Discuss Globalisation

Globalisation is a term meaning the way things like ideas and money spread around the globe more and more rapidly and easily. A transnational corporation, or TNC, is a company with branches or workers in many different countries; this is an example of globalisation.

Nike, for instance, is an American company which has branches in Mexico, India, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Canada, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, England, Ireland, Italy, Australia and many more countries, especially in Europe, and has nearly all of its products manufactured in foreign places. This is a great benefit to Nike because it means that they can find the cheapest places from which to buy their raw materials, have their products made where wages are lowest, choose countries that are easy to ship goods to and from, and sell their products where retail prices are highest and people are richest. In order for a company to do well, it must reduce its costs and increase its sales, which is exactly what going global helps it to do.

However globalisation does not only benefit the transnational corporations. It also helps people in less economically developed countries where there are a lack of jobs, because the people can then work for the companies and earn wages. And because the markets are large, lots of jobs are available. The governments of LEDC’s are pleased to have transnational corporations setting up businesses in their country because the wages help the economy to balance out and the companies sometimes help them exploit the resources that they are not yet able to exploit for themselves.

Another benefit of globalisation is that it increases promotion and advertising. If a company can advertise all over the world, then obviously it will make more money, and if, say for instance, Nike sponsored David Beckham who also happens to be famous world-wide, then both Nike and Man Utd would be able to sell more merchandise.

Going global creates employment, spreads cultures, and helps companies become more successful, however it is not actually a benefit to everyone.

Many people object to the way cultures are becoming mixed. Western culture is eroding and undermining the cultures of countries like China and India where TNCs make their money. It’s a shame to lose the valuable ways of life and traditions of countries like these in order for the world to turn into one giant America.

The main problem is the fact that the people where the TNCs get their products made are badly exploited for their work. Because the transnational corporations want to find the easiest and cheapest way possible of manufacturing their goods, their employees often work in very bad conditions and get paid the lowest wages that their employer can get away with. And what’s more, as soon as the company they work for find somewhere cheaper, they’ll move their factory there, leaving hundreds of people suddenly unemployed. Because the TNCs take so much of the profit for themselves, they actually stop the countries from developing.

There is also the fact that because LEDCs often don’t have environmental laws, the transnational corporations constantly pollute the water and air where they make their products, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.

So even though globalisation has its benefits, it is also a problem for a lot of countries. I think that if globalisation is going to be successful and become an advantage for everyone, somehow we need to find a balance where the economy is fair and people don’t get exploited. This will be an extremely difficult thing to happen and will probably involve companies making less money, but should also mean that the world economy is more balanced and therefore companies won’t need to have excessive profits.

If richer and more developed countries helped less economically developed countries to grow, then eventually the world economy would become more balanced and equal, and companies in LEDCs would be able to start going global themselves, but this time it would be fair because cultures would be shared rather than invaded, and money would be distributed evenly. Unfortunately, this is never really going to happen.