GE 3/The Contemporary World |1

ST. PETER’S COLLEGE OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL, INC.

15th de Septiembre St., Brgy. 2, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT
SCHOOL YEAR 2021-2022

I. INTRODUCTION

DEFINITION OF GLOBALIZATION

Globalization is a term used to describe the changes in societies and the

world economy that are the result of dramatically increased trade and cultural
exchange. In specifically economic contexts, it refers almost exclusively to the
effects of trade, particularly trade liberalization or "free trade".
It is a common belief that globalization plays a role just at international
levels of trade and commerce, but the fact is that it has played an important
role in making our lives much more comfortable too. The phones, apparels,
gadgets or accessories that we use in our day-to-day life are be available to us
through globalization. Knowingly or unknowingly, we are all under the impact
of globalization, and more importantly it has helped in bringing international
peace and justice to mankind.

NATURES OF GLOBALIZATION

Liberalization: It stands for the freedom of the entrepreneurs to establish any

industry or trade or business venture, within their own countries or abroad.
Free trade: It stands for free flow of trade relations among all the nations.
Each state grants MFN (most favored nation) status to other states and keeps
its business and trade away from excessive and hard regulatory and protective
regimes.
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Globalization of Economic Activity: Economic activities are be governed both

by the domestic market and also the world market. It stands for the process of
integrating the domestic economy with world economies.
Liberalization of Import-Export System: It stands for liberating the import-
export activity and securing a free flow of goods and services across borders.
Privatization: Keeping the state away from ownership of means of production
and distribution and letting the free flow of industrial, trade and economic
activity across borders.
Increased Collaborations: Encouraging the process of collaborations among
the entrepreneurs with a view to secure rapid modernization, development and
technological advancement.
Economic Reforms: Encouraging fiscal and financial reforms with a view to
give strength to free world trade, free enterprise, and market forces.
Globalization accepts and advocates the value of free world trade, freedom of
access to world markets and a free flow of investments across borders. It
stands for integration and democratization of the world’s culture, economy and
infrastructure through global investments.

GLOBALIZATION can mean:

The formation of a global village - closer contact between different parts of

the world, with increasing possibilities of personal exchange, mutual
understanding and friendship between "world citizens",
Economic globalization - "free trade" and increasing relations among
members of an industry in different parts of the world (globalization of an
industry), with a corresponding erosion of National Sovereignty in the economic
sphere.

SIGNS OF GLOBALIZATION
1. Increase in international trade at a faster rate than the growth in the
world economy.
2. Increase in international flow of capital including foreign direct
investment.
3. Greater trans-border data flow, using such technologies such as the
Internet, communication satellites and telephones
4. Greater international cultural exchange, for example through the export
of Hollywood and Bollywood movies.
5. Some argue that even terrorism has undergone globalization. Terrorists
now have attacked places all over the world.
6. Spreading of multiculturalism and better individual access to cultural
diversity, with on the other hand, some reduction in diversity through
assimilation, hybridization, Westernization, Americanization or
Sinosization of cultures.
7. Erosion of national sovereignty and national borders through
international agreements leading to organizations like the WTO and
OPEC.
8. Greater international travel and tourism.
9. Greater immigration, including illegal immigration.
10. Development of global telecommunications infrastructure.
11. Development of a global financial systems.
12. Increase in the share of the world economy controlled by
multinational corporations.
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13. Increased role of international organizations such as WTO, WIPO,

IMF that deal with international transactions.
14. Increase in the number of standards applied globally; e.g.
copyright laws.

Anti-Globalization
 Many anti-globalism activists see globalization as the promotion of a
Corporatist agenda, which is intent on constricting the freedoms of
individuals in the name of profit. They also claim that increasing
autonomy and strength of corporate entities increasingly shape the
political policy of nation-states.
 Globalization imposes credit-based economics, resulting in
unsustainable growth of debt and debt crises.

Pro-Globalization
 Supporters of free trade point out that economic theories such as
comparative advantage suggests that free trade leads to a more efficient
allocation of resources, with all those involved in the trade benefitting. In
general, they claim that this leads to lower prices, more employment and
better allocation of resources.

GLOBALIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The country is taking part in the process of globalization ever since the
country signed agreements with World Trade Organization in 1995.
Now, globalization is very effective in the Philippines, it has allowed
major changes in the nation like more labor, and more Filipino and foreign
companies has emerged in the nation in order to help the country’s developing
economy.
Globalization can make the Philippines into a better nation if the Philippine
leaders to make their economy more advance through global trading and
allowing more foreign investors to the help boost the economy. And by
accomplishing those goals, the Philippines should be able to reduce the poverty
level as well as increase labor force for job opportunities for those that are in
need for a living. However, since the poverty level is still increasing, most
Filipinos has managed to find work overseas and they have managed to seek
better living than in the Philippines. The most effective factor in the
Philippines is education. The society’s mentality is to be educated and it’s with
education that people in the nation see their opportunity for a better life in the
future.

ADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION

Peaceful Relations - Most of the countries have resorted to trade relations

with each other in order to boost their economy, leaving behind any bitter past
experiences if any.
Employment - Considered as one of the most crucial advantages, globalization
has led to the generation of numerous employment opportunities. Companies
are moving towards the developing countries to acquire labor force.
Education - A very critical advantage that has aided the population is the
spread of education. With numerous educational institutions around the globe,
one can move out from the home country for better opportunities elsewhere.
Product Quality - The product quality has been enhanced so as to retain the
customers. Today the customers may compromise with the price range but not
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with the quality of the product. Low or poor quality can adversely affect
consumer satisfaction.
Cheaper Prices - Globalization has brought in fierce competition in the
markets.
Communication - Every single information is easily accessible from almost
every corner of the world Circulation of information is no longer a tedious task,
and can happen in seconds. The Internet has significantly affected the global
economy, thereby providing direct access to information and products.
Transportation - Considered as the wheel of every business organization,
connectivity to various parts of the world is no more a serious problem. Today
with various modes of transportation available, one can conveniently deliver
the products to a customer located at any part of the world.
GDP Increase - Gross Domestic Product, commonly known as GDP, is the
money value of the final goods and services produced within the domestic
territory of the country during an accounting year.
Free Trade - Free trade is a policy in which a country does not levy taxes,
duties, subsidies or quota on the import/export of goods or services from other
countries. There are countries which have resolved to free trade in specific
regions. This allows consumers to buy goods and services, comparatively at a
lower cost.
Travel and Tourism - Globalization has promoted tourism to great heights.
International trade among different countries also helps in increasing the
number of tourists that visit different places around the world.
External Borrowing - With the help of globalization, there is opportunity for
corporate, national, and sub-national borrowers to have better access to
external finance, with facilities such as external commercial borrowing and
syndicated loans.

DISADVANTAGES OF GLOBALIZATION

Health Issues. Globalization has given rise to more health risks and presents
new threats and challenges for epidemics. The dawn of HIV/AIDS. Having its
origin in the wilderness of Africa, the virus has spread like wildfire throughout
the globe in no time. Food items are also transported to various countries, and
this is a matter of concern, especially in case of perishable items.
Loss of Culture. With large number of people moving into and out of a
country, the culture takes a backseat. People may adapt to the culture of the
resident country. They tend to follow the foreign culture more, forgetting their
own roots. This can give rise to cultural conflicts.
Uneven Wealth Distribution. It is said that the rich are getting richer while
the poor are getting poorer. In the real sense, globalization has not been able to
reduce poverty.
Environment Degradation. The industrial revolution has changed the outlook
of the economy. Industries are using natural resources by means of mining,
drilling, etc. which puts a burden on the environment.
Disparity. Though globalization has opened new avenues like wider markets
and employment, there still exists a disparity in the development of the
economies. Structural unemployment owes to the disparity created. Developed
countries are moving their factories to foreign countries where labor is cheaply
available.
Conflicts. It has given rise to terrorism and other forms of violence. Such acts
not only cause loss of human life but also huge economic losses.
Cut-throat Competition. Opening the doors of international trade has given
birth to intense competition. This has affected the local markets dramatically.
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The local players thereby suffer huge losses as they lack the potential to
advertise or export their products on a large scale. Therefore, the domestic
markets shrink.

Globalization can be:

1. Cultural
2. Economic
3. Political
4. Social
5. Industrial
6. Technological
7. Ecological
8. Geographical

Cultural globalization - is the transmission of ideas, meanings, and values

around the world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations. This
process is marked by the common consumption of cultures that have been
diffused by the Internet, popular culture media, and international travel.
Economic globalization - refers to the increasing interdependence of world
economies as a result of growing scale of cross-border trade of commodities
and services, flow of international capital and wide and rapid spread of
technologies (Shangquan, 2000).
Industrial Globalization. Every country in the world is moving towards
specialization. Specialization may be referred to as the phenomenon of
producing only that product in which the country has competitive advantage in
terms of cost. For example, Singapore specializes in pharmaceutical while the
US specializes in military equipment.
Therefore, the countries exchange their industrial products, which is known as
trade, and fulfill the requirements of their people. Every country of the world
today is involved in trade and is depended on some other country one way or
the other. The US is the biggest economy in the world and even that is
depended on other countries for many of its needs. Hence the industries of the
world today are considered to be working not for their native countries but for
the world as a whole.
Financial Globalization. It may be defined as the emergence of worldwide
financial markets and better access to external financing for corporate,
national and sub-national borrowers. Some projects in the Philippines were
sponsored by foreign investors. They may be in the form of international
organizations or independent investors.
The IMF and the World Bank today give funds to various countries for
developmental projects. We may say, that today the financial markets of the
world have untied in such a way that finances are easily available throughout
the world.
Informational Globalization
This aspect of Globalization has perhaps had the greatest impact on the world
today. Sitting at one end of the world, you can have access to the information
available in any other part of the world with just the push of a button. Internet,
television, telephone, fax, etc. are some of the inventions that may be
considered as a part of the informational Globalization process where the
information flow has dramatically increased between geographically remote
areas of the world.
Social globalization - refers to the sharing of ideas and information between
and through different countries.
In today’s world, the Internet and social media is at the heart of this. Good
examples of social globalization could include internationally popular films,
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books and TV series. The Harry Potter/ Twilight films and books have been
successful all over the world, making the characters featured globally
recognizable. However, this cultural flow tends to flow from the center (i.e. from
developed countries such as the USA to less developed countries). Social
globalization is often criticized for eroding cultural differences.
Ecological globalization. The effects of globalization in the ecology are still not
completely identified, though some studies suggest that the process of
globalization has many consequences in our ecology.
Globalization and the Politics. Through globalization, political issues such as
the rights of women and children are now currently discussed, many laws are
now already implemented regarding the issues on the rights of women and
children.
Globalization with technology. Technology really plays a huge part in the life
of every individual. Also, through the advancement of technology we can now
already communicate with others despite the distance that separate us. And
through our technology today, the process of globalization is now taking place
much faster.
Geographical. Globalization is moving towards the trend of a borderless world.
We can now explore different countries without having any dangers.

QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GLOBALIZATION

Creation and Multiplication - involves creation of new and multiplication of

existing social networks and cultural activities thus, breaking the traditional
norms and practices in the political, economic, and cultural realms of most
communities.

Expansion and Stretching - globalization is very evident in the expansion and

stretching of social operations and connections, on how the financial markets
and trading operate around the globe like the (WTO) World Trade Organization,
ASEAN Economic Community, World Economic Forum and European Union
brought to the expansion of local economies through opening their economies
to the other parts of the world.
Consciousness and Awareness - globalization involves the human
consciousness and awareness. People, as the primary actors of globalization
are the frontliners as reflected in their experiences. The human consciousness
is critical on how they impact the growing outcomes and markers of
globalization. Their daily actions such as global interdependence provide large-
scale implications to the norms and practices of the borderless world.

GLOBALIZATION OR WESTERNIZATION?

For westerners’ conception on the term globalization, scholars attributed

it as part of the growing imperialist mechanism of American and Western
powers, which they considered as the building blocks of technological and
economic innovations.
Such phases of developments were interpreted as “westernization” in
which they strongly linked the global events to the American imperialism.
The idea of Westernization is deeply rooted in the Western World where often
associated with the Western culture and values.
The World Wide Web (www) for example, is the hallmark for the
integration of western and eastern culture.
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CONCLUSION

Globalization helps us in various ways such as it INCREASES

COMPETITIONS between the markets having them to improve the quality of
products that they are selling. It also provides new jobs and it INCREASES
THE EMPLOYMENT RATE. Moreover, it also SPREADS THE KNOWLEDGE OF
NEW INVENTIONS and it helps in the SPREAD OF EDUCATION too. Without
globalization we will not be able to be in our current states nowadays. However,
despite these positive effects, we still cannot deny the fact that there will
always be a negative impact of globalization.
One of the negative impacts of globalization is the ENVIRONMENTAL
DEGRADATION where in the environment is being ruined because the number
of raw materials needed to run industries and factories is taking toll on the
natural reserves of the planet earth.
Also, there is a growing GAP BETWEEN THE RICH AND THE POOR
because the rich are getting richer while the poor are struggling for a square
meal and they are getting poorer and poorer every day. Furthermore, it is also
the reason why there is a RISE IN HEALTH RISKS because globalization bought
people from various countries together which makes it easier to transport
viruses from one country to the other. It is indeed that a globalization is a
blessing and a curse at some point.
Globalization will always be there and it will never stop. It is only up to
us how we will handle and take it. Let us be flexible and open minded to the
things that are coming to us but let us not forget to be cautious because not
everything we think are good is always good, because at the end of the day
there will always be an effect that we will never forget. ALWAYS REMEMBER
THAT GLOBALIZATION IS FULL OF OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS.

Prepared by:

NIEZL JIA T. OLARIO

Instructor