Globalization Term Paper (Term Paper Sample)

Globalization PaperYourFirstName YourLastNameUniversity title
GlobalizationFirstName LastNameCourse TitleInstructor’s Name16th August 2014
 IntroductionGlobalization can be defined as international integration arising from interchange of worldviews, products, ideas and culture. It has commonly come to be known as the process through which the world has become one large village accessible to anyone who has the means to do so.DiscussionThe influence of globalization in the society is majorly what is responsible for modernization. It can be divided into: Social influence, Technological influence and Economical or business-related influence.Social influenceThe impact of globalization is both negative and positive. Tourism- through advanced transportation, thousands of people move from one country to another for leisure reasons. Through such encounters, different cultures are exchanged. It also serves as a large source of income for the countries toured. However, through such movement spread of communicable diseases has been immense and hard to contain. Illicit International Trade- this includes sale of ivory acquired though poaching, organized crime, international drug trade and human trafficking (Handley et al, 2009). However, most governments have put in place measures to curb these vices.Technological Influence:Globalization has been a major contributor to how fast technology has evolved over the years. On the other hand, technology has also been a large contributor in making the world a large village so to say. It is through exchange of ideas that technology has advanced as it has in the recent years. Sparrow (2005) argues, “the channels of communication are the primary cause of cultural change”. The whole idea of the world being a global village is based upon ease in movement of ideas and messages. Technological advance has enabled one person at the end of the world to communicate within seconds to a person at the other end of the world. This is though emails, text messages and calls. It is also advancement in technology, which has led to companies innovating simpler and more efficient means of production through machines. Production plants where most processes have been mechanized have led to mass production of goods in significantly reduced periods. Through video conferences, multinationals are able to hold meetings and the prime administration does not necessarily have to be located at all countries.Economic and business related:One cannot discuss globalization without talking about international trade. International trade is the exchange of capital and consumer goods and services between two or more countries or regions. Through globalization: There is a large market for goods produced- before, a company would think only about its resident county when producing goods. However, thanks to globalization companies can produce as much as possible with the entire world as a market in mind. The source of input materials is larger. Where a company deals with raw materials, it can look beyond its own region to establish which a cheaper option is. With this, it can establish whether it has an absolute advantage or a comparative advantage. An absolute advantage means that production at a particular region will be at a lesser cost per unit when compared with another region. Comparative advantage means that production at a particular country/region will be at cheaper marginal and opportunity cost compared to another region. With such type of options a company can maximize profitability by producing at the cheaper region. As for labour as input, it depends on whether it is skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled. For skilled labour, companies search for the best offered in the market despite the boundaries. This has however caused brain drain in most under- developed countries where most skilled laborers move to developed countries in search of work. This has been a reason for the crippling of those economies. For semi-skilled and unskilled labour, a company will search for the cheapest available option. This will be in countries where the laws have not set the minimum wage so high and not so many employee benefits are required. Creation of tax havens- these are states and countries where taxes are levied at a lower rate when compared with other countries. This is done to attract investors. This will create development for the county as this will create revenue, even at lower rates, and also create employment. It will also lead to development of infrastructure at the area. For the company, with profit in mind, it will be looking to reduce its expenses and hence will set camp where it can do so. This has also helped create tax competition among governments, each tying to provide the cheapest so as to attract investors. With reduction in taxes, companies continue to thrive and make profits. Existences of special economic zones- these are geographical regions that have economic laws more free market oriented. An example would be free trade zones- goods are landed, handled, manufactured and exported without the intervention of customs (Boudreaux, 2008).Others include free zones, industrial parks or estates, free ports and export processing zones. A company with an option can use these areas where quotas and tariffs are minimal to save on costs. For the countries, it helps increase foreign direct investment, which comes with its advantages. Outsourcing can be defined as contracting out of an internal business process to a third party organization (Morissette, 2007). The companies outsource functions in the operation process that are not crucial to the company’s key process. Examples of these are: cleaning services, security, delivery and courier services. Before a company outsources a process, there are a lot of factors that it has to put into consideration.Language- is the language a primary language to the outsourced country? It would make little sense to outsource an English call centre to a region that is not well conversant with the language. No matter how much cost saving it might result into, there would be little or no communication between the customers and the operators. The entire process and logic of maintain a call center would be crippled.Quality of output- is the quality of output after outsourcing better than before? Theoretically, the quality should increase since the job is given to a group of specialists who should concentrate on nothing else but this.Security- will outsourcings lead to leakage of information and reduce confidentiality? If this is the case then the option of not outsourcing should be consideredMeasurement of output- in an example of a call center, how will the company quantify the amount of work done by this other firm? It might imply installation of high-end technology to record the number of calls or hours spent doing this. Also it would be difficult to ascertain and measure customers’ satisfaction.Some say that it is incorrect to pay individuals in Indian less than the same job would rationally pay in somewhere else like the UK. However, we need to evaluate not just incomes, but what those wage stages will actually buy in different nations. An IT expert in Indian may be far better off with regards to the way of life, even though compensated only a third of the UK wage. It all relies on exchange rates. The demands will k...