seeking competitive
advantage by tailoring the products to specific national markets—forgoing economies of scale but
providing a product more tailored to local taste. Furthermore, the global firm must determine how to
balance the demands and practices in one country with the demands and practices of other countries.
These pressures illustrate the trade-off firms often must make between national responsiveness and
worldwide integration of activities.
PRESENCE IN KEY GLOBAL MARKETS

The United States, Japan, and Western Europe account for about half of the world total consumption. They
share certain important economic and demographic conditions such as high income levels and high GNP
values. It has been argue (Ohmae, 1990) that a firm cannot truly compete on a global scale if it is not
present in this "triad."

If a firm does not have operations in all three areas of the triad, it may not be able to achieve maximum
economies of scale. Furthermore, since the three areas are often the source of technological and product
innovations, a firm not present in all triad areas would have difficulty keeping abreast of technological
developments in its industry. Finally, since the triad accounts for one-half of the world's consumers (even
more in some industries), presence in the triad is necessary to keep abreast of consumer preferences and
changes in consumer trends. Therefore, some business people have suggested that to remain competitive,
multinationals must pursue a "triad strategy." Of course, there are other arguments about key global
markets. For example, China, with a billion people, a rapidly growing economy, and poorly served
customers, is seen by some as a key market in the future (in fact, it is now a key market as of 2028)

Competitive Strategies of Global Corporations

The worldwide integration and nationally responsive strategies discussed above are
closely related to Michael Porter's work on competitive strategies (199()) According to Porter, firms
international or domestic can gain an advantage over competitors in three ways: by cost
leadership, differentiation, or focus. Porter call each of the three approaches a "generic"
competitive strategy.

1. Cost leadership. The goal of this strategy is to manage well the costs associated with
development, production, and marketing of a product. The firm must be able to gain an
advantage by underpricing competitors, or if the firm can have the option to sell at the
same price as competitors but have a higher profit margin. This strategy requires the firm
to take advantage of economies of scale and to vigorously pursue cost reduction in areas
such as overhead, research, and development, service, advertising, and so on.

2. Differentiation. This second strategy is based on the firm fielding products that consumers
perceive as different or unique. This uniqueness can be achieved in many ways such as
using a distinctive brand name, by concentrating on providing specific product features, by
differentiating themselves on the basis of after-sales customer service, by providing a
higher quality product than competitors, and so forth.
 3. Focus. This has something to do in terms of scope of the firm's operations. While some
product lines designed to reach a very broad customer base, others focus on much
narrower market segments. The broad-scope companies can compete either on the basis
of cost or differentiation. The firms that target a smaller segment of the market are using a
focus strategy.

Globalization Drivers

Both external and internal factors will create the favorable conditions for development of strategy
and resource allocation on a global basis. These factors can be divided into market cost, environmental,
and competitive factors.

Market Factors. The world customer today identified by Ernst Dichter more than 30 years ago has gained
new meaning today (Dichter, 1962 as cited Czinkota & Ronkainen, 1995; 2010). For example, Kenichi
Ohmae has identified a new group of consumers emerging in the triad of North America, Europe, and
Japan whom marketers can treat as a single market with the same spending habits (Ohmae, 1995).

Approximately over 600 million consumers have similar educational backgrounds, income levels, lifestyles,
use of leisure time, and aspirations. One reason given for the income levels in their demand is a level of
purchasing power (10 times greater than that of LDCs or NICs) that translates into higher diffusion rates
(for certain products). Another reason is that developed infrastructures—ownership of telephones and an
abundance of paved roads—lead to attractive markets for other products. Products can be designed to
meet similar demand conditions throughout the triad. These similarities also enhance the transferability of
other marketing elements.

At the same time, channels of distribution are becoming more global; that is, a growing number of
retailers are now showing great flexibility in their strategies for entering geographic markets (Treadgold,
1990). Some are already world powers (e.g., Benetton and McDonald's), whereas others are pushing
aggressive growth. Also noteworthy are cross-border retail alliances, which expand the presence of
retailers to new markets quite rapidly. The presence of global and regional channels makes it more
necessary for the marketer to rationalize marketing efforts.

Cost Factors. Avoiding cost inefficiencies and duplication of effort are two of the most powerful globalization
drivers. A single-country approach may not be large enough for the local business to achieve all possible
economies of scale and scope as well as synergies, especially given the dramatic changes in the
marketplace. For example, pharmaceuticals, in the 1970s, developing a new drug cost about 16 million
dollars and took four years to develop. The drug could be produced in UK or United States and eventually
exported. Now, developing a drug costs from 250 to 500 million dollars and takes as long as 12 years, with
competitive efforts close behind. Only a global product for a global market can support that much risk (The
Wall Street Journal, 1993). Size has become a major asset, which play partly explains the many mergers
and acquisitions (Bristol Myers and Squibb as well as Smith Kline and Beecham) of the past few years
(Business Week, 2000). In the heavily contested consumer-goods sectors, launching a new brand may cost
as much as $100 million, meaning that companies, such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble, are not going
to necessarily spend precious resources on one-country projects.

Environmental Factors. As the world market is going global, government barriers have fallen
dramatically in the last years to further facilitate the globalization of markets and the activities of global
corporations with them. For example% the forces pushing toward a pan-European market are very
powerful: The increasing wealth and mobility of European consumers (favored by the relaxed immigration
controls), the accelerating flow of information across borders, the introduction of new products where local
preferences are not well established and the publicity surrounding the integration process itself all promote
globalization. The resulting removal of physical, fiscal, and technical barriers is indicative of the changes
that are taking place around the world on a greater scale.

Competitive Factors. Many global corporations are already dominated by global competitors that
are trying to take advantage of the three sets of factors mentioned earlier. To remain competitive the
company may have to be the first to do something or to be able to match or preempt competitor's moves.
Products are now introduced, upgraded, and distributed at rates unimaginable a decade ago. Without a
global network, the company may run the risk of seeing carefully reached ideas picked off by other global
players. This is what Procter & Gamble and Unilever did to Kao's Attack concentrated detergent which they
mimicked and introduced into the United States and Europe before Kao could react.

Moore and Lewis (2000) contend that global corporations are operating within the environment
which are functionally and organizationally similar from contemporary organizations, having héad offices,
foreign branch plants, corporate hierarchies, extraterritorial business law, and with a bit of foreign direct
investment and value-added activity.

Accordingly, global corporations are characterized by the following features:

 There is a pattern of equity ownership
 There is corporate ownership and management of subsidiaries
 There is a relationship of "central" organizational functions to supply and distribution
chains.

FUNCTIONS OF GLOBAL CORPORATION

1. International companies are importers and exporters, typically without investment outside of their home
country
2. Multinational companies have investment in other countries but do not have coordinated product offering
each country. They are more focused on adapting their products and services to each individual local
market.
3. Global companies have invested in and are present in many countries. They typically market their
products and services to each individual local market.
4. Transnational companies are more complex organizations which have invested in foreign operations,
have central corporate facility but give decision making, research and development, marketing powers to
each individual foreign market.

Structural Periods of Global Corporations

Gerrifi (2005) postulates that the nature of global corporations changes accordingly, being driven in
each case by its evolving purposes and by its extended reach and abilities. Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) needs to be examined as to its sources and levels because that was the
corporate origin of most global corporations. As Hedley (1999) points out, only European
corporations were major investors, to be joined bysomeAmerican firms in the 1930s. The UN data
reflected that the principal turning point of FDI as the major driver of extended global corporate
development was in 1960. In each subsequent decade until the turn of the century, FDI would triple
(Hedley, 1999).

Investment-based Gobalization (1950-1970). The investment based period was dominated by

producer-driven commodity or value chains, which in turn tended to be dominated by firms
characterized by large amounts of concentrated capital focused on largescale or capital-intensive
manufacturing or extractive industries. The organization of the dominant global firms during this
period was powerfully influenced by the transformation within national economies of the older
manufacturing companies largely influenced by what was viewed as the progressive "de-
industrialization" of those economies through wide scale off shoring of labor applications and its
related costs.

The progressive shift in the sitting of manufacture transformed the dominant manufacturing firms of
these older developed companies into more fully extended and integrated organizational forms that
moved them as national firms operating internationally which makes them global firms that required
extensive corporate integration of their activities throughout the world.

Trade-based Gobalization (1970-1995). The trade-based was due to the emergence of Japan as a
major producer nation, especially of automobiles and consumer electronics from the 1970s
onward. This brought to the scene new models of effective production focused especially on quality
and regimes of flexible production—which prompted the European firms to rejoin the global
commodity chains. These activities were experienced by US firms as unwelcome challenges to
their virtually unchallenged positions on product design, production efficiency, and quality—and
ultimately the ability Of these corporate StrUcture to maintain their accustomed returns on
investment. In effect, it resulted into a progressive "reinventing" of the American business model,
especially the industrial model—a challenge that would dominate the curricula of US business
schools for two decades.

Digital Globalization (1995 onwards). Digital globalization has affected the entire structure of how
global corporations operate. The integration of corporate structure reducing the effects of time and
distance especially\for services performed within corporate structures such as design, finance and
accounting, advertising and brand development, legal services, inventory control, etc. These
intensive capabilities of control and management at a distance blend many of the differentiated
aspects of products and service-based firms. Digitalization is transforming the classic value chain
of manufacturing focused on innovations which:

 Product design and innovation are replaced with driving innovation through digital product
design

 Labor intensive manufacturing is replaced by digitizing the factory shop floor

 Supply chain management is replaced by globalizing through digital supply chain

management

 Marketing sales and services is replaced by digital customization (Capgemini, 2012).

One approach on how global corporation function is to view them as a complex collective activity,
constituting either a "global system" of corporations or a network of global corporations that as a
structure interacts in complex ways, doing much to constitute the global economic system as a
result. The critical period from 1968 to 1998 in which global corporations were developing much of
the structure replicated in current operations is an example as Kentor (2005) examined it.

Emerging Global Corporations (The Boston Consulting Group, 2009 as cited by Steger (2014)

 Basic Element (Russia) is a world leader in alumina production.

 Bharat Forge (India) is one of the world's largest forging companies.

 BYD Company (China) is the world's largest manufacturer of nickel cadmium batteries.

 CEMEX (Mexico) has developed into one of the world's largest cement products.

 China International Marine Containers Group (China) is the world's largest manufacturing
of shipping containers.

 Cosco group (China) is one of the largest shipping companies in the world.

 Embraer (Brazil) has surpassed Canada's Bombardier as the market leader in regional
jets.
  Galanz group (China) has a 45 percent share of the European and a 25 percent share of
the US microwave market.

 Hisense (China) is the number one supplier of flat-panel TVs to France.

 Johnson Electric (China) is the world's leading manufacturer of small electric motors.

 Nemak (Mexico) is one of the world's leading suppliers of cylinder head and block casings
for the automotive industry.

 Sistema (Russia) is a conglomerate with a focus on telecommunications.

 Tata Chemicals (India) is an inorganic chemical producer with a significant global market
share for soda ash.

 Wipro (India) is the world's largest third-party engineering services company.

The importance of global corporations in Brazil, India and China (BRICS) to the current and
projected global economy is singular. With 40 percent of the world's population, the BRICS
represent a primary force n both global production and consumption.

The Relevance of the Changing Regulatory Environment to the Structure and Operation of Global
Corporations

1. Bilateral trade agreement has brought nations together to negotiate their relative place within
emergent value chains (Naya and Plummer, 2005). An example is the rise of China as a major
producer of both finished products and pre-finished components.

2. Liberalization as a result in part of the transformation of investment codes, trade rules and
operating rules to reduce barriers to global investment and trade. Thus thrust towards liberalization
has accounted for regulatory environments distinctly favorable to corporate investment and value
chain developments across the spectrum of goods and services.

3. The implementation and imposition of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a self-regulatory

pattern brought global corporations to be more accountable across the range of their many and
varied stakeholders. CSR represents a wide ranging set of proposed governance structures,
including rules, norms, codes of conduct and standards developed largely by the global NGO
community (Levy and Kaplan, 2007).

_____________________________________________________________________________

Operational Decisions of Global Corporations

Operational decisions can be both strategic and tactical. These decisions encompass long term
decisions such as plant locations and size of facilities, as well as day-to-day decisions such as
production schedules and delivery timetables. Global managers, in other words, sometimes take a
long-term view and at other times take a short- term view. Strategic operational decisions may lock
a company into a particular arrangement for many years, but day-to-day operational decisions
often need to be made quickly with the needs of the current situation as the paramount
consideration. Hence, there is a dual nature to operational management of global corporations.

Corporate managers in international companies often face another dilemma as well: a trade —off
between a global perspective and a multinational perspective. In thinking from a global perspective,
managers consider the availability and cost of resources around the world in order to choose
optimal sites for operations: they think in terms of unified, globally rationalized operations, in
thinking from a multinational perspectives, managers tailor operations to fit the unique aspects of
various locations and adapt company operations to local requirements: they think in terms of
individual, nationally adapted operations.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both the global approach and the multinational one.
These will depend on the individual company, industry and market characteristics, and the
available operational locations. Managers often combine global and local approaches in a variety
of ways and through a variety of operational choices and trade-offs.

MAJOR CONCERNS OF GLOBAL MANAGERS

There are three primary issues that concern global managers: procurement, production, and
delivery. Procurement involves decisions about the source, timing, and means of obtaining needed
inputs. Production involves the location, type, and coordination of facilities, as well as total quality
management. Delivery involves getting the finished product to the customer and logistical networks
as they apply to the entire operational system.

Procurement Issues

In order to provide a product, a firm needs certain inputs, including raw materials, labor, and
energy. Managers have to select the best source (or these inputs, decide on the most effective
means of obtaining them, and determine the timing for acquiring them. The firm's overall objective
is to obtain the best inputs from around the world in order to produce components and products
efficiently. The global manager needs to adjust this objective in light of the constraints of different
political and cultural environments. We consider two major issues that managers face relative to
obtaining inputs: the degree of vertical integration that is desirable and the national origin of inputs
and supplies of these inputs (Mendenhall et.al., 2010).

Degree of Integration. The degree of vertical integration depends on the degree to which a firm is
its own supplier and market. The focus on the procurement is in the supplier. In effect, decisions
regarding vertical integration are make-versus—buy decisions. At one extreme, a firm can seek to
make all of its own inputs which is also known as "backward integration" and be its own supplier. At
the other extreme, it can choose to buy virtually all the inputs it needs and rely on others as
suppliers. Partial integration is also possible, wi some inputs being bought while others a made.

From the manager's perspective, t} benefit of making the inputs is the control maintained over them
(in terms of cost quality, timeliness, and so on).
National Origin. The National origin of suppliers can have political and social implications as well.
Certain countries may be looked on unfavorably, and any association with suppliers in those
countries can have negative repercussions in other locations. Consumer boycotts have often been
organized against a company’s products because the company uses inputs originating in a foreign
location viewed negatively by consumers.

The procurement decision is further complicated when moving products from one country to
another requires going through additional countries. Each country's political relationships,
regulations, and dependability have to be taken into account. Even relatively minor problems in an
intermediary country can disrupt an otherwise efficient and effective procurement system.

Timing Issues. Timing of shipments and receipt of supplies are also important considerations. This
is essentially an inventory and stock issue; companies can choose to maintain varying quantities of
needed inputs. The trade-offs are among shipping costs, carrying costs, and the risks of being out
of stock of needed items. are issues faced by all companies particularly with those global
corporations. International managers find that the situation is more complex, because of border
crossings. These can lead to unanticipated delays in transporting products, and such delays
cannot always be factored into the inventory equation.

The auto-industries of Canada and the United States exemplify the potential difficulties of border
crossings. Many U.S. and Canadian auto plants adopted a "just-in-time" inventory system in the
late 1980s. This system relies on suppliers getting parts to the plants just in time to be used by the
plant. In essence, the auto manufacturers do not keep any inventory on hand. This system is cost-
efficient, and because of the trade agreements between Canada and the U.S., parts suppliers in
both countries are used, and parts across the Canada—U.S. border regularly. In 1990, Canadian
independent truckers established a blockade of major border crossings on several occasions to
protest Canadian trucking regulations. The result for the auto plants was no just-in-time delivery of
parts, and several were forced to shut down for long hours, or even days in some cases, until
delivery was resumed (Mendenhall et.al., 2010).

Production Issues
Production involves the location, type, and coordination of facilities, as well as total quality
management and coordinating facilities

Operational Strategies of Global Corporations

Location of Facilities. Facilities can be located to take advantage of inputs or of markets and can
be concentrated or dispersed.

a. Inputs versus Markets. If sources of inputs are relatively close to major markets, then facilities
can be located convenient to both. For many global companies this is not the case because inputs
can come from around the world and markets may be in various parts of the globe. The major
factor that determines the appropriate location of facilities relative to inputs and markets is the case
with which inputs and finished goods can be moved from one location to another. This depends on
factors such as mobility, size and weight, ability to withstand transportation, and need to preserve
freshness. These factors need to be examined relative to inputs as well as to intermediate and
finished products in order to select appropriate locations for production facilities. The following
examples illustrate some of these considerations observed by global companies:

 Many products are assembled by unskilled labor in countries where labor costs are low. It
is often difficult to move people around the world and if labor is an important input into a
product, facilities will generally be located close go the source of the needed labor.

 The wire, beads, and coils used to produce electronic parts are small and easy to transport
around the world, as are the finished parts. Companies that assemble these parts often
have their facilities located close to labor sources and remote from other inputs and
markets.

 Precision scientific equipment often cannot be moved once it is assembled because

movement can affect the delicate balance needed for accuracy. Companies that provide
such equipment will need to have at least some facilities located close to their customers.

 Produce retains its freshness for only a limited period. Companies that use such produce
will tend to locate their facilities close to the source of supply. Many companies that
processed into canned fruit and vegetables are located in small farming communities
where fresh produce can be brought to the factory within hours of harvest.

 Harvesting fresh produce in some developed countries relies on unskilled, low-cost labor,
which is unavailable locally. The growing location cannot be changed easily; therefore,
seasonal labor is brought from other locations in spite of the difficulties associated with
moving people.

 Automobile companies are smaller and cheaper to transport than completed automobiles.
Components may be produced in a variety of locations to take advantage of local
conditions and shipped to a location close to major markets for assembly.

 Precious stones for jewelry must be obtained in locations where they are available. But
they may be shipped to other locations for polishing and setting and to still other locations
where the major markets exist.

Concentrated versus Dispersed Facilities. Depending on a firm's choice of production strategy, the
appropriate design for facilities will often differ. Centralized strategy will call for large, efficient,
standardized, and, probably, automated designs. Concentrated or centralized facilities are more
focused on efficiency and standardization. Larger quantities are produced in these facilities and
efficiencies of scale result in a lower per unit cost. It also allows simplified administrative system. In
some ways, centralized strategy is easier to establish and operate.

On the other hand, dispersed strategy focuses on adaptation and flexibility. Where inputs from
suppliers in different countries vary, or products have to be adapted for different markets,
standardization is no longer an advantage. In this situation, it can be more effective to take
advantage of the opportunities offered by different sources of supply and to cater to the needs of
the different markets. Dispersed strategy can also provide more flexibility because production can
be increased or decreased at different locations as circumstances change. Dispersed strategy
means that the company is less dependent on any one location. In addition, a growing trend
appears to be the use of smaller production runs, closer to the user to allow customization of the
product for a particular buyer's needs.

Distinctive Characteristics of Location. The distinctive characteristics of any location selected need
to be considered by global companies prior to designing the facilities for that location which may be
climactic, cultural, physical, or governmental.

 Different climatic conditions can affect the appropriate design of facilities. In the tropics,
particularly in developing countries where air conditioning is expensive and unusual,
facilities need to be designed to take advantage of cooling breezes:

 Different cultural conditions can affect the appropriate design for facilities. In certain Islam
countries, men and women are not permitted to work together, so that facilities have to be
designed so that those task' done by women are separate from those done by men.

 Different physical characteristics of people have to be taken into account in designing

appropriate facilities. People in the Far East are, on the general, relatively short in
comparison to North Americans. Facilities that are comfortable for North American
employees would likely be unsuitable for employees in the Far East.

 Government regulations can affect the appropriate design of facilities. Some countries
require employers to provide separate toilet facilities for male and female employees. In
other locations, this would be considered wasteful and unnecessary

A Differentiating Goods from Services

The Industrial Revolution of the early 20th century transformed the world from a craft- oriented to
an industrial economy. The industrial economy was devoted to producing physical goods in large
quantities whereas the craft economy had focused on small-scalf production. Many people believe
that the current Western economy is postindustrial one, often described as a service economy
devoted to providing intangible benefits, or services. Services are an increasingly important
component of the world's economy, and trade in services increased dramatically in the last
decades of the 20th century. This is particular important to multinational managers because
services are especially subject to the impact of cultural and national variations.

Products are a firm's salable outputs. They can be anything: screws and bolts, high-tech medical
equipment, beauty products, technical expertise, management services, or energy. A helpful way
to differentiate among so many products is to categorize them as goods or services.

Goods are generally thought of as physical products, while services are intangible products. This
distinction, as well as some of the relationships between the two, is illustrated by the following:
  Services often accompany goods. If you buy a home computer, you usually purchase
software to go with it, and you may buy a service contract that agrees to provide you with
maintenance and repair on the machine. The computer is a physical product that you can
see and touch; therefore it is a good. The software and the service contract are intangible
services.

 Services may compete with goods. You can choose to purchase your own personal
computer or you can pay for a computer service to fill your computer needs.

 Some services are by their nature distinct from goods, management consulting services
fall into this category. When you purchase the services of a management consultant, there
may be no physical product associated with the service.

The difference between goods and services is not always clear because they can be closely
connected. For example, computer software is generally thought of s an intangible and thus is a
service. But it is often contained on a disk, which can be thought of as a physical product, In the
case of management consultant, a report may be produced that could be considered a physical
product.

CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION

Companies who have tried the global concept have often run into problems with local differences.
Especially in the 1980s, global marketing was seen as a standard i zed marketing effort dictated to
the country organizations by headquarters. Procter & Gamble stumbled badly in the 1980s in

Japan when customers there spurned its Pampers in favor of rival brands. P&Gs diapers were
made and sold according to a formula imposed by Cincinnati headquarters. Japanese consumers
found the company's hard-sell techniques alienating (Business Week, 1991).

Pitfalls that handicap global rnarketing programs and contribute to their suboptimal performance
include market-related reasons, such as insufficient research and a tendency to over-standardize,
as well as internal reasons, such as inflexibility in planning and implementation.

Market Factors

Should a product be launched on a broader scale without formula research as to regional or local
differences, the result may be failure. An example of this is Lego A/S, the Danish toy manufacturer,
which decided to transfer sales promotional tactics successful in the U.S. market unaltered to other
markets, such as Japan. This promotion include such as “bonus packs” and gifts promotions.

However, Japanese consumers considered these promotions wasteful, expensive and not very
appealing (Kashani) Similarly, AT&T has had its problem abroad because its models are reworked
U.S. models. Even after spending $100 million in adapting its most powerful switch for European
markets, its success as limited because phone companies here prefer smaller switches (AT&T,
1991) Often, the necessary research is conducted only after a product or program has failed,
 Internal Factors

Globalization by design requires a balance between sensitivity to local needs and development of
technologies and concept globally. This means that neither headquarters nor independent country
managers can alone call the shots. If country organizations are not part of the planning process, or
if adoption is forced on them by headquarters, local resistance in the form of the not-invented-her
syndrome (NIH) may lead to the demise of the global program or, worse still, an overall decline in
morale. Subsidiary resistance may stem from resistance to idea originating from the outside or
from valid concerns about the applicability concept to that particular market. With local
commitment, no global programs survive.

WEEK 13

GLOBALIZATION AND MEDIA: CREATING THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

Learning outcomes:

At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to:

1. Analyze how various media drive various forms of global integration;
2. Explain the dynamics between local and global cultural production;
3. Define mass media;
4. Identify the function of mass media;
5. Identify the importance of mass media;
6. Explain the ethical philosophies and ethical problems in mass media;
7. Explain media ethics and its effects on social changes; and
8. Explain the relation between globalization and popular music.

THE COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA

THE DECADE of the 1990s began with a stirring lesson on the importance of communications
media in the modern world. Throughout the world, people were riveted to their television sets as they
learned about the overthrow of a tyrant in Romania. For several weeks they had watched as one after
another of the communist states of Eastern Europe faltered and toppled—first Poland, then Hungary, then
Czechoslovakia, then East Germany. But the situation in Romania was far more violent—and much more
public. In that nation, in fact, television played a dominant role in the revolution that put an end to
communist rule.
Communications media are institutions that specialize in communicating information, images, and
values about ourselves, our communities, and our society. Typical media institutions in modern societies
are the print media (newspapers and magazines), movies, radio, and television. The messages
 communicated by the media in some countries can be political or nonpolitical, religious or secular,
educational or purely entertaining, but in every case they use symbols to tell us something about
ourselves and our environment.
Many social scientists have been deeply impressed by the media's ability to incorporate people into
a society's national life and bring about changes in their traditional values. The media are run by
professional communicators, people who are skilled in producing and transmitting news and other
communications. These skills can be used to enhance the ability of national leaders to influence and
persuade the masses. Because of this, the media are always under pressure to communicate the
information and values that people in power want to have communicated.
The influence of media is a source Of continual controversy as different groups strive for greater
control over media communications. In many societies, the media are subject to strict censorship. The very
idea of news and entertainment institutions that are free from censorship by political or religious institutions
is a relatively recent development. But even societies like the United States, which pride themselves on
laws that protect the freedom of the press and other media; we can find numerous examples of conflict
between norms that are designed to control the media.

Types of communication media

1. Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be
monochrome (black-and-white) or coloured, with or without accompanying sound. "Television" may also
refer specifically toa television set, television programming, or television transmission

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those
of visible light. In electronics, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of high
frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with respect to a modulating signal. Radio was the
first truly mass medium of communication, reaching millions of people instantly and altering social
attitudes, family relationships, and how people related to their environment.

2. Print industry
Print industry tried to grasp the new situation and shaped itself into a regular and formal sector but
from the start of the 19th century, print media in most countries started specializing in certain areas.
Print media is classified in to three categories namely magazine, Newspapers, Books.

4.Outdoor Media

Outdoor media are a form of mass media that comprises billboards, signs, or placards placed inside and
outside of commercial buildings, sports stadiums, shops, and buses.
5.Internet

The Internet media Communication which is largest mass media by Internet technologies for various
communications in both Internet and mobile networks. Common channels in internet media are Email,
Search engines.

What does "Information is power" means to you?

Television and Violence

Does watching a lot of television lead people to commit violent acts? Few questions about
the media have generated as much research and debate as this one (Reiss and Roth, 1993).
Indeed, this question is a good test of the media's power to influence behavior, as opposed to
attitudes and opinion. Each hour of prime time television programming presents an average of live
acts of violence. Various studies have examined the connection between television violence and
violent behavior, especially in children and teenagers. Many of these studies have found a causal
relationship between the viewing of violence on television and later aggressive behavior, but some
have concluded that such a relationship cannot be demonstrated (e.g., Kaplan and Singer, 976;
Milavsky, 1977). In 1982 , however the National Institute of Mental health in the United States
reported that “there is now 'overwhelming scientific evidence that 'excessive' violence on television
lead8 directly to aggression and violent behavior among teenagers" (Reinhold, 1982).
More recent analyses of all the studies of television watching and aggression indicated that very
frequent exposure to aggression on television leads to aggression in children and adults. The
explanations for these findings are still debated. The most common explanation is that television
violence produces a form of social learning"—that is, televised violence provides models showing the
viewer how to act violently and also provides an approved social context for this learning: television
watching in the home (Paik, 1990).

Eli Rubinstein (1991) studied the effects of televised violence on emotionally disturbed children.
He found that the children's behaviors were related to what they saw on television: They imitated
aggressive behavior and pretended to be characters in their favorite programs.

It is obvious that not every viewer of televised violence is tempted to act out that violence. It is equally clear
that there is some not-yet determined relationship between televised violence and aggressive behavior in
some individuals. The relationship appears to depend at least in part on the viewer's emotional condition.
Contending that the research are inconclusive, the major television networks have resisted efforts to
regulate the content of their programming, although the first hour of prime time, from 8:00 to P.M has been
labeled "family hour" and is limited to programs deemed appropriate for family viewing.

MEDIA POWER AND ITS LIMITS

A familiar expression in modern societies is "Information is power." Because media control such a large and
diverse flow of information, they have immense power. Questions about the power of the media become
especially urgent when one imagines what could happen if control of the media fell into the hands of groups
that oppose democratic institutions. In such a case, could the persuasive power of the media be used to
destroy individual and political freedom?

George Orwell addressed this use in his famous book 1984, which portrays a society in which everyone is
consistently watched on the two-way television. Not only the actions but also the thoughts of each member
of the society are monitored in this way by a powerful central government. This book presents a terrifying
vision of the potential power of the media when used by a dictator to control the thoughts and behavior of
the population. But it is not merely an imaginatively fantasy. It is based on the efforts of totalitarian regimes,
especially those of Hitler and Stalin, to control the media and use them to control the masses.

In many countries in which freedom of the press is guaranteed, there are still many problems related to
access to the media and their power to attract large audiences. On the other hand, in a democratic society,
television and other media can be a two-edged sword, conferring power on those in the spotlight but also
subjecting them to sometimes embarrassing public scrutiny. Richard Nixon, Jimmy Swaggart, Gary Hart,
and Jim and Tammy Bakker are only few public figures in the United States who are all known worldwide
who have risen, and fallen, in front of a national television audience. The public has a stake, therefore in
determining whether the media are adequately and evenhandedly investigating the actions of the powerful
and the famous (Kornblum, 1994).

Technological Limits
When media institutions are well differentiated from political and other institutions, it is actually quite
difficult for powerful individuals or groups to manipulate mass audiences. This becomes even more true as
changing technologies give people more opportunities to choose the type of messages they receive via
the media. Cable television offers the potential for much greater diversity in program content: Viewers can
watch everything from public affairs to pornography. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Messenger,
You Tube, and the Internet also make possible a wider range of choices. So although it is entirely likely
that the size of the television audiences for special events like the Super Bowl will continue to increase,
the audience of media consumers is becoming ever more diverse and fickle and, hence, ever more difficult
to reach as a mass audience. Even in societies like China, in which the media are agencies of the state
and may broadcast only material that has been approved by political leaders, new technologies promise to
make it more difficult to control the flow of information.

Social Limits
Another limit on the power of the media is the nature of communication itself. Researchers have not
found a direct link between persuasive messages and actual behavior. People do not change their cultural
values and norms just because the media tell them to do so. Instead, investigators have identified a two-
step flow of communication: The messages communicated by the media are evaluated by certain
respected individuals, who in turn influence the attitudes and behavior of others. Such individual function
as opinion leaders in matters ranging from voting to the purchase of shampoo, which is one reason
advertisements so often portray a knowledgeable person praising a product to eager, or ignorant, listeners.
The role of influential individuals in the process is a reminder that communication via the mediå has not
replaced oral, interpersonal communication, nor is it likely to:
Another example of social limits on television's power to shape individual behavior comes from recent
research on people's actual behavior while the television set is on. Comparative research in societies
through the world suggests that television is an extremely powerful medium for reaching the masses of
people and involving them in shows that raise important issues of morality—serials and story shows are
popular wherever they appear. However, the fact that the television set is turned on for several hours each
day does not necessarily mean that people are actually absorbed in watching the shows. This means,
people have become used to television as an accompaniment to their daily activities, but they do not
necessarily always watch it or allow themselves to be influenced by it (Lull, 1998). On the other hand, the
media convey a great deal of information about our cultural environment and cannot help but affect how we
perceive that environment. The extent to which they shape our perceptions is a subject of ongoing research
and debate (Kornblum, 1994).

THE MASS MEDIA

The mass media also referred to as mass communication may be defined as a special kind of
social communication characterized by a unique audience, communication experience, and communicator.
The audience is usually large, heterogeneous and anonymous. The term "media" comes from Latin,
meaning "middle , " suggesting that media serve to connect people. Mass media occur as communications
technology (first newspapers, then radio, and television) spreads information on a mass scale.
The communication experience is usually public, rapid, and transient. Media content is for public
rather than private (one on one) consumption. Media coverage of important events occurs either "live" or
shortly thereafter. Media content is also transient—the focus on one news event doesn't lost very long.

The communicator is often just one person talking to others through electronic media that a
person works within a complex organization with policies that govern what is broadcast. A cross-cultural
view of broadcasting reveals that the members of society dictate what is news, how it is presented, and
what interpretations are given.
The mass media have an enormous effect on our attitudes and behavior. Television, introduced in
1939, soon became the dominant medium. The global snapshot on television ownership in global
perspective done in 2002 reveals that 98 percent of the U.S. households have at least one set,
followed by Canada (85%), Japan (80%), Finland (72%), Germany (64%), (Austria (62%) and Italy (60%)
(The World Bank, 2002).

Researchers revealed that the average household has at least one set turned on for seven hours
each day, and people spend almost half of their free time watching television (Neilsen, 1997; Seplow &
Storm, 1998).
 Years before children learn to read, television watching is a regular routine. As they grow, children
spend as many hours in front of a television as they do in school or interacting with their parents. This is so
despite research that suggests television makes children more passive and less likely to use their
imagination (Singer & Singer, 1983; APA, 1993; Fellman, 2005).
For a variety of reasons, television (like other media) provokes plenty of criticism. Some
liberal critics argue that television shows mirror our society's patterns of social inequality and rarely
challenge the status quo. Most programs involve men in positions of power over women. Moreover,
although racial and ethnic minorities watch about 40% more television than white people, they are largely
absent from programming (Gans, 1990; Cantor & Pingree, 1993; Brown, 2000).
On the other side of the fence, conservative critics charge that the television and film industries are
dominated by a liberal "cultural elite." In recent years, they claim, "politically correct" media have
advanced liberal causes including feminism and gay rights (Lichter,
Rothman, & Rothman, 1986; Woodward, 1992; Prindle & Endersby, 1993; Rothman, & Rothman, 2003).
A final issue concerns violence and the mass media. In 1996, the American Medical Association
(AMA) declared violence in the mass media a hazard to the country's health. An AMA survey (1996) found
that three-fourths of U.S. adults have either walked out of a movie or turned off television because of too
much violence. A more recent national study found that almost two-thirds of television shows contain
violence and that, in most senses, violent characters show no remorse and are not punished (Wilson,
1998).
Most countries implement a rating system for programs. But larger questions remain: Does viewing
violent programming hurt people as much as critics say it does? More important, why do the mass media
contain so much violence (and sex) in the first place?

In sum, television and other mass media have enriched our lives with entertaining and educational
programming. The media also increase our exposure to diverse cultures and provoke discussion of current
issues. At the same time, the power of the media—especially television—to shape how we think remains
highly controversial.

Finally, our spheres of life beyond family, school, peer group, and the media also play a part in
social learning. For most people in urban areas and global cities, these include religious organizations, the
workplace, the military, and social clubs. As a result, socialization is an uneven process as we absorb
different information from different sources. In the end, socialization is not a simple learning process but a
complete balancing act. In the process of sorting and weighing all the information we encounter, we form
our own distinctive personalities and world views.

Importance of Mass Media

Mass media are important because they reflect and create cultural values and interests. Media
attention to the Senate impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona and ouster of Justice Maria Lourdes
Sereno and China's intrusion to Philippine sea suggests a deep cultural interest in, and value for, human
dignity and territorial area of responsibility. Coverage Of the impeachment trial and ouster and
the diplomatic protest (if there will be) has been tremendous and such interest is also economic. The
money, energy and resources we spend on these events are relevant to our political and economic life. If
the verdict is guilty, then who wins? If China will continue to ignore our diplomatic protest, what's the next
move?

In addition to reflecting selected cultural values and interests, media somewhat suggest one
version of parents who were more teasing and less authoritarian with their children and spouses who
engaged in more physical affection with each other than in previous decades (Tan, 1995).
Media are important from yet another vantage point. McLuhan (1963 cited by Knox, 2006)
emphasized that "The medium is the message." By this he meant that the way in which content is delivered
is, in itself, a message about the culture we live in. For example, the development of motion picture "carried
us from the world of sequence and connections into the world of creative configuration and structure.
We are no longer bound by the natural sequencing of life events; we could make them up the way we
demand about them.

Functions of Mass Media

Knox (1990; 2006), as cited by Abelos (2014), summarized several functions of mass media as
follows:
Warning. A primary function of mass media is the ability to warn of impending danger. Television
meteorologist broadcast sightings of hurricanes, tornadoes, storms and alert listeners and viewers to take
the necessary precautions and provide up-to the minute tracking of the location of bad weather systems.
Without such warning, there is the possibility for tremendous loss of life and property.
The media are also instrumental in warning citizens of other hazards. Media personalities are always
alert to warn the general public of potential dangers of cancer-causing beauty soap (those without FDA
permit), the potential danger of China made children toys, the health risk in taking supplementary drugs,
etc.
Companionship. Television has produced a new category of friend: the media friend. These are people
known to viewers who feel a sense of friendship with the performer, newscaster, and field reporters.
People who seem to be helpless with illness of their children, relatives and themselves go to seek help
from the charity programs of giant television networks. The hosts will then endorse them to several kind
hearted individuals who are willing to offer their services in the name of the foundation. There are many
media personalities who are doing such favor to the needy from sickness to legal advice, love counseling,
job placements and even problems of OFWs.
Status Conferral. A latent function of mass media is to confer status on those individuals who are
given high visibility Unknown individuals can become household names within a few weeks and some will
figure permanently once media attention is given to them. The phenomenal rise of Nora Aunor as singing
sensation and her dramatic entry to the big screen is a classic example. Willie Revillame is now a
millionaire in his own right due to media exposure while battling out with a giant television network on
several cases that even made him popular and marketable to the advertisers. Ordinary people such as taxi
drivers, janitors, waiters, and even scavengers who return money are given such accolades of recognition
due to their good deeds by media.

Agenda Setting. Media also set a cultural agenda for what is important. In the international scene, several
media agenda setting occurred for civil disturbances in Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Syria and Bahrain in 2010
and 2011. The New York twin tower disaster will always be remembered by most Filipinos as several fellow
citizens were part of that tragedy. The tsunami that struck Indonesia and Thailand are important events that
awaken some audience of how nature takes its wrath over humanity in this modern civilization. Likewise,
the Yolanda victims will always be part of Philippine history because of the number of lives lost in that
strongest typhoon that hit the country. The shocking death of Heath Ledger (Broke Back Mountain),
Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and other famous names in Hollywood are considered very important
so people will understand and view life as precious gift from the Creator, Their multitude of fans seems to
ask a mind boggling question why of all people, with their fame and money, yet they took their life using
drugs. This is somewhat a spiritual awakening for some while others fell blessed, even if they don't have
such money and fame they're still happy and contented with what God has given them.
Reality Construction. While agenda setting is concerned with emphasizing what is important, reality
construction focuses on the interpretation and meaning of a media event. Some broadcasters invite people
who are experts in their field when media events are aired. For example, political analysts, sociologists,
psychologists, legal experts, diplomats, and college professors are parts of the debate and arguments and
most of them are sharing their knowledge on a specific topic raised by the newscasters especially after a
winning or losing candidate won and failed in the presidential or senatorial elections. This is usually done
during the exit polls.
The way an event is televised influences how the event is experienced. The use of numerous
cameras makes it possible for a parade to be presented on television in such a way to be different from
the experience of someone actually attending the parade.
Surveillance. Surveillance, another function of the mass media, refers to the collection and distribution of
information both within and outside a society. The evening television news is an overview of the
happenings of the day. News reporters scan the environment for new events and report them in print or
over the airwaves Surveillance may also focus on particular events, such as presidential election
impeachment trial, graduation ceremony of the PMA cadets, or disaster such as earthquake or sea
mishaps.
Socialization and Education. Media also involve socialization or the transmission of social heritage to the
audience. The commentator of the automobile accident at the railroad crossing is providing a socialization
experience in how to view death, governmental agencies, and public responsibility: death is tragic;
preventable death is more tragic; government agencies respond to public pressure; it is appropriate
to put pressure on government agencies; we are our brother's keepers.
 Closely related to socialization function of mass media is education. The major networks and the
government station have made noteworthy contributions to what we know about the world. Aside from
news coverage, television networks air educational programs.
Propaganda. Merton (1986) defined propaganda as "any and all set of symbols which influences opinion,
belief or action on issues regarded by the community as controversial (p. 167). He emphasized that the
term propaganda, in the mind of the public, tends to imply a deceit or fraud. Merton observed that the most
effective Propaganda is not to tell people how to feel, but to provide them with selective facts and allow
then to draw their own conclusions. Facts are easy to understand, have an attention-getting value, and are
easy to spread by word of mouth. However, the availability of the video camera and digital cameras provide
people on each side of an issue the tolls to present the "facts."

Mainstreaming. Mainstreaming refers to a common outlook and set of values that exposure to television
tends to cultivate (Gerbner, 1976). When heavy viewers of television are compared to light viewers, there
trends to be a commonality of outlook among the heavy viewers. Regardless of political orientation, heavy
viewers are more likely to be against homosexuality (especially when they see Rustom Padilla now BB
Gandanghari talking about his sex change and appearing on television screen with a new outlook as
ladylike in contrast to his boy next door image during his heydays as macho actor), abortion and express
concerns and doubts on the sudden change of Manny Pacquiao as being over religious and preachy.

These views are promoted by network executives to dictate cultural values. The network executives are
required by advertisers to promote these values or lose revenues.

Entertainment. The entertainment function of television is the purposeful development of programming for
the sole function of providing entertainment for viewers. Any artistic, cultural, or educational value is
secondary. Emphasizing the entertainment aspect of television, Home Box office (HBO) which is available
thru cable TV has begun a 24hour all comedy channel.
Televising sporting events such as NBA, Olympics, World Soccer is also major entertainment feature
of television. PBA, NCAA, and UAAP and several sports events are being broadcast all year round
including boxing and regional games such as SEA and Asian games.
Advertising. The fundamental economic purpose of mass media is to sell an audience to advertisers who
can induce the audience to buy products. The primary target audience is the "affluent, fairly
well educated, and relatively young. In effect, mass media exist for corporations, which market their product
through the media.
 Because advertisers must induce buying behavior on the part of the media consumer, they sometimes
use doublespeak—ways of expressing ideas that mislead, confuse, deceive and manipulate.
Adults are not the only focus of television advertising. Children represent a mass market to which
advertisers parade their products in a high rating television program. Ice cream brands, juice drinks,
powdered milk are examples trying to lure the children.

MEDIA ETHICS
Professional communicators recognize the value of fundamental standards of ethical behavior. In addition,
media audiences have come to expect certain fundamental ethical standards. Among these are accuracy,
objectivity, balance, accurate representation, and truth.

Accuracy. The bedrock of ethics is accuracy, the reporting of information in context that allows people to
understand and comprehend the truth. For public relations professionals, reporters, and editors, being
accused of inaccuracy is one of the worst charges that can be leveled. However, accuracy is not simple
truth but the reporting of information in a context that allows people to discern the truth.

Objectivity. Objectivity is reporting facts without bias or prejudice, including a deliberate attempt to avoid
interpretation. To be fully unbiased is an admirable but unattainable goal. From births on, society and
familial upbringing subtly influence a person's view of the world. However, journalists who accept
objectivity as a goal need to be aware of their biases and then report and produces an objective a story as
possible.

Fairness and Balance. Fairness and balance means providing equal or nearly equal coverage of various
points of view in a controversy. Fairness and balance often go hand in hand with accuracy and objectivity.
Reporters attempt to investigate the many sides of a story. For example, the RH bill is a much debated
issue since the Catholic Church does not agree with the government stand. If the mass media quote and
run video on active demonstrators on the prochoice and pro-life sides, the complete story remains untold.
Stories need to take into account the range of differing opinions. Often, complexity must be preserved for
journalistic balance to be achieved.
Truth. Although journalists cannot always ensure that their stories are true they can make an extra effort to
be truthful and to avoid lying.

Integrity of Sources. A journalist's story is only as good as his or her sources. In 1981, Janet Cooke, a 26
year old Washington Post reporter, won a Pulitzer Prize for a front page article called "Jimmy's World,"
Jimmy was an eight-year old heroin addict. Soon after receiving the award, Cooke confessed that she has
concocted the story: Jimmy did not exist. She returned the prize and left the Post (Folkerts & Lacy, 2001).

Reporters who become too loyal to sources risk the possibility of being blinded and missing
important cues to stories.
Avoiding Conflict of Interest. Outside business, social and personal activities and contacts can subtly
influence the ability of mass media professionals to conduct objective reporting. This is called conflict of
interest. It might cause, for example, an animal rights activist not to cover comprehensively and fairly a
story on animals and scientific experiments; a city council member might not effectively relate all sides of
a housing bill; or the spouse of a political contender might not write objectively a candidate's platform.
The lack of objectivity these reporters experience originates in a conflict of interest—the conflict between
trying to do one's job effectively, and a belief system that adheres to the moral rightness of a cause or a
desire to promote one’s own interest (Abelos, 2014)

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

 A doctor who practices illegal abortion would be violating a code of ethics. The doctor could lose
the right to practice.
 A lawyer who deliberately misleads a client would be guilty of violating a code of ethics. The
lawyer could be disbarred and kept from practicing law.
 A certified public accountant (CPA) who knowingly signs statement misinterpreting a company’s
financial position would be violating a code of ethics. The CPA could lose the right to practice.
 A journalist who accepts a stolen document and poses as a police investigator to get private
telephone records might be violating a code of ethics. The journalist could win a journalism
award.

The doctor, the lawyer and the accountant all have mandatory codes of ethics, prescribed and enforced
by their professions. Journalism as a profession has been slow to establish a mandatory and enforced
code because of a fear that it might in some way infringe upon freedom of the press guaranteed by the
Constitution.

In other professions, enforcing a code means the profession must have the power to keep people from
practicing unless they have membership or a license to practice. That also means that the profession must
have the power to suspend a license and to keep members from practicing if they violate the code of the
profession. This is mandated by our very own Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).
For some professions, the state or country requires a license to practice. If as a condition of
keeping that license, people may not express certain ideas; that is a form of censorship. Because
journalists are not licensed by states, it is difficult to determine who is a journalist. In fact, the Supreme
Court (in the United States) has said it does not want to define a journalist.

Therefore, government does not keep anyone from practicing journalism, although individual news
organizations have established and enforced codes of ethics that have restricted journalists from practicing
journalism in their organizations. For example, some journalists who have plagiarized have been
suspended or fired from their news organizations.

In the United States, the Society of Professional Journalists do have codes of conduct. Of course,
journalists do not have to belong to such organizations to practice journalism. Half or more newspapers
and television stations now have written code of ethics. Larger news organizations are more likely to have
them.

Critics of journalism code of ethics condemn them either for being hopelessly general and
therefore ineffective or for being teo restrictive. Some argue that strict codes might help improve
journalist's credibility, but others say they merely make journalists an easier target for libel suits.
Your organization may or may not have code of ethics. Either way, you should devise your own ethical
values and principles. Your upbringing, perhaps your religious training and your education, have already
helped you prepare to do that.

Three Ethical Philosophies

Your personal ethics may derive from the way you answer one fundamental question: Does the end justify
the means? Another way of asking that is, should you ever do something that is not good in itself in order to
achieve a goal that is good?

If you answer No to that question, you are in some sense at least an absolutist or a legalist. You
would then most likely subscribe to deontological ethics. If your answer yes to that question, you are more
of a relativist and would subscribe to teleological ethics. If you answer maybe or sometimes, you would
subscribe to a form of situation ethics.
Conrad C. Fink, professor of media ethics has this to say: "Ethics is a system of principles, a
morality or code of conduct. It is the values and rules of life recognized by an individual, group or culture
seeking guidelines to human conduct and what is good or bad, right or wrong (p. 217)."

The following are the philosophical jargons relative to the understanding of the principles cited.

Deontological Ethics

Deontology is the ethics of duty. According to this philosophy, it is the person's duty to do what is right.
Some actions are always right; some are always wrong. There exists in nature (or for those with religious
faith, in divine revelation) fixed set of principles or laws, from which there should be no deviation. The end
never justifies the means. That is why refer to this kind of ethical philosophy as absolutism or legalism
(Brooks et al.,1999)
If it is wrong to lie, it is always wrong to lie. If a murderer comes to your door and asks where your
roommates are so that he or she could murder them, if you Were an absolutist, you would not lie to save
their lives. It doesn't matter that your friends might be killed. The consequences are irrelevant.
An absolutist or legalist has one clear duty—to discover the rules and to follow them. An absolutist or
legalist ethical philosophy could spawn a conscientious objector who not only would refuse to take arms
but who would also refuse even to go to war as a medic. If wear is absolutely wrong, it is absolutely
wrong to participate in war in any way (Brooks, et al., 1999).
One such absolutist was Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). Kant proposed the categorical imperative that
states that you should do only those things that you would be willing to have everyone follow as a
universal law. Once you make that decision, you regard it as "categorical" and without exception, and it
is imperative that you do it (Brooks, 1999).
Many people draw support for their absolutism or legalism from their religious beliefs. They will cite the
Bible or the Koran or some other book they believe to be divinely inspired. If they themselves cannot find
the answer, they will turn to their minister, priest, rabbi or guru for the answer to their ethical dilemma. The
absolutist is concerned not only wit, doing the right thing, and one need only t' discover what that is.

The absolutist journalist is concerned only with whether an event is newsworthy If it is interesting, timely,
significant or important, it is to be reported, regardless of the consequences. The duty of the journalist is to
report the news, period. American broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite (19162009) once said that if
journalists worried about what all the possible consequences could be for reporting something, they would
never report anything (Brooks, et al., 1999).
The deontological philosophy is attractive to many journalists because it assumes the need for full
disclosure. Nothing newsworthy is withheld from the public. In the end, these journalists believe that
publishing without fear for the consequences or without favor for one group's interest over another's is the
highest ethical principle. Journalists are unethical only when they withhold the news.

Teleological Ethics. Teleological ethics holds that what makes an act ethical is not the act itself but the
consequences of the act. The end can and often does justify the means. This philosophy makes ethics
more relativistic than absolutist or legalistic.
For example, stealing may not always wrong. In some cases, it may be virtuous. A mother who steals food
for her starving child would be performing a good act. A person who lies to save someone's life would be
acting ethically. A person who kills to protect his or her own life is acting morally.

What is involved in teleological ethics is the intention of the person performing the act. What some people
would proclaim as unethical, some would do for a good purpose or a good reason. Police often work
undercover. They conceal their identity as police officers in order to apprehend criminals. If in that process
they must lie or even get involved in some criminal activity, so be it. Their purpose is to protect the public;
their intention is to work for the good of society.

Some journalists would not hesitate to do the same. Some would require some conditions be in place
before they will steal or to use deceit, but they would do it nonetheless. Their purpose is to be the
watchdog of government, to protect the common good, to keep the public fully informed. What they must
do to accomplish these goals, they argue, is clearly ethical.

The extreme form of the end justifying the means was best expressed by the 15 th-century Italian
philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). In the 20th century, American philosopher John Dewey
(1859-1952), reflected this philosophy with his pragmatism—whatever works is ethical.
This pragmatism often applies to business in general and to the business of journalism. If a story about a
local grocery brings threats of withdrawing advertising, some editors will refrain from publishing the story. If
a favorable story brings more advertising money, they will publish story. They'll generally do whatever
works.
Situation Ethics. When asked whether the end justifies the means, persons subscribing to situation ethics
would reply that it all depends.
Complete relativists, or antinomians, hold that there are no laws and only one operative principle. That
principle is that every person and every ethical situation is unique, and to solve an ethical dilemma by
applying principles held by others or principles that apply in other cases is unethical. The only way to be
ethical is to view each situation as unique and to solve the ethical problem entirely on its own merits.
This position does not mean that antinomians have no ethics. It does not mean that they would always lie
or cheat or steal. An antinomian journalist would not hesitate in some instances to pose as someone other
than a journalist in an attempt to gather information. In other cases, the antinomian would not. It depends
entirely on the situation because no two situations are alike (Brooks et al., 1999).

John Merrill's Deontelics. Other relativists are not as extreme. Some ethicists shy away from absolutism
and say that one must consider both the act and the consequences of the act. Journalist scholar and
ethicist John Merrill calls such ethics as deontelics—a word he coined combining deontological and
teleological ethics. To act responsibly, journalist must consider more than just the ethics of the act and be
aware that some acts are of their very natu unethical.
For example, telling the truth is paramount for a journalist. Lying is by nature is unethical—in most cases
According to deontolic theory, there may be a rare time when lying is justifiable for good purpose. For
example, an investigative reporter might justify lying about his or her identity as a journalist as the only Way
to information for an important story.

Love of Neighbor. Joseph Fletcher author of Situation Ethics based his philosophy on love
of neighbor as articulated in the Golden Rule and the maxim, "You shall love your neighbors as yourself."
He presents his ethics from a Christian perspective with roots in Judaic teaching, but one need not to
profess Christianity to share the conviction that all principles are relative to one absolute— love of neighbor.
Indeed, many religions, as well as secular humanisms, hold human values as the highest good.
In the broad sense, then, followers of Fletcher's form of situation ethics place people first. In every
ethical dilemma, they always do what is best for people. Sometimes they must choose between love for
one person and love for a larger community of people.

RELIGION AND THE MASS MEDIA

Despite popular beliefs that thi relationship between religion and thf mass media is something
unique and new it is actually as old as the mass media; il began five centuries ago, when Johannes
Gutenberg began mass printings the Bible, Likewise, the "electronic church" did not begin
with Jim and Tammy Bakker's Praise the Lord (P TL) ministry but with the first radio broadcast of a human
voice in 1906, a Christmas service that included the singing of "O Holy Night" (Martin, 1988). Today,
religious organizations reach across the globe to influence hundreds of millions of viewers. As of 2015, in
the United States alone, there were more than 1,738 religious radio stations, 379 religious television
stations; 6,800 evangelical Christian bookstores, with annual retail sales of 5.6 billion dollars; and countless
suppliers of specialized religious tracts, magazines, audiotapes, videotapes, and films (Jacquet & Jones,
2015). Since the 1960s, the more aggressive and entrepreneurial "evangelicals have gained a virtual
monopoly," purchasing over 90 percent of all broadcast time devoted to religion (Martin, 1988, p. 63).

According to Wuthnow (1988), when religion is beamed into living rooms around the world from "sleek,
high-technology studious via satellite hookups," it becomes the source of multiple paradoxes. For one
thing, while many 'televangelists" condemn modernization; they are the most high-tech and "modern" of all
Christian groups. Likewise, the "hot-rhetoric" of the tent preacher has given way to the "cool demeanor" of
the talk-show host in order to appeal a mass audience (Wuthnow, 1988). As David Diekema (1991)
observed, the absence of personal presence and other effects of a televised ministry transform what
appears to be a charismatic relationship between minister and congregation into a "pseudo-charismatic"
one.
The paradoxes do not end here. By exposing the public to an enormous variety of religious "truths," media
religion reinforces religious privatization and the general consumerist trend in religion, and religion comes
to be seen as one of many private, leisure-time activities" (Wuthnow, 19SS). At the same time, however,
religious television. and religious leaders like Pat Roberstson proved in the 1980s and 1990s that they
have the power to transform private morality into public issues and exert considerable influence on the
political system (IVuthnow, 1990; Hadden, 1990).
To survive in a highly competitive market place, religious television must inevitably accommodate its
message to the middle class and to a general audience (Moore, 1994). By the mid-1980s, in the United
States, most major television ministries had an annual budget of 20 million dollars. At the same time,
however, televangelist cannot alienate their core constituency, which consists of approximately 13 million
people (6 percent of the national television audience) who are, for the most part, poor, elderly, and
disadvantaged (Thompson and Hickey, 2006).
This social composite bears a striking resemblance to the demographic portrait of the 50 to 80 million
evangelical Christians in the United States (Martin, 1988; Diekema, 1991). Many of them exist at the
margins of the mainstream but, thanks to television, are fully aware of both the material benefits and
spiritual perils of the modern age. The Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart sex scandals in the late 1980s
caused temporary decline in both number of viewers and contributions to most religious television
ministries. Few sociologists would be willing to predict the outcomes of these and other televangelist
scandals, but most would agree that as long as some individuals and religious groups share only the costs
and few of the benefits of modernization, televangelists will have little difficulty mobilizing conservative
Christians to resist the secular challenge (Hadden, 1990).
WEEK 14: THE GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGIONS

At the end of the chapter, the students should be able to:

1. Define religion;
2. Explain the idea of rituals and magic;
3. Identify the varieties of religion;
4. Explain the social organization of religion;
5. Explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs; and
6. Analyze the relationship between religion and global conflict, and conversely, global peace.

RELIGION is perhaps the most difficult subject to study from an objective point of view. Some people
are deeply committed to their own religious beliefs and are not interested in examining alternative view that
they believe are “weird” threatening, or utterly ridiculous. Others do not believe in super natural beings and
are skeptical of sociology’s concern with matters that appear to be beyond the realm of science. What is
important to sociologist is not whether the supernatural exists; the phenomenon of interest is that when
people define supernatural beings and forces as real, “they become real in their consequences.” As
Meredith Mc.Guire (1992) observed, when religion is shared with others, it can be “one of the most
powerful, deeply felt, and influential forces in society.

Through enough, in an age when science explains so much about the workings of our world, why do
people in virtually all societies continue to believe in supernatural beings and forces? Is religion declining in
importance in contemporary societies, or is it becoming an even more potent force?

DEFINING RELIGION

On the surface, religious institutions seem to have little in common worldwide. Early in his career,
pioneer French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1856-1917) sorted through this maze of religious beliefs and
practices, exploring historical and cross-cultural examples and searching for something common to them
all. His findings provide the basis of our definition of religion as a system of socially shared symbols,
beliefs, and rituals that is directed toward a sacred, supernatural realm and addresses the ultimate meaning
of human existence.
 According to Durkheim, religion pertains to the sacred-uncommon and extraordinary aspects of
social life that inspire in a community of believers feelings of awe, reverence, and respect. He contrasted
this with the profane-ordinary, commonly understood, and routine activities that people take for granted as
they go about their daily lives.

Durkheim emphasized that an object, person, place, or event is not inherently sacred. Rather,
sacredness is bestowed by a community of believers, and consequently, what is sacred to one group may
be profane to another. For example, the countries of the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and most
Europe countries, including the Philippines, most people think of dairy cows in purely practical terms, and
most farmers do not hesitate to send cows to a slaughterhouse when their milk production declines. But
cows are sacred in Hindu theology. In India, , not only may cows not be eaten, but government agencies
maintain bovine rest homes so that decrepit and infirm cows may spend their golden years in a manner
befitting their status (Harris, 1974 cited by Thompson and Hickey, 2006).

Because the supernatural is beyond our sensory world, religions also include religious symbols that
represent the sacred. Symbols include icons (holy pictures, status, masks, and relics), sacred words,
places, foods, clothing, and other earthly goods that assist people in making contact with the supernatural
real. All religions also include beliefs that guide people’s perceptions and thinking about the natural and
supernatural domains and serve as plans for action (McGuire,1992).

As belief and myth express the sacred order in words and images, ritual dramatizes them in
performance. Rituals are formal, stylized enactments of beliefs; religious rituals detach people from the
ordinary and focus their attention on the sacred. Prayers, chants, dances, fasting and sacrifice are but a
few of the ritual expressions that enable people to make contact with the sacred and experience a deeper,
more profoundly reality. Religious rituals may be brief and private or may involve great collective
celebrations, such as seasonal festivals or yearly tradition like the one being done by devotees of the Black
Nazarene in Quiapo Church, Manila. Virtually all societies also conduct rites of passage at birth, puberty,
marriage, and death-events that effect a permanent change in a person’s position on society (Paden,
1998).

Whereas religious rituals are future-oriented group activities, magical rituals typically are individual
acts with short-term objectives (Johnstone, 1992). Moreover, rather than asking the supernatural to act on
one’s behalf, as in prayer and sacrifice, magic is a ritual attempt to compel supernatural beings of forces to
influence events in the natural world. In preliterate societies where much of life is uncertain, magical rituals
and charms are used to minimize the risk of crop failure, sterility, sickness and death. In contemporary
industrial societies, magic operates mostly at the margins of science and religion- or as a supplement to
both. For example, professional field goal kickers not only practice their skills according to scientific
technologies but often wear lucky charms and repeat magical rituals that they believe brought success in
previous attempts (Thompson and Hickey, 2006).

Another important difference distinguishes religion and magic. Whereas magical rituals are
commonly employed to deal with current and specific problems, such as producing rain during a drought or
hitting a home run, religion “deals with what can be termed problems of ultimate meaning” (Chalfant, 1994).

Why do we exist, and why do some people are suffering injustice? Is death final or merely a
transition to another kind of existence? Virtually every religion deals with questions of ultimate meaning and
provides answers for vital human concerns that have no answers in the natural world. American sociologist
William Bainridge (1995) believe that religious groups and organizations owe their existence to the fact that
in all societies, substantial proportions of any population have far less of some rewards than they would
like- and some intensely desired rewards, such as immortality, do not appear to be available at all.

In response to these universal conditions, people everywhere create religious organizations in a

global scale to provide themselves with compensators, which are “beliefs that a reward will be obtained in
the distant future or in some other context that cannot be immediately verified” (Stark and Bainridge, 1995).
Most religious also provide what sociologists called theodicies, which are emotionally satisfying
explanations for meaning- threatening experiences; for example, soldiers “martyred” in combat may be
promised a direct route to heaven (McGuire, 1992).

Varieties of Religion
Religious belief systems can be categorized into four ideal types: animatism, animism, theism, and
ethical religions based on abstract ideals.

Animatism. Animatism is a system of beliefs in which supernatural forces rather than beings (gods or
spirits) are the dominant power in the universe. Beliefs in impersonal supernatural forces are found
primarily in small—scale preliterate societies, such as traditional Polynesian and Melanesian societies in
the Pacific, which believed in a diffused and impersonal force called mana that lent supernatural power to
events, objects, places, and people. Although few people think about it, animatism is very much in
evidence in contemporary industrial societies. Rabbits' feet and pyramidal and crystal objects are a few of
its modern expressions, and similar beliefs in manlike powers can be found in many social arenas. Can the
presence of four live rabbits end a baseball team's losing streak? In 1991, the Milwaukee Brewers thought
so—and with the rabbits, the team began an extended winning streak (Thompson and Hickey, 2006).
Animism. Animism is the belief that spirit beings inhabit the same world as humans, but on another plane of
existence. Animistic religions are common in preindustrial societies that see humans as a part of the natural
world rather than superior to it. Spirits include ghosts, souls of the dead, animal spirits, guardian angel,
ancestral spirits, fairies, and evil demons. Many people believe that spirits have the ability to cross over
occasionally into the world of the living and that many have the power to cause good and evil—and so find
it necessary to placate spirits or conduct rituals in their honor. Animistic beliefs are popular in modern
industrial societies as well. Roman Catholics and other religious groups appeal to guardian angels and
conduct rituals to exorcise demons. In many parts of the world, people also employ spirit mediums to help
them contact the dead and other spiritual beings.

Theism. Theism is a belief in one or more supreme beings or gods who, because of their power and
influence in human affairs, are deserving of worship. Cross culturally, the most common form of theism is
polytheism, in which people worship numerous gods whom they recognize as having varying degrees of
power. Quite a few societies however—especially complex, stratified ones—recognize a high god or
ultimate principle that has greater power than the others. Hinduism, which is the third largest religion in
the world with around 1.1 billion adherents (See Figure 8.1), is a good example.
The three largest and most influential monotheistic religions—religions that acknowledge the
existence of single, supreme God—are Judaism, Christianity, this and Islam. For Jews and Christians,
fundamental belief is expressed in the First "I am Commandment, which prescribes, the Lord they God...
Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:1-3).
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share many common elements in their religious beliefs and rituals,
and over the years they have greatly influenced one another. All three arose in the Middle East, Judaism
appeared first, about 3,500 years ago. Christianity, which began as a sect of Judaism, appeared next,
some 1,500 years later. Islam was founded by the prophet Mohammed, who lived in the Arabian
Peninsula in the late sixth and early seventh centuries. Due to active recruitment or proselytizing of new
members by Christianity and Islam, monotheism has spread to the remote corners of the globe— they
became global religions and today half of the world's population—more than 2.7 billion people—is either
Christian or Muslim

Ethical Religions. Ethical religions are concerned with philosophical ideals that emphasize contemplation
and proper thoughts and actions as the way to achieve enlightenment and find peace and harmony in this
world. The ethical religions of the Far East include Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Buddhism, the
fourth largest religion in the world, is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama— the future Buddha—
who was born a Hindu Pence in 563 B.C. in what is now Nepal. In his journey of spiritual discovery, he
found that the self and all earthly existence are illusions and that self-discipline, meditation, and a moral
and virtuous life are the true paths to understanding and happiness (Cavendish, 1990).
Both Lao-tzu, the founder of Taoism, and K'ung Fu-tzu or Confucius, were contemporaries of the Buddha,
and both taught that meditation and selfness were paths to spiritual enlightenment. In Taoism, spiritual
wisdom is attained by relinquishing all desire and withdrawing from the world. In Confucianism, by contrast,
spiritual wisdom is gained by active involvement in worldly affairs. In addition, special emphasis is placed
on duty and piety—especially loyalty and devotion to one's parents, elders, ancestors, and all
other authority figures. This principle did not escape the notice of Chinese officials, who gradually
incorporated into the official state religion. Even today, after a half century of Communist rule,
Confucianism remains very much a part of the Chinese worldview (Cavendish, 1990; Carmody and
Carmody, 1984).

SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS OF RELIGION

The idea of religious visionaries can capture the public imagination and inspire change, even social
revolution. But in the long run, the relative influence of any religion depends on religious communities that
are organized to promote religious ideals and objectives. Sociologists classify religious organizations into
four ideal types—ecclesia, denomination, sect, and cult—on the basis of organizational features, the extent
to which the group's norms and values resemble those of the larger society. and whether group claim to be
uniquely legitimate or accepts legitimacy claims of other faiths (Stark Bainbridge, 1995),

Ecclesia
The ecclesia is a large, formally organized religious body that include most members of a society
and is supported by and closely allied with secular and state powers. In some societies, the ecclesia may
become so powerful and well integrated into society that it is designated the official state religion. With the
aid of the state, it attempts to maintain its religious monopoly by ignoring, suppressing, or co-opting
competing groups (Challant, 1994; McGuire, 1992; Johnstone, 1992). Ecclesiae were fairly common in the
past—for example, prior to the Protestant Reformation, The Catholic Church was an ecclesia. The Islamic
Republic of Iran is also an ecclesia because religious officials maintain that sacred and secular church and
state, are virtually one and the same.

Denomination or Church
The denomination is one of a number of established, socially accepted religious organizations that
maintain tolerant relations with other denominations in the context of religious pluralism (Johnstone, 1992).
In the United States the denomination is the most common type of religious organization. Hundreds of
denominations have enierged in disputes with previously established, either denominations or through
"sectionalism immigration, and revival" (Wuthnow 1998). Because denomination tend to be large
bureaucratic structures with considerable wealth and power and their members often play prominent roles
in a secular society, church and state interests are often closely intertwined. This is especially true of
"mainstream churches" which identify with and contribute to the definition of society's core values (just like
America and UK) and are considered by most members of society to be "legitimate faiths" (Roof and
McKinney, 1997). Early in American history, Episcopalian (Anglican), Methodist, Presbyterian, and
Congregational denominations were considered by most people to be mainstream churches. Today, that
label has been expanded to include many other religious organizations that originally emerged as sects.
Sect
A sect is a small, less formally organized group that usually has separated from a denomination and
is in a negative tension with the larger society. Sects often emerge through protests and challenges to other
churches (and sects) when sect members claim that the group has strayed from the original version of the
faith and, by accommodating secular society, has grown decadent and corrupt. As Stark and Bainbridge
(1985) wrote, sects see themselves not as "new" but as "true faiths. Unlike ecclesiae and denominations,
whose members are born into the faith, sects usually contain members who have voluntarily joined the
religious organization because of their commitment to charismatic leaders or because they prefer the
spontaneity of worship and intimacy of smaller sect organizations.

Because they tend to be intolerant and claim to have a total monopoly on religious truth, sects often
encounter hostility and persecution from secular and religious authorities. Sect fervor burns hot—but often it
cannot be sustained beyond one generation or so, when the original leadership and highly committed
followers begin to be replaced by those born into the faith, who are more willing to compromise with the rest
of the world. Moreover, to realize the visions of their leaders, many sects create formal structures, leading
to what Max Weber (1922; 1962 as cited by Thompson and Hickey, 2006) termed the routinization" of
charisma, "a process whereby the dynamism of leadership is transformed into formal rules and procedures.
After a period of protest, many sects give up their claims to exclusive legitimacy and become socially
acceptable, and in so doing they become denominations. If they accept the legitimacy of other groups but
maintain a negative relationship with society, however, they may become cults (O'Dea and O'Dea, 1983;
McGuire, 1992).

New Religious Movement (Cult)

A new religious movement (cult) is a loosely organized and transient religious Organization that
includes religious beliefs and practices that are considered novel and at odds with a society's religious
traditions.

If sects look back to a time of spiritual perfection, new religious movements gaze into the future, either
by borrowing symbols and rituals from distant cultures or by offering such a radical transformation of extant
religious symbols and traditions that they appear alien to most members of society. New religious
movements are critical of society and consequently are viewed negatively by outsiders. But unlike sects,
which protest and challenge other religious groups and society, new religious movements, with their
shocking and outrageous" spiritual visions, are usually on the receiving end of hostility from both
established religious groups and secular authorities. Historically, new religious movements have been most
attractive to the poor and underprivileged. In the 20 th century, many members of the middle and upper
middle classes who have become disenchanted with abstract religious doctrines and sterile rituals also
have found new religious movements appealing (Robbins and Dick, 1988; Chalfant, 1994).

New religious movements tend to be small, informal, and highly unstable. They often form around
charismatic leaders, but their followers usually have low levels of commitment to any one group and come
and go "where the spirit moves them," sampling new movements and their ideas. Some new religious
movements have been able to stabilize and persist. For example, a century and a half after the Fox sisters
first contacted, Mr. Splitfoot, spiritualism remains a cult: hundreds of mediums make contact with the spirit
world with little organizational control or authorit: (McGuire, 1992). More commonly, thougi religious
rnovements disappear after death of their leaders or they become sects or churches as their exotic
religious beliefs become doctrines and they develop formal organizations with established systems o
authority.

RELIGION AND SOCIETY

Religion and Functionalism
Many early scientists saw religion as little more than bodies of superstition that impeded social progress.
Emile Durkheim (as cited by Thompson and Hickey, 2006), however, argued that religious institutions
were not useless remnants of the past but rather necessities that performed many vital social functions.
Durkheim was fully aware that the modern world was becoming more secular and individualistic, but he
believed that the functions that religion served were so important that all societies needed either religion
or some secular version of its basic elements (Turner, et al., 1989).
Like many other social scientists at the turn of the 20th century, Durkheim thought that he could discover
the essence of religion. After reviewing many, he decided that totemism, the worship of mythical clan
ancestors, which was practiced by Australian Aborigines and other preindustrial peoples, represented
religion its simplest and most elementary form. Durkheirn reasoned that the very idea of the sacred was
derived from the intense feelings of reverence and awe that people experienced during collective totemic
rituals, when they witnessed and felt the extraordinary power of the group.
Durkheim also identified the various functions that religion served in these and many other
societies. They are as follows (Durkheim Functionalist View):
1. Religion can promote social solidarity through common symbols, beliefs, norms, and
collective rituals.

2. It may also provide individuals and groups with emotional comfort and support, morale
and motivation, and a sense of individual and group identity.

3. All . societies through religion require collectively held sentiments and rituals for their
cohesion an survival.

The Changing Nature of Religion

The information revolution in general, and the Internet in particular, are having enormous effects on our
economic, social, and political lives. How will information technology affect our religious life? While it is too
early to answer this question definitively, we are already seeing a rapidly growing number of religious
organizations posting their own website and chat rooms. It is now possible to spread your own religious
ideas cheaply, instantaneously, and all over the world. In much the same way that radio and television
extended the reach of religious ideas, the Internet is accelerating the notion of religion no longer being
confined to the walls of a church. Are we headed for a new type of "churchless religion" in which cyber-
churches and virtual congregation replace the face-to-face interaction found in traditional and churches',
mosques, synagogues, temples?

Religion is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews,
texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural,
transcendental, and spiritual elements;however, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely
constitutes a religion.

Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith, a
supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide
norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or
veneration (of deities and/or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services,
matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human
culture. Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and
symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories,
which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that may also attempt to explain the origin of life, the
universe, and other phenomena. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has been considered a source of
religious beliefs.