POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND FINE ARTS

THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

RESEARCH

WHAT IS GLOBALIZATON?

Presented by:

John Louie Alipala

Presented to:

Prof. Baby Allan R. Escobar

November 2019
Globalization In My Perspective

According to National Geographic (2019), globalization is a term used to describe the

increasing connectedness and interdependence of world cultures and economies. In shallow
perspective, the globalization leads the way in linking the nations. It covers not only the
economic aspect but the general concerns of the world. Globalization tends to include and put
together countries from the developed ones to the developing ones. By simply looking at it, one
can utter that globalization plays the lead role in making the whole world a safe haven for
everyone. But as it tries to cover bigger areas, the complexity of globalization also begins.

"Globalization also captures in its scope the economic and social changes that have
come about as a result. It may be pictured as the threads of an immense spider web formed
over millennia, with the number and reach of these threads increasing over time." (National
Geographic, 2019) Generally speaking, globalization roams around two corners of national
factors - the social and economic aspect. The society and economy of different countries have
crossed their path and started to create a web-like connection that has undeniably strengthened
and established the global connectedness. But more than the foreign relations, globalization has
reached greater depths as the threads increase over time.

National Geographic stated that, "People, money, material goods, ideas, and even
disease and devastation have traveled these silken strands, and have done so in greater
numbers and with greater speed than ever in the present age." Everything is getting involved
through globalization. It has spread like a plague but more than a disease it has become vital in
growing, moving and changing the world.

However, before all these things, globalization did not happen over night. The scholars
claimed that globalization started with Columbus when he sailed to the New World in 1492. It
was six centuries ago when Columbus fueled his voyage to the different parts of the world. It is
a long period of time but it does not equate that it all began with him. History stated that there
were already civilizations even before Christopher Columbus was born. There were already an
exchange of ideas and products. People travel from place to place and have occupied any land
they set their foot into. According to National Geographic (2019), the Silk Road, an ancient
network of trade routes across China, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean used between 50
B.C.E. and 250 C.E. is perhaps the most well-known early example.

The well-known Silk Road perhaps formally starter the future of globalization. The
exchange of products and ideas in the road is called trade. Trade is simply mutually benefitting
two or more parties through the kinds they give for each other. It is the conventional way of
showing interests to other countries during that era. But trading has become more than what is
known traditionally. It was not only tangible materials being transferred from region to region.
The incorporation of culture, customs and social ways were also got to wander the world
through the continuous link of people.
 National Geographic said that the advances in metallurgy led to the creation of coins;
advances in transportation led to the building of roads connecting the major empires of the day;
and increased agricultural production meant more food could be trafficked between locales.
Along with Chinese silk, Roman glass, and Arabian spices, ideas such as Buddhist beliefs and
the secrets of paper-making also spread via these tendrils of trade. This only proves that
tangible and intangible ideas were being brought back and forth through the trading of goods.
However, as time passed by, globalization did not stop with the give and take system. The
discovery of the unknown, pushed the people to go further and it is where the Age of
Exploration joined the picture.

The trade system quickly accelerated in the Age of Exploration when European
explorers seeking new sea routes to the spices and silks of Asia bumped into the Americas
instead. This kind of scenario is nothing new as history recorded that westerners if not
intentionally, could accidentally discover new places and people. According to the National
Geographic (2019), The web of globalization continued to spin out through the Age of
Revolution when ideas about liberty, equality, and fraternity spread like fire from America to
France to Latin America and beyond. It rode the waves of industrialization, colonization, and
war through the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, powered by the invention of
factories, railways, steamboats, cars, and plane.

The silken strands that started from the Silk Road gradually became a more complex
world that we have today. The idea of globalization also went numerous changes before the
present day comes. But as the complexity of globalization continuous to go higher so does the
involvement of larger community, thus, popping the idea of advantages and disadvantages of
globalization.

"The worldwide us has emerged", National Geographic (2019). The increase in global
movement and advancement of each nations interlocking national concerns have brought the
issue of harmony as a globe. The idea of moving as one has emerged so does the idea of
superiority and inferiority among nations. The links that the world has created certainly defined
what globalization is but it has also challenged the durability of this web-like connection.
Different eras and period happened because of globalization and it will never stop as the world
continues to grow and enlarge its platform.

Globalization today is a collaborative effort and a continuous work everybody must face. It is a
responsibility entrusted to the world leaders, community and citizens of each countries to
steadily carry the vision of globalization. It has become a world wide web as globalization
unstoppably sews the world together.

Globalization According to Management Study Guide

Globalization is the free movement of goods, services and people across the world in a
seamless and integrated manner. Globalization can be thought of to be the result of the opening
up of the global economy and the concomitant increase in trade between nations. In other
words, when countries that were hitherto closed to trade and foreign investment open up their
economies and go global, the result is an increasing interconnectedness and integration of the
economies of the world. This is a brief introduction to globalization.

Further, globalization can also mean that countries liberalize their import protocols and
welcome foreign investment into sectors that are the mainstays of its economy. What this
means is that countries become magnets for attracting global capital by opening up their
economies to multinational corporations.

Further, globalization also means that countries liberalize their visa rules and procedures
so as to permit the free flow of people from country to country. Moreover, globalization results in
freeing up the unproductive sectors to investment and the productive sectors to export related
activities resulting in a win-win situation for the economies of the world.

Globalization is grounded in the theory of comparative advantage which states that

countries that are good at producing a particular good are better off exporting it to countries that
are less efficient at producing that good. Conversely, the latter country can then export the
goods that it produces in an efficient manner to the former country which might be deficient in
the same. The underlying assumption here is that not all countries are good at producing all
sorts of goods and hence they benefit by trading with each other. Further, because of the wage
differential and the way in which different countries are endowed with different resources,
countries stand to gain by trading with each other.

Globalization also means that countries of the world subscribe to the rules and
procedures of the WTO or the World Trade Organization that oversees the terms and conditions
of trade between countries. There are other world bodies like the UN and several arbitration
bodies where countries agree in principle to observe the policies of free trade and non-
discriminatory trade policies when they open up their economies.

In succeeding articles, we look at the various dimensions of globalization and the impact
it has had on the global economy as well as in the mobility of people from poverty to middle
class status. The point here is that globalization has had positive and negative effects and
hence a nuanced and deep approach is needed when discussing the concept. What is
undeniable is that globalization is here to stay and hence it is better for the countries in the
global economy to embrace the concept and live with it.

Drivers of Globalization

The famous author and cheerleader for globalization, Thomas Friedman, in his book The
World is Flat identified some key drivers of globalization. He called these factors the flatteners to
denote the premise of the book that these factors were responsible for the flattening of the
world. In other words, globalization has ensured that all countries with minimum infrastructure
and educated workforces have the same entry level meaning that there are no “walls” or
barriers to trade and hence the world is flat.
 These flatteners or drivers of globalization include the rapid spread of IT and
communications across the world, the massive investment in broadband technologies or
enablers like fiber optic cables and undersea cables in the wake of the dotcom bubble and the
adoption of English as the medium of instruction in many countries across the world.

If we take the first driver of globalization, the integration of the global economy has
mainly been due to the rapid spread of IT and communications that enabled countries like India
and China to circumvent hitherto aspects that were holding them back. In other words, the
increasing interconnectedness was driven by real time communication between the West and
the East which enabled these countries to reach out to wider markets and audiences in the
Western countries. The classic example in this regard is India that has managed to tap into the
booming market for IT and process outsourcing. As the next paragraph points out, China
leveraged the spread of IT and communications technologies in a different manner.

Further, the fact that China became a manufacturing powerhouse is largely due to the
fact that though the country is still lagging behind in English speaking populace, it has been able
to leverage the shift in jobs from the West to the East. The point here is that with IT,
Communications and English spreading rapidly, India was able to leapfrog the Industrialization
phase of Globalization whereas China drew strength from its youthful population as well as the
tendency for business leaders in the West to look for ways and means of cutting costs.
The way in which western businesses invested in physical infrastructure to support the
communications revolution during the dotcom bubble made the process of integration of the
world economy easier. The point here is that after the dotcom bubble burst, there was excess
capacity in the broadband infrastructure which meant that communications costs came down
drastically. This is also proved by the rapid spread of mobile technologies in Africa, India and
China that attests to the trend described here.

Finally, since a major proportion of the world’s population was fluent in English, many of
these countries could communicate with the West effectively as well as ensure that they
understand the technical and financial aspects of the Western form of capitalism. In the case of
China, the managers and the upper levels of its industries and companies were conversant with
the Western methods of doing business that helped its cause greatly.

Importance of Globalization

Globalization Opens Up International Access

With the world increasingly resembling the “global village” predicted by social scientist
Marshall McLuhan decades in the past, small businesses are no longer restricted to only
reaching customers in the U.S. The evolution of digital communication has opened up small
businesses to an international market that they can reach through social media platforms,
website content, and mobile marketing campaigns. For example, if you sell comic books to a
U.S. market, there’s nothing stopping you from promoting your products to Japanese youth that
love American superheroes.
Globalization Lowers the Costs of Customer Service

If you run an e-commerce business, chances are that you need to staff a customer
service department to handle orders and complaints. Globalization has made it possible for you
to outsource your customer service to remote staff overseas that can handle customer inquiries
24/7, at a much lower price than if you hired a U.S.-based company. This helps you cut
expenses, and still provide outstanding customer service.

Globalization Levels the Competitive Playing Field

Although your business may never generate the kind of revenue of a major player in the
same industry, globalization has equalized the international playing field so that even small
companies can compete to get their slice of the global buying pie. One example is Uber, which
entered the taxi industry by changing the game with ride sharing that customers could order on
mobile devices. Uber started small, but leveraged mobile marketing and social media to grow
into a company now worth an estimated $70 billion.

Globalization Breeds More Competition

Despite the fact that globalization offers small businesses many advantages, it also presents a
major challenge, which is that the increased international opportunities also leads to increased
competition. As a result of greater access to international market, globalization creates more
businesses that want to gain a piece of these emerging markets. This means that your business
will have to find different ways to distinguish itself from the competition, which typically means
finding a unique selling proposition that expresses why your company is worthy of being chosen
by your target audience.

The goal of globalization is to provide organizations a superior competitive position with

lower operating costs, to gain greater numbers of products, services, and consumers. This
approach to competition is gained via diversification of resources, the creation and development
of new investment opportunities by opening up additional markets and accessing new raw
materials and resources. Diversification of resources is a business strategy that increases the
variety of business products and services within various organizations. Diversification
strengthens institutions by lowering organizational risk factors, spreading interests in different
areas, taking advantage of market opportunities, and acquiring companies both horizontal and
vertical in nature.

Industrialized or developed nations are specific countries with a high level of economic
development and meet certain socioeconomic criteria based on economic theory, such as gross
domestic product (GDP), industrialization and human development index (HDI) as defined by
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
Components of Globalization

The components of globalization include GDP, industrialization and the Human

Development Index (HDI). The GDP is the market value of all finished goods and services
produced within a country's borders in a year and serves as a measure of a country's overall
economic output. Industrialization is a process which, driven by technological innovation,
effectuates social change and economic development by transforming a country into a
modernized industrial, or developed nation. The Human Development Index comprises three
components: a country's population's life expectancy, knowledge and education measured by
the adult literacy, and income.

The degree to which an organization is globalized and diversified has bearing on the
strategies that it uses to pursue greater development and investment opportunities.
Negative Effects of Globalization

It has had a few adverse effects on developed countries. Some adverse consequences
of globalization include terrorism, job insecurity, currency fluctuation, and price instability.

Terrorism

It is a significant problem in most developed countries. Due to worldwide integration,

people travel a lot. Some of them move abroad for studying, business, visiting relatives, work
and access hospitals services. However, not all of them are totally honest. Lots of terrorists
came to a foreign country with a worker visa having a hidden goal to perform a terrorist attack.
It’s a problem that has posed fear among citizens who can’t trust their neighbors. Unfortunately,
terrorists recruit young people, residents of the country and make them believe they are doing
the right things. That’s why there are fear, mistrust, and tension in society.

Job Insecurity

Before globalization, skilled people got employment in government sectors and

companies where they received high salaries. Job opportunities were waiting for those who
completed colleges and earned a degree. People would resign a job and quickly get another.
Due to globalization, there are many people seeking employment all over the world. Employers
take advantage of cheap labor. One can get a dismissal because of a slight mistake as the
employer can find a skilled worker who is ready to be paid less.

Price Instability

Price instability is a significant effect of globalization on business. Some people establish

industries overseas where they get cheap raw materials and labor. They can cut production
costs and sell their goods at a low price. Due to competition, some high-quality products differ in
prices. No matter how the World Trade Organization has tried to control price fluctuation, their
efforts are not successful. These companies reach out to consumers using modern technology.
Successful businesses are for those who can find a competitive advantage and especially make
high-quality products for a low price.

Currency Fluctuation

International trade buys and sells products using the US dollar. The price of dollar
fluctuates day-to-day in developing countries, this results in imbalanced economy and unnormal
prices for goods and services. National currencies are affected the most by IGOs.

What are the Positive Effects of Globalization?

Positive Effects on Developing Countries

Globalization has had numerous positive effects on some developing countries. It’s the
reason for the fast growth and development of these countries as people invest in these states
improving their infrastructure, technology, and total production. Below are some positive effects
of worldwide integration on developing countries.

Poverty Eradication

Before globalization, developing countries have had plenty of resources which they
didn’t know how to use. Their population was uneducated as well as there were no roads or
means of transport. Nowadays people understood the significance of education and standards
of living as foreigners settled in these countries. Consequently, locals went to schools
established by the settlers and got employment in their companies and industries. Some of
them went abroad for further studies. They were able to raise the living standard of their families
by using new knowledge. Today, due to globalization, companies established by locals of some
developing states are the major competitors of those from developed states. Although the fight
against poverty is not over, there is a great improvement.

Availability of Employment

Most developed countries have lots of educated jobless people. Globalization gives
them job opportunities in other countries. Their primary advantage over the residents of the
developed countries is the fact that they offer cheap services. They are also open to learning as
they consider themselves lucky to have a new life.

Education

Globalization has enabled further studies. Most developed countries have advanced
schools and colleges. They encourage people from overseas to study there. While it is just a
business venture like any other, students from developing countries take it as an advantage to
get further education and skills to use in their careers. The investors from developed countries
settle abroad with their families, what’s more, they want to have good schools for their children.
As a result, they donate to local schools, advance the curriculum and hire qualified teachers.

Following this way, most developing countries have very advanced high schools and
universities. There is no need to move to developed states to seek education because it is
readily available in these countries. Enhanced education is a positive impact of globalization in
developing countries. The governments of most developing nations provide free training to
encourage parents to school their children. Education is compulsory in most developing
countries due to globalization because, without it, investors and traders would have a hard time
hiring locals.

Technology

Globalization has helped to transport technology to developing countries. Some

investors and foreigners who have got a bargain with the people from developing countries
needed to communicate with them and exchange ideas as well as information. The fastest way
to do it was through using of modern technology. It has greatly helped people from developing
countries. Most of them can buy and sell goods online at a low price. They work remotely with
companies in developed countries. Interaction with people through social media, the Internet
and other platforms have opened new horizons on how to improve standards of living. Media
coverage has attracted lots of volunteers from developed countries. Consequently, most people
can satisfy their basic needs such as food, clothing or medicines.

Foreign Investments

Globalization brought in the need for people from developed states to invest in some
developing countries. Foreign investment is one of the results of globalization that culminates in
many developments in these countries. For instance, some investors want raw materials and
goods to be transferred faster to the industry and the market respectively. The only way to do
this is to help each government in the building of efficient infrastructure. The local people get
jobs from these industries and companies established in their country. Investors boost the
country’s economy by paying taxes to the government. They help to improve institutions such as
schools and hospital through the government agencies which benefits the locals and their family
members.

Negative Effects of Globalization

Although the developing countries have had many benefits from globalization, there are
a few negative impacts it has caused in the developing countries.
Displacements of Workers

Thanks to globalization, there are employment opportunities all over our huge world.
However, most people have had to leave their families for many years as they work abroad. As
a result, couples have divorced, remarried and left destitute children at the mercy of volunteers
and shelters. Some children haven’t been able to meet their old-aged parents’ needs because
the money they earn from their job is not enough. Lots of seniors die due to sicknesses and lack
of financial and emotional support from their children.

Unemployment

In almost all developing countries over half of the working population relied on casual
jobs in industries until globalization took root. The advancement of technology has reduced such
employment and increased global need for skilled professionals. Majority of people in
developing countries don’t have skills, while the available jobs are poorly paid due to high
demand caused by globalization. Most of the people are left unemployed and unable to meet
their basic needs resulting in increased criminal activities such as burglary, pickpocketing,
murder and drug abuse. The rate of unemployment and poverty keeps growing as the gap
between the rich and the poor widens.

Increase Lifestyle Diseases

Globalization has brought in the consumption of processed foods, planting crops using
chemicals to minimize the duration of growth and increase profit. In order to benefit from
business, animals such as the cows are fed on chemicals that make them produce a lot of milk
or increase in weight for those that are sold for the meat industry. Due to increased ingestion of
chemicals from foods, chronic diseases are on the rise. The mortality rate is high. Furthermore,
there is a reduction in the lifespan in the developing countries.

Abandonment of Culture

Every community, society, or nation has its values and beliefs, that is to say – own
culture. They are essential because they mold the acceptable behavior of the people in a
particular community. The elders or leaders ensure that the people behave in a morally upright
way. However, globalization mixed different cultures. Then people reconsidered their authentic
rules and customs regarding their culture as primitive. Some nations from developing countries
adopt the western culture and abandon there’s own. The community leaders can no longer
pursue their own domestic policy punishing citizens for crimes them as they did before because
they are regarded as backward and primitive by international society. They adopt the culture
which is quite strange and distant from their nature, due to such policy, people conduct
themselves regardless of actual laws. As a result, there is an increased crime as acts such as
rape, divorce, and domestic violence get on the rise.
What is one of the Negative Effects of Globalization on My Community?

Terrorism

Not a year ends without incidences of terrorism in my community, something that has
affected its welfare and unity that existed before globalization. According to recent studies, there
were nine thousand terroristic attacks performed worldwide in 2017. This statistic sounds really
frighteningly. Unfortunately, my hometown is not an exception. Last year, our big city mall was
burning. The police argued that fire was caused by arson.

How does Globalization affect me?

Globalization has many positive effects on me. Firstly, I have an education and an online
writing job. So to say I am a freelancer. I buy lots of my devices or tools online, what is more, I
can communicate with people from other countries via popular networks. On the other hand,
due to worldwide integration, I have never succeeded in getting a job in an office. All my
applications have been turned down because there is high competition.

References
1. Beck, U. (2018). What is globalization?. John Wiley & Sons.
2. Chinnammai, S. (2005). Effects of globalization on education and culture. New Delhi.
3. Cox, K. R. (Ed.). (1997). Spaces of globalization: reasserting power of the local. Guilford
Press.
4. Garrett, G. (2001). Globalization and government spending around the world. Studies in
comparative international development, 35(4), 3-29.
5. Giddens, A. (2018). Globalization. In Sociology of Globalization(pp. 19-26). Routledge.
6. Kohn, D. L. (2006). Effects of globalization on inflation and their implications for monetary
policy. In Conference Series;[Proceedings] (Vol. 51). Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
7. Levitt, T. (1993). Globalization of markets. Readings in international business: a decision
approach, 249.
SOURCE:
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/globalization/
https://www.managementstudyguide.com/what-is-globalization.htm
https://www.managementstudyguide.com/drivers-of-globalization.htm
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/globalization-become-important-77671.html
https://edusson.com/blog/positive-and-negative-effects-of-globalization