The positive and negative impacts of globalisation on one hand are pretty black and white; the inward investment of large global companies offers a host of benefits to the area invested in. For example, a transnational corporation (TNC) such as Ford may invest in a developing country, for example a less economically developed country (LEDC) such as India. There are benefits to both parties in this scenario. Jobs will be created offering employment within the local area. With this will come support and training offering workers new skills and possibly education and qualifications. Materials, products and services will be required bringing further wealth and investment to the area. For the TNC, the benefits include cheaper labour costs as well as the companies taking advantage of more relaxed laws (for example laws on pollution, health and safety in the workplace, etc). On the flipside of these benefits come the negative impacts of globalisation. Investment in foreign countries has a negative impact upon workers within more developed countries (MEDCs such as the UK and USA) as jobs are taken overseas resulting in fewer jobs in, for example, manufacturing. The list of negative impacts upon the LEDCs seems almost endless, but there are two which I think will need further investigation, the first being the impact of 'economies of scale'. The largest companies have at their disposal the ability to operate at lower costs (it's like bulk buying at the supermarket, the more you buy the cheaper the bill). As such these TNCs may end up driving local companies out of business. The second is a term which is new to me, but the process is familiar. It is argued that as the world becomes more globalised, in turn the cultural diversity of the world is being diluted, and this is known as acculturation.
A slight refresher on a few aspects of globalistaion has in turn pointed me in the direction of my next bit of research / reading...
No comments:
Post a Comment