Globalization Case

Globalization

Workshop No. 5

Facilitator: Sandra Martinez

Name: Gadiel Melendez

Sistema universitario Ana G. Mendez

Report Outline.

I. Introduction.

1. What is Globalization?

II. History.

1. Beginnings of Globalization.

III. Effects of Globalization.

1. General effects of Globalization.

2. Negative effects of Globalization.

3. Positive effects of Globalization.

4. Globalization effects on the American economy.

IV. Pros and Cons of Globalization in the U.S.

1. The Advantages of a Globalized Economy for the U.S.

2. The Downsides of the Global Economic System on the U.S.

V. Conclusions.

According to Ali, A.J. in 2000, "Globalization is a process that is built on collective understanding of the need to establish a world community that is prosperous and tolerant, and on respect for and equitable treatment of people across the globe... As a concept, globalization is defined as a set of beliefs that foster a sense of connectivity, interdependence, and integration in the world community."

Globalization is all about integration, combination and incorporation of economies around the world but, it is also the exchange of ideas, culture, and technology. The effects of this phenomenon have reached every country in the globe, the greatest economies as well as the poorest. As every new movement of this magnitude, it has been positive for some economies, negative for others and a combination of both elements for some. After been around for a while, globalization became really important as an economic philosophy in 1947 with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), later known as World Trade Organization (WTO). (Nash C., 2008)

In the last ten years since the Second World War, many governments have adopted free market economic systems. Globalization is a current wave that has been driven by policies that have opened economies domestically and internationally. Governments also have negotiated dramatic reductions in barriers to commerce and have established international agreements to promote trade in goods, services, and investment. Taking advantage of new opportunities in foreign markets, corporations have built foreign factories and established production and marketing arrangements with foreign partners. (Nash C., 2008)

The principal driver of Globalization has been technology, all this advances in technology, have dramatically transformed economic life.

Obviously Internet has played a crucial role in this process. Information technologies have given all sorts of individual economic consumers, investors, businesses valuable new tools for identifying and pursuing economic opportunities, including faster and more informed analyses of economic trends around the world. Even when it is important to have all these state-of-the-art technology, in part thanks to globalization, there are people against it. (Maceus N., n.d.)

Those opposed to this global movement claim that it obstructs the efforts of poor countries to step out of poverty and succeed because it takes away the autonomy of governments to act in a community's interest. According to the opponents, it only helps the richest countries to maintain their prosperity through a position of supremacy. On the contrary, others say that globalization actually helps those poor countries, and it is the best way leading to democracy and freedom. (Maceus N., n.d.)

As almost everything in life, Globalization has negative and positive effects; some examples of the negatives are: job insecurity, competition for employment, low wages with the consequently lower standards of living; exploitation of workers and increased human trafficking. Companies that establish industries abroad usually do not care about causing pollution and they do not respect either the employees' rights or the country's legal requirements. Moreover, due to Globalization, a crisis in one nation could lead to a worldwide financial crisis, which is happening right now. (Maceus N., n.d.)

But not everything is bad about globalization; actually the benefits are more numerous. For example: it helps in reducing poverty, raises the standard of living, promotes democracy and it introduces state of the art technology into developing countries; globalized economic systems allow every country to benefit from the innovations of another.

According to the proponents of globalization, it constitutes a positive power which could turn the world into a better and smaller place as well as it has drastically changed the way businesses are done. Globalization not only allows companies to grow into new markets, but it also eliminates trade obstacles which contribute to produce more profitable products for companies, therefore more affordable for the consumers. (Nash C., 2008).

Globalization has joined different cultures and transformed them into one that could accommodate everyone, despite their differences. Culture is what people eat, how they dress, the beliefs they hold, and the activities they practice. The Culinary culture has become extensively globalized. For example, Japanese noodles, Swedish meatballs, Indian curry, French cheese, and American burgers and fries have become popular outside their countries of origin. Two American companies, McDonalds and Starbucks, are often cited as good examples of globalization, with over 31,000 and 18,000 locations operating worldwide, respectively. (Nash C., 2008)

Another common practice brought about by globalization is the usage of Chinese characters in tattoos. These tattoos are popular with today's youth despite the lack of social acceptance of tattoos in China. Also, there is a lack of comprehension in the meaning of Chinese characters that people get, making this an example of cultural appropriation. Not always people understand what exactly they are taking from another culture, which is wrong and disrespectful. (Nash C., 2008)

Globalization has also helped to spread some of the deadliest infectious diseases known to humans. For