Globalization Questionaire

Globalization Questionnaire

Introduction

A dish made in Taiwan is sold in Chile. At the same moment, a tree in Belgium is being cut to manufacture a chair destined for the United States. These two occurrences are examples of globalization. To understand the impact of this phenomenon, one must denote the meaning, realize the driving factors, identify local effects of community and organization, and review the importance of regional trading blocs associated with globalization.

What is globalization?

Simply, globalization is a process. A more detailed definition would state that globalization is the collective worldwide progression that makes the population and economies of the world more integrated, more homogeneous and more inter-reliant. According to Stutz and de Souza (1998), globalization is a

"process of the economy becoming worldwide in scope and is a useful way to explain why the movement of people, goods, and ideas within and among the world realms are becoming more and more important to not only economic systems but also cultural, political and environmental systems."

Although the definition explains what this happening is, the denotation does not explain the force behind the occurrence.

What are the major drivers of globalization?

Two causes seem to affect the globalization trend. The first driving force is the decline in trade barriers. Because of the recession of the trade restrictions, the world has experienced international trade, foreign direct investment and a reduction in tariffs. These practices allow resources, goods and services to be imported and exported while being governed by through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which was established in 1947, and the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was established in 1993.

The second driver of globalization encompasses the changes occurring in the communication, information and transportation fields. The communication and information changes affect each other and can be addressed as technological advancements. Three examples such advancements which impact globalization are microprocessors, internet and telecommunications which store and move information at nearly instantaneous speeds allowing transactions to occur almost anyplace in the world at anytime with very little miscommunication. In turn, transportation changes have decreased the amounts labor, time, and monies needed to ship an item from one local to another. Three examples would be commercial jet aircraft and superfreighters which decrease the time needed to move a product from one place to the next, and containerization which "has revolutionized the transportation business, significantly lowering the costs of shipping goods over long distances" (Hill, 2004). From this point, one can identify the effects on community and organization.

What are four effects that affect community and organization?

Globalization has impacted the authoress' community and personal organization in four ways: industrially, financially, culturally, and through the use of information technologies. The industrial effect can be seen through the widespread manufacturing outfits which will broaden the goods and services available to consumers and business. The financial result offers exchange rates for stronger dollars to be lent and borrowed throughout the world. The cultural effect "embodies the desire to consume and enjoy foreign products, ideas and practices" which cultivates innovation(Wikipedia, 2007).